a real lunch

let me start by showing you my cute little herbs basking in the california sun. my thyme looks super green and healthy. my rosemary is a little small, but he's strong. he'll sprout up in no time. and i recently transplanted my chives into this planter because the lil guy was gettin smooshed by my behemoth green onions.

so i was watching julie & julia and (of course) it made me want to cook something. so i made a creamy veggie soup and some feta cheese toast with strawberry and plum slices.


i just grabbed whatever veggies i had; which happened to be a carrot, potato, some broccoli, and half an onion. i chopped those up and tossed em in a pot with some olive oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper. let it cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring continually. while it cooked i also went and grabbed some rosemary and thyme from out back. i just put it in whole (i washed it first, don't worry gosh!) because a) i didn't feel like chopping it, and b) i like the way it looks. when things start to look softened sprinkle in about a tbs and a 1/2 of flour. yes! look, i'm too lazy to make a rue and then put it in, plus i don't want to dirty another pot. this works just as good i swear. so you sprinkle in the flour and think "gawd this looks disgusting". good, you're on the right track. it's gonna look like a gloppy mess. that's good. when you can see that the flour has soaked up all of the moisture start adding your (veggie) stock, about 1/4 cup at a time. stir a lot to make sure that everything is being incorporated. keep adding stock until all of the vegetables are completely covered, and then let it cook for about 15 minutes until everything is soft and yummy. add salt and pepper to taste.



as a little sidecar i made some feta cheese toast and sliced strawberries (thanks for those mindy!) and some plum. i love fruit and cheese. i think they make the best combo of salty tangy and sweet. yum. eat 'em together! POW!