I've never been a soup fan. Well, I take that back - I have always loved creamy tomato soup accompanied by buttery grilled cheese or even crackers. But other soups have always seemed so boring and predictable and bland to me. Especially soup from a can. Well, due to my friend Suzy I now have a new attitude thanks to her easy-peasy tortilla soup made from staple ingredients and a few special ones. Perfect for packing up for lunches or for a relatively quick dinner. Especially great during this winter lull of local veggies. I've been making batch after batch over the last few weeks since being introduced to the formula. And she's right - regardless of the exact ingredients or quantities it always turns out!
Suzy's Easy-Peasy Tortilla SoupFeel free to experiment with quantities and ingredients - Suzy swears there's no real recipe but here's my version (using organic when I can)...1 medium white onion, chopped
cooking spray
1 large 28oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 16 oz. cans of corn
2 16 oz. cans of dark kidney beans
1 small can of green diced chilies
cumin
chili powder
4 C water
4 small vegetable bouillon cubes (or amount for 4 C water)
avocado (optional)
shredded cheddar/mexican cheese (optional)
tortilla chips (optional)
Spray a large stock pot with cooking spray to coat the pot. Heat pot over medium heat and add chopped white onion and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, corn, kidney beans, and chilies along with their can juices (just dump it all in!). Cook over medium-high heat along with approximately 4 cups water and appropriate bouillon. Add more or less water as desired. Season with cumin and chili powder as desired (heavy on both for me).
Just keep cooking the soup for about 30 minutes over medium-high or so until all of the flavors have commingled and the ingredients are soft. Serve piping hot with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and chopped avocado as garnish (or you can place the chips in the bottom of the bowl too - that's how Suzy recommends it).
This soup reheats well so make a big batch to take for lunches or as a quick ready-made dinner.
I am totally a sucker for smell-good hand soap. Love it. Just ask my friends. I give it as thank-you-for-taking-care-of-my-cats gifts and housewarming gifts and I-have-no-idea-what-to-give-you-but-I-love-smell-good-hand-soap gifts.
As a birthday present to myself, I have the whole day off work today...what to do? Well, here I thought I would "sleep in" but I guess now that I'm *gasp* 32, that means 7:00AM. Oh well. It was certainly nice not to awake to a beeping alarm. Now it's coffee time, catching up on e-mails, reading the updated blog of my former coworker Melissa who just adopted twin girls from Russia, and watching an episode or two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What a way to spend the morning!
I pulled together an arrangement of pussy willow branches confiscated from my parents (thanks Mom & Dad), and pear tree branches and forsythia from my own backyard. The forsythia was still in bud form when I snipped it, but the blooms exploded the next day - such a bright burst of yellow.
Walking around downtown Fredericksburg this past weekend didn't disappoint - the weather was warm enough to mosey around and the cherry trees were in full bloom all along the streets.
What are your favorite signs of spring?
I really, truly, don't want to smell. Really. But I also don't want to compromise my principles. Problem solved with my purchase (and over one month of testing - wanted to make sure it worked before I reported) of Kiss My Face's Liquid Rock roll-on deodorant. While you do have to let yourself dry a bit before dressing, I've found that I can do a lunchtime workout and not have to reapply (although I sometimes do just in case). I've been using the unscented but may try some of the other "flavors" in the next round as this version does smell a bit "enzymey".
I've never been a soup fan. Well, I take that back - I have always loved creamy tomato soup accompanied by buttery grilled cheese or even crackers. But other soups have always seemed so boring and predictable and bland to me. Especially soup from a can. Well, due to my friend Suzy I now have a new attitude thanks to her easy-peasy tortilla soup made from staple ingredients and a few special ones. Perfect for packing up for lunches or for a relatively quick dinner. Especially great during this winter lull of local veggies. I've been making batch after batch over the last few weeks since being introduced to the formula. And she's right - regardless of the exact ingredients or quantities it always turns out!
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Christine and I took a wonderful road trip to visit our dear friend Suzy in Wilmington, North Carolina - her new adopted hometown. Such a peaceful weekend spent with lots of wine, good food, and beautiful scenery. Downtown Wilmington has such a great vibe - I really do love towns where you can walk to shops, restaurants, and parks (although we did a lot of staying in too - Suzy's tortilla soup and sangria were just too yummy). We did make it out for some meals: dinner at YoSake for some great sushi and bubbly sake, breakfast at Barista Cafe with the best homemade potato chips ever (yes, chips are breakfast fare - I mean, they're just like hashbrowns right?), and brunch on our last day at not-quite-downtown Jester's. We didn't do anything cultural in the least (unless you can count watching hours of Tom Jones as "cultural") but next time I just might have to venture into the Cape Fear Serpentarium just to mix it up.
On our morning of departure I realized I hadn't taken a single picture - no crazy slumber party pics, but I did manage to snap some tidbits when I took an early morning walk before the others had started to stir...
I don't know what to write. I'm feeling a little, well.... See, I've been a bit preoccupied for the last couple of weeks ever since I got back from a lovely trip down to Wilmington, North Carolina to visit a friend (pictures to share from that trip later - I promise). She's always good about lending me fun new books to read and this trip to visit was no exception.
