What's Cookin'?

So, I have not forgotten about my plans to cook through the Joy of Cooking - just been really busy and have not had to time to blog :( I've been busy writing and Shawn came to visit for a few days and we celebrated Marc's birthday (in style I might add! - will blog about in the future, but need some pics) and we had an 80's weekend of Def Leppard, Poison, and Cheap Trick, and on and on...

Anyway, the first recipe I tackled from Joy of Cooking - I am going to start calling it JOC - was the Salsa Fresca. Now, I know what you are thinking - 'What is so special about fresh salsa?' Well, I admit it is VERY easy to make, but I have never made a real salsa. I have made corn salsas and fruit salsas and my avocado salad, which is a salsa of sorts. But I have never made a real salsa. The ingredients were brief - tomatoes, onion, lime juice, jalapeno, radishes (?!?), garlic, and cilantro. Just chop and throw everything together, salt and pepper to taste. And it was special in a way, we had some good friends come over and we enjoyed a simple meal outside on our new patio. Matt grilled some burgers with bacon, jack cheese, and guac and we had some fresh salsa with our chips.

And that is the point of my JOC mission - to enjoy some new recipes for our everyday.


And for our everyday this week...

Lentil Soup with Greens
I *love* making soup! It is so much better (and more fun) than a can. And this week is a soup week. Last night we had one of our fav easy meals - grilled cheese and tomato soup. I tried a tomato soup from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food site, the Classic Tomato Soup. It was quite good, but my current favorite from the same site is the Creamy Tomato Soup. If you have not checked-out this site for recipes, you must! I have loved everything that I have tried. So back to JOC, tonight I tried the Lentil Soup with Greens. This was a very hearty and yet healthy soup. You start with a mirepoix (onions, carrots, celery) and I added some bacon, and you just saute, then add the lentils, diced tomato, thyme and water. I also added some zucchini and kale towards the end. Finish with some balsamic and parmesan cheese. We had it with a green salad and some multi-grain bread. It was very satisfying. A good meal after a long day...

And that reminds me... All this cooking talk makes me think of one of the projects in my perpetual queue of craftiness - a decorative project for the kitchen. After all, our kitchen is *bitchin'*!!


This is from the book Subversive Cross Stitch. Shawn gave this book to me a few Christmases ago :)