THE LOVELY CRAZY

I'll let you know now, I am a make and eat soup all year long person. I can think of few things better then sitting outside, basking in the sun, hopefully with a light wind, a book in hand, enjoying a nice big cup of some good homemade soup. (Doesn't that sound so freaking lovely?) This soup right here is perfect for just that. Parsnips are the best, kind of like a big white sweet, yet starchy carrots. And cooked together with a little bit of light and lemony thyme, rich earthy turmeric and a couple more chopped veggie….. you got yourself a nice thick and fragrant bowl of happiness that fills you up without weighing you down. It's food you can eat that fills you up, leaves you feeling cozy, yet still wanting to hop on a bike or lace up the running shoes. Hearty without the feeling of all the heaviness.

A perfect soup for spring! (or summer, winter, or fall)

The stuff. Parsnips, carrots, onion and garlic. Thyme and turmeric, salt and pepper. the tinniest bit of oil and water (water not shown)Chop all the veggies and the garlic, drizzle a dutch oven or a pot with oil, toss in the veggies. Add the turmeric, the thyme, and 1/2 cup of water. Sweet sweating the veggies. Turn pot on medium and cook until the water completely cooks out. When the veggies start to brown and stick to the pot, deglaze with water. Give a good stir and keep cooking. Repeat the deglazing process until the veggies are super soft and ready to blend. (I did this 4 times.. it only took 10 minutes)Add enough water to cover the cooked veggies. And now blend the heck out of it.. Go as smooth or chunky as you want. I blended as smooth as I could get with this crappy immersion blender. (Blender on loan until I finally decide on, and buy a new one)And there you have it. Scoop into bowls, add lots of cracked black pepper, and go to town. I made enough to save a bowl for later… it didn't last for later.

Soup so good.

-C

Parsnip Thyme and Turmeric Soup

4 large parsnips
2 carrots
1 whole onion
3-4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons turmeric
salt and pepper
olive oil
water

Dice up the parsnips, carrots, garlic and onion and place into a large dutch oven or pot. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle on the spices, salt and pepper and add about 1/2 cup of water. Turn heat on medium and start cooking down the veggies. Once the water evaporates and the veggies start to caramelize, deglaze pot with about a 1/2 cup of water. Give pot a stir, and continue to cook until water evaporates. Repeat this 2-3 more times until the veggies are super soft and fragrant.

When the veggies are ready, add enough water to the pot to submerge the veggies. Bust out the immersion blender or dump into a blending device and blend until smooth (or the consistency that you want) Have a cup of water ready to thin out if needed. When blended, taste for salt and pepper, add more if you want, and cook on low heat until you are ready to serve.

Garnish with a lot of good cracked pepper

Eat from a vessel, use a spoon

I was cleaning my spice shelf (I feel like I do this like once a week) and found some poppy seeds hiding behind some jars. Accidental spice findings happened more often the then one might think in my house.. I like to buy tiny baggies of spices with good intentions of using them, but because of their tiny size, I often lose them or forget about them due to that tininess. But I usually find those tiny little bags, and when I find them, I try to use them right away..(I don't like having old spices around and no, I will not toss it) And it just so happened that I has a lemon in need of using.. and it was getting close to dinner time. I could wait and make lemon poppy seed cake or muffins, or just start dinner. Then I was like, " I'll just make lemon poppy seed pasta." And so I did. And of course it needed to have lots of garlic and some kind of vegetable to round out the dish, (I know tomatoes are fruit but you know what I mean)

And the mister….He loved it. And I am sure you will too. How can you go wrong with lemon, garlic and poppy seeds all creamy and fragrant? You really can't, Pus this recipe is so easily adaptable. It can be vegan and or gluten free..whatever you want it to be.

So if you are looking for a fast, delicious, and impressive looking dinner… look no further. You gots one right here!

Start by tuning oven on to 400 degrees. Chopped tomatoes and sprinkle in oil and salt and stick in the oven. Do this first because the rest of the meal only takes about 10 minutes..So fast!!!

Choose your pasta and get a pot of water boiling and start on the sauce.. which includes, olive oil, lots of garlic, flour, milk(any kind you use), lemon zest a little lemon juice, poppy seeds, salt and pepper.

The sauce is pretty much a basic roux…

Crush the garlic and stick into pot with the oil. Let simmer for a few minutes until you can smell the garlic, which smells like heaven. Whisk in the flour and then gradually whisk in the milk. Keep on low heat and continuously whisk until sauce has thickened and doesn't run off a spoon. Add in lemon zest, the poppy seeds, and the salt and pepper. Mix it all up and turn off heat.

Once your pasta is cooked (cook however it says to on package), reserve about a 1/4 cup of pasta water and drain the rest. Add the pasta water and pasta the sauce. (the pasta water helps the sauce and noodles canooddle together)

And its all mixed up just waiting to be served…and the roasted tomatoes!

Scooped into a bowl with a scoop of the roasted tomatoes and some chopped chives, served with a couple wedges of lemon..just because.

And dinner is done…. and it took all of 15 minutes.

Thank me later.

-C

Lemon Garlic Poppyseed Pasta with roasted tomatoes

3 cups pasta (whatever you want..so it can be gluten free too)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons flour (use corn or arrowroot starch for gluten free)
2 cups milk (cow, hemp, soy…any kind you use)
6 cloves garlic
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2 roma tomatoes (optional but really good)
salt and pepper

Start by chopping tomatoes and placing them in a skillet or baking sheet, sprinkled in salt and a little bit of olive oil, and stick into a 400 degree oven

Bring a large pot of water to a boil add you pasta…cook to the boxes instructions.

While pastas is boiling, crush garlic and add to a pot with the olive oil. Heat on medium low heat until the garlic is fragrant and slightly brown. Now whisk in flour and then whisk in milk. Continue to whisk until sauce thickens to where it doesn't run of a spoon. Add in the zest of 1 lemon, the poppy seeds and salt and pepper to taste. When pasta is done (should be around the same time the sauce is done) reserve about a 1/4 cup of pasta water and drain the pasta from the rest. Add water and pasta to the sauce and mix together.

Remove roasted tomatoes from the oven. Scoop pasta into bowls and top with a scoop of the tomatoes. (you can mix into pasta, but it will turn the sauce red and the tomatoes will fall apart)

Serve with a wedge of lemon and bring food to face!

ENJOY!