boxed soup

when i was a kid, i wasn't allowed to eat a lot of junk. but everytime i got sick, my mama would make me boxed chicken noodle soup with dumplings. and there was something about the salty, fake chicken goodness and those dinky noodles combined with egg dumplings that always made me feel better. and i needed some of that today.
because.



i have pink eye. and i think you can tell just how happy i am about that.

so here you go. crappy chicken noodle soup with dumplings. now i'm going to sit down and watch rocky iv because it seems fitting and it's the one where pauly gets a robot and i really like robots and i don't care what you think. so there.



look how yellow it is! don't you feel better already?

dumplings

one egg
splash of milk
enough flour to make dropping consistency

drop into simmering soup. remove from heat and serve when dumplings rise to the top.

stupid pink eye makes seeing hard.

not-so-sour grapes

so jill dupleix was bangin' on about roasted grapes this month and i was all like "roasted grapes? what's all that about?". and then i was on my way home after skipping yoga cos my shoulder's all messed up and i took a little detour to the brand spanking new konsum on alaunstraße, picked up a little lamb and headed on out to herr green grocer. two minutes later i had a bunch of rocket in my hand and the dude behind the counter was "noch etwas?"ing me. i started to say no but then! a bunch of red globes caught my eye and the whole world lit on fire.

anyways, to cut a long story less long, i roasted those babies with half a red onion cut in wedges, a little salt and pepper and a slosh of balsamic vinegar for twenty minutes. then i doused them in white wine, threw in a bay leaf and gave them another twenty. i grilled my lamb nice and rare on the griddle pan and let it rest for ten while i made a little salad of spinach, rocket, finely sliced fennel and sheep's milk feta.

can i tell you how good those goddamn grapes tasted? holy shit. the pan-juiciness of it all sent me into conniptions. true. there is nothing more to say. except that very good, aged balsamic vinegar is an extravagance whose value i have begun to fathom.

barcelona next week baby. i will share the food love as soon as i hit the ground. give my love to miss linda.

the hudson bay used to own part of my country


now they sell me pretty bowls. i got two of the beauties below along with two gorgeous blue denby cups and a pretty mustard creamer/mini-pitcher for 22 bucks. that's, like, 15 euros. it was a soup-er sale. (groan)




roasted eggplant soup

one eggplant
three medium tomatoes
a small onion
six cloves of garlic

halve everything (except garlic)
brush with olive oil.
roast about 45 minutes (425)

then put in pot with 4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable if your boyfriend's a carrot)
simmer until onions nice and soft.
puree in batches

grate some parmesan into bottom of bowls
ladle soup on top
squirt in some fresh lemon juice (soup-er important)


six cloves of garlic is potent. you are warned.


ps - the hudson bay company (now like sears) really did own my country. you can read about it here.

british columbi-icious


last night, my kitchen was invaded by british columbians (vancouver, surrey, fernie), and i had nothing to ward them off with but a rolling pin, a cheese grater and some remedial ninja skills. what was a poor, hannah-sized gal to do?
these helped.





pumpkin tortelli

preheat oven to 350. put 4 cups pumpkin (chopped) in a roasting pan, drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil, cover with foil and bake for about 1 hour. puree in food processor, and mix in a medium-sized boil with lots of parmesan, 2 eggs (lightly beaten), salt and pepper. add enough bread crumbs to make a fairly firm mixture. roll out pasta and stamp out 3-inch rounds. spoon a little bit of filling into the centre of each round, fold in half, and crimp edges. cook in a large pan of salted boiling water for 10 minutes. Serve with sage butter and extra parmesan.

adam and emily got me the world's greatest cookbook for my birthday (the silver spoon), and i've been powering through its deliciousness ever since. (see: the incredible amount of italian food i've made lately)

a-n-d! i've now decided to only have dinner parties that are based on geography.