Oct 26 2013 - Super soup
Fall is, without a doubt, my favourite time of year. I love the coloured leaves, the quality of the sun (best way I've found to describe it is it just shines more "warmly"), my cozy sweaters that I've been without for months and, of course, comfort food. I loose some extra weight all spring and summer (2-3 pounds, people, nothing exciting) just to gain it back with all the yummy soul warming goodness of soup, stews and casseroles.
Today I wanted to share my 5 favourite soups. They are almost all purees so you can't go wrong with making them. No one else in my house seems to be quite so in love with soup so I often find I eat the whole batch... it can get a bit dull by the 4th day, actually. Hopefully you have soup lovers in your house! Personally I think they are all nice meals on their own, but I think they all pair well with a grilled cheese sandwich (because really, what doesn't pair well with a grilled cheese sandwich?!).
Restrictions / allergy note: All of the soups below can be vegetarian (change chicken stock to veggie stock). 2 have dairy in them.
Pear & Leek (4 servings)
3 fresh pears, peeled and cut into cubes
1 T butter
3 leeks, cut up
2 stalks of celery, cut up
1/2 c parsley, cut up
salt and pepper
1.5 c chicken stock
2 cup milk
1/4 cup chives (optional)
Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.
Add leeks, celery and parsley and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes.
Add pears and stock and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until leeks are soft.
Add milk and heat through.
Puree with a hand blender / food processor.
Serve warm and garnish with chives.
Curried Pumpkin (4 servings)
3 T butter
1 c finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 t curry powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground coriander
1/8 t crushed red pepper
3 c chicken stock
1 15 oz can of pure pumpkin (DO NOT buy the pumpkin pie filling by mistake. Also I don't think we can get this size can in Canada so 15 oz is approximately 2 cups)
1 c half-and-half (cream)
sour cream and chives to garnish (optional)
Melt butter in large saucepan on medium high heat.
And onion and garlic, cook 3 to 5 minutes until tender.
Stir in curry powder, salt, coriander, red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute.
Add stock and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low, cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes to develop flavours.
Stir in pumpkin and half-and-half, cook for 5 minutes or until heated through.
Using a hand blender or transfer to a food processor blend until creamy.
Serve warm and garnish with sour cream and chives.
Roasted Cauliflower (4 servings)
1 small head of cauliflower
1 T olive oil
1 t cumin
1 t coriander
1/2 t fennel seed (I don't always have this on hand so I skip it and the soup still tastes great)
4 c chicken stock
3 c baby spinach
1 T lemon juice
salt and pepper
Preheat over to 450 F.
Break up cauliflower and toss in oil and spices.
Bake coated cauliflower on cookie tray in oven for 20 minutes.
Combine cauliflower and stock in large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Add spinach and simmer 2 more minutes.
Puree with a hand blender / food processor.
Add lemon juice, salt and pepper and serve warm.
Black Bean (4 servings) * super easy alert *
1 cup jarred fresh tomato salsa
2 15.5 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed (I don't think we can get this size can in Canada so I just go with something close. E.g. if you can get 1 28 oz can, that's good enough)
2 cups chicken stock
sour cream (optional)
1 lime (optional)
dry sherry (optional, stir 2T into each serving)
Heat the salsa in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring often for 5 minutes.
Stir in beans and stock and heat to boiling.
Reduce heat to low , cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Cool slightly and blend 1/2 of it in a food processor. Combine with unblended soup and heat through. If you use a hand blender, like I do, just don't blend it too much. You want some lumps / whole beans to remain.
I tend to make this only with the top 3 ingredients and it tastes great. That said, sour cream is a great garnish if you have it.
Moroccan Lentil & Chickpea (6-8 servings)
This one is the most time consuming - and has the longest ingredient list - but it is sooo full of flavour and has a little more "weight" to it with the lentils, chickpeas and noodles.
2 T butter
2 onions, chopped
1 large stock celery, including leaves, chopped
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t hot pepper sauce
large pinch saffron, crumbled
1 can (20 oz / 796 ml) diced tomatoes, pureed (not sure if this means you can just used crushed tomatoes?)
1 cup dried green lentils, rinsed
1 can (19 oz / 540 ml) chickpeas, drained
4 c chicken stock
1/4 c small soup noodles (or vermicelli, broken)
2 T flour
1/2 c chopped fresh parsley
1/2 c chopped cilantro
1/4 c lemon juice
Melt butter over medium low heat in a large saucepan.
Add onion and celery and cook, covered, for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally or until onion is tender.
Add cinnamon, turmeric, salt, pepper, ginger, hot pepper sauce and saffron. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas and stock. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
Stir in noodles and cook for 7 minutes, or until noodles are just tender.
Whisk flour and 1 cup of water until smooth.
Whisk flour mixture into soup and simmer, stirring often, for 2 to 4 minutes until soup is thickened.
Stir in half the parsley and cilantro and all the lemon juice.
Serve warm and garnish with remaining parsley and cilantro.
Today I wanted to share my 5 favourite soups. They are almost all purees so you can't go wrong with making them. No one else in my house seems to be quite so in love with soup so I often find I eat the whole batch... it can get a bit dull by the 4th day, actually. Hopefully you have soup lovers in your house! Personally I think they are all nice meals on their own, but I think they all pair well with a grilled cheese sandwich (because really, what doesn't pair well with a grilled cheese sandwich?!).
Restrictions / allergy note: All of the soups below can be vegetarian (change chicken stock to veggie stock). 2 have dairy in them.
Pear & Leek (4 servings)
3 fresh pears, peeled and cut into cubes
1 T butter
3 leeks, cut up
2 stalks of celery, cut up
1/2 c parsley, cut up
salt and pepper
1.5 c chicken stock
2 cup milk
1/4 cup chives (optional)
Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.
Add leeks, celery and parsley and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes.
Add pears and stock and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until leeks are soft.
Add milk and heat through.
Puree with a hand blender / food processor.
Serve warm and garnish with chives.
Curried Pumpkin (4 servings)
3 T butter
1 c finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 t curry powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground coriander
1/8 t crushed red pepper
3 c chicken stock
1 15 oz can of pure pumpkin (DO NOT buy the pumpkin pie filling by mistake. Also I don't think we can get this size can in Canada so 15 oz is approximately 2 cups)
1 c half-and-half (cream)
sour cream and chives to garnish (optional)
Melt butter in large saucepan on medium high heat.
And onion and garlic, cook 3 to 5 minutes until tender.
Stir in curry powder, salt, coriander, red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute.
Add stock and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low, cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes to develop flavours.
Stir in pumpkin and half-and-half, cook for 5 minutes or until heated through.
Using a hand blender or transfer to a food processor blend until creamy.
Serve warm and garnish with sour cream and chives.
Roasted Cauliflower (4 servings)
1 small head of cauliflower
1 T olive oil
1 t cumin
1 t coriander
1/2 t fennel seed (I don't always have this on hand so I skip it and the soup still tastes great)
4 c chicken stock
3 c baby spinach
1 T lemon juice
salt and pepper
Preheat over to 450 F.
Break up cauliflower and toss in oil and spices.
Bake coated cauliflower on cookie tray in oven for 20 minutes.
Combine cauliflower and stock in large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Add spinach and simmer 2 more minutes.
Puree with a hand blender / food processor.
Add lemon juice, salt and pepper and serve warm.
Black Bean (4 servings) * super easy alert *
1 cup jarred fresh tomato salsa
2 15.5 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed (I don't think we can get this size can in Canada so I just go with something close. E.g. if you can get 1 28 oz can, that's good enough)
2 cups chicken stock
sour cream (optional)
1 lime (optional)
dry sherry (optional, stir 2T into each serving)
Heat the salsa in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring often for 5 minutes.
Stir in beans and stock and heat to boiling.
Reduce heat to low , cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Cool slightly and blend 1/2 of it in a food processor. Combine with unblended soup and heat through. If you use a hand blender, like I do, just don't blend it too much. You want some lumps / whole beans to remain.
I tend to make this only with the top 3 ingredients and it tastes great. That said, sour cream is a great garnish if you have it.
Moroccan Lentil & Chickpea (6-8 servings)
This one is the most time consuming - and has the longest ingredient list - but it is sooo full of flavour and has a little more "weight" to it with the lentils, chickpeas and noodles.
2 T butter
2 onions, chopped
1 large stock celery, including leaves, chopped
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t hot pepper sauce
large pinch saffron, crumbled
1 can (20 oz / 796 ml) diced tomatoes, pureed (not sure if this means you can just used crushed tomatoes?)
1 cup dried green lentils, rinsed
1 can (19 oz / 540 ml) chickpeas, drained
4 c chicken stock
1/4 c small soup noodles (or vermicelli, broken)
2 T flour
1/2 c chopped fresh parsley
1/2 c chopped cilantro
1/4 c lemon juice
Melt butter over medium low heat in a large saucepan.
Add onion and celery and cook, covered, for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally or until onion is tender.
Add cinnamon, turmeric, salt, pepper, ginger, hot pepper sauce and saffron. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas and stock. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
Stir in noodles and cook for 7 minutes, or until noodles are just tender.
Whisk flour and 1 cup of water until smooth.
Whisk flour mixture into soup and simmer, stirring often, for 2 to 4 minutes until soup is thickened.
Stir in half the parsley and cilantro and all the lemon juice.
Serve warm and garnish with remaining parsley and cilantro.
Mar 20 2013 - Another whole month of Meal Ideas
For those who are still looking for new meals to add into your rotation, here is what my family ate in February. The recipes for the blue meals are provided here.
Jan 31 2013 - A whole month of meal IDEAs
I strive not to get into a food rut. I try to be endlessly adventurous with the food I put in my body but alas I have 2 young kids and a non (food) adventurous husband... when it comes to food he's all meat and potatoes (sigh). That said, I aim not to rotate the same 7 or 10 meals across our dinner table.
This post is a summary of what my family actually ate for dinner in the month of January. Yes, we go to McDonalds and yes we eat prepared food out of boxes. Schedules don't always allow for cooked from scratch meals - even with me home all day! You will also notice we don't eat a lot of fish (maybe not any in January?) and every meal must have meat (see above re. husband). My goal in posting this is to share some ideas you can add into your rotation. I obviously don't expect you to follow the whole thing! For the meals in blue, I have provided the recipes here should you be interested.
Also, one last comment: I'm a very fluid cook - I don't often measure ingredients or follow cooking times as instructed in recipes. It seems to work out well for me but maybe this approach drives you nuts. If any of the recipes I've provided leave you confused, please email me (see button at the top of the page) and I'll try and be more thorough in my directions.
This post is a summary of what my family actually ate for dinner in the month of January. Yes, we go to McDonalds and yes we eat prepared food out of boxes. Schedules don't always allow for cooked from scratch meals - even with me home all day! You will also notice we don't eat a lot of fish (maybe not any in January?) and every meal must have meat (see above re. husband). My goal in posting this is to share some ideas you can add into your rotation. I obviously don't expect you to follow the whole thing! For the meals in blue, I have provided the recipes here should you be interested.
Also, one last comment: I'm a very fluid cook - I don't often measure ingredients or follow cooking times as instructed in recipes. It seems to work out well for me but maybe this approach drives you nuts. If any of the recipes I've provided leave you confused, please email me (see button at the top of the page) and I'll try and be more thorough in my directions.
Jan 30 2013 - BEST banana bread in the whole universe
Ok, I haven't actually eaten banana bread elsewhere in the universe but from all the recipes I've tried, I think this one makes the perfect bread. When you look at the ingredients, there is no special "ah-ha" item but for some reason it all works out wonderfully. This comes from Marty's World Famous Cookbook as well. Enjoy!
(1) Whisk together dry ingredients:
1 and 2/3 cups of flour
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
(2) Using electric hand mixer, blend until light and fluffy:
6 T butter (somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 a cup?)
3/4 cup sugar
(3) Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture with mixer. It will look very dry and crumbly.
(4) Add 3 eggs, one at a time, until just blended.
(5) With spoon or spatula, add 2 ripe mashed up bananas (about 1 cup) and 3/4 cup of walnut pieces or chocolate chips (both optional) and stir until just combined.
(6) Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 F or until toothpick comes out clean.
One last thing... Last week I forgot to include the glaze part of the cranberry orange muffin mix. I make the one included below and keep it in the fridge as it makes tons and will cover more than a few loaves so I use it for multiple recipes. FYI, it needs a little counter time to be spreadable after a fridge visit.
(1) Combine 3/4 cup icing sugar with 2 T lemon juice (could use melted butter or orange juice too... I like the tang of the lemon), mix until smooth and fairly runny.
(2) Spread on warm loaf with kitchen (pastry?) brush.
(1) Whisk together dry ingredients:
1 and 2/3 cups of flour
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
(2) Using electric hand mixer, blend until light and fluffy:
6 T butter (somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 a cup?)
3/4 cup sugar
(3) Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture with mixer. It will look very dry and crumbly.
(4) Add 3 eggs, one at a time, until just blended.
(5) With spoon or spatula, add 2 ripe mashed up bananas (about 1 cup) and 3/4 cup of walnut pieces or chocolate chips (both optional) and stir until just combined.
(6) Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 F or until toothpick comes out clean.
One last thing... Last week I forgot to include the glaze part of the cranberry orange muffin mix. I make the one included below and keep it in the fridge as it makes tons and will cover more than a few loaves so I use it for multiple recipes. FYI, it needs a little counter time to be spreadable after a fridge visit.
(1) Combine 3/4 cup icing sugar with 2 T lemon juice (could use melted butter or orange juice too... I like the tang of the lemon), mix until smooth and fairly runny.
(2) Spread on warm loaf with kitchen (pastry?) brush.
Jan 23 2013 - Cranberry Orange muffins
This year I'm trying to make a concerted effort to eat more whole foods (e.g. things grown or made by Richard Scarry characters, not mega corporations using mega preservatives etc). I won't claim to be making only healthy foods but I want to be able to (mostly?!) name the ingredients of what I eat. And if you don't know who Richard Scarry is, you should :)
Being at home means you snack, and I want yummy snacks in the house. Especially in the winter, there is nothing better to get you through a cold winter morning like a cuppa tea and some yummy bread. I'm guilty of spending ridiculous amounts of money on baked goods at places like Starbucks and they are not even good (or fresh). But really, I bake, why do I do that?!
One of my favourite cookbooks for tasty treats of the last few years (I don't buy that many, really, who does with the internet?) is Marty's World Famous Cookbook. It is written by Marty Curtis and is based on the recipes he uses in his World Famous Cafe in Bracebridge, Ontario. I regularly use about 10 recipes in this book and when I went to the cafe a few summers ago I got to tell the author/owner how much I love everything I've made.
I regularly make 3 of the muffin/bread recipes from the cookbook: Lemon, Blueberry and Cream Cheese Muffins; Banana Bread (I have since thrown out all other recipes as this is by far the best I've found); and Cranberry Orange Loaf. Today I made the Cranberry Orange Loaf (or rather, mega muffins) and I'm happy to share the recipe below.
(1) Whisk together the dry ingredients (and set aside):
2 cups all purpose flour
2 T orange rind
1.5 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t kosher salt
1.5 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen, whole)
1/2 cup pecan pieces
(2) Blend the wet ingredients together:
1/4 cup of butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice (I actually use 2/3 cup as I find the recipe a bit dry)
(3) Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mix until just combined, and fill greased loaf pan / muffin cups.
(4) Bake at 350 F for 1 hour for a loaf, 30 minutes for mega muffins (recipe makes 6), 20 minutes for regular muffins or until toothpick comes out clean.
So delish! Hope you enjoy it too.
Being at home means you snack, and I want yummy snacks in the house. Especially in the winter, there is nothing better to get you through a cold winter morning like a cuppa tea and some yummy bread. I'm guilty of spending ridiculous amounts of money on baked goods at places like Starbucks and they are not even good (or fresh). But really, I bake, why do I do that?!
One of my favourite cookbooks for tasty treats of the last few years (I don't buy that many, really, who does with the internet?) is Marty's World Famous Cookbook. It is written by Marty Curtis and is based on the recipes he uses in his World Famous Cafe in Bracebridge, Ontario. I regularly use about 10 recipes in this book and when I went to the cafe a few summers ago I got to tell the author/owner how much I love everything I've made.
I regularly make 3 of the muffin/bread recipes from the cookbook: Lemon, Blueberry and Cream Cheese Muffins; Banana Bread (I have since thrown out all other recipes as this is by far the best I've found); and Cranberry Orange Loaf. Today I made the Cranberry Orange Loaf (or rather, mega muffins) and I'm happy to share the recipe below.
(1) Whisk together the dry ingredients (and set aside):
2 cups all purpose flour
2 T orange rind
1.5 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t kosher salt
1.5 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen, whole)
1/2 cup pecan pieces
(2) Blend the wet ingredients together:
1/4 cup of butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice (I actually use 2/3 cup as I find the recipe a bit dry)
(3) Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mix until just combined, and fill greased loaf pan / muffin cups.
(4) Bake at 350 F for 1 hour for a loaf, 30 minutes for mega muffins (recipe makes 6), 20 minutes for regular muffins or until toothpick comes out clean.
So delish! Hope you enjoy it too.