Onion and Apple Soup

It starts with that annoying tickle in the back of your throat. Next, it's the sniffles and fatigue. Before you know it, you have a full blown cold and you're down for the count. Welcome to the story of my weekend. I've been on a steady rotation of hot soup, hot tea, and hot showers and have spent the majority of the last two days curled up on the couch under a blanket. Today around 3pm, I finally mustered enough energy to drag myself into the kitchen and start a big batch of vegetable stock... throwing everything from ginger to jalapenos into the pot. The aroma of onions, garlic, peppercorns and herbs permeated the house as well as my sinuses. As I looked aimlessly around the kitchen, I noticed that my counter was littered with apples and onions, which happen to be my favorite flavor combo of the week, so I started slicing. I caramelized the pair in a skillet with a healthy dollop of butter. Once they were sufficiently softened and sweet, I added them to the stock which I thickened with flour and almond milk. Hearty enough to accommodate a crusty slice of toast and a thick chunk of Gruyere, this soup was exactly what the doctor ordered. I think there was also a glass of red wine on that order, let me check my prescription....

Polenta of Possibilities

Inspired by a new cookbook I received for Christmas, my culinary adventure du jour was polenta. The recipe was as simple as cornmeal, water, and salt but I decided to spice it up with 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper. Once the polenta had cooked, I pressed it onto a lined cookie sheet and allowed it to cool for about an hour. Using a cookie cutter, I created small rounds. Each one was brushed with olive oil and pan fried for 2 minutes on each side creating a wonderfully crisp outer shell on which to perch delicious toppings. I dressed the crunchy cornmeal cakes with onions that were caramelized in apricot nectar and butter. This brought a wonderful sweetness and balanced the heat of the cayenne pepper. Since it was truly a blank canvas on which to create, fried polenta has secured it's place as another weapon in my culinary arsenal.