Carrot soup

Finally, a recipe again. Since things are busy at work, this very simple carrot soup with the pumped up volume is just the right thing to make, eat and blog about. The key to the soup is that the carrots are cooked in fresh pressed carrot juice -- not broth or water. It makes the carrot flavor so pronounced it does not need much else beside a few sprinkles of dried thyme, a tad of butter and a pinch of dried ground ginger.

The Carrot Soup
(makes 4 servings)

• 1 pound organic carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1/2 red onion, small diced
• 1/2 TB butter
• 3 cups fresh pressed carrot juice
• 1/2 ts dried thyme
• 1/4 ts dried ginger
• salt to taste (or 1/2 ts Rapunzel organic vegetable bouillon) 
• optional: 1/4 cup baked butternut squash or any other baked squash

In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter and sauté the onion until slightly brown. Add the raw carrots, and sauté for about 1 min. Add the carrot juice, the thyme and ginger, and bring to a simmer. Close with a lid, and simmer on low gently for about 20-30 min until the carrots are very tender.

Puree with an immersion blender in the pot, or take the soup off the stove, and cool. Once cooled, pour into blender and puree. Reheat before serving and garnish with baked squash, goat cheese crumbles or a dash of creme fraiche and chopped hazelnuts. Bon appetite! 

Wilted Salad with Meatloaf

Another variation of my new lunch: sauteed onion with cherry tomatoes, jicama, corn salad with wilted radicchio and arugula, a splash of black cherry balsamic vinegar and a slices of meatloaf.

Winter Salad --- Wilted Arugula with Cherry Tomatoes, Pine Nuts and Black Cherry Balsamic Vinegar

Salad in the winter.... needs a little adjustment when it is 3F outside. In a heavy pan, I heated some extra virgin olive oil, added a few red pepper flakes, a small chopped red onion, a handful of sliced cherry tomatoes and a sliced Bosc pear. I let it all char slightly, and then added 2 large handfuls of arugula salad. I let it just wilt down, mixing it with the other ingredients in the pan. Once served on a plate, I added pine nuts, blue cheese crumbles, and topped it with a shot of Black cherry balsamic vinegar. ---

Spicy Red Lentil Soup

• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• 1 ts. vegetable oil
• 1 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 1/3 15-oz. can light, unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/2 Tbs. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 small jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Combine lentils, salt and 2.5 cups water in large saucepan. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, 20 to 25 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Blend lentils with whisk for rustic texture, or purée in food processor for creamier feel.

Purée tomatoes and ginger in blender or food processor until smooth and set aside.

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook 30 seconds, or until just golden, stirring often. Add tomato mixture, coconut milk, coriander, cumin, turmeric and jalapeño. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in lentils, and simmer, partially covered, 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cilantro, and serve.

Fast Turkey Soup with Vegetables

The winter is in full swing, the wind is howling around the house, the holidays are over, and it is time for some simple, but warming soup. I rummaging in my freezer, I had located a turkey wing, left from Thanksgiving. So, I just added a quart of water, 2-3 handfuls of frozen vegetables, and heated it all, with the wing still frozen. Wonderful flavor steeped from the turkey bone into the soup, and once the meat was heated and soft I pulled it off the bone, and added it to the soup. When the soup finished slow cooking after 30 min, I discarded the bones, and served the soup. The turkey had been brined, so there was still enough salt and herbs in the turkey to be sufficient for the soup.

Florentine Pasta

This is light, vegetarian, full of flavor and light wintery comfort food. It gets its meaty and mushroom flavor from the boca burger, a crunch from the red bell pepper, thick stewy consistency from the spinach and pasta and the light and refreshing taste from the spinach and tomatoes combination.

1/2 ts olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
1 portabella mushroom boca burger, cut into small dice (or larger if you like)
1/4 cup water
1 small package of frozen but thawed, chopped spinach (like Green Giant) or fresh spinach
2 oz Fiber gourmet elbow pasta
crazy salt, pepper
1/2 ts maggi chicken bouillon concentrate
1 fresh garlic clove or 1/4 ts garlic powder
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice
1 cup passata (or chopped fresh tomatoes)

Use a heavy bottom pot. Heat the olive oil and saute the onion and the diced veggie burger, until the onion is softened and slightly browned, and the boca burger pieces are slightly browned. Add the bell pepper, mix and add the water to scrap off the browned bits from the pot bottom. Add the spinach, pasta and the rest of the ingredients. Mix gently and well so that all the ingredients are mixed. Bring up the heat, and then let simmer on low for 12 min until the pasta is cooked.

Optionally: add parmesan cheese.

Belgian Endive with Apple, Pomegranate, Pecans and Goat cheese

Another great winter salad: endives, celery, apple, toasted pecans, pomegranate seeds and goat cheese with a Galeo dressing.

Red red red salad

One of my favorite salads that I had a few years ago at Legal Seafood in Boston: the red red red salad. Radicchio, dried cranberries and cherry balsamic vinaigrette, with some pecans and goat cheese.

1 head radicchio, cut in thin stripes
2 TB dried cranberries (or black cherries)
1 TB goat cheese, crumbled (or gorgonzola)
1 TB pecans, toasted and/or spiced (or walnuts)
Black cherry balsamic vinaigrette

Prepare salad and ingredients, and serve with vinaigrette.

Black cherry balsamic vinaigrette:
very good olive oil
black cherry balsamic vinegar (available @Fiore, Bar Harbor, ME)
1 garlic clove, grated (microplaned)
1 TS honey
1 TS mustard
salt, pepper

Fill all ingredients in a jar, and shake well.

Penne with Smokey Tomato Sauce and Goat Cheese

Penne with smokey tomato sauce, goat cheese and sunflower seeds

2 oz fiber gourmet penne

1 garlic clove, grated or microplaned
1 ts extra virgin olive oil
1 ts red pepper flakes
salt, pepper to taste
1/2 ts dried rosemary
1/2 large can of organic diced tomatoes
8-10 kalamata olives, sliced (+ 1 TB brine)
2 TB capers, drained (+ 1 TB brine)
some red wine
1 big ts smoked sweet paprika
1 TB soft goat cheese
1 TB dry roasted sunflower seeds

Cook pasta according to instructions. Heat canned tomatoes and add all other ingredients. Simmer for 10 min on low. Serve over pasta and add goat cheese and sunflower seeds.

Health food that might not be so healthy

Interesting article in "Cooking Light": why some health food might not be as healthy as we think.

• Smoothies are only healthy and skinny when made with mostly fresh fruit and low-fat yogurt (w/o the ice cream, sugar, cream etc.)
• "Multi-grain" bread does not mean it is "whole-grain". It might still be refined flour.
• Turkey meat is lean protein, but deli turkey slices contain a high percentage of sodium.
• Low-fat peanut butter might not be lower calorie, and make up the lower fat with more sugar.
• Store-bought salads can be loaded with mayo, nuts, meats and contain a whopping 600kcal.
• Muesli bars can contain a high degree of sugars, corn syrup and saturated fats. It is healthier to eat trail mix, and low-fat cottage cheese.

For more information, see "Cooking light".

Baked Apples with Beets

several apples, washed and cored
1 beet, peeled and cut into sticks
1/2 cup beef stock (or vegetable stock)
1 TB balsamic vinegar
1/2 ts whole cloves

Core apples and place in baking dish. Stuff with beet sticks. Fill the area around the apples with the mix of beef stock, balsamic vinegar and cloves. Bake at 430F for 30 min.

Serve with goat cheese and pinenuts.

Stoofpotje with Vegetarian Meatballs

Now, this is a great idea for portion control: using mini baking dishes (or cocottes, potjes in Dutch). This recipes includes 2 TB of dry FiberGourmet light elbow pasta, 1 TB corn, 3 Trader Joe's meatless meatballs, and a 1/2 cup of water, 1 TB low-carb ketchup and 1/2 teaspoon liquid beef bouillion. Sprinkle with ff cheese. Bake in toaster oven for 20min at 400F.

Spicy Red Kuri Squash Soup

• 1 ts olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, peeled and diced
• 1 hot red chili, diced
  
• 3 garlic cloves finely minced
• 1 small diced and peeled red kuri squash (also known as Japanese squash, orange hokkaido, or uchiki kuri squash)
  
• 1 medium sized peeled sweet potato
• 2 small diced and peeled carrot
• 4 cups water (or 2 cups water and 2 cups chicken stock)
• 2TB ajvar (roasted red pepper paste)
• Salt and pepper
• crème fraiche, to serve
• fresh parsley, chopped, to serve

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When warm, add the onion and red chili and soften. (ca. 3 to 4 min). Add the minced garlic and continue to cook for 1/2 minute. Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Cover with the water or stock.

Add the avjar and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Purée the soup. Add more stock or water if necessary.

To serve, add a teaspoon of crème fraiche, and parsley.

Simple Apple Galette or Pie

• 1 store-bought pie crust (800kcal for entire crust)
  
• 2 pound tart apples such as Brock or Spencer, peeled, cored and sliced
• juice of one fresh lemon
• grated lemon zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Unfold thawed pie crust. Transfer to an non-greased 17- by 14-inch baking sheet or a pie shaped baking dish.

Toss apples with lemon juice and zest in a large bowl, and sprinkle granulated sugar over apples. Place apple slices on pie crust. Either arrange neatly (or not so neatly), or fold in dough border over apples if making a galette, pleating dough as necessary, to form a 9-inch round.

Bake pie 30 minutes, then loosely cover with foil and bake until apples are tender and crust is golden, 25 to 30 minutes more. Remove pie from oven and turn on broiler.

Dust apples with confectioners sugar and broil 5 to 6 inches from heat until apples are just golden, 1 to 3 minutes (watch carefully; sugar burns easily). Slide pie from baking sheet onto a rack, then cool to warm or room temperature.

Slow-cooked Ragu by Marcella Hazan

Bolognese Meat Sauce
Marcella Hazan from her book "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking"

1 TB olive oil
1 TB butter
1/2 onion, diced
3 celery stalks, cleaned and cut into small dice
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 pound ground lean beef (preferably chuck or neck)
salt
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup milk
1/4 ts nutmeg
1.5 cups canned Italian tomatoes, roughly chopped

1. Use an earthenware pot for making the sauce. Since it is long and slow cooked, this works best to not burn it. A slow cooker would also work.

2. In a skillet, add oil and butter with chopped onion. Turn heat on to medium. Cook and stir onion until translucent. Add chopped celery and carrot. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring the vegetables to coat them well.

3. Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Break up the meat with a fork and only cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color, but don't brown it.

4. Add the wine and let simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has evaporated. Add the 1/8 tsp of grated nutmeg and stir.

5. Add the milk and nutmeg, and let simmer, stir often and wait until the milk has evaporated. This can take a while.

6. When milk has evaporated, add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn heat down so that the sauce cooks at an ultralow simmer with occasional bubbles breaking. At this point, it can be placed in a slow cooker or continue to cook uncovered for a min of 3 1/2 to 5h, stirring from time to time.

Moroccan Baked Eggplant

1 eggplant, peeled and cut into round slices

Tomato Sauce:
1 cup passata pomodorri or canned tomatoes
1 TB harissa (spicy Moroccan pepper mix)
salt, pepper
1 TB moroccan spice mix

2-3 TB home-made framboise baked beans
1/4 cup turkey or beef ragu (slow cooked, or from a jar, bolognese sauce)
fresh grated parmesan

Peel eggplant, and slice into rounds. Sprinkle with salt, and let sit on a towel for 15 min. Rinse and pad dry (this will remove the more bitter taste from the eggplants). Salt and pepper the eggplant slices, heat a grill pan, and dry fry the eggplant slices on both sides until slightly brown.

Meanwhile prepare the tomato sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl.

Preheat oven to 400F. Use an oven-save serving dish (ceramic or a tapas dish), and place 1 layer of eggplant slices on the bottom of the dish. Add some tomato sauce and some ragu. Distribute over the slices. Add another layer of eggplant, and again distribute tomato sauce and the beans. Add remaining slices for decoration and sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan. Bake for 20min, and serve hot!

Makes 2 servings! Serve with rice.