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the kitchen
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the proof (party pics!)
the food porn
the recipes
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the drop me a line part
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soupapalooza!

the stories
the kitchen
the market
the proof (party pics!)
the food porn
the recipes
the about
the drop me a line part
the resources
the full list
jewelry alchemy
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curried lentil soup: if I were a landmark I might be called Mt. Dumpatoa

Four New Year’s Eves ago I got dumped. Three birthdays ago I also got dumped, exactly one year and four days later, by a different guy for the first of what would later be two separate dumpings. I know, it’s a lot of math for an opening paragraph, but I hope you’ll bear with me.

Actually it was four New Year’s Eve eves ago, but for dramatic purposes I prefer to tell the story with the dumping on the holiday as opposed to about the holiday. It’s neater, more horrifying and narratively tidier.

I had just returned from Texas and even though he had taken me to the airport on my way out of town, he had not called in several days, most notably not even on Christmas itself, and had not offered to pick me up outside of baggage claim or anywhere else for that matter. Expecting very little of both myself and of my paramours, I hadn’t bothered to call him, either, to get a real read on the situation, but had instead been “sitting on my hands” at the advice of a quack therapist that a close friend at the time based most of her life decisions on. A quack who, by the way, has since been on Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker, famously telling some poor girl, “men fall in love with virtues, not vaginas!” I totally beg to differ. Bitch may be Patti Stanger’s version of Mr. Miyagi, but I’m still giving her and her advanced old-age quackery my most fervent side-eye.

It was afternoon and I was looking forward to making plans for New Years Eve, even though if you (and by you I mean me) are still planning on making plans with a guy less than 24 hours before New Year’s Eve and he hasn’t brought it up, he’s probably not taking you to the Rainbow Room for dinner. In fact, you may not actually be dating him at all, even if you’re, like, totally sure you are.

Read more …
PostedJanuary 25, 2013
Authormelissa mcclure
Categoriesvegan, vegetarian, soup
Tagsscrew your pumpkin pasta, Freud Freud Freud!, recipe, carrot, It's not me? Oh yes it is., mt. dumpatoa, can be tailored vegan, let it go already, Raoul's, New Year's Eve eve blows, soup, Soho is now ruined forever for me, curry, lentils, soup with a side of ennui, soupapalooza!, vegetarian
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quick pics!: a teaser for upcoming posts

here are just a few recipes to look forward to:

curried lentil soup

the 17 minute 350 degree chocolate chip cookie

homefry potato soup with prosciutto breadcrumbs, hashbrown & fried egg

for now... Soup on!

PostedDecember 18, 2012
Authormelissa mcclure
Categoriesquick pics!, gear and miscellany
Tagslentil, quick pics!, chocolate, eggscellent, homefry, prosciutto, chocolate chip, eggcellent, cookies, curry, breadcrumbs, lentils
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curried pumpkin soup: Happy Halloween! or, when good pumpkins go bad

Happy Halloween, all you crazy kids!

I'm not gonna front, I haven't actually made the soup I'm about to suggest to you, but I ABSOLUTELY WOULD. If, that is, I were actually planning on cooking tonight (or any other time soon this season) and not drinking my face off and scaring children. Because that is my real reason for the season.

Tonight I'll be relying on my too-poor-to-botox face and my generally surly attitude to get the point of my "costume" across to the Halloween freeloading youth-- I'll be "Get-Off-My-Lawn-You-Whippersnappers" without having to leave the comfort of my couch or getting dressed AND I'll get to keep all my candy to boot. Win-win!

Read more …
PostedOctober 31, 2012
Authormelissa mcclure
Categoriesquick pics!, vegetarian, soup
Tagsthere is no need for an organic jack-o-latern, quick pics!, get off my lawn, recipe, soupapalooza!, is drinking your face off an olympic sport yet?, pumpkin, halloweenie, vegetarian, soup, curry, halloween
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curried cauliflower with lime yogurt and sautéed vegetables: the accidental vegan (sort of)

Things at March’s soupapolooza! started off with a bang. Literally. And while I get super irritated with people who misuse and/ or overuse the term “literally” (I’m looking at you with my side-eye, Rachel Zoe), it is both appropriate and correct in this instance. It was buh-nan-ahs.

Semi-sweet Bitters showed up early on Sunday, as he always does, prepared to cut lemons, fill water bottles, light candles or whatever else I’d managed to forget or ignore. I love this. Even when entertaining close friends who are by nature pretty forgiving, I still stress about having things ready to go before the first arrivals (and by the way, I’m never on time). So the fact that Semi-sweet is almost always the premier guest and he’s game for completing the incomplete, I’m spared a great deal of hair pulling and some serious bouts of Procrastinator’s Agita. 

It is also not uncommon for Semi-sweet Bitters to bring his sabre, for sabrage naturally, which is a crowd pleaser to be sure: who doesn’t love watching someone decapitate the top of a champagne bottle with a sword? I have amassed quite a collection of trophies of this handy work on top of my sink, beautiful champagne corks with their glass necks still wrapped around the collar. I love them. They’re kind of like my version of taxidermy animal heads on a study wall, except I don’t have a study and the only things that got killed and stuffed are my sobriety and my good judgement. 

Read more …
PostedMarch 17, 2011
Authormelissa mcclure
Categoriesvegan, vegetarian, soup
Tagspear cardamom chutney, spinach salad, lime yogurt, recipe, triple vanilla cupcake, can be tailored vegan, poor kitty, soup, fried pappadam, curry, Coulter = Secretariat, persian cucumber, soupapalooza!, samosas, cauliflower, bang!, you gotta have a gimmck, stunt baking, tamarind vinaigrette, bacon cupcakes, alcohol induced accidents, Semi-sweet Bitters
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purée of carrot with toasted almonds: beets and cabrales and dried cherries... oh my!

Alright, I am a bad girl.

I put off writing this post for so long that the leftovers had time to actually spoil. So in the interest of cutting one’s losses (as I seem to have done on three separate occasions this week, personally speaking) I’m going to post some pictures from Sunday’s event and the recipe for the soup and then move on to THIS week’s soupapolooza!

And let me just say that the rest of the menu (wild arugula salad with roasted beets, cabrales, toasted walnuts and dried cherries, and for dessert: maple vanilla roasted pears with greek yogurt sorbetto) was pretty spectacular, too...

So here are the soup details, lazy and all:

 

Carrot with Toasted Almond Soup

Gourmet | November 2006

The secret to this simple recipe is using the best carrots you can find; taste them to make sure they are sweet and full of flavor.

Yield: Makes 4 (first course) servings

Active Time: 25 min

Total Time: 45 min

 

ingredients:

1 cup sliced shallots (about 4 large)

1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Rounded 3/4 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

1 small boiling potato (3 oz)

1 1/2 lb carrots, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4 inch thick

1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)

1 cup apple cider (preferably unfiltered)

1 1/4 cups water

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

 

preparation:

Cook shallots, bay leaf, ginger, curry powder, and thyme in butter in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened and pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel potato and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Add potato to shallot mixture along with carrots, broth, cider, water, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Purée soup in 2 batches in a blender until smooth, transferring as blended to a large bowl (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return to saucepan to reheat if necessary. Serve soup sprinkled with almonds.

Cooks' notes:

•Soup can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat over low heat. Thin with additional water if necessary.

•Almonds can be toasted 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

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I definitely added more curry (in fact, I easily doubled it) and put in less cider than called for-- and added cider vinegar. And as for potatoes, I used several fingerlings in place of a boiling potato to great result.

Soup on!!

PostedJune 22, 2010
Authormelissa mcclure
Categoriesvegetarian, soup
Tagsbad blogger, recipe, almonds, carrot, soupapalooza!, nutty, purée power, vegetarian, soup, curry
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goldsmith, sometime costume designer and badass cat owner. 

goldsmith, sometime costume designer and badass cat owner. 

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Why? Because soup is cheap, delicious and easy. Kind of like me.

a weekly attempt to eat well and to savor life. or to see how much food I can get on my clothes.

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