Not Much In The Fridge

When Certain Someone is away on business,I use the time to eat lighter and reacquaint myself with veggies. He , being German, is a meat , potato , and Asian noodle type of guy. And when he decides to take it easy on the red meat , he goes to his new found love, Harold's Fried Chicken. I've gained 15 pounds since we have been together. He once commented that he's eaten more veggies since he's been with me. His parents have a wonderful garden in Germany ( a green allotment which is typical in Germany) with a abundance of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. He'll eat some when hes there, but its still all about the meat and potato.

So with Certain Someone being gone,and me not responsible for cooking his dinner, I can freely experiment and eat what I like.Don't get me wrong, I'm not a vegetarian. But I lean toward less meat as I get older. I love leeks. Incidentally so does he. I had leeks and some Roma tomatoes. I decided to roast them drizzled in olive oil , salt, and fresh ground pepper. I roasted them at 450 degrees for about 40 min . I then took my small hand held food processor , added about 2 cups of water , and a cube of chicken bouillon ( no I don't have frozen fresh stock waiting for me in my freezer), and pureed the mixture. What I got was a flavorful, satisfying, yet not heavy , autumn soup. I just wasn't feeling the classic cream based leek and potato combo. So that's dinner for me tonight. I can sleep without obsessing on what I just ingested. OK, well maybe a guilt twinge as I make and sample my homework of Royal Icing for class later on.

Carrot Frites

Last week at a event I worked, the chef had yummy fried carrot strips garnishing his monk fish.And then the other day I saw veggie chips in Whole Foods with strips of carrots. So at the produce market today I saw some big fat carrots and decided to give it a try. I took out my mandolin that just sits in the corner gathering dust, and sliced the carrots paper thin. I then fried away and then sprinkled with Kosher salt. What I got was a nice sweet veggie chip, reminiscent of a sweet potato ,that wasn't covered in batter like a lot of fried veggies. But like when I make homemade potato chips, some turn out really crispy and some don't. I learned a while back to soak my potatoes in cold water to release the starch and get them to fry up crispy. Maybe I'll try this next time. But a nice healthy junk food snack.