The Garden Apartment

The anti-muse {and asparagus fennel soup}

Don't get me wrong. Usually my husband is my first consideration when I am cooking meals at home. 

But sometimes, John is my anti-muse.

You see, there are two ingredients in particular that he despises: mushrooms and asparagus. The first has become a true point of contention which is not allowed to be discussed. He does not like mushrooms- period. He doesn't appreciate having them inconspicuously sneaked into dishes or the discussion of potential preparations that may convert him to loving fungus. In fact, this written paragraph may get me into some trouble.

Asparagus, on the other hand, is something of an open ingredient. He's willing to explore it a bit, but usually with little success.

With all this in mind, these are usually the first two ingredients I choose when I am not cooking for my husband. Thus, John is the anti-muse.

This asparagus soup falls into the anti-muse category.

I love this recipe because the ingredients are simple, the preparation is quick, and the finished bowl can be fussed over to look as if the degree of difficulty was much higher. Best of all, I tried it out on John, and he is willing to tolerate one bowl. Well, sometimes.

I made this dish for my recent cooking class at Whole Foods, keeping in mind that asparagus will be coming into season soon. This simple soup can be brightened up with a drizzle of olive oil, some lemon zest, and chopped fennel fronds.

Asparagus Fennel Soup {serves 6}         Printer Friendly Version

Adapted from BonApetit

Ingredients:

• 4 TB butter or olive oil
• 1/2 large fennel bulb, roughly sliced
• 4 large shallots, roughly sliced
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 pounds of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
• vegetable or chicken stock, to cover (about 3-4 cups)
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper, to taste
• fennel fronds, finely chopped (optional)

Procedure:

Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the fennel, shallots, and a dash of salt. Sauté until soft and beginning to caramelize; about five minutes. Add the fresh asparagus and coriander and sauté for one additional minute. Cover with the vegetable stock and simmer for five minutes, until asparagus pieces are tender.

Blend thoroughly in batches, until soup is smooth and creamy. Return to stockpot and add lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil or dollop of creme fraiche, and optional chopped fennel fronds.

Explaining my absence {and watermelon soup with yogurt, mint, and toasted pecans}

July?  Already? 

July is most definitely my favorite month and one of the best months for locavore eating, and here I am just writing my first post of the month.

I must explain my absence.

You see,the garden apartment has become something of a cross between a moving out zone and a construction zone.

Between packing up boxes (including some of my favorite kitchen gadgets, oh no!) and the last minute projects we've decided to take on (painting, re-grouting the bathroom), cooking has become a rather difficult task.

If you're wondering why two people moving out of a small apartment are putting so much effort into improving it, let me explain. We own the garden apartment, and the series of projects began when we realized we would have to rent the apartment out for a few years before selling it (has anyone heard that it is not a seller's market?). So, we decided it was time to get a dishwasher. Yes, that's right. We have never had one- even with all the cooking and baking and culinary projects.

Getting a dishwasher meant losing some cabinet space. So we decided to buy another cabinet to add on to the opposite counter. This meant that our counter was no longer long enough, so we'd need to get new ones. Do you see where this all is going?

Basically, we have almost completely remodeled the garden apartment's kitchen into a beautiful kitchen I would have loved to use the entire time I lived here. 

The situation on Sunday was something like this. Garden apartment: full of boxes and extra furniture given to us by a friend who knows we'll need more in the house (we have two dining room tables in our dining room right now, and a large dresser in our living room). Garden apartment kitchen: looking great, but counter tops have just been sealed and cannot be used for 24 hours.

What's a girl to do? I decided it was time to use one of those extra dining room tables to chop some summer produce. I'd make something I could use a portable appliance for (blender), and which did not require the stove or kitchen (with the exception of toasting the pecans).

Earlier this week, I took a field trip to theAmish market in Charlotte Hall, Maryland.

I found a large watermelon with deep green skin. This watermelon was begging me to make it into a cold soup. Yes, begging.

I also happened to have a few other local ingredients around: mint and basil plants growing in my window wells, Greek yogurt from the Blue Ridge Dairy, and some Virginia pecans I picked up awhile ago from the Crystal City farmers market.

I would blend together the main ingredients, then top it all off with some extra mint, some diced watermelon, a little red onion, and some toasted Virginia pecans. 

John was skeptical about the idea of cold watermelon soup, but was easily won over after one bite. The soup was perfectly refreshing on a warm summer day, with a nice blend of flavors and textures from the garnishes. 

Cold Watermelon Soup with yogurt, mint, and toasted pecans

Makes 4 First Course Servings

• 4 cups of watermelon, seeds removed and diced (+ 1/4 cup extra watermelon small diced for garnish)
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt 
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon of champagne vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of honey 
• pinch of salt
• dash of pepper
• 2 tsp mint, diced in a chiffonade (+ extra for garnish)
• 1 tsp basil, diced in a chiffonade
• 1/4 red onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped into small pieces and toasted

Make the soup:

Combine the 4 cups of watermelon, 1/2 Cup Greek yogurt, lime juice, champagne vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, 2 tsp of the mint, and basil in a blender. Blend until smooth. 

Set aside in the fridge and chill for at least 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the garnishes. Finely dice 1/4 cup of watermelon. Finely dice 1/4 cup of red onion. Reserve 1-2 teaspoons of the mint chiffonade for garnish. 

Heat a small frying pan to medium high. Add the chopped pecans. Toss from time to time until pecans are evenly toasted.

Putting it all together:

Remove the soup from the refrigerator. Spoon into bowls, then top with reserved watermelon, red onion, toasted pecans, and mint.

Enjoy!

* * * * * * * * * *

And if you're still in the mood for watermelon, check out my recipe for Watermelon Granita Rum Colladas!

Garden Apartment Gumbo

A trip to New Orleans inspired me to try my hand at gumbo- though more of a Virginia gumbo, utilizing local Chesapeake Bay lump crab along with some locally grown veggies.

Unless DC takes a freak turn towards warm temperatures, this time of year is always the perfect time to take a trip somewhere south.

This year, John and I decided to take a long weekend trip to New Orleans with some of our good friends.

John had been to the Big Easy on a few other occasions, back in his single days. These trips were reportedly full of Bourbon Street imbibing and a general lack of cultural experiences.

Things change once you're married.

Now, now. To be fair, we did spend a good portion of our trip in the French Quarter. But we also meandered out of the French Quarter several times-- only to be richly rewarded by wonderful neighborhood pubs, restaurants, shops, and music venues.

On our first night, we took a cab to the Bywater to a little neighborhood joint called Vaughn's. It was Thursday, a night described in our Lonely Planet Guidebook as "legendary" due to trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and his band The Barbeque Swingers. We quickly learned that the entire city is pure music and food. You see, Kermit's band is called the Barbeque Swingers because they are known to make barbeque for the people attending their gigs. There was no barbeque the night we were there, but the band had prepared some very tasty red beans and rice. It was served up in large vats at the back of Vaughn's. Music lovers, as Kermit referred to all of us, crowded around with styrofoam bowls filled with the local specialty.

It was a great way to begin a long weekend filled with delicious food, drink, and fantastic music. 

There was my discovery (and repeated rediscovery) of the mint julep- a drink which inspired this photo.

There were walks down by the water, after eating beignets and drinking coffee at the powdered sugar covered Cafe du Monde.

 

And there was the stumbling into a little hole in the wall called Coops Place. It was a dark, musky smelling place with seats misarranged all around the bar and the sides of the restaurant. Upon finding a seat wedged between the bar, pool table, and the corner, we began noticing wonderful things. First and foremost: the smell of their own smoker out back. Second, their menu made it impossible to make a choice, especially once we began seeing other customer's food arriving: bowls of steaming gumbo, plates full of fried chicken, red beans and rice, and their special jambalaya.

Unable to decide, we chose the combination plate. What a plate full of food, but especially, what a bowl full of gumbo. It was delicious. 

In this spirit, I decided to come home and make my own gumbo. 

I'm sure it won't quite qualify as New Orleans style, but in the mode of the Garden Apartment, I did purchase several of the ingredients locally. 

At the Old Town Alexandria Farmers Market, I bought some of Bigg Riggs Farms frozen peppers. Calvin, of Bigg Riggs, froze many fresh picked veggies this summer and is selling them at market.

 

At the DuPont Circle Market on Sunday, I picked up a pound of jumbo lump crab from Buster's Seafood, a family-operated fishery located in Urbanna, Virginia. Buster's also had fresh caught rockfish, claiming this is the best time of the year to eat it. Apparently, they are at their "fattest" right now. (For more information on seafood at the DuPont Circle Market, click here.)

Heading home, I worked on a gumbo. With a little inspiration from an episode of Bobby Flay Throwdown, some time browsing through many gumbo recipes, and a little faith in my own cooking abilities, here's what I whipped up.

Garden Apartment Gumbo Print Friendly Version

{Serves 4}

For the roux

• 1/2 Cup flour
• 6 TB butter
• 1/4 cup onions, finely minced 
• 1/4 cup celery, finely minced 
• 1 TB Worcestershire sauce 

For the stew

• 1 Cup Spicy Sausage, diced (I used chorizo) 
• 1 TB butter 
• 2 Ribs Celery, diced 
• 1/2 large onion, diced 
• 1 Cup multi-colored peppers, diced  
• 3 large cloves garlic, smashed then roughly chopped 
• 1 TB Cajun Seasoning 
• 1/2 TB hot sauce 
• 2 tsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried) 
• 2 tsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
• salt and pepper, to taste 
• 3-4 Cups Fish Stock 
• 1 1/2 Cups crushed tomatoes 
• 1/2 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails-on) 
• 1/2 lb lumb crab meat  

Make the roux

In a large stockpot, melt the butter. Add the flour and stir until combined. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook for approximately 45 minutes, until the roux is dark brown in color. Add the finely diced onion and celery and stir. Remove from the heat, add the worcestershire and combine.

Make the stew

Toss the sausage in a hot large saute pan for approximately two-three minutes, until nicely browned. Remove.

Lower heat to medium and add 1 TB butter to the pan. Add onion, celery, garlic, and peppers. Saute until the onions are translucent. Add cajun seasoning, hot sauce, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. Turn off heat and set aside.

* I suggest working on the stew while the roux is caramelizing. Just be sure to keep stirring the roux. Once all the spices have been added, simply turn off the heat and wait until the roux is ready to put it all together. 
  

Put it all together

When the roux is beginning to get brown, heat the fish stock in a medium sauce pan.

Once the roux is complete, add the fish stock and crushed tomatoes. Stir. 

Add the sausage, vegetable and spice mix. Cover and allow to come to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Add the shrimp and crab meat. Cook until the shrimp is pink, approximately 5 minutes.

Enjoy over white rice. 

And of course, since it's gumbo, feel free to add your own local ingredients and have a little fun.
  

Pumpkin Week Part One: Pumpkin Soup with Brandy Cream

I promised, and here it is: your first installment of pumpkin week. I'll begin with a smooth and creamy first course, my recipe for pumpkin soup with brandy cream. 

Now, I can't take all the credit for this recipe. You see, a few years ago, John's aunt had this idea to give away soup ladles along with a soup recipe. The recipe we received was for sweet potato soup with rum cream, which has turned out to be a memorable combination (and we still have the ladle- thanks Aunt Connie).

After pureeing the fresh pumpkin and toasting the seeds this weekend (instructions here), I really wanted to make soup.  Previously I have made disappointing squash soups which had too many other flavors competing with the mild squash flavor. Or, some recipes added too much liquid- making the soup's consistency poor. Learning from past mistakes, I decided to use chicken stock and heavy cream to thin out the recipe. I felt that both of these liquids would only enhance the pumpkin taste, rather than take away from it, with the bonus of the heavy cream adding creaminess to the soup.

The soup is tasty by itself, but what really puts it over the top is the addition of a brandy cream, swirled into the soup just before eating it. I simply stirred together heavy cream, apricot brandy, a small amount of lemon juice, and a little sugar. Need I say more?

Here is the recipe.

Pumpkin Soup with Brandy Cream

This recipe makes four first course servings.

• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 TB canola oil 
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 TB dry white wine
• 2 Cups Chicken Stock (or water)
• 3 Cups Pumpkin Puree
• 1 tsp paprika
• a few dashes of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 Cup heavy cream  
• 2 TB fresh sage, minced  
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• salt and pepper, to taste
• toasted pumpkin seeds (optional) 

Heat the canola oil over medium heat in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Add the diced onion and curry powder. Saute until the onion is softened.

Add the white wine and saute for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock (or water), pumpkin puree, paprika, and the cayenne pepper. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes. 

Add the 1/2 Cup of heavy cream.

Add the fresh sage, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.

Keep warm over low heat while you mix together the brandy cream.

For the brandy cream

• 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
• 1 TB apricot Brandy (you could substitute rum or another flavored dark liquor here)
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• dash of sugar

Combine all brandy cream ingredients.

Ladle the pumpkin soup into serving bowls and swirl the rum cream into each one. Garnish with fresh sage leaves or toasted pumpkin seeds.

While you're enjoying the first course, I will be putting together the main feature: chicken with spicy pumpkin sauce.

Stay tuned for the next installment!

Summer Harvest Minestrone

Many summers ago, I lived with two friends who were both Vegan. If you've followed me for even a few posts, it should be very clear that I love meat and cheese.

But, I wanted to be a good roommate, so I avoided cooking with meat. In fact, I really didn't cook any meat at all- with the exception of a Crockpot full of sloppy joes for my 4th grade class. But even then, I carefully closed my roommates' bedroom doors and opened the windows in the hopes that they would make the sacrifice of inhaling the smell of meat for my inner-city 9 year olds.

They did.

And despite my sacrifice of cooking without meat, in the end I need to thank both of them for opening my meat and potato eyes up to the wonderful world of vegetables. These girls loved to cook, and they made the most inspiring things without using any meat or dairy. Catherine could bake a chocolate cake ten times better than any chocolate cake made with butter and eggs. Mary could make incredible creations with spaghetti squash (always different, and thus always called "squash surprise!").

Of course, this is a post about minestrone soup. And, as I was saying, I really wanted to be a good roommate.

It was August, and Mary and I had actually dug out (what optimists might call) a garden in our backyard. This is to say, all that really grew successfully in the garden were the herbs. But, our lack of vegetable bounty failed to dampen our spirits since we lived just a block away from the wonderful farmers market in Bethesda where the stalls were overflowing with zucchini, squash, tomatoes, beans, and so much more.

I scoured cookbooks looking for recipes with these ingredients.  I landed on a recipe for minestrone soup. I couldn't begin to tell you where I found the recipe now, and it doesn't really matter since it's been improved over and over again. I only know that it made two vegans very happy four summers ago. And, that my husband- who dislikes every member of the squash family (excepting acorn squash) actually eats this. It could be the mozzarella cheese which I now put on top.

Summer Harvest Minestrone

• 3-4 cups of vegetable broth (I actually used homemade chicken stock this time)
• 1 cup of diced potato
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 1 1/2 pounds of Roma tomatoes, peeled and diced 
• 1 yellow squash, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• fresh herbs (basil, rosemary, oregano, and thyme), to taste*
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 cup of green beans
• Fun noodles (bowtie, etc.)
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Optional: Parmesan Cheese Rind (this adds great flavor to the soup)

* I tend to put a lot of fresh basil in my soup. Taste it from time to time to see which flavors you like best.

Combine all ingredients except green beans, cannellini beans, noodles, and cheese. Cook on low/medium heat in a Crockpot for 4-5 hours. Check the vegetables for tenderness. Add water if necessary.

 

During the last half hour of cooking, add the green beans and cannelini beans. (Note: I sometimes use half cannelini beans and half kidney beans.)

Cook noodles separately and add when serving. Add grated Parmesan when serving.                             

Enjoy warm with a slice of toasty garlic bread.

This soup freezes really well, so I always freeze several containers to enjoy later.

And as for my old roommates, I like to think that this soup is one of the reasons we're still all good friends. But, that would be silly. . . right?