Tomato Carrot Soup with Bacon Croutons

It's been awhile and I'm ok with that. I've been cooking and experimenting more than ever before and the pressure to not photograph everything has been spectacular. The early setting sun offers another bit of encouragement to sit down and enjoy a loving meal with A instead of waiting for the wafting steam to fade away.

I'm ok with it. You should be too. But now that the sun is hanging around a bit longer with each passing day, I'm more and more encouraged to snap a picture or two. I've also been enlightened by the book "The Everlasting Meal," but more on that in another post.

Thank god this picture isn't all moldy either as I'm pretty sure we ate this way back in December, but hold tight! I have a few more excuses: 2 weeks for the holiday's away from my now home to my childhood home. Then another 10+ days in January for a trip back to my other home (the Pacific Northwest). Then ta-da! End of January and I don't know there the time went.

This soup recipe was actually made by A as I don't eat bacon. He gobbled all that up while I had my soup sans bacon. Just as delicious but I guess not as boy-friendly. It was the perfect amount of smokey, soul-heating goodness balanced against the healthy hearty vegetable base. 

Tomato Carrot Soup with Bacon Croutons

Adapted from Bitchin' Camero 

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 7 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch medallions (about 2 cups)
• 3 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes (canned ok)
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp. hot smoked paprika
• A few grinds of African Spice seasoning (Trader Joe's)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 5 saffron threads (optional)
• 3 slices, thick center-cut bacon, cut into lardons
• 2 cups cubed day-old bread

Directions: 

1. Set a large pot over medium heat. Once it’s hot, heat the olive oil then add the onions and cook for 7 minutes, or until they begin to brown a bit. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, then add the carrots and tomatoes.
2. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, then add the chicken stock and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Using an immersion blender, blender or food processor, puree the soup until no large pieces of carrots or tomatoes remain. Return to the pot.
3. Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika and saffron and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
4. While the soup is cooking, set a large skillet over medium heat and cook the bacon. When the bacon is beginning to turn brown, add the torn bread and cook until golden. Remove with a slotted spatula to a paper towel.
5. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a heap of bacon croutons.

Makes 6 servings. 

Roasted Cauliflower with Israeli Couscous

Oh please, you shouldn’t have. A round of applause for posting within two weeks of my last post? Oh stop! Call it a mid-year resolution or that I’ve seen the blogging light radiating out from my computer screen. Either way, my camera is firmly planted on A’s couch ready to document our cooking adventures. Maybe not the popcorn for dinner ones.

I have a slight announcement to make but, until plans are set in stone, I am going to keep things vague. There may or may not be a move in the future, most likely by the end of the summer. My internship with Edelman is coming to a close next week and I’m looking forward to enjoying my free time in the (theoretical) Seattle sunshine. Plans are being made for mountainous hikes, city bikes and a little fun in Canada.

Now that I will have a bit more time on my hands (or in the kitchen), look forward to seeing posts more than once every ice age (the glacial event, not the never ending sequels of children's movies). For the time being though, I present you with my flavor of previous week - roasted cauliflower with Israeli couscous!

You would never believe it, but this was the first time I ever made Israeli couscous. Usually I order it without hesitation at restaurants and find myself craving it every few months but for some reason I never thought to make it myself. If you're spying on me, you can see that I'm kicking myself right now. Not only is Israeli couscous a lot easier to make than rice or normal couscous, I think it has a certain bite that the former are lacking.

That combined with my gut wrenching love of roasted vegetables, I had a lunch made in heaven on my hands. I even pawned some off on "A" for lunch twice last week... he didn't complain. Nor should he.

Roasted Cauliflower with Israeli Couscous

Adapted from The Whinery 

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower (or other)
• 1 head of purple cauliflower (or other)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 red onion
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped (divided)
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons everyday seasoning (I use Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning)
• 1 cup cooked black-eye peas (optional)
• 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed (optional)
• 1 – 2 cups Israeli couscous, cooked (recipe below)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Prep and cut cauliflower into florets
3. Cut onion and bell pepper into even bite-size chunks and dump into a large bowl
4. Add a tablespoon of parley
5. Drizzle with olive oil, and add salt, crushed pepper and seasoning
6. Toss and mix well to coat
7. Spread out in a single layer onto a baking dish or pan
8. Roast in the oven for about 15 – 25 minutes, until vegetables are tender and caramelized
9. Mix in black-eye peas and capers with the vegetables and roast for another minute or so
10. Remove from oven, mix in Israeli couscous, sprinkle another tablespoon of parsley on top and serve immediately

Israeli Couscous
Ingredients:

• 2 cup Israeli couscous, preferably whole-wheat
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cups of water 
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan and add the couscous.
2. Stir until the couscous begins to color and smell toasty, 4 to 5 minutes. 
3. Add water and salt to taste and bring to a boil. 
4. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes, or until the couscous is tender. Drain if any liquid remains in the pan.
5. When the couscous is done, fluff and set aside to be tossed with roasted cauliflower

Curried Carrot Pepper Lentil Coconut Soup

Sometimes I can be pretty bad at keeping track of the last time I posted a recipe. I'll think "oh, it was just a few days ago" or "it must have been last weekend, I can wait a little longer." Usually 'last weekend' seems to be two weeks ago and I guess I still have yet to grasp what a Gregorian day is. Ignore me, I'm probably just making excuses for pure laziness. For example, I'm watching Felicity for the first time on Netflix and the messiness of my hair is starting to rival hers. Actually, dismiss that earlier announcement of laziness and let me plead insanity for losing track of the days. I have the madwoman hair to prove it.

Before I get to the food, I need to talk about this mug. Yes, the children on it are slightly creepy in their frozen exuberant states. No, I didn't buy these. Yes, this pair of soup mugs is one of my more cherished hand-me-downs from my childhood. I can't remember exactly when they slipped from the shelves of my parents house into my kitchen, but I'm going to assume it was sometime during college. 

I remember growing up and eating tomato soup from these mugs on snow days as a kid. When I wanted a particularly large cup of cocoa, I would reach for these and hope my mom wouldn't notice. The love scratched spoon lines prove that they've been used for decades and probably will be for many more. Moral of the story, these mugs just make things taste better.

As these kids are showing you, dear readers, this soup is M'm! M'm! Good! Really good. As in sometimes I would sneak a chilled spoonful or two out of the tupperware just to make sure it still tasted awesome. The best part is I made the soup with surplus ingredients from the Super Bowl and some of my pantry staples. 

Roasting the carrots and peppers really brings out their sweetness while adding a nice depth of flavor. You'd also be a fool not to throw in some coconut milk too, trust me. When I first served myself a bowl, I realized I had run out of coconut milk. The soup was good, thick and hearty, but it lacked the creaminess factor I was lusting after. I later stirred in a can of light coconut milk and let me tell you, the difference was remarkable. It also doesn't hurt that it added almost another full serving of soup!

Curried Carrot Pepper Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• 5 large carrots
• 2 medium sized bell peppers (preferably yellow or red)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• ¾ cup red lentils
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced (you may substitute with powdered ginger)
• ¼ teaspoons chili powder
• 5 cups veggie broth
• 1 can coconut milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F and line a roasting tray with baking paper. Peel and chop carrots into 1 inch chunks, cut bell peppers into 1 inch squares and place them in the tray. Drizzle over about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper and toss to coat. Bake for about 45 minutes until carrots & peppers are golden and tender. Remove from oven and set aside.
2. In a pot over medium high, heat up another 2 tablespoons of olive oil and tip in the chopped onions and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes until onions are transparent and starting to brown.
3. Next, add lentils, curry powder, ginger, and chili powder. Stir and let cook until spices become fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Stir in veggie broth and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cooking until lentils are soft, 10-15 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and using either an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree until soup is smooth. Return soup back to stove, stir in coconut milk, and heat soup for another two minutes, tasting and adding spices as you like.

Chickpea, Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Stew

This soup is neither red, heart shaped nor will it make your beau swoon. Ok, well, it might do the last part because I think I saw 'A' teetering on swooning when I made this for dinner last week. He may have also been falling asleep sitting up but I'm going to be positive here and settle on swooning. Regardless of the holiday at hand (Valentine's Day for all you people reading this any other day but 2/14), I think this soup is fitting for the one who makes your heart beat a little faster because it will keep your heart healthy for all valentines to come.

To help save money, I've become that lady at the supermarket checkout with bags upon bags of bulk items. Nuts, grains, peanut butter filled pretzels… you name it, I have it in a twisty tie bag or old glass jar somewhere. As my pantry was starting to seem a little overwhelmed, I lightened the load and put some lentils and chickpeas to good use. Along the way I may have picked up a butternut squash the size of my head but hey, who are we kidding here, they're delicious.

With all our key players at hand, I crafted the most magnificently large pot of stew ever. Even after sending 'A' off with leftovers for work, I had enough to feed me for about a week. Towards the end the stew was probably a bit questionable, but as it goes with stews, the longer it is left to age the better it tastes. True story. As the soup is 100% vegan, my logic was that the lack of dairy meant it would last longer. Right? Even if I'm wrong, let me float along in blissful ignorance.

So if you want to keep you and your valentine's heart strong for years to come, save money AND have a delicious dinner, why would you want to make anything else?

Chickpea, Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon chili flakes
• 2-3 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 1  28-oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into ¾ inch cubes
• 1 can chickpeas
• juice of one lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• small bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped (save some for garnish)

Directions:

1. Heat a large dutch oven (or saucepan) and dry-fry the cumin, chili flakes and garam masala for 30 seconds or until they start "jumping" around the pot and release their aroma.
2. Add the olive oil, onion, carrot, garlic and jalapeño and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion and carrot are softened.
3. Stir in the lentils, stock, tomatoes and butternut squash, then bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils have softened.
4. Stir in the chickpeas, lemon juice and salt/pepper to taste, heat gently. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro. Serve and finish with a garnish of cilantro.

Moroccan-ish Carrot Salad

For the past few weeks months my CSA box has been overloaded with carrots.  We're not even talking your standard large orange carrots that cartoon bunnies nibble on, oh no. I have never seen, let alone cooked with, such colorful carrots in my entire life. White ones, purple speckled ones, rainbow bunches and tie-dye ones. I'm totally lying about the last one, but that would be pretty cool except I'm not so sure I'd want to know about the science that brought my hippie carrots.

I had thought I exhausted all the uses for the common carrot. Roasted? Check. Pureed into a variety of soups? Triple check. Gnawed up raw? Yep. In a carrot only salad? No… or at least not until a few weeks ago. I saw this recipe somewhere on the Internet a few weeks back and was excited to finally have a new use for my overflowing collection of carrots. Even better was I didn't have to turn on the oven and cause the heat to rise in my apartment to unbearable levels. That's the curse of having a 400 square foot studio and an incredibly powerful convection oven - the temperature of the oven is pretty representative of the temperature in my apartment. I guess worse things have happened in the world.

While I was pretty happy with this Moroccan-ish carrot salad, there are a few things I would have changed.  First off, I don't know if this was my or the recipes error, but I thought the carrots were a tad too firm. The smaller cuts were perfectly tender but some of the larger ones were nearly impossible to penetrate with a fork. As you might imagine, some carrots were leaping off the plate in my attempt to trap then within my tines. Second, I thought carrots alone were a little bland and there wan an excessing of dressing. My remedy was throwing it upon a bed of lettuce and calling it dinner. All in all, good & healthy salad.

Moroccan-ish Carrot Salad

Adapted from Crumb

Ingredients:

• 1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 tsp each cumin and caraway seeds
• 1 tsp spicy paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• Salt and pepper
• Handful mint leaves, chopped
• Handful crumbled goat cheese
• Romaine lettuce

Directions:

1. Blanch the carrots for 2 minutes (note: I would increase the blanching time) in a large pot of boiling water, then plunge into an ice-water bath to stop the cooking process. Once the carrots are completely cooled, drain and transfer to a pretty salad bowl.
2. Using a dry skillet, toast the cumin and caraway over high heat for about 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Grind into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.
3. Combine the cumin and caraway mixture with the paprika and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and honey. Whisk until blended, then pour over the carrots and toss to coat. Set aside to the flavors meld, about 20-30 minutes.
4. When ready, serve over romaine lettuce and sprinkle salad with handfuls of chopped mint and crumbled feta.

Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup

The soup has some serious heat and had the same magical powers as pho.  Remember how you feel the need to eat a whole bowl of pho every time you sense a sniffle or start covering coughs? I do. It's made even worse, or better(?), by the fact that there is a pho shop less than a mile away from me. And there isn't even that big of a hill to walk up on the way back. Too bad I don't think unemployment supports a pho-a-day habit so well. Good thing I know my way around a kitchen and can make things that are just as good, if not better, than what I was caving. Well, except Fro-Yo… if I knew how to make that you'd have to lift me out of my apartment window.

When the boy and I made this for dinner a few weeks ago, I can safely say it was the least sexy meal ever. We were both dealing with the consequences the sniffles a la jalapeño & chipotle. For anyone who has had pho, you know that this is the end goal. You want to be cleaned out and warmed up. These minor symptoms of hot soup shouldn't take away from the fact that this soup is delicious. Even more so, I was finally able to use up the butternut squash from my CSA's and fend off a winter cold. BONUS POINTS!

I would advise against eating this soup in the summer, that just might be considered torture.

Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup

Adapted from uTry

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small leek, use white and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced and rinsed
• well
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 jalapeño, finely diced
• 1 Granny Smith (green) apple, cored, peeled, and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 pounds Butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut
• into 1-inch cubes
• 1 pound red yam, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6 cups chicken/vegetable stock
• 1 medium chipotle chili (canned in adobo sauce),
• can substitute with 1 tablespoon of chipotle spice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup pepitas 

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute garlic, leek, carrots and onion until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add apple, ginger and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add butternut squash, yam and stock; simmer until squash and yam are tender, about 15 minutes. Add chipotle or chipotle spice.
3. Puree using an immersion blender (or a standard blender, in batches).
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dollop teaspoon of pepitas right before serving.

Papaya Chipotle Pineapple Chicken with Almond Soy Soba Noodles

Wouldn't you know, I cooked chicken last night and didn't set off the fire alarm.  Now, for most people, this would be a no brainer.  You see, I am not like most people... I was a vegetarian (and a strict one at that) for the majority of my life and never learned how to cook meat.  It has to be cooked to a certain temp so you don't die or some brain disease? What?  Moral of the story, I am slightly challenged when it comes to meat.  Either I try to pan fry it and the fire alarm goes off.  Or I try to cook it solely in the oven and the fire alarm goes off.  Tough times.

But ah ha! I can pan sear it and then put it in the oven.  Result? Juicy, delicious and full of marinade. Saying I did a little dance to some Justin Timberlake in my kitchen would be an understatement.  If I had room in my studio apartment, I would have done cartwheels.

While the chicken would go great on a bed of anything (well, not everything), I decided to use my new julienne mandoline, a fresh pack of soba noodles and went wild.  As I don't like eating too many noodles, the julienned zucchini added to the dish without weighing it down.

Cranberry Lemon Granola

People in the Pacific Northwest are supposed to be all “crunchy and granola,” right? So, technically speaking, I am fulfilling my stereotypical duties by making granola…?  Obviously the logic is there. I own flannel, bought into a CSA, own an embarrassing amount of Chaco shoes and more outdoor gear than I know what to do with. But still no crunchy granola…

I had wanted to make my own granola for a long time.  Heck, the first recipe ever posted on my blog was for homemade granola bars!  But as time went on, I still found myself without a jar full of some Ginger Cook Granola (I would totally market that by the way, it has a nice ring to it).  A few weeks ago, when I wasn’t feeling that well but still wanted to be in the kitchen, I decided to up and make it.  I had oats on hand, natural sweeteners, dried fruit, nuts and all things delicious.  I even had some citrus on hand to zest!

Now that I’ve made it, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to buying granola from the store.  Not only was making it from scratch SO CHEAP (how DO they get off charging us $6 for a tiny bag in the stores?), but I had SO much and it didn’t take much time at all!  Throw together some ingredients, bake, cool down and watch yourself devour every last bit in a few days.  I mean, that’s what happened with me but I somehow came down with the death flu and it was the only thing I could manage to eat.  And eat it I did!

I think the next batch I made I want to have a little bit of a topical feel – toasted coconut, dried mango, dried pineapple and some macadamia nuts. Maybe? 

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Harry Potter is coming out next week.  So. Freaking. Excited.  I mean, I am reading, errrm listening to on tape, all the Harry Potter books in preparation.  I'd like to say I'm going to watch the movies too but seriously, I have a life people.  As I blog I'm on The Chamber of Secrets, somewhere around 11 minutes into chapter 15.  So if I randomly type an "alohamora!" or "but 'Arry!!!", please, don't be alarmed.

Even though I've been listening to HP non-stop, I've still been eating.  Can you think of anything better than listening to Stephen Fry while eating some tabbouleh?  I didn't think so.  I made this a week or so back soon after I received my first CSA box.  I had a bunch of new & fancy ingredients as well as a well stocked pantry.  Pouring through my surplus of cookbooks, I came about this recipe.

If you've ever gone to a hot bar with me at Metropolitan Market, Whole Foods, PCC…etc, you know I ALWAYS get tabbouleh. ALWAYS.  However, I had never made it at home before.  Nor have I ever bought Bulgar.  You'd think I would but no.  I don't always think ahead.  But when I saw that I had all the ingredients for a this recipe, I'm pretty sure I squealed with joy.

The ingredients are fairly adaptable, but I'd try and stick to the more traditional ingredients as much as possible.  I also increased the amount of parsley and lemon juice so if you aren't a fan of these, feel free to reduce the amount.

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad

I can't believe I'm scything this, but before this recipe I never had cooked quinoa before.  Now, I had eaten plenty of quinoa, but cook it I had not.  What was wrong with me?  Not only is it delicious, but it is easy to make.  You can make your life so much easier by making it in a rice cooker, but I took the hard route and easily made it on the stove top.

I think what I like most about a quinoa salad is that it's so adaptable to what vegetables are in season… or like me, what you happen to have in your pantry.  Summer squashes?  Roast them up and throw them in.  If you're like me, use some peppers, broccoli and onion; essentially the only good produce Trader Joe's had that evening.

Also, I really think you guys deserve something good and healthy after the past few recipes.  Yes, the salted caramel peanut butter brownies are incredibly delicious but won't help you fit into those new skinny jeans hiding in the back of your closet.

Also, happy birthday to Julie McComish and Emily Arntson!!

Greek Lentil Burgers

Many of you may not know that I took Modern Greek for two years in college.  That's right, I can totally remember everything.  Well, everything that includes the basic niceties, "I'm sorry," "where is the toilet?," how to order some food and I can probably curse on par with a Grecian sailor.  What can I say, my Greek professor taught me well!  Even though I can't remember the Greek language very well, I do remember how much I love Greek food.  If I pass a γύρο (gyro) stand, it's so hard to resist buying one.  Sometimes, I even wish I could bathe in τζατζίκι (tazatziki) sauce… I have a feeling it would at least be moisturizing!

Well, now that you know some of my intricacies, I should let you know that these lentil burgers probably aren't legitimate Greek fare.  I used the Moosewood Restaurant's Cooking For Health and these were 'inspired' by the taste of the Greek islands.  All is fine with me, because these were pretty dang delicious.  They were meaty, worked well plain or in a salad and stored well seemingly forever (they didn't last long enough my my fridge to validate this claim).  Best part?  These are incredibly budget friendly and fit well into my "eat something for a whole week" plan.

Hearty Lentil Soup

It's even better with Gruyère & Dubliner grilled cheese!  Mmm!

There is nothing worse than making a recipe… then completely forgetting what you did to make it.  All I have is this picture and a few remnants of taste memories in my mind.  Blerg.  I think it is enough to write a recipe on, I mean, lentil soup is lentil soup.  And I remember making it with only ingredients I had on hand, which means this soup is very adaptable.  At the time, I remember only having some onions, so I used onions.  However, if you have celery, carrots or even potatoes, feel free to add those in too!  The possibilities are endless!  Side note: why does lentil soup have to be so ugly and brown?  Is is SO delicious and SO healthy, but it's just so… brown.

This month I have really been trying to keep way under my budget (which isn't that large to begin with) so I started off by going to Whole Foods and completely raiding their dry and bulk food bins.  Five pounds of lentil in a bag bigger than my head?  Check.  Dried black beans, kidney beans and some white beans for good measure?  Check, check, check.  But let's not forget about the brown rice!  Double check on that one.  Oy, where is the check out?  I think you all know where I am going here… I have been making a lot of soups on Sunday and eating them through the week.  It really has been quite nice (until it gets to Friday and I am sick of eating the same thing) and I like being able to have a "home cooked meal" on Wednesday without having to lift anything more than a small saucepan to reheat my soup!

I also need to give some credit where credit is lovingly due, to my sister!  This not grainy and well lit photograph is sponsored by Santa Sister, i.e. my Christmas gift from my sister!  I would like to assume that my family follows my blog in a cult like fashion, and anyone else who does would know that I am frequently at a loss for light.  The shy Seattle sun sets mighty early in the winter (around 3 pm!) and as a result, I do most of my cooking after dark.  The lights of my kitchen or a harsh flash bouncing on every which wall of my apartment do not bode my food well.  So yes, pre-light box, I bitched about lighting a lot.  Now post-light box, I can take pictures any time of the night (I feel like an evil laugh would be appropriate here)!!  So thank you, Caroline, so very very much for giving me a light box for Christmas!  This post is solely dedicated to you!

Spaghetti Squash Gratin With Basil

Every day is a new adventure and this one is blogging mid flight en route to Michigan!  That's right folks, I am now somewhere in the sky above the Cascades!  I don't think this technology is that new, but it's still boggling my mind.  My not so inner food is silently screaming at my flight neighbor, so far she has downed not one, but two Big Macs.  Two!  I've never had one in my entire life (I fear I am the worldly exception) and somehow some of their not-so-special sauce ended up on my jacket. 

In the spirit of the holidays, I think I'll keep chanting my mantra "tis the season to be jolly, tis the season to eat whatever the hell thy wants."  I mean, I didn't eat a handful or five of puppy chow last night because I ran out of food… who would do such a thing?  I really can't complain, with my wifi, a free copy of Bon Appetit and Sufjan Stevens Christmas music I should be able to enjoy the friendly skies (even though there is a fair amount of turbulence right now).

I have a large number of photos of cookies to edit, but I have been meaning to post this recipe for a while now.  The main reason I haven't?  The photo is horrible and doesn't do this dish justice.  Every. Single. Time. I make this, it is after 8 o'clock and I am eating by the light of florescent light bulbs.  It's quite romantic, trust me, especially the loving glow it casts on my food in photographs.  I found this recipe in the New York Times "Dining for Health" section sometime in October and it has been an inexpensive and healthy staple ever since.  I even taught Gabe, a guy who can't even boil water, how to make this. No matter how much the succulent squash weighs, Trader Joe's will only charge me $3 per gourd!  I almost feel like I'm robbing them when I scurry out the front doors cradling spaghetti squash in grocery bag shrouds.  Any squash leftover from roasting can be frozen in one cup increments for a (seemingly) indefinite amount of time.

**The only part of this dish that isn't so cheap is the Gruyère cheese, but if you don't feel like dropping $15 on a chunk of cheese, any slightly salty but essentially earthy cheese can be substituted in a snap.

I think I need a nap.  I've been up since 4 am Seattle-time… at least I won't have any troubles falling asleep when I'm back in Michigan.

If I don't have a chance to blog again before Christmas, Happy Christmahanakwanzika!

Provençal Tomato and Basil Soup

If you're anything like me, you were a little too gluttonous these past few days… and will continue to be until January 1, 2011.  I was probably worse than most, I had to hop around to a few Thanksgiving dinners (even one that required a ferry ride over to the Olympic Peninsula) and thus had to leave before the turkey was carved.  This doesn't mean that I didn't eat though, it means I gorged myself on pie and pre-dinner appetizers.  And wine, we must not forget about the wine.  Trust me, I was pretty sluggish when I woke up this morning.  Two words: Sugar CRASH.  But I tried to be good today and I was… until I went out for Ethiopian food with my friend Erin who was visiting from NorCal.  Side note: if you EVER get the chance, PLEASE go to "Chef Cafe" in the Central District on 22nd and Jackson.  It will be the best $3 (yes that cheap!) you ever spent!  Well, that's enough about my eating habits…

Now to our regularly scheduled programming: Back to Being Healthy.  And you're in luck - this soup is incredibly healthy!  I found the recipe a weeks back in the New York Times Dining & Wine section filed under the "Recipes for Health."  It has my healthy & fresh stamp of approval!  The brown rice thickens it up while still keeping the glycemic index low.  However, this soups strength lies not only how it fills your home with the scents of Provencal France, but how filling and warming it is.  Which I must say is pretty ideal for any Seattle winter day!  And for all you people out there suffering though the beginnings of winter- if good fresh tomatoes aren't available, use a 28 oz can of chopped tomatoes.

Provençal Tomato and Basil Soup
Adapted from: New York Times
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt to taste
• 2 pounds tomatoes, cored and diced
• Pinch of sugar
• 2 large sprigs basil, or about 16 leaves, plus 2 tablespoons slivered basil for garnish
• 1 quart water
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 Parmesan rind
• 1/4 cup brown rice
• Optional garnishes:
• Grated or shaved Parmesan

Directions:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about five minutes. Stir in half the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, basil sprigs or leaves, and remaining garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Add the water and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 15 minutes. Add the rice, and simmer for another 45 minutes until the tapioca is tender and the soup fragrant. Remove the basil sprigs and Parmesan rind. Puree with an immersion blender until desired consistency is achieved.  Add pepper to taste and adjust salt. Serve garnished with  Parmesan and slivered basil leaves.

Green Beans With Hazelnuts and Blue Cheese

A few years ago for Thanksgiving, my mom made green beans with blue cheese and toasted hazelnuts and after helping myself to seconds, thirds, heck, probably even fourths, that night… I haven't been able to stop thinking about them.  Cut to 4 years later and I finally decided to attempt to recreate said blessed recipe for Friendsgiving.  And you know what?  Every last nibble of the green beans were gone.  I got a text message a few days later from Julie begging me for the recipe.  The power of the blue cheese green beans lives on!!

Now, I should them you know that I really love blue cheese.  It's my preferred pizza topping, it goes of almost all of my salads and I pop handfuls of crumbles into my mouth.  I like the strong stuff, the mild stuff and everything in-between.  I blame my mother, she got me hooked early.

If blue cheese doesn't make your skirt fly up, that's ok.  I'll convince you sooner or later.  For the time being, try a buttermilk blue cheese in this recipe.  It has enough flavor to satisfy a seasoned veteran like me, but is mild enough to ease the unexperienced in.

If you were wondering, this recipe is quick to make, easy to store and a dream to reheat (…if there are even any leftovers).
 
Green Beans With Hazelnuts and Blue Cheese
Ingredients

• 2 pounds green beans, trimmed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 3/2 cup whole hazelnuts
• 3/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans, return to a boil and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until bright green and crisp. Drain well and set aside.
2. Return the pot to medium-high. Add the butter and hazelnuts and stir until the nuts are lightly toasted and fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the green beans and stir until heated through.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese and toss until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Tomato Spinach Lentil Soup

I'm on a very healthy kick right now… minus the few pieces of chocolate I need to get me through the week.  I also am not inspired to spend a few hours in the kitchen every night.  My solution?  Soups!  Oh no, not just any soups, lentil soups.  As I am a little tight for money right now, I am looking to make things that are not only healthy and inexpensive, yet utilize fresh produce and are fun to make.  Cue lentils, spinach, tomatoes and onions.

When lentils were on sale at Whole Foods a few weeks ago, I bought a couple pounds.  However being that they only cost $1.50 a pound, I didn't have to resort to digging for quarters in my couch.  On top of their surprisingly low price, they are high in health benefits!  Worried about your cholesterol?  They have an app for that (too far?)!  Lentils are a good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber and this helps to manage blood sugar levels due to their high fiber content.  Vegetarian and worried about nutrients?  Lentils supply six important minerals, two B-vitamins and protein with (essentially) no fat.  This is just the tip on the bean stalk, if you want to find out more, head over to The World's Healthiest Foods.

I presume you're here for the main act, the soup, so I will stop with the smoke and mirrors.  Simply put, this soup has a very full and rich flavor.  It has a thicker texture than tomato soup, but the lentils provide a good amount of texture.  While the flavor of the spinach isn't too prevalent, the brightness of the tomatoes is instantly noticeable.  The amount pictured above is what I ate for lunch one day and I was very full until late in the evening.  It was a good full though; I was satisfied and full of energy.  I still have a lot of lentils to use, so I hope to post some more lentil-centric recipes in the near future!

Tomato Spinach Lentil Soup
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon  Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 
1 Onion, diced
• 
1 Carrot, diced

• 4 Cloves Garlic, crushed

• 2 tablespoons dried thyme
• 
43 oz. Can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
  4 cups vegetable stock
• 
1 1/2 cup Lentils, rinsed and picked over for debris
  2 handfuls of baby spinach
• 
Salt & Pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Heat large cast iron pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil.  Once oil is hot, slowly add the onions and carrots until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a minute.  Pour in the tomatoes along with the vegetable stock, spinach and lentils.  Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer for 25 minutes or until lentils are tender.
3. Once lentils are tender, blend the mixture with an immersion blender (a lot easier!) or in a blender.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Penne with Heirloom Tomato Sauce and Roasted Tofu

I'm pretty proud of myself.  This was a dinner that's original destiny was to become a quick and healthy dinner to use up my heirloom tomatoes.  Yet as soon as I tasted the sauce, I knew I would have to snap a picture and blog about it (hence the poor light/photo quality).  I used three different varieties of heirlooms (don't you dare ask me what kind, I forgot) and their flavors exploded into a magical concoction right on my stove top!  The sauce had a strong rich flavor with a slight acidity that hit the tip of the tongue.  With the addition of a little sprinkling of sugar the flavor also took on a bright quality.

I was still settling into Seattle when I made this and was itching to cook in my kitchen.  Alas, I didn't have too many groceries and I was exhausted.  I did have about $20 worth of heirloom tomatoes that I had bought a few days earlier at Pike Place.  Sadly they began to go bad a lot sooner than I had hoped and I'm shockingly not a fan of plain tomatoes.  So when life gives you good quality, but a little bit old, tomatoes... make some pasta sauce!

But pasta sauce and noodles is both boring and soo college.  Solution? Roasted tofu!  It is healthy, delicious, easy and eco friendly.  Not to mention easy of the pocket book; I bought a twin pack of tofu for $2 or $3 at Trader Joe's.  While my combination of flavors suited my taste, use any combination you're comfortable with.

For this recipe, you may use any type of whole wheat pasta cooked to the manufactures directions.


Heirloom Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:

• 4 large heirloom tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 3 medium cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 (approx) cup basil, chiffonade

Directions:

1. Heat chopped tomatoes in a medium sauce pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
2. Once the tomatoes have reduced (or achieved a more liquid consistency), stir in garlic, salt, sugar and pepper.  Simmer over low heat until tomatoes break down further, approximately 20 minutes
3. When the sauce has reached desired  consistency, remove from heat.  I prefer to have a chunkier sauce, but you may either puree to have a smooth sauce.  Stir in basil and serve.

Roasted Tofu
Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Dash of Paprika
• Dash of Crushed Red Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
2. Toss tofu in a small bowl with remaining ingredients.  Arrange tofu on baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and flip tofu with tongs to the other side.  Bake for another ten minutes.  Tofu is down when the outsides are crispy but the inside remains soft.
3. For this recipe, combine with tomato sauce and spoon onto pasta and toss before serving.

Whole Wheat Pizza

I'm back living at my parents house until I move out to Seattle in August.  I graduated a week ago, two of my housemates are in Greece/Dubai, the other is in New Mexico for the summer and I didn't want to be all by myself in Ann Arbor.  It's also really nice to be home, I'm spending some very nice quality time with my parents until I leave "forever."  I've been helping my mom around the house… and cooking dinner.  While their house may be a little bit messier when I come home (sorry Mom!), they can't complain because I cook dinner a fair amount.  Case in point, Whole Wheat Pizza.  My best friend, Katherine (Crutcher, she lives in Texas) sent me a similar recipe about a month back.  I added sugar (fun fact: yeast love sugar, it's their superfood.  The more they eat, the faster and better they grow), spices and decreased the all-purpose flour by a ½ cup.  I also adapted the cooking time.  The two pizzas I made were quite different but equally delicious.  The one pictured on top has a pesto base with sun dried tomatoes, basil chiffonade, pine nuts, onions (diced), mozzarella and parmesan.

This one has a tomato sauce base with onions (diced), red & yellow peppers (diced), broccoli, blue cheese, pine nuts, mozzarella and parmesan.

It's an easy and healthy dinner, and even if you haven't had much experience making bread, this is a fairly smooth dough so the kneading isn't hard at all!

Whole Wheat Pizza

Ingredients:

• 2/3 + 4 TBSP warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 packets of yeast
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tsp italian seasoning
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup wheat flour
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Cornmeal for pan

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.
2. Mix in spices, salt and olive oil.  Add in flour one cup at a time.  Depending on the weather and the humidity, you made need ½ cup more of all-purpose flour.  Knead for 5 minutes.
3. Form dough into a tight ball and let rise in an oiled bowl covered with a damp and clean dish towel for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Preheat ove to 450 degrees.
5. When dough has doubled in size, punch down and divide into two equal sections.  With either your hands or a rolling pin, make into two thin 12-inch pizzas, dusting the pans with cornmeal.
6. Pre-bake crusts in oven for about 6 to 7 minutes.  Top pizza with desired toppings and cook for about 7 more minutes, or until all the cheese is melted.
7. Let cool for a minute (if you can!), cut and enjoy!

Zucchini Cakes

This is such a simple and rewarding recipe. I also made this for the Bivouac Women's Fitness Event - they seemed to go over very well! This recipe is good for about 4 people, but if you plan on making it for any more people, I recommend you double the recipe. It takes about 30 minutes to make 20 or so cakes.

Ingredients:

- 3 Zucchini

- 1.5 TBSP of minced garlic (add a little more or less based on your love of garlic)

- 3/4 cup of bread crumbs

- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

- 2 eggs

- Kosher Salt

- Freshly ground black pepper

- Olive Oil (for the pan)

Directions:

1. Wash the Zucchini and cut off the ends. Using the large holes of a cheese grater, shred the Zucchini into a clean dish cloth. Squeeze the zucchini in the towel until you've removed as much liquid as possible.

2. Place the zucchini in a medium (or large if you're doubling the recipe) bowl. Add in the garlic, breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs, and kosher salt and pepper to taste. (Side note: Don't go too lightly on the salt because you're worried the cakes will taste salty - salt really makes the flavor of food pop.) Stir will a fork until all the ingredients are well incorporated and the mixture is moist enough to hold a shape.

3. Heat the a 1/4th of a inch of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot enough (about 220 degrees), place 5 balls of the zucchini batter into the skillet and flatten it with a spatula. After about 5 minutes (or until the bottom on the zucchini cake is golden-brown), flip the cake over and cook on the other side until done (about 3-5 minutes).

4. Enjoy! The zucchini cakes are pared well with a ranch dipping sauce.

Homemade, Healthy Granola Bars

Spend money on small granola bars no longer! Super easy to make, this yummy bars are an incredibly filling snack. I made them recently for a Women's Fitness Night at Bivouac - they went over incredibly well! This recipe makes about 1.5 large jelly roll pans of granola bars - but if you want less the recipe can easily be halved.

PS: I did most all of my ingredient hunting at the People's Food Coop (PFC) in Ann Arbor.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Snack Bars

Ingredients:

-parchment paper

-1 cup of honey

-1 cup natural cream peanut butter (I recommend the bulk peanut butter at the PFC)

-4 TBSP maple syrup

-2 TBSP Canola Oil

-1/2 cup light brown sugar

-1 tsp ground cinnamon

-2 tsp vanilla extract

-4 cups rolled oats

-4 cups crisp brown rice cereal

-1/2 cup wheat germ

-1 cups roasted peanuts (corse chopped)

-1 cup dried cranberries

-1 cup dried blueberries

-approx. 1 tsp kosher salt (more or less to taste)

Assembly

1. Line jelly roll pans with parchment paper (trust me - it will make removing the bars and cutting them much easier)

2. In a medium sized saucepan, put honey, peanut butter, maple syrup, canola oil, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Combine over medium/high heat juuuust until the mixture starts to bubble (it'll take about 5 to 8 min). Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

3. In a fairly large bowl, mix together the oats, rice cereal, wheat germ, peanuts, cranberries, blueberries, and salt.

4. Pour the ooey-gooey peanut butter concoction over the oatmeal/cereal mixture. Mix with a spatula until everything is combined (aka, all the dry goods are coated with the wet goods). Pour the mixture into lined jelly roll pans, cover with more parchment paper, and press the mixture firmly down into the pans.

5. I recommend allowing the bars to cool for about an hour on the counter and then pop them in the fridge overnight to 'solidify' them more. When ready - cut them into squares/bars and enjoy!

Next Up: Zucchini Cakes!