Have you ever watched the BBC show "Top Gear?" It's hosted by three (British) funny-guys and they talk about cars, car parts, and how to drive cars. Somehow despite the incessant insistence on that topic, they are really entertaining! B loves it.
He also loves just about every car in it - Aston Martins, Ferraris, Nissans. It's been our little joke that he'll look over and say "WANT" while he reaches at the screen like a four-year-old to an ice cream cone. I usually then ask the price and he stops insisting quite so much. So, if you're ever in need of something to buy him...
Anyway, I'm rambling about this because I have a new come-back line to replace the question of price. Now I can simply ask him, "would you like to drive MY new car?" The reaction is about the same... because by "new" I really mean "old." We have officially bought my little Civic off of my parents.
So... that checkbox hit me right in the face! I'd forgotten that buying a car was on my list, probably because when I put it there I meant it in a much more buy-a-BRAND-NEW-car way. But seeing as Hondas tend to last forever and I only have 3.5 years left til 30 (gulp! - how did THAT happen?!) this is pretty much it! Another step towards competent adulthood. Give-or-take the fact that I filed my title papers on the last. possible. day. And that my car sat with the old plates for another 10 days after that (no, I didn't drive it). And that the "Maint. Req'd" light has been flashing when I turn the car on for the last month or so.
So, er, happy "new" car to me! Hopefully it lasts!
Monday, January 7
Soups! (Veggies #6.8)
I like soups so much that they get their own veggie sub-point and a blog entry all to themselves. Because they are just. That. Delicious.
I've attempted a couple of new soups recently since I have lots of fun new kitchen tools and vessels from the wedding registry.
What? Oh yeah - that wedding thing happened back in Nov.! Aaaaand it was basically perfect. Surrounded by friends, family, dancing the night away and waking up with that same guy that I still like after all this time! There isn't an emoticon big enough to really capture the happy that I have from the whole thing, so here's a photo instead.
So. Soups. Yes. Counting this one as a veggie is kind of premature since I haven't quite made a soup explicitly with a veggie I wouldn't have otherwise tried. I made a super rich, cream-based mushroom soup back when it first got cold. This is where I discovered my love of cream-based anything. Ok, not really discovered, just solidified the knowledge of. If it's bad for me I probably love it.
The next recipe wasn't anything momentous either, other than the fact that it was almost entirely blended vegetables and I still wanted to eat it! It was a tomato soup in the crockpot: put a couple cans of tomatoes, some chopped carrots, celery, and onion and some broth in the crockpot and let those cook all day, then come home and blend it all together and add some cream and maybe some cheese, too? It was quite yummy (see statement in previous paragraph about cream-based anything!).
So, this most recent soup is actually a little farther out of the box. It was - gasp! - VEGAN. [duh duh DUHHHHHNNN] That's right - zero animal product, no cheese, no milk, no nothin' other than veggie-based food. AND IT'S DELICIOUS. [Erk, I just realized that we *did* add some feta when we ate it. It didn't add much though. Now if we had goat cheese, that'd be different!]
The recipe was pinned by Michelle Obama and is from the Oprah website, so it's not like it was going to be bad anyway. But other than being somewhat time consuming, it was really simple and tastes sweet but still hearty. The sweet potatoes really come through, helped by a few apricots I think. I've eaten it at least once for the last couple days and I'm not tired of it yet! (I'm also not finished yet, which gives you a hint as to how much it made!) The first night we ate it with some SUPER yummy burgers that B made with HIS new cast iron skillet. (That's right - not only did HE register for that bad boy, but he has now also USED it! I'm living this up!)
Here's the recipe. My little notes are in [brackets] this time.
Enjoy!
-e
Sweet Potato & Red Lentil Soup
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
½ cup dried apricots, quartered
¼ cup chopped onion or shallots
¼ to ½ tsp. Thai red chili paste [I left this out - Thai red chili paste was $5 for a teeny-tiny jar. If you can convince me it's worth it, I'll get it for next time, but it had better knock my heels off.]
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
¾ cup light coconut milk [that's only about 1/3 of a can. As I kept the soup warm on the stove I just added the rest in to keep it from getting too thick.]
½ tsp. salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp. ground black pepper
Chopped cilantro (optional) [didn't use it]
4 Tbsp. pomegranate juice or seeds (optional) [didn't use it, but would be interested to try it! I think the tart crunch of the seeds would be a good contrast to the sweet soup.] Edit: tried it. Liked it! Discovered Costco occasionally sells pomegranate seeds separately. Win.
Place sweet potatoes, lentils, apricots, onion, chili paste, and broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are falling apart, about 25 [20 for me] minutes. Let soup sit, uncovered, 10 minutes.
Add coconut milk. Using a blender, puree soup until smooth, in batches if necessary. Stir in salt and pepper, and add more if desired. [I barely needed the blender, everything was so tender after 30ish mins of simmering I could've mashed it with my spatula. But an immersion blender is waaaay more fun!]
To serve: Divide pureed soup among bowls, and top each with cilantro and pomegranate juice or seeds (if using). [If you're cool like me, you have a sweet soup-and-sandwich bowl/plate setup from your Gramma Barb!]
Source: http://www.oprah.com/food/Sweet-Potato-and-Red-Lentil-Bisque-Recipe#ixzz2HLNPYOpY
I've attempted a couple of new soups recently since I have lots of fun new kitchen tools and vessels from the wedding registry.
What? Oh yeah - that wedding thing happened back in Nov.! Aaaaand it was basically perfect. Surrounded by friends, family, dancing the night away and waking up with that same guy that I still like after all this time! There isn't an emoticon big enough to really capture the happy that I have from the whole thing, so here's a photo instead.
 |
| I kinda like this guy :) |
So. Soups. Yes. Counting this one as a veggie is kind of premature since I haven't quite made a soup explicitly with a veggie I wouldn't have otherwise tried. I made a super rich, cream-based mushroom soup back when it first got cold. This is where I discovered my love of cream-based anything. Ok, not really discovered, just solidified the knowledge of. If it's bad for me I probably love it.
 |
| Creamy, delicious mushroom soup |
So, this most recent soup is actually a little farther out of the box. It was - gasp! - VEGAN. [duh duh DUHHHHHNNN] That's right - zero animal product, no cheese, no milk, no nothin' other than veggie-based food. AND IT'S DELICIOUS. [Erk, I just realized that we *did* add some feta when we ate it. It didn't add much though. Now if we had goat cheese, that'd be different!]
The recipe was pinned by Michelle Obama and is from the Oprah website, so it's not like it was going to be bad anyway. But other than being somewhat time consuming, it was really simple and tastes sweet but still hearty. The sweet potatoes really come through, helped by a few apricots I think. I've eaten it at least once for the last couple days and I'm not tired of it yet! (I'm also not finished yet, which gives you a hint as to how much it made!) The first night we ate it with some SUPER yummy burgers that B made with HIS new cast iron skillet. (That's right - not only did HE register for that bad boy, but he has now also USED it! I'm living this up!)
Here's the recipe. My little notes are in [brackets] this time.
Enjoy!
-e
 |
| Husband made some yummy burgers to go with. |
Sweet Potato & Red Lentil Soup
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
½ cup dried apricots, quartered
¼ cup chopped onion or shallots
¼ to ½ tsp. Thai red chili paste [I left this out - Thai red chili paste was $5 for a teeny-tiny jar. If you can convince me it's worth it, I'll get it for next time, but it had better knock my heels off.]
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
¾ cup light coconut milk [that's only about 1/3 of a can. As I kept the soup warm on the stove I just added the rest in to keep it from getting too thick.]
½ tsp. salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp. ground black pepper
Chopped cilantro (optional) [didn't use it]
4 Tbsp. pomegranate juice or seeds (optional)
Place sweet potatoes, lentils, apricots, onion, chili paste, and broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are falling apart, about 25 [20 for me] minutes. Let soup sit, uncovered, 10 minutes.
Add coconut milk. Using a blender, puree soup until smooth, in batches if necessary. Stir in salt and pepper, and add more if desired. [I barely needed the blender, everything was so tender after 30ish mins of simmering I could've mashed it with my spatula. But an immersion blender is waaaay more fun!]
To serve: Divide pureed soup among bowls, and top each with cilantro and pomegranate juice or seeds (if using). [If you're cool like me, you have a sweet soup-and-sandwich bowl/plate setup from your Gramma Barb!]
Source: http://www.oprah.com/food/Sweet-Potato-and-Red-Lentil-Bisque-Recipe#ixzz2HLNPYOpY
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