Cream of Asparagus Soup

I saw this soup made on Cooking for Real on the Food Network a few weeks back, and it looked super easy, and super yum. Everyone knows I love asparagus, and I've been making more and more soups.I like to make soups cuz I can bring in a big tupperware of them to work and have lunch for the week. I generally toast a frozen roll that we have at the office, and I feel like I have a pretty healthy lunch...

Of course I made a few changes to the recipe cuz that's how I do... I had some celery hearts that were prime for soup making, and asparagus can be expensive, so I thought using some celery would be a good way to keep up the amount of vege, but cheaper. I sauteed up garlic, onion, celery and then added in the asparagus. I saved the tips to add at the end. I then added in vege stock-- i used a big carton and then just a bit of water cuz I always think stock is a bit salty. I brought it all up to a boil, and then let it simmer for 30 minutes or so. I poured it into a blender and blended away. I think that would make a decent soup, but then stirred in some sour cream (way less than in the original recipe) and a dash of skim milk. The sour cream didn't quite melt as well as I'd liked, but the soup still came out delicious. I added the tips to the asparagus after the blending, so they stayed pretty crisp and added some texture to the soup. All in all the soup was easy and yummy, I'd make it again. And I easily got 4 meals out of this, and could have probably stretched it out to 5...

Please note the photo of the blended soup and how perfectly it matches my counter!!

EMK & Me

This week has been kinda hard for me. It has a lot to do w/ Ted Kennedy, but it also has a lot to do w/ myself. I have been amazingly happy since I got to DC, I haven't for one second thought I made the wrong decision. In a way, that has been a bit disconcerting. Maybe its still the honeymoon, but when will that end? And will I come crashing down? How will I deal w/ that? What will come next? It took me a long time to learn to love Boston, but in a way that seemed like a normal, natural progression. Like most New Englanders, things usually have to grow on me. But w/ DC it was different, I came down here and right away knew this was the place for me. Basically, I never looked back... Within 6 months, I had a job and was packing my worldly possessions to take the plunge. I still think this is the right place for me, I'm loving my job, the city, my life-- personally and professionally. I'm interested to see how the Fall goes, when the weather changes, and being outside by myself begins to lose its appeal, but all in all, I think I'm good here...

Then Senator Kennedy died. We all knew he was sick. We all knew he wouldn't get better. We all know who will throw their names into the ring for the open Senate seat. But we all hoped it would be for Kerry's seat, not Teddy's. Then there's the timing. The end of August recess. The health care debate. Those town halls. The infamous filibuster. The 60 "democratic" senators (inc. Lieberman, ick), which we only just gained this summer w/ the recent seating of Al Franken. Looking back the signs were there; he didn't go to his sister's funeral, he sent a letter, dated 6 weeks prior, to Deval, Bobby and Terry asking for a quick, short-term appointment should he die before his term ends, but I never doubted that he would board that plane to come down and not only vote for health care reform, but likely speak on the monumental meaning of its passage. Alas, health care reform may have unfortunately died with him. One can only hope, as I did watching Orrin Hatch and John McCain speak at his memorial service tonight, that his death will reinvigorate the understanding of what this debate is actually for, and what the reform bills actually are comprised of.

But I wasn't ready, I am not ready to say goodbye to the lion of the Senate and the important and incredible work he did for the citizens of Massachusetts, and for all Americans. And, I wasn't ready for the feelings it would bring up in me about Boston, Massachusetts, and leaving. Overall, I know DC is the right place for me right now, for my political self, for my career, and likely my personal life too, but I can't help but think over and over this week, that Boston is where I should be. I should have been standing amongst my peers and colleagues on Bowdoin St, shoulder to shoulder w/ the guys from Capitol Coffee to bid farewell to my Senator. I've realized this week, that Boston truly became my home. I relate more as a Massachusetts resident, then I ever did as one from Connecticut. I know the inner workings, the main players, the inside jokes, the moonbats, and I miss them all. Maybe that will come in time w/ DC, but I'm not sure. DC is defined by its transient population. It is a place where people travel to for meetings, conferences,etc. It is a place where people from all over the country and the world come for short or long stays, but always with the plan to go "home" again. When I moved down here, I said I didn't know how long I'd be here, and that while I cannot say what the future holds, Boston was always a place I could see myself returning to. I didn't leave cuz I hated it, I left cuz I needed change. That is more apparent to me now than ever. In a way my future may be shaped by the loss of Senator Kennedy. The Massachusetts political landscape has just changed drastically, and depending on how it shakes out, it is possible I could want to be back there sooner, rather than later. Or perhaps a position would become available down here that would allow me to stay better connected to Boston. It is too soon to tell how it will all shake out, but this week has certainly made me think about my past, present and future in new and different ways.

And of course this week has made me reinvigorated in my career path. I am honored to work in the same field as Senator Kennedy, and I believe that he would value the work that I do daily to ensure that women (and increasingly men) have access to reproductive health care informed through evidence-based science.I look forward to the day when Congress passes the Edward Moore Kennedy Health Care Reform Bill, and the day that President Obama signs it into law. A fitting closing chapter to Camelot.

Project Runway & Bruschetta

For weeks now, Mollie, Daphne and I planned to watch the season premiere of Project Runway together. Originally, we were going to do it at Daphne's new place, in the screening room in her building, but she had a work thing, so instead we went to Mollie's and Daphne came after work.

Mollie made veggies and rice w/ Indian sauce from TJs. It was yum! And, Daphne made a Blueberry crisp. I heart crisps of all kinds! I made a trio of bruschettas. I did an olive tapenade, a traditional tomato and white bean. For the white bean, I used this as the guide. This time I used scallions and chives, instead of red onion, and fresh basil and parsley from my herb garden instead of dried spices. I also used a bit more lemon juice to make it a bit more summery. For the tapenade, I just blended black olives, a clove of garlic and a bit of olive oil. Super easy, super delish. Finally, for the tomatoes, I diced up abt 3 tomatoes, added s cloves of garlic, fresh chives, basil, parsley and oregano, some s&p, and a dash of oil and balsamic. Online I had seen to drain the tomatoes, but I dismissed it. I wish I hadn't. I'm not sure exactly how to go abt draining them, but after walking to Mollie's, they were really saucy. Still yummy tho. I like combining a few of them together on one slice. Mmmm. And SOOOO easy!

Project Runway was also awesome, and I'm happy its back on! And while I agree with most that Korto deserved to win, and while I didn't really get Daniel's collection, I was happy he won.

Grillin'

For my parents last night in DC, we grilled out w/some friends. I found a grill on the street a few weeks back, and after a bit of a struggle w/ my landlord, ended up passing it over the locked fence in the back so I wouldn't have to bring it thru the house. Whatever, my landlord sucks, but I have a pretty decent grill now!

My parents and I made the majority of the food, and boy, oh boy, did we have a feast! My mom, per my request, made potato salad. It is quite the process and has a ton of ingredients, but it is amazing and I try to get her to make it for me once a summer. She also made her famous chicken, also from my childhood. Of course I haven't had it in abt 10 years, but I do remember it fondly. She marinates it w/ soy sauce, lemon juice and garlic. I marinated veggies-- portabellos and zuchinni in balsamic vinegar and garlic and eggplant in olive oil, fresh herbs and garlic. This was my first foray into marinating and grilling vegetables other than portabellos, and if I do say so myself, this was a HUGE success. The veggies were awesome! I also made a 3 bean salad. This is the easiest salad in the world, but always a big hit. It is a great way to clean out the cabinet and fridge, and I bring it to almost every summer potluck/cook out I go to. I typically use black, kidney and garbanzo beans. I then add diced bell peppers (this time red and green) and red onion (or scallions). I also added corn this go round cuz I had some in the fridge. In the past, I think I've added diced olives. I use salsa as the main sauce, but kick it up w/ some dried spices (cayenne pepper, chili powder, cilantro, cumin, etc). This batch came out w/ a bit of a kick... We also did some corn on the cob.

For additions, Daphne brought this amazing walnut broccoli dip (cream cheese base), haloumi cheese that you grill in tin foil, squirt some lemon juice on and crack some pepper on (delish!), corn pudding and incredible white wine sangria. Mollie made an incredible trifle dessert. It was fresh strawberries and blueberries with cheesecake pudding, angel food cake and whipped topping. So incredible. Needless to say, we were stuffed by the end of it all. But it was great to utilize the grill, eat outside and have my parents meet my DC friends. Another successful dinner party!

Herb Garden and Uncooked Sauce

When my parents were in town, I bought a bunch of herbs and pots, to start a little herb garden on my porch. I now am attempting to grow mint, basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley and garlic chives. So far I haven't killed anything yet, and I am trying very hard not to... I haven't had much success in the past, but I like to blame that on living in a basement and not being a good waterer. Despite not having killed anything yet, I'm also hesitant to use my herbs in fear that they made not grow back, or that I over trim...

So after a week or so of keeping my plants alive, I decided to take the plunge and use some herbs! Also leftover from my parents trip, I had some lemons in the fridge that needed to be used up. A few years ago my mom made me a little cookbook of pasta recipes from my childhood. They're all super easy, and many are no-cook. I knew there had to be something in there utilizing lemon. There were two-- a butter lemon sauce, and a tomato lemon sauce. I opted to kinda combine the two...

I bought a pint of grape tomatoes, sliced them in half, added the zest of one lemon, and the juice of a quarter of it. I also put in 2 cloves of garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and then added some chives, parsley and basil. All in all, I thought it came out great. So easy... but fresh and flavorful. Perfect for a hot summer night when you don't want to heat up the kitchen. I finished my dish w/ some fresh grated parmesan cheese.
In other news, summer is in full effect now. This week it has been constantly around 90% humidity. It has also been abt 90 degrees. I don't think I've ever experienced anything like this before. You feel like you're swimming thru air. I cannot believe people opt to spend time outside. I saw people eating outside, and I just wonder why. If I could somehow get to the metro w/o going outside, I would. It is awful. Walking in the shade barely helps. I actually walked thru Macy's to get from one end of the block to the other, just so I could be in the AC. But I am still amazed at how lucky I've been w/ this summer. It is mid August and it is only getting bad right now. That's amazing. I don't know what I'll do next summer...

First Successful Cream Sauce!

I have tried to make cream sauces for pasta before, and I never am satisfied w/ my concoctions. Remember my MO is easy... so I've looked on Cooks.com and opted for easy mac-n-chz sauces. This usually entails a roux (flour stirred into melted butter), milk, and then cheese melted in. I've never made a successful roux, this means I end up w/ a sauce that has a slight flour taste (ick!) and never thickens properly. This time I googled cream sauce and bechamel sauce. I dunno how this was different because the ingredients were primarily the same (roux and milk), but it turned out MUCH better!

First, my roux was a success! I melted abt 3 tablespoons of butter and started by adding abt 2 tablespoons of flour. I believe my typical failure w/ roux has been too much flour, or not enough butter, so this time I made sure I stirred in all the flour before attempting to add any more. I'd say I ended up w/ abt even parts, but it may have still been slightly more butter... regardless, it worked!

Once my roux was slightly browned, I poured in some skim milk (no idea how much...) and started to mix in order to stir in the roux to help thicken up the milk as it warms. As you have gathered, it worked. Usually I grate in some cheese to try and thicken it, but not only does it increase the fat content, but it doesn't do anything to rid the sauce of that raw flour taste. This time I actually decided to add more milk because the sauce was thickening up so quickly and nicely. I actually had considered adding some half and half I had on hand in case I need some thickener... I did also add a small piece of bleu cheese I had... I'd say roughly 2-3 ounces.

I added diced white onion to the sauce as it cooked, asparagus to the pasta as it cooked, and tossed them together w/ fresh tomato and raw garlic. To the sauce I also added salt, pepper, nutmeg, and maybe parsley and oregano...

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by my cream sauce. It was thick, it didn't have the raw flour taste, and I felt like it was pretty guilt free w/ not too much butter or cheese and only skim milk!

RWDC

Here it is, the Real World DC House-- @ S&20 NW

If you know me at all, you know I'm a reality tv junkie. Its weird that there's a show being filmed where I live, its even weirder that it is being filmed at the same time I'm discovering the city. It should be really interesting to watch...

So far, I've only had one encounter w/ the cast at a DC United game a few weeks ago. But, I am following some blogs and tend to be up to date on where they're going and when... Just don't think, we'll really cross paths much...