Last Day of Summer

Asparagus & tons-o'-mushroom pizza (with Brie cheese) on the grill for supper tonight.

How glorious (and wistful) it is to realize that tomorrow is the first day of fall. Many cooking adventures await (pumpkin, mulled wine, pumpkin, soup, pumpkin, etc.), but many will be missed -- and the grill perhaps most of all.

Scenes from a New House; Or, Our First Dinner.

Winter Soup

It snowed all day, and rained and froze all night. The drive home from work was slippery and slow, but Bean and I still ventured out afterward to purchase some soup ingredients. What's the use in being comforted by a hot broth if you don't get a little frosty first?

This loaf is one that Bean made while I was away dancing my heart out this weekend, so I cannot divulge the recipe; however, it was sourdough, and it turned out deliciously.

The ingredients were something like:

bouillon

two large tomatoes

some butternut squash

some beet

some carrot

some mushroom

some

some

some

...you get the idea. I also added fresh parsley, thai curry sauce (an interesting debut), and salt and pepper o' course. It simmered while we waited for the bread to bake, and everything became ready in a glorious moment of supper harmony.

Paired with some cheapish-but-good Cabernet Sauvignon that we got at Hannaford's, it made quite a tasty bit.

Tomato Soup

Bean is obsessed with soup, and I'm rarely in the mood. Today, though, I'd determined to make something I liked, and so when I got home from work I was ready to whip off to the store for some tomatoes in order to make something creeeeeamy and delicious. Much to my surprise, I found a box o' chopped tomatoes sitting tantalizingly on the countertop!

And look at the amazing ingredients!!

Into the pot went:

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 tsp lobster bouillon (not so bad!)

2 mushrooms

stalk o' celery

chopped onion

bits o' pasta

thyme

basil

oregano

salt

pepper

and I let it all boil for what seemed like eons -- the smell of spices finding their way pleasingly into my nose as I slowly sipped a slightly-sour wine.

And when it was done, I did not forget about dinner! It went beautifully with our homemade thyme-bread from yesterday. Mmm...

Michael's Market

A place I frequent on workdays when I have forgotten to pack lunch. They have adorable soup packaging, some tasty sandwiches, and beautiful chocolate cake...

A Pretty Good Soup!

Whilst whiling away the hours at work, a plan formed in my mind to cut up our uncarved Halloween pumpkins and make some sort of soup. However, this plan went awry when I realized big pumpkins aren't pleased when cooked. But since I was all excited about this idea, I got some butternut squash and made do. I diced it up and let it boil for a while before adding the rest of the ingreeds.

One interesting aspect of cooking with sharing in mind is the assembly beforehand. If I didn't plan to take pictures of all the beauteous vegetables, I would simply chop them up as they occurred to me, and not worry about the recipe as a whole. As it is, here's what went in, plus:

Thai curry sauce (Trader Joe's; found in pantry)
Thai spice blend

Chicken bouillon

Chowder(ish)

Another day of the sniffles. Bean wanted a dinner unsuited to my fancy. While perusing the grocery aisles we saw lobster bouillon. Hello? Suddenly I was excited about dinner again! I bought also one lil' potato, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

Start with three vegetables who seem to be brethren; but like brothers, they are very different upon close inspection. Potato, tomato, radish!

I had every intention of using the tomato in the concoction, but despite its being my absolute favorite vegetable, it retired sullenly to the recesses of the counter.

It is fair to say I didn't know quite what I had in mind. I stuck two cups of water and some lobster bouillon into a pot, and let it boil. I added the potatoes, to let them soften, and then moseyed about packing a lunch for tomorrow. Bean and I are starting a night-time pottery class!!

One period of unestimated time (and one White Russian) later, I added some chopped broccoli and a few mushrooms, and the radish...and subsequently forgot about these for a while.

When dinner was again remembered, I noted that the broth was very clear, as water tends to be. Consulting dear Mam's Fanny Farmer's cookbook, I combined a series of methods to thicken the concoction. First, I drained most of the broth out of the soup, and then replaced it back on the low-burning burner. To it, I added:

1/3 c. whole milk

~2 tbsp cornstarch

~1/4 c. flour

and after stirring for a while, and letting it slowly reheat, a wonderful thing occurred; the soup was now a chowder! Fully creamy, beautifully thick, and piping hot.

So I plopped it in a bowl and whisked it upstairs to begin consummation.

And sweet dreams, says Mushroom Man...

A Bean Soup

In the doldrums of a cold, how wonderful it is to have a boy concoct a hearty soup for dinner, filled with spices and nutrients for the soul that does not feel ready to consume.

Breadbowl!

Breadbowls are the most delicious thing on all of Panera Bread's menu, so Simon and I decided to try making them tonight. It was a lot of work, and took longer than expected, but it was definitely well worth it.

To make, dissolve a packet of yeast in 1 1/4 c. warm water. When it has reacted, add:

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp (+) olive oil

3 1/2 c. flour (added in stages)

We kneaded that for a few minutes, and let it rise in an oiled bowl for about 45 minutes. Took it out, punched it down, and separated it into four pieces. After letting it rise 45 minutes more, we realized they weren't big enough for a meal, so we massacred one and split it up between its brothers so that there were three total. It rose beautifully and we brushed it with a mixture of egg white and water before putting it in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

While it was baking, we cut up

one carrot

bunch of spinach

garlic cloves

and put them in a pot to simmer with

water

chicken bouillon

basil

bay leaves

red pepper flakes

salt / pepper

When the 15 minutes were up, we brushed more egg mixture on the loaves and put them back in for 15 more. We dumped some tortellini in the soup at the exact moment of bread removal, so that the soup would be done when the loaves were cooled. Then we excavated those bitches, ladled in the soup, and went to town.