Posts in white wine
kitchen sink veggie soup

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. 

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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. 

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

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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. 

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

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

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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.

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

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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. 

friyay happy hour: cranberry mint cooler

yes, i know it is not actual friday and that is is definitely not happy hour. 

i'll spare you the gory details of my last couple days, but basically friday i had the blog all queued up and ready to go and then my computer froze. and friday at three was the last time i had free time. 

but none of that matters now. the only thing that matters is that today, i get to be with family, eat a ton of food and there is no work to be done! 

after a bustling holiday season, i just want to enjoy a cocktail and relax. so here is an EASY cocktail with a very festive feel. 

cranberry mint cooler
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 4-5 hours (as long as it takes ice to freeze)
active time: 1 minute
ingredients: 6 oz your favorite white wine. .25 cup club soda. sphere or regular ice mold. 10 cranberries. 10 small mint leaves. mint sprig for garnish

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start by creating your ice. in your mold, add the mint and cranberries. top with water and set to freeze. 

when you are ready to indulge, add one sphere or a few of your cranberry ice cubes to your glass. 

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top with white wine.

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add club soda as desired and enjoy. 

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garnish with mint and serve.

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merry christmas, a

cranberry mint cooler
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 4-5 hours (as long as it takes ice to freeze)
active time: 1 minute
ingredients: 6 oz your favorite white wine. .25 cup club soda. sphere or regular ice mold. 10 cranberries. 10 small mint leaves. mint sprig for garnish
start by creating your ice. in your mold, add the mint and cranberries. top with water and set to freeze.
when you are ready to indulge, add one sphere or a few of your cranberry ice cubes to your glass. top with white wine.add club soda as desired. garnish with mint sprig.