Snow Day -- Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

We woke up this weekend to a lil of this:

For inquiring minds, my booties are from the lovely Bed|Stu, and my lacy number is an Anthropologie special. (Oh, and yes. Those are paint smears on my Target leggings. My mother would be so proud...)

And a lil of this:

Setting the perfect stage for this:

I believe in doing simple things really well. Particularly, in the kitchen. This soup is a great example of a simple base with a thousand different variations. If broccoli kinda isn't your veggie (but don't worry, it will be after your roast it. Trust me, I'm right), you can roast up really any veggie you like and pair it with a cheese to your liking. Mix up the spices, and you can really get somethin' goin. Just think, roasted carrot soup with sharp white cheddar cheese and rosemary. AMAZEBALLS. Anywho, I'm going to teach you the basics; then you can let your own imagination roam. Today, we will keep it simple: broccoli, cheddar, and bay leaves. 

I make this soup when I have a room full of friends watching a movie and snuggling up with a backdrop of snow. It's filling and easy to throw together. No need to spend the whole day in the kitchen. 

Roasted Broccoli Cheddar Soup

The majority of the flavor in this soup comes from the roasting of the broccoli; so, obviously, we need to pause and consider the glorious process of roasting. Specifically, how to do it properly.

First, gather your head/ heads of broccoli (If you are going to use a bag of broccoli, which is perfectly acceptable, please, for the love of all things delicious, trim off the ends. You do it to flowers, why wouldn't you do it something you are about to consume?) and trim the stems off very close to the top of the florets. 

Also, break the florets into small-ish pieces. The smaller the surface area, the more you have to crisp. Yum. See below:

Once you have your broccoli/ any veggie trimmed and ready to go, douse the veggies in olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt -- probably more than you think you need. And be sure to leave plenty of room between the florets. Crowding will cause steaming. Steaming will cause sogginess; we want crispy. 

Roast your veggies in the oven at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until they look like the broccoli below. P.S. You'll be shocked at how much your broccoli shrinks up. Really, it's crazy. 

And without further ado, the actual recipe. 

Ingredients

About 2 cups of roasted broccoli (see above for recipe, in case you skipped)

Olive oil

Salt to taste

I medium onion, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

6 bay leaves

3 cups of chicken broth

1 cup of milk or cream

2 handfuls of cheddar cheese

Preparation Instructions

Pour a splash or two of olive oil in the bottom of your pan and begin to sweat your onion and garlic, seasoning with salt to taste. Once the garlic and olive oil are translucent, add the bay leaves and stir for a few moments. Deglaze your pan with the chicken broth, add the broccoli, and let simmer for about ten minutes to fully develop the flavors. Remove your bay leaves and lightly puree your soup with a stick blender. I like to leave mine a bit chunky. Add the cream and cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted and serve piping hot!

What are your snow day traditions? 

Hungry Man Breakfast

There are a few things I like to always keep on hand in case of emergencies. Miracles can be created from eggs, milk, onions and your pantry. You can pull this meal together with anything left in your fridge. It can be altered a million different ways, but the basics remain the same. Here's my simple breakfast for hungry men and boys: eggs studded with fresh veggies and a surprising twist with my easy soda biscuits. 

Easy Soda Biscuits

I call these guys soda biscuits, because the magic is in the fizz. Your fizz can be any type of semi-clear, carbonated beverage -- sweet beer, ginger ale, anything you have on hand, really. From there, the biscuits can be altered in a million different ways. I like to add a bit of garlic powder and cheddar, a fan favorite. If garlic cheddar biscuits aren't your thing, you have a huge problem and your life must be tremendously sad, BUT you can add anything from jalapeños to dried cherries to insert your own brand of happiness. 

Here's the best part, you don't actually have to measure anything. For those of you who have even more than mediocre baking skills, you will be horrified at these life-hack biscuits. However, for those of you who understand that baking is not merely mixing and measuring but a horrifying throwback to high school science experiments, these biscuits are for you. 

Ingredients

1/4 cup of butter

2 cups of Bisquick

3/4 cup of beer*

1/4 cup of sour cream

Handful of grated cheddar cheese

1 tbsp of garlic powder

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Melt your butter in a 9x9 pan in your preheating oven. It's ok if the butter browns slightly.

Measure all your ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined. You don't want to over mix these biscuits. They should still be a bit lumpy. Drop the biscuits into your preheated pan with the melted butter. It should make 9 cheddary delicious biscuits. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

*if you use beer for your fizz, be sure to avoid super hoppy beers. I learned the hard way that they bake up incredibly bitter. Stick to a lighter, clearer beer and your biscuits will be sweet and delicious. 

Hungry Man Eggs

While your biscuits are baking, you can quickly throw your eggs together. Everything should come together at the same time and fairly easily!

Ingredients

2 tbps of butter

1 small onion

2 large green bell pepper

Salt to taste

1/3 cup of Velveeta cheese

6 eggs

1/4 cup of milk

Lowry's Season Salt to taste

Preparation Instructions

In a cast iron pan, melt your butter. Chop your onion and bell pepper. Add to the melted butter and cook until softened but not browned. Salt to taste. Once the veggies have softened, add the cheese to the pan and melt into the veggies. 

Whisk together the eggs, milk and season salt. 

Add the eggs to the pan and fold into the veggies and cheese. Cook until perfectly tender and delicious. 

Serve your eggs with the warm biscuits and watch your friends clamor for the recipes. You'll always be able to whip up an amazing breakfast with these easy go tos. Alter to your heart's content and enjoy!

Lifehack -- How to Get Free Glasses

I lost my first $300 pair of glasses in my move from college back home. I've never found eye insurance to be a great return on investment. And in my senior year of college, my eye infection elevated to a quick trip to the emergency room the morning before the homecoming parade, ending my charade with contacts. 

Since then, I've leveraged my internet savvy and general curiosity to crack the code on the glasses industry. It is absolutely absurd to pay anything more than $50 for a pair of swagger, fabulous glasses. Sometimes, you can even get away with free glasses. Yes, free. 

I've been chased through a Trader Joe's parking lot, stopped at the mall, and just short of tackled to the ground over my glasses. Zenni Optical, Coastal, and Warby Parker all owe me a commission for the amount of shoppers I've sent their way. So, in an effort to pass along some hard (well, maybe not so hard...) earned wisdom, here are my pointers on cracking the glasses industry, frames and lenses included.

Warby Parker

My first foray into the world of online glasses began where all good stories begin, Warby Parker. I first hopped onto the Warby Parker bandwagon three years ago, and I have no intention of hopping off until the train reaches the end of the station or the wheels fall off. I've been to the store, the traveling Class Trip, and ordered online. Their quality is amazing, their morals incredible, and service phenomenal. If you don't have your prescription on hand, they will even contact your doctor for you. The only drawback : it does take quite a bit of time to receive your frames, and they only do single vision.

Quality: Excellent
Timeliness: Leaves something to be desired
Customer Service: Excellent
Price: Consistent, $95 for plastic, $145 for metal/ mixed 
Coupons: None that I know of, it's difficult to beat $95 a pair
Frames: The classic Crosby

SEE Eyewear

Warby Parker whet my whistle, and it was all madness from there. Glasses are no longer a mere necessity, but an accessory. While trolling around on Groupon one day, I decided to splurge on one of the glasses Groupons. A word of caution, most of these are kinda crappy. Take the time to read the Yelp reviews for whatever proprietor you intend to patronize. SEE Eyewear is well established. They've been adorning people's faces for years and know how to do it. The quality is outstanding, and, best of all, you can walk right in and try them on yourself. These also take quite a bit of time to come in, and the price point is high, unless you have a friend -- who found you a Groupon. Oh, yeah. That's me! 

Their inventory turns over frequently, which is great if you wish to remain unique. So, they don't carry the frames I have pictured below, but I've chosen a few I think are fabulous and posted a photo of my own.

Quality: Excellent

Timeliness: Leaves something to be desired
Customer Service: Somewhat satisfying. I've had a great experience and a not so great.
Price: A bit on the high side. $200 - $350 -- lenses included
Coupons: Groupon -- $200 for $45!

Zenni Optical

I allowed my glasses obsession to quell for a bit, until I ran into the home of the $6.95 glasses and it was game on. I bumped into Zenni Optical much the same way people have approached me about my glasses. I saw a guy wearing fabulous frames and asked him where they came from. BAM. Life changed. I mean, when it's $6.95 for lenses and frames, who cares if some hits are a miss? Their inventory is enormous. The largest inventory of frames I've seen. Some of them are a bit, um, wonky, others great classics at good prices. If you're looking to branch out a bit without investing a ton, here's your place. I've selected a few frames I think are just fabulous. 

Quality: Good, not excellent

Timeliness: Excellent -- ships within a few days and they are at your door in less than 2 weeks

Customer Service: Totally tolerable. I've never had any issues.

Price: Incredible. Options range from $6.95 to $50 -- no gimmicks 

Coastal

Here comes my favorite, by far. Facebook finally picked up on the fact that I have an issue with glasses and started taking advantage of my weakness. Little did they know I can work a system like a line mechanic. My first "Free Glasses" ad came in January. I was incredibly suspicious, but I figured, if my credit card gets stolen from a Facebook scam, I can just file it with my bank, right? Right. So, proceed. Coastal turned out to be one of my best life choices. I received my glasses for straight up free. No ifs ands or buts about it. Now, you do have a narrow pool from which to choose, but I've hit them up twice and have been immensely pleased with both of my selections. They're below and are by far my favorite. 

Quality: Excellent

Timeliness: Incredible. Truly incredible. You have your frames in hand less than 9 days from when you order.

Customer Service: 24/7 and absolutely incredible. I needed to return a pair (the bridge was far too narrow) and they were able to email me a return receipt instantly.

Price: Even the prices on some of their swagger frames are pretty great. They even have discounted Ray Bans, and with this customer service and all the coupons flying around their site, I'd totally buy a "full price" pair. 

Coupon: FIRSTPAIRFREE

Retro Eyeworks

Facebook decided to continue their attack on my fortitude by pushing yet another offer of free glasses my way. Retro Eyeworks has an extensive selection of glasses, including these FABULOUS wood glasses. The prices are a little steep, but, again, you have the option of FREE glasses! This particular selection of free glasses is very narrow, but still promising. I recently ordered the pair below and am anxiously awaiting their arrival. I've added another promising pair, as well. 

Coupon: FirstFreeFB

Glasses Shop

I finally resorted to shopping for glasses through Google. I obviously don't have enough choices already. These little beauties popped up. I'm not tremendously familiar with their selection outside of the free options, but I think I found another diamond in the rough with the pair below. Again, not all on their site are free, but the free selection is good enough for me!

I haven't received these guys either, but I will update upon receipt.

Coupon: FIRSTFREE

Where have you found fabulous frames?

Roasted Radishes

I firmly believe everything that doesn't move, and some things that used to, taste more delicious when roasted. Broccoli is a fabulous example. It becomes this caramelized, crisp, melt in your mouth amazingness after hanging out in a very hot oven. Broccoli, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, you name it and it can be roasted. Even when making soups, I roast my veggies before tossing them into the soup to add an extra layer of flavor. 

So, upon receipt of my weekly produce box from East Side Produce, I caught a glimpse of these fresh beauties. 

I'm not tremendously fond of the radishes' peppery bite in a salad and needed something as a quick side dish for my main meal. So, I rinsed those babies off, sliced 'em in half, draped them in good quality olive oil and smothered them in salt. 

Roast them in a 450 degree oven until they shrink up and become golden. The longer you roast them, the better they will taste. While your radishes are roasting, take about a half a stick of butter and brown it in a sauce pan. Be careful browning your butter; it will turn from brown to burned very quickly. Set the butter aside to dunk your radishes once they finish roasting. Totally unnecessary. Totally delicious. 

Once your radishes have baked for about 45 minutes, they will take on a soft sweetness. They should look something like this:

Now, all you have to do is lean back and enjoy! A great side dish to roast chicken or even eggs benny. Don't forget to dunk them in the browned butter... What's your favorite roasted veggie?

Tips for Renting

Over the past 6 months, I've moved three times and each has been unique, some incredible and others challenging. With each move, I've climbed a steep learning curve and now realize, with a few tips, could have easily avoided some pitfalls.

My husband and I now live in what I would consider a cozy (read: 1,000 square feet of living space, snuggled amongst a row of other abodes) townhouse in Annapolis, Maryland. Despite constantly ripping my pants on the corners of trunks and bumping into the coffee table, we are quite happily situated. Our former experiences have not been quite so pleasant. 

I live in the outskirts of Washington, D.C.; so there are a number of ways to find housing. I've acquired the past three rentals from Craigslist, Zillow, and the old-school way -- through a realtor. 

Below are some of the tricks of the trade I picked up, while constantly on the move.

1. Location, location, LOCATION.

There are a few ways to determine a great location. As I'll mention below, your realtor can be a great resource. If you live in a bustling metropolis, make the drive to and from your potential home in rush hour a few times. We found that we were so close to huge highways that even running to the grocery store at certain times could be challenging. Next, check the local grocery stores. Are they clean? Are they close? Who shops in the local stores? It's a simple, quick way to get a feel for your neighborhood. Finally, walk around in the evening. Do you see children, families, friendly neighbors? Do you feel comfortable walking around in the evening?

2. Become besties with your realtor. Yes, realtor. 

I've tried finding housing every way you can think of. I live in the outskirts of Washington, D.C.; so we don't exactly have a sleepy housing market. Typically, the housing is expensive and goes fast. 

Craigslist can be tedious and frustrating when it feels like you're competing with a herd of Death Eaters for a 200 sq foot apartment for $1900 a month -- not a great option. Zillow IS a great option, if you are in a sleepier housing market. However, I found that by the time I contacted the proprietor, the location had already been snapped up. 

While looking for a house for my husband and I after getting married, I contacted a realtor. Realtors can be a huge asset or detriment. We contacted a realtor when moving to Maryland because we both were unfamiliar with the area, and we needed a good location between two major cities. 

The first key to successfully working with a realtor is to clearly communicate your housing expectations. Our first realtor showed us several properties outside of our price range or in sketchy neighborhoods. I was constantly disheartened and so worn out by the end of the process, we chose a house somewhat out of desperation. 

Secondly, try to find a realtor very familiar with the neighborhood/ area you're looking at, specifically if you are looking in an unfamiliar area. We ended up choosing a home in a somewhat shady neighborhood, and paying for it later, because we weren't familiar with the neighborhood. 

Finally, ask tons of questions. If you aren't satisfied with the answers, find someone else. This is going to be your home! Don't be concerned about hurting someone's feelings. 

3. Meet the property owner/ landlord. 

My husband and I discovered very quickly that the owner of the property makes or breaks your experience. 

Three weeks before we were to be married, I ran up to my husband's (soon to be mine, as well) townhouse and discovered the Rain Forest Cafe consuming three floors of the house. A pipe burst in the bathroom on the third floor of the townhouse, causing a cascade of water to rush through the house for eight hours. We proceeded to battle with the property owner for our sanity and dignity for three months, concluding in the loss of not only our property destroyed in the flood but also our security deposit. 

4. READ your lease agreement. The whole thing. 

Hopefully, you won't have to consider sending your lease to a lawyer (I certainly didn't imagine I ever would), but preparing for the worst protects you in the future, and you should be well informed. Check for natural disaster clauses, trust me, they happen. When and how can you get out of your lease agreement? Can you continue your lease on a month by month basis after the conclusion of your lease? Is your landlord familiar with the language of the lease?

Our current lease actually includes a contract with a third party contractor for any reparative issues we may have with the house. Our dryer broke down, we called the third party, and within 24 hours an experience technician was fixing the problem. Best part: no money out of our pocket* and no issues with the landlord. I mean, I'm still staring at our sheets draped over the couch to dry because of said dryer, but at least the guy came out and looked at the dryer, right?

*If you do have this clause in your lease, be sure that you are not responsible for the deductible. You shouldn't be responsible for covering damages/ wear and tear you didn't cause. 

5. Visit your new home after work hours. 

The rhythmic knocking of your neighbor's headboard is not a pleasant soundtrack for your dreams. Paper walls are a reality when you're looking at renting a home adjacent to others, but some disasters can be avoided. Take the time to see the properties during the busiest hours of the day -- the evening. If you can hear your neighbor sneeze through the walls, perhaps it's best to look for another option. Parking may also be an issue. Check out the neighborhood after hours and see how challenging it is to acquire a parking spot. 

Hopefully, some of these tips will save you from some of the heartache we endured and set you on the path to being a rental rockstar.

Big, big photo creds to my bestie, Lauren Winstead, who took the beautiful photos of the Winter Wonderland. 

The First Brown Bag

The Brown Bag is dedicated to my friends and family who've been so kind as to eat my kitchen experiments, my husband, who so graciously keeps my kitchen clean and attempts to tackle cast iron, and finally, to my family, who taught me about a healthy obsession for great food. 

I find the process of creating something edible and inventive tremendously therapeutic. The Brown Bag is my attempt to spread my love of food, cast iron, and generally all things beautiful. 

Speaking of beautiful, Martin the Moose got all tangled up and wishes you happy holidays!

Martin is decked out in vintage Pendleton and tangled up in twinkle lights. 

Recipes soon to follow. 

Much love. 
m