b l o g o r e l l i

Perfect Summer Night Supper

This past Saturday, everything came together just so: Mom-orelli was visiting from PA, the sun shone brightly and the air felt warm, and she read outside while I worked in the backyard garden. That night, we made this Chilled Cucumber Soup with Salami and Feta from Real Simple magazine.

I don't know if it was the icy glasses of Gewurztraminer ("Ga-vertz-tra-meener"), crusty bread with fresh softened butter, or the comfort of hanging out with my amazing mama in person, but I couldn't stop eating...

Ingredients
3/4 cup sour cream
4 scallions, roughly chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3 pounds cucumbers (about 4)—peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
kosher salt and black pepper
1 small baguette, sliced
4 ounces thinly sliced salami (we used sopresatta)
8 ounces Feta, broken into pieces (we used crumbled and put it right into the soup, you could do slices on the side as well)

Directions
1. In a blender, puree the sour cream, scallions, jalapeños, basil, lime juice, half the cucumbers, 1/4 cup water, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

2. Add the remaining cucumbers and puree (adjusting the consistency with water as necessary) until smooth. Serve with the bread, salami, Feta, and olives.

Quick and delicious!

(photo by  Alex Farnum for Real Simple)

I Suck

Just an excuse to show some more photos of the soulful Hank in his clever onesie...and to apologize for being so absent around here as of late. What can I say? Whether I was being showered with The Prof at our "Jack & Jill" party, giving myself a black eye by drinking too much at a picnic with the Irish cousin-in-laws-to-be and then passing out into a wall the next morning, unpacking, working, or trying to organize this "wedding thing," life has been too busy for typed recollections.

Look at this cutie and try to be mad at me for disappearing...

I thought not.

Since Summer "technically" started yesterday but it's been sideways raining in The Bean for the last week, my co-worker and I pretended to toast in the season at Marliave with one of the most sneakily easy-to-drink cocktails I've had in years. Of course, I can't remember the drink's exact name, but through the fog of two rounds, I recall that it was named after Marie Curie and contained a mix of gin, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, grapefruit, prosecco, and maybe lime? Guess I'll have to return for another drinky and try to smuggle out the recipe.

Then last week, Half Pint sent me this article from ohdeedoh about how this Saturday, June 27, is the official Great Backyard Campout...while I simultaneously found this piece about an 11-by-11-foot, one room cottage bought (for $500!) and brought back to life on the shore of Wandawega Lake in Wisconsin. Coincidence? We have a backyard at the new apartment, and nothing says love like buying your new spouse something other than useless jewelry for her wedding present, hmmm?

HAPPY SUMMER -- I AM BACK!

I Believe the Hype: Miss Chiquit-orelli

There are a few (ok, MANY) kitchen skills I have yet to master. This week, I realized two such tasks involved cutting and tropical fruits -- how the heckie does one pare a mango and/or a pineapple to achieve maximum fruitage?

For the mango, I turned to the trusty Inter-net and watched a tutorial. When the time came to dissect the pineapple, I turned to the new tool  that I thrifted last week: "Pineapple Cutter." Now, I've bought many useless tools on a whim while at the SalArm (just one yesterday actually, the LightRack holiday organizer,) but The Cutter seemed like something that would actually work (unlike, say, the Wine Rack, which I also own .)

A step-by-step...

First, a product placement shot; does anyone else notice the sticker with the word "pineapple" on the package to cover some kind of printing defect? I couldn't stand the suspense, so I scraped off the sticker to reveal a misspelling, "pnneapple". Aha!

A quick overview of the instructions:

Step 1 (finally): Cut the top off the pineapple

Step 2: Open and lock the Pnneapple Cutter (tee hee) into place, push down vertically into pineapple. The sensation of the wires slicing through the tender pulp is oddly very appealing.

Step 3: Once near the bottom of pineapple (don't pierce through the skin,) turn cutter clockwise to separate the fruit from outer shell. (Ok, I had to ask The Prof to help me with the turning, The Cutter's handle's edges are a bit blunt.) Pull up The Cutter to remove pineapple wedges.

Step 4: Remove wedges from cutter and slice into pieces, or serve whole.

Step 5: Use now-hollow decorative shell for some kind of ornamentation or containment (this idea is just so retro appetizers a la 1950s that I almost can't bear it,) or give to boyfriend to drink the remaining juice. I chose option two, but just wait until our next cookout -- I'm already brainstorming what to stick in that pineapple shell!

CONCLUSION: I Believe the Hype about The Cutter -- both its use and result were very satisfactory. Of course, now I can't get the damn thing to collapse for flat storage, but...

Countdown to Soup Swap 2009

It's hard to believe that this year will mark the third Murforelli Soup Swap. Our swap is set for February 21, when (according to the RSVP list,) we'll assemble the most soups ever -- about 28 varieties! -- and commence the festivities. The "official" 2009 Soup Swap day was 1/21/09 but we're a bit behind the tide because of prior commitments in January.

The variety and addition of participants each year really keeps things interesting. Plus, I always love seeing who gets the #1 pick, who hypes his or her soup the best, and which soup is the first to go. After a few mishaps with the soups we made last year for guests to eat, this time around we're serving pizza from our favorite local pie slinger: The Pleasant Cafe.

In the most exciting Soup Swap-related news yet, Mark got to meet the Grand Poobah of Liquid Nutrition on his recent trip to Seattly -- Knox Gardner, creator of The Soup Swap!

Update-to-come on February 22...

The Egg Probably Came First

Finally, someone posts useful cooking information online: How to Make a Perfect Omelet with a Ziploc Bag. I know what I'm making for breakfast this weekend!

Another instructional here, although this woman is slightly more excited than I can usually handle before noon. She has a great tip, though, put out plates with ham, veggies, cheese, etc, hand out the bags and -- bam! -- personalized omelets for all.

Fresh Start

GOOP is my new Daily Candy (except that the newsletter, produced by Gwenyth Paltrow, only comes out every Thursday.) I can't help but read each week's email when it pops into the  SPAM box -- yep, even Gwennie doesn't get a free pass there.

So far, I've learned about chopped salads at La Scala, Tracey Anderson's best bum exercises, some possible books to suggest at a yet-to-be-named literary club to which my UsWeekly-loving self is trying to belong, and doing a New Year's detox.

Next week, as a jump start to getting back into the post-holiday gym routine, I'm going to be following GOOP's seven-day elimination diet. Don't worry, it's not that crazy Master Cleanse one that Beyonce did where you drink lemon pepper water, but I am definitely not looking forward to day four.

Otherwise, I'll be a smoothie queen...and raging bitch because of the "obviously no alcohol, caffeine or soda" directive, so steer clear, Bostonians.

That's *Ms* Bento To You

Cho and Bobby Crocker refused to relent on their dedication to "honoring" my 31st birthday, so we planned a dinner at the new Melting Pot (fondue!) restaurant in Woburn when The Prof and I returned from PA. Overall, the experience seemed slightly overrated, while acknowledging that I did indeed turn 31 foiled my plan to just "nest" comfortably at age 30 for the next five years...but two things made evening perfect:

A. Lincoln roaring, 'I AM KING OF ALL THE ELEPHANTS! I LOVE BEING KING OF E L E P H A N T S ! ! !"  and ferociously giggling right after singing "Happy Birthday" to me for the second time.

B. My present -- a Ms. Bento Stainless Lunch Jar + Carrying Tote! I am addicted to objects that come with their own carrying bags. I've hinted in the past that I'd love to embrace the bento tradition (with a North American twist) and Cho cleverly remembered. I am now totally into researching for inspiration , photos, and recipes. After a rocky start (and return of) the Laptop Lunch kit, I think my Ms. Bento experience will be markedly more positive.

For my first, and only, day of bringing the "Ms.B" with me to work, I packed a pretty sad state of lunch. First were my steel cut oats, which I couldn't remember how to cook in the microwave and, as such, ended up a gummy block. My homemade chicken noodle soup leaked because I didn't close the compartment's lid tight enough...and the only thing that I had to put in container #3 was some low fat cottage cheese. Yarf.

Next week, I vow to do better with The Ms. Mark is traveling for work, so I made myself a promise to GO grocery shopping for colorful and interesting foods so that I will pack lunch every day.

We'll see how that resolution goes...

(photos from Flickr pages linked in above listing)

Bean-to-Bar=Best

Who knew that the only "maker of 100% stone ground chocolate" was located right in my old backyard? Taza Chocolate, of Somerville, MA, calls itself a "true bean-to-bar chocolate maker."

They'll prove it to ya with a tour. The last chocolate factory tour of 2008 is taking place on December 6 from 10am - 6pm. Free samples! Do a little holiday shopping early!

Did someone say "Golden Ticket"?

Unique, Just Like Everyone Else

No, really! According to How Many of Me, there is just one out of the 304,993,835 people in the United States with my first and last name -- ME!

There are, however, 25,924 people in the U.S. with my first name, but only 427 with my last name (and I probably know most of them.)

On the other hand, 356,843 people in the U.S. have The Prof's last name --  Murphy (58th most popular.)
See why I'm keeping my maiden name?

I love that my surname truly does come from Italy, and  that I've visited the specific town where my relatives still live. Also, (distant?) cousin Giuseppe Gorelli even owns a vineyard in Tuscany that produces well-rated vino.

Fit-n-Fresh (Just Like Moi!)

Since the "#7 Plastic Scare" of Spring 2007 left our plastic container drawer barren, I've been looking for suitable replacements to hold leftovers. Naturally, while browsing the plastic storage aisle in the market earlier this week, I found something sort of related: Fit & Fresh's line of products for smart preparation and transport of lunches and snacks. NEW OBSESSION ALERT!

I immediately bought the Salad Shaker, which seemed pretty durable and leak-proof, unlike the Laptop Lunches set that I tried last year. Sure, I love the idea of "wasting less, spending less, and eating well," so long as there's some container with a sealed top for dressings, yogurt,etc, to protect me from myself. Also, all of the F & F products have snap-in ice packs to keep food delightfully cool.

Next, I plan to buy the Healthy Food Snacker, of course, for celery sticks and natural chunky PB on-the-go. Fit & Fresh also has a recipe section, but to get some really diverse options regarding what to put in your Lunch On The Go, check out the Laptop Lunches or Show Me Your Lunch groups on Flickr.

Eat up!