Throughout these strange months of limited activity, I, like many people, have turned to the kitchen for comfort and distraction. I haven’t been cooking quite as much as I thought I would, and its been a bit of a rollercoaster of success and failure. For myself, I’ve made hamburgers, hot dogs and rich pastas, I’ve been known to have chips and dip for dinner, I’ve made … [Read more...] about Fennel Vichyssoise
Soup
Lemon, Dill and White Bean Chicken Soup
I always think of January as soup month. Apparently, it is actual National Soup Month. Soup is so warm and comforting, and it is really simple to whip up a delicious pot of flavor. Sometimes I go for a hearty, thick and creamy soup, but a lighter version always fits in with those forts of the year pledges to get healthy. This soup is a nice bright bowl of sunshine in the dreary … [Read more...] about Lemon, Dill and White Bean Chicken Soup
Roasted Fennel Soup with Fennel Parmesan Toast
I love the magic of soup. With such a few ingredients you can create richly flavored and complex bowls of delight. And those bowls can be elegant and sophisticated or hearty and homey. I make this soup while I’m doing other things in the kitchen – cut the vegetables and roast them while putting the dishes away, simmer them in the broth while making a grocery list, blitz it all … [Read more...] about Roasted Fennel Soup with Fennel Parmesan Toast
Smoky Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Stew
As the New Year starts, we turn again to our black-eyed peas for luck. I usually go for something traditionally Southern, but every once in a while, I like to ring the changes and spice things up. This hearty stew has all the cold-weather comfort of old-fashioned Southern black-eyed peas with a fantastic hit of smoke and spice. I’ll admit, I am mostly a … [Read more...] about Smoky Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Stew
Salmorejo (Chilled Spanish Tomato Soup) with Frozen Olive Oil
Salmorejo is gazpacho’s simpler cousin. It’s a fresh, chilled tomato soup without the added peppers, cucumbers and other business found in gazpacho. I’m not a huge fan of gazpacho, because it varies so wildly and people seem to put all kinds of crazy ingredients in it. You never know what you are going to get. But Salmorejo is right up my alley. I first … [Read more...] about Salmorejo (Chilled Spanish Tomato Soup) with Frozen Olive Oil
