Friday, February 22, 2013

Spitting (on) Snowflakes

I find myself constantly reevaluating my relationship with snow. As in on a daily basis.



Coming from California snow was always an anomaly that never really happened "in these neck of the woods."

Growing up there was usually one or two days a year when  my Dad would load up the truck and drive my sister, our trusty hound dog Jake and I up to the Foothills to experience a little snowfall. In fact I vividly remember the first time I actually saw snow falling from the sky! I must have been 10 years old or so and it made quite the impression. :)

So now for the first time in my life I live in a climate that experiences regular snowfall and my reaction has ranged from pure child-like bliss to slightly-less-than-natural downright resentment.

My thoughts on snow in a nutshell:

1. Being inside toasty warm with a mug of tea in hand and a fleece-y blanket tucked around me = WIN

2. Trudging (emphasis on the trudge) through slushy, filthy, frozen, ice = NOT FUN
Nor for that matter is having snowflakes blown into your eye by the Arctic wind any better. It's painful, especially if you wear contacts.

I thought after living in Ireland I would have become accustomed to rapidly changing weather. That is not apparently the case. Here it could start out sunny in the morning, followed by dark angry clouds, then a flurry of snow fall, and finally the return of sunshine.



Or it could be like today- sunny, windy, cloudy and lightly snowing at the same time.

???

It's something I'm still trying to wrap my brain around.

In other news I've fashioned myself a remedy to snowy-angry days. Days when I come home in the evening and I literally cannot feel my face and my nose has turned so red that I resemble Rudolph.

SOUP

Not especially German, but it's helping me cope with the German weather, so that must count for something!
It may seem like a no-brainer, and yes I agree with you. It totally is. But that fact doesn't tarnish the brilliance of an old fashioned bowl of tomato soup.

I've been making this soup weekly, and sometimes bi-weekly. It's so easy to throw together and makes for a perfect easy dinner or lunch. Best of all it's totally customizable to what extra ingredients you have lying around. Last night I went Mexican and topped it with sliced avocado, sour cream and homemade tortilla strips. Today for lunch I served it over a scoop of brown rice and topped it with low-fat yogurt and red chili flakes. Feel free to make it your own!

Tomato Soup
recipe adapted from 101cookbooks.com

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red onion, chopped
1 1/2 t  ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
1 t cayenne pepper (or red chili flakes)
2 t salt
2 14-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth

1. Start by heating the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Then, add the onion allowing them to soften for 2-3 minutes. Next add the garlic and salt and sauté for one minute.
2. Add the spices. While stirring cook for a few minutes or until the spices become fragrant.
3. Add the tomatoes and allow to thicken. Once tomatoes have thickened add once cup of stock and remove from heat. Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender) puree the soup until smooth.
4. While pureeing add the remaining stock. What you want here is a nice consistency without it becoming too watery.
5. Taste the soup for seasoning and spice.

I have to apologize but I was so eager to eat up this soup that I forgot to snap a picture! So get to your kitchens and make some tomato soup this weekend! Then you can see for yourselves :)



1 comment:

  1. I had the childlike bliss reaction because snow meant three days off work and an this usually noisy city was suddenly quiet. Then it rained and the snow disappeared.

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