The Vanilla Bean will present its annual Food Bank Benefit Concert featuring local favorites Sally Rogers and Howie Bursen and friends, Saturday, January 28th at 7 pm. Tickets are $20 but every dollar buys $8 worth of food for those in need!  Come on out and hear some great music.

Questions call 860-928-1562.

RECIPE - New Years Eve Tortellini Soup - Kate Oakes

I'm definitely a soup person this time of year, and while it hasn't been super duper cold, that damp raw weather earlier this month had me surfing around for some new recipes. I stumbled upon a video of a man making what he called New Year's Eve soup and it looked so good I immediately wrote down all the directions in order to make it the next night. I was not disappointed. The tortellini and added protein keep it hearty and the lemon, cayenne pepper and pepper flakes give it a kick. 

The only thing I would do differently next time is make it with one to one and a half lemons and zest rather than two whole. The soup was substantial enough to be a meal. I highly recommend slicing some fresh bread thin and toasted for dipping into the broth.

I would rate this soup 🧦🧦🧦🧦 (four out of four socks!)

Here's the recipe:

• 1 small jar of sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 4 shallots peeled and diced
• the zest and juice of two lemons
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1lb of ground protein of beef (or protein of your choice)
• 4 oz tomato paste
• 1tbsp basil
• 1tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1tsp cayenne pepper
• 1tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 cups frozen or fresh spinach
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 32 oz chicken stock
• a small knob of parmesan (about 2")
• fresh tortellini
• heavy cream (about a cup)
• fresh basil and shredded parmesan for garnish

In a large pot, over medium heat, add the oil from the jar/ can of sun-dried tomatoes along with the diced onion, shallots, tomatoes and some salt and pepper. Cook until onions and shallots are becoming tender. 

Add the lemon juice and zest and the ground beef, fry until brown. Add tomato paste, basil, Italian seasoning, cayenne and red pepper and stir. Add the spinach and white wine. Once simmering add chicken stock and parmesan knob. Stir in tortellini and let cook until tender. Once pasta is cooked, add the cream and remove from heat. Stir once more before plating and add plenty of parmesan flakes and fresh basil to garnish.

Enjoy!

Socks-off: A place to share all good things - Welcome!

Hello dear fellow enthusiasts of all things novel, meaningful, challenging, fun, thought-provoking and tasty! Welcome to Socks-off, a place for us to share those, books, recipes, venues, music, life moments and anything that has recently "blown your socks-off", the thing that made you turn to someone and say, "wow, more people need to know about this amazing (fill-in-the blank)!"

In an overwhelming world where we are spending more time sifting through content, ads and internet baloney, this blog is an effort for us to let one another know on a smaller scale what lights us up. We often do not have schedules that sync-up which makes regular connection tough but we all want to feel like we can still participate. This is my low-pressure attempt at starting a place for connection at our own various speeds.

So here are the very simple ways to enjoy this community and how to post should you have something to share:

1) Like I said this is low-pressure, you do not have to write pages and pages of a review, what's most important is writing a little about why you felt connected to whatever you are sharing. By all means, if you want to write a bunch that's also fine, but if it feels like a limitation, a couple of sentences are great! Also, there's no rule about how often you have to share. The richness will come as we feel moved to contribute.

POSTING

2) Create a new blog post with a title that first lists the category in all caps ie: BOOK, PODCAST, MUSIC RECIPE, VENUE, RESTAURANT, ARTS (for live music, galleries, plays etc.) FILM or for those hard-to-place experiences or more nuanced life moments a MIXED SOCKS category.  After a category is chosen, write the what, where or who and your name.

Examples: RECIPE - NYE Tortellini Soup - Kate Oakes

                  BOOK - Dedicated by Pete Davis - Kate Oakes

                  MUSIC- Raising Sand, album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Kate Oakes

3) Once you have a title, write a little about why this knocked your socks off. Include photos, links, and locations and any info the Sock community would need to check it out for themselves!

4) If you end-up trying or looking-into a shared subject, let your fellow Sockers know! Utilize the comment section below each post. If you are feeling shy you can let us know with emojis 🧦👍👌😁💜. 

5) Remember that kindness is key, we are all sharing things that we enjoy. If you do not feel that same way, that is absolutely ok, just please refrain from writing negative or sarcastic things in the shared space. Don't be a stinky sock! Thank you!

With all that being said, feel free to reach out to me if you have questions and happy sharing!

Best wishes,

Kate