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. 

well, i'm wrapping up another week of craziness over here at la casita costa mesa. this week, i hosted the hardware house kitchen's first ever menu tasting for an upcoming wedding we are catering. 

naturally, wes was scheduled for a double he couldn't get out of. so it was just me, myself and i prepping a four course meal for two. oh, and our tasting space is our home. so on top of all the meal prep i had to whip my home into serious shape. after prepping all day (and teaching at six in the morning) i was just starting to feel like i had everything under control. until the client called and was arriving twenty minutes early. basically they had already parked and were about to walk in. 

but instead of getting crazy and freaking out like i probably would have done a year ago, i took a deep breath, slapped a big smile on my face and got to work. the tasting went flawlessly, the bride and her mother walked away feeling confident about the day, and it finally sunk in that i am living my dream. which is fabulous, but it doesn't change the fact that i'm still exhausted and i definitely need a drink to unwind from the crazy. 

cucumbers have an amazing way of cooling and relaxing. they make any cocktail feel a little extra soothing. and since i missed this weeks tips & tricks, here is how i get delicious cucumber juice with out too much muss, fuss or mess. micro planes are not just for zesting citrus. next week's tips & tricks is dedicated to it's great uses. but one of the best uses is for grating cucumbers to extract their juices. 

start with a hot house or english cucumber. slice off the tip of the cucumber and use the flat edge to grate the cucumber on your micro plane. for every ounce of cucumber juice you need, you will want to grate about 1 inch of cucumber. make sure to hold your micro plane at an angle, over a bowl so you capture any of the juices created while grating. 

strain your cucumber through a mesh strainer, making sure to press out any remaining juices left in the flesh of the cucumber. then use your cucumber juice as you like.

honey + cucumber margarita
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz tequila. 2 oz cucumber juice. 1 oz grand marnier. 1 tbs honey. 1 oz lime juice. 1 slice cucumber for garnish. kosher salt for garnish. 1 cup ice for shaker. shaker. 1 cup ice or 1 large ice cube for serving. glass of choice. 

start by making your honey cucumber garnish. dip one edge of your cucumber garnish into the honey just till it is lightly coated.

sprinkle the honey with kosher salt till lightly coated. 

make a small slice in your cucumber, gently place it onto your serving glass filled with ice. 

in your shaker with ice, combine the tequila, grand marnier, 1 tsp honey, lime juice, and cucumber juice. 

shake till well combined. 

strain over ice. 

serve & enjoy. 

xo, a

honey + cucumber margarita
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz tequila. 2 oz cucumber juice. 1 oz grand marnier. 1 tbs honey. 1 oz lime juice. 1 slice cucumber for garnish. kosher salt for garnish. 1 cup ice for shaker. shaker. 1 cup ice or 1 large ice cube for serving. glass of choice.
tart by making your honey cucumber garnish. dip one edge of your cucumber garnish into the honey just till it is lightly coated. sprinkle the honey with kosher salt till lightly coated. make a small slice in your cucumber, gently place it onto your serving glass filled with ice. in your shaker with ice, combine the tequila, grand marnier, 1 tsp honey, lime juice, and cucumber juice. shake till well combined. strain and serve.