Recipe: Simplest Pea Soup

Sweet, Creamy and Green, Green, Green

Sweet Pea Soup with Goat Cheese and Sunflower Seeds

I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather recently (damn you, fall!) which has given me even more of an incentive to indulge in my love of soup.

This one is particularly perfect for those tired-not-feeling-so-good days because it’s lovely and light, cheerfully colorful, and ridiculously fast and easy to prepare.  I garnished mine with some goat cheese and sunflower seeds for crunch, but leave them out if you don’t have them on hand, or add whatever strikes your fancy.  You can’t really go wrong.

Recipe: Carrot Parsnip Soup with Blue Cheese

 

Carrot Parsnip Soup with Valdeon Blue Cheese

 

I am very ambivalent about the fall.  On the one hand, I adore so many things about this time of year: The warm, sunny afternoons that seem to defy the cool mornings.  The tinges of burnt orange and yellow on trees.  The excuse to bring out the plethora of scarves and jackets in my closet, while paying more attention to their fashion relevance than their ability to keep me warm (..this won’t last long…).  Ironic Halloween costumes.  Pumpkins.  And, need I even say it? — APPLES!

On the other hand, the fall is a harbinger of what is, quite possibly, my greatest fear in life:  Cold.

Have You Ever Eaten an Eggplant?

One possible solution to our eating crisis:  If they grow it, they’ll eat it.

Youth Garden staff and teens with D.C. Green Jobs share a meal of crispy eggplant with tomatoes, all harvested on site.

Last week I went to visit the Washington Youth Garden, where I used to volunteer last year when I lived in D.C. (check out what I wrote about the experience).  The Youth Garden is a one-acre organic garden located in the National Arboretum in Northeast D.C.  [Aside: If you are in or near the D.C. area and have never visited the Youth Garden or the Arboretum, please go.  Like, right now.  It's prime growing/harvest season and the garden is spectacular.]

The mission of the Youth Garden is educating children and families in horticultural skills as well as promoting better nutrition and healthier lifestyles in under-served communities.  Their range of programs bring community members into the garden and also send staff and volunteers into the community to teach them about growing food, environmental responsibility, principles of nutrition, and general healthy lifestyle maintenance.

Peppy Pesto Summer Salad

Being in Spain for a year almost allowed me to forget the suffocating inferno that is Washington, D.C. in the summer.   But heading back here in July definitely reminded me of the fact that my hometown was built on a swamp.  Even though here I have the luxury of a reliable air conditioning system (not the case in Europe, even in 100-plus degree weather), all I want to eat in weather like this is fresh fruits and cool vegetables.

Kale Chips by Gymhopper and Epicuriosa

Crispy Salty Spicy and Green

One of the cool things about coming home in the summer is coinciding with other friends who happen to be in town too. Luckily for me, I have the privilege of being friends with the Gymhopper from Buns of Steal, whose family also resides in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.   On her suggestion, after my Dupont Circle farmer’s market blowout, we went to check out the Rockville town center farmer’s market in order to compare the goods and the prices.

Farmer’s Market Extravagance

It is possible to be taste-conscious, health-conscious, and cost-conscious too?

The produce from the farmer’s market REALLY is that much better. But it’s also that much more $$.

After spending the last month or so wandering from gorgeous market to gorgeous market, I got a bit tired of only admiring the produce and photographing it.  Despite the fact that I was constantly eating delicious food, not cooking for a whole month was very hard for me.  So upon returning to Washington, I convinced my mom that, instead of our weekly visit to Costco, we should hit the Dupont Circle farmer’s market.

Despite the 100-plus degree heat and the fact that our lack of parking karma forced us to endure it in full sun for several blocks, the excursion turned out to be a resounding success.

Produce like this is a revelation… You think you’ve had a tomato before, but you taste one of these and realize your idea of a tomato was only a shell of the creature that a tomato could ever become.  You’ve never really had a tomato before at all.

Squash Blossoms and Other Plants

Rialto Food Market, Venice: Part III

And for my final installment… I bring you Venice’s finest fruits and vegetables.

I had the incredibly good fortune of happening upon this market during the height of squash blossom season. The blossoms are the flowers of the zucchini plants and are incredibly delicate but delicious, especially stuffed and fried. It made me sad that I had such a short time on this trip that I couldn’t take some home and play with them… but at least I got to observe their beauty and now you can too.

Budapest Central Market

So as I mentioned, I’ve left Madrid to do a little bit of traveling.  My first stop: Budapest, Hungary.  Later I’ll go into some observations about this place and the way people eat, but first I just wanted to share my shots of the beautiful central market.  Surprisingly, I found, most of the people shopping and browsing here were not tourists.  They were locals, closely inspecting the eggplant or chatting up the butcher.  Also, as you’ll see, the products are stunningly beautiful.  And (compared to what I’m used to) insanely cheap.