in the comfort of…
Well, what a whirlwind these last several months have been. I think it really started in November of last year when I went to India and then just kept running after that. We started the year with a trip to the Lake District and onto Venice for a winter city break and then to Berlin, Marrakech, Paris for the cherry blossoms with my mummy, through Estonia plus America with New York City and Florida and finally back to where it all started. My desk, in my room, in the heart of London.
Currently, I can hear Big Ben chiming and have the sight of a candle flickering and the pitter patter of a little British summer rain against my ajar window. It feels so surreal to have flown, knocked around and adventuring through each corner of the world. And if you think that this has been a great journey, it is about to get that much better.
Instead of getting into that, I wanted to live in the present for just a moment. When I was home in Florida I wanted to share bits of my childhood with all of you. Since c&é has grown bigger community, I only deemed it was appropriate to explore this idea bit. Instead I decided to take the very few days I had with my family as a digital detox. It was just what I needed.
in the kitchen
Coming back, I wasn’t quite in the mindset to get back to work right away. I eased into it really with a weekend off in London with seldom plans {which is unheard of in the summer months}. With all the travel, my eating habits were a bit scattered-so now that I’m idle for a few weeks, I wanted to bring my routine back. Put on my flats, grab my keys, turn on a podcast that echoes through my headphones, and walked to my high street. From the local farmer, the corner flourist, at the butchers and finally with a cup of coffee and some bread from the boulangerie-I headed home.
In between the travels, I was barely in the kitchen. Client dinner meetings, friends’ dinner parties, lots of late night’s working in the office or at the desk at home with just a sandwich to sustain. So I started the process of making dinner. The cadence of chopping the fresh, crunchy vegetables, the aroma of the garlic in the pot and the sounds of the sizzle as I occasionally stirred… It made coming home that much sweeter and I realized why I missed cooking so much. It had been forever.
Katie was visiting, so we chatted and caught up on all she had going on. We perfumed the hallway with the Italian seasoning then ladled a few helpings in our bowls and made our way down to the garden to enjoy as it was British Summer Time.
serves 6
summer chicken soup
ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 large tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2 cups chicken stock
- a bit of parmesan rind
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup green peas
method
In a dutch oven, or stock pot over medium heat melt the butter then add the chicken. Stir occassionally so the outside slightly browns up. Remove from pan onto a separate plate. In the same pot, add the red onion, bell pepper, garlic and tomatoes. Once the tomatoes start to breakdown, add the Italian seasoning and continue to simmer for 5-7 minutes or until fragrant.
The increase the temperature to high and deglaze the pot with the white wine. Cook down to half the amount and then add the chicken stock, parmesan rind, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Once done simmering, add the chicken pieces back and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and cook beteen 3 to 5 minutes. Add the green peas and once they are cooked through in a minute or so, turn off the heat. Stir in the chopped spinach and serve with focaccia bread!