Settling in with Pea Soup

Two Fridays ago, I worked a shift the day before movers came to whisk me away to my new house. Trying to keep dinner simple, I ordered a GF pizza from Pizza Fusion. Not too long after eating a few pieces on the way home in the car, I discovered the pizza was indeed NOT GF. Oooops. (For the record, the box was labeled GF.) I called them to let them know the obvious error. The manager told since they've never made a mistake, the pizza was most definitely GF and not accidentally glutenous. Oh, fellow Celiacs, we know that since I've been GF for 6 years and all the other food I'd eaten was prepared by Yours Truly, I know what caused the symptoms of unattended Celiac Disease.

Enough of that.

I'm all moved into my new place, and have been enjoying the granite counter tops and *gasp* space that I have in the condo. (Anything beats my former tiny urban apartment kitchen.) I just really love it here. The only thing I miss about my old apartment is the natural warmth. The skylights let the sun into the apartment and warm the space, something I like to call "the Greenhouse effect." To help defeat the lack of sunny heat, I made some very simple pea soup last night. It took a whopping 30 minutes. I stole the recipe from Martha. (Martha Stewart.)

I omitted the non-soup part. It would be great with GF grill cheese, though. It might also make a great St. Patrick's Day food. Just sayin'.
You can find the recipe here:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/green-pea-soup-with-cheddar-scallion-panini?backto=true

Green Pea Soup

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
• 3 boxes (10 ounces each) frozen peas
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar (6 ounces)
• 8 slices rye sandwich bread
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium. Add scallion whites, and cook, stirring, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add peas, broth, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until peas are tender, about 5 minutes; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, toss cheddar with scallion greens. Make 4 sandwiches with cheddar mixture and bread.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium-low. Place sandwiches in skillet, and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side, adding remaining tablespoon butter to skillet to cook second side.
4. Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth (filling blender only halfway to prevent spattering). If necessary, adjust consistency with a little bit of water. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Slice each panini into four "fingers, and serve with soup.

It's Snow My Darling!

When the northern portion of the United States is blanketed in snow, Atlanta is usually just cold and rainy. I arrived in the South at age 8, when my Dad accepted a job that took us from a place in Massachusetts where the apples grow to suburb of Atlanta that was just starting to bloom. I wondered when we moved down here if my classmates had ever seen snow before, if we could wear shorts all year round, and why the ground had clay instead of soil. One of those questions was answered when "The Blizzard of '93" hit Georgia. Unaccustomed to dealing with frozen conditions, the saltless roads turned into sheets of ice. I was snowed in a friend's house for the weekend.

A Southern "blizzard" was the best way to make me feel at home. My friend Andrea and I spent all weekend going in and out of the house, defrosting and redressing, so we could repeat an endless cycle of trudging through snow, sledding, and making snow sculptures. Every year after that, my Auntie Ann would send me a saucer sled that I didn't get to use for it's intended purpose*. (*Note: It did, however, get turned it into a nest of blankets for tv watching, and I did slide down pinestraw-covered hills on it.) The years that snow landed on our little suburb, I was happy. I loved waking up to the white silence and feeling the crunch under my feet. Although the snow usually disappears within a day or so, it makes the year feel complete.

In my young adult years, I considered moving back to snow-laden New England very seriously. There are a few things that keep me rooted here, besides friends, family, and a great job. With all my years here in Atlanta, I have truly become a Southern girl; I don't think I could handle long periods of uninterrupted freezing cold temperatures. And while I love snowdays, I don't want my fond childhood memories to be dirtied by daily routines of trucking through snow. Until things change in my life, I will be happy here in Atlanta with my one annual snow fall. Snow, for me, is still special.

Because this website is hilarious...

...I leave you this link entitled "How to Suck at Facebook." Enjoy!

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon