lately, i have been a busy little bee cooking up a bunch of new projects. currently, i am working on a revamp of newfoodtuesdayz. in the works are more user friendly recipes, beautiful, easy to use recipe archives and new features like online ordering for my cake business.

so i have been going through old posts, looking for direction and inspiration. i went all the way back to the beginning. and one of the first posts was an all time favorite. potato leek soup. i believe the recipe i used was from one of my idols, martha. the recipe gave my my first real cooking tip. since leeks can be dirty and gritty, slice them and soak them in some water. all the dirt will wash off, drain the leeks and pat them dry and they are ready for use. 

not only did i learn my first pro tip, for the first time, someone cooked a recipe from newfoodtuesdayz. now, it wasn't really MY recipe, but it didn't matter then.

but that's not even the best part. the friend who cooked the soup? my dear friend lindsey who is working with me on the other BIG project i am working on. a CAKE calendar. yes. you read that correctly. i will let you process for a moment... 

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yes. a calendar all about cake. here is a taste from our first shoot.

while you contemplate what cakez i could possibly come up with, here is MY version of potato + leek soup. sorry martha, mine is my better. 

potato + leek soup
serves: 4
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 35 minutes
total time: 45 minutes
ingredients: 2 tbs olive oil. 3 large leeks, white and light green parts sliced .25 inch thick (soaked in water, strained and dried). 1.5 lbs yucon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped. 1 tbs minced garlic. .5 cups marsala wine. .5 tsp nutmeg. 5 small sage leaves, chopped. 6 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs kosher salt. 1 tsp fresh ground pepper. 1 cup seasoned croutons. hand immersion blender, blender or food processor. 

start by hearing the oil over medium high heat until hot. add in the leeks and cook until starting to brown. about 5-8 minutes. season the leeks with a couple pinches of salt and one of pepper. add in the garlic and cook until it is fragrant. about 1 minute. 

pour in the marsala and while it bubbles up, scrape up any browned bits. 

add in the potato, sage, nutmeg and the remaining salt and pepper. bring the soup to a boil. about 7-10 minutes. reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid had reduced a bit. you should have lost about .5 inch of liquid from the original liquid lime on your pot. once you can smash a potato piece against the side of the pot, it is ready. 

remove from the heat and blend until smooth. 

serve hot with croutons.

xo,a

potato + leek soup serves: 4 prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 35 minutes
total time: 45 minutes
ingredients: 2 tbs olive oil. 3 large leeks, white and light green parts sliced .25 inch thick (soaked in water, strained and dried). 1.5 lbs yucon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped. 1 tbs minced garlic. .5 cups marsala wine. .5 tsp nutmeg. 5 small sage leaves, chopped. 6 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs kosher salt. 1 tsp fresh ground pepper. 1 cup seasoned croutons. hand immersion blender, blender or food processor. start by hearing the oil over medium high heat until hot. add in the leeks and cook until starting to brown. about 5-8 minutes. season the leeks with a couple pinches of salt and one of pepper. add in the garlic and cook until it is fragrant. about 1 minute. pour in the marsala and while it bubbles up, scrape up any browned bits. add in the potato, sage, nutmeg and the remaining salt and pepper. bring the soup to a boil. about 7-10 minutes. reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid had reduced a bit. you should have lost about .5 inch of liquid from the original liquid lime on your pot. once you can smash a potato piece against the side of the pot, it is ready. remove from the heat and blend until smooth. serve hot with croutons.

my thirty first birthday is this thursday and it has me feeling particularly reflective. as the new year approaches, in between fruit platter deliveries and baking a dozen cakes, i've been taking stock of where i'm at in my life and preparing mentally for where i want to go. and i've come to a great conclusion. i'm content. sure, i have a long way to go till i've accomplished all my dreams, but my life is beautiful and i have so much to be grateful for. i changed my entire life and somehow managed to land on my feet. 

last year was such an emotional roller coaster. starting two new career paths was physically and mentally challenging. as i look back, starting a catering business and teaching again at the exact same time was a bit aggressive. but hey, i've always been a bit aggressive. but now, things are feeling very settled. comfortable. i'm living the life i dreamt of living and it feels even better than i thought it would.

one of the best moments i've had over the last few weeks was a trip to my friends jackie & scott's home where they have a fantastic organic garden growing. we spent the twilight hours talking about organic gardening, the process of how we grow and look at food as a society and the struggles and triumphs of growing your own. i came home with baskets of the most beautiful lemons, beets, sage, oregano, cilantro, basil, jalapeno, red & romaine lettuce, chives, green onions and radish. i can't wait to see what their spring and summer harvests bring. 

in the mean time, i'm working my way through my stockpile of fresh produce. after weeks of consistent catering and delivery, i have a lot of odds and ends i need to use up before they go bad. i'm always looking for things i can make and keep on hand for a few days. and i love soup no matter the season. with all the fresh herbs i have in my arsenal now, i knew a delicious veggie soup was the way to go. you can always doctor this soup up with what you have on hand. and if you needed to make it a bit hardier, you could always add some chopped up chicken or turkey or even some noodles. 

kitchen sink veggie soup
serves: 6-8
prep time: 15 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
ingredients: 1 brown onion, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 carrots, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 celery stalks, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 tbs olive oil. 2 cups potatoes, diced into .5 inch pieces (i used small boiling potatoes but you can use what you have on hand, smaller potatoes work great). 1 cup chopped beet greens or chard (swiss or rainbow). 1 cup tomatoes, diced .5 inch pieces. 3 garlic cloves minced. 2 green onions, finely chopped. 1 tbs fresh sage, finely chopped (1 tsp dried sage if you don't have fresh). .5 tbs oregano, finely chopped (.5 tsp dried oregano if you don't have fresh). .5 tbs thyme, finely chopped (.5 tsp dried thyme if you don't have fresh). .5 cup dry white wine. 6 cups good quality chicken stock (you could easily make this vegan by using veggie stock). 1 tbs kosher salt. .5 tbs freshly ground black pepper. 

start by combining your carrot, celery and onion in a large pot over medium heat. 

drizzle your veggies with your olive oil and season with a few pinches of your salt and a pinch of pepper. 

cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes. 

add in your tomato, green onion and garlic. season with another couple pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1-2 minutes. 

add in the potatoes, herbs and greens. season with another couple pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper. stir well to combine.

pour in the wine and cook until the liquid has reduced by half and the alcohol has burnt off. about 5-7 minutes. 

pour in the chicken stock and season with the remaining salt and pepper. bring the soup to a boil. once the liquid boils, reduce it to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. about 15-20 minutes.

serve hot, or cool completely and store in the fridge for 3-5 days.

xo, a

kitchen sink veggie soup
serves: 6-8
prep time: 15 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
ingredients: 1 brown onion, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 carrots, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 celery stalks, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 tbs olive oil. 2 cups potatoes, diced into .5 inch pieces (i used small boiling potatoes but you can use what you have on hand, smaller potatoes work great). 1 cup chopped beet greens or chard (swiss or rainbow). 1 cup tomatoes, diced .5 inch pieces. 3 garlic cloves minced. 2 green onions, finely chopped. 1 tbs fresh sage, finely chopped (1 tsp dried sage if you don't have fresh). .5 tbs oregano, finely chopped (.5 tsp dried oregano if you don't have fresh). .5 tbs thyme, finely chopped (.5 tsp dried thyme if you don't have fresh). .5 cup dry white wine. 6 cups good quality chicken stock (you could easily make this vegan by using veggie stock). 1 tbs kosher salt. .5 tbs freshly ground black pepper.
start by combining your carrot, celery and onion in a large pot over medium heat. drizzle your veggies with your olive oil and season with a few pinches of your salt and a pinch of pepper. cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes. add in your tomato, green onion and garlic. season with another couple pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1-2 minutes. add in the potatoes, herbs and greens. season with another couple pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper. stir well to combine. pour in the wine and cook until the liquid has reduced by half and the alcohol has burnt off. about 5-7 minutes. pour in the chicken stock and season with the remaining salt and pepper. bring the soup to a boil. once the liquid boils, reduce it to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. about 15-20 minutes. serve hot, or cool completely and store in the fridge for 3-5 days.