Janelle Maiocco

Hi.

Welcome to my blog. I live in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle on an Urban Farm (w/ five laying hens and a huge garden). I am a trained chef (w/ a certificate in food preservation), taught at a cooking school & like to share 'kitchen hacks' - culinary tips that save time, money & maximize flavor. If that isn't enough, I also run a food+tech startup called Barn2Door.com - a platform to help everyone easily find & buy food directly from farmers, fishers & ranchers (from CSA's to urban farm eggs to 1/2 a grass-fed cow).

cream of carrot soup

cream of carrot soup

cream of carrot soup | talkoftomatoes.com
cream of carrot soup | talkoftomatoes.com

More soup please! I realize my recipe archive is slim, slim, slim in the realm of soup so I decided it is time to start sharing some of my favorite, soothing, bowls full of goodness. Soup is comforting, and can be just the perfect lift-me-up midday or otherwise. A bowl full of love for

Valentine's Day

, perhaps.

My kiddos aren't in love with soup, though, and in fact the word 'soup' typically brings on that nervous, doubtful wince that says: I hope there is more than soup for dinner. Most of the time they associate soup with chunky pieces of who-knows what, a concoction of hidden vegetables and unrecognizable pieces of fish, meat or potatoes.

Because I want to change their orientation toward soup, I have decided to find recipes for pureed soups. And, I figure instead of answering "soup is for dinner," I should try something a little more mysterious---perhaps in Halloween style---like puree of purple people eater for beet soup or cream of weeds for that time I made watercress and cauliflower pureed soup. Or maybe, if I am lucky, out of the many bowls of pureed warm, soothing spoonfuls I serve them, their taste buds will be convinced without trickery. And soup, in Halloween style (wait---isn't it Valentine's Day?!) will turn from tricks to treats.

This friendly soup will warm your soul. I have served it with Thanksgiving dinner (another wrong-time-of-year holiday?), as a starter for a special roasted pork dinner and by itself for lunch. It is so easy it almost isn’t fair. Oh, and of course the simple color and texture are kid friendly---plus it is healthy! I heart this holiday style, immersion blender (my true hidden agenda for finding pureed soup recipes) soup:

Cream of Carrot Soup

4 T butter 1 cup chopped green onions (white and light green parts) 5 cloves garlic, minced 4 T flour 1 T curry powder 1 quart chicken broth (4 cups) 4 ½ cups carrots, diced 2 ½ cups whole milk Kosher Salt Coarse Pepper (KSCP)

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute 3 minutes. Sprinkle flour and curry over onion mix, stir to coat for 1 minute. Stir in broth and carrots. Bring to boil over medium high heat; reduce to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes until carrots are tender. Remove from heat. Puree---with immersion blender if you have one--- until smooth and return to saucepan. Add milk, then salt and pepper to taste. Gently heat and serve. I drizzle with olive oil and top with ground pepper.

Salad Dressing: Shaken, Not Stirred

Salad Dressing: Shaken, Not Stirred

ice cube trays: not just for ice

ice cube trays: not just for ice