Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Local Soup

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When people think of roller derby, I doubt the first thing that comes to mind is “family.” 

 

Families beat each other up…

However, one of the biggest components of my league is the family aspect.  Becoming one of the Atlanta Rollergirls = 80+ new family members.

Getting injured is a great reminder of that!  From the calls/emails/texts to the treats courtesy of a league-mate and baker, I feel like one lucky girl.

Last night I received another special delivery.  This was from my teammate, Polly Atomic, and Local 3. Local 3 is one of the newest restaurants in Atlanta and has received some rave reviews.  Lucky me – Polly and her husband, Chris Hall, are a couple of the founders of this fine establishment. 🙂

The delivery?

2 massive containers of soup: Creamy Tomato and Creamy Butternut Squash.

Chris even included straws!

 

I couldn’t decide which soup to try first… and then I thought

“Why limit yourself to eating one at a time?”

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Polly, Chris, and the awesome kitchen at Local 3!

Local 3 is definitely my first stop when chewing resumes!

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In honor of Valentine’s Day, I brought Mom some treats from International Bakery.

It is this little hole-in-the-wall Greek Bakery with a curmudgeon of a man behind the register and baklava so fantastic it could make you cry.

This dreamy box of goodness was a big hit.  At least I hear it was good…

The trip did include a treat for me.  This Greek bakery also carries a few authentic packaged goods, straight from Greece.  I came home with a big tub of authentic Greek yogurt!  OMG – it is so, so good.  American Greek yogurt is good, but this is much ticker and rich – almost like eating a dessert.

***

I can’t wait to chew.

What is your favorite tiny local find? 

Any cool ethic bakeries/shops to do some International food shopping?


Wild Mushroom Soup

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Many, many people have (thankfully) already blogged about the It Gets Better Project.

It began in 2010, when there seemed to be an epidemic of kids taking their lives after being bullied (many for being gay).  This project is aimed at showing young people that life DOES get better.

Growing up it hard, but getting to the the other side is so worth it.  I promise.

Here is a video of the Cincinnati Rollergirls; more awesome people who’ve known what it is to be bullied, and are living proof that It Gets Better.

Speaking of growing up…

One of the strangest phenomena for me as a 20-something involves my taste buds.  Most of my life I’ve been the pickiest eater to walk this Earth.  At my pickiest, I didn’t even like cheese (too bad that couldn’t have stuck!).

Other items I refused to ingest:

  • ANY cooked veggie
  • Legumes
  • Ketchup
  • French fries
  • Fast food
  • Seafood
  • Red meat
  • Tofu
  • Mexican food (what was I thinking?!)
  • Asian food
  • Coffee
  • Sweet tea
  • Gin (thanks to an unfortunate experience)

Sometime around my about 24th birthday I developed a love of avocados and kalamata olives.  That was just the beginning!

At the ripe ‘ol age of 27, I crave: spinach, winter squash, tofu, chickpeas, coffee, MEXICAN… just about everything on the previous list.

Things I still don’t like:

  • Seafood
  • Certain cooked veggies (potatoes, yellow squash, carrots)
  • Ketchup
  • Fast food (with the exception of Chick-fil-a)
  • Sweet tea
  • Gin (it was a really bad experience)

My favorite 20-something taste bud find would have to be mushrooms.  Truffles, morels, shiitakes, hen of the woods… you name the ‘shroom, I probably have positively passionate feelings about it.  (No, not the magical ones…)

This has been paid for by the Council of Mushroom-love.

I can’t chew them right now, but I can slurp them!  This soup was earthy and rich.  It is a thicker soup, but you can add water/more broth as needed.  I like the thickness – it feels more like chewing.

Mushrooms are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free and low in sodium.  They provide nutrients such as: selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D, and calcium.

Wild Mushroom Soup

by Laura Hall

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Keywords: soup/stew gluten-free low-carb vegan vegetarian soy-free leek mushroom fall winter

Ingredients (4 servings)

  • 3 C wild mushrooms (portabella, oyster, morels, etc), roughly chopped
  • 2 leeks, chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 1/4 C white onion, diced
  • 1 T EVOO
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/4 C vermouth cooking wine
  • 1/2 C veggie broth
  • 2 T goat butter (use coconut butter to make it vegan!)
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
  • S & P to taste

Instructions

In medium pot, saute first 5 ingredients until tender, about 10 mins. Add garlic during the last 5 mins, so as not to burn it.

Add remaining ingredients, seasoning to taste with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth.

Ladle in bowls and top with grated cheese (Gruyere or a nutty parmesan-esque cheese is delish) and freshly ground black pepper. I would have used black truffle shavings or truffle oil if I had it!

Powered by Recipage

***

Thankfully, my sister grew out of picking her nose… 😉

Have you grown out of something funny/odd?

Roasted Soup

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One of my favorite things to do is catch an improve show.  

 

Atlanta is lucky to have a variety of great places to see improv.

This naturally translates into my love of improv cooking.

During my Farmer’s Market raid, I purchased a poblano pepper with the intention of trying my hand at stuffed peppers.  The whole jaw thing interfered with that plan, but I did have a red pepper, jalapenos, lots of fresh garlic, roasted tomatoes…

Whose line is it?  Roasted Pepper-Garlic-Tomato Soup!

 

And a beer ’cause this smoothness is SPICY.  A cold one is tasty and refreshing with a little heat!

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale is awesome, btw.  Nutty, rich flavor without being too heavy.

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Roasted Pepper-Garlic-Tomato Soup

  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 poblano pepper
  • 2 jalapeno peppers
  • 1 green pepper
  • 2 heads of garlic
  • 2 T EVOO
  • 3/4 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 C vegetable stock
  • 28 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 2 T balsamic vinegar
  • Fresh rosemary
  • Fresh parsley
  • S & P, to taste
  • Water, as needed

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.  Prepare garlic heads to roast (great “how to” here) and rubbing exposed top lightly with EVOO and wrapping in foil. Lightly coat peppers with EVOO.  Place garlic and peppers on foil-lined baking sheet and roast in oven for 45-60 mins, rotating peppers occasionally to be sure all sides roast.

Meanwhile, heat 1T EVOO in large pot.  Dice onion, add to pot, sauteing for 8-9 mins (until translucent).  Add tomatoes and broth, stirring to combine.

When peppers and garlic are done roasting, remove and allow to cool a bit.  Remove seeds from the peppers (if you like it spicy, leave some jalapeno seeds behind… I did) and remove their charred skins.  Chop peppers roughly and squeeze roasted garlic out of shells into the soup.

Add herbs and balsamic, stir, and cook 5-10 mins more before pureeing with an immersion blender or regular blender.  Add water as needed, depending on how thick you’d like soup to be.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Heat through and allow flavors to combine, adjusting as spices as needed.

Serve, garnishing with grated cheese of your choice, parsley, drizzle of olive oil, sour cream, etc.

It’s also tasty with some hummus mixed in (and cuts the heat if you made it a teensy bit too hot – not that I did that).

***

Who has fun weekend plans?  Is the anything random your city has a lot of?

Atlanta definitely has the market cornered on improv!

.


Hummus with a Spoon

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Last night I made hummus.  

 

Not an uncommon occurance, as I eat it in embarassing quantities.

THIS hummus was special though.  It’s hummus that is acceptable to eat with a spoon.  Who knew the slurp-life could be so good?!

 

The concept was from this recipe found on Oh She Glows.

Hummus soup is great for several reasons: great nutritionals (thanks to the musical fruit), good fats from the peanut butter and oil, and it is super-filling (something I’m quickly coming to appreciate in my delicate condition).

I ate the leftovers for lunch today.  Like many soups, it’s even better after the flavore have a chance to meld together!

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Hummus Soup

  • 1 T EVOO
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped
  • 1 medium zucchini, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 T fresh lemon juice
  • 2 15-oz cans of chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and skinned
  • 1 C vegetable stock (I used full-sodium)
  • 2 C water
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 T peanut butter
  • 1/4 C fresh parsley
  • S & P (to taste)

 

Heat EVOO in medium skillet.  Add in onion and heat over medium until just beginning to become translucent.

Add in zucchini and sautee until slightly softened.  Add minced garlic, reduce heat to low to avoid burning.  Let cook, stirring occasionally for 5-6 mins.  

Add garam masala, a pinch of salt, bay leaves, pepper, and fresh lemon juice.  Stir to continue to cook over low heat for 4-5 mins.

Meanwhile, combine vegetable broth, 1 C water, sesame oil, and chickpeas in medium pot.  Stir well and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer for 8-10 mins.

Remove bay leaves and add onion mixture and peanut butter to chickpea pot.  Cook for 5-7 mins, allowing flavors to combine.  Add remaining cup of water as needed.  Mix parsley in the last 1-2 mins, stirring to combine.

Pour the soup mixture into a blender and blend until smooth, or use immersion blender to combine.

Pour into bowls and garnish with lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, feta cheese, and/or olive tapenade.  Serve immediately.  Makes 4 cups (4-ish servings).

Note: I added roasted red pepper olive oil and red pepper flakes as my soup was cooking.  I like it HOT.

Next time I’d add some rosemary and probably leave out the bay leaves.  I’d also like to try it with some roasted eggplant.

***

What’s your favorite smooth dessert?

I’m over vanilla ice cream and I can’t eat the chunks in my favorite fudge brownie.

 

Avocado Quinoa

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Two important items in today’s news:

  1. Apparently we are getting SNOW tonight in the South (boooo hiss)
  2. I finally got a new camera!!!

Good-bye fuzzy cell phone pictures.  Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.

The new addition is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3.

I have NO idea how to use it (you’ll see what I mean with the pics below…).

Even more awesome is the deal I got on it: $23 through an auction site!!!

It didn’t come with a cable… details, details…

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If you’ve read much of my blog, you have probably noticed that I think Angela @ Oh She Glows is brilliant.  I’ve never made anything of hers that I didn’t like love.

In keeping with my recipe pack rat rehab, I tried one of her newer recipes.  It still counts!  I already had it bookmarked on Delicious. 🙂

Her Creamy Avocado Pasta is reminiscent of an alfredo sauce-covered pasta.

I took her recipe, reduced it by half (half my avocado was bad.  fail.), changed up the pasta, and added a little spice.

She claims it is a 15 minute recipe… she’s right.  The only “cooking” involved is the pasta of your choosing!

Here are the details, with my minor edits.

Creamy Avocado Quinoa

  • 1/4 lemon, juiced
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
  • 1/2 jalapeno, seeded
  • 1 T EVOO
  • 1/4 C fresh basil (+ some for garnish)
  • 1 small-sized ripe avocado (or 1/2 a medium)
  • 2 servings (1/2 C uncooked) quinoa
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cook quinoa according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, place garlic clove, lemon juice, salt, jalapeno, and olive oil into a food processor.  Process until smooth.  Then add avocado, basil, and salt.  Blend until smooth and creamy.

When quinoa is done, place pasta into a bowl, add sauce, and toss until fully combined.  Garnish with basil and black pepper.

Serve immediately.  Makes 2 servings.

Note: Next time I do it, I’ll top with red pepper flakes too (I like a lot of spice).  Also, Angela noted that it doesn’t keep well due to the avocado.  I’ll let you know tomorrow. 🙂

***

Do you have a go-to site for recipes?

Like I need more bookmarks… 😉

Inspiration

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Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day!  It was nice to have a reprieve from the cold and ice even if it is grey and raining today.  I ran around the park before dinner and it was almost too crowded to run.  People-watching FTW.

Speaking of watching…

My friend Courtney shared a link to Food Gawker in the comments section yesterday.

I’ve long been a fan of the site, but it was a great reminder to visit another awesome sight: Food Porn Daily.

If you can look here without getting excited… kudos to you my friend. Don’t judge me. 🙂

It is from these sites, restaurant menus, and other blogs that I get the most  inspiration.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a dish in one of these resources and run to the store for ingredients to make my own version.

Source: citynoise.com

Yesterday was one of those “buy all of these items you’ve been wishing you had on hand” days.  We have a massive Farmer’s Market in Atlanta that has fantastic prices on veggies, spices, and wine.  This place is epic.  It is such a zoo so impressive that they have a strict “no cameras” policy.

It is easy to get carried away in there… and I’m proof.  I live alone.  There is NO reason I should leave there with more than $50 in groceries.  Yesterday I almost hit $100.

In my defense, I was out of a lot of the basics.

And apparently I’ve been reading a lot of Indian recipes lately.

Garam Masala, curry, tumeric, cinnamon, coconut, ginger, tahini, chickpeas, chickpea flour (99 cents for a large container!)… it is going to be a fun week for cooking!

This is also going to work perfectly with my Recipe Pack Rat goals (does anyone else think “Rat Pack” when reading that?) – I have 5 Indian recipes saved and I already vowed to make Spicy Roasted Chickpeas.

I also would LOVE to try may hand at dessert hummus (how did I not think of this?!) by Evan at The Wannabe Chef.

Sunday morning I may have to try a Michelada. Thank you for a non-tomato hangover cure alternative, Tami @ Running with Tweezers.

Also purchased: a few squash varieties, wonton wrappers, pumpkin puree, San Marzano tomatos, too many oranges, bananas, jalapenos, poblanos, avocados, garlic, onion, kale, spelt flour, yeast, lentils, soba noodles, almonds, hazelnuts, dates, and roasted red peppers.

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Suggestions for how to use all of this are welcome. 🙂

Butternut Squash Drop Biscuits

By

For such a “blah” weather week, it sure is flying by!  I can’t believe it is Wednesday already!

I even have things to look forward to: much-needed massage tonight (thank you, Half-Off Depot), a rare 2 evenings free of plans (nevermind that I’m going to have to work), a nectar of the gods wine tasting Friday, and an awesome road-trip Saturday. 🙂

Do you find that the week tends to drag when you have fun plans?

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Like many items I’ve made lately, these biscuits were borne out of the need to use some ingredients in my fridge.

I made butternut squash a few days ago and needed to use the remainder along with my last big sprig of rosemary.  It seems everyone has been making sweet potato biscuits lately.  So I said to myself, “Self, why not make a butternut squash version?”

Enter: Butternut Squash-Rosemary Drop Biscuits

Added bonus: these are VEGAN if you use Earth Balance in place of the butter!

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Butternut-Squash Rosemary Drop Biscuits

  • 1 C white whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur)
  • 1/4 C pastry flour
  • 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 T salted butter, chilled
  • 1 C mashed roasted butternut squash
  • 1/2 C applesauce
  • 1/4 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 T maple syrup
  • 2 T fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander

Preheat oven to 450F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift flours, baking powder and salt into a medium mixing bowl.  Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or your hands until you have a crumbly mixture.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together butternut squash, applesauce, almond milk, maple syrup and coriander until smooth.  Fold in the dry ingredients until just mixed.

Drop the dough onto baking sheet by the spoonful (~2 T), leaving about an inch between the biscuits.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 mins, or until lightly golden.

Makes 14 medium-sized biscuits.

Approx. Nutritional Info: 81 calories, 3.6 g fat, 11.7 g carbohydrates, 1.7 g fiber, 1.7 g sugar, 1.6 g protein.

These are also loaded with Vitamin A!

***

Almost massage time!

What’s your favorite “treat” to look forward to?

Chili Tuesday Tofu

By

This may be a sign of weakness… but I am COLD!

Thank god I don’t live in Boston.

Down South is is rainy, dark, and cold.  Someone please remind me of this when it is July and I’m whining about the heat.

After a looong day at work, I was excited to get going with round 1 of yesterday’s recipe intervention!  Tonight I heated things up with a version of the Nutty Spicy Tofu from Foodie Fresh.

I know I said it would be to cookies, but I was short on time.  And avocados.

Based on preference and ingredients, I did make a few adjustments.  Baked tofu is almost fluffy, and I love the nut butter with the spice.  This was damn good!

Aren’t you guys loving the blurry cell phone pics?

Chili Nutty Tofu (revised)

Cut the tofu in half horizontally and press the tofu for 30 mins to an hour to remove water.

Mix the remaining ingredients (except the lime) in a medium bowl.  Cut the tofu into cubes, add to marinade, and allow to marinate in refrigerator overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Cook the tofu on the baking sheet for 25 minutes.

Serve with sticky rice, cilantro, and lime slices.

And Japanese beer. 🙂

***

Verdict: Amazing!  I have never baked tofu before (I always make it in a grill pan) and it turned out really well.  The marinade gave it a good crust on the outside and the flavors complimented each other perfectly.  I may add some orange zest next time for a little extra citrus zing!

Off to derby practice again!  I wish I had a camera so I could post a pic of the killer bruise on my butt/upper hip. 🙂

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