Life is in the details

Recipe: Cheddar and Broccoli Soup

lisacohen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:05:00 -0500

I made this soup for dinner last night (served with some crusty bread and an orange spinach salad with some slivered almonds on top - the soup and bread was so filling that we didn't even get to the salad - we packed it up to have sometime today) and it was delicious! In fact, every recipe I have made from Vegetable Soups so far has been really good. One of the things I love about this book, besides the recipes (I seem to be very compatible with Deborah Madison's flavor profiles/palette) is the photos and the pottery that she collects and serves the soup up in for this book - just beautiful! I also love that she suggests wine/beer pairings. So while I opted for water, as is my usual all-occasion drink of choice, I suggested Mike have beer with this as it pairs nicely with the cheddar. This is a stick-to-your-ribs soup. Perfect for a cold evening after a long day.

Cheddar and Broccoli Soup

Source: Vegetable Soups by Deborah Madison

Makes 6 cups

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds of broccoli

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons butter or canola oil

1 onion, chopped

1 celery rib, celery diced and leaves chopped

1/2 pound yellow-fleshed potato (such as Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn), peeled unless organic, and diced

1 plump garlic clove, chopped

1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste

Aromatics: 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, 1 bay leaf, 1 pinch of dried thyme

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup milk, light cream, or reserved cooking water from cooked broccoli (optional)

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, or to taste

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Bread for dipping (Rye or whole wheat bread, toasted is Deborah Madison's suggestion)

Directions

Separate the crowns from the broccoli stems, then separate the crowns into florets. You should have at least 4 cups or a little extra. Thickly peel the stems, quarter them, and chop them into small pieces, yielding a cup or so. Bring a quart of water to a boil and add 1 scant teaspoon salt and the broccoli florets. Cook for about 3 minutes, then scoop out the florets, reserving the water. Rinse under cool water and set aside.
Melt the butter in a soup pot and add the onion, celery, potato, broccoli stems, garlic, and cayenne. Cooke over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring now and then. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, stir in the flour, then pour in 3 cups of the reserved water from the broccoli, saving any remainder. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, until the potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the milk/cream/broccoli water if needed to thin the soup. During the last few minutes, add the florets and allow them to heat through.
Remove the bay leaf and then puree the soup using an immersion blender (you could use a blender and when you are done, return the mixture to the pot). Stir in the mustard, then taste for salt and season with pepper. Just before serving, stir in the cheese, but don't let the soup boil or else the cheese will toughen. Serve with the toast on the side or broken in the soup.

STS: Mesocycle Two, Week 1

lisacohen — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:14:00 -0500

Monday, November 2, 2009 - STS Disc #13 (Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps)

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 -Spinervals Competition 28.0

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 - STS Disc #14 (Legs)

Thursday, November 5, 2009 - abs (was supposed to do cardio but didn't have it in me - very tired and legs are extremely sore - walking around today like I am 90 years old)

Friday, November 6, 2009 - STS Disc #15 (Back & Biceps), cycling on the indoor trainer (33 minutes to make up for yesterday's missed cardio)

Saturday, November 7, 2009 -indoor cycling + abs

Sunday, November 8, 2009 - recovery

well stocked

lisacohen — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:41:00 -0500

I can eat without leaving my house for at least three weeks. Don't believe me? Check out what's in my freezer:

The kids are very excited that I'm making them have the homemade ice cream that I made, and that we promptly forgot about, every night this week for dessert. And then we need to work on the little ice creams that they give the kids as part of their meal when they go to Burtucci's. We have to get this stuff outta here before it's too cold to EAT ice cream. And Mike's thrilled about the brisket. He's getting that at least once a week until it's gone (which I know he will savor since there have been too many unwelcome vegetables and way too little red meat crossing his path lately, thanks to me).

Tomorrow I'll be meal planning for the week with this list in-hand!

impromptu leaf frame

lisacohen — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:41:04 -0500

Happy Birthday BURT!!

Today is my mom's boyfriend's birthday and so I am wishing him a very happy day! Burt, if you're reading this, we will call you later when we are all together... otherwise we'd be bugging you 4 separate times today since all of us are going in different directions at the moment. We love you!

The best kind of art projects are the ones the kids come up with themselves. As we were walking back from dropping Jessi off at school yesterday morning, Ryan started collecting various shapes and colors of leaves and announced that he wanted to make a leaf picture frame. So when we got back home that's exactly what we did.

Then he drew a picture to go in the frame. Voila!

Yesterday I also made a VERY YUMMY soup for dinner which I can't wait to have for lunch. I keep looking at the clock wishing time would move a little faster because I'm starving! I started cleaning out the spice racks yesterday - tossing old dusty-smelling spices that I haven't used - and took inventory of our freezers. This was a cold, large undertaking. I. have. so. much. food. stuffed. into. those. freezers. Photos of the list that I made of all the contents coming tomorrow!

Today the plan is to stay warm!, respond to two of my flagged email messages (because that's my way of whittling that group of emails down), work on a layout from Ali E's Yesterday and Today class (the Becoming layout option for those of you that are also in her class), continue moving books off the kids' shelves in prep for new carpet (which may or may not ever actually arrive!! We are a little ticked off at the carpet place, but that's another story for another time)

Review: Love Soup by Anna Thomas (so far)

lisacohen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:26:13 -0500

Love Soup: 160 All-New Vegetarian Recipes from the Author of the Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas

This is the new book in my cookbook collection. I think it's because as soon as the weather hinted it's autumnal crispness to come I started craving soup in a big way. I've been browsing through this and so far I think it's very approachable and I really love that it's separated into seasons. So I can focus on the fall and winter soups for the next few months and go to my winter farmer's market and use what I see there. The author is very flexible in some of the ingredients and offers a variety of homemade stocks which I plan on making as soon as I clear out my freezers because right now there is absolutely NO room. I agree with the author's suggestion that if you are new to cooking or feel like you can't cook, SOUP is a great place to start. I would give it 5 stars for inspiration so far and making my mouth water... but I have to withhold an official rating until I test-drive a few recipes. So stay tuned. :-)I want to try

Green Soup or Green Soup with Mushrooms (this will probably be the first one since I'm very intrigued by it)
Sopa de Poblanos
Pickle Soup
Sopa de Ajo (Garlic Soup)
Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
Old Fashioned Split Pea Soup
Mushroom-Barley Soup with Cabbage
Fennel and Onion Soup

And that's just from the Fall and Winter Soups. I haven't looked at the Spring and Summer Soups yet.There is also a section on things to serve with soup to make it a more substantial meal like breads, popovers, biscuits, parmesan and fennel biscotti, hummus, pestos, salsa (I really want to try the Table Salsa recipe which uses three different kinds of chile peppers), spiced nuts, salads, and even desserts.

Also on my "soup want to cook" list are a few from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Soups book:

Broccoli Cheddar Soup - this is likely tonight's dinner
Garden Soup with Cauliflower & Kale
Quinoa, Corn, and Spinach Chowder

Boy, I sure am hungry!! I've been wanting to have a monthly soup night at our house for years ever since first reading about this idea in Cooking Light long ago. I'd make two pots of different soups and invite friends over to gather and eat.. it would be a potluck in that our guests would bring something small that would be good with soup... a loaf of bread, a salad, a wedge of cheese, a bottle of wine, etc. Fall is a great time to start this and this book might just make it happen! View all my reviews >>

Digital Scrapbooking Layout: Party Time (8th Birthday Party)

lisacohen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:31:00 -0500

Journaling:
Originally your 8th birthday party was schedule for your actual birthday but we had to postpone it a week because we all caught the flu the week before. The party was held at Pump It Up (like last year) and you requested I bake a chocolate zucchini cake with butter cream frosting, but Daddy didn’t think it’d be enough so that morning we went out and you picked out a second cake which we gave to most of your friends (but you wanted the cake I baked for you - have I told you how much I love ya lately!??). Your best friend Kirsten (and her sister Katelyn) was able to come as were many of your closest friends (and their siblings) like Jordan & Lauren B., Julia & Jack F., Mattison & Jake & Nick B., Madison G. Rachel S., Esther & Miriam, Ainsley & Chelsea, Tali & Cale, Marie, and others (including Paula, Bill, & Erik). We all had a great time at your party and going down the slides and jumping around to the songs on your “favorites” playlist. Gotta love being able to just plug in the iPod and go! Your favorite presents this year were the huge gel pen set, art supplies, earrings (!!), and Webkinz. August 8, 2009.

Fonts: Adobe Caslon Pro (journaling, Facelift (title)

Credits: background paper by Nancie Rowe Janitz, frame with tied ribbon by Kathryn Balint, transparent butterfly by Lili, sequin edges by Rachel Young, tied button (recolored) and circle border accent from the Pink Frosting Collection (Design it Forward) all available at ScrapArtist.com, inked edges and label (recolored) by Jen Wilson of Jen Wilson Designs

Review: Spinervals Competition 28.0 Aero Base Builder VI

lisacohen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:34:50 -0500

I've been dragging. Last week was my active recovery rest week because I got sick. Go figure... I was at the pediatrician's office three times in three weeks and the ER once. I must have put on my Germ-o-Vision glasses because everywhere I looked I saw germs. On the chair, on the garbage can, on the patient table, on the check-in pen (I half wanted to grab the mini-pen I keep in my pint-sized purse). But I knew that doing so, and no matter how many times I washed my hands or used the magic gel and magic wipes, there was no avoiding breathing the same air as those that were there for their sick appointment. The good thing is that I feel that I got off easy. It could have been so much worse. I ended up going through a few boxes of tissues, lacking in the energy department, going to bed early, and whipping up my get-well-soon tea+agave nectar and was able to make it through the day just fine. I managed to do yoga twice but that was it!

This week I started back up with STS and am on Mesocycle 2, Week 1 (weekly update post to come next week). Today was a cardio day and I knew that I wasn't going to get to a spinning class because (a) the kids are off from school and I'm NOT putting them in the gym nursery so they can get sick AGAIN! and (b) I've been avoiding the classes there because I can't seem to be ready and make it to the class after dropping Ryan off at preschool I think I might be becoming antisocial.

I just finished the Spinerval Competition 28.0 Aero Base Builder VI cycling DVD (with my bike still set up in the kids' art room and them right in front of me collaborating on a story and typing it into their computer)... and it was just what I needed today.

All the previous Spinervals DVDs have been gut-wrenching interval workouts that really push me to my limits and get my heart rate into an anaerobic zone and leave me spent. I knew that there was no way I could handle that today so I popped in this baby which promised to be a lower intensity workout. Lower intensity at home on an indoor bike sounds like it could be boring (and it was when I was doing it on my own two weeks ago). Working out at a lower-intensity allows you to stay within an aerobic heart rate zone and is very important for building a good cardiovascular foundation. This good endurance base is what is needed before going on to more advanced workouts like the intervals and longer training distances. The DVD jacket says that the tape is 60 minutes but it's really 55 minutes... though if you throw your own stretching on the end, which I do (and I highly recommend), and which you need to do, since like all of the rest of the Spinervals that I've tried, do not include a stretching section, then it would come to a solid 60 minutes.

The goal with this DVD is to keep the effort at 75-80% for most of the workout, a do-able and non-threatening level and there's enough gear shifting and cadence changes to keep it interesting. I loved being able to choose my own gearing for this workout and focus on the cadence. Usually Coach Troy will tell you what gears you should be in (or what level for spin bikes in the newer DVDs) so this was a nice change. I also really enjoyed the is-he-crazy?-oh-no!-look the two girls that are behind Coach Troy exchange as he announces the last set in the workout. Classic.

I was sweating a ton from this DVD and feel like I got a very good, solid workout that will still allow me to walk up the stairs function as a normal human being today. It was a fun workout that went by quickly and I'm really glad I ended up purchasing this one since it will be a good change-up from all gut-busting interval ones and it is one that look forward to doing again. Doing only high-intensity is like buying a ticket to the land of overtraining.... no thank you!

Spinervals Competition 28.0 Workout Breakdown

Warmup

8 x (60 sec @ 70-80 rpm cadence, 20 sec recovery)

1 minute recovery

12 x (45 sec @ 80-90 rpm cadence, 15 sec recovery)

1 minute recovery

16 x (30 sec @ ~100 rpm cadence, 10 sec recovery)

1 minute recovery

20 x (15 sec @ 100+ rpm cadence, 5 sec recovery)

Cooldown

Total Workout time: 55 minutes

Today continues our internationl lunch tour. Since the kids had yesterday and have today off from school we are giving our tastebuds a treat. Yesterday it was the delicious Indian buffet and today we head to Thai. Later we have dentist appointment for all three of us.... and then we have to stock up on food. Wegman's here we come! Some book shelves are calling my name ("Lisa, clean me off so when the carpet guys stop stalling and are finally ready to lay down our carpter they can move me" I can hear them whisper.). Let's see if I am going to answer them today or wait until tomorrow.

lettuce begin

lisacohen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:15:00 -0500

Last week I planted some mesclun lettuce seeds that I had been meaning to do for a few weeks. Lettuce seeds tend not to be good after the year that I buy it so I put my counter to good use and will hopefully balance out the bad karma that I have likely accumulated killing some ants that have found their way inside our home. The little lettuce sprouts on my counter are already so much bigger than they are when I took this last week.

Digital Scrapbooking Layout: Stripey

lisacohen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:26:00 -0500

Yep, another one from the vault, newly discovered about a lovey that is still with us but not needed as much these days. The photos and the journaling were from a time in Ry's life during 2007 & 2008.

Journaling:
Stripey the cat is a Lil’ Kiz stuffed animal that Jessica bought for you as a gift with her allowance. You have become quite attached to Stripey. You bring her everywhere with you these days, whether it’s a ride to the library or to a restaurant for dinner (though Stripey waits in the car for you while you’re at preschool; you don’t really want to share her with others and the risk of leaving her at school). And if she isn’t by your side at night, we have to search all over the house to find out where the curious cat has gone off to. Stripey is definitely one of your favorite things!

Fonts: Love Ya Like a Sister (title), Adobe Caslon Pro (journaling)

Credits: template design including corner doodles and bracket doodles by Lili (ScrapArtist), damask paper (used in corners and as a paper strip behind photos) by Aja Abney (ScrapArtist), all other papers including background paper and metal stars by Jen Wilson

a game that we love

lisacohen — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:27:00 -0400

Ryan received Quick Chess as a birthday present from our friends, The Feldman's, and it's great way to introduce little ones all of the different pieces and their movements. It contains good instructions for many different games most of which isolate one particular chess piece and use to play a game so that you can get a feel for which ways pawns are allowed to move, rooks, queens, etc. We are still in the beginner phase with this and I think as far as we've gotten is the game that uses the king and the queen only. We are making our way to the other games as the kids are interested and ready for it.