New year, new post!

I hope none of you watched the season premier of the new Biggest Loser, because they keep puking! Anyway, despite the really crappy tiny cell phone photo (my camera charger was a NYE casualty), I wanted to share with you a really delicious way to ring in the new year. It starts with a full belly of resolution-friendly dinner. My boymate and I have embarked upon a new eating leaf. I know that's so cliche, but you gotta start somewhere (thanks Bob and Jillian!). Tonight I made something that almost blew my own mind. It is as follows:

Artichoke: Clip off the outer leaves, chop off the top pointed inch, shave off the outer skin from the good leaves all the way down to the stem. Pry that point open and ferociously scoop out all of the furry bits and the dots those furry bits came from. Have a halved lemon handy and rub the lemon over all surfaces of the artichoke so it doesn't turn brown and yucky. Do that to a few artichokes and place them in a sauce pan, tops down. Add half of that lemon and a smashed clove of garlic. boil for 30ish minutes until you can pull one of the outer leaves out and have it taste yummy. For a dipping sauce mix a T of lowfat or vegan mayo, a tsp of dijon or spicy mustard and a squeeze of lemon. YUM TOWN AND Z BOYS.

Tomato Pepper Soup: Chop a whole onion and a yellow pepper (in retrospect, maybe roasted pepper?), 2 cloves of garlic, add some salt & a bunch of red pepper flakes and saute in a good sized sauce pan until soft and flavory. Add a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes with their juice and a couple of cups of stock (I used chicken). Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. When everything is heated through and incorporated, blend until smooth. Return it to the pan and simmer for a few mins with the lid on. DONE and DONE.

Seafood: Go to Trader Joes and purchase a frozen bag of calamari, shrimp and scallops. It all comes together and is approximately $5. For two of us, we just needed about 2/3 of the bag (the other 1/3 can be used for the leftover soup you'll surely have!). I sauteed it without bells or whistles for about 45 seconds in a hot pan. They release a ton of water. Strain off that water by quickly dumping the seafood into a colander. Meantime, add olive oil, garlic and some thyme (my plants have provided me with lots). Return seafood to pan and cook for another minute or so. Squeeze in some more lemon and viola, DEEEELISSSHH.

Questions? Concerns?

DIY food stuff.

I am obsessed with food blogs, cooking and attempting to save dough by making different, well, doughy items at home. I have been reading Serious Eats for some time and think it's just about the best round-up of recipe, book and restaurant reservations along with a healthy dose of food news. Anyway, they recently posted an article wherein the writer weighed the pros and cons of making certain items at home vs. purchasing them. She tackled bagels, jam, yogurt, cream cheese, crackers and granola. I don't have a mouth that enjoys yogurt or granola, but there is little I love more than brown food (carbos) with fats on top of them. I have no real need for bagels purchased or otherwise, but this article did get me thinking that I would like to create a large batch of pizza dough that I can divide into self servings and freeze for rather spur of the moment uses. I am dying to make a breakfast pizza. 

I have tried to freeze soup before and while I hear people do this a lot, I am never too excited about the thawed product. I am now freezing ginger and am about to start doing herb "cubes." What else can we make at home and keep for future inexpensive meal yummies?

Herb dealer.

     

For about 15 years I have wanted to create my own herb garden. I have started cooking up a storm in order to save some money (does it really save money? I feel like I am spending my non-fortune on groceries), so I have positioned myself to set upon this glorious journey. I recently moved into an apartment with a small back porch that receives TONS of sunlight, that is when the sun shows it's face in this dysweathered city. It also came with a cute plant box which contains small succulents. While I'm all for cacti, they're not adding anything to my soup. Today I journeyed to Whole Foods because they have little starter plants for $2.50.  I also procured some of these HerbBallz (best name!) which will occupy the box. Over the next few days I will be embarking on a full court herbaceous press. I will fill this planter and three or four small pots with parsley, chives, thyme, rosemary, basil and tarragon. This makes me infinitely happy. I am happy to share assuming I know you in real life and you're willing to barter. 

For some inspiration here are some websites that may help you figure out the best way to handle this project:

From Apartment Therapy, DIY, About and EHow. 

Black eyed peas sans Fergie.

This delicious mess is AMAZING and like I said, delicious. I found the recipe here and it's CHEAP. Sorry for all of the caps, it was just that yummy and SOO easy and again, delicious. Here goes:

CREAMY BLACK EYED PEA SOUP

2 T olive oil

1 tsp whole cumin seeds (my corner store had none, so I used corriander seeds and it was YUM)

salt and pepper

red pepper flakes

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 T tomato paste (though I added 2 because I like it)

1 T chopped fresh thyme

1 can black eyed peas, drained

1 c water (I would probably add 1 and a 1/2 or 2 next time)

1/4 c sour cream

You HAVE to get everything together and ready next to the stove because it comes together in a hurry. Coat the bottom of a pan with the olive oil until it's hot. Add seeds and pepper flakes, stir 30 seconds. Add garlic until golden, but don't burn those lil nuggets. Add tomato paste and keep mixing and stirring. Add thyme until wilted, keep stirring for another 30 seconds. Add peas and fry all together for 2 minutes. Add water and bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 5 mins. Add sour cream, reduce to super low heat, don't bring to a boil again. Season and serve! 

It only serves 2 people for a meal, not one of those 4 day soups. I cooked a veggie sundried tomato sausage in lil pieces and put that in the soup. YUUUMMY.

Toot toot beep beep.

This is one of my favorite soups, however I hear many people have a fear of soup made with broccoli due to the fact that...let's just say...it gives them a tummy ache. If you either have an iron gut like myself or live alone and are jobless so if your "tummy hurts" no one is there to notice. This one involves a lot of "riffing," if you will. You can really add anything you want when it comes to spices and veggies. I will italicize things that I got creative with. Word?

BROCCOFLOWER SOUP

5 c Stock (any kind you like)

5 c chopped broccoli and/or cauliflower in any ration you prefer

2 c chopped carrot

1/2 c chopped onion

spices (I used salt, pepper, dried basil, chili flakes, and this 21 flavor seasoning crap I have from Trader Joes)

1 T tomato paste

Dice veggies and add to stock. Simmer for 20 minutes and puree. It is super delicious and is relatively cheap. Yummy, right?

Kari's Carrot Ginger Soup

Another pureed soup of magic comin' atcha. For a few months I would periodically notice an (ex) coworker who would transport a vibrant container of food to the kitchen for microwaving. I would often wonder what was providing my eyes with such colorful stimulation. Then, one day she brought me the recipe! I was overjoyed the first time I made it. For one, I love finely dicing things and you get to do a lot of that with this recipe. I also like zingy bowls of healthy food that makes you full. Again, done! Here's the recipe. 

KARI'S CARROT GINGER SOUP

6 tsp salted butter

1 large yellow onion, chopped finely

1/4 c ginger, chopped finely

3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

4 cups stock of your choice

1 c dry white wine

1 1/2 lb carrots, chopped roughly

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper

sour cream on top, if you'd like

Melt butter, add onion, garlic and ginger and saute for 15 to 20 minutes until it is soft and smelling delicious. add stock, wine, lemon juice and chopped carrots. Heat to boil and cook for 45 minutes or so. Leave uncovered so it has a chance to reduce a bit. Puree the soup in your blender according to the no lid stopper/towel rule. 

There is a lot of leeway here. You can add more ginger, less ginger, add some curry powder, eat it all in one batch or share it with friends.

Yummy!

I am a firm believer in soup. It obviously exists and it is seriously delicious while also being extremely inexpensive. Usually by the time you have eaten the whole pot for several consecutive meals you will hate that soup and will need another on hand. The good news is, that hatred subsides and you can return to said soup at a later time. I would like to use this blog as a forum for soup lovers, unemployed or not. Please feel free to email me (erinleighbrownATgmail.dot.com) with recipes, photos of your creations and any ideas on cheap eats that can be made in a large pot. Here is the first of many delicious baby food-like treats for your poor, yet discerning palate. 

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND BROWN BUTTER SAGE SOUP

1 large butternut squash

1 bunch of sage (10-12 leaves. the more the better, really)

2 TBS of butter (if you want to turn the soup into liquid crack and you're skinny, add more)

1 box (4 cups?) stock (i use veggie but feel free to meat it up)

salt and pepper (to taste, as they say)

Halve the squash and bake it for about an hour on a cookie sheet. I like to sprinkle mine with olive oil, salt and pepper. Let it cool. Meantime, melt the butter in a soup sized pot. When it's foamyish add the sage and stir it until it smells like magic and turns slightly brown. If you time this right you can then add the squash straight away. Scoop out the guts of the squashy beast and add them to the pot. Stir the pasty creation that you now have. Add the stock and heat for about 5 mins. Let it cool for a few minutes and add it to the blender without that middle piece in the lid. Instead cover that hole with a kitchen towel. Blend it until your blender starts to smell like a burning motor (maybe that's just mine). Dump it back in the pot and try not to eat it all standing up in the kitchen.

These sound like inexact instructions but that is because this soup is really that hard to mess up. And it tastes yummy with toasty pitas or sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts and other accouterments you may have laying around. Yummy!