Easy like every morning..

Good Saturday everyone!

My mornings are definitely my sanctuary and my quiet time. All of us night time girls usually sit around and talk, have breakfast and take naps before work. Sometimes it's just me and Dijon, but I really like the mornings that Alyssa and Chelsey are here too. It's different time spent together than the after work hours where we're all kind of wound up and still going a hundred miles an hour from dinner service.

I meant to write this week when I had days off, but we kept ourselves kind of busy so I never got around to it. We went to the parks for the first time (well, the first time for me since I've been here) and had a blast. It was so fun to go with people that had never experienced it before, I felt like a parent and kept pulling out the map planning where we should go next. It was amazingly fun.

The last couple weeks at work have been wonderful. It still surprises me that I enjoy going to work every day. I'm still on pantry, but I still feel like I learn a little every day and I still really love my job. It's a pretty surreal feeling sometimes, but one that I'm very happy to get used to. My co-workers make me smile daily and getting to know them has been one of the most rewarding parts of my job.

Last night after service, one of my Sous Chefs pulled me aside and told me I'm on the A-list with the front of the house because four different people talked with him about me and how good I'm doing last night. There are nights when you just need to hear things like that and even though I've been having great nights, I've been super sore and it was a really nice encouragement. It's great to get confirmation almost every day that I've chosen the right thing to do with my life.

Oh! Two nights ago he wanted me to make an amuse bouche (it's like a tiny course of a meal that is literally one or two bites and are usually given out as a compliment of the Chef) for a table that was a miniature version of our tomato salad. He told me to 'own it' and I was kind of scared. I mean, I make the tomato salad every day but he wanted me to make it different and make it my own and give him four identical plates. He liked it so much that he took a photo of it and said he is going to put it on our slideshow that runs on a TV in our kitchen. I took a picture with my phone, but it's not the best picture ever....but here you go.


So, as proud moments go, that was a good one.

All in all things have been wonderful. I'm extra sore from my nine hours of walking around the parks on Wednesday, but I'm looking forward to two days off again coming on Monday and Tuesday.

Oh! Wonderful news! My friend Greg is coming to visit me at the end of the month and I couldn't be more thrilled. I can't wait to see him and take him around Florida a little bit.

Anywho, I'll post a recipe this week on my days off. I can't decide if I want to tell you how to make homemade tomato sauce or maybe something else Italian. We'll just see how I feel on Monday. I hope you all enjoy your weekend and I will see you in a couple days!

Fish, to taste right, must swim three times – in water, in butter and in wine. —Polish proverb

Happy eating,
Lauren

The Lion, the Witch and some breakfast.

Happy Monday everyone!

I enjoyed my day off yesterday, even though I spent most of it sleeping. I couldn't figure out why I was having trouble falling asleep at night and then realized that a food runner at work has been making me these wonderful coffee drinks the last few nights and I think there are two or three shots of espresso in each one. Duh, Lauren. No wonder I've been up until six a.m. with no problem.

The sad part of that is, I still really want the drinks. They are so delicious! I suppose I'll just have to ask him to tone down the amount of espresso that is in them.

As you know, Christina and I went to that wonderful grocery store last week. I do have to say, all this fresh fruit is really a blessing. This morning I made fruit salad with blueberries, strawberries, grapes and some local honey. I made enough so I could have some for a snack later and ended up eating it all...so there goes that idea. I suppose there are worse things I could have had for breakfast, and I still have plenty so I can make some to go with lunch as well.

For now, I'm sitting on the couch while Christina and I enjoy the second installment of the Chronicles of Narnia on our projector. Nothing like being able to watch movies on a seven foot screen on our wall.

Last night I couldn't decide what I wanted to make, but I had a bunch of tomatoes that needed to be cooked before they went bad. So, in the spirit of sharing, I'd like to tell you about the wonderful tomato soup that I made. Some might call it a tomato bisque, but just to clue you in on a little secret. If you ever see something that isn't made with shellfish called a bisque, they're lying to you. The definition of a bisque is something that was made with shellfish shells. So...there's no way that you could have a tomato bisque.

Little fun food fact from my brain to your eyes.

Anywho, if you like tomato soup, making it at home is always fun because you can put whatever you want in there. Here's how I make mine.

What you'll need:
-3 cans diced tomatoes (I used fresh and if you'd like to know how to concasse tomatoes, I'd be happy to tell you. For the spirit of making this easy on you, just used canned. They're still delicious.)
-4 cloves fresh garlic
-1 yellow onion, diced
-1/2 red bell pepper (You can roast this in the oven with a little olive oil if you'd like, but sometimes I like to just cook it with the onion instead, which is what we're doing with this recipe.)
-2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (Give or take a little. It's really just about consistency.)
-1/2 cup heavy cream or milk
-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (This is optional, but I like just a little kick in my soup.)
-1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary
-1/2 teaspoon thyme
-3/4 teaspoon dill
-1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
-1 tsp garlic powder
-salt and pepper to taste

Take some liberties with your seasoning. I added some cumin to this as well, really just put whatever you like it in. I think you have a nice base with these flavors. If you're not super familiar with seasonings, stick with what I've said the first time you make this and then if you want to go back and change it later...you have a better idea of how you want it to taste. I love tomato soup with dill in it though, so I really suggest trying that if nothing else.

Once you have your onion, garlic and red pepper chopped, get that cooking in a large sauce pot with a small amount of oil. Cook for about ten minutes until the vegetables start to get tender, then add your tomatoes, juice and all. Once it starts really cooking, the tomatoes will basically start to disintegrate. This is a good thing. Let this keep cooking for about ten to fifteen minutes and then add in your stock and seasonings. Stir it well and cover, letting it simmer for a little bit. You can keep checking it to see the consistency and if it's too thick, add some more stock. You can even taste it now and see where you're at.

With any soup, you want it to cook for a little bit once you add the seasoning to really let the flavors develop. All these are fairly simple, so I say let it cook for five to ten minutes longer. Your veggies should all be nice and tender and the flavors nice and married. They'll be going on their honeymoon in a minute, so put on your dancing shoes.

Pour in your heavy cream and stir it up. The soup will take on a lovely color and the heavy cream will start swirling around, making out with all the other wonderfulness you've got going on in the pot. This is when it gets fun. If you have an immersion blender....you're a weirdo. But if you do, now is the time to use it. If you don't, get your blender out. Spoon the soup into the blender a little at a time and puree all the delicious steamy goodness so it thickens and is smooth. Pour it back into the pot and taste it again to make sure your seasoning is spot on. Adjust as you see fit and turn the burner down.

Then make a grilled bacon and cheese sandwich. That's what I like best with my tomato soup. Pour yourself a steaming bowl and if you've got any of that chopped basil left, sprinkle a little on top. Then dip your bacon sandwich into the tomato-y pool and take a giant bite. Melt into the chair and sing yourself a little song and even do a little happy dance.

But don't stop there. Share your tomato heaven with friends and family. Or hoard it and become a crazy tomato soup hoarding weirdo.

My favorite thing to do with this soup is add strange things to it. If you're a fan on fennel, I love nothing more than tomato soup with fennel and dill. I make it as often as possible, and you really don't need much fennel. If you're not familiar, let me know and I'll tell you how to cut it and cook it and get the most out of your delightful fennel bulbs and fronds. If you want to add an odd twist to your tomato soup, throw in some orange zest. It goes together beautifully and will change a very old, familiar dish in a surprising way.

I'm a soup girl. Always have been, always will be. You should be one too. Unless you're a boy....then don't be a soup girl.

I have some fresh black beans from Miami that I need to figure something out to do with today. I have chicken breasts and cheese and some veggies I might steal from Christina....we'll see how creative I can get.

I hope you all enjoy your week!! Keep me posted on any good food buys you have or if there is anything you want a recipe for...I'd love to take some requests!

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food."-George Bernard Shaw

Happy eating,
Lauren