blue artichoke

Sorry I don't have much to report on kosher deliciousness. I know it's been awhile and you'd think I'd have great recipes to post for you and your kosher friends, or those of you just hedging your bets against God's wrath. You'd be wrong.

I will be quite honest and say I'd love to have a chicken pot pie, but the one I make from scratch requires both meat (chicken) and dairy (cream... in the treyf cream of chicken soup). Alas, it will not be made in our household. Really craving it, though.

I did, however, make a delicious cheddar potato soup for the last throws of winter. It was very tasty, and very filling. However, it didn't make enough. Also, I like cheese, so it was extra cheesy.

A note on kosher hard cheeses:

DEFINITELY look for the hekhsher mark on cheese if it's a hard cheese (cheddar is a good example). A lot of hard cheeses use a byproduct of meat to render them into their hard shapes, and that's a no-no under Kashrut. Cabot Cheeses are certified kosher by the Orthodox Union and feature their hekhsher and are good to use.

Cheddar Potato Soup

I boiled the potatoes with a pareve beef boullion cube thrown in. It was a big sucker, too, but really gave it a bit of extra flavor that I think otherwise would have been missing. Next time I will probably use two of those cubes, because I liked it. I also didn't add any salt, because I'm just not a fan.

5 peeled and cubed red potatoes
3 tablespoons melted kosher butter
1 small onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups milk
2 cups shredded kosher Cheddar cheese

Using a medium sized stock pot boil potatoes and cook until tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup liquid.

In same pot, melt butter and onion, cooking until soft. Gradually stir in potatoes, reserved liquid, milk, and cheese. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

It was quite tasty, reheated well, and really fought off winter's nasty reality check. Make sure when reheating that you only use the stove, and reheat slowly. No microwaving!

In other news, my office is moving, which is causing undue stress on my fragile psyche. I'm glad we're moving -- not that Chelsea's a bad place or anything, but I'm going to enjoy walking or riding my bike to work. For bad weather days, I'll enjoy taking the bus. I already gave up my parking space there for a bit of extra pay, so I'm forcing this onto myself. At 3.5 miles, it's not a big help in the exercise department if I ride my bike. Walking is a slightly different story. But whatever... we'll be in a nice new office with nice furniture and I am materialistic and work better in such environments.

Hooray for the company move!

Getting to Know All About You: Right about now, you're probably craving something you gave up for Lent. What is it?