light italian wedding soup

italian wedding soup, originally uploaded by ladysauce.

one of my "things to do" this weekend was to try make a new soup.

once the weather dips below 50 degrees, im in the mood for soup. i remember watching a seinfeld when i was younger and jerry opens up with a sketch out loving soup so much that you'd take it in an iv. i am one of these creatures in every way.

this winter i promised myself that i would learn how to "cook soup" (this is OUR first real kitchen) and started off with weeks of chicken noodle. i must have made that sick day soup recipe from bread and honey about 15 different ways. then i dont make it one weekend and i get sick. like the worst i have been sick in probably 3 years.

this week i made an amazing recovery and promised myself that i was cooking a new soup for dinner one night - and lunches this week. after much contemplation - i chose this soup from martha stewart everyday food magzine (jan/feb 09 issue). i cant wait to try it! jake says it looks too healthy, but i think it looks absolutely delicious with the best escarole i've ever seen in my life.

food adventures

yes. i love food. and i have thoroughly have enjoyed experimenting with food after growing up with a very limited diet. im talking i ate about 5 or 10 things until i was about 10 years old. among these 5 or 10 things were: poptarts, frosted flakes, mac & cheese, cucumbers, and bologna and cheese sandwiches. oh, and i cant forget fishsticks. my mother firmly believed that she was never going to feed her children vegetables, because she was force-fed them as a child herself. then i go and turn vegetarian at the age of 10 and really started to not only eat healthier, but eat in a way that was an experiment everytime.

two years ago now, ive gone back to the dark side of eating meat -- and have really never felt better. my favorite food 5 years ago, was still macaroni and cheese. today, if you were to ask me, i would have to say leg of lamb, medium rare, with a side of potato (prepared just about any way). [side note: this dish is amazingly served at gaslight, where my handsome man & i celebrated our 2nd year anniversery].

along with my food-ventures over the past 12 years, ive also jumped into the wonderful world of cooking and baking for my man and myself. my inspiration you may ask? well, for (1), my man, who taught me that you really dont have to follow a recipe to create a great dish. another reason being when youre cooking for yourself, youre not only saving a helllll of a lot of $$, but are making sure that your food is as healthy and preservative free as possible. thirdly, this summer i found a food blog written by two lovely ladies in portland, oregon called bread and honey. summer and alicia bring amazing recipes down to earth and include mouth watering pictures as well.

ive tried many of their recipes (and am looking forward to trying many more), and am no longer afraid of turning on the stove to make dinner or a different dish. the days of microwaving broccoli and eating cereal for dinner are not over. jake & i have decided to try one new recipe a week.

this week: quiche. stay tuned for how that goes.