I Blame Maggie Montgomery...

Once I was all about the words. Now, it's about the words, but also about the food.

I blame Maggie. And of course, indirectly, KAXE. What with the food and the kitchen and all that.

You know Maggie, our fearless leader in all foods local. Maggie's Wednesday Morning Show segments and daily meals in the KAXE kitchen have pushed me to not only cook more but eat (and enjoy) local foods like cheese and butter and milk and meat all from local producers. I even tried goat meat for crying out loud.

But lately I've moved into a whole new realm. I'm addicted to the food channel.... and I wrote a Lake Country Journal article about some local restaurants I enjoy. I have even started reading "foodie" books. Here's a couple I've been working on and will be featuring on upcoming episodes of Realgoodwords.

"Out of the Frying Pan: A Chef's Memoir of Hot Kitchens, Single Motherhood, and the Family Meal" by Gillian Clark. I really enjoyed reading this - and I had no idea how much stress was involved in being a chef....how much politics play into the job and how HUNGRY I could get, reading a book!!

Gillian includes many recipes in the book, like:

Carrot-Sage Soup

Note: The amounts below are halved from the original recipe, which yields
1/2 gallon of soup. If you're game for a large pot of soup, double the amounts.

Ingredients
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 cup white wine
3 cups water
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 bunches (about 1/8 pound) fresh sage, tied with kitchen twine
salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a large pot, sweat the onions in the oil. When onions are soft and
translucent, add carrots. Cook carrots and onions together, stirring constantly.
Do not let carrots brown, but cook them until they glisten -- about 5 minutes.
Add white wine and simmer until it is almost gone.
Add water and boil the
mixture until you can easily slide a sharp paring knife into the fattest piece
of carrot. Do not cook until carrots fall apart; they should be just tender.
Puree mixture in a blender on the highest speed.

Return soup to pot and add cream. Tie sage to pot handle so that the sage
leaves are immersed in the pot.

Let soup simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and
pepper taste. Discard the sage.

Makes about 1 quart of soup.

I heard a great podcast with Michele Anna Jordan about the book she edited along with Susan Brady called "The World is A Kitchen - Cooking Your Way Through Culture Stories, Recipes, and Resources". I'm just getting into the book - which includes writing about food, recipes and ideas for culinary travel. I'll let you know what I think.