Red Potato and Leek Soup with Thyme Crunchies

Mmmmmm. Winter food. Soul food. Couldn't be easier.

For the soup:

-2 tbsp olive oil

-2tbsp butter

-6 (or so) cups vegetable stock

-3 whole leeks, chopped

-6 large red potatoes or 12 small, chopped

-1 white or yellow onion

-3 cloves garlic

-salt and pepper

-dill, to taste

-thyme, to taste

Crunchies (croutons, whatever)

-half a loaf of french bread

-olive oil for drizzling

-salt and pepper

-5 or 6 sprigs of thyme

Melt the butter in a pot, toss in minced garlic and diced onion. When onions are translucent, drizzle pan with olive oil and throw in chopped leaks. Cook for 5 minutes, and then add the remaining ingredients. Bring pot to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Allow soup to cook and get all yummy for 30-40 minutes, depending on how tender you like your potatoes. Season to taste, and don't forget to add the croutons! I sprinkled a little parmesan cheese on top... because cheese = YUM.

For the crunchies, prehead the oven to 400.

Cut up the bread into cubes and throw the pieces on a baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over the bread, and then sprinkle the salt, pepper and time over top. Mix the bread around with your hands to coat the pieces. Bake for 10 minutes. *Cronsh* :]

Chocolate Therapy

Just a thought...
Next time you're down... seriously... make something chocolate.

Cherry Chocolate Brownies

-1 box brownie mix
-1 cup dried cherries
-1/2 cup chocolate chunks
-eggs
-milk

Just follow the directions on the box and fold the chocolate and cherries in at the end... and leave me to my brownies!

Black and White Cupcakes

So my friend and I had a moment the other day... we looked at each other and decided the only thing we were capable of doing at that moment was making cupcakes. Sometimes, you just have to bake. And here's the result!

Black and White Cupcakes

6 oz melted dark chocolate
A box of cupcake mix, of your choice
White Frosting

Prepare the cupcakes. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and let it cool just a bit. Allow the cupcakes to cool. When they're ready, go crazy! Look how pretty:

BAGELS.

WOO! First post. This is a lot like a diary... except every human being with uncensored internet access could potentially read it. So hey... if you're out there... and you're reading this... HELLOOOOOO WOOOOORLD! (orld orld orld orld)

It's a Thursday, and as usual, I'm procrastinating.
So instead of working towards being marketable and employable by doing my homework, I'm gonna show you how I make bagels.
For the record, delicious breakfast confections> assigned reading about global capitalism; its the size of a small phone book.

This year on Christmas morning, I felt hungry and inspired enough to do something I'd never attempted before: make. bagels. and more importantly, make the house smell like bagels. YUM.

Hand Rolled Bagels:

4 cups bread flour

2...ish... or 4 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tsps salt

1 Tbls vegetable oil

2 tsps instant yeast

1-1/4- 1-1/2 cups of warm water.

Here we go. Mix the dry ingredients in first. I never sift flour, but mixing it with a fork seems to work just fine. Then throw in all the wet stuff. Incorporate everything until you get a stiff dough, adding more flour or water should help everything even out if it doesn't feel quite right.

Put the dough on the counter, and kneed it for ten minutes. Squash it, hit it, punch it, pat it. Then cut it up into eight pieces and roll them into nice little balls. Now give it a rest! The dough balls should be given about 20 minutes of chill time.

Now pre-heat that oven! 415 F should do it.

[TWENTY MINUTES LATER]

Take the balls and roll them into snakes, about 8 to 10 inches long.

Fuze the ends of the snakes together to make a circle looking thing. Now the bagels need to chill for about 20 minutes again In the mean time, Boil a big pot of water and throw a little salt in there. You'll also need to prepare an oiled baking sheet.

[TWENTY MORE MINUTES LATER]

Preso! Bagels are ready for boiling. Put a few into the boiling water at a time. Give them one minute in there, turn them over with some tongs, and give them another minute. Now you'll take them out. Let them hang out for a minute or so, and then throw them on the baking sheet! (Don't THROW them, gently and lovingly PLACE them.)

If you're a purist, bake them for seven minutes like so, take them out, give them another seven, and then EAT THEM! Or don't be impulsive like me and wait for them to cool a bit and then eat them.

BUT! If you want to try something new, dip one side of the bagel in flaky sea salt before you bake them. Or whip up some butter and mix some honey in and spread that on top before you bake them. Either way, they're delicious, and I hope you enjoy them.