The leeks, carrots, and onions for my soup. This week I would like to share that fact that I really love to cook, and except for the whole cleaning up part, I love all facets of cooking. I love the planning and research part where I try to find the perfect recipe, I love the peace of shopping for the ingredients, but only if the kids are at home while I shop solo, and I even love the preparation of all the ingredients even though that can be very time consuming.
I suppose this might not surprise any of you at all since I love food so much, but I have this secret fantasy of one day becoming an Iron Chef (close enough to Ironman, right?) or a Food Network Star like Guy Fieri. I like to use recipes, but what I find more challenging is to look through my pantry and refrigerator and find the perfect ingredients to create my own meals. This is why I said yes to "the box."
The story behind "the box" started with the ringing of our completely obnoxious doorbell. I have a sign asking people not to push it, so when people choose to do so, I tend to not be very open to what the people on the other side of the door have to sell or share with me. I have grown adept at deflecting the ones that want me to attend their churches (Sorry, I am Catholic and it would break my family's heart if we converted; my grandma is a Jehovah's Witness and she already sent me the latest Watch Tower; etc,) If they want to sell me a carpet product I inform them that we have tile and stained concrete throughout the house. Candy pushers get, "Sorry, but I am watching what I eat and it would be too tempting for me to have that in my house." But this man was speaking about somewhat-healthy food, so I chose to ignore the fact that he couldn't read signs.
Sean and I love to buy fresh vegetables from the local farmer's markets, but honestly, lately we haven's even had time to do this weekly shopping that we love so much. This non-sign reading, doorbell ringing man had arrived at our door to tell us about a service called Farm Fresh to You that will deliver a box of fresh, organic fruits and/or vegetables to your door on a regular basis. I still plan to visit the farmer's markets when things calm down around here, but for now I am very thankful that every other week I open my front door first thing in the morning and there sits a box of produce.
This week "the box" contained kale, carrots including the tops, purple potatoes, apples, grapefruits, oranges, leeks, and pears. The apples and pears I stewed into my morning steel-cut oats--totally yummy by the way. But as I looked at other ingredients, I decided that maybe I might be able to make a delicious potato leek soup, perfect for the colder rainy days we have been experiencing. My problem is that I am really trying to make better food choices so a cream-based soup was probably not the best choice. Google is my friend--no honestly! I can find almost anything I want to learn or discover with a quick Google search. Most of the first few suggestions were healthier, but still not as light as I was looking for, until I found a Jamie Oliver Potato-Leek recipe with a chicken broth base to guide me. I had many of the necessary ingredients, and I was able to use the carrots, the leeks, and the potatoes from "the box" to create a delicious soup. I tweaked the recipe just enough to feel like my future Iron Chef self, and I can't wait until the next box arrives to see what exciting meal might be hiding inside waiting for me to create my next culinary masterpiece.
I suppose this might not surprise any of you at all since I love food so much, but I have this secret fantasy of one day becoming an Iron Chef (close enough to Ironman, right?) or a Food Network Star like Guy Fieri. I like to use recipes, but what I find more challenging is to look through my pantry and refrigerator and find the perfect ingredients to create my own meals. This is why I said yes to "the box."
The story behind "the box" started with the ringing of our completely obnoxious doorbell. I have a sign asking people not to push it, so when people choose to do so, I tend to not be very open to what the people on the other side of the door have to sell or share with me. I have grown adept at deflecting the ones that want me to attend their churches (Sorry, I am Catholic and it would break my family's heart if we converted; my grandma is a Jehovah's Witness and she already sent me the latest Watch Tower; etc,) If they want to sell me a carpet product I inform them that we have tile and stained concrete throughout the house. Candy pushers get, "Sorry, but I am watching what I eat and it would be too tempting for me to have that in my house." But this man was speaking about somewhat-healthy food, so I chose to ignore the fact that he couldn't read signs.
Sean and I love to buy fresh vegetables from the local farmer's markets, but honestly, lately we haven's even had time to do this weekly shopping that we love so much. This non-sign reading, doorbell ringing man had arrived at our door to tell us about a service called Farm Fresh to You that will deliver a box of fresh, organic fruits and/or vegetables to your door on a regular basis. I still plan to visit the farmer's markets when things calm down around here, but for now I am very thankful that every other week I open my front door first thing in the morning and there sits a box of produce.
This week "the box" contained kale, carrots including the tops, purple potatoes, apples, grapefruits, oranges, leeks, and pears. The apples and pears I stewed into my morning steel-cut oats--totally yummy by the way. But as I looked at other ingredients, I decided that maybe I might be able to make a delicious potato leek soup, perfect for the colder rainy days we have been experiencing. My problem is that I am really trying to make better food choices so a cream-based soup was probably not the best choice. Google is my friend--no honestly! I can find almost anything I want to learn or discover with a quick Google search. Most of the first few suggestions were healthier, but still not as light as I was looking for, until I found a Jamie Oliver Potato-Leek recipe with a chicken broth base to guide me. I had many of the necessary ingredients, and I was able to use the carrots, the leeks, and the potatoes from "the box" to create a delicious soup. I tweaked the recipe just enough to feel like my future Iron Chef self, and I can't wait until the next box arrives to see what exciting meal might be hiding inside waiting for me to create my next culinary masterpiece.
Gabby, Kay, and I running up the crazy steep Tuscany Hill this morning.
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