Soup's On!

SOUPer good news!

February: Serving it up

...Starting in June, New Seasons Market - Fisher's Landing will serve my "Simply Unforgettable" Tomato Soup fresh in their deli. It will also be available packaged in the Grab & Go section for easy, reheating at home. On the days, they sell the soup they will also cross-promote "Bringing Cooking Back."

This deal came about after rave reviews when I served samples in the store in February during my cookbook signing. The deli manager, Seth sampled it and bashfully came back for another helping. I even had to give him a bigger bowl. The rest is well, history.

Thanks to chefs, Todd and Peter, my little four serving recipe has been converted to 12 gallons. As SOUPer excited as I was, am -- I did have a little apprehension about selling the soup in the deli. Y'all know, I'm a proponent of home cooked meals using fresh, whole food. Hello, I'm trying to "Bring Cooking Back" and that is still very much my goal. I realize, however, sometimes it's just not possible to cook at home. On those occasions, eating at New Seasons Market is a very good option. I rarely eat out, but when I do, New Seasons Market deli is on my list. I know, they use quality, fresh ingredients and have a great selection of dishes to choose from.

I trust, Todd and Peter. We've talked and laughed together. I shook hands with them. They will make my soup from scratch using the freshest, juiciest tomatoes, and best olive oil. This is a partnership, I'm proud of -- soup's on!

Hope to see you all -- June 9th from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. I'll be back in the store, serving up my "Simply Unforgettable" Tomato Soup prepared by Todd or Peter and signing cookbooks with a BIG smile.

Thanks New Seasons Market for all you do.

Takin' it to the streets

Surprise! Surprise! Mid-way through this morning's boot camp we took our drills to the streets. It was kinda cool. Refreshing.

Our first drill was to sprint a block then drop for 10 push-ups, repeat x 4. Back to the studio for drills including burpees, chopping wood exercises, and ski monologues (I think that's what Jenna called them). Then, back outdoors for another drill this time partnered up: Running up the hill with thick rubber band around our waist partner pulling behind us for resistance. These exercises can be performed indoors, but being outside changes the dynamics of the workout. The pavement has cracks and grooves. Making it a more challenging workout. It's kinda nice to mix things up and get some fresh air.

Never the same workout at Northwest Personal Training they are full of surprises. I'm diggin' my new training studio -- they take it to the streets.

Chew: Real food

You can trust what I'm about to say. After all, I use to live inside the box -- the processed food box. Now, that I happily live outside of the box.  I can tell you the truth: Real food tastes better, is better for you, and it makes you feel satisfied sooner and longer.

Yesterday, I sat down to eat the gorgeous salad I made for myself: Baby spinach leaves topped with wheat berries, sliced red and orange peppers, feta cheese, and drizzled with a freshly made lemon vinaigrette. Yum! After about five good bites I was full. Probably because I had to actually chew. Raw spinach is roughage. Wheat berries are whole grains (the germ, bran, and endosperm) little chewy kernels that require you to really chew.  BTW, I'm in love with wheat berries.

When I use to eat boxed, processed food I could chow down and eat tons of that crap. Most of the time I would eat way more than the recommended serving. Yet, never feeling satisfied. I just ate and ate. The more I ate, the more crappy and sleepy I felt. At my heaviest -- 388 pounds I use to fall to sleep while driving. Ticking time bomb, for real. But, at the time I didn't realize what was happening. Now, I see that I was drugged from all the crappy processed food. The more I ate, the more I craved. I was trying to feed a hunger that I could never satisfy. It was a hard addiction to break, but I've successfully done it. I've changed my eating patterns, and I prepare and eat fresh whole food.

I love the way I feel. I never feel tired and crappy like when I gorged on boxed, processed food.  Food is suppose to fuel our bodies so that we have energy to perform not make us feel crappy and tired. And, we shouldn't have to eat large portions of food to reach satiety.

Though, I'm a journalist by trade right now I'm acting as a blogger. Sometimes I feel bad because I throw heavy issues out here and don't fully explore them. I hope I pique your interest enough where you want to seek more information.

Go forth, chew real food and seek more information. You'll see, I'm right.

Cookbook writing, fun

So I told y'all already that I've been asked by a very reputable organization to write a cookbook for them. What a great honor!
Still not ready to divulge the name of the organization that I'm writing for quite yet, but it's local and BIG. 

Anyhoo, I am knee deep in cookbooks, articles, and emails going back and forth between the department whom I'm writing for. We're still determining which recipes will be in the cookbook. This is a special population I'm writing for so we really want to tailor the recipes to meet their needs. For now, I'm writing the introduction, how to cook basics, citing sources, etc. Also trying to create the look and feel of the book. Once we determine the recipes, I'll move onto recipe development and testing. Seriously, is this my life? I love it!

Shop, Cook, Eat: Outside The Box © coming Fall 2012.

Tradition, love, and recipes

My mom found it, while spring cleaning. We have been talking about it for a while. Oh, how we’ve longed for a cool, dense wedge of lemon pound cake. My deceased uncle was thought to be the last person in the family to have the recipe in his possession. My mom and I both have tried to duplicate the recipe, but have never quite mastered it. All the recipes we have tried never compared. Too much lemon. Not enough lemon. But, at last we’ve got the original family Lemon Pound Cake recipe.

I’ve been thinking and talking a lot about food lately. It’s ironic to me a culture so obsessed with food is so disconnected from it.  The only real connection we have to food is the act of -- eating.  More often than not, unfortunately, we eat from boxes or restaurants. Gone are the days of cooking. Really cooking. Like you know from scratch?  Peel the potatoes. Zest the lemons. Cut the whole fryer. Oops, I’m off on a tangent.

Think a minute about one of your favorite family dishes. Ever wonder who started making the dish? Does the dish have cultural significance? There's often stories tied to dishes and how they came about. Some recipes may have been by accident. Some creations very deliberate. Either way there's usually a story. A story from your mother's, mother. A story from your great aunt. It's more than food, it's tradition. It's love. If we stop preparing family recipes how will they live on?

I’m afraid at the rate we’re going: Eating from boxes and restaurants. We are in jeopardy of losing family dishes and recipes. Sure, I can go to the internet and find another recipe for Hot Water Cornbread, but it won’t be my great, great grandmother’s Hot Water Cornbread.  There’s a lot more than our health at stake by not preparing, cooking, and eating meals at home.

We are in jeopardy of losing generations of tradition. Pulling through a fast food restaurant and handing your child a bagged meal is quite different than cooking and enjoying a sit down meal at home. What will your children remember from your kitchen? What recipes will you pass down?

Cooking and eating is more than just a mindless past time. There is tradition and love in food and in recipes.

Now, that we've found the family Lemon Pound Cake recipe. I’ve made several copies of the original and retyped it for safe keeping. I gave my mom a copy, my daughter a copy, and our family Lemon Pound Cake recipe will live on. Good save, mom. Good save.

Bonus: On the other side of the page was a Zucchini Bread recipe.