Cabbage Parm Soup a la Yotam

It is SO cold here in DC, and last night I accidentally deleted 85% of the Em-i-lis Recipes page. That nearly gave me a cardiac (thank god for my tech-genius hubby), and the cold just froze me all day, so tonight I went looking for a recipe that reeked of warmth and comfort. Pondering stuffed cabbage, I then came across a Yotam soup: Savoy cabbage and parmesan soup with croutons. For whatever reason, I happened to have just bought a Savoy cabbage and had everything else required. The Savoy is an awfully pretty cabbage what with its ruffled leaves and variegated hue. So I cooked it up, added some uncalled for cream at the end because really, it's quite cold outside and will wait until T gets home to make the croutons. Though not a soup that will render you speechless, this will definitely satisfy on a chilly evening. And it's (mostly) delightfully healthy.

Anybody but Mitt

Don't y'all think Mitt must feel rather lame with his measly 8 vote win over the come-from-nowhere (except Iowa since he's basically moved there in recent months) bigoted, racist-sounding Rick Santorum? I mean, there is NO way Santorum is an electable candidate, not least since he's really not been campaigning anywhere but Iowa and lost his senate seat in PA last go-round by 18!! points. Likewise, I don't think Mr. 3rd, Ron Paul, is any more likely to come out on top. Granted, Mitt did not spend a heck of a lot of time in Iowa but that's because he really didn't think doing so would get him anywhere. So the fact that two guys, one of whom has been considered dead in the water for pretty much his entire run and another who many consider just a little too radical -abolish the fed?- came within a hair of winning the vaunted Iowa contest suggests that while Mitt might very well get the Republican nomination, it's going to be out of complete desperation rather than any real love for him. The Repubs really put up a sorry bunch of whacks this time around. They sure tried to find anyone but Mitt but in a passel of nitwits, he still managed to come out on top. He's such a plastic, patronizing chameleon. He might be competent but he disgusts me.

As an ancillary thought, perhaps we can all finally put to rest the idea that the Ames straw poll is any sort of crystal ball. Michele Bachmann won it, people, and she just suspended her campaign. Exactly.

Pie for Jack, fabulous new creation

Tomorrow, my little Jack will “officially be 5½” as he likes to say, and he intimated that he would just love some blackberry pie for a celebratory breakfast. So, I made him an individual heart-shaped one which you cannot totally discern in this pic but that’s what it is. I’m going to freeze the others as we still have a hunking chuck of that tart chilling in the fridge; I’ve given away pieces to anyone who’ll take them today and the reviews have been laudatory, but it’s rich and really, how many visitors do I have on a daily basis? While at the market today, I recalled the ingredients in the current food52 contest, Battle Sage and Walnuts. I love both those items and immediately started playing the “what do I like with them” game. Honey, blue cheese, pears. Here is what came to fruition after an afternoon of random brainstorming, and I’m going to be honest, it is damn good. I will post this recipe for you!!