excuses, excuses, excuses
I had every intention of writing the sequel to my Mediterranean appetizers post this week, but a fifth wedding anniversary, a birthday, and a simple grilled meal for the two of us that somehow turned into a full-blown dinner party at the last minute (good thing we almost always make too much food!) were enough to keep me from, you know, DOING ANYTHING PRODUCTIVE AT ALL. We also took a trip to Spoons ‘n Spice and came home with a plethora of new playthings, part-birthday present (a Henckels 7″ Granton Edged Santoku Knife!!!) and part-mutual anniversary present (sharpening steel, wood chip smoker, mortar and pestle (finally!), and some gorgeous tri-colored peppercorns).
You’d think that I’d have loads of new dishes and photos for you, since I rushed right home and started practicing with the new cutlery, but it’s been raining for days and I can’t seem to get a satisfactorily-lit picture. I guess you’ll just have to wait a bit longer before you get to hear me squee in a recipe-specific way about how brilliantly the knife handles fresh herbs, or how easy it now is to use that last little bit of onion in the fridge without losing a pinkie.
Despite my slacker ways and unpostable photos, I still wanted to share the first thing I actually made with The Knife. Simple, quick, and delicious, it may be one of my new favorite dishes: 101 Cookbooks’ orzo soup. I adore orzo and Heidi’s recipes, and I couldn’t think of a better time to try soup in June than in the midst of this unusual fifty-degree weather. I left out the egg whites and threw in some onions, garlic, fresh Italian parsley, and about a quarter cup of lemon juice to brighten the flavor, and I spiced up the fire-roasted tomatoes with a splash of hot sauce. The leftovers were perfect to take to work in my Mr. Bento and filled me up a lot more than I suspected a 120 calorie soup ever would. We just polished it off yesterday (okay, I polished it off) and I’m already considering making it a part of tonight’s dinner. I suspect this soup will probably end up on my “we eat it so often we’d be sick of it, except it’s Just That Good” list sometime in the near future. In fact, I’m looking forward to it. 
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