Sunday, January 13

WARM UP!

man, i'm gettin' pretty good at flavorful, soulful, sexy soups-
and without gluten, which means no shortcuts,
and weirder 'ronis,
and more vegetables to turn the flavor up to eleven.
yeah.
i will be an expert vegan gluten-free personal chef to my people.
i'm not saying that i'm gonna start turning people to a new way of life,
but on my watch, they'll be eating better than any other time in their lives.
that's my homecooked fresh-baked purpose.
to nourish so we flourish.
at least, in the kitchen. and maybe the bedroom.
hey, now!!  take it easy, i'm just sayin'.
ANYway,
i got home, dead on my feet, barely capable of keeping my eyes open,
and unsure if i was gonna have dinner companions-
( i did not, but it's good to play it safe,
and be a gracious host if circumstances demand it)
so i made an elite semi-minestrone italian warm-up soup.
yes i did, and it's 100% vegan, as always, and 100% gluten-free by design.
those're my moves, man.
check the teleport:

badaBOOM!
rice pasta? it's good if you overcook it.
haha.
f'really realsies tho, otherwise it's a bit gritty.
but, separately soaked and added to the soup postscript?
tight af, neighbors.
yep.
the soup itself was sorta simple-
-
*
MINI-STRONES!
-
in a small pan, caramelize half of one chopped sweet onion;
that's a pinch of pink salt, a dollop of oil, highish heat, and time.
when the onions brown a bit, add a can of drained stewed tomatoes,
and let those cook right up for ten minutes.
mash 'em up so they aren't big chunks.
it'll be better later in the soup if there's more in each bite, y'feel me?
word.
also, reserve the liquid for your soup, bruh.
don't go wastin' tasty juice, that's lame.
-
in a two-quart pot, with a drop of olive oil and a pat of vegan butter,
saute:
1 cup chopped cabbage;
1/2 small sweet onion;
1 carrot, sliced;
1 stalk of celery, sliced;
2 cloves chopped garlic;
1 red skin-on cubed potato;
1 cup baby grape tomatoes;
pink salt, black pepper;
heavy shakes of GPOP;
a punch of nootch.
sizzle that until it gets sorta soft, and the edges get a lil brown-
add the tomato liquid;
1 T red wine vinegar;
1 T tamari;
3 cups warm water;
1 cup drained and rinsed chick peas;
dried basil , oregano, and thyme to taste-
add more salt, if necessary (don't make it bland, buddy, you'll only disappoint yourself)
-
get it up to a hard boil, keep it there for two minutes, turn it down to medium-low,
and add the carmies and 'matoes.
y'ever seen soup?
it should look like that-
y'know?
thicker, richer, colorful, etc.
i added two cups of baby spinach,
and three big hand-torn leaves of basil,
and stirred them until they were bright af, but soft, too.
mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
-
you see the boomfore hottness that i ended up with.
it's F*ing great.
and filling.
and WARM.
and that helped with the arctic awfulness of a dark, dim, forlorn and forsaken evening.
i like that.
a LOT.
hearty stuff is where it's at when there aren't any degrees being recorded
as the temperature.
i had three bowls.
i didn't notice the absence of gluten.
i did notice that i was comfortably full.
that's a victory, for sure.
***********
crabtree haaaaates walking in the very very cold weather.
however,
he also hates being calm and collected without a vent for all his hyperactive energy.
and i'm not trying to endure a doo-doo buttery ball of fireball fury,
running and chewing and generally making a nuisance of himself,
all because his paws are cold outside, and he'd rather stay indoors.
sorry, buddy, but we're trekking through air so cold it hurts to inhale.
he's got a little coat, and it matches mine, and that's cute for sure.
so we look good while we suffer,
and sometimes, that's the best you're gonna get;
never quiet, never soft.....

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