"The best thing since sliced bread!"

Yesterday morning I was awoken by the weight of Charlie's heavy head on my bedside and a snuffling in my armpit. Once he saw my eyes were open,  he wagged furiously with his head still resting on the sheet beside me, wobbling the bed.  He has somehow perfected the art of looking so stinking cute, I can't even be mad at him that it's ten to seven in the morning after a late night. To bribe myself to get up and walk him, I decided we should walk to the farmers' market and get a few things.

After a sweep of my regular stalls, I headed home with a backpack full of fresh eggs, seconds tomatoes, yellow squash, a red onion, the most beautiful long, skinny green beans, a loaf of seedy brown bread, and to top it off, a cup of homemade chai tea and a raisin scone. I know what you're thinking- "Ugh, a raisin scone? Couldn't they have put something better in a scone than raisins?" But these are not just any old raisins. These, my friend, are sherry-soaked raisins. Raisins that have bathed in sherry turn from drab, shriveled nubs that come cemented together in a mini cardboard box, into a fruity, complex goddess of a dried fruit. I munched and sipped all the way home as Charlie stared longingly at the scone ( I gave him the last bite with no raisins:)
When I made it home I  unpacked all my goods and started on breakfast.

The Humble Breakfast of Champions:
A fried egg
Half of a tomato, wedged and salted, and
One slice of Prairie Brown Bread with butter and honey

The simplest and yet most satisfying breakfast that will ever stick with you. Add a hot cup of coffee and you're on cloud nine.
 While rattling around the kitchen, I decided for convenience's sake, I would go ahead and slice up the rest of my loaf of bread. Running around before class and trying to slice bread for my packed lunch during the week usually doesn't go so well. I have two great knives in my block, but unfortunately, a bread knife is not one of them. So I went for the steak knife with the pointiest serrations and went to town. About two slices in, I started breaking a sweat. Halfway through the loaf my bicep started burning. At three quarters of the way, I wiped my dripping brow with a paper towel and debated surrendering to the tough knob of bread, sitting there so innocently. With a rush of fortitude, I grabbed the heel and finished sawing it into manageable slices. Ha ha! Take that, you stupid loaf! I sat back with exhaustion and pride as I looked at my pile of half-maimed slices and then gingerly put them back in the bread bag.

That morning, I finally got the saying.

Viruses and Veggies

Woke up yesterday morning with a rough sore throat and a day full of engagements and classes. Please tell me- why on earth do viruses exist? What purpose do the serve? While reading a book last night, one of the characters voiced a similar opinion towards mosquitoes. In his frustration and anger, he began a campaign for a new God, based on the thought that our God was not competent, considering he made a creature with no apparent purpose. I am not planning a religious rebellion, but I'm still a bit irked about little non-living packs of DNA that can cause so much pain.

On another note, before I fell ill, I was standing in front of the fridge wondering what I could make with the haphazard ingredients I have, when my eyes fell upon a long, skinny eggplant I picked up at the farmers' market. I brought it out and carried it with me to my computer. From there, I searched allrecipes.com for eggplant recipes.  After some deliberation, I found a recipe for a roasted eggplant soup. Whenever I find a recipe, it is vary rare that I stick to it, unless it's baking. Had a few unsuccessful "tweakings" with baking recipes. But when it comes to using recipes online, I use them more for inspiration than for actual dictation of what I cook. For the soup, I cut my eggplant into chunks with a quartered onion, chunked red pepper half and about five cloves of garlic. I tossed the veggies with olive oil and s/p in a 9 x 13 pan and put in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then I dumped the roasted veggies into about a quart of chicken stock and simmered for a half an hour. Then with my favorite kitchen utensil- The Immersion Blender! - I whirred up the soup and added a scant cup of milk. The soup turned out rich and savory with the delicate flavor of eggplant unencumbered, and a subtle background of garlic and roasted red pepper. To top off the steaming bowl, a few crumbles of goat cheese added to the creaminess and lent a bit of a tangy contrast to the soup. It turned out to be a pleasantly surprising spin on what might have been a quite boring vegetable-based soup.

Welcome!

I am so excited to have you here! Welcome to the wonderful world of food and life- two things that are incredible and inextricably entwined. I am Erin Bee, a student with a tight budget, a friendly, clumsy dog, and a passion for great food. These are my stories and I hope you enjoy them.