To go the distance

Hope you had a fantastic weekend! I got caught up in the drama of the NYC Marathon. Like most people, I was especially inspired by one runner who almost didn't make it...

Edison Peña - the Chilean miner who less than a month ago was trapped underground in dark isolation, who motivated himself by running the mine's tunnels - successfully finished the NYC marathon yesterday.

Congratulations to Peña and to all the runners for proving that the human spirit, when motivated, can do amazing things!

~ Wishing you an inspiring and amazing week ahead! ~

(All images via The Telegraph.)

Simple creamy potato soup

(via)

I admit, the first time I saw Cook's Illustrated magazine, I was intimidated - it looked like an encyclopedia! But it turned out user-friendly & I've made their warming, simple pureed soup for years.

~ Have a wonderful weekend! ~

***

SIMPLE CREAMY POTATO SOUP (Serves 4 to 6)
Adapted slightly (skim milk not whole, extra garnishes) from a 1990s Cook's Illustrated (I sadly never wrote down which issue). This soup can be pureed in one batch in most 5-7 cup blenders.

• 2 tablespoons (~30g) butter, olive oil, or vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, 3 medium shallots, or 1 medium leek (white and light green parts only), chopped
• 2 tablespoons (~30ml) white wine
• 2 large potatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds, or 24 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch (~1.25cm) dice to yield 4 cups
• 2 cups (~500ml) chicken or vegetable stock
• Salt and ground white pepper to taste
• 1 to 1-1/4 cups (~250-310ml) skim (fat-free) milk
• Optional: 2 teaspoons (~10g) minced fresh chives
• Optional: Minced white or light green part of 1 leek (cooked gently in oil or butter a few minutes until softened)
• Optional: Heavy (whipping) cream to drizzle, fresh-ground black or pink peppercorns

Heat butter or oil in a large (easily-pourable) saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Add wine & potatoes; stir until wine evaporates, about 30 seconds.

Add stock, and salt and pepper to taste, to saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover & cook potatoes until very tender, about 20 minutes.

Pour or ladle potato mixture into blender. Add 1 cup milk; blend until very smooth. Return soup to saucepan; cook over low heat until warmed through (can also cook optional leek garnish at this point). If soup is too thick, stir in more milk. Adjust seasonings.

Ladle soup into individual bowls. Garnish with minced chives and/or leeks. Drizzle some cream, grind fresh pepper and chow!

Little notes:
If you don't have a standard blender for pureeing, the next best thing is a handheld immersion blender, but don't use a food processor because it tends to leak hot liquid (I tried once just to see - even though the recipe warned against it! - because I often do stupid things :)).

Kuli'ou'ou on phone-camera

My sister's 3-hour morning hike at Kuliouou Ridge Trail, Hawaii, last week. Sorry it's not the best, being a phone-camera, but I figured a shot of Hawaii never hurts. :) (Thanks sis!)

I'll be traveling all day and offline, but can't wait to see you when I have internet again!

Pretty edibles

Romanesco (still remembering the romanesco I had recently)

"Bright Lights" Swiss chard

Even the truffle pasta at Crudus, which so inspired Jason Wu...

He put it on the runway! This cream chiffon "truffle" skirt is from Wu's Spring '11 collection. :)

P.S. Took my computer to the computer doctor for a MAJOR checkup - at loong last, I can follow people with Google Friend Connect! (And I think my own GFC finally works.) Yippee! :)

(Images via: 1-Knock Knock Organics; 2-All-American Selections; 3,4-Jason Wu.)

Photos du jour: Leaves are fading

How time flies! Photographed in Central Park (previous autumn) and Hudson Valley, NY (this autumn).

P.S. The Leaves are Fading is also a lovely ballet - a reflection on passing time & past loves as one enters the autumn of life - this bit is danced by husband/wife Amanda McKerrow & John Gardner (dance starts @ 55 seconds).

(From the American Ballet Theatre, YouTube clip here.)

CIA gastro getaway

Hope you had a terrific Halloween! I spent mine still aglow from last week's CIA encounter - not the CIA with spies, but the nicer Culinary Institute of America (Anthony Bourdain's alma mater).

You can dig into goodies at five award-winning, student-run restaurants. We tried Caterina de' Medici, above. The prosciutto & warm robiola, oxtail with romanesco, and tiramisu were heavenly.

And the restaurant's yellow villa is straight out of an Italian town!

You'll also appreciate the bucolic setting in Hudson Valley, NY. :)

~ Wishing you a delicious week! ~

P.S. The CIA offers popular culinary boot camps - wouldn't it be great to say you went to "CIA boot camp"?

(Images via Valley Fig, Virtual Tourist, Richmond Magazine, Study Discussions and CIA Photo Archives.)    

Candy-colored Deneuve | Spooky Deneuve

Catherine Deneuve in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

This bittersweet movie has been on my mind lately. (Have you seen?) It's not to everyone's taste - every word is sung - but there's a famous candy-colored set (the clothes and wallpaper match!)...

The opening credits (here) are so beautifully choreographed...

And the movie of course made Catherine Deneuve a star.

And since it's Halloween! Something from the spooky end of the Deneuve spectrum...

Deneuve plays a *very* unhinged woman in Repulsion, and it does a good job putting you in her shoes. Too good...

Cracking up, Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion

Because I seriously felt unhinged too! As I fell asleep, I could've sworn I heard my walls cracking (like the movie) & thumps in the flat, even though I was home alone (like the movie).

{Luckily: The next morning, I saw the plaster in the hall had cracked (the cracking noise) and fallen to the floor (the thumps). I was NOT crazy, yippee!}

~ Have a candy-colored and spooky Halloween! ~

(Images via Musicals in Vancouver, Flow TV, heavensabove, Film Forager, Movie Mail, Criterion Forum, Seattle Times, Somewhere in the Depths of Cinema, and "Repulsion" film stills via heavensabove.)

I want candy

{Pile of British candy}

I can't help it, it's all this Halloween talk! And if, like me, you've a thing for British candy, but find yourself Stateside of the pond, all is not lost! Where to find candyliciousness in 3 major East Coast towns...

Cardullo's in winter, Cambridge

Boston & Cambridge: Cardullo's not only has piles o' British candy, but the most expensive sandwich - over $100 for a caviar sandwich!

Rodman's, Washington, DC

DC: Rodman's, the "Weirdest Little Drugstore in Washington," is a savior for Brit-candy hunters in the wilds of DC.





Tea & Sympathy in the Village

Manhattan, NYC:  Tea & Sympathy has carried British candy since the last monarch (it seems!)

Humble London Tube candy machine

Confession: My candy sources in London aren't as fancy as the above. We just buy from the nearby petrol (gas) station or the candy machines in the Tube (subway). :)



(Images via Muffin Top, Eric Rolph at panoramio, DC Beer, Chris J Russell and just some photos.)