Snow Days & Soup

Dear Polar Vortex,

Enough, mmkay? We're good. We get it. Snow, slush, ice. This is Atlanta, you know? We really aren't set up for this. We're set up for record high temperatures that we can escape by ducking into the nearest air-conditioned Chipotle for a spicy burrito bowl. 

Thanks, 

Diana

So Kevin and I have been home since Monday night, bracing ourselves for a few long days of snow and ice and possible power outages. Kevin works from home regularly, but as an Office Manager, my work is mostly location-oriented (like...the office) so there's not a whole lot I can do from home. As a homebody seeing friends and family complain of cabin fever on Facebook, I had to laugh a bit. I love being at home. Now don't get me wrong, I do need some human interaction from time to time, but three days? Cake walk. 

I spent most of my snow-week cooking, cleaning, organizing, and working on some personal projects that I've been trying to get around to for a while. Since the weather outside was so chilly, soup was definitely on the menu. With a fridge full of zucchini (I love zucchini - raw, grilled, sauteed - it's all good), I turned to one of my Paleo fairy godmothers, Melissa Joulwan, for her recipe for Silky Gingered Zucchini soup, and it was so good. And even better than that? It was so quick and so easy to put together. I had all the ingredients on hand already, and you probably do, too (assuming you have zucchini in the fridge!). Here's the recipe!

Nice big bowl of zucchini soup - I tossed in some leftover spicy Moorish meatballs to make the soup more of a meal, but it's equally good by itself!

Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup

from The Clothes Make The Girl

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon (mild) to 1 teaspoon (hotter) powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (if you’re not on AIP)
4 medium zucchini, about 2 pounds, chopped*
4 cups high-quality chicken broth

Directions:
1. Heat coconut oil in a large soup pot on medium heat, 2 minutes. Add onions, then smash garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife or the bottom of a glass and add to pan. Stir often and cook until the onions and garlic are soft and golden, but not browned, about 7 minutes. Add salt, ginger, and black pepper; stir to combine.

2. Toss the zucchini into the pot. Stir to coat the zucchini with fat, then cook ’til beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the broth, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer. Let the zucchini cook 45 to 60 minutes until it’s very soft.

4. VERY carefully, purée the zucchini and broth in a blender or food processor, or with an immersion blender. If you’re using a blender, work in batches, filling the canister only halfway and holding a towel over the lid while you purée. Eat immediately, or store in a covered container in the fridge.

Happy Cooking!

Noodle Night

I don't often miss the processed foods of my pre-Paleo lifestyle. It's been a long time since I looked longingly at a Twinkie. A fresh bag of barbecue potato chips doesn't hold much appeal for me anymore. One thing I do miss from time to time, though? Noodles. Pasta. A little pile of tangled up spaghetti topped with garlic and anchovy-laden home-made sauce. A steaming bowl of Vietnamese Pho topped with fresh herbs. A cardboard container packed with Lo Mein. So delicious, but so not worth the icky feelings that come with all those grain-based noodles. 

Did you know you could make noodles out of vegetables? If noodles are what you're craving, pop over to your favorite culinary store (or head over to Amazon) and get yourself a julienne vegetable peeler. Essentially just a regular vegetable peeler that has a number of small additional blades that transform the veggies sitting in your fridge into delicious silky noodles in a flash. And the best part? If you use cucumber and carrot like I did, you don't even need to cook them...try to contain your excitement!

Veggie time - chop up that scallion into the daintiest little slivers you can manage. It's not much, but it adds a layer of flavor to this dish.

Pretty colors - I love using this sturdy pottery bowl for salads.

Toast up some sesame seeds. I like to toast mine myself instead of buying the pre-toasted ones. It adds such a nice nutty flavor to the noodles. If you're doing a Whole30, omit the sesame seeds, and maybe consider tossing in some finely chopped roasted cashews. 

Ingredient assembly - spicy ginger dressing, warm toasted sesame seeds, and a whole bowl full of noodly goodness.

I paired my noodle salad with freshly grilled skin-on chicken breast that I brined all day to enhance the moisture. After the chicken comes off the grill, my favorite thing is to toss the chicken in the oven under the broiler until the skin gets crispy and golden. Totally irresistible. Try it - I promise you'll be glad you made tonight noodle night!

Asian Noodles

For the dressing: 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon coconut aminos

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger (if you have fresh ginger on hand, all the better!)

Cracked black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (as much or as little as you like)

For the noodles: 

2 medium cucumbers, julienne peeled

3 medium carrots, julienne peeled

1 scallion, finely chopped

1/4 cup of mint, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine the cucumber and carrot noodles with the chopped mint and scallion. Mix the dressing well, and drizzle over the noodles. Let the noodles marinate in the dressing for 5-10 minutes, then serve. 

Happy Noodle Night!

January Cure: Complete!

I can't believe it's February. My current state of disbelief is probably due in part to the fact that January was insane. Between work being crazy, having critters in our attic, car repairs, a sick dog, and getting stranded at my parents house for two days while Atlanta was in the grip of the Polar Vortex, it's been nuts. 

It's not all been bad, though! If you recall my post from the beginning of the year, I participated in Apartment Therapy's January Cure. While I strayed a bit from the step-by-step instructions, the overall process was so great. It really gave me the motivation I needed to go room-by-room in our house and figure out little project lists for each area. Little things like sorting through clothes to donate to Goodwill, and organizing my spices were done quickly. Putting the finishing touches on our kitchen remodel, and organizing our cluttered closets took longer. I'm not 100% of the way through all of my little to-do's, but I sat down today at my clean organized desk and gave myself a little treat (picture above). Just a little dish of raw pecans, a teeny weeny slice of pecorino romano, a small square of very very dark chocolate with flaked sea salt, and some dried cranberries. I rarely eat chocolate or cheese, but just a tiny piece of each felt like a decadent reward for a month of really hard work! 

What did you accomplish in January?

What Matters Most

I love this quote. It's been playing over in my mind for weeks since the first time I heard it. It's so true, too. I think all the time about intentionality, and about how if I don't set my priorities, the world will do it for me. It's true in the big things as well as the little things. If I don't set aside quality time to spend with Kevin, my week will get filled up with running around and checking things off my to-do list. If I don't make eating clean and healthy a priority, I'll run around chasing other things until I'm left with just enough remaining energy to hit the Wendy's drive-thru and collapse onto the couch as I stuff my face with a couple of crispy chicken sandwiches and one of those tasty tasty frosties. 

The sermon that this quote came from focused a lot on investing your time wisely, and how when it comes to the most important stuff (health, family, etc.), you can't just let things fall by the wayside with the intention of 'making up for it' later. Time is a finite thing, and we only get so much of it. I feel like it makes a lot of sense, even if you're not religious.

So the question I'm trying to ask myself this year is: "What are the areas of my life that matter most, and am I investing my time wisely in those things?"

What's the answer for you?