Tomatillo And White Bean Soup

September 30, 2021 Nora Dummer

This tomatillo and white bean soup was inspired by a surplus of the nightshade from a friends’ garden, my desire to break into my stunning Royal Coronas from Rancho Gordo, and the mismatched contents of my crisper. Add some pork and hominy and you’ve got a nice variation of pozole stew, freeze it and you’ve got a soothing meal waiting for you in the depth of winter, blend it up and you’ve got a creamy soup approved by adults and babies alike (though be warned, the latter will show their approval by five-finger flicking it both into their mouths and onto your face).

(Recipe for Tomatillo And White Bean Soup follows)

Creamy Corn Chowder With Coriander Oil

September 2, 2021 Nora Dummer

The nice thing about a creamy soup is that you don’t have to spend much time meticulously chopping your ingredients. That, and you could absolutely load this soup up with all sorts of vegetables - kale, cauliflower, sweet potatoes - and no picky eater would ever know. I used beans in place of potatoes in this recipe to add more fiber and protein as well as thicken the soup without the addition of flour. Read on, cook on.

(Recipe for Creamy Corn Chowder With Coriander Oil follows)

Sweet Potato Peanut Soup

January 25, 2021 Nora Dummer

I started working on my post-partum freezer when I was about 38 weeks pregnant. I’d like to say that by that point, the hospital bag was packed, the nursery was put together, the clothes were all neatly hanging with month-by-month dividers, but that just wasn’t the case. Our minds were frantic and our preparations mirrored that - half finished projects cluttered our small apartment. We were not ready for our new roommate.

(Recipe for Sweet Potato Peanut Soup follows)

Carrot, Ginger and Lentil Soup

December 10, 2020 Nora Dummer

For a few weeks now, I’ve been planning to make this post about my recent experience with the labor of my son. The three days of contractions. The transferring to the birth center. The laboring in the water. The stalling of contractions. The transferring to the hospital. The submitting to all of the drugs and all of the interventions and all of the bright lighting that was absolutely, positively in no way a part of my original “birth plan”. The stalling of contractions (again). The eventual emergency c-section. The ups, the downs, the exhaustion. The surrender. This post was going to be about all of that. But, sometimes things don’t go as planned.

(Recipe for Carrot, Ginger, and Lentil Soup follows)

Chicken, Coconut Lemongrass Soup (Tom Kha Gai) and The Egg

July 3, 2020 Nora Dummer

The first frantic google search that solidified a very new reality took place while waiting in the line of the Itchy & Scratchy ride at Simpsons Land.

amusement park ride 3 weeks pregnant safe

Was I going to take this embryo on a ride of its own by unwittingly ejecting it from the wall of my uterus? The internet, of course, is a cruel friend to ask. I made it all the way to the entrance before ruefully turning around and pushing my way back through the crowd, leaving a disappointed husband to ride solo. So this was motherhood.

(Recipe for Chicken, Coconut and Lemongrass Soup Follows)

No Boundaries Lentil Soup: little carrots, (1 ½ handful) celery, onion (more onion)

May 9, 2020 Nora Dummer

Whenever I tell of my five years working in the Pike Place Market, I’ll summarize a list of varied establishments; I’ll speak fondly of my two years at Cinnamon Works Bakery, describe the delectable food we served at Michou, reminisce about my god-awful boss at Pike Place Flowers, and even include my month long stint at Taxi Dogs. Rarely, however, do I mention No Boundaries Café. Perhaps deliberately, my mind glosses over this place, dismissing it as an unworthy sojourn for memory. Though my time there wasn’t especially long lasting, I realize it should not be disregarded like a stack of unflattering pictures; this experience introduced me to exotic flavors and people while providing me with my first taste of responsibility in Seattle’s renowned food service industry.

(Recipe for No Boundaries Lentil Soup follows)

A Story of Salzburg and Chestnut Celeriac Soup

August 28, 2014 Nora Dummer

“So, what was your favorite meal?” This has dominated the list of most frequently asked questions after returning from a five-week trip in Europe. I usually respond with something along the lines of, “How much time do you have?” Sure, the Michelin starred Tanti in Budapest is an obvious stand out, as is the hidden basement milk bar U Babci Maliny in Krakow; these restaurants are typically granted a worthy mention. However, a favorite that often goes unspoken was in Salzburg, where I was served the chestnut celeriac soup that inspired this recipe. The rich and velvety sweetness of the soup undoubtedly plays a role in why I remember it so fondly, but to understand why this soup weighs so heavily on my memory requires knowing the events that lead up to it. Maybe the soup was just that good, or maybe it just happened to exist in the perfect moment of crucial respite from the flurry of the previous twenty-four hours.

(Recipe for Chestnut-Celeriac Soup follows)

Add some variety to nights at home, with a virtual cooking class.