I’m having one of those days. You know those days when you open up the fridge and stare aimlessly into it, scanning the shelves and doors, hoping desperately to find the answer to your conundrum of the day, not finding it, and instead settling for some leftover dinner or a cake pop? Yes, it’s one of those ugly life days I don’t like to talk about. I’m feeling far from the very best version of myself, and am, quite frankly, very close to having a pity party. I won’t, of course. That would not only just be, well, silly, but it would also be a complete waste of energy. Instead, I shed a few tears, ate some delicious $2-a-bag corn chips, went for a walk on the beach, and instead of focusing on the things that weren’t going exactly as I’d imagined I wanted them to go, I counted my many blessings…after I poured my heart out to my man and my close friend, that is 🙂 Hey – I’m only human.

That said, this week may have been a tough week for me, but I can think of at least one other person – family – who is having a tougher week. A close friend of my father’s lost his 25 year old daughter last week. She went to bed one night, and that night marked her last here on earth. I haven’t seen her in 13 years, and though I had only met her once before, every time I started to complain about some trivial thing this week, I have been stopped in my tracks with thoughts of Lisa Marie. A life cut short in the blink of an eye, leaving a legacy and a family behind to figure out how to pick up the pieces, make sense of loss (as if that is even possible), and somehow, some way, move forward.

Things like this are great reminders for me to stop and take stock of my life. Through the dull pain of my post-crying headache, I want to express gratitude for every breath, every friend, every loved one, every laugh, every hug and kiss, every thing and person that create the fibers of my life.

Alas, in spite of a tough week that will demand that I dig up even more strength, and fight harder to smile and find contentment, I am grateful. Period. Grateful to even have the opportunity, the blood flowing through my veins, to actually get to choose to be strong as I begin the climb up this mountain in front of me.

In the spirit of gratitude, I continue to experiment in the kitchen by night, and intern alongside celebrity Chef Duff Goldman and his team at Charm City Cakes West by day. It is truly an opportunity of a lifetime, one that I count my lucky stars for every day. When the team is away on vacation in a few weeks, they have asked me to be responsible for building a cake from start to finish for a client!!! Yup, that means I get to bake, carve and decorate a cake in the shape of a volcano, complete with lava flowing down the sides! The team has been a great help teaching me how to do everything (I learned how to airbrush yesterday!) and though I am nervous, I am very excited to see how everything turns out. I will definitely keep you posted.

My latest kitchen experiment comes to me from my new favorite magazine, The Vegetarian Times. This recipe for red pepper soup comes from Stanford Inn by the Sea in Mendocino, California. Chefs Sally Owens and Merlyn Alvarado teamed up with certified nutritionist Sid Hillman to put together an entire menu, which includes this soup. It is the perfect starting dish to any meal: tasty, elegant, yet easy to make.

Red Pepper Soup with Balsamic Reduction

Serves 8

BALSAMIC REDUCTION

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup agave nectar

SOUP

3 tbsp olive oil

1 medium red onion, diced (1 1/2 cups)

1/2 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced (1 cup)

1 medium Yukon Gold Potato, peeled and diced (1/2 cup)

1 large shallot, diced (1/2 cup)

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 clove garlic, minced (1tsp)

6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

2 large red bell peppers, diced (3 cups)

1. To make balsamic reduction, bring vinegar and agave nectar to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 15 minutes until thickened. Cool.

2. For the soup, heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add red onion, sweet potato, yukon gold potato, and shallot, and cook 5-7 mites. Add the cumin, red pepper flakes, and garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes. Add broth and red peppers. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes until the bell peppers and potatoes are softened.

3. Blend the soup in batches until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle each serving with Balsamic Reduction.

NOTES:

I personally found my balsamic reduction to be too thick when I cooled it down. You can either not cook it down as long as I did (I did about 10 minutes), or you can just heat up the reduction a bit when you are about to drizzle it over your soup, as this makes it thinner and easier to drizzle!

I also realized as I was starting to make the recipe that I forgot to get a red onion. So I just used a yellow onion, and I liked it. So don’t worry if you have to substitute – it will still taste good!

I also halved the red pepper flakes because I don’t like it too spicy.

This is me playing around with my new food photography lights – the staging area 🙂

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful night. Thanks for stopping by!

Lauren

xxx