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.

Crispy Hash Browns

This is the fourth and final installment of the foods served at Mother's Day brunch - Hash Browns!  I have been asked many time what my favorite food is... and no matter what I am craving at the moment I always answer with "hash browns."  I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, maybe even a mid-afternoon snack.  I'll eat them with hot sauce, with peppers or onions, cheese or with eggs (now doesn't that sound like the beginning to an awesome Dr. Seuss book!).  While these don't look so beautiful (I grated them too early) they sure do taste good!  And make sure to use butter, while your arteries may plead you not to, the potatoes just don't crisp right with olive or vegetable oil!

On a more personal, and positive, note: Rachel and I found, and signed a lease, for a condo in the Magnolia district of Seattle!  Come early August, it will be my new home.  But for now, I will soak in all the beauty that my family and Michigan has to offer!

Classic Hash Browns

adapted from Cook's Illustrated

To prevent potatoes from turning brown, grate them just before cooking (this is advice I forgot to follow.  While the potatoes don’t look so pretty, they sure do taste good!)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound high-starch potatoes such as russets or Idahos, peeled, washed, dried, grated coarse, and squeezed dry in a dish towel (1 1/2 cups loosely packed grated potatoes)
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• Ground black pepper
• 1 medium sized red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

1. Saute onions and peppers until soft and set aside.
2. Toss fully dried grated potatoes with salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
3. Meanwhile, heat half the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it just starts to brown, then scatter potatoes with the onion and pepper evenly over entire pan bottom. Using a wide spatula, firmly press potatoes to flatten; reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until dark golden brown and crisp, 7 to 8 minutes.
4. Invert hash browns, browned side up, onto a large plate; add remaining butter to pan. Once butter has melted, slide hash browns back into pan. Continue to cook over medium heat until remaining side is dark golden brown and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes longer.
5. Fold the potato round in half; cook about 1 minute longer. Slide hash browns onto plate, and serve immediately.

Spinach Enchiladas with a Mexican Red Sauce

I made this for my dad and I one night for dinner a week or two ago. I don't have any pictures (I know, I know, a food blog post with NO pictures?!) because as soon as they came out of the oven my dad and I attacked them... and the remains were not pretty enough for pictures. These were so good that I'll be making them again when I get back from Europe (this time for my mom and sister), and I'll make sure to post a picture them. The backbone for these recipes again came from my favorite cookbook of all time, The New Moosewood Cookbook, but I changed them enough that I can almost confidently call the enchiladas 'my own.'

You'll want to make the Mexican Red Sauce ahead of time... (here comes the recipe)

Ingredients:

2 TBSP olive oil

1 cup minced onion

1 poblano chili, minced

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp ground cumin

1 TBSP chili powder

3 TBSP minced garlic

3 cups chopped tomatoes, peeled and seeded (directions how to do this at the bottom of the page)

1 cup tomato juice

Black pepper and cayenne to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the onion, chili, and salt, and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the onion becomes transparent. Add cumin, chili powder and half the garlic, and sauté for about 3 minutes longer.
2. Add the tomatoes and tomato juice. Bring to a boil, partially cover, and turn the heat down as low as possible. Simmer for 30 minutes, adding the remaining garlic, and black pepper and cayenne to taste during the last 5 minutes or so.
3. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside for enchiladas!

The Spinach Enchiladas!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup onion, minced

1 package of "no sauce" frozen spinach, thawed

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Black pepper to taste

2 TBSP minced garlic

1 medium-sized bell pepper, minced

1 packed cup grated jack cheese (or any mild white cheese)

12 corn tortillas

Mexican Red Sauce (the wonderful recipe above this one)

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven. Add onion, and sauté for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
2. Add thawed spinach, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Add garlic and bell pepper. Stir and cook 5 minutes longer, or until the pepper is tender. Taste to correct salt.
4. Remove from heat; stir in cheese.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Moisten each tortilla in water then place approximately 1/4 cup filling on one side and roll up. Gently place the filled enchiladas in a baking pan, and pour a full recipe of Mexican Red Sauce over the top. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until heated through. Serve hot with beans and wild brown rice.