Be My 1900s Valentine!

how fantastic and lovely are these?

dreams of victorian dresses, high hair, valentine love, and gorgeous food.

it's also a nice show that food is food and the ideas we may have now can be way old-fashioned.

The Steeping Room

I have to say that I could never write about another tea shop and be unbiased. I am taking a concerted effort to be my own Valentine and love myself this week. It's (my self-titled) sexy week so I took myself on a Zara shopping spree and lunch at the Steeping Room- a small tea shop in the Domain. What better way than treating yourself to a relaxing pot of tea? I do not drink enough tea these days than when I did working at Alice's Tea Cup so this was completely refreshing- including the For Life teapots.

I had the roast beef sandwich with chili-lime tomato. A pretty standard sandwich as I've enjoyed their salmon and roast beef tea sandwiches more before. Okay so I'm also a little skeptical of their lapsang souchong chicken salad. Pros are the addictive caesar salad and the star was my mandarin white tea. I've been craving white tea for weeks and I left pretty satisfied.

I will forever compare tea shops to Alice's Tea Cup so all I can do is celebrate the places who celebrate tea. Sexy tea.

austin children's museum teaching tamales.

i knew how to put together the cloth masa, oja, and meat @ the austin children's museum. applying knowledge.

time for a change.

Sometimes you just need a change or sometimes it's just time to move on. I felt the need to connect more to other bloggers, friends, and foodies and needed the tools to do so. This just seems to be a more popular route for blogs I like and the opportunity to link and share for a girl who is not so computer-savvy.
 
So here I am spending a chilly night in Texas on my couch with blogspot and this for dinner:

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup
courtesy of foodnetwork.com (Food Network magazine):

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 7-inch sourdough bread boules (round loaves)
• 4 cups broccoli florets (about 1 head)
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 1/2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated sharp white and yellow cheddar cheese

Melt 6 tblsp. butter over medium heat. Add onion and let soften for 5 minutes. Whisk in flour for about 3-4 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 and 1/2 until smooth. Add chicken broth, bay leaves, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Let simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.

Add broccoli and carrot and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Blend with immersion blender. Add cheese over medium-high heat. Add water if it's too thick.

Cut the tops and take out the inside of your sourdough loaf and ladle in soup.

Couldn't have made anything better on a day like today.