Full Fridge Sunday

Grocery shopping is a serious highlight in my life. I look forward to it. I despise shopping for everything else. I hate the mall and I loathe crowds. However, I will put up with a line out the door to get to fresh produce. Farmer markets and health stores make me extremely happy. My boyfriend, Dan, thinks I'm obsessed with a certain grocery store in my area. I do not disagree. Last year for my birthday Dan asked me if I wanted to get drinks or go out to dinner to celebrate. I chose grocery shopping. If I could afford it I would venture out to do it on a daily basis, but food is expensive - especially organic produce and supplements. Therefore, I try to limit my excursions to once a week. Today was The Day! Having an empty fridge is depressing... I admired our full fridge tonight.

Please take note of the 12 bottles of Chia Cherry Gt's kombucha. Dan splurged on a case for me. It was 10% off total price. Let's just say I drink kombucha like it's water. Actually, I'm terrible at drinking straight water. It's boring. This past summer I could easily down 4 kombuchas at work, (I got a discounted price for a case). Nevertheless, it is still a pricey habit. When I go visit my mom she warns me that I have a "One kombucha a day limit." I've been known to drink her stock in a matter of 24 hours. I am now attempting to adhere to those guidelines on a regular basis at my apartment. In hot weather I love the Trilogy flavor. Its chilled effervescence is so refreshing. Now that its freezing outside I've been craving the chia flavors. Chia is a superfood high in fiber, omega 3's and antioxidants. We will see if I have the will power to limit myself to a single bottle per day when I have full access to it...


Dan is getting sick. Although we both admire his raspier and more masculine voice when he has a cold, I figure it would only be right to get him healthy. We made a nourishing soup for dinner.

INGREDIENTS
Dehydrated Shiitake mushrooms, 1 oz

Garlic, 1 clove

Fresh Ginger, 1 teaspoon 

Chili flakes 1/2 teaspoon
Sea salt to taste
Ground Pepper to taste
Star Anise 1 ea
Red Bell Pepper, 1 ea, chopped
Napa Cabbage, 4 cups, chopped
Celery, 3 ea, chopped
Baby Spinach, 3 cups


PROCEDURE
- Add 3 quarts of water to pot with 1 oz of dried shiitake 
  mushrooms, seasoning, garlic, ginger and star anise. 
  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer.
- Chop up Red bell pepper, cabbage and celery.
-Add chopped veggies to simmering soup pot.
-Serve once veggies are hot, (2-3 minutes)
-Once soup is plated add baby spinach. Stir and serve.

I love veggies to maintain their crunchiness. Therefore, we added the veggies to the hot soup just long enough to get hot. Bright food is ALWAYS appetizing and we enjoyed the festive colors.