Pumpkin Rarebit Soup

Happy Halloween-Eve!

I wanted to cook and have a final product where I saw colors of orange and black- this is pretty good. Pumpkin soup made in a black cast iron ;-)

This recipe can be found in The Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen (author of Moosewood cookbooks) on page 33.

4 cups cooked pumpkin
1 cup stock or water
1 1/2 cups light beer or ale (I used Alaskan White)
1 heaping cup chopped onion
2 Tbs. butter
3/4-1 Tbs. worcestershire sauce
freshly-ground pepper (of course!) to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
1 packed cup grated cheddar cheese

1) Using a blender or a food processor, puree the pumpkin in the stock. Combine with beer or ale in a heavy saucepan. Heat just to boiling point. Partially cover, and let it simmer while you:

2) Saute the onions and garlic with salt in butter, Keep these cooking until the onions are very well done, just this side of Brown. (Keep the heat low, and le tthe onions render gracefully and gradually.)

3) Add the onions to the simmering pumpkin puree. Add remaining seasonings and cheese. Stir well, and let it immer partially covered, another 20-30 minutes.

4) Serve topped with croutons and/or walnuts.

Enjoy!

Spicy Peanut & Sweet Potato Soup

1 T olive oil
1 onion
1 med carrot
1-2 t minced, peeled fresh ginger (or more, if you want)
dash of cayenne (MORE!)
1 sweet potato, peeled & chopped
2 1/2 c water, divided
1/2 tomato juice (I used sauce + water because I didn't have juice)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
5 green onions, chopped ( I didn't use this, but I added some chopped cilantro)

Directions: Heat oil, stir onions & carrots and cook until onions are soft. Add ginger and cayenne - cook 1 min. Add sweet potato, 2 c water, tomato juice, salt & pepper. Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft. About 15 minutes.
Ladle soup into food processor. Add peanut butter. Cover and process until smooth. Pour into clean pan (I just used a hand blender for soups and blended it in the pot the soup was made in- WAY less mess)

Heat soup over low heat. Add remaining 1/2 c water to thin if desired.

Mexican Minestrone

I love this new recipe from 150 Vegan Favorites (by Jay Solomon). Great for a rainy day!

I doubled this recipe and added onto it. I added a can of diced tomatoes with the juice, and also a half of a zucchini. I also made my own vegetable stock because I didn't have any off hand (plus homemade tastes better). I think you can add any extra veggies that you have or want....

This is the original recipe, with my additional notes

1 T canola oil (I used olive)
2 large carrots, diced
1 med onion, diced
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and minced (I used small multi-colored peppers and added a lot, not minced, just diced)
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 cans (14 1/2 oz) vegetable broth
2 T tomato paste (I used all of a 6 oz can)
2 t dried oregano
1 t dried basil
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t black pepper
4 oz. spaghetti, linguini snapped in half (or any pasta)
1 cup cooked or canned red kidney beans, drained
1 can (11 oz) corn kernels, drained (I used frozen)

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over med-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno and cook, stirring for 7 min. Add the broth, tomato paste, oregano, basil, cumin, and pepper and bring to a simmer over med-high heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in the pasta, beans, and corn and return to a simmer. Cook until the pasta is al dente, 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

A couple new recipes...

Two new recipes I photographed- one from Simple Suppers, another from Cooking Light. Absolutely fabulous meals.

Spinach polenta with tomato-garlic-balsalmic topping :: Summer vegetable tostadas

Three recipe combo dinner- DIVINE!

Simple Suppers cookbook.....again. Ah! I'm so happy every single time I try a new recipe from it. Such healthy, colorful, awesome tasting meals.

This evening I tried out a multi-recipe dish. It was supposed to be- Pickled Red Onions and Black Beans over Yellow Rice, but down at the bottom of page are other suggestions for toppings- one included a Quick Avocado and Corn- salsa thing. IT WAS AMAZING~ So at the bottom is the Yellow Rice (jasmine rice made with a little tumeric and olive oil)- Black Beans ( with cumin, cayenne, red pepper flakes - I added the last two myself- and chopped cilantro) with the Avocado and Corn salsa topping (which is a cup of fresh salsa with a teaspoon or tablespoon of lime juice, chopped cilantro, a cup of corn and cubed avocado mixed up). I topped the layered dish with a little tablespoon of sour cream. It was so fantastic!!!!

My son loved it....

Lemon Buttermilk Pudding Cake w/ lemon&berry topping

Here's the link to the AMAZING dessert I found and made last week on Epicurious.com

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Meyer-Lemon-Buttermilk-Pudding-Cake-with-Fresh-Berries-231451

TRY IT!!!!!!!

It's been awhile!

I'll just post a few pictures of some of my cooking lately- I've still been trying a lot of new stuff- I just haven't been taking as many pictures! I have found amazing recipes on Epicurious lately.....you should check it out if you're ever searching online for something new to make! I also have tried a few new recipes in my favorite cookbook- Simple Suppers. They never cease to amaze my taste buds <3 I just LOVE their veggie recipes.

These two pictures are of two great salmon dinners I had last month, they were really awesome. One was a salmon&potato pie, and another was my mother's excellent grilled salmon w/ lemon pasta. Yum!!

Just Lasagna....

I know it's just lasagna. Veggie lasagna at that. But DANG was it good!!!!!

I made JUST enough chunky tomato sauce to make the dish, too. TOTALLY winged it. Whew.

The sauce was.....really yum. I chopped up one onion, three cloves of garlic, I put a few teaspoons of spices (sweet basil and italian seasoning- more probably after I tasted it), then cut up about 10 small basil leaves, chopped one red pepper and three tomatoes- let that simmer- then I dumped in half of a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes....a little V8, a little tomato paste, a teaspoon of sugar, salt to taste...and a couple shakes of cayenne.... like I've said before, I usually just dump and taste. ;-)

I layered my sauce with some Trader Joe's Italian no-boil noodles, some part-skim ricotta cheese, chopped zucchini, fresh spinah, mozzerella cheese, and romano cheese until I almost reached the top of the 9x13 pan. Baked it at 375 degrees covered for about 30 minutes, then took the top off and let the cheese brown for another 15 minutes.

Needless to say....I dug in immediately. I was STARVED. This would be really great with a salad- I should've had some ;-)

Red Curry

This was my first time making Thai Red Curry. I found a recipe online, double checked my supplies, ran to the store- and I was literally skipping out, I was so happy and SO EXCITED to try it.

It turned out well- but it was not just like my favorite restaurant's red curry- it was way less spicy! :-( And I tripled the amount of red curry paste to put in. I otherwise followed the recipe exactly- but they must like their veggies near mushy for how long it said to simmer.....I like veggies with a crunch! Anyway, it was a first time, so I'll know what to fix next time. Awesome ingredients, my favorites!

Tea Time

I LOVE tea. Simply stated.

Earl Grey is a great black tea. It's been my favorite for over ten years <3 I think it's best with a drop of honey and evaporated milk.

I also love tea cold......and how could it be made any better by the sun itself? ;-)

Birthday Crepes!!!

My mother requested crepes for her choice birthday breakfast (of COURSE!) It's the best breakfast, in our opinion.

The recipe is ever so simple:

1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 T oil
1/4 t salt

Yep- that easy. Just dump and blend (we use a blender) until very smooth. We usually double this recipe.

Heat pan on medium-low-ish. Put a couple drops of oil and scrape it all around the pan, so it is well greased, but not too oily. If you make pancakes, you know how it goes!
The pouring part is probably the trickiest area. I pour slowly in a circle, (counterclockwise) and then quickly tip the pan in all directions until the batter reaches all sides. I'm really a serious beginner, but I'd say from my experience, takes some tries to get the 'perfect crepe' and....it doesn't always happen. No big deal, it doesn't really matter- in my opinion- as long as it tastes good!

You can make any fruit filling you desire! We love fresh fruit with Mascarpone & a little sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Today we had fresh strawberries and my spiced apples.....they were divine!

For the my Spiced Nutmeg Apples:
Peel and chop about 3 apples (we used Pink Ladies)

Heat a sauce pan over med-high heat, with just maybe....a 1/4 cup of water in the bottom, dump the apples in and stir them around while they're cooking, while sprinkling about 1-2 teaspoons of nutmeg (and I even add a tiny bit of cardamon too!). You can add a little slice of butter in the mix, too, just for a little flavor ;-) I didn't add any sugar- but you can, to taste.
Check the apples- I like them with a teeny bit of crunch left in them. That is PERFECT to me.
Enjoy!

Birthday Cake for the best Mother

Well....yes. I lost a family apple cake recipe :-( So yes, I opted for searching the internet for recipes! One of my most favorite food blogs, 101 Cookbooks- (check this out!!!!!) had a recipe somewhat like our family recipe. It said a 'unfussy apple cake' and that sounded good to me. My mother is a 'no fuss' kinda woman ;-)

I'll leave it up to you to check out the website for the recipe!

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/unfussy-apple-cake-recipe.html

(I doubled the recipe and added fresh strawberries with whipped cream for the top!

Recipe....

From Simple Suppers. (BUY THIS COOKBOOK! Seriously....)

1/4 cup mayo
1 T ketchup
2 t white or cider vinegar
pinch of salt
black pepper to taste
pinch of sugar
1 8 oz. package of coleslaw mix or 4 cups finely shredded cabbage
(I chopped regular and purple cabbage- but probably only 3 cups....)
8 thin slices of rye or pumpernickel bread ( I used only 4 pieces- for just a one sided sandwich )
4 tomatoes, sliced (I only used one tomato- with 2 slices on each piece of bread)
8 oz thinly sliced swiss cheese

I also added horseradish sauce to each sandwich ;-)

In a bowl large enough to hold the coleslaw mix, stir together the mayonnaise, ketchup, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar. Add the coleslaw and toss well.

Assemble the open-faced sandwiches on the baking sheet if you are going to use your oven broiler, or on trays if you're going to broil in batches in a toaster oven. Arrange the slices of toast an inch apart. Place about 1/2 c of coleslaw on each slice and top with tomato slices then cheese.
Broil the sandwiches until the sheese melts, 3-5 min. Serve open-faced.

Yummm!

Two yummy eats of the week: Veggie Reuben and Veggie Curry. Can you tell I love veggies? ;-)

Gooood Lunches!!!

Yesterday, after a walk and some park-playing with my boy, I came home and was in a mad hunt for a great, quick lunch. I had some day old potato soup, and then I wondered what to pair with it. I decided on using up the last of the rosemary bread-for some tuna melts. Boy, was that a treat! I just made tuna salad, sliced some cheese (this one was from Holland!) on top of sliced bread with a bit of mayo on it.
I broiled the tuna melts in the oven at 550 degrees for about 5 min.

Today I came home from a run, and knew what I wanted to make by the time I got home. In Eugene where we live, there is a great restaurant (a few of them, actually) called Cafe Yumm! They sell bottles of their sauce- and we have a good sized one in the refrig. They made a few varieties of 'bowls'- I just get the Original. It's such a simple, wholesome and DELICIOUS bowl of food. ;-) All you have to make is some brown rice, spicy black beans (well....they just use black beans, but I love everything spicy), and I made up some Salsa Fresca, that was an EXCELLENT touch! If you'd like (for toppings)-avocados or guacamole, salsa, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream & chopped cilantro.

Not only does it taste so great- it doesn't make you feel heavy or greasy after eating. It's one of my favorite things to eat!

My dinner last night...

I'm so not a 'planner'- I just spontaneously decide to make things.....
I DO like to plan some meals- but I'd say more often than not- I check what I have in the refrigerator and pantry and imagine up a meal. I think that this is where I practice my 'art time' - since I rarely get to work on making jewelry, let alone- painting, drawing, letter making......etc. Since there needs to be food on the table every day, I guess I've made a compromise. To artfully cook. HA!

Last night I looked through Simple Suppers cookbook and mentally checked off ingredients I KNEW I had....and decided on Curried Tofu with Tomatoes~ (I added zucchini to the mix, too)
Pictured here, also, is my son's favorite appetizer- Roasted Potatoes and Sweet potatoes with garlic and rosemary, and fried zucchini.
For the roasted potatoes-I cut up 2 medium sized sweet potatoes (yams are what they are, rather!!!), and 1 large, large! potato. Cube and drizzle with olive oil until well covered. Mince about 5 cloves of garlic and also about.....a tablespoon of fresh rosemary. Dried rosemary is ok, but not the best ;-) Mix with your hands, well. Broil at 550 degrees for about 12 min or until well browned. Stir have way through broiling!

Here's the Simple Suppers recipe for the curry:

2 cups chopped onions
1 large red pepper
1 t salt
2 T oil
4 cloves garlic ( I put at least 5+ in)
1 1/2 T grated peeled ginger root
2 T Curry Powder or Garam Masala
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 cake firm tofu (I put 1/2 amount in), cubed
1 28 can of diced tomatoes
black pepper or hot sauce- this is where I made a mistake, HAHA! I decided (without tasting) that Black Pepper would not be enough- I added some good shakes of Cayenne.....YIKES, it was spicy! But good. Sour cream or plain yogurt tones it down a bit
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY~ Fresh Cilantro- chopped. As much as you like. ;-)

In a large saucepan with a lid, cook the onions, peppers, (zucchini, too!) and salt in the oil on medium-high heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, Curry Powder, cinnamon, and tofu, Cover and cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cover and simmer for about 10 min. to allow the flavors to develop. Occasionally stir gently. Add black pepper or hot sauce to taste.
Serve with Naan bread- flatbread.....whatever bread you like ;-)

more....

Still! More favorites...

more favorites...

-Pictures of some of my makings this past year....

Some of my favorite dishes...

I just want to post some of the things I've made in the last 8 months (before the food blog started...) These are new and old favorites. A lot of the dinners came from one of my prized new cookbooks- Simple Suppers. And some- are just my family hand-me-down recipes- and ones I just make on my own without a recipe. Enjoy, and try not to drool, (haha!)