Cream of Mushroom Soup
November 23, 2009
My usual procedure for developing a new recipe is something like this:
- Research
- Draft Recipe
- Experiment
- Reflection
- Revision, Revision, Revision
Cioppino: Celebrating Three Years Diet-Free
October 12, 2009
In the summer of 2006 I lost 40 lbs. Today, three years and some months later, the weight is still off and, in addition to staying on track, I’ve lost an additional five pounds. This recipe is a celebration of health and a farewell to my arch-nemesis: the up-and-down roller coaster of diet fads. For this success, I have the folks at SparkPeople to thank. I spent about a year with Sparky, and over those long months of tracking my weight, budgeting my calorie intake and expense, living on the forums, and listening to the advice of nutrition experts, I learned bunches about body maintenance and the negative impact of dieting mentality. That’s not to say I haven’t gone up or down a few pounds in all three years; hell, you can go down a pound or more just by sleeping eight hours. But every time I need to get back on track, I just remind myself of the principles and lessons I learned from Sparky.
Now onto the actual food!
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
September 20, 2009
The cool weather in northern Pennsylvania was a good excuse to revisit this wonderful, rich and hearty soup. There’s not much in the way of brothat least when I prepare itbut if thick and chunky isn’t your style, you can easily change the consistency by adding more milk, cream, and roux. This recipe is easily one of my all-time favorite comfort foods.
5-7 pieces of thick cut bacon
2½ lbs chicken breast
1½ lbs chicken thigh, with skin and bone
2½ tsps salt + extra
fresh ground pepper
1 white onion, chopped
6-8 stalks of celery, chopped
September 19, 2009
The Crab
3 live Santa Barbara Rock crabs from Quality Seafood
2 12 oz bottles of Red Stripe Jamaican lager
2 12 oz bottles of hot water
12 oz white vinegar
Penzey’s Shrimp and Crab Boil
Old Bay Seasoning
- Fill the yellow stockpot with ice, layer a bit of plastic on top, then drop in the bag of live crabs. Put the lid on but leave it slightly ajar so the crabs can breathe.
- In the red stock pot, place the steam basket upside-down and add lager, water, vinegar, and crab boil spices. Cover and bring to a boil.