artichoke onion soup for the soul

hello everyone! i am sitting in my kitchen, typing in the warmest part of my apartment - right by the oven, which is propped open and heated to 400. apparently the pipes in my basement chose this weekend to crap out on me, so my radiators are ice cold; sam and i have decided to stomach an extra large gas bill, rather than shiver in our own apartment.

the past weekend had its highs and lows; i usually have fridays and saturdays off, but had to work this saturday, making for an extra short weekend - most of which i spent in front of a computer, desperately trying to remember photoshop shortcuts as i worked on wedding invitations. i did find the time to make us a good, thick, wintry soup - it was easy and delicious, and perfect for these cold winter nights, so i thought i'd share the recipe.



2 cans of quartered artichoke hearts
1 medium yellow onion
3 cups chicken broth
2 T butter
2 t ground fennel
1 t dried thyme
1/4 c heavy cream
salt
pepper
olive oil for drizzling
parmasean or similar cheese for crisps

so - start the butter melting in a big pot. a soup sized pot. slice the onion into thin strips, then add it to the butter; saute until good and caramelized, stirring as needed. add the artichoke and saute for a few minutes. add enough chicken stock to cover the onion and artichoke and then some. add the spices, then the cream, and salt to taste; either use an immersion blender or a regular one to puree them until you can't anymore. put your oven to 350, and grate the cheese into little piles on a silpat or piece of parchment, and bake the cheese for 10-15 minutes, or until browned. serve the soup with a drizzle of olive oil, a grinding of pepper, and a cheese crisp or two. and a grilled cheese and pastrami, if you're me.

and an appropriately yellow and green outfit for the day!



dress: thrifted
tights: from mi madre
shoes: madewell
hat: from a weird little antique shop outside of atlanta, ga
necklace: jewelry shop near atlanta (a fish, therefore, a gift from sam)

well! my smoke alarm is going off for no reason whatsoever, so i guess it's time to sign off. stay warm, and much love!

xo audrey

clad in plaid

monday, monday. had to wake up briefly this morning at the ungodly hour of 6 am to help sam out the door; i pretty promptly fell back asleep until about 10 am, woke up, had some cereal and coffee and a few pages of john lennon: the life, a brick of a book that i'm about halfway through and can't get enough of. if you are any kind of beatles fan, or just like a well-written biography (a rare enough book, in my experience) i can't recommend it enough.

after posting yesterday i had a nice supper of falafel with all the fixings and then settled down with a nice belgian beer, my boy and big trouble in little china. i know i can't shut up about how good life is, but man, domestic bliss is kind of awesome. i love my apartment and i've become such a homebody lately, but in a way that somehow doesn't feel sad or lame. i am very ready for winter and the excuse to sequester myself in my cosy apartment for a couple of months.



shirt: actually a dress, by esley, i bought it in portland (you can see the full thing here)
skirt: bought from that amazing thrift store outside of philly
belt: also from said thrift store
necklace: ebay
bow tie: one of my shoe clips
shoes: devotte
socks: american apparel

today i'm sending off resumés to as many restaurants as i can find via my school jobs board, then making a list of dream bakeries in brooklyn, the plan being to stop in personally and attempt to charm them into giving me a job. this couple of months of worklessness has been fun, no doubt, but it's time to wake up from the fairy tale and get back to real life.

currently jamming to mayer hawthorne, passed on to me by a good chicago friend. great, motown-y sound with a more modern edge; two thumbs up. to summarize, i recommend reading the john lennon biography, perhaps while listening to mayer hawthorne, drinking duvel and watching big trouble in little china. you won't be disappointed.

until tomorrow,

xo audrey