Valentine's Day
For V-day, we did our favorite thing: we stayed home, cooked, and drank wine. For dinner, we made panko breaded shrimp with a bit of fresh ginger and cilantro in the breading. This recipe was featured in Cooking Light magazine and it was my idea of the best thing ever while I was laying on the couch reading magazines and eating pudding, recovering from wisdom teeth surgery. Anyway, the shrimp went over a bed of orange-scented cous cous that also had some ginger, cilantro, green onions, and toasted almonds in it. As if that wasn't enough, it was topped with an orange juice reduction featuring more cilantro, ginger, mayonnaise, and herbs. It was the best thing we've ever made. The brightness of the orange and ginger along with the green of the cilantro and onion were like laying in fresh cut grass on a sunny summer day.
For dessert, we did a chocolate soufflé which turned out really well and tasted great with Haagen-Daas vanilla ice cream plopped right down in the center of the ramekin.
For flowers, we got a bouquet from the florist who is doing our wedding. I was drawn to his work the first time I saw it because he twisted spirals from metal wire and included them with his arrangements. Here is something along the lines of our wedding flowers which will be deep red roses along with copper spirals (and this arrangement also inspired our invitations which Austin's graphic-designer mom will be creating).
How a Leek Becomes a Soup
The last time I made leek soup, RJN requested that I post some pics next time so that he didn't have to take chances with the search term "leek." I don't blame him. Anyway, Ryan J, we decided to make it again last night and it was soooo good. I remembered to take some pics, too!
So, the first thing you do is buy 4-5 leeks and sometimes the grocery clerks ask you what they are because they don't know the PLU thingie. I always was scared of leeks prior but I'm glad I sucked it up and started using them. Anyway, your leeks will look like this:
You have to cut the flags (big leaves) off and then you are left with mostly the white stem. Oh, and cut the root end off too. It's also a good idea to remove the first layer of white. Then you are left with the beautiful part of the leek that is like those little Russian dolls, so many leek layers inside of each other. Rinse these out under running water since they are famous for trapping dirt. Then chop them up and add them to some olive oil in your pan to sautee until tender. The green color gets even more beatiful as they cook.
When the leeks are tender, add about 4 c. cubed potatoes (we used Yukon Gold) and about 5 c. chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, throw in some salt, pepper, whatever, and then wait until the 'tatoes are soft. When that happens, blend the soup up. We have a lovely Kitchenaid immersion blender for just such tasks but you can also run batches through a regular blender. Return the blended stuff to the pan and slowly stir in cubes of cream cheese until you have added a full 8 oz. bar. Then you are done! We had ours with some crusty French bread heated in the oven. Oh, and I won't do the green onion garnish again. I love green onions but the crunchy-ness got in the way of the cozy texture of the soup on its own. We are definitely going to put this soup into our more regular meal rotation.
I Need to Tell the World Why We Registered for Crystal
Austin and I went back to Fields to work on our registry items. This was a good idea since I had just spent lots of time failing to find nice work pants and even when a girl does find pants, it's usually not a fun process. Registering for kitcheny stuff helped to take my mind off it and made me feel somewhat productive. We found a few cool things and had the very helpful clerk look over our registry for some suggestions. She immediately said "crystal" to which I said "nasty." Well, it turns out some people just HAVE to buy crystal for weddings because it's their thing. And if people are gonna buy crystal anyway, you might as well pick out something sort of cute. I selected a few Kate Spade items that are rather nice even though I'd really be happier to get some of the other stuff but just in case Aunt Arvilla feels the need, the crystal is there. And that is why we registered for crystal.
Super Busy, Super Bowl
This semester is really busy for me. Besides all the classes I'm teaching, I'm also taking a French class, in a book group, and volunteering once a week at a local middle school. I'm happy with what I'm doing but it's sometimes been hard when I don't sleep well and I seem to have inherited my mother's sleeping problems. Last night was the first night in a week that I actually slept well and slept through the night (i.e. only woke up at 12:30 and 5:30). My doctor said I have to take at least an hour before bed to read, take a bath, knit, do anything quiet and calming. It works but I can't believe how hard it is to actually do that!
Besides a busy week, I had a friend over during the weekend and we had a blast. We went out for delicious Mexican food and then just hung out, sipping wine and chatting. After she left on Sunday, the first Super Bowl party guest arrived about ten minutes later and we had people here all day. Austin's buddy borrowed a projector from work so we were able to show the big game in big size. Everyone had a good time and it was so much nicer than last year in our tiny apartment. Austin's been doing this for seven years and it seems to get better each year.
Super Bowl Groceries
Now I have to stop procrastinating, write some lesson plans, and try to find the last of the empties hidden around the house since tomorrow is garbage day :)
