Soup's On!

Over the past month I've been playing around with some new soup recipes, just the thing on a cold, snowy evening.  The top one is a wonderful Tortelli en Brodo with a chicken stock broth, spinach, carrots from my garden, and a bit of herbs. 

This next one below is a vegetable broth with grilled tofu noodles, mushrooms, corn (from my garden) and spinach again plus this one was super spiced with curry, turmeric and anise. Very tasty, the boys hardly noticed there was tofu in it.

I also used more of my frozen home grown corn to make a fantastic Chicken Corn Chowder that turned out fabulously.  So good we got right to eating and I forgot to take a quick picture.  I used potatos in it, onions, milk and half/half, seasoned with salt, pepper, dry mustard, and dill.

One of my greatest defenses against illness that I use in pretty much everything I cook is herbs and spices.  When you buy processed foods they use natural and artificial flavorings which gives you nothing nutritionally.  Using these flavorful and healthful plants made a world of difference for your body, mind, and taste buds!  Even something as simple as sunny-side up eggs I add a little dill on top with the salt and pepper.  Pumps up the flavor and looks pretty too!  Stir-fying is a staple for my family, it is an easy way to get great ingredients into one pan.  Sometimes it is served over rice, sometimes noodles, or it can get a little more exotic with couscous and quinoa.  I also try to use as many colors in my cooking so we can "eat a rainbow" every week.

It is rare that I eat in restaurants for a variety of reasons but one near our home that I am always excited to visit is the Flint Crepe Company.  Click on the name to visit the website.  Their recipe guidelines alone make me happy.  From the site:

Our recipes will...
​-be made from scratch.

-be driven by the food that is currently available based on our region and season.

-be sourced from growers and producers that operate their businesses ethically and responsibly.

-Offer something for everyone (ask us*).

The menu constantly changes depending on what is available seasonally and they never dissappoint.  Last week I went on a field trip with a friend and we stopped in for lunch.  I had an incredible Reuben Crepe and a loose leaf green tea.  Heaven.

What was the field trip you ask?  We went to the Flint Institute of Arts to see an A la Carte program about Women in Art.  The original film has some technical difficulties but the replacement was just as amazing, informative, and inspiring.  It was about Kiki Smith, an amazing artist who works in many mediums, as she prepared for a house museum exhibit in Venice, France.  After the movie we perused the galleries with new pieces and were fortunate enought to have a delightful interchange with one of the museums trustees.  We also got to see the new ceramic and welding wing that had recently been added to the art school.  That is something on my bucket list, to take a ceramics class again someday.  I had done many art classes as a kid but got away from it as an adult.  It has been my experience that people who completely imerse themselves in artful endeavors and keep their youthful thinking tend to live more healthy and ultimately longer lives.

Eat Happy.  Art Happy.