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It's been a while since we checked in with some of our favorite food sources to see what's new in the culinary industry. In the past couple days, I've read some interesting articles and come across some delicious-sounding recipes that I'd like to share with you all.
1) Over at The Washington Post, there's a fantastic article about how vegan diets are becoming more mainstream. I personally only know one person who has attempted being a vegan, though she switched back to vegetarian when she got pregnant and her doctor suggested the switch. But I can see the shift in the culinary blog-o-sphere to accepting veganism as a standard diet, much like vegetarianism is. In my quest for understanding how different people and cultures each, I've considered trying out both strict vegetarian and vegan diets for a week or two—but to me, the strictness of being a vegan seems close to impossible.
2) Also at The Post, a group of local chefs talk about how they are losing weight. Now, I tend to think my job doesn't really lend itself to being super-healthy. I sit at my desk for eight hours a stretch most days, and if I do get out of the office, it's to go to a restaurant and eat some of their delicious food. That's why I do stupid things like run a half-marathon and pay for a weekly personal training session. But, geez, my life is practically health-nuttish when compared to what chefs have to face—a never-ending stream of available (and, for their sake, hopefully good) food, plenty of alcohol, and not a lot of time to sleep. (Sleep, beyond anything other than my fiance and my cats, is a priority in my life.) Check it out—it's interesting to read how to lose weight when your life revolves around food.
3) Starbucks is kicking its name out of it's logo. Well, what do I say about this? I don't like it. But I guess eliminating "coffee" from its logo is essential for the company to make room for its expansion into beer and wine sales.
4) It's the beginning of January. We just finished another holiday season of—let's face it—eating too much. If you're feeling a little porkish, the staff at Serious Eats has a list of foods that make them feel a bit healthier. When I feel like this, I try to focus on veggies, so I've been eating a lot of salads the past few days. In fact, today's lunch is a cucumber and tomato salad with some baked chicken east thrown in. Then again, that lunch was mostly created out of a lack of food in my apartment and not so much needing or wanting to eat healthfully.
5) It's still cold outside, so warm yourself up with The Kitchn's list of spicy soups. Oh, what's that you say? You want a delicious recipe for soup right here in this post? Well, OK, if you insist...
Pumpkin-Turkey-Mushroom Soup
Fiance and I had this last night for dinner. It was heart, healthy, and totally filling.
1 pound ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 can canned pumpkin
4 cups oth (chicken, beef, or a mixture of both)
1/2 cup heavy cream (or half-and-half, which is what we used)
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
1-2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper
In a 6-8 quart pot, own the ground turkey along with the onion, mushrooms and garlic; drain the fat. Add the pumpkin to the ground beef mixture; blend well then add the oth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 20-30 minutes. Add the cream and wine or water; simmer 10-15 minutes longer. Adjust the seasoning, if needed.
