Anna Maria Locke

twas the night before Christmas(break)...

AnnaComment
...and I have another colorful recipe to share.
Not because I have been cooking 24/7, but because nothing else exciting has really happened in my life this week!
Seriously. My schedule since Monday has been: wake up, go to the lab, spend all day on Excel (I am definitely the Excel MASTER now....trust me), mayyybe work out, go home, inhale dinner, wonder how it is suddenly 9:30 pm, repeat. Uck.
Luckily, however, I hit upon inventing the most DELICIOUS soup recipe I have ever made (aka better than the only other delicious soup recipe I have ever made) and can now say, the BEST way to clear out your fridge before a long break is to cook all the produce in a pot, then blend it into a creamy soup (ala babyfood style).  In this manner, I present to you

THE BEST Butternut Squash Soup EVER

(please ignore my failed attempt to make an artistic yogurt swirl)

Ingredients:
-one butternut squash
-2 apples
-a few carrots and celery sticks
-1/2 red onion
-vegetable broth
-olive oil
-nutmeg (generous sprinkle)
-allspice(another generous sprinkle)
-salt

Directions:
-Peel and chop squash, microwave ~5 minutes until somewhat soft
-Saute onion in olive oil in your biggest pot
-Chop/peel the apple, carrots, celery
-Add the squash and rest of the chopped produce to the pot
-pour in Vegetable Broth until fruit/veg are barely covered by liquid
-simmer away while you make a quick batch of Pumpkin Cornbread
-Season soup with salt, nutmeg, allspice to taste
-Blend in a blenderrr in batches until creamy, adding more broth if it's too thick
-freeze leftover soup so you can eat it all winter long and never have to crack open a can of nasty Campbell's again.

Tip: when blending hot soup, DO NOT SEAL THE LID ON THE BLENDER. The hot liquid will build pressure.
Note: If you love cornbread, you HAVE TO TRY THE PUMPKIN CORNBREAD.


So yeah,
I am also driving to Indiana tomorrow to kickstart Christmas Break with a family get-together at my Aunt and Uncle's house.  Which is always craaaazy fun :)  I will also get to see my sister, who's flying in from ABERDEEN!
where she has spent the whole semester with the hot Scottish rugby players.
I have missed making fun of her so much!

There is also supposed to be a snowstorm tomorrow. Of course. Hopefully I can outdrive it!!!
Speaking of driving, I have definitely NOT had a chance to clean my apartment or pack at all OR (worst of all) check out new books on tape since finishing finals.
AHHHHHH
oh well.

[rainbow pic by sistah, edited by moi :)]

red cabbage is my new favorite color

AnnaComment

I get so excited when I'm cooking with vivid foods...especially PURPLE ones. Like eggplants.
Avocados are nice too. I've never chopped up a red cabbage before but I HIGHLY recommend it, purely for the aesthetical value :) They are so pretty on the inside! Purple and white swirls. I only refrained from a cabbage photo shoot because the lighting in my galley kitchen is horrible for pictures. Tonight I made this warm red cabbage salad and it was delicious.  Sort of like, sauerkraut's flamboyant cousin from Jamaica.
Dear Mama, make this recipe. Hans will die, it is that good.




Warm Red Cabbage Salad
(adapted from 101cookbooks.com)

-1/2 c. walnuts
-1 t. brown sugar
-salt
-2 T olive oil
-1 red onion, diced
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-1 pound red cabbage, cut into thin ribbons
(one small/medium cabbage)
-1/2 t. dried rosemary (or 1 t. fresh)
-2 oz. golden raisins (or generous sprinkling if you have no idea how much that is)
-1 1/2 T. balsamic vinegar
-feta cheese
-parmesan cheese (shredded)

Directions:
-roast walnuts in a dry pan on medium heat for a couple minutes
-add sugar and a sprinkle of salt, and stir until sugar melts, then immediately transfer nuts to a separate bowl
-Saute onion in the pan with olive oil, then stir in garlic and cabbage. Sprinkle with more salt.
-Stir until cabbage begins to soften (a few minutes)
-Stir in raisins, rosemary, and balsamic.  Keep cooking until it seems done (aka cabbage isn't too crunchy, but do not overcook), about 5 more minutes.
-Add feta and walnuts, and stir in the pan
-garnish with parmesan cheese

YUM


christmastime finally!

AnnaComment
My neglected apartment is in shambles
I have fallen off the face of the earth from my friends and family (sorry!)
and I have not done ANY Christmas shopping
(I am spending all my $$ on gas to drive home, anyway.)

But I am fiiiinally DONE with my first semester of grad school!!!!
I accidentally slept in an extra 1.75 hours today but I feel like I deserved it.
Now it's off the the lab (aka "salt mines" as my advisor is calling it this week...hmm sounds like fun.)
to finish up my research-assistantshipping
(which might be busy and intense)

Starting to wonder if a lucrative career could be made out of Geography Art...