It's been entirely too long since I've posted a recipe here. Life has gotten in the way many times over the last few months, but rest assured-- I've been cooking.

And eating. A lot of eating.

That's the key to transitioning back to east coast life after a while out west. Throw on a few pounds in the way of lobster rolls, and North End Italian food, and Mei Mei Street Kitchen dumplings...and soon enough you'll long a little bit less for those tacos of yesterday.

Also, I really like soup. And eating soup when it was like eighty-seven degrees out in February last year seemed ridiculous.

While it's continued to be pleasantly surprising on the weather front out here, I've been making a lot of beef stew for myself, Matty and my parents lately. I've filled so many mason jar pints with fresh, hot soup-- yet I'm still dying for more as I type this.

Luckily, I froze some before we headed out west, and I think I know exactly what I'll be doing when I'm done here.

I must admit, we have been hitting the Thai takeout pretty hard these days. When we don't feel like cooking, and aren't in the mood for tacos (which doesn't happen very often, to be honest) Matt's go-to menu item is almost always Pad Thai, his favorite gluten-free luxury in a world of hidden soy sauce. This Thai trend, for a moment, encouraged me to step out of my drunken-noodles comfort zone and discover Tom Kha Gai soup.

We were in Boston last weekend.
My cousin's wedding was a great reason for a quick trip back east. The event itself was gorgeous, and seeing all our friends and family was a wonderful bonus. The only thing that wasn't wonderful, of course, was the weather.
While it didn't snow while we were in town, and even though I was all too aware of what we were in for, the amount of god damn snow on the ground was positively astounding.

Don't get me wrong. I miss you all terribly.
But I am so glad we moved.

In honor of our visit to the arctic northeast tundra, I wanted to pull out and publish a lost file, if you will. I made this, photographed it, tested it, and wrote a great recipe for it right before we left Boston for LA last year.

But then we moved. Then it was hot. And then I didn't write about anything, let alone seasonally inappropriate soup.

But while doing inventory on photos and posts and creating a calendar, I realized I didn't want to lose this guy. So I decided I wouldn't. I hope it's starting to finally get toward Spring, Boston. I'm sending you all the sunshine I can.

As per usual, I'm here today to bitch about the weather.

While I am somewhat excited by the concept of a white Christmas, it's still a touch too early into "winter" for this much snow to be dropping from the sky. This form of precipitation-- while lovely as it's happening-- requires shoveling, and fucks up my shoes and commute. After a few days, it's dirty and melted and my neighborhood looks bleak and sad.
I kind of hate snow.

But, at the same time, I must acknowledge there's something magical about snow illuminated by Christmas lights. And using a snowy evening as an excuse to eat a bowl of something hearty and hot is so enjoyable. This is what I'll be feasting on tonight-- apparently I had some brilliant foresight the other day that I wouldn't want to cook much this week. And that I'd be cold.

Which, right now-- I don't. And I am.
Way to go, me.

Well, folks. It's the end of March.
And while this month kind of came in like a lion and then turned into a bitter bitch and now is perhaps maybe exiting like a little lamb... I am starting to feel confident Spring is finally here.
I mean, it has to be. Right?
What's the worst that could happen after this?

Well. Just incase. Maybe fire up a batch of this to keep you warm.
It's worth every second of time and ounce of effort. I swear.

I am currently writing this entry poolside in Texas, as I am down here all week for the annual tech/music/film festival mecca known as South By Southwest. And while pulled pork nachos and other Texan culinary delights are abound down here, I still have some cooking endeavors I'd stored up to share. So rather than waste the afternoon playing Draw Something (newest app obsession!) I figure share, I must.

I made this soup a few weeks ago (and consequently brought it to work for lunch and ate it for days to follow), but even though soup is usually considered cold-weather fare, I think this light, bright and delicious number is perfect for spring time. And, after chatting with my friends back home and discovering it is currently seventy degrees out in Boston, it seems the warmer weather is certainly upon us.

Dill is one of my favorite herbs, despite it not being quite as versatile as some others. I had purchased a bunch for the Tzatziki-like-sauce I made with some Greek-inspired turkey meatballs, and didn't want to waste the rest. After reviewing the contents of my fridge and pantry, this soup was a no-brainer.

I have worked on the outskirts of Chinatown in Boston for a solid four or so years now (our office was initially in a little room off our VC's office in Harvard Square. I miss Cambridge sometimes. But now, my commute from Dorchester is a grand old 20 minutes. So I don't miss it in that regard, at all).

The other night, I finally ventured over to the C Mart Supermarket a block or so away to grab some things and make dinner. I realized pretty quick that I am an idiot for overlooking this really good, really cheap, really close market for a long time just because I wasn't sure what I would find.


Obviously, despite some packaging being in Chinese, I was still able to grab the ingredients I needed to make a really delicious, really easy pot of what I was craving: broth-y, chicken-y, spicy goodness. With bok choy. All the bok choy. So, without further ado:

Sorry for the lack of hellos, lately, friends.
One of my bestest friends/other half through college was married at the Boston Public Library this past weekend in truly glorious fashion.
And another BFF (Yep. I have a few. Don't judge.) was home for said-wedding from California.
So, basically...
Sorry I've been drunk. And not cooking. Or writing. And drunk.
Sorry...I'm not sorry.

Anyway! I concocted this little bowl of deliciousness a little while ago and now, as I type this and look at the photos, I am salivating. This was so easy, relatively cheap, and very tasty. Amount of heat is totally your call - I just don't bat an eyelash at sweating profusely while eating my lunch. How cute?

As you will continue to notice, I make soup a lot. Especially when the temperatures drop, but just in general - I quite enjoy throwing some of my favorite things in a pot, waiting a few hours, eating a gravy-boat's worth, and then having lunch for a week (or often less, once Matty discovers the contents of the tupperware.)

So, let's get this out of the way. I'm a little weird about ground beef.
Like, never eaten a whole hamburger in my life, weird.
Like, cook with ground turkey or chicken any chance I can, weird.
Like, I somehow prefer hot dogs at a barbecue, weird.
And give me a rare steak and I will eat it with a smile on my goddamn face.
But something about hamburger just does not appeal to me.

However, of course, there are exceptions to every rule--

• [When it's one of three types of meat] in really good meatballs.
• In a bolognese or some delicious sauce with pasta.
• And, of freaking course...chili.

This is my parents' classic recipe that I add a touch of heat to with some jalapenos. This is the first dish I learned to make when I moved on my own (probably because it has about 4 steps in preparation and 3 more in execution), and I still love to cook it up on a Sunday, while the guys watch football and play video games in the living room.

In true masochistic fashion, I always tend to go grocery shopping on Sundays.