There’s been heavy thunderstorms and downpours all day long. We’re approaching the end of March, and yet the weather is still gloomy and wet outside. A perfect day for soup! Mark Bittman, writer and foodie for The New York Times, has created some easy-to-follow instructions for making vegetable (vegetarian and, for the most part, vegan) soups with common ingredients in a variety of choices and terrific flavor. Bittman created four essential categories:

• creamy: vegetables puréed with dairy
• brothy: a strained vegetable stock, with quick-cooking ingredients added
• earthy: with beans
• hearty: the vegetables sautéed first, to deepen their flavor

Most of these can be cooked for a while, but not so long that the freshness is gone. You can even make a double batch and refrigerate (or freeze) the leftovers because they will taste good or even better the next day! Soups with dairy needs to be reheated gently and never boiled because the soup may curdle.

For Mark Bittman’s easy vegetable soups, visit The New York Times.

If you’re looking for a fun way to celebrate Chinese New Year, give these fortune cookies a try!

The trick to making the cookies is timing, so prepare everything you need before you stick them in the oven. That means you’ll need to make the fortune messages first. You can download and print the silly ones I made for myself or write your own messages on a 3″ x 1/2″ strip of paper.

Grab the following ingredients: (Makes 12 cookies)
- 2 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract (optional)
- 1/2 cup of sifted flour
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of water
- vegetable oil cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 300˚F and grease a wide baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray.
Using a whisk, beat the egg whites, vanilla and almond extracts in a large bowl.

Add the sifted flour, sugar, and water. Beat the mix thoroughly until you have no lumps or bumps!
Place 4 tablespoon-sized scoops of the mix on the baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the cookies turn light golden brown around the edges.

Work quickly by removing one cookie at a time from the baking sheet.
Place one strip of fortune in the center and gently fold in half.
Bend the two ends of the cookie over the rim of a glass and hold for 20 seconds until it cools.

You have to mold the hot little cookies as soon as they come out of the oven, so I would suggest you use a pair of mittens or some kitchen paper. I used glass cups to hold its shape while it cools so I could work on the next cookie. Works like a charm!

Repeat the process until you use all the cookie mix.

It took me a couple of tries to get the cookies to come out the way I wanted. I burned the first batch of 4 cookies because I left them in the oven too long and they were too brittle to shape, so I ended up with only 8. You get better with practice so after the second batch, I was shaping them like a pro!

Fortune cookies are a great way to celebrate Chinese New Years but you can also make them for Valentine’s Day with love messages! Add food coloring and they can be great for any occasion! For more information on making fortune cookies, check out Alpha Mom.

For those who know me, I don’t cook …Well, that’s not entirely true. Like the great Chef Gusteau said, “Anyone can cook,” (Ratatouille 2007) but I avoid the kitchen because I feel like I take up too much time and space for anyone who asks me to help. But! If I have a detailed recipe and a kitchen to myself, I could manage to pull something decent together. It’d probably take 3 times longer than the intended time to prepare and cook, but I can get it done.

So over the weekend, my boyfriend and I were tossing ideas back and forth about what to cook for dinner for the two of us since his family was out of town. I suggested Zuppa Toscana soup, the same one from Olive Garden that we love soo much! I found the recipe from Food.com and modified it a little for myself. Here is my version of the Zuppa Toscana.

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)
2 medium-sized potatoes, sliced in thin pieces with skin
2 cans of chicken broth (or one ounce of chicken bouillon)
4 cups of water
1 large onion, diced
1 slice of bacon, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb of Italian sausage
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 cups of kale, chopped in large pieces, no stem

1. Place potatoes, chicken broth (or chicken bouillon), and water in pot and cook over medium heat.
2. Cook diced onions, diced bacon, and minced garlic in saucepan over high heat until bacon becomes crispy. Add to the pot of potatoes when done.
3. Cook Italian sausage over medium heat in saucepan. Make sure to keep the sausage in fairly large chunks for better taste. Add to the pot of potatoes when done.
4. Let the pot simmer for about 10 minutes, then add heavy cream and kale.
5. Allow the pot to simmer for another 5 minutes and serve!

We paired it with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford Hill, but any full-bodied red will go delightfully with this soup. Bon appetit!

In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Starbucks is refreshing their logo. The Starbucks Siren, in all her topless mermaid glory is getting center stage on the cup. Starbucks has dropped the word banding around the siren, leaving the Starbucks logo as a completely green image of the mermaid on the cup.

Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz explains, “this new evolution of the logo does two things that are very important; it embraces and respects our heritage and at the same time evolves us to a point where we feel it’s more suitable to the future.” The new logo is expected to roll out in March and has already been met with both jeers and praise from consumers.

Visit Starbucks to read more about the new logo and the brand’s vision for the future.

Christmas weekend was filled with delicious food, good company, and great wine. Unfortunately, I was left with a few unfinished bottles of Rosé and Syrah that I couldn’t finish and didn’t have the heart to pour down the sink. Uncorked wine can go bad over the course of a few days. So last night, I mixed the remaining bottles of reds with some orange juice, sugar, and fresh fruit to make a delicious pitcher of Sangria.

Sangria is a fruit-based wine “punch” with its heritage well rooted in Spain and popularly enjoyed during the summer season — I personally enjoy Sangria throughout the entire year! It’s easy to make and easy to drink, even for those who are not “into wine.”

One of the beauties of making Sangria is you can use any variety of reds in the mix: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Shiraz, or any other blend of reds. Traditional Sangria calls for slices of lemons and oranges, but you can also use strawberries, peaches, and berries. For a bubbly Sangria, add ginger ale or club soda right before you serve it. The prep time is less than 5 minutes and best served chilled over night.

Bottoms up!