Wild Edges

Louis turned 30 last week.  He’s not a big fan of cake, but he mentioned his love for Rainbow cookies last month and how they are something he really misses from New York (and from what I found on the internet, many relocated New Yorkers miss).  You can buy them online and have them shipped to you, which is really expensive, or you can make it a labor of love and make them from scratch at home (which isn’t really that complicated).

Turns out, these cake-like cookies are REALLY delicious.  I have never had them before and according to Louis, I did a really good job.  They aren’t as spongy and soft as they’re supposed to be, but I think that’s because I over whipped the batter in an attempt to make a few lumps of almond paste blend in.  Now I know better for next time; which I can’t wait for.

I really like the view out my office window; it faces south, it looks at some nice yards and a part of campus with some beautiful tress, and it allows for some people watching.  Today, it started to snow.  Not that big of a deal and we won’t be getting much, but I love snow and I have been living in Arizona the past four years–I have seriously missed it.

2:44 pm

2:55 pm

3:05

Now at 3:45, there is no snow falling and it looks like there was a heavy dose of confectioner’s sugar sprinkled everywhere.  I want it to look like a thick layer of frosting!

Just looking through this fall’s archive.

On a lighter note (pun not intended).

Sorry, this one is tragic.

I roasted a chicken last week with a Spanish smoked paprika and honey glaze and then made broth from the carcass.  I continued with the paprika theme with this soup; it is really tasty, smokey and basically a chowder.  The paprika in the soup reminds me of northern Arizona (campfires and Ponderosa pines).

1 tbs of butter
1/2 an onion, chopped fine
2 celery ribs, chopped fine
1 large carrot, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbs + 1 tsp of Spanish smoked paprika
6 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
6 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1 tbs of salt (or to taste)
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Small pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
Pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
1 tbs of fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 1/2 cups of frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup of cream

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a 5 quart dutch oven and saute the holy trinity (celery, onions, carrots) until the onions and celery start to soften, then add the garlic.  Mix and saute for about 2 minutes more.  Then incorporate the paprika into the mixture.

Next put your potatoes in the pot and pour the chicken broth in.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Maintain a steady boil for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are really soft and can be easily mashed.  Remove from heat and add salt, pepper, cayenne if using, nutmeg and parsley.

Here’s where you have an option, you can make this a chunky soup and use a potato masher to break up the potato and that’s it.  Or you can blend it a bit to make it thicker soup.  I chose the later and blended with a stick blender after I mashed it.  I just did a few pulses with the blender so it would still have some potato chunks.

Return the pot to low heat and add the corn and the cream.  Warm through and serve.  Makes 6 servings.
(While I was eating some for lunch today, I was thinking some fresh cooked bacon crumbled on top would have been really delicious.)

I’m looking for something…I don’t know what it is yet….

It’s that time of year again.  You know, when pumpkins wrinkle and start to smell bad and Christmas decorations get pulled out of storage (or in the case of this Christmas tree, get peed on by the stray cats that keep watch over it).

I’m out of control!  OK, not really it’s only soup.  I bought an heirloom pumpkin and I wanted to make a spicy (not spicy hot) soup out of it.  Any pumpkin will do or even canned.  Here goes:

1 small cushaw pumpkin (about 2-3 lbs)
2 tbs butter
2 small apples, peeled & cut into 1/2″ cubes
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped,
5 allspice berries, ground
1 tsp of smoked paprika
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
a pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
4 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of water
1 15 oz can of black beans
2 cups of frozen corn
1 tsp of fresh parsely
Sour cream (optional)

Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds (save them and roast them for a garnish perhaps), place on a baking dish face down and roast for about 45 minutes at 350°F until tender.  Scoop the flesh out and set aside.

In a dutch oven, melt the butter on medium heat.  Add onion, apple, and garlic and cook until everything is tender, about 5 minutes.  Then add the pumpkin and cook until the pumpkin starts to break down, about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle the allspice, paprika, salt, pepper, and nutmeg over everything and mix together for about a minute – it will smell pretty great.

Pour the chicken broth and water into the mixture and bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add the parsley and blend with a stick blender, food processor or whatever you have, until smooth.  Put the blended soup back on the burner to medium heat.  While it’s warming, rinse the beans and thaw the corn, then add them to the mixture.  Heat thoroughly and serve with a little drizzle or dollop of sour cream.

I was in New York last week for work and then visiting with friends.  I was lucky enough to experience the Nor’easter that caught everyone off guard.  The city didn’t have nearly as much accumulation as the more inland areas, but when I went out it was cold, windy and freezing rain; basically a slushy mess.  Regardless, it was a fun weekend.

I fell asleep during take off on Sunday afternoon and when I woke up this wintry scene was below us.  I like that you could see where the snow ended.  Generally when I go to New York, there’s some kind of natural disaster: heat wave with temperatures around 110°F, 18″ of rain in one weekend, and an October snow storm.  Can’t wait to see what happens next time (sorry, New York).