Sunday, May 30, 2010

Home Is Not So Bad...(and delicious too!)


While eagerly anticipating our amazing journey ahead, we enjoyed a day lounging in the sun in Malibu and doing our usual baking. Today we made yummy popovers with raspberry butter to savor alongside our white bean and rosemary soup. Both so easy and so incredibly delicious.



White Bean Soup With Rosemary for 12
Ingredients
2 pounds dried northern or cannellini beans
7 cups chopped onions (about 5)
1/2 cup olive oil
4 gloves garlic
3 springs fresh rosemary
4 quarts chicken stock
2 Bay Leaves
4 teaspoons sea salt (or kosher salt)

Cover beans in water and soak in the refrigerator over night. In a large soup pot, saute onions in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and cook another few minutes. Drain the beans and add to pot along with chicken stock, bay leaf, and rosemary. Simmer for one hour and a half. Using an emersion blender or a regular blender, puree half of the soup and return to pot. Remove bay leaf and add salt and pepper to taste.



Popovers for 12
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups milk

Heat over to 450°. Grease popover tins or muffin tins. In a large bowl,mix flour and salt. In separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and 2 tablespoon melted butter. Pour into flour mixture and fold until blended slightly. Fill cups 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° and bake until browned. About 20 minutes in pop over tins and 10 minutes in muffin tins. Serve immediatley.

Last feast before our adventure...

With two days to go, we have already been out on the ocean with 27 children from A Chance for Children's Etiquette Class at Tom Bradley Elementary School! As part of the graduation from the class, the children got all dressed up to go on a boat lunch cruise around Marina Del Rey on the Hornblower...we're gonna miss our Wednesday class!!! But we promised to send post cards and post all of our journey. Two more days...

Two Days Till Talloires!!!



With only days to go before I depart, I was just interviewed by a reporter in Virginia on my life. He asked how much of my life had turned out as I had planned. Wow. Does anyone’s life turn out as planned. That is the greatest adventure in life – not to plan too much but being open to going where we are led. I guess my upcoming vacation is just another semblance of trusting and being open to all life’s wonderful adventures. In a few days I depart with only destinations in mind…no set place, time, reservations…simply go where I am led as I experience each place and the people I meet. A friend asked me today if I was worried I would miss really “seeing” a place without having a set plan of what I want to see. I know each place I have experienced, I go and spend extended time and get to know the place and the people and see more of the “real” in each place – and really know it. That is how I live my life and how I vacation. Talloires in two days...stay tuned...