Posts in Category: Recipes

Simple Asparagus Soup

This asparagus soup recipe is adapted from the Williams and Sonoma Soup Cookbook. I got this cookbook from a friend for my wedding. I pretty much think of her every time I’ve used this book. Every soup from this book has been a home run at our house (except for one). The one exception was the garlic soup. The recipes calls for 12 heads (not cloves HEADS) of garlic. We thought we loved garlic until we made this recipe and realized that there really is too much a good thing.

Velvety Tomato Basil Soup

My cousin introduced me to the best tomato basil soup- and it was at Nordstrom’s. I remember visiting California to see family and she took me out to lunch at Nordstroms. I ordered the soup and was determined after that to recreate it. This recipe is adapted from Serious Eats. I like my soup thicker and reduced the heavy whipping cream. Although I have to admit that the heavy whipping cream is what makes the soup velvety and incredible. Feel free to add more whipping cream for added decadence.

I was curious about the addition of the carrots. The carrots add a sweetness to the soup. The carrots and onion balance out the acidity of the tomato. I remember when I had my first child and I was making baby food for her. I boiled some carrots with a small amount of water so I didn’t lose nutrients. Then I blended the carrots and had a taste. They were  incredibly sweet. I couldn’t believe I was using the word sweet to describe a vegetable. The carrots were sweet. It was my first time experiencing vegetables could be sweet. It also confirmed to me that homemade baby food tasted way better than the watered down version of store bought baby food.

Raspberry Macaron

I hosted a macaron class at my home this past year. It was part of a cooking club I was a member of  which was so fun (I am still lamenting the fact I missed the raclette cheese month). The girl that was in charge of the cooking club must have noticed that I had been bringing macarons to everything. School events, church events and even my neighbors all got macarons because I love them and wanted to get really good at them. Also most people don’t bring macarons to events so I liked having dessert that was an anomaly.

Although I do have a friend who doesn’t care for them and says they taste like pure sugar. I thought that’s exactly why I like them. Here’s where I also come out to say that if you give me a choice between a chocolate dessert and a fruit based one I’ll pick the fruit one over the chocolate one.

Anyways, I hosted a macaron class at my home and it was a success. It was great that everyone who came got hands on practice making the macarons. We made my two favorites raspberry buttercream and a lemon curd.  I checked out a bunch of books from the library that had macaron recipes in them. It was nice to thumb through those and see how creative people can get with flavor combinations (caviar macarons?). I think it really helps when you can see how to macaronage or fold the batter together.