Thai Coconut Soup

I wish this soup ended up looking just a little bit prettier, because it was GO00OD, but hey what can ya do. Started with half a red onion, four cloves of garlic, and a couple tablespoons of chopped ginger simmering in a quart of vegetable stock. After about 10 or 15 minutes, added in the red pepper and mushrooms. Let those cook for another 10 minutes.

When the peppers and mushrooms were starting to get a little tender, I added a can of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, and some sriracha (as much as you want). At the last minute I threw in the fresh spinach, and let it simmer for a few.

  

Serve with chopped green onion, cilantro, lime, and more sriracha if you’re feelin’ it!

Gettin’ Slawsy

I suppose it’s days like these that, in some strange and ironic fashion, remind me of how incredibly lucky I am. Positivity can go a long way, it’s just a matter of sucking it up and moving on. Good things to come kids…!

I made a rather random slaw to go on top of some simple pork and black bean tacos. Purple cabbage, onion, carrot, orange slices, basil and cilantro…scavenged in Ryan’s fridge and pantry, found some vinegar, sour cream, and lots of lime and orange juice. Slawwwcy!

Broccoli Flowers

         

I bought a handful of these yellow flowered stalks at the Farmer’s market on Saturday. As far as I can remember, they were labelled as broccoli rabe, and they certainly do taste like tender little golden pieces of broccoli. Later that afternoon I walked through Ryan’s garden only to realize there was a gigantic bush of the stuff practically overflowing into the pathway! Ummm- at least I supported local farms, right? The flowers appeared to be the blossom of a brussel sprout plant. Regardless of what they are, they are charming and they taste good. I’ve been adding them to salads and breakfast potatoes, but today I just threw them on a baking pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper and let them bake for around 10 minutes. They’re fragile so they crisp up quick.

                                                                         

After a week of much appreciated sunshine and blue skies, and many procrastinated and half-assed homework assignments, the weather report informed me that we were in for a soggy week of non-stop rain. Well, Ryan and I woke up this morning to patches of bright blue poking through the clouds, and enjoyed a nice humid walk to school. HA on you i-Phone, you were wrong again!

…It started raining like pissing cows, as the French say, around 2. Went to Goodwill with the hopes of finding a cast-iron and a french press, left with two pairs of pants (hey I really needed those too!) and a flannel that smells like a dusty old man (not that that stopped me from putting it on when I got home). I decided that tonight was the night to start a food blog, in some sense of the word, and with much encouragement from Ryan and the one and only Kelso Burns, it has begun!

Tonight we made a Maybe Not So African Peanut Soup. But it was definitely vegan! I pretty much ripped off the entire recipe from Cookie and Kate. However, I changed it a little bit. Instead of collard greens, Kelso donated her spinach from this Saturday’s farmers market. You can throw those in right at the end because they only take a minute to cook. I also roasted a couple little red bell peppers and threw those in. Poured the soup over some couscous, and topped it off with thai basil, chopped peanuts, and sriracha. Yum. Creamy, crunchy from the nuts, and the more hot sauce the better. My nose was running by the end but that is saying very little. Superdeedooper easy too.

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Add into the mix a growler of Mac&Jack’s African Amber and some sweet potato fries (thanks to Kelso and Jann) and it was a very satisfying meal! Unfortunately the cooking didn’t start until around 8, so the pictures aren’t exactly fantastic, but at least its a start. Happy Monday y’all! Here’s to hoping it’s a more productive week than the last.