I like soups. A lot. This one is based off of one in Love Soup by Anna Thomas.
Ingredients and Methodology:
2 onions, chopped. Saute in olive oil for a while.
Add a bunch of chopped ginger and garlic. Saute for a while.
Add a chopped sweet potato, and some chopped carrots.
Add chicken broth and/or water. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer.
Add a bag of spinach, a bunch of kale, and some chard.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Blend. It's good, but finicky people might not appreciate the color......
Makes a bunch. Going to have to freeze some.
Scooter
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Eggs Bhona
This is a recipe from Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express:
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
an inch of peeled and chopped ginger
2-3 cloves peeled and chopped garlic
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
a few shakes of turmeric
dashes of salt and red pepper flakes
8 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Saute the onions, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger for a few minutes. Add the tomato paste, spices, and 1 cup or so boiling water (I kept adding a little more, depending on how thick/thin you want your sauce). Stir it all up, add the hard boiled eggs, cover and cook for 5 minutes until it's all heated through.
Review: Love it. It's a little time-consuming for a weekday morning, but works well on a weekend or as dinner. (Peeling the eggs took me a while, it was a stubborn batch.) And I've got enough for two more days of breakfast.
scooter
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
an inch of peeled and chopped ginger
2-3 cloves peeled and chopped garlic
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
a few shakes of turmeric
dashes of salt and red pepper flakes
8 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Saute the onions, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger for a few minutes. Add the tomato paste, spices, and 1 cup or so boiling water (I kept adding a little more, depending on how thick/thin you want your sauce). Stir it all up, add the hard boiled eggs, cover and cook for 5 minutes until it's all heated through.
Review: Love it. It's a little time-consuming for a weekday morning, but works well on a weekend or as dinner. (Peeling the eggs took me a while, it was a stubborn batch.) And I've got enough for two more days of breakfast.
scooter
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Crockpot Curry Soup
What a week! I haven't really been cooking, more just assembling food or eating prepared-by-someone-else-food and leftovers. Also on a curry kick, so here's my entry:
Crockpot Curry Soup:
Assemble the following in a crockpot
large onion, chopped
Bag of frozen stir-fry veggies
Handful of baby carrots
Big dollop of Thai curry paste
Meat - I used cubed round steak, probably about 1.5 lbs of it
2 cans coconut milk
Chicken broth cubes (from the paprika surprise! day), and enough water to cover everything, probably about another two cans worth. This definitely tipped the balance from being a thicker curry to being more soup like.
Cook on low for 8 hours.
Review: Good and super easy. Not too spicy. It could probably have benefited from browning the meat first, and definitely from some fresh garlic and ginger. Keeper!
Crockpot Curry Soup:
Assemble the following in a crockpot
large onion, chopped
Bag of frozen stir-fry veggies
Handful of baby carrots
Big dollop of Thai curry paste
Meat - I used cubed round steak, probably about 1.5 lbs of it
2 cans coconut milk
Chicken broth cubes (from the paprika surprise! day), and enough water to cover everything, probably about another two cans worth. This definitely tipped the balance from being a thicker curry to being more soup like.
Cook on low for 8 hours.
Review: Good and super easy. Not too spicy. It could probably have benefited from browning the meat first, and definitely from some fresh garlic and ginger. Keeper!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tilapia, Fennel, and Tomato Stew
This was based off a recipe on the Whole Foods market website.
I defrosted a few tilapia fillets. They thaw really quick when you cover them with cool water, which was nice.
Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add two chopped yellow onions. Saute for a few minutes. Add a fennel bulb, chopped small and cook for another few minutes. Add a few shakes salt, pepper, a can of tomatoes with the juice, a few cubes of chicken broth, a pinch of saffron, and a cup of water. Turn up to high, when it comes to a boil, turn the heat down and add the tilapia fillets. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, breaking up the fish into chunks if you'd like.
It would serve about 4. It could use some additional spice embellishment, but the flavors are good. It was my first time cooking with fennel. And saffron, for that matter. I can't say I could taste the saffron in particular, but the stuff I used was pretty old. I mean, like my age old - it's been in my mom's spice jar for a loooong time.
Munch on!
scooter
I defrosted a few tilapia fillets. They thaw really quick when you cover them with cool water, which was nice.
Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add two chopped yellow onions. Saute for a few minutes. Add a fennel bulb, chopped small and cook for another few minutes. Add a few shakes salt, pepper, a can of tomatoes with the juice, a few cubes of chicken broth, a pinch of saffron, and a cup of water. Turn up to high, when it comes to a boil, turn the heat down and add the tilapia fillets. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, breaking up the fish into chunks if you'd like.
It would serve about 4. It could use some additional spice embellishment, but the flavors are good. It was my first time cooking with fennel. And saffron, for that matter. I can't say I could taste the saffron in particular, but the stuff I used was pretty old. I mean, like my age old - it's been in my mom's spice jar for a loooong time.
Munch on!
scooter
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Beef and Bok Choy Soup
After plowing through leftovers all week, I finally made something new. Using mostly the vegetables that had been in my fridge the longest.
Add the following to a soup pot as you're preparing them:
Sesame oil.
Medium heat.
Chopped onion.
Minced ginger. After two-three minutes add
Gound beef. When browned add
Handful of chopped carrots.
1 large chopped and peeled parsnip.
3/4 head chopped cauliflower.
Chicken broth and water to cover, plus a little bit.
A bunch of baby bok choy. They are about 2 inches long. I rinsed these and just cut off the bottom of the stalk and threw them in like that.
Some salt, pepper, and dried garlic. (Horror of horrors - I am out of fresh! Something is not right in the universe.)
Turn up the heat, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
Good soup - simple tasting, easy on the spice level, very warm and filling.
Add the following to a soup pot as you're preparing them:
Sesame oil.
Medium heat.
Chopped onion.
Minced ginger. After two-three minutes add
Gound beef. When browned add
Handful of chopped carrots.
1 large chopped and peeled parsnip.
3/4 head chopped cauliflower.
Chicken broth and water to cover, plus a little bit.
A bunch of baby bok choy. They are about 2 inches long. I rinsed these and just cut off the bottom of the stalk and threw them in like that.
Some salt, pepper, and dried garlic. (Horror of horrors - I am out of fresh! Something is not right in the universe.)
Turn up the heat, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
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| So, if you photograph a steaming bowl of soup from directly above it, your camera lens will fog up. |
Scooter
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Zucchini and Parsnip Chips and Pesto!
Kind of a random day, but wanted to play with some stuff in the kitchen.
First, using my mandoline for even slicing, I cut up a bunch of zucchini and parsnips, and threw them in the dehydrator overnight. I didn't put any oil or seasonings on them. They're really good. The zucchini are really crisp, while the parsnips are more tough-chewy than crsip. The parsnips especially are pretty sweet-tasting. I think I'll keep trying things like this.
And then, using my new food processor (it's a mini cuisinart something), I made roasted red bell pepper pesto. You throw in a couple cloves garlic, some roasted bell peppers from a jar, some olive oil, some walnuts, and of course, a bunch of fresh basil. Yummerific!
Go packers!
scooter
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| Zucchini |
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| Parsnips |
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| Hooray, red mush! |
Go packers!
scooter
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Curry Casserole and Paleo Apple Muffins
The key word in the bi-monthly curry post was "average." Anyway, decided to try a recipe based on Purely Primal's Thai Curry Casserole:
I took 4 turkey burgers (the frozen ones from costco), broke them up, and cooked them on the stove top with a bunch of turmeric, ground black pepper, and sesame oil.
The butternut squash I got was already cubed (I used about 1.3 lbs of it), and I chopped up some broccoli and cauliflower (probably about 1/3 head ea).
Tear the leaves of a bunch of kale. I'd recommend a HUGE bunch of kale, 'cause it's awesome, mine was only small-medium sized.
Preheat oven to 350.
Meanwhile, in a glass mixing bowl, I whisked together:
3/4 can coconut milk
longer-than-thumb-long piece of ginger, minced
2 tbl thai curry paste
couple splashes of tamari sauce (wheat-free soy sauce)
couple shakes powdered garlic
couple shakes curry powder
The guy recommends getting a BIG mixing bowl. He's not kidding. Mix up 3/4 of the kale, the turkey, and the veggies, and pour over about 3/4 of the whisked liquid. Stir it all up, and put into some pans for baking - this ended up filling an 8x8 pan as well as a 11x7 pan for me. Add the rest of the kale and the rest of the liquid to the mixing bowl again, stir it up, put it all on top.
Cover with foil, bake for 35 min. Take the foil off, bake for another 25, or until the squash is done.
Review:
Really good, especially the kale on top that got a little crispy in parts, but a little sweeter than I was expecting for some reason. In general, with length of prep and baking, number of steps, and number of bowls etc. dirtied, not something that will enter regular rotation. I'll keep it in mind for occasions, though. This made enough for like 5-6 more meals for me.
Paleo Apple Muffins!
I've been excited to try these, it's based on Everyday Paleo's Apple Muffins.
A note on measurements - I generally don't measure anything, so I'm guesstimating on this. Cooker beware! (Caveat Coqutor?)
In a large bowl, add:
1 cup almond flour
1 cup almond butter (I had the maranatha or whatever it's called brand on hand.)
5 eggs
3/4 apple, finely chopped
1 ripe banana, chopped or mushed up
Lots and lots of cinnamon (I love cinnamon, to the point where people think I'm weird.*)
a few shakes of ginger
a pinch of baking soda
Mix it all up, divvy into muffin pans. This made enough for about 14 muffins. My muffin pan has 12 spots, so I also filled up some random tiny tart pans or something. Bake at 350 for a little over 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
These were really, really good. They look somewhat unappealing, especially before being cooked, with their medium brown color with lighter colored intrusions, but they were awesome. They'd be even better with honey, either included or spread on top.
The final products:
The bird's the word,
scooter
*Everybody usually thinks I'm weird anyway, I'm trying to emphasize that in addition to my base, standard weirdness, they think I'm really, rather excessively weird about cinnamon in particular. What can I say, it's good. Especially roasted saigon cinnamon.
I took 4 turkey burgers (the frozen ones from costco), broke them up, and cooked them on the stove top with a bunch of turmeric, ground black pepper, and sesame oil.
The butternut squash I got was already cubed (I used about 1.3 lbs of it), and I chopped up some broccoli and cauliflower (probably about 1/3 head ea).
Tear the leaves of a bunch of kale. I'd recommend a HUGE bunch of kale, 'cause it's awesome, mine was only small-medium sized.
Preheat oven to 350.
Meanwhile, in a glass mixing bowl, I whisked together:
3/4 can coconut milk
longer-than-thumb-long piece of ginger, minced
2 tbl thai curry paste
couple splashes of tamari sauce (wheat-free soy sauce)
couple shakes powdered garlic
couple shakes curry powder
The guy recommends getting a BIG mixing bowl. He's not kidding. Mix up 3/4 of the kale, the turkey, and the veggies, and pour over about 3/4 of the whisked liquid. Stir it all up, and put into some pans for baking - this ended up filling an 8x8 pan as well as a 11x7 pan for me. Add the rest of the kale and the rest of the liquid to the mixing bowl again, stir it up, put it all on top.
Cover with foil, bake for 35 min. Take the foil off, bake for another 25, or until the squash is done.
Review:
Really good, especially the kale on top that got a little crispy in parts, but a little sweeter than I was expecting for some reason. In general, with length of prep and baking, number of steps, and number of bowls etc. dirtied, not something that will enter regular rotation. I'll keep it in mind for occasions, though. This made enough for like 5-6 more meals for me.
Paleo Apple Muffins!
I've been excited to try these, it's based on Everyday Paleo's Apple Muffins.
A note on measurements - I generally don't measure anything, so I'm guesstimating on this. Cooker beware! (Caveat Coqutor?)
In a large bowl, add:
1 cup almond flour
1 cup almond butter (I had the maranatha or whatever it's called brand on hand.)
5 eggs
3/4 apple, finely chopped
1 ripe banana, chopped or mushed up
Lots and lots of cinnamon (I love cinnamon, to the point where people think I'm weird.*)
a few shakes of ginger
a pinch of baking soda
Mix it all up, divvy into muffin pans. This made enough for about 14 muffins. My muffin pan has 12 spots, so I also filled up some random tiny tart pans or something. Bake at 350 for a little over 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
These were really, really good. They look somewhat unappealing, especially before being cooked, with their medium brown color with lighter colored intrusions, but they were awesome. They'd be even better with honey, either included or spread on top.
The final products:
 |
| Dinner and dessert, anyone? |
The bird's the word,
scooter
*Everybody usually thinks I'm weird anyway, I'm trying to emphasize that in addition to my base, standard weirdness, they think I'm really, rather excessively weird about cinnamon in particular. What can I say, it's good. Especially roasted saigon cinnamon.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Curry Beef Soup
I've almost decided there should be a weekly (maybe bi-monthly, realistically, on average) curry recipe on the blog. Yum, curry. It could be like an homage to Bridget Jones - a blog version of a turkey curry buffet. With other meats. This one is based on this recipe from Everyday Paleo.
Shop:
1 white onion
1/2 red onion
thumb-sized piece of ginger
8 cloves garlic (yes, I love garlic. I recommend scaling for many people.)
Start this all sauteeing with a slug of sesame oil, mongolian fire oil, and about a tablespoon of curry paste on the low end of medium-low.
After about 5 minutes, add 1 lb ground beef. Add the following spices:
bunch of shakes curry powder
couple+ shakes turmeric
couple+ shakes cumin
couple shakes saigon cinnamon (I've never added cinnamon to a curry, and the smell was divine!)
Continue chopping some broccoli into small florets, and add when the beef is pretty done. After a few minutes, add a can of coconut milk, and enough broth, water, or more coconut milk to cover. (I added water and some of my paprika surprise! chicken broth cubes. What do you know, I found a use for them quickly.)
Chop:
1/2 bell pepper
1 zucchini
Add these to the mix. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and let simmer for 10 minutes. I ate it as was, and didn't serve it over cauliflower or anything like that.
Reflections: One might wonder why this is called a soup, when it's basically very similar to any other curry I've made. The answer: I usually make curries in my large, deep saute pan, and this time I made it in a soup pot. It's a geography is destiny kind of thing.
Plans for the weekend: I'd like to muck around with some old/some new kitchen toys. The new: a food processor. I'm thinking pesto to break the thing in. The old: a mandoline slicer and a food dehydrator. I'm thinking zucchini chips. The old/new: paleo muffins in my silicon muffin pan. If I finally remember to bring the pan home from work, where it is currently acting as a block to anyone trying to put anything else on my desk.
Gherkin on a stick,
scooter
Shop:
1 white onion
1/2 red onion
thumb-sized piece of ginger
8 cloves garlic (yes, I love garlic. I recommend scaling for many people.)
Start this all sauteeing with a slug of sesame oil, mongolian fire oil, and about a tablespoon of curry paste on the low end of medium-low.
After about 5 minutes, add 1 lb ground beef. Add the following spices:
bunch of shakes curry powder
couple+ shakes turmeric
couple+ shakes cumin
couple shakes saigon cinnamon (I've never added cinnamon to a curry, and the smell was divine!)
Continue chopping some broccoli into small florets, and add when the beef is pretty done. After a few minutes, add a can of coconut milk, and enough broth, water, or more coconut milk to cover. (I added water and some of my paprika surprise! chicken broth cubes. What do you know, I found a use for them quickly.)
Chop:
1/2 bell pepper
1 zucchini
Add these to the mix. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and let simmer for 10 minutes. I ate it as was, and didn't serve it over cauliflower or anything like that.
Reflections: One might wonder why this is called a soup, when it's basically very similar to any other curry I've made. The answer: I usually make curries in my large, deep saute pan, and this time I made it in a soup pot. It's a geography is destiny kind of thing.
Plans for the weekend: I'd like to muck around with some old/some new kitchen toys. The new: a food processor. I'm thinking pesto to break the thing in. The old: a mandoline slicer and a food dehydrator. I'm thinking zucchini chips. The old/new: paleo muffins in my silicon muffin pan. If I finally remember to bring the pan home from work, where it is currently acting as a block to anyone trying to put anything else on my desk.
Gherkin on a stick,
scooter
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