Sci-Fi books aren't normally in my genre wheelhouse. Admittedly, I am one of those people that stick to what I know, my comfort zone. That is why I am so glad my brother picked Dark Matter by Blake Crouch when deciding what book he and I should read next. My brother and I like to read books together, even though we are half a country apart, and discuss them on the phone as we progress through the book. It's especially fun because I pick books he would probably have never chosen on his own and vice versa.
Dark Matter was one of those books.
I have to tell you though, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was intense, full of action, mystery, even romance. It had a depth that I was just not expecting and I found myself thinking about the main question that the book poses: Are you happy with your life?
This book starts with the main character, Jason, just stepping away from family night with his family for what was supposed to be forty-five minutes to go see a former classmate, when he is kidnapped by someone in a mask and taken to an abandoned building. What takes place after is a thrilling and intense story of Jason sorting through the impossible to try and get back to what he left that night.
Even if you're not the world's biggest Sci-Fi fan, I recommend this book. Probably one of my favorite things about it was that I had no idea what was coming next. Those are always the best kinds of books when you can't guess what happens next, and you don't correctly guess the ending. And by the way, neither my brother nor I correctly guessed the ending.
What should you eat while you dive into your next read? Well, as you crack open Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and dive into this story, I would suggest my Instant Pot Vegetable Soup. It's the Perfect Pairing!
Dark Matter takes place in Chicago in the late fall/ early winter. There were times reading this book that I felt cold for Jason. What better to warm yourself up than soup right?
But not just any soup. Just like this book that delves deep and gives you a lot to think about, I wanted to give this soup depth of flavor in the broth. To really flavor my broth, I used some of my favorite aromatics: Onion and Garlic. I cut up the onion into rings so that when eating the soup, we could get big delicious bites of it. I also like the texture it adds to this soup. I also used 1 cup of grape tomatoes, halved. I sauteed all of these in the instant pot in a little bit of olive oil for a few minutes until the onions began to soften, the garlic was fragrant, and the tomatoes began to let out their juice and soften nicely. Already from the smells, I could tell the base of this soup was going to be good.
After I was done sauteeing my base, I added all of the other ingredients: sliced Baby Bella mushrooms, chopped carrots, chopped celery, frozen peas and corn, thyme, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock, and some salt and pepper to taste. I personally like using beef stock and Worcestershire for this recipe because I think it really builds up the flavor nicely. For a fully vegetarian or vegan option, replace the beef stock with vegetable stock and either omit Worcestershire sauce or use a vegan-friendly option.
Next, all I had to do was put the lid on and pressure cook on high for four minutes. Then I did natural release for 5 minutes before letting the rest of the pressure out with manual release. I took the sprigs of thyme and bay leaves out before serving.
Note: This recipe was made in a 9 Qt Instant Pot, but it will also work with the same proportions in a 6 Qt.
Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
Recipe by Albany Aronow
Ingredients:
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 ½ cups Baby Bella mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 medium carrots, chopped
½ cup celery hearts, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
4 cups beef stock
4 sprigs thyme
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Saute onion, garlic, and tomatoes for about four minutes in olive oil until garlic is fragrant, onions are beginning to soften, and tomatoes and softening and spilling their juices. Add in the rest of the ingredients and pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. Let it naturally release for 5 minutes and then manually release the rest of the pressure. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaves before serving.
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