New Year, New City, Same Blog

I'm really not sure how to start this post. Maybe it's because Titanic is on in the background and it's the part when the old couple is lying in the bed and the mom puts her kids to sleep and basically everyone is dying at once (spoiler alert).

But it's probably because it's been a very long time since my last post. A lot of things have happened in the last few months - new job, moved to a new city. It's been a crazy last few months but it feels like I finally have at least some of my life together. I miss my family, friends, and life in New York, but it's really nice to start fresh in a new city.

smitten kitchen has been a blog I have been slightly obsessed with for a few years. The writer's (and chef's) photographs are beautiful, as are her recipes. She has been blogging for years and has so many recipes to choose from - she has a great recipe index which is broken down into several categories. I was very lucky to get her book, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, for Christmas this year. I'm starting to develop a pretty good cookbook collection (it includes Franny's, which is kind of awesome) and can only hope it gets to be as large as my mom's!

So I figured I would kick off the new year with a recipe from my favorite blog (obviously besides my mom's). And following in the original tradition on the blog, here's some Celine so you can feel all the feels I'm feeling now after watching Leo die for the 87364736 time - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmbw8OycJrE.

This probably took the most amount of time..

I like to add extra veggies because I love them.

See you in 20 minutes, delicious stew

So much success

Yum.

Spinach and White Bean Stew

3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 15-ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/4 cup stock (I used chicken, but vegetable is fine too)
1 cup pureed tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 tsp. red chile flakes (more or less depending on how much heat you want)
1/2 lb. fresh spinach, cleaned, tough stems removed

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium. Add carrots, celery, shallot, and garlic and saute for 15 minutes. The SK recipe suggests letting it brown and I agree.

Add wine, scrape up any bits stuck to the pot, and cook until reduced by about three-fourths. Add beans, broth, tomatoes, some salt and pepper, thyme, red chile flakes, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until broth thickens. Add spinach and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove thyme and adjust salt and pepper as needed. If you would like a thinner stew, add more broth.

Serve over toasted sourdough with a poached egg**. The bread adds a great crunch to the dish.

**This is the FIRST time I've ever made a poached egg!! I'm very excited about it. But I will NOT be showing pictures because 1) I didn't take any; and 2) it looked really weird and I probably didn't get it right but it tasted fine? so I'm going with a success. For your own poached egg tutorial take a look at the smitten kitchen version, which I used.

This stew is pretty hearty, and great for these frigid temps, but if you need meat in your life you can sear off some stew meat (Trader Joe's sells it ready to cook) and stir it in after adding the broth and tomatoes. Just make sure the meat is covered by enough liquid.

You can also opt for kale or swiss chard instead of spinach. But be sure to cook these tougher greens in water before adding them to the beans.