Pixelated Crumb

Ok, with that streak of six straight cookie/bar recipes interrupted only by a cocktail recipe still weighing on my conscience, I figured maybe it was about time for something, I don’t know, with a little less butter and sugar. First up was the wild mushroom, zucchini and goat cheese frittata, and now, broccoli cheddar soup. Broccoli cheddar soup, you ask? How can that be healthy? Well, rest assured, it’s not by using 75% reduced fat cheese, because I would never allow such a thing in my kitchen. Nope, this recipe uses good ol’ fashioned delicious and very real cheese. It just uses a litte less than some recipes and uses low fat milk instead of heavy cream.

I adore broccoli cheddar soup, but I never make it or order it out because it just seems so decadent and I’d kind of rather save room for some chocolate cake. So I’m thrilled to have found a recipe that tastes good and doesn’t make me have to stay at the gym an extra hour to work off the calories. The recipe comes from Ellie Krieger, dietician and Food Network star, and creator of many other recipes that I love (such as mac ‘n squash, penne with roasted tomatoes, garlic, and white beans, and Chinese chicken salad). While her show isn’t my favorite (I’m sure she’s a lovely person, but she doesn’t have the best TV personality), I love her recipes. They’re healthy, tasty, and don’t rely on weird diet food products.

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As much as I love fall, I’ve been happy that it has still been fairly warm in Boston. Most importantly, the farmers’ market still has tomatoes and honestly, that’s all I need to fend off fears of snow and ice. I love fall and living in New England, it doesn’t really get any better. The only problem is that fall feels so short and then winter comes along.

Normally if I want to give visitors a taste of New England, I like to take them to Atlantic Fish Company for some clam chowder, but my sister has never been a fan. She generally doesn’t like dairy products in her soups and sauces, which is her loss. But when I found out that she actually really likes corn chowder, I knew I had to make it for her. I’ve been wanting to make this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated since my July/August edition arrived and the corn at the farmer’s market looked amazing, so this was all perfect timing.

This corn chowder recipe has less dairy than many recipes, which allows the corn flavor to shine through better, while the bacon adds a salty, sweet smokiness. The red potatoes give the soup a little more substance and then part of the chowder is pureed, so you still get a nice creamy bowl of chowder even without heavy cream. The fresh thyme and basil round out the chowder into one tasty bowl of late summery goodness. Continue reading

The coupon for $15 off at Ceia Kitchen and Bar in Newburyport, MA that I got at the Techmunch conference a few weeks ago was all the motivation we needed to make a day trip. Joseph and I headed to Newburyport for my first real excursion since knee surgery and I hobbled around town moving from one bench to another (luckily Newburyport has a lot of benches!). It was a beautiful day and I was so excited to be out of the house that my mood was absolutely jubilant before we even sat down for lunch at Ceia and things only improved from there.

We knew we were going the panino route and they only had four panini on the menu, so you’d think it would have been an easy choice, but it really wasn’t. I suggested we split the sandwiches because I really wanted to try all of them, but we still had a hard time narrowing it down to just two. The decision was made both easier and harder after our server explained that the bifana panini was written up by Boston.com as being one of Boston’s best sandwiches (easy choice) and that the special of the day was a lobster BLT panino (you’re giving us another option?!?). We decided on the bifana and the lobster BLT and and as wonderful as lobster BLT sounds and as good as it was, it didn’t even come close to the amazingness that was the bifana. I was absolutely in love.

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