I am a person who enjoys comfort. Security. Knowing what to expect.These are some things that bring me comfort...the feeling of the weight of uncertainty being lifted (some may seem silly to you). Andrew and I have made a theme for this year, no expectations. There is a funny thing that happens when you are so confident in yourself to NAME your year...God totally says "okay, so this is what we're going to do" and he ROCKS you. 2010 was a year of un-comfort in so many ways. It was as if we were in our first storm as a family...people we loved died, we lost our passion for things we use to love, and we were forced into a time of surrender. I feel like the ultimate stubborn streak overcame me! I was confronted by the fact that when I have expectations, I cannot grow, I cannot see what is best for me, and I cannot love those around me well.So the simple phrase that I've kept in my back pocket these past 70 days is no expectations (sometimes when I type it it makes me think of the old jean company "no boundaries" haha)Anyways, I cannot wait to share with you the rumblings of this revolution in our life...but I can't just  yet.

Potato Leek Chowder

Weight Watchers Points+ 8 servings: 4 points

adapted from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan

In the mean time, curl up with this delicious, comfortable soup adapted from the book "Around my French Table". My addition of corn & roasted garlic make it not as French, not as traditional, but extra delicious.1 head of garlic1 tsp of olive oil2 tbs unsalted butter1 large Spanish Onion, diced3 medium leeks, sliced into half moons (only use the white and light green part)Salt and Pepper2 russet potatoes, diced (save one to add in after you've pureed the soup)4 cups chicken broth3 cups water1/2 cup corn6 thyme sprigs1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.2. Take one head of garlic and slice the top off. (see notes at bottom for guidance)3. Drizzle the top with oil, and place in a baking pan (put foil down on the bottom, and cover the top of the bulb with foil...I like to just use a ramekin if I'm roasting one head)4. Roast for 1 hour, removing foil the last 10 minutes.5. Melt butter in Dutch oven or soup pot over low heat. Add onion and stir until they glisten with butter, then season with salt and pepper, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes, until onion is soft but not colored6. Add remaining ingredients (except the corn & 1 of the diced potatoes), along with a little more salt, increase heat, and bring to a boil. As soon as soup bubbles, turn heat to low, mostly cover pot, and simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are mashably soft. Taste soup and season generously with salt and white pepper.7. With an immersion blender, carefully blend soup until pureed (careful not to splash)8. Add in remaining diced potatoes & corn, simmer on low for 15 more minutes or until the diced potatoes are softer.Enjoy!

I know my statement is broad, but it's true.

Artists are not good bakers. I, having a BA in Art, accept this fact freely and gladly.

I do not read instructions, I do not take time to measure out proportions, and I like to put a "little of this" and a "little of that" to taste just right. This doesn't work with baking, and that's why I'm not good at it.

Sure, I can whip up brownies from a box but up until recently, I could NOT master chocolate chip cookies. Let me start from the beginning.

Why am I even baking, and if you've noticed I've updated what I'm currently reading, it's allergy-free. My lil friend Erikka has a gluten intolerance. She just discovered this fact last year, and it has changed her life! This is the girl I used to go through boxes of brownie mix and kraft mac & cheese with in college, and you are telling me she can't eat gluten!? When we were out at their house this fall, I got a little glimpse into her gluten-free world. It seemed yummy enough, but alas, not for me.

Then my friends Rachael & Steve started to look into the world of allergy-free baking & cooking for their kids, and started to tell me about the effects of preservatives, dyes, gluten, dairy,  you name it!

I started to wonder why I eat that stuff so carelessly - until I went to the doctor this month. I have been having some stomach stuff for the past 6+ months now. And the long and short of it is - I have a dairy intolerance. Wahhhhh my bottom lip is starting to quiver.

No more ice cream?
No more milk?
No more butter? 
No more glorious cheese board?!
No more BREYERS ROCKY ROAD?! I worked at an ice cream shop for 5 years...and you're telling me I can't touch that stuff without a stomach ache and then some in the horizon?

Ok: as I was leaving the doctor’s office I kept thinking maybe this doc is just trying to get me to go dairy-free because "I should...everyone should". I immediately pick up Andrew and drive to my favorite gelato joint. I am not going down without a fight. I eat gelato...3 different flavors. Then another great idea- let's get pizza. Cheese pizza. And give me a big old brownie while you're at it.

Fast forward two days later- I. Am. Miserable.

Okay...I get it, and I'm done. I stop eating dairy and it's like boom...I can sit throughout dinner without doubling over in pain from the party going on in my intestine. So that's how I found my way to this recipe-it's more something I feel like I want to make for others since there are a bunch of ingredients...but if you want to invest $30 in the basics that you don't have in your kitchen..it'll be worth it. 

i fell off the wagon this weekend.well...i think the wagon pushed me.I read an article the other day about how eating out and take out affect our lives and it got me thinking:

"For better or worse, we live in an age of multitasking, and being so busy means that many of us take shortcuts when it comes to food. According to the National Restaurant Association, nearly a third of adults say that take-out food is essential to the way they live. Not just helpful — essential."  -Article By: Amanda Genge

So why do I say the wagon pushed me? My wagon is my day to day life I think...life here for me is full of commuting, quick decisions & distractions and just plain busy. We are always going from this meeting to work to this lunch to running to the grocery store, and finally home; exhausted, hungry, and unwilling to leave the couch+netflix/magazine/iphone/computer(whatever is my newest distraction at home).Is this a city-dwellers problem, or just a plain old human kind problem? I think a little of both.Ok so I got my fill of DELICIOUS food that I didn't make this weekend...but here is what I did make last night. And I want to tell you now, O_M_G the old bay season is the secret trick ingredient.

Skillet Shrimp with Orzo

Weight Watchers Points+ 6 servings: 3 points

adapted from Martha Stewart

A few months ago I was walking down Michigan Ave with my sister, and Giada De Laurentiis was doing a demo in front of the Wrigley Building and was passing out boxes and boxes of orzo. Ever since then I have been trying to find ways to use it, and I think I found the perfect place for this pasta to play a leading role.

1 tbs olive oil1 tbs chili infused olive oil (if you don't want to buy it or use it...just use another tbs of regular olive oil)12 oz medium cooked/frozen shrimp1 tsp mustard seeds1 cup shredded carrots2 leeks, sliced into half-moons4 cloves of garlic sliced1/4 tsp old bay seasoning1/4 tsp red pepper flakes1 cup orzo1 1/2  cup chicken broth

1. In a 12-inch skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Toss shrimp with salt and pepper. Saute, tossing, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove.2. Add remaining tablespoon olive oil to pan; stir in mustard seeds. Cook until seeds begin to pop, about 30 seconds. Add leeks, carrots, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until leeks are tender, about 5 minutes.3. Add red pepper flakes and old bay.4. Boil the chicken stock5. Stir in orzo, peas, and the boiling chicken stock; season with salt and pepper.6. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 5 minutes.7. Add shrimp; stir gently.My lesson learned was two fold this week: I can make delicious food at home that is just as good as take out, but sometimes when I'm short on time...it's okay to cheat a little. To make eating out about soaking in time with friends or a breather to my busy day. For me to make take-out food helpful in my life... not essential.Also, check out my new and ever changing list of my favorite places to eat out in Chicago...refinedsugar.wordpress.com/chicago/

"So the eating in is going well!"*Blank Stare* or a well meaning "Oh, not you?!" is the reaction I get from most of my friends and coworkers who find that this foodie has taken a hiatius from my (sometimes almost) daily trips to Whole Foods, Butterfly, Sultans...I could go on.Although I have to say it's been hard that most of our lunch conversation this week has been "Let's go around and share your favorite coffee shop in Chicago" or favorite bar, favorite thai, favorite burger joint...ah!!! Temptation!!So yes, it's going well. I have officially lost 1.2 lbs so far (hey...it's something!) so the scale is being nice to me again. Phew.The first 11 days of 2011 have brought us a few delicious recipes.Carrot Ginger SoupFajita'sOrange ChickenRoasted Vegetables with Maple Brussels Sproutsand our favorite Pizza RecipeI'm going to share the Carrot Ginger Soup recipe today, because I brought it to our staff potluck and it was a hit!But not before I tell you about how important this week is.If you didn't know, my husband is a Graduate Student at North Park Theological Seminary where he is pursuing his Masters in Christian Formation. Fancy, eh? He's graduating in May, so this week is what I like to call "the beginning of the end". We will be working for the Evangelical Covenant Church, and this is the week we start interviewing with the Superintendents of each conference in the country.Our theme for this year is "No Expectations" (I don't know how many times I've said that to myself and others these past two weeks...lots!) so of course...we are not expecting to stay here in our beloved Chicago, or even the midwest (scary!!).So if you make this soup, and while you're eating it and thinking about how great you think this blog is and the joy this soup brought into your life (hehe too much?) think of us, send us your good thoughts and prayers.Also, my lovely husband got me an immersion blender. Yay. I think he was just sick of washing the blender and everywhere I dripped after making soup.

Carrot Ginger Soup

Weight Watchers Points+ 6 servings: 3 pointsadapted from Food Network & Maxine Bonneau

I swapped out heavy cream for evaporated milk to lighten up on the calories. Also, I love serving this dish with baked polenta cakes (the polenta in a tube just sliced and baked) and edemame.

2 tbs sweet cream butter (look for lite butter)1 large white or spanish onion peeled & rough chopped or 2 medium onions2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced6 cups fat free/low sodium chicken or vegetable stock (if you want the recipe to be vegetarian)2 tbs grated ginger (or 1/4 tsp ground powder ginger)1 cup fat free evaporated milksalt and pepperSour CreamParsley for garnish

1. Heat butter in 6-quart pan (or I use my large Le Crueset french oven)2. Rough chop onions and add to butter (don't worry about chopping perfect...you're going to be pureeing this all in the end). I also like to throw about a teaspoon of salt on the onions to get them good and tasty.3. Peel your carrots and again, just roughly slice them into similar size pieces. Grate your ginger now too.4. When the onions have gotten limp or softened (I found with the spanish onion they just got soft and sweet and smelled like onion rings...yum) add the 6 cups of stock, sliced carrots, and the ginger. Stir together.5. Cover and bring to a boil.6. Lower the heat and simmer until the carrots are soft. Remove from heat.If you do not have an immersion blender, read 7. If you do own one, read 7.1 7. If you have a regular blender, carefully transfer soup to the blender only filling it up half way. Take the little cap out of the lid to vent and put a towel over the hole so you don't have an orange kitchen. Blend away my friend. Repeat in batches if necessary.7.1 If you have an immersion blender, CAREFULLY blend until soup is pureed and smooth. Try not to splash yourself with this molten hot concoction like I did. Ouchie.8. Add 1 cup evaporated milk so it's nice and creamy.9. Season with pepper if you'd like, and 2 tsp+ kosher salt.I really like to put a dab of sour cream in my bowl and pour the soup over, remember to add in the additional points.

it's 2011 it's 2011 it's 2011!!!!!!!!!!!! i want to scream it from the roof tops! this year has seemed so far off in my mind for so long, and it's finally here, and for some weird reason it feels so good.one of our new resolutions was to majorly cut back on our eating out expense. Hence, the restart of my food blog...with a twist. I am currently on the Weight Watchers program, so no more Julia Child butter fests or quarts of heavy cream. Hopefully I'll be able to post my recipes and my results.Now for the eating out bit: we haven't eaten out since December 30th, 2009 and it was at one of our favorite restaurants. Boy...we did ourselves in. Then of course we had to top the end of the year off with fried wings (they had buffalo wild wings sauce on them!!!), homemade french onion dip, and an assortment of cocktails and my favorite Chicago's own Goose Island Matilda....with fun friends and a nice round of Wits and Wagers before midnight. Ya. Total that all up to a nice 8 pound weight gain (don't forget to add in all the caramel, truffles, and toffee I made as gifts aka snacked on while making for Christmas).My experience so far this year (5 days in!) has consisted of Garlicky White Bean dip, Potato Leek soup, Mushroom Parmesian Crostini's, General Tso's chicken, and more. Tonight was Taco Wednesday, but unfortunatly Andrew had to work last minute, so the fiesta has just been for uno, me plus my Ina Garten cookbook I just picked up from the library.Tacos I made were pretty standard....hard shell, grassfed ground beef, topped with the food equivalent of GOLD (corn salsa from Trader Joes...run don't walk to one right now and purchase).But my new go to sweet treat is Black Bean Brownies. Now, I used a regular size cake pan, so they are really thick this time = more points+ used. But usually I use the biggest size pyrex I have and they are about 2-3 points+.Get ready here is the recipe. Lots of ingredients.

Dark Chocolate Black Bean Brownies

Weight Watchers Points+ in a 9x13 cake pan: 5 points

What you get is really nice cakey but still fudgey brownies with no fat or oil added. Try mixing in some espresso powder or a Starbucks Via for a flavor enhancer!

1 family size box Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix1 can black beans

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.2. Puree black beans in a food processor until smooth (dump the whole can in there...do not drain!)3. Combine dry mix and beans in a kitchenaid or by hand until smooth.4. Spray pan with cooking spray (I used 9x13).5. Put mixture in pan.6. Bake for 35 minutes, checking at 30mins to see if they're done depending on your oven.