Monday, October 12, 2020

Soupergirl Review

The covid-19 pandemic has, and continues to, disrupt every aspect of daily life. Though I really miss seeing my colleagues and friends in person and the other perks of living in Washington, DC (museums, performing arts, public transport), I've sort of settled into a "new abnormal" routine. 

Despite the difficult reason it has to be this way, a small silver lining of social distancing is that with a slower pace of life, I have had a renewed focus on what I'm cooking and eating, and where I'm sourcing it from. The highlight of my week every week is the Saturday farmers market in my neighborhood, and I've found that small businesses and restaurants have responded to the crisis nimbly and have gone over and above to feed the gluten-free community.

Though I have had fun experimenting in the kitchen and trying out new recipes, I hit a wall a few weeks ago and simply lost any motivation to meal plan, cook, or wash dishes. Enter a literal super hero to save the day (well, at least mealtime anyway): Soupergirl. This woman-owned business serves up seasonally-inspired soups (and more) sourced from local farms and purveyors in a battle against the industrial food movement. Already a fan of their soups (which can be found locally across the DMV region), I realized it was more than overdue to dedicate a blogpost to this super awesome company. 

The Federalist Pig Review

In what seems like a never-ending stretch of social distancing, I have diligent about sticking close to home over the past six months, venturing out only on rare occasions. While I have enjoyed trading in my evening commute to be more creative in the kitchen, I've missed the simple luxury of going out to eat and the only potential danger was potential gluten and/or dairy cross contact. 

Luckily, a recent visit from my mom and aunt allowed a rare opportunity to explore beyond my neighborhood, and finally stop by a restaurant that has been on the top of my to-try list for ages now: The Federalist Pig. It's reputation totally preceded it, and it has earned high regard for serving up top-notch fare and relaxed, casual atmosphere. Not only that, but with a clear allergy guide and lots of gluten-free options, I was pretty excited to finally be able to pay The Federalist Pig a visit and see if it lived up to the hype.