spinach and garlic soup

This was good and easy to make. The total preperation time including knife work, cooking, pureeing and storage was just a bit more than an hour. I recommend trying it.

First dice and sweat these items in 1 tb olive oil and a knob of butter.

a pinch of salt
1 medium yellow onion
1 carrot
.5 bulb fennel
5 cloves of garlic

Then add the following elements and simmer for about an hour

2 peeled and diced russet potatoes
1 cup cream
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
20 coriander seeds

Next put all of the above in the blender with the ingredients listed below and puree. This will take 2 or more batches depending on the size of your blender.

10 oz spinach
2 clove garlic
4 oz frozen peeled edamame

Now put everything back into the pot and season with salt and pepper to your liking. This soup was a lot better the second day after the garlic had time to blossom.
I garnished it with crème fraîche and mosta olive oil... i think that some smoked bacon would have been a good addition as well.

pictures of food from work and home

red snapper.


sweet potato and blue cheese gratin.

quiche in the oven... me in the reflection.

veal breast.

foie gras with sour apple, huckleberry jam and brioche.

grouper.



golden hedgehogs, shimeji's and thyme.

hazelnut pana cotta with carmelized pears and.... i don't remember the rest.

goat cheese mousse packed cherry peppers

I bought pickled cherry peppers (approx 24) from the olive bar at Whole Foods. I know that lots of gourmet food stores carry these. They are sweet and slightly spicy which goes great with the goat cheese mousse.

For the mousse you need the following:
1 pastry bag (small tip required) or a ziplock
3 oz goat cheese
3 0z heavy cream
1 tbs chives sliced thin
1 tsp thyme fresh leaves
sea salt
black pepper

1. put everything but the cream into your kitchen aid fitted with the paddle attachment
2. mix on low until cheese is softened
3. remove contents from bowl
4. put cream into mixing bowl with the whip attachment
5. whip until it has stiff peaks
6. fold the goat cheese mix into the whip cream with a spatula
7. fill pastry bag or ziplock (is using ziplock, just cut the corner off making a hole the size of the end of your pinky finger)
8. fill peppers with mixture
9. i garnished the finished platter with olive oil and fresh parsley

guglhupf

Today Marty and I went to a bakery in Durham for lunch. Best sandwiches I've eaten in a long time — roasted beet and a brat on a pretzel roll. I highly recommend it if you live in the area. The name of the place is Guglhupf.

pictures of food from work and home

avocado, sweet peas, leeks, mixed greens, fresh corriander grilled shrimp (not yet on plate in this pic) :

carrot soup portioned out:

some kind of oregano:

filo "package" testing:

filo testing with two cold soups (carrot/cucumber):

lamb tenderloin with sweet potato maytag gratin:

frozen pickled grape and beet salad:

tuna carpaccio:

last pic: lamb tenderloin roulade with fried artichokes

garden update

garden

Marty and I planted a garden again this year... far larger than last years. We have 6 kinds of tomatoes, basil, lemon thyme, cilantro, thai basil, purple basil, chives and squash. The squash plants win the prize for growing the most but everything else will soon be ready.

My point is that all it took was about $50 and one afternoon and we will have herbs all summer for free. At the store most herbs come in a 2 or 3oz bunch for $3... what a rip off! Not to mention we have more squash than we can cook and soon tons of tomatoes. I can't wait.

Do your self a favor and plant a garden.