Devour this

Thai-spiced Tomato Soup, by way of Gourmet magazine, by way of The Wednesday Chef by way of The Gluten-Free Girl [also by way of Leite's Culinaria]

Longest blog title in history, perhaps?

I just find it fascinating the way recipes change hands, particularly since the rise of food blogs. Now don't get it twisted, I obsess over cookbooks and devour them in my daily life as much as one can [don't forget, I work on cookbooks at Wiley Publishing, Inc.]. But no matter how much I fawn over the glossy images and run my fingers along the smooth printed pages, I often end up snatching the majority of my recipes from the ever-untouchable internet.

This Thai-spiced tomato soup came my way through a class I took last week - "Finding Your Voice in Food Writing," taught by Shauna James Ahern (the Gluten-Free Girl), offered by David Leite's site, Leite's Culinaria.  Having been a longtime fan of the Gluten-Free Girl blog and book, I was looking forward to gleaning writing advice from one of my favorite authors. As I rushed from an event in Manhattan back home to call into this over-the-phone workshop, I planned to grab a package of instant ramen noodles, but the printout of Luisa's [The Wednesday Chef] blog entry (recommended reading from Shauna) changed my mind. The ingredients list included just 1 item I didn't have at home: a lime. The instructions sounded super approachable and I knew that bowl of homemade goodness would nourish me on that chilly fall night the way a packaged, SuperHighSodium soup never could. I must add, it's easy to get swept away by Luisa's writing. Along with the easy recipe originally from Gourmet, she offered a touching peek into her past, and shared her pained feelings about losing the venerable magazine.

As I knew it would be, this soup was simple to make, but the taste surprised me with its layered-ness. During the class I described the soup as an Indian sari -- colorful, vibrant, bright, shiny -- and it still rings true. Its tingling spiciness drapes over you, the lemongrass, ginger, and spices taunt you with every sip.

And as I had expected, the 2-1/2 hour class was mega inspiring -- the other women on the line were animated and revealing, and Shauna was simply amazing. She was very smart, kind, comfortable, and generous. In fact, the class felt like a giant hug through the phone. One thing I really appreciated was that Shauna's advice wasn't directed only to writing (although it was the best writing class I've taken, including the long sessions at NYU and The New School); she spoke about life. She talked about taking time with your food, trying a bite and being reflective. Thinking what does this remind me of?  She reminded me that food is transportive; it needn't be consumed in a rush, as I dash to make the next thing on my schedule. As her blog and spirit affirm, it's ever so important to take time with the pleasurable things in our daily lives. A great quote I read recently - "A happy life is just a string of happy moments. But most people don’t allow the happy moment, because they’re so busy trying to get a happy life."

Now, looking at the image of the soup and recalling its flavors, I can't help sharing something that's recently come into my possession of a similar hue and surprising quality, something big that's contributed to my string of happy moments.

In the park where Beach St. and Walker St. (our last names!) connect in Tribeca, lower Manhattan, my beloved Jef got down on one knee ("got the ol' knee dirty," as he put it) and asked me to marry him. The ring he slipped on my finger is something like that tomato soup [I realize only a food blogger would suggest her engagement ring shares qualities with tomato soup!]...unexpected, shiny, bright, magical, like a hug from the inside.

Thai-spiced Tomato Soup [adapted from The Wednesday Chef, originally from Gourmet magazine]

Serves 4

1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1/2 Tbsp green curry paste [I used the 2 curry pastes because it's what I had in the fridge and it worked great, although pretty fiery! Feel free to use 2 Tbsp red curry paste as the orig. recipe indicates]
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 (14-oz) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1/2 lime

1. Cook onion in oil in a heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add curry pastes and cumin and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

2. Add broth, tomatoes, brown sugar, and salt and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Purée soup in batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return soup to pot and reheat. You can also leave the soup in the pot and purée using an immersion blender. Stir in the lime juice and serve.

Mastering the Art of Country Living

House-sitting in the country (with real live chicken and everything!) is life exotic to citified dwellers like Jef and me. A few weekends ago, you would have found us porch-bound with mugs of tea, a guitar, and a gigantic stack of food magazines. Heaven in a woven basket.

Above, the stuff snacks in dreams are made of: fruity husk tomatoes, plump, juice-filled tomatoes on their picturesque vine, nutty flax armadillo loaf, sweet-savory cranberry walnut sticks, chewy, pungent cheese ciabatta, stinky Amram and Drumm cheeses -- best of all, the fruit was grown locally at Rogowski Farm and the bread and cheeses lovingly made at nearby Bobolink Dairy.

And then a chicken comes to visit you on the porch, and that's it - you're head over hiking boots.

I mean, seriously. See all that grayish-bluish bright stuff -- that there's wide open sky! And the green and brown layers of fuzz -- dirt, grass, and crops! Even on a cloudy day, you know the sun's up there, just taking a little well-deserved rest. Life beyond concrete and neon lights, who knew?

Jef and I drove with all four windows down and oohed and ahhed over everything -- the sprawling yards, cute squat homes, crooked wooden fences -- all of these things that had surrounded both of us while growing up in rural Maryland.  You wouldn't have guessed it from the way we hyperventilated over the stars, closed our eyes and breathed in the sweet wind, snatched the camera to catch the first few glints of sunrise over the barn, and danced in our socks to the soultingling voices of Van Morrison, Neil Young, and Tom Petty (guess what, you can blare music late at night in the country!).

Oh, the food you'll eat! We dined on what was probably the most delicious salad of our lifetime: CSA salad with roasted baby beets and baby carrots (seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper, and balsamic), perfectly crisp red leaf lettuce, arugula's spicy leaves, peppery radishes, the refreshing crunch of cucumber, popinyourmouth tomatoes, extra-minty mint, super-basily basil, and the farm's own savory Roasted Onion Dressing.  I know it's not really a recipe, just inspiration to join a CSA and eat like this every day while the summer bounty lasts!

Other meals included scrambled fresh eggs with scallions, Mark Bittman's overnight waffles, and a lip-smacking comfort fried rice with diced potatoes, sliced bell peppers, crisp green beans (actually purple beans that turn green when you cook them!), scrambled egg, baby bok choy, green onions, garlic, and a yummy thick mushroom sauce we found in the cupboard.

I know we're painting a picture here that's bigger than life itself. But that's how the weekend felt to us. Time stretched out like a gauzy hammock and hugged us deep into its transcendent web.

Speaking of which, I'll even miss this country spider I was obsessed with -- it spun a gorgeous web on the antennae of our car overnight and came with us on our trip to see Bobolink Dairy's cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, Babka the dog, and the generous, knowledgeable people making delicious artisan food.

Many thanks to the lovely couple who opened their home and chicken coops to us.

***

Jef: We should name our first kid "Country."

Me: [The Look.]

Jef: What, you don't think it's a good name?

Summer lovin'...happened so fast

*Recipes below*

Goodbye thick, heavenly homemade tzatziki* with farm-fresh cucumbers, dill, mint, and garlic...

Goodbye plentiful, colorful summer CSA bounty (and sweet goodbye to my '09 favorite summertime meal- eggplant, tomato, zucchini, summer squash, onions, and bell peppers --all grilled together making up a drippy, delectable vegetable souvlaki*, topped with a blanket of homemade tzatziki)...

I'm not going to say goodbye to you yet, precious tomato+basil breakfast*...

And even goodbye to soup. Light, lemony sorrel soup*, at least (will be saying hello to many other soups soon)...

I'm not ready to let go yet.

Late summer CSA recipes:

Tzatziki

adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen

Makes about 4 cups

2 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced, and salted for 30 minutes prior to using
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
1 tsp finely chopped fresh mint
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 cups Greek yogurt (or regular plain yogurt, strained for a couple of hours)

In a food processor, whiz up cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, mint, until well blended. Stir this mixture into the yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend.

Vegetable Souvlaki, rough recipe is all you need
Slice zucchini, squash, and eggplant lengthwise. Slice red onion.  Season vegetables with salt and pepper, mix with fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, and oregano) and dress with extra-virgin olive oil. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Grill veggies until tender with a nice sear on both sides (brown food is good food!).
Chop tomatoes and set aside.
Warm up whole-wheat pocketless pitas, pile up with grilled veggies and chopped tomato, and top with lots of tzatziki. Fold in half and devour.

Tomato+Basil Breakfast, again rough recipe. Keep it simple!

Split a baguette (or whatever fresh, delicious bread you have around) lengthwise and grill or toast until crisp. Top the bread with a nice smear of cream cheese --or as I've been doing lately, marscapone, yum. Slice beautiful, luscious tomatoes into thick or thin slices, whatever you prefer and lay the slices lovingly on the cream cheese or marscapone and season lightly with flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top with fresh, aromatic basil leaves. Cereal what??

Sorrel Soup
adapted from Tea & Cookies
Serves 3 or 4

1 Tbsp butter
1 cup white or yellow onion, diced (about 1 medium onion)
Salt & Pepper
2 cups mixed mushrooms, diced
1 Tbsp flour
5 cups vegetable stock (I used 3 cups mushroom stock, 2 cups veg stock)
3 organic, free-range egg yolks (I get amazing ones from my friend's chickens--going to chicken-sit this weekend!! Expect a blog post about that coming up...)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon zest, optional
2 cups fresh sorrel, cut into thin ribbons

In a medium pot, bring stock to a boil.
In a separate large pot, melt the butter and add the onions and some salt and pepper, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to stir, 2 minutes. More S&P.  Sprinkle in flour and continue to stir gently. Cook another 2 minutes.

Slowly begin to add the boiling stock, 1/2 cup (ladleful) at a time, stirring between additions. When all the stock has been added, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes or so.

Separately, stir together the lemon juice and egg yolks. Take 1/2 cup of the hot soup and slowly drizzle it into the lemon-egg mixture, stirring slowly. When this is incorporated and the lemon-egg mixture has warmed, slowly pour the mixture back into the soup, stirring to blend. Add lemon zest and stir. Add the sorrel, stirring it into the soup until wilted (turns khaki brown). Keep warm until serving, but don't allow to boil or the eggs will curdle.