Chocolate Chicken Chili Soup

Photo from Elly Says Opa!

I cooked only once this week. So sad. And then I forgot to take a picture.

A few friends from yesteryear came over for a reunion, midweek dinner of sorts. After throwing the inedible Pumpkin Prosciutto Soup down the drain from the week before, I was nervous about trying out a new recipe on guests.

Nothing to worry about. It was such a hit, there was nothing leftover for lunch.

Some ingredients:Boneless chicken, onion, garlic, cumin seeds ground, cinnamon, chili powder, dark semisweet chocolate, can of northern beans, cilantro.

Another winner from Art of the Slow Cooker

Onion Glasses: They Work!

Okay, I admit it. This is about more than about the glasses. I love this girl. Look at her!

Here she is at Thanksgiving cutting onions with the pink onion goggles that Jeff got me for my birthday. He thought they were hilarious. I thought they were cute, but totally non functional.

WRONG.

I may never mince a clove of garlic or chop an onion without them again.

Slow Cook: Curried Coconut Chicken Soup

Art of the Slow Cooker, Recipe #3. Fantastic.

I made it after dinner last night, cooked it during the night via the lamp timer, finished in the morning in time to cool and put it in the fridge before work and reheat for dinner tonight.

Mmmmm. I have a similar recipe that I make on the stove. I make lots of soups, but this is better than stove-top soup. The flavors have time to meld and deepen. And it's much less effort. Go figure.

Soul Food for Survival

Photo: Delish

Life is all but slow these days. You know, that darn job. The one I wanted so much. The one taking over my life.

I read a couple blog posts last night, looked at Jen's little books and wondered "how do people do it? how am I going to get creative time to survive?"

Standing under a hot shower last night, an answer came.

Chop, chop. Brown, brown. Roast, roast.

Earlier that day between sips of my morning coffee, I chopped and roasted veggies for a vegetable soup. After deciphering the instructions on my lamp timer, I set the slow cooker for four hours. Even though I had to resist lying down for a cap nap by the time I was ready to get out the door, it was worth it. I had energy at work, I made it to QiGong class, and the soup was delicious.

Mmmm. Depth and flavor.

Art of the Slow Cooker is my guide these days: a new book, a birthday book.

It may save me.

Elizabeth McKinney at Cindy's: Happy Days

One of the highlights of my weekend in Napa Valley with the cousins was a meal at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena. The menu looks simple enough, but Cindy Pawlcyn, best known for her Napa restaurant, Mustards Grill, breaks all the rules with nearly every dish she makes.

"Forget everything you've known about tamales," our waitress told us when we asked about this dish on the menu. She was right. [Big sigh] The meal was as refreshing and soul satifying as our day at Indian Springs spa.

And what is a good meal without fabulous art. Here's one artist work I fell in love with at Cindy's. I can't find anything about her on the web, but the staff told me he name is Elizabeth McKinney.

Alice Waters' Pesto Pasta with Bottom Layer of Heirloom Tomatoes

Lately, along with Mark Bittman's article in the NY Times, 100 Simple Salads for the Season, and Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food, our weeknight fare has been getting the shake up it's been waiting for.

No Julia or Julia, I cheer Waters' fundamental tips and suggestions for getting jazzy with the basics. Last night's pesto pasta was divine.

Fundamental: Skip the food processor and pound pesto ingredients with mortar and pestle.

Basic: Add 1/2 cup of pasta water to pasta and pesto.

Sublime variation: Plate a layer of sliced heirloom tomatoes. Pile pasta on top of the heirlooms, letting them peak out for a meaty surprise.

Summer Salad: Arugula with grilled chicken.....

Hat's off to Martha's Everyday Food team. This arugula salad with grilled chicken, corn, tomatoes, and blue cheese is perhaps the most satisfying salad I've had all summer. Easy.

I substituted goat cheese for the Gorgonzola. mmmmmm....

Nectarine Chutney over Grilled Chicken

Oh my, delicious! Easy too. You must try. (Make some extra for a picnic at the park the next day.)

The recipe is from Epicurious: Grilled Chicken Palliards with Nectarine Chutney.