Life in NYC and a Soup Recipe!

Hello!! I have not sat down to write a new post in weeks, but I have a good reason. This past Sunday I made the big move to New York City and have been having long yet amazing days at culinary school this week!

I'm attending the Natural Gourmet Institute located on Manhattan's West Side and I now live in the East Village. I walk to and from school every morning (which is about a 25 minute walk), which really helps me to get all of my Fitbit steps in!

The first day that I arrived in New York (along with my mom to help me move) we found a great restaurant to have dinner at. The picture of the salad with the egg on top was taken at The Guilty Goose located in Chelsea. The salad is specifically a duck frisee salad with a duck egg right on top (it was absolutely delicious!).

The next night we decided to explore Chelsea Market, which is a foodie's dream! Located inside Chelsea Market are bakeries, wine shops, kitchen stores, spice shops, nut shops, artisan cheese shops and so many more!

I was in the mood for a seafood dinner and we decided to dine at Cull and Pistol, which had some of the most amazing seafood dishes I've ever had, along with the refreshing Hemingway's Garden cocktail I ordered. I got the scallops, which were cooked perfectly, and my mom ordered the most addicting lobster roll I've ever tasted! If I ever dine there again I will be ordering the lobster roll.

After enjoying dinner we decided to end our night at Chelsea Market with a popsicle from People's Pops. I got the coffee pop and my mom got a strawberry popsicle. They were so fresh and delicious and I'll be sure to go back in the fall to try some more of their seasonal flavors!

Now onto my culinary school experience so far! Ah where do I even begin? Every moment I spend at school is pretty much amazing, exciting, delicious, informative, a little stressful and I'm loving every minute of it! This week we've already worked on Japanese and French knife skills and I'm happy to say that I have not cut myself yet! I hope I can still say that a couple of months from now.

At the end of every day we are able to take home any extra food that would otherwise get composted, and I'm taking full advantage of the free food! Earlier this week I was able to take home a big bag of chopped onions, zucchini and tomatoes. I also grabbed a bag of swiss chard that we had chiffonade and a bag of fruit that included a plantain (that black thing is not a rotten banana incase any of you were wondering), cherries, a pear and grapes. Today I also took home containers of dill, mint, sage and fresh ginger.

Along with the perks of getting to take home free food every day, we also get fed at school! Today we learned about spices and herbs and as a delicious lesson we were able to try different food items made with spices and herbs. We had crisp pita bread with homemade mustard, harissa, za'atar and dates coated with chinese 5 spice. It's safe to say that I will never be hungry while at school!

This bowl of soup is the result of using up the big bags of veggies I took home from school. It is a roasted vegetable soup with swiss chard and white beans. I hope you enjoy this extremely simple recipe and I'll keep you posted about my time at school and in New York City!

Roasted Vegetable and White Bean Soup:

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups vegetable broth

3 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

2 zucchini, diced

1 onion, diced

2 cups swiss chard, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Mix the tomatoes, zucchini, onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper and olive oil on a baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes and allow to cool slightly.
3. In a blender combine the vegetable broth and roasted vegetables. Pulse until you end up with a slightly chunky puree. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and turn the burner to medium heat. Stir in the beans and swiss chard and let cook for about 10 minutes, until the chard has slightly wilted and the soup is hot. Season with salt and pepper and serve.