Minty Pea Soup and Perfectly Poached Eggs

I have never made nor have I ever tasted pea soup before in my life. Have you? An acquaintance of mine mentioned making it for Saint Patrick's Day. I did my research and created a recipe loosely based off of Ina Garten's. The funny part is that the peas most often used in pea soup are frozen, not fresh. Apparently fresh peas are much too starchy and not sweet at all! Here's the pleasantly sweet pea result.

Fresh Pea and Mint Soup

Fresh Pea and Mint Soup

Ingredients
2 tbsp organic butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp dried dill
4 cups vegetable broth
5 cups frozen sweet peas
2/3 cup loosely packed fresh mint
1 tsp+ sea salt
Black pepper to taste
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Directions

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat, and saute leeks and onion until soft, 8-10 minutes.
2. Add dill, broth, and peas and increase heat to a simmer, 3-5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and stir in mint, salt, and pepper.
4. Cool slightly. Working in batches, puree soup in a food processor until velvety smooth. (Note- I tried using my immersion blender, and it could not get through the leeks! It was an asparagus soup flashback!)
5. Return to pot and reheat until hot. Stir in plain yogurt.
6. Serve garnished with a dollop of yogurt and fresh mint.

Now, poached eggs! It has been 10 days since I poached my first egg. I'm hooked. The whites are tender and the yolks are soft and just runny enough to flavor whatever else is lucky enough to be on the same plate. I got some how-to help from a wedding gift-cookbook, The New Best Recipe from Cook's Illustrated.  Instant favorite at our house!

Step 1. Get yourself some good eggs. Local is best. Organic is next-best. 

Step 2. Crack eggs into individual cups. The separate but equal cups are important, as you will need to drop the eggs into the water at eggs-actly the same time!

Crucial egg prep step

Step 3. Get your water ready. Fill a shallow skillet with water, 1 tsp sea salt, and 2 tbsp white vinegar. Cover and bring to a boil. The salt flavors the eggs, and the vinegar flavors them AND prevents the whites from getting too whispy. A shallow skillet (I used an 11-inch French covered skillet) works best, as the egg doesn't have as far of a drop and can bounce up quickly in the hot water.

Step 4. Drop the eggs at the same exact time into the water. Cover the skillet and remove from heat! Set your timer for 3 1/2- 4 minutes! (Longer for a large or x-large egg)

DON'T CHOKE!

Step 5. After the timer goes off, it's time to carefully lift the eggs out of the water and onto the plate. I used a slotted silicone spatula. If you are feeling outrageous, nest your poached egg onto a small bed of cheese!

Our most recent meal was paired with beer bread, tamari-braised portobellos, and roasted asparagus. 

thanks instagram, for making my eggs look even awesomer.

Ignore tonight's snow storm, spring is coming in 2 days! I can't wait for the outdoor farmer's market to start up so we can eat poached eggs over every other vegetable we can find.

Until next time! Happy eating!

LM Visits Keene

This time last year, my dear friend Lauren Martin and I were picking all the garlic scapes we could handle under the summer sun at Tait Farm. We also worked weekends at a local catering company and spent all of our cash buying the same clothes at Express. So much has changed in one year! She has recently finished her dietetic internship in Philly (woo!) and came to visit me at mine here in New Hampshire. What hasn't changed is our shared love of all things good food. I've documented the best parts here in my little blog... which could use a revival since my current lack of free time in my clinical rotation.

First, we made Cream of Asparagus Soup. What a fantastic spring vegetable. This dish was a first for both of us. We decided we would have changed some things if we made it a second time... so I've edited the recipe for you below.

Taking a pause from asparagus-spear-snapping to smile for the camera

Cream of Asparagus Soup
Ingredients:
1 BIG bunch of asparagus
1-2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 leeks, white parts only, chopped (we used a whole bunch)
1/2 cup oats
1 qt milk (we used unsweetened soymilk)
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tsp dried dill
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

1. Snap off the tough ends of each asparagus spear and discard. Wash asparagus, and use a vegetable peeler to peel the ends off of some of the bigger pieces. You will thank yourself for this step... asparagus ends are often called "woody." The thick ends are fibrous and don't blend up well in the soup. We didn't peel them, and ended up pulling asparagus strings out of the soup between bites. Chop asparagus in 2-inch pieces... as demonstrated above!
2.  In a large pot over medium heat, saute garlic and leeks in olive oil until soft (2-3 minutes). Add asparagus, oats, milk, broth, and dill. If liquid doesn't cover asparagus, add more broth or water.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until asparagus is soft (about 10-15 minutes). Remove from heat and cool slightly.
4. Puree soup with an immersion blender... as demonstrated below! Also demonstrated below is the definition of woody asparagus ends... and the problem they cause in achieving a nice puree.
5. Garnish with parsley and serve.

as-par-a-gus |əˈsparəgəs|
noun
a tall plant of the lily family with fine feathery foliage, cultivated for its edible shoots.

We also made a fresh Carrot Raisin Salad. We combined grated carrots and raisins, orange juice and zest, lemon juice and zest, and freshly grated ginger. Mixed it all together, and before serving, topped it with chopped, roasted walnuts.

Cheesy. Me, not the salad.

We shared our dishes with some of my intern friends at their lakehouse that night. S'mores completed the meal! (Both of these recipes were adapted from Clean Food by Terry Walters.)

I also took Lauren to two of my favorite eateries in Keene. (Well, 3... the day she arrived we practically ran to Fritz for fries! (Remember Fritz?) On Sunday afternoon we took a leisurely stroll down the street for ice cream at The Piazza!

My parents and I visited The Piazza when they moved me to Keene in August. Located in downtown Keene, The Piazza serves Gifford's (of Maine) hard-dipped ice cream, a variety of soft-serve and blends, smoothies, blizzards, ice cream cakes, and a ridiculous offering of classic and extravagant sundaes! To make matters worse... they opened a second location that is just a short walk from my apartment. (It is inconveniently located on my running route so I have to see it every day... I have come very close to bringing a few bucks in my shorts to treat myself to a mid-run cone.) I would eat at The Piazza any day of the week!

Bruce and Cindy enjoying a sundae last August

Sunday is the day for sundaes

After an afternoon of ice cream and bridal magazines (two kinds of indulgence!) we feasted yet again at my new favorite Keene eatery: Fireworks.

Fireworks is a new restaurant with a big-city feel. Their cuisine specializes in brick oven pizza, gourmet salads, fresh pasta, and stylish cocktails. This place has been a favorite for me and several of the interns this year. I'm making good progress through the menu, and I have yet to find something I don't like. Baked feta and vegetables, goat cheese and beet stacks, salmon arugula salad, and the best thing on the menu: fresh-cut papperdelle with oven-roasted wild mushrooms. Lauren and I had the Fungi pizza. The sauce was made from roasted wild mushroom puree! It was fantastic!

Fionna, Jo-Ann, Emily and I at our fave restaurant

Fungi Pizza... this is serious.

Thanks for your wonderful visit, Lauren! Love you!