RIP Zelda Rubenstein (J.D. Salinger Not Pictured)

A farewell to one of Pittsburgh's finest:


Pittsbugh's other finest:

Ladies Brunch Burger: The Follow-Up

A deep fried caper does actually sound good.

How I Feel

Beefcakes

We have a new IT guy in our office and I already liked him because he brought in a giant pan of bakalva for everyone. Now I like him even more because I just found out he is featured in the This Is Why You're Fat book for this Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with a layer of Mac n' Cheese.

Kind of jealous.

Leftovers - '09

Some food pictures I didn't use over the last year....next week I won't be so lazy.


Willa and her birthday cake. I guess this is more than a year old...

Roasted peppers and carrots


Spinach and arugula pesto


Lora's squash and oatmeal bread


Pumpkin soup

Gimme A Beet

The dumb thing about this soup is that I don't really think anyone ate it on Christmas. The other dumb thing is that in this picture it looks like marinara sauce.

There are a couple awesome things though, too:
1. This soup is endlessly versatile and cheap to make
2. It's very healthy and great for cold weather...or actually if you have a cold
3. It's pretty and festive
4. You get to use your immersion blender


Carrot-Beet Soup with Ginger - serves about 6 people as a starter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled
1 large peeled chopped apple
2 cans of small beets
5 cups vegetable stock
Handful fresh chopped parsley
2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange (or clementine) juice
2 tsp orange zest
2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: Plain yogurt to finish

Directions:
Saute chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat. When onions are soft add 1 1/2 cups stock to the pot and allow some of the liquid to absorb. Add carrots, apple, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper and cover with 3 more cups of stock. Cover and simmer for about 25 minutes. Check to be sure vegetables are all fork tender and blend this mix using a food processor or immersion blender.

At this point you'll have a puree but some liquid will separate from it as it sits. Simmer for another ten minutes as you add ginger, orange juice, vinegar, and orange zest. Add any remaining stock as you do another round of blending.

For a richer soup, garnish with plain yogurt or blend plain yogurt in during the second round.

For an extra smooth soup, run the twice-processed mixture through a fine sieve.