Broccoli and Spinach Soup

It won't stop raining in San Francisco. I KNOW we need the rain and it's fantastic that we're getting so much of it because it will mean (hopefully) no water rationing in August, but every morning when I put on my rain boots and pull out my umbrella and head downstairs to wait for the bus all I want is the beautiful sunny days we had in January back. One good thing about the rain, however, is making soup. I'm learning that soup is really pretty easy. You can put just about anything in a pot with some chicken stock and call it soup.

I had some broccoli and spinach in the fridge to use, so the other night I decided to make some green soup. It turned out thinner than I wanted, but was still tasty and (other than the cream I added) fairly healthy.

Broccoli and Spinach Soup
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp garlic
5 cups broccoli florets
1 bag baby spinach
2 14 oz. cans low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

I sauteed the onion and garlic with some evoo. I poured in a couple cans of chicken stock and got it boiling. While the stock was heating I chopped the broccoli into smallish pieces (reserving about 1 cup) and added it to the pot. I threw in the spinach and let it cook down.

After 10 minutes or so of simmering, I threw it in the blender, being sure to make sure the little cap on the lid was removed so the steam could be released as I blended it. When it was blended I added the cream and the parmesan and a little salt and pepper and gave it another whirl. I transferred it back to the pot and added the reserved broccoli for some texture, cooking it for another few minutes and... Voila! SOUP!

I served the soup with some parmesan toasts and a healthy dose of black pepper. It was green and comforing and it kept me warm until the next morning when the bus was 10 minutes late and I had to run through Union Square to make it to work on time.... even good soup has it's limits.

Eggs Florentine

As I'm learning, when you get busy, taking the time to write about what you are eating gets difficult. I am inspired by all the women out there with jobs and families that still have time to sit down at their computers and help other home cooks by writing about what they are doing in the kitchen. This week I cooked lots of great meals, but didn't photograph all of them and didn't write about any of them. I'll try to catch up this weekend.

Eggs Florentine is definitely a special treat for us. It's turned into our special occasion breakfast, reserved for holidays, but I don't know why because it's delicious and it's not that hard if you have premade frozen hollandaise available... maybe it's the stick and a half of butter that goes into the sauce that keeps us from eating these regularly. We like to make a full batch, use about 1/3 of it and store the rest in ziplock bags in the freezer where it's easy to pull out and defrost.

Ryans Yummy Hollandaise
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup butter, melter
juice of 1/2 lemon
pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Place egg yolks and lemon juice in a double boiler and whisk constantly until the mixture is just beginning to thicken, then slowly whisk in the melted butter. The mixture should be thick-ish... about the consistency of a heavy salad dressing. Simple but delicious.

Eggs Florentine
(this is ingredients and prep for one serving)
2 eggs
1 whole wheat english muffin, halved
4-8 leaves of spinach, depending on size
2-4 slices tomato
1/2 avocado

I get the ingredients prepped first, toasting the english muffins and slicing the tomato and avocado. When poaching eggs I've had the best luck using a large flat bottomed pan with about 2" water in it. I put the heat on medium high and add the eggs when the water is just beginning to boil (little tiny bubbles in the bottom of the pan). I read somewhere the best way to add eggs to boiling water so the whites don't separate is to break the egg into a large cooking spoon, then slowly lowering the spoon into the boiling water and easing the egg off the spoon.... I'm sure for an expert cook this is easy, but when I try to do it by myself I feel like I don't have enough hands, so I used Ryan's help. The eggs boil for 5-7 minutes, and I like the yolks runny so I pull them out as soon as a film develops over the yolk.

Assemble the eggs benedict by placing the english muffin slices on a plate. Layer the spinach, avocado and tomato on top of the muffin, creating a flat surface for the egg to rest on. Place an egg on the top of each sandwich and top with hollandaise sauce and paprika. Enjoy!