Tomato Carrot soup with Orange

Did I up & make a promise recently to deliver some posts about where in the world we've been lately? I did? Well, I'll get on that soon enough, I suppose. But for now, allow me to present to you a delicious soup recipe. You see, the great Northwest is experiencing what I hope are the beginning signs of autumn, and I say soup is just what the doctor ordered when the days are tinged with a slight damp and overcast chill.

Here goes! Oh, the recipe is inspired by and adapted from Soule Mama's kitchen and the tomato orange soup at Elephant's Deli here in Portland (Oregon, that is).

Carrot-Tomato Soup
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
5 medium sized carrots, diced (or fewer if you want a more subtle carrot flavor)
3 cloves garlic, minced
zest of 1 orange (this should be enough orange flavor, but reserve the fruit in case you want to add some juice later for more! citrus!)
1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes, with juice
sea salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 cups chicken/veggie stock
½ cup milk or cream

Melt the butter and olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, and cook until the vegetables begin to get soft (15 minutes or so). Toss in the garlic and cook for about 1 minute (don’t burn the garlic!). Add the orange zest to the mix, and then pour in the tomatoes. Incorporate all ingredients before adding the stock.

Bring to a boil and then simmer on low until the vegetables are all tender (another 15 minutes or so). Puree the soup if desired with an immersion or regular blender.

Before serving add a splash of milk or cream, and enjoy.

This one is for Ryan

That's it. Where's Meech?

Remember the last time she was in the pink chair?

Why I heart Oregon: Burgerville

Yesterday I woke up from a nap hungry and grumpy. I also had some errands to run, so I went out to my pretty new-to-me car only to find a dead battery impeding my progress. Worse, the juice-less battery was my fault because I'd left some interior lights on the night before. So I called AAA and Vernon came out to jump the battery. (By the way, Wentworth Subaru is so amazingly excellent they're going to replace my battery for free. They also put gas in the car before I drove it off the lot and they are fixing a few minor cosmetic issues on the car - all for free. I love them.)

Anyway, long story short, I decided to go to Burgerville before heading to the grocery store. Now, I only eat fast food about 2.3 times a year, and its usually at Burgerville. This place is awesome for the following reasons:
- Your receipt comes with itemized nutritional info for each item ordered (see above)
- Mine had a friendly note reminding me I could have ordered a strawberry & yogurt smoothie instead of a strawberry milkshake and I would have saved 240 calories and 25 grams of fat
- Burgerville is a sustainable business and does things like buy from local farmers and ranchers, altering their menu based on what's in season locally (like the blackberry milkshakes in the summer and the sweet potato fries in the autumn); they also compost & recycle
- They offer good health insurance benefits and tuition reimbursement to employees

Burgerville is good people. That's why I go there for my burger & fries (and milkshake, I mean smoothie!)

A new series

Beautiful pic from here

It's been about a month since I checked in around here (last post notwithstanding). This is mainly because we have been traveling like a bunch of circus performers the last few weeks. Ryan's seen rural parts of Oregon & Washington on a week-long camping trip, I've been down to Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park, and we both went to Olympic National Park last weekend. Now Ryan is in Maine and I'll be joining him soon enough, with possible side trips to Boston & New York.

So, I thought I'd launch a short series of "Where we've been," comprised mostly of photos and maybe some recipes associated with the locales we've been to or are going to be visiting soon. First trip coming up soon!

*Also, notice the new food & design blogs I've added to the bar at the right. They're worth checking out!

Subaru vs. Chevy

So yesterday I traded in our Subaru Forrester for a used but lovely Subaru Outback. Yes, these are the things I do when my trusting husband goes out of town for a month.

[I can hear the conversation now:
Ryan: Babe, where's our car?
Me: Oh. We have a new one now. I traded it.
Ryan: You what!? Why? When? How could you do this to me!?]

Anyway, I drove her home and then sat in the car admiring her while I put CDs and a flashlight, maps and floor mats in place. Our 6-year old neighbor CJ, who recently lost four of his front teeth, came out and started talking to me about cars.

"You think this is a pretty car?" he asked me in a seriously doubtful tone. "Of course!" I replied, "Go ahead & see for yourself." He slowly walked around the vehicle, inspecting it inside & out. When he was finished with his once-over he goes, "Wait 'till you see my red Chevy Impala. You might change your mind!" Then he broke into a huge toothless grin. Well, ten years from now when he's eligible to drive a red Chevy Impala, maybe I will!