Working girl's chicken soup

There’s nothing better than a steaming bowl of chicken soup when I’m feeling under the weather. Somehow, someway, I’ve managed to pick up a nasty cold in the middle of July.  For those of you who may be wondering, a fever and an aching body feel worse in a heat wave. Last night I was too sick to cook, so we ordered Chinese takeout—won ton for me. I was hoping it would fulfill my need for chicken soup, but it didn’t. And so I found myself in whole foods this afternoon to pick up the ingredients I needed to cure myself.

As a woman with a job that often keeps me past 5 o’clock, (except for today…I left early because I was still feeling rotten) I’m always looking for ways to simplify a meal. When it comes to making chicken soup, a rotisserie chicken does the trick. Then all you need is fresh veggies, herbs, and some chicken stock and you’re on your way to a delicious and comforting meal.

Ingredients

·      Rotisserie chicken

·      2 quarts of chicken stock

·      3 cups of water

·      3 bouillon packets/cubes

·      1 tablespoon olive oil

·      2 large carrots

·      4 cloves of garlic

·      1 large leek

·      1 large shallot

·      1 medium sized red onion

·      1 bunch of asparagus

·      Handfuls of fresh oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, and parsley

·      Bag/box baby arugula (spinach is good too)

·      1 lemon

·      ¼ cup of parmesan cheese

·      Pasta of your choice (I used whole wheat alphabet)

The easiest way to make this soup is to get all of your prep work out of the way—after that, it’s just a matter of throwing it all in the pot. Chop all of your vegetables into whatever size or shape your little heart desires, the more uneven they are, the more rustic the soup. 

Collect all of your herbs into a pile on your cutting board and mince them all together. Be sure to remove the stems from the rosemary and thyme—these won’t cook down in the soup.

Heat oil in a large pot and add garlic, onion, shallot, leek and herbs. Add generous amounts of salt and pepper and cook until transparent. Then add carrot, chicken stock, water, and bouillon cubes. Set asparagus aside.

While stock and veggies are coming to a boil, it’s time to shred your chicken. To do this, all you need are your 2 hands and a strong stomach. If you live in my house, you will also need the occasional elbow to knock the naughty cat off the counter. Remove the chicken from the bone (discarding skin) tearing it into bite sized pieces. 

Add chicken, asparagus, and pasta to the pot and cook until pasta is al dente. (NOTE: go light on the pasta. You want the chicken to be the star of the show.) When pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and add in lemon juice, parmesan, and arugula. Stir and serve with a smile.

 My handsome dinner date.

Movin' on down...

farther south in Brooklyn.

After losing a 4-year battle with a leaky window, my husband and I decided to move out of our beloved 350 sq ft apartment. When I say “decided to move,” what I really mean is that in a moment of frustration I did a 5 minute search that resulted in finding the most amazing apartment ever. I have 1 word that sums up why our new place is so completely rad: backyard. Yep, that’s right. In a city filled with concrete, KJ and I have our own, private outdoor space.  No more suffering through mediocre meals just to dine al fresco. We can grill our own feast in the privacy of our backyard.

While the apartment was move-in ready, the same couldn’t be said for the outside. After being neglected for years, it was completely overgrown with weeds and poison ivy. One little detail that I forgot to mention was that we moved 2 weeks before our wedding. As expected, the move was stressful and expensive (we hired movers). But for me, the hardest part was not being able to plant a garden. Because of the close proximity of our wedding, I didn’t want to risk being covered in poison ivy on my big day.

Fast forward about a month and we’re back from our honeymoon. After 24 hours of travel, I was energized and ready to get the garden project underway. I’m pretty sure my husband wanted to kill me when I insisted that we spend our first full day back in the states at home depot, but I couldn’t help it. I was actually looking forward to leaving Fiji so I could go home and play with dirt in my yard (sick, I know).

I had a vision. I knew that I wanted grass, an herb garden, and a fire pit. It was also important for me to have mostly perennials so I wouldn’t have to spend money every year on planting. I wanted to make sure that the yard was green and growing as quickly as possible, so I decided against planting seeds.

Before we got started in the garden, we had 1 little thing to take care of first—the ugly chain link fence on the right side of the yard. Our landlords ran out of money and couldn’t afford to finish the privacy fence, so it was up to us to find a solution. We opted for bamboo fencing to give us a little more privacy, and crossed our fingers that one of the random vines that were growing would eventually do it’s thing (and it did, yay!).

Our first project was digging out the dirt in the back and planting grass (ok, so I guess I did use a seed). We opted for EZ-Seed because it’s guaranteed to grow in any condition, even shade, which we have a lot of in our yard.  And would you believe that grass was sprouting in less than a week? Amazing.

Then we followed by digging up the dirt on each side of the yard which would eventually be the home to a variety of perennials, boxwoods, and of course, an herb garden. I was very careful when curating my perennials to be sure that I picked plants that would thrive in semi-shady conditions. If you don’t give your plants the right kind of environment that they need, they’ll turn on you and self-destruct. Then your left with dead plants and a broken heart—that’s not fun for anybody.

Our last project was to create an area for the fire pit. For this, we (OK, my husband) dug out a patch of dirt and filled it in with stones. We figured this would be better in case of falling embers, and the light colored stones also add a nice contrast to the fire pit. If you are ever placing stones over dirt or grass, be sure to put a weed guard down first. This thin sheet between the dirt and the rocks provides a barrier that keeps weeds from poking through. If you skip this step, you will waste your days pulling weeds and kicking yourself for not putting down the weed guard. So just do it right the first time.

Our last project is to dig out the front section of the yard and replace it with flagstone. We have been putting this off because want to start enjoying our outdoor space with friends and family while the weather is still nice. I’m thinking that might have to wait until next year. We also needed to prioritize the indoor space, which I will be posting about in the coming weeks.  I’m living in a giant work-in-progress and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Stay tuned for the final reveal of the backyard!

That's amore

I love pizza more than the average person. It’s got everything that you could ever want in a meal—it looks good, it smells good, and above all, it’s delicious. Whenever someone asks me what my last meal would be, the answer is always the same, “pizza.” Pizza is quite simply the perfect meal.

As someone who loves to cook, pizza has also become one of my favorite things to make.  The pizza dough essentials are almost always in my pantry, and you can top it with absolutely anything—from leftover chicken fajitas, to fried eggs and bacon.

I’ll say it again, pizza is perfection.

I used to get really worked up about making homemade dough. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but there was a time when I would go into pizza parlors and buy premade dough (which is wayyy overpriced) just to go home and load it up with my own toppings. Then I discovered how easy (and cheap!) making my own dough was. Once I mastered the dough, the rest was easy.

The recipe I’m going to share with you happened by accident. The other night my husband was hungry, so I threw a bunch of stuff on top of a flat bread and called it dinner. It came out so yummy, that I made it again—this time using my whole wheat pizza crust recipe.

The easiest crust ever

·      1 packet of yeast

·      ¾ cup of really hot water

·      1 tablespoon of honey

·      1 teaspoon of salt

·      1 glug of olive oil (little more than a tablespoon)

·      2 cups of whole wheat flour (or any flour you prefer) plus extra for kneading

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and let sit until yeast is activated. You will know that yeast is active (it’s alive!) when it looks foamy and has a pungent “bread” smell. Once this happens, mix in flour until a dough ball is formed. Dump the dough ball onto a floured surface and knead for as long as you have patience for, but at least until dough is no longer sticky.  This will most likely require adding more flour.

Depending on the size of the pizza and how thick you like your crust, you can either split the dough in half, or use the whole thing. I prefer a thin, crispy crust, so I usually split it in half. Before you form the dough into a circle, let it rest for about 10 minutes—this makes it easier to work with.

OK, I know what your thinking—this sounds like too many steps and a giant pain in the ass. To be honest, I used to feel the same way. One day I decided to see what happened if I skipped all that “kneading” and “resting.” Guess what, it came out fine. I will say that taking the extra time to knead the dough and let it rest do make it easier to work with. But if these extra steps really drive you crazy, skip them—you are the boss in your kitchen.

Form the dough ball into a circle on a cookie sheet lightly greased with olive oil. Keeping the dough on the cookie sheet, place in a 475 degree oven for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, slide dough off of cookie sheet and directly onto rack and let cook for another 2 minutes. When the time is up, slide the partially cooked crust back onto the cookie sheet and take it out of the oven.

Now for the fun part!

Spicy sausage and fresh herb pizza

·      Partially cooked pizza crust

·      4  ounces of goat cheese

·      3 ounces of gorgonzola cheese

·      3 spicy chicken sausages, cubed or crumbled (pre-cooked)

·      2 caramelized onions

·      Truffle oil

·      Fresh oregano, rosemary, and thyme

Brown chicken sausage and set aside. Caramelize the onions with olive oil, salt, and pepper over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (I used the same pan that I browned the sausage in). When the onions are soft and sweet, use them as the first layer on the pizza. Then follow with sausage, cheeses, and rosemary. Place it the oven for approximately 5 minutes, but keep a close eye to make sure it doesn’t burn. I usually flick on the oven light, and sit Indian style in front of the oven door with a cocktail. It only makes you appreciate that first bite that much more.

When the pizza looks like it’s ready (or when you can’t wait another second to devour it) take it out of the oven.  Drizzle with truffle oil, and sprinkle with oregano, thyme, and cracked black pepper.

Enjoy with the alcoholic beverage of your choice. Tonight, it was a Moscow mule.

And for dessert, lime-coconut spritz cookies, courtesy of F-in A Desserts, who just so happens to be my neighbor (lucky me!). Get the recipe here: http://f-in-a-desserts.blogspot.com/

I'm a newlywed...

And I couldn't be happier with my life. At 29 years old, I know I'm in for some drastic life changes, but for now I'm just enjoying the moment.

Like a lot of other newly married women, my husband is the center of my universe. With my wedding vows fresh in my happy mind, he really does bring out the best in me and gives me encouragement to do the things that make me happy. That's one of the reasons why I'm starting this blog.

I feel like I have a lot fun ideas to share, and my husband feels the same way. I hope that this blog offers you something, even if that something is a smile.

With a warm heart,
Elizabeth