"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have". - Frederick Koenig
The holidays are here, and how do I know this? Might it be all of the hustling and bustling? The light-up renegade reindeer that take over the town? The social calendar bursting at the seams? No, I know it's the holidays because I have come down yet again with my annual holiday head cold which makes me feel like my head is inside one of those bells that are ringing incessantly joyfully on high. In the interest of spreading some holiday cheer though (instead of snot and bad karma), I thought I would share a little soup recipe that has me curled up and purring on the couch with a smile. In full disclosure I should throw it out there that even though I am a self-proclaimed soup junkie, I did not make this soup myself, nor have I ever made this soup myself. Apparently I am so pathetic that on every occasion I've had it, it has been fully due to Jay's efforts to ensure that I don't become a miserable bitch grinch. He is a good man, and seems to know that the gift of a good soup will go far in benefiting my well-being, and subsequently, his as well. So, here's to holiday colds, good soup, and the way they manage to point out the true gifts in our lives. I hope you enjoy!
Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup
Ingredients
4 whole heads of garlic
3 tablespoonsolive oil
3 tablespoonsunsalted butter
2 medium onions, chopped
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoonschopped fresh thyme
1/4 cupall-purpose flour
4 cupschicken broth
1/2 cup to 1 cupheavy cream (per your preference)
1. Preheat oven to 375°F; line a small baking sheet with foil. Use a sharp knife to cut about 1/4 inch off top of each garlic head. Place garlic cut side up on baking sheet and drizzle olive oil over heads. Roast garlic until softened, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, squeeze soft cooked pulp from each clove into a small bowl. (You should have about 1/2 cup soft garlic pulp.) Note: We prefer to roast the garlic in peeled, separated cloves for convenience & exceptional garlic dipping oil for later.
2. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and 1 tsp. each salt and pepper and cook, stirring often,until onions have softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in thyme (though fresh works best for flavor, dried can also be substituted successfully) and reserved garlic. Sprinkle in flour. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring, to incorporate flour. Pour in chicken broth and cream, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Boil rapidly, stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and puree soup with an immersion blender in the pot, or in batches with a food processor, or blender. Return to pot, if applicable, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with thyme.
P.S. - That garlic infused olive oil that is left in your roasting pan? It's kind of like the stocking stuffer to the whole soup thing. (Jay really is a genius sometimes). I highly recommend topping it with a dash of crushed red pepper flakes and enjoying it with some rosemary foccacia bread alongside your soup. :)
The recent chilly snap here in my neck of the woods has left me craving all sorts of fall oriented coziness that, for me, can usually be found in fuzzy blankets and warm comfort food. Normally inspiring me to scour all sorts of new recipes to find something yummy and warm, this year I am also trying to keep everything low(er) cal as well. Afterall, nothing grows as quickly in the winter as our backsides. Since, as some of you know, I loathe beef stew (please click here if you need to be reminded just how much I loathe it), last night it just so happened that I was on a mission for chicken and dumplings. All of that golden broth filled with chunks of chicken and vegetables floating around puffy spoon-dropped buttermilk dumplings was just too tempting to resist. Believe it or not, I managed to locate a low-cal recipe that seemed to fit the bill, and 'Operation Dumpling Drop' went into full effect. As a result, a trifecta of amazingness happened in my kitchen that I couldn't help but share. I found a recipe that was OMG good, low-cal, AND easy to make. To top it off, it does not take all day to make. This being the case, I couldn't NOT share the recipe here with you. I hope you enjoy, now I'm off to grab the leftovers! Nom nom nom. :)
Chicken and Rosemary Dumplings
Ingredients
Soup:
4 cupsfat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 cupswater
1 poundchicken drumsticks, skinned
1 poundskinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 thyme sprigs
2 teaspoonsolive oil
1 1/2 cupsdiced carrots
1 1/2 cupschopped celery
1 cupdiced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced (I prefer more garlic, so 4 cloves were used in mine)
1/2 teaspoonsalt
Dumplings:
1 1/4 cupsall-purpose flour
1 tablespoonchopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoonsbaking powder
1/4 teaspoonsalt (regular salt was swapped out here for Borsari seasoned salt)
2 tablespoonsbutter, softened
1/2 cuplow-fat buttermilk
1 large egg
1/4 cupall-purpose flour
1/4 cupwater
Remaining ingredient:
Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove pan from heat. Remove chicken pieces from broth; cool slightly. Strain broth through a sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Remove chicken from bones. Discard bones; chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. Set chicken aside.
To prepare dumplings, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1 1/4 cups flour, rosemary, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine buttermilk and egg, stirring with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined.
Return chopped chicken to the broth mixture; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Combine 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup water, stirring with a whisk until well blended to form a slurry. Add flour mixture to pan; simmer 3 minutes. Drop the dumpling dough, 1 tablespoon per dumpling, onto chicken mixture to form 12 dumplings. Cover and cook 7 minutes (do not let broth boil). Sprinkle with black pepper.
Well, the weekend is here, and just like that bad cold that never seems to go away, so is
the winter weather. It’s
usually about this time every year that things seems to slow down to a
snail’s pace, keeping spring an inevitable two steps out of reach, and leaving
me to hibernate indoors while my skin and my outlook become increasingly tired
and dry. To help cope with this, I've been paying extra attention to the little things that keep me going, and I’ve decided to share some that I’ve found inspiring, and/or recently enjoyable. They have improved my winter
attitude immensely, and will hopefully make your thoughts a little cozier as well.
·TRUFFLED CAULIFLOWER BISQUE – I am admittedly a soup junkie! If there is one thing that would make
me a tragic bitch in the wintertime, it would be NOT being able to eat soup
(though Jay may have some additional thoughts on this). Since I especially love a pureed
veggie-type soup, I was almost ecstatic when I saw Christina Hendricks on ‘The Rachael Ray Show’ making a Truffled Cauliflower Bisque. Because I don't really watch the show, it must have been kismet that I happened to catch this particular segment
and discover what is easily my favorite new winter soup and salad pairing.
The soup has a bacon base, to which the veggies, broth and cream are added (though I'd imagine you vegetarians out there could find some sort of salty substitute). Then, everything is pureed and topped with white truffle oil and bacon crumbles. I am GOING to find a low(er) fat way to make this so I can eat it all the time.
As an accompaniment to the soup, I highly recommend the Tuscan Kale Salad pairing featured in the same clip. The heartiness and bite of the kale paired with the homemade pungent Caesar dressing creates a balance in this salad perfect as a compliment to the mild, creamy soup as well as the cold winter weather.
The recipe for the Cauliflower Bisque can be found here, and the accompanying Tuscan Kale Caesar can be found here.
BATH & BODY WORKS SUGAR SCRUB - If your skin is starting to feel a little short of reptilian at about this point, this is just the thing to make your dry winter skin do a disappearing act, while indulging a bit in the bath or shower. I've always used Origins in the past, but have found recently that Bath and Body Works offers an essential oil sugar scrub (in varying scents) that is just as wonderfully moisturizing and pampering as anything else and comes with a lower price point. I've been using the Lavender Vanilla, which is cozy and warm. Next up to bat for me is their new fragrance, Vanilla Verbena.
RUMCHATA - You will want to walk ... no, run to the nearest store to get more of this stuff once you try it. Caribbean rum blended with cream and cinnamon, and vanilla, this is enough to melt away any winter blahs. It's what you would drink if it snowed in the Carribean - kind of like a mini vacation in a glass. Make sure you check out all of the recipes (drink and otherwise) on the official website.
S
·NEW (to me)MUSIC – For me, some new sounds cycling through the
stereo always keeps the indoors from getting
stale. Recently, I’ve found a few
new favorites, both by sister duos, that I have been enjoying thanks to a few 'last minute' iTunes gift cards Jay put in my Christmas stocking. So, I suppose this section is being brought to you by the letter 'J' and the number '1'. ;)
CocoRosie, ‘Grey Oceans’ – This is the most unclassifiable and
beautiful music I’ve come across in a long time. I love how it somehow manages to simultaneously engage my
thoughts, and soothe my nerves.
This is one of my favorite track off the album entitled ‘The Moon Asked the Crow.’ If you like this one, I highly
recommend taking a listen to ‘Lemonade’ as well.
The Pierces, 'Love You More - EP' - Love The Pierces, love their new EP and can't wait to hear the new album, 'You & I', out on March 14th.
ART - Ok, so this one may seem a little more expansive compared to the rest of my list, but there is something escapist and inspiring about seeing a piece of artwork that really speaks to you. For me, a well-done watercolor is usually very soothing; something about the soft edges and color nuances really put me at ease. When you add in a lion fish as the subject of the watercolor, my so-called 'fish nerd' tendencies can't help but become activated, so when I saw a watercolor that my friend's son was working on, I was hooked. Not only is Alex super bright, but it appears that he is very artistically talented as well. Seeing the progression of his piece, and the care that he took to document it really inspired me to want to create something as well; and there is nothing like that spark of inspiration to make the long winter days pass by even quicker.
I hope you enjoy the progression of the piece as much as I did, and also hope that it instills within you the desire to create something of your own -- we've got nothing but time until spring, right? Thanks for sharing Alex!
