Dilemmas

I cannot.believe. that it is 8:00 pm on Saturday already! Where on earth has my day gone?! I haven’t even done anything worth anything! Oh, my life…

I guess it was filled with some preetttyyyy delicious eats, however

Ohhh, plum oats…how I love you so. Has anybody else done this yet? Please…do yourselves a favor. I know I say this about all my breakfasts lately: but I can’t get over how beautiful the plums turn! Which reminds me…totally forgot to buy more today.

In the Mix: rolled barley flakes, TVP, wheat bran, brewed coffee & almondmilk, vanilla, 1/2 diced plum, goji berries.

On the Top: chia-seed acai icing, crystallized ginger, flax,  1/2 diced plum sauteed with sprinkle of sun crystals, shredded coconut, and sliced almonds, and Naturally Nutty White Choco Coconut

Ohhh, words cannot describe

I woke up to a surprise snowfall this morning! I wasn’t sure if this would put a damper on my plans to run into town – but I decided it wasn’t enough to postpone the trip. That and, I wanted to get cleaning over with – and most of all, wanted to get my bloggie give-away items and have a Bed, Bath & Beyond rendezvous.

Grocery shopping and BB&B = my life-long loves.

I figured I would start with cleaning the office before the “fun stuff.” Otherwise, I’d never want to clean!

And while there, I became infatuated with a pinetree out front of the office. Don’t mind me:

You guys didn’t come here to read about food or anything, did you?

Oh, phew! I guess I’ll just continue with the pine tree obsession, then.

Or maybe it’s more a nifty-fifty obsession.

But finally, I moved onward and upward.

And knew a nanner was in order before tackling my missions, even though I found it strange I wasn’t hungry. It was a foreshadowing of the day ahead of me – my appetite has been nearly non-existent! Not cool, not cool.

The verdicts on shopping? BB&B has the coolest dishware sets, but I’m bummed that so many have to be purchased as such! I just want individual pieces-parts of each Which is really strange for me, because I like things to match. I used to want all the dishes to match. But now the foodie in me wants a different plate or bowl every time! Why am I so weird?

Hannafords verdict? ohhhhh, you’ll see Tomorrow I do believe I will be posting a giveaway that I have been promising all week! Just for kicks

I decided to take the scenic route home since I was out of the house early and finished everything I needed to do in town early, too: by 11am! Again: what kind of college kid am I?! Remember: there was a one hour commute each way involved here – not ten minute!

Fueled only by the best. Because who doesn’t want an Almond Butter and Jam Muffin, whether you’re hungry or not?!

Came home and caught up on blogs, while messing around with my own layout. I started getting really frustrated because I wanted to change up the layout, but just had too many dilemmas! I’m too picky when it comes to graphic-design-y things. Everything has to be perfect. So I’m leaving it at this: I’d really like to have a layout that supports the caption-box function, but couldn’t really decide on one that met my other requirements and the foodbuzz publisher requirements. Ohhh, well.

Eventually it was lunch time, and since I wasn’t really craving anything (okay, veggies, as usual) I figured it”d be best to work on using up some of the crab and shrimp meat I opened last night.

And it was quite good! I made a quick little salad with the meat, some greek yogurt, lime juice, dash of mesquite BBQ sauce, parmesan, diced tomato, diced red pepper, and diced red onion, and s&p. With spinach in a wrap.

And some quick burnt broccoli, carrots, and couple leaves of baby spinach left in the container – prepared with some dijonnaise and lemon pepper.

BBQ sauce may have been weird (I’m not really sure) but it tasted really good, actually!

The rest of the afternoon consisted of ANTM, watching and listening to the snow melt, playing with the puppers, and bloogie stuffs. A kiwi with yogurt and granola was also consumed but I accidentally formatted my card thinking I had gotten them on the computer already. Shnoops.

The snow was so beautiful this morning – but now it looks like we never even got any! It got quite warm by the time I was getting home from running those errands even, so it didn’t last long. We may be getting another on Wednesday, though. Works for me – snow day Thursday?! Hah – wishful thinking. My college just about never cancels. Really stinks for commuters.

Dinner was another dilemma: Ready for a story?

Remember these meatballs? AKA – my favorite meatballs ever? Well, I made a batch of them with the other half of the ground turkey meat from the asian meatballs since they are so good. I thought I’d make a noodle dish with them, too – but then decided I wanted a meatball sub! This becomes a problem when you only have spelt bread, pitas, whole wheat wraps, sandwich thins, and english muffins to work with. So I settled on “italian meatball enchiladas” – a yours truly concoction.

But – as I was making the sauce for them – thought it’d be fun to instead try it with tvp in place of the meat! So that is what I did

These were seriously delicious. Like, ten times better than I was expecting. It almost reminded me of lasagna for some reason, too? But – a definite make again, for sure

But – that is all for me!

What’s a meal that you’ve randomly thrown together that ended up being one of your favorites?

[Via http://healthyexposures.wordpress.com]

First Batch of Home Brew Taste Test

B and I love cooking.  And we love trying new things.  She is reading a cheese making book as I type this post.  I think she plans to make her first attempts at ricotta and cream cheese this week.  I’m pretty excited about it.

I, on the other hand, have been trying my hand at home brewing.  My bride bought me a very nice home brewing kit for Christmas.  It looks like a grown up chemistry set.  And it kind of is.  A few weeks back I made my first attempt, a German style light (After all, I am on a diet).  Two weeks ago, we bottled it.  Tonight we had our first taste test.  It’s very good.  The carbonation is just right.  It has a good head on it and it tastes very fresh and clean. I am extremely pleased and can’t wait to try a different recipe.  The only problem is, we don’t drink much beer and the darned recipe makes 5 gallons.  I see lots of beer batter, Cajun cooking and barbecue sauces in my future.  Anybody thirsty?

[Via http://eastofedenfarms.wordpress.com]

development - handmade sushi: our first attempt

The designer and i got together with his cousins and our friends for a homemade sushi evening.  Last month we enjoyed eating sushi in Salt Lake and decided it would be fun to make together…and less expensive as well

So the designer and I went to Many Lands, in Provo, a week ago to stock up on basic sushi supplies: the seaweed wrap, the special rice, wasabi powder, etc.  When we got home the designer was too excited to wait till the next weekend’s sushi-making party.  So we made our first batch for lunch, and then had a sushi dinner as well. 

I knew sushi making is an art.  Watching at the sushi bar, you see the intricate details and get a bit of an idea.  But did you know that you prep the rice before rolling it?  We learned how to melt the sugar into the rice vinegar and salt…to pour it over the rice while stirring and fanning.  It really does make a difference.  Anyways, we had a great time and the sushi this weekend was even better!  I couldn’t help but smile at the designer and the Riddle twins so into the roll making…Jeff with his amazing rainbow rolls, Brian with his preciseness, and the designer forming handrolls…we ate soo well.  Our bellies were soo happy!  Can’t wait for our next sushi nite!  Thanks again Brian and Chelsy for hosting!

The kiddos and I made their own rolls last week.  This is a fun way to introduce the art of sushi to your kiddos. 

Kiddo Sushi

cookie cutters

cheese

rice

lunch meat

japanese omelette

1. have the kiddos each choose a cookie cutter or two.
2. Start with the layers you want on top, for the apple sushi above, I did the cheese and then spooned rice in behind, flipped it over on the plate and added the turkey heart.
3. For the star below, cut out cheese, then omelette on top, spoon in rice, flip on plate and add turkey heart.

The kiddos thought it was such a treat.  And yes, they ate it! 

How do you introduce new foods to your kiddos?  Do you love sushi?

[Via http://thedailydelights.com]

Rob & Nicole's Creamy Tomato-Potato Soup

rob and i have been cooking a lot together.  we are both new to all of this, but the results have been pretty tasty so far.  and since so many of our creations turn out to be SO delicious (we think so, anyway), we’ve decided to share some of the best here.

the most recent:  a creamy, winter-perfect tomato-potato soup.  we borrowed from a basic tomato-potato soup recipe we found online, but if we’ve learned anything in the last few months, it’s that most recipes absolutely demand personalization.  so make this your own!  use peas, don’t use peas, use 2 onions instead of adding leeks – the bottom line is that this soup is phenomenal.

if you make it, please let us know what you think!

Rob & Nicole’s Creamy Tomato-Potato Soup

3 c. peeled and cubed potatoes

1 sliced onion

2 sliced leeks

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 c. butter

1 (28 oz.) can stewed tomatoes

1 can peas

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

a dash of italian seasoning

6 c. boiling water

1 c. half-and-half

Prepare potatoes. Saute garlic, onion and leeks in butter until just tender. Add tomatoes, italian seasoning, sugar, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add potatoes and water. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.  Add peas.  Stir in half-and-half and heat through.

Enjoy!

[Via http://littlesisterladybug.wordpress.com]

How well am I following Pollan's Food Rules?

Michael Pollan’s Food Rules is very simple, very straight-forward. I liked it. But am I breaking a lot of the rules? Sure. Am I following a lot? Yeah.

Let’s take a moment and judge the heck out of my kitchen. Just kidding, don’t. Because right about now I feel like the biggest wannabe foodie ever. Let’s be real. “Foodies” don’t have sugar-free popsicles in their freezer. They have like fancy gelato or ice cream from the farmers market. I’m slightly ashamed. But, that’s why I wanted to do this blog, because I want to try harder to eat healthier and more local, and inspire others to do the same.

So, I took out all the food (minus farmers market foods) from my cabinets and my fridge and laid it all out on the counter top. I then tried to arrange it from “best” to “worst.” It ended up being a far more complicated challenge than I had anticipated.

Seriously, not easy.

Of course, I had to first ask myself, what defines “best” when it comes to food? Does this mean the tastiest? The healthiest? What defines “healthy“? Low in cholesterol? Low in sugar? High in fiber? Organic? Highest in vitamins and minerals? The least processed? The best combination of all of these things? There is actually a company, Nuval, that does just this, rating foods on a scale of one to 100, with 100 being the most healthy. But that doesn’t take ‘localness’ into account, nor the manner in which the food was grown/raised/caught and whether it was sustainable.

Or, does ‘best’ mean just that: the most local/sustainable? I mean, is it better to eat an organic apple that was shipped from Washington state if I live in Washington, DC–or is it better to eat a genetically modified apple grown in Virgina? (Though I suppose it would be best to eat an organic apple grown on a small farm in Virgina.)

And what about people with food allergies or high blood pressure, or diabetes? What about vegans and people with strict diets they adhere to for their health, well being, or moral/religious beliefs? They would rank all of these foods completely differently based on their inability/desire to eat certain ingredients. We, as eaters, have so many conflicting needs, desires, availabilities–that it’s no wonder no one knows what to eat ever, or just doesn’t care or think about it much anymore. It’s no wonder our eating dilemma, as omnivores in an unstable world of mixed messages, marketing, and frankenfoods, is such a–well, dilemma.

I quickly gave up on trying to rank my foods. It seemed like a lost cause, and maybe a useless endeavor after all.

Instead, I started making a list of descriptions and ingredients listed on the foods, which was chaotic in its own right, just to get a sense of what we’re dealing with here. I discovered my fridge and pantry are breaking a whole lot of Michael Pollan’s Food Rules:

• 1/10 of 1% sodium benzoate & potassium sorbate (too much math for me)
• No high fructose corn syrup
• USDA organic (ahh, the complexities of this alone could have volumes written on it)
• All-natural
• No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives
• Magnesium chloride
• from Southeast Australia, “Enjoy it on a warm summer’s evening” (wait, so does that mean I should enjoy it on Australian time, because when it’s summer there, it’s cold here…) Though, I am doing well on Rule #43 – Have a glass of wine with dinner
• Reconstituted (Definitely had to google this one…)
• Sugar-free (meaning splenda/aspartame used instead)
• Fat-free (meaning, the fat was replaced with sugar — Also in violation of Food Rule #9 – Avoid food products with the wordoid “lite,” or the terms “low-fat,” or nonfat in their names.
• Made with milk from cows not treated with rBGH
• “Sensible Solution”
• Good manufacturing practices used to segregate ingredients in a facility that also processes milk/egg ingredients (OK, really? What is someone with a dairy allergy meant to make of this one? Is it safe? Not safe?)

Now, I consider myself a fairly “aware” and generally healthy eater. But I can tell you I still feel like I know almost nothing about what I eat. I don’t know what probably half of the aforementioned words and phrases mean, and even when I do, I don’t know what they mean for my health. And even if I know what they mean for my health, I still feel like there’s an untold side to every story. All of the items I have pictured here were bought either at Whole Foods or Giant, none at the farmers market, which to me means I have no idea about their origins, ingredients, and implications for my health. Furthermore, a lot of the food I eat I know isn’t great for me, but I justify eating it because it has other “side benefits.”

Case in point: my “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” Spray. Now, I know it’s made entirely of chemicals and artificiality, but I somehow justify it just like I justify the occasional packet of Sweet-n-low and other sugar alternatives. Both spray butter and regular butter aren’t great for you, but perhaps in moderation, neither are dangerous. I somehow feel better knowing I didn’t just spread 7g of saturated fat and 30mg of cholesterol on my toast (high cholesterol runs in my family), but instead sprayed it with potassium sorbate, xantham gum, and polysorbate 60. Definitely in violation of Rule #7 – Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.

Ranking aside, I did decide to go ahead and pick out what I deemed to be the “A+” and the “F-” of my kitchen (of the grocery store-bought items).

A+ goes to…the Nature’s Promise Peanut Butter.

Now, I gave this the gold because when I took these pictures I was out of almond butter–or else that would have been the clear winner. Anyway, this is a close second, with two ingredients on the label, organic peanuts and sea salt. It says it was distributed in Maryland, but I have no idea if this is where the peanuts came from, so “local” scores a little low. However, I give this product props because it’s not all that much more expensive than the Skippy stuff, and it tastes a million times better, (like real peanuts–go figure.) If I could somehow find out where the peanuts were from and it wasn’t too far, I could feel really good about this peanut butter. Definitely passes #14 – Eat foods made from ingredients you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature. And I got it at Giant!

Next up gets the award for the shadiest food product, a definite F-…Herbox Vegetable Bouillon Cubes

Can I just say that I used to survive off of these? I used to dunk them into steaming mugs of water in my dorm room and eat the “soup” that was produced with saltines I stole from TDR dining hall when I was a freshman in college. Yeah, super nutritious. Now, little did I know that I was purchasing a product made with CHICKEN at the time. I didn’t even know it was made with “chicken” when I bought it at the store the other day. OK. So if we are this company, “Herbox”and we make beef, chicken, and veggie bouillon cubes, wouldn’t you think we would keep the beef and the chicken OUT of the veggie one–that being the only reason people would buy it–because it’s meat-free? If I buy vegetable bouillon cubes, I expect them to be vegetarian!! If I didn’t mind chicken in my boullion, don’t you think I would just just buy the chicken kind? GRR.

Well, I checked out the 20+ ingredient list of these babies and still didn’t see anything about chicken. So unless “fat flavor” means “chicken fat flavor”–I am at a loss. (By the way, how do you grow chicken fat flavor?) Furthermore, these little cubes violate Pollan’s Rule #3 – Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry.

Speaking of chicken, here is one item I wasn’t sure about how to grade…my fake chicken patties. Now, I don’t u

sually buy these, if I am being totally honest, but for whatever reason, I had a coupon or whatever, so I bought them the other day. On the one hand, they are an alternative to real chicken, meaning I am avoiding contributing to all of the awful chicken factory farming and am avoiding meat littered with antibiotics. However, this boca burger has more ingredients in it than the veggie bouillon! And if I were going by Pollan’s Rule #10 – Avoid foods pretending to be something that they are not.– The fake chicken patties would definitely be out.

Who has time to think about all of this though? Well, we all should, and we all do have time. But we spend that time thinking about things that ultimately have so much less of an impact on our personal well being and future generations’ well being. For God sakes, I recently spent months deliberating what kind of new cell phone I was going to purchase next. And we don’t put cell phones inside of our bodies! (Hopefully.)

In a future post, I think I will look more specifically at this “natural versus organic” thing. See if I can straighten out all those question marks. I think I’ll also look at where our priorities should lie, as omnivores.

A couple food rules I am following well:

#25 Eat your colors.

#55 – Eat meals.

…and #64 – Break the rules once in a while.

[Via http://localfoodiefight.wordpress.com]

Shrimp with Black Bean Garlic Sauce

This is another Chinese dish I cooked the other night.  I must say… this is very good with rice.  The “black bean garlic sauce” is what gives this dish a great flavor.  It has that salty and slightly nutty taste from the black bean sauce.  With the green and red bell peppers… onions and ginger… this dish is rich in flavor and taste.  Of course… as with any Chinese dishes… you’ve got to enjoy this with rice.  This is fairly easy and quick to make.

Here’s what you need to prepare this mouth-watering “Shrimp with Black Bean Garlic Sauce.”

Ingredients:

1 ½ pound raw, peeled and deveined shrimps

3 TBSPs. medium dry sherry, or rice wine, white or red wine

½ tsp. kosher salt

3 TBSPs. cornstarch

In a large mixing bowl… mix the sherry or wine, kosher salt and cornstarch.  Stir until salt and cornstarch dissolved.  Add the shrimps.  Let the shrimps marinate while you make the sauce and chop the vegetables.

Sauce:

1 ½ TBSPs. soy sauce

1 ½ cup chicken stock or water

1 ½ tsps. sugar

2 TBSPs. medium dry sherry or rice wine, white or red wine

1 ½ TBSPs. cornstarch

1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

In another medium size bowl… mix all the sauce ingredients.  Stir until the brown sugar and cornstarch dissolved.  Set aside.

Vegetables and other ingredients:

4 garlic cloves – smashed, peeled and chopped

¼ cup sliced ginger

½ large onion – sliced

1 green bell pepper – seeded, membranes removed and diced

1 red bell pepper – seeded, membranes removed and diced

3 TBSPs. ‘black beans garlic sauce’ or fermented black beans – available in Asian Market

2 TBSPs. sesame oil

Using a large wok or deep skillet, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil.  Add the marinated shrimps and stir fry until halfway cooked, about 3 minutes.  Removed shrimps unto a plate.

Add another tablespoon of vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons sesame oil.  Sauté the garlic, ginger and onions… until onions are translucent, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the “black beans garlic sauce, “the green and red bell peppers.  Stir to combine all the vegetables… about one minute.  Add the shrimps and stir until vegetables and shrimps are well incorporated… about one minute.  Make a well in the middle of the wok, by pushing the shrimp and vegetables to the side.

Stir and pour sauce in the middle of the wok.  Quickly boil the sauce by turning the heat to medium high.  Stir to combine the sauce, the vegetables and the shrimps.  Keep stirring until the vegetables and shrimps are well coated with the sauce.  By this time the shrimp should be pink, the bell peppers are bright green and red.  The whole mixture should be saucy.  Remove wok from the heat.

Serve Shrimp with Black Beans and Garlic Sauce hot over rice.  Serves 3 – 4 people.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess

[Via http://bisayanqueen.wordpress.com]

3 Simple Recipe Swaps for Heart Health

It’s officially heart health awareness month. This topic is important to me. This month it will be one year since my mom had her quadruple bypass surgery. But the good news is many of your heart disease risk can be lowered with your food choices.

That’s right, people… four out of five of your heart disease risk factors can be reduced with healthy eating. Can you believe that? Yes, your every day decisions matter, even though you may not see the immediate reward.

Here’s what we’re trying to do:

• Manage weight – excess weight, especially obesity increases risk for high cholesterol, blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes all which increase heart disease risk. The more of these you have, the higher your heart disease risk. We manage weight my daily exercise (walk, swim, run, yoga, strength train, garden, any kind of moving) and making healthy, balanced food choices.
• Prevent diabetes – type 2 diabetes risk increases with poor eating, lack of exercise and obesity. So again, it’s back to eating healthy meals, lots of veggies and fruits, beans, and some lean proteins. Cutting back on restaurant and fast food and making healthier choices when you go – a small hamburger over a double cheeseburger or grilled chicken and veggies over chicken alfredo or my favorite… sharing a meal (any meal) and garden salad!
• Keep cholesterol normal – we want high HDL (over 40, but the higher, the better) because these guys help keep blood vessels clean and open and low triglycerides (floating fat) and low LDL (the bad, sticky cholesterol). Again this is watching intake of saturated fat. If you follow the healthy eating advice, it should be nice and low. Hidden sources of saturated fat are full fat dairy and cheeses. Watch your portions of cheese and switch to fat free milk. Also pastries and sweets and fried foods can have high saturated fat.

Check out my television appearance on Let’s Talk Live, where I discuss some simple swaps when you’re eating on-the-go! (it’s the 3rd story down)

[Via http://rebeccascritchfield.wordpress.com]

Make him eat his veggies damn'it!

So guess who finally decided that eating healthy is probably a good thing.

Me?

Oh brother/sista please!

I’ve been on that gravy train for a while now – thus the whole Fitness/Nutrition page I have for myself…that I just started…yesterday. Oh come on – give a girl a break! We all can’t be perfect like you. Yeah….you!

No, who I’m talking about is my husband! HOLY SHIT MY HUSBAND WANTS TO EAT HEALTHY!!! I honestly think that I just saw the devil shivering…hell must have frozen over, and damn if I didn’t see a freaking pig fly by me this afternoon at Barnes and Noble.

No but really. He wants me to cook healthier, he wants to make smarter choices on work lunches…I think he may even want to exercise – and God  help me if that’s the case, because I think I may die, roll over in my grave, haunt the living, and then come back to life to see it for myself.

“So” …I said to him, “if you want me to cook healthier, then I need some different cookbooks. Because you see all those puppies up there (this is where I point out my fabulously full cabinet of cook books), all of those guys are meant for the soul, the hips, and the bulging belly. Not one of them screams healthy.”

No problem he exclaims and then we’re off to Barnes and Noble.

Where I saw the Nook and wanted to buy one….really bad….really, really bad. But I didn’t, I stuck to cooking – damn you health!

And this is what I found!!!!!

The Sneaky Chef: How to Cheat on Your Man (in the Kitchen)

Freaking brilliant!!!!!

You know what this book does? It hide veggies in everyday regular food – like cauliflower in potatoes, and spinach in brownies. OMG – I lost my mind. I can’t wait!

I also got this:

Hungry Girl: 200 Recipes under 200 Calories

Oh yeah.

This book is sheer genius. One of Jonathan’s favorite desserts is cheesecake brownies. And this book has a recipe for it that is under 200 calories. And – it uses devil’s food cake and real cream cheese! You can’t beat that!

Oh – and I got this little gem. Just because I was on a roll (and mainly Jonathan didn’t say no)

Alton Brown is like my ultimate hero when it comes to cooking. So I splurged and bought his basic cooking book. It teaching you the “in-and-outs” of cooking….like how to blanch something. Whatever the hell that means. (Oh, and I know what that means, it’s just who calls cooking something in high heat and transferring it to cold water blanching? Blanch is that old lady from the Golden Girls – and that’s all Blanch will ever be to me).

So kids – today was a great day. Not only did I get some new “toys” to play with, but my husband actually wants to try and eat healthy! And only if it’s for a day, then it was all still well worth it!

[Via http://flyingicarus.wordpress.com]

Three Pantry Staples for Flavorful Cuisine

SoupAddict is obsessed. This is nothing new. SoupAddict’s nature is to be obsessive. (And lazy. She’s not sure how those two traits can mix in the same person, but until she figures it out, she’ll make sure to work them both into this post. Just to keep the universe balanced.)

During the course of SoupAddict’s largely-unblogged-about Indian cooking adventures, she has come to realize that there are three particular ingredients she can’t live without: garlic, ginger, butter. And that’s not hyperbole. “Would die for the lack of,” is not that far of a stretch. The heart wants what the heart wants, is SoupAddict’s philosophy (even if the heart is being strong-armed by the stomach at the time). Now, SoupAddict has no issues with these ingredients in their fresh-from-the-store form. But when she read about these versions in her favorite Indian cookbook, she immediately made them all. And fell into obsession.

SoupAddict only recently discovered the magic of ghee, and only even more recently made her first home-made batch. At $8.00 per 1 lb jar, the price of store-bought ghee is a bit too steep for SoupAddict’s liking. But a $4.00 pound of Land ‘o Lakes butter made into ghee is completely within SoupAddict’s parameters of acceptance. The wonderfully, nutty brilliance of ghee is addictive. Not that SoupAddict ever gets addicted. No sir.

The remaining two ingredients are old, dear friends of SoupAddict’s, but in a different form: ginger paste and garlic paste. Pureed fresh with water, ginger and garlic can be stored in the fridge for a short time, or long term in the freezer (straight up garlic and ginger cannot be frozen). These home-made pastes are fresh and delicious, and always available. Just the way SoupAddict likes loves it.

Supplies needed: butter (not margarine … please … SoupAddict forbids you to even think the word. In fact, go back to the beginning of this sentence, read it again, and close your eyes and skip ahead whenever you reach the word “margarine”), a strainer, some cheesecloth or a coffee filter, an airtight jar, and a heavy-bottomed pan (not to be confused with a heavy-bottomed Pam, because SoupAddict doesn’t think any self-respecting Pam should spend 20 minutes on a hot burner. So, just avoid the mix-up right at the beginning, and you’ll be fine).

(Surely you will have noticed the $3.99 price tag on this 1/2 lb brick of Lurpak butter, which completely invalidates SoupAddict’s grumpiness at spending $8.00 for a pound of ghee. SoupAddict knows this and merely shrugs. She’s a pair a ducks. And a bad speller.)

Mmmmm … butter … buttahbuttahbuttah. Mmmmm … melting butter … buttahbuttahbuttah. As the buttahbuttahbuttah gently simmers, it begins to separate. Milk solids sink to the bottom. Water and fats rise to the surface and foam. The golden goodness in between will be the ghee. Lurpak is a high-end butter and does not give off much of anything that is not glorious, golden butter. Other brands might foam more. No worries. Goodness will prevail in the end. If you look closely at the translucent, golden areas of the butter, you can see the light-colored milk solids collecting at the bottom. After 20 minutes or so, the butter will be separated and will have acquired a nutty flavor and aroma. Line the strainer with the cheesecloth and pour the contents of the pan into it. Discard the stuff in the cheesecloth. You won’t miss it. Golden perfection. This, peeps, is ghee. Because the milk solids were filtered out, there’s no need to refrigerate ghee. You can, of course, but there’s no need, and room temperature ghee melts faster than cold butter. When cooled from its simmering state, ghee will solidify into a creamy paste. Now on to the ginger. This crazy-delicious root is sold just like this at the grocery store: all gnarly and tangled. Break off what you need; the produce police will not press charges. And the looks they’re giving you and your shoes are all in your head. If the ginger is super-fresh, you don’t need to peel it. Alas, in SoupAddict’s neck o’ the woods, the ginger always arrives with a papery, sometimes woody, skin. If yours in the same condition, just peel it. It’s all good. SoupAddict loves the spicy-hot citrusy goodness of ginger. This is about 8oz.

Add 1/2 cup of water into a blender.

Slice the ginger into 1″ cubes and add to the water.

Action photo goodness! Puree until the ginger is completely broken down.

SoupAddict loves the ice cube tray trick. Spoon one tablespoon amounts in each ice cube cell. Then freeze. Pop them out and store them in bags, and the next time you need ginger, you just reach into your freezer. And, you know, get the ginger cube out of the bag. Not the Haagen Dazs, people.

Or maybe the ginger and the Haagen Dazs — have you ever had ginger ice cream? It’s really good.

Um, yeah, where were we? Ghee … ginger … ice cream. Oh, right, garlic.

SoupAddict slaved over the cutting board peeling these 48 cloves of garlic. Psych! You should know better. SoupAddict knows where to shop for super-duper lazy girl finds. 48 peeled cloves of garlic for less than a dollar.

(SoupAddict just made the tzick tzick sound while doing the finger pistol gesture. If only she had made of video of that, you could see how hip she really is.)

Repeat the blender hokey-pokey with a 1/2 cup of water and the 50ish cloves of garlic. Garlic paste can also be frozen. SoupAddict likes to keep a few tablespoons each of garlic paste and ginger paste in the fridge to use right away. Just because. SoupAddict loves these cubes of paste, because she knows that rich deliciousness is always within reach. And lazy girls like it when they don’t have spend too much energy reaching for things.

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