How to make soup less spicy

I like to make soup "grandma-style." You know, a pinch of this, a smidge of that, and a few handfuls of those until things look just right. Tasting as you go, you get to create your masterpiece in the most scientific of ways possible.

Normally, this method serves me pretty well. Seasonings build up, enhancing over time and deepening as the soup simmers.

Yesterday was a whole different story. I started with the normal layer of aromatics -- onions, garlic, and herbs slowly cooking up to a flavorful base for the soup. I knew I wanted a spicier soup, so I went ahead and ground some red pepper flakes and cayenne into this mix, along with oregano, parsley, and garlic powder (as though the eight cloves I minced weren't enough!).

After adding my other ingredients, I tasted the broth. To my dismay, it tasted flat. Not a problem, I thought. I'll just zip it up with a few more cracks of red pepper, and a little salt and pepper to boot. Looking good, right?

Half an hour of simmering, and I was ready to test the soup. First taste? More like first choke. WOW. I felt that in the back of my throat, in my nostrils, in a sweaty upper lip...you get the picture.

So I tried anything I could thing of. Here's what I added: 1/4 cup of heavy cream (I couldn't bring myself to add more than that once I looked at the nutrition info!), 1 cup of water, 2 cups of mushrooms, and 2.5 cups of baby spinach. The after picture:

The result was a spicy, but tolerable soup. I was still sweating profusely by the time I was done my bowl, but I did get an added bonus of extra vegetables in every spicy bite!

Lessons learned:
1. Easy on the spice. If it burns a hole in your mouth, just think what it will do to your stomach.
2. Cream helps mitigate the spice.
3. Extra veggies and other fillers can distribute the spice around a greater volume of food.
4. There may be something valid about measuring cups.

On a completely separate note, I am trying my hand at fixing up furniture! Here's our old (and I do mean old) nighttable before.

After sanding:

Final pictures to come soon! Have a good Tuesday, everybody!

Roasted Pear and Chocolate Scones

I am writing this for public record: any time I ever grumble about losing an hour of sleep during Daylight Savings transition, please remind me of how gloriously happy I am for it be 7pm and not yet dark.

Seriously, friends, this might just be what heaven is like. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but I do find myself sitting here with a steaming mug of cocoa by my side, a home that smells like baked goods and clean laundry, and a good-lookin' man a few feet away. So really, "heavenly" isn't too far off. 

MM, did I embarass you? Don't worry-I'll make sure he's gone before you get home! ;)

Instead of writing a 15-page essay on all the fun happenings of the past month little while since I last posted, we'll let the pictures do the talking!

First up, the obligatory cooking shot of MM on Valentine's Day:

Jennie and I found this gem on an antiquing trip to Ellicott City. Don't worry, Gillian, we have one for you and one for Jennie, too.

We celebrated my grandparents' 72nd wedding anniversary. You read that right: SEVENTY-TWO ever-lovin' years. No matter how you slice it, that's a loooooong time!

I went to Southern California to test-drive cars for work (check out the snazzy set up we had to measure
0-60 mph!)

This was one of the cars we tested. I hate to use the word "disappointing", but, well....disappointing!

Especially in comparison to these babies (no, I wasn't allowed to drive them. I wasn't allowed to even sit in them!)

Luckily, I got a hike in while I was there. LA would be very pretty if it weren't for all the people!

Our cake topper for the wedding showed up - cute isn't it?

I had the best bachelorette party ever. Thanks for coming to hang and planning such a wonderful weekend, ladies! [If you're wondering why I put up a fuzzy picture, it's because it's the only one of the 10 of us that is remotely acceptable to share with the world!]

MM and I took a cooking class - now we know how to make things "en papaillote!"

Wedding invites came and left!

We went to the Maryland-UNC basketball game. (I'm proud to report that the right team won.)

And, finally, Nora came to visit!

In honor of our *many* moments cooking together in Seattle, we decided to make ourselves brunch. Since we couldn't pick between recipes, we decided to make both. Smart thinking, eh? The scones turned out AWESOME (with that amount of butter, how could they not?). I am not exaggerating when I say "we gobbled these up." Nora, I miss you already! *cough - MOVE TO DC - cough*

Roasted Pear and Chocolate Scones
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen
Makes 6 scones

Ingredients:
3 firmish pears (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar plus 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated or coarse for sprinkling
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt plus additional for egg wash
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or chips)
2 large eggs, 1 for dough, 1 for glaze

Directions:
Heat oven to 375°F. Peel and core pears. Cut into 1-inch chunks. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange pear chunks on parchment and roast until they feel dry to the touch and look a little browned underneath, about 20 minutes. Slide parchment paper with pear chunks onto a cooling rack (or onto a plate in the fridge or freezer to speed this up) and cool to lukewarm. Leave oven on. Line baking sheet with another piece of parchment.

Whisk flour, baking powder, 1/4 cup sugar and salt together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Toss in cooled pear chunks, bits of butter, heavy cream and 1 egg. With the paddle attachment, mix the dough on low speed until it just comes together. Don’t overmix. Add the chocolate and mix for 5 seconds more.

On a very well floured counter, pat out dough into a 6-inch round. Cut into 6 generous wedges and transfer to baking sheet at least two inches apart. Whisk remaining egg in a small dish with 1 teaspoon of water and a pinch of salt. Brush each scone with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of sugar.

Bake scones until firm and golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

*Recipe #2*

To go with the scones, we also made these romaine pesto and egg-stuffed tomatoes. We tried to kill two birds with one stone and bake the tomatoes at the same time as the scones (despite recipes calling for two different baking temperatures), and it may have been a mistake! The tomatoes turned out tasty, but the texture was off. I'm going to need to try these easy-to-make 'maters again before I give a full verdict!