If You Have Cream, and You Have Celery...

Shouldn't you be able to make cream of celery soup?? I figured, why not? Plus I was dead broke and had almost nothing else on hand.

I poked around the internet for about 30 seconds before deciding that lightly sweating about eight stalks of celery that I had left over along with some random old scallions (sort of like onions) and a bit of even more random carrot juice (kind of sort of like diced carrots, the third ingredient in a classic mirepoix) ought to be a good start before dumping in a bunch of homemade vegetable stock and a splash of cream while the whole thing whizzed in the blender.

There she is, the end result. All oddly yellow (damn carrot juice) and tasting queerly, a bit overwhelmingly, tangy-green celery-y. Next time, I shall consult a real recipe for this one. Something like the one listed in this tasty article in the LA Times.

Oh well. It cost me nothing, and the leftover pizza dough baked in my toaster oven and slathered with some Stilton was a nice and cheap accompaniment.

Gotta Get a Camera/OR: "Health" Food Gone Gorgeous

3/3/10

The creation:

Sauteed kale with pancetta, butternut squash, pears and poached egg

What's in the fridge:

eggs

pear

frozen baguette

fig jam

rabbit stock

Key ingredients consumed:

egg 

pear

baguette

fig jam

Ingredients purchased:

Kale

Butternut squash

Stilton

pancetta

onion

The creative process:

Somebody at work accused me today, "What's up with you and all this comfort food?" Apparently I've been on a trend. Even if I can't see how you can blame me (we had snow flurries AGAIN today), I realized something feigning healthiness was in order. The solution: a "salad" paired with something else light... um, like bread and cheese. On these days, I take comfort in the fact that, were I to order Chinese take-out or pizza, or even go out for a "well-rounded" Northern Italian meal, I'd certainly be consuming copious calories hidden behind the closed kitchen doors. At least here, I can monitor the amount of pancetta fat I use in quick-sauteeing my "salad."

Step 1) Chop squash and boil until almost fork-tender. Meanwhile, dice pancetta and fry, rendering the fat, until crispy. Remove pancetta pieces with a slotted spoon and then toss some diced onion into the rendered fat. Caramelize. Step 2) Drain squash and quickly sautee/caramelize (*high* heat very important!) in the fat with the onion and some sliced pears. Throw in some spices you like--I used some curry powder and lots of S&P. Remove onions and squash and add chopped kale very briefly--just long enough for it to begin to wilt. Stir briskly and season to taste. Meanwhile, poach an egg. Step 3) In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with the poached egg perched happily on top. EAT, delightfully, with toasted baguette smeared generously with Stilton and dotted with fig jam.

The verdict:

Quite satisfying! And, I felt great for having eaten nearly an entire bunch of kale, plus squash and pear. The addition of the cheese and bread satisfied me when a meal of just vegetables may have felt unfortunate. The poached egg gave the whole shebang a rich, decadent angle. I'd make this again. For my lunch tomorrow, I cooked the rest of the squash down into my rabbit stock along with some diced onion and pancetta. Curry powder and dry sherry and a dash of milk for creaminess made for a really tasty soup that I look forward to!