Tomato Soup

Serves 6 to 8

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil , plus more for drizzling
1 medium onion , chopped medium (about 1 cup)
3 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
Pinch hot red pepper flakes (optional)
1 bay leaf
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 large slices good-quality sandwich bread , crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes (if using), and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Using potato masher, mash until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain. Stir in sugar and bread; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf.

2. Transfer half of soup to blender. Add 1 tablespoon oil and process until soup is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and repeat with remaining soup and oil. Rinse out pot and return soup to pot. Stir in broth and brandy (if using). Return soup to boil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve soup in individual bowls. Sprinkle each portion with pepper and chives and drizzle with olive oil.

Cheddar Cauliflower Soup

I have been very neglectful of the whole blog posting thing. I have some excuses - moving, internet issues, laziness. I have a large backlog of things to post. This was the first meal that I cooked in my new apartment. I had cauliflower, leeks, and carrots left over from the last of my summer CSA and I wanted to make a soup with them, preferably the cheesy kind. With a little help from google I found an appropriate recipe from Food in Jars to use as a starting point. The soup turned out delicious. I used the vegetables and quantities that I had on hand. One of the best things about soup is that it is flexible and forgiving. Think about vegetables that would blend well with a creamy cheddar sauce - onions, broccoli, potatoes.

recipe adapted from food in jars

1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
2-3 large carrots, diced
3 leeks, well-washed and sliced
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup white wine
~1 quart vegetable stock
pepper
salt

3 tablespoons butter
3 heaping tablespoons flour
3 cups milk/milk alternative
1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese
freshly grated nutmeg
pepper
salt

• soak chopped cauliflower in cold salted water for 30 minutes (this gets rid of all the bugs - I think bugs are more of an issue with organic cauliflower/broccoli and less of an issue with their conventional counterparts)
• saute vegetables in the oil/butter mixture until soft and browned, be careful not to burn the butter
• deglaze pan with the wine, making sure to get all the brown bits off the bottom
• add enough stock to cover the vegetables, cover and simmer until veggies are soft (10-15 minutes depending on size)

while veggies are simmering make cheese sauce

• melt the butter in a medium sauce pan
• add the flour and stir to blend, cook until color darkens a bit
• slowly add the milk and whisk until smooth (maybe helpful to remove from heat)
• cook milk/flour mixture until it begins to thicken
• add the cheese and stir until blended
• add salt/pepper and freshly grated nutmeg

hopefully your vegetables are soft when you are done with your cheese sauce

• blend vegetable mixture (immersion blender, food processor, etc)
• add cheese sauce and mix
• add salt/pepper to taste
  

Pasta With Walnut Sauce and Broccoli Raab

I really liked this recipe. The walnut sauce is very rich and nutty and so easy to make in my food processor. I used orecchiette (hat) pasta which was what was used in the original recipe. The problem with that kind of pasta is that it ends up spooning (for lack of a better word) with itself and the sauce doesn't get into all the nooks and crannies. I would recommend something like a spiral pasta or elbows - basically just something with a lot of surface area.

This is another recipe that was brought to my attention by Laura (GFFy!). She came across it in the NY Times under the Heath/Fitness & Nutrition section back at the end of September. I don't think she even knows that I actually made it!

Ingredients

• 1+ cloves of garlic, halved (depends on how much you like garlic)
• 3/4 C shelled walnuts
• 1 tbsp bread crumbs
• 1/3 C ricotta cheese
• 2 tbsp warm water
• 1/4 C freshly shredded parmesan cheese (plus more for sprinkling on top at the end)
  
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  
• 1 tbsp walnut oil (which I didn't have, so I just used more EVOO)
  
• salt to taste
• 1 bunch broccoli raab, stems removed (can also use regular broccoli florets)
• 1 lb pasta
• ~1/2+ C pasta cooking water

Recipe

1. In a food processor (or blender) first chop up the garlic. After it is finely chopped, scrape down the sides with a spatula. Add the bread crumbs and walnuts and process until paste-like. Add and mix the ricotta, warm water, and parmesan cheese. Finally, add the oils and mix until creamy. Taste and add salt if needed.
2. To cook the broccoli raab, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Also prepare a bowl of ice water on the side. Once boiling, add the broccoli raab to the water and cook 4 - 5 minutes (until cooked, but still retains bright green color). Remove broccoli raab from hot water and place in ice bath until cooled. Drain, dry, and finely chop.
   
3. Bring water to boil again (same pot or a new one). Add pasta and cook until done (according to instructions) while maintaining a 1/2+ C of pasta water before draining. Slowly add pasta water to ricotta/walnut paste until creamy in consistency. Place all ingredients (sauce, broccoli raab, pasta) in a large bowl and mix. Serve with freshly shredded parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Servings 6

Quinoa and Black Beans

This recipe is courtesy of my wonderful and fabulous friend Laura, aka GFFy, who actually found it on All Recipes. Every week a group of 10 or so of us get together for dinner. The dinner is on a rotating schedule so that each person/household has the opportunity to host and make the main dish. Laura hosted dinner 2 weeks ago and made this dish. I have only made quinoa a handful of times and have had trouble making it with much flavor. This dish has great flavor and is easy to make. Thanks GFFy!

Ingredients

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3/4 C uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 C vegetable broth
• 3-4 tsp ground cumin (probably will need to add even more)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt, pepper to taste
• 1-2 C broccoli, chopped
• 1 C frozen corn
• 1-2 (15 oz) cans black beans
• 1/2 C fresh cilantro, chopped

Recipe

1. In a med-large pot heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cooked until onions are translucent without burning the garlic.
2. Rinse quinoa under running water.
3. Add remaining ingredients to pot, except corn, black beans, and cilantro. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Stir in the frozen corn and keep pot over low heat until heated through.
5. Remove from heat. Add black beans and cilantro.

Servings 6ish

King of the Soup Onions (Leek) and Potato Soup

Potatoes and leeks both in my CSA this week, so this soup was an obvious dinner choice. I started with a recipe from How to Cook Everything and doctored it up a bit. It really is a simple soup though. (A cook book I have informed me that leeks are the "king of the soup onions.")

potatoes - I had about 10 or 12 smallish
leeks - 3 large
apples - 1 or 2 (this was my addition, there are so many apples in my kitchen, they are a required addition to every meal)
butter (or oil) - 2 T
veggie stock - I used 8 C but wished I used about 6 C - warm/hot saves time
cream - 1 C
salt and pepper
savory (I also added this to the recipe, came in my CSA right before I left town a couple weeks ago so I shoved it in the freezer for future soup)

1. Rinse and chop potatoes, leeks (white part only), apples.
2. Melt butter in soup pot.
3. Add chopped veggies from step one, salt and pepper, savory, stir and cook for a few minutes
4. Add stock and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until everything is soft (depends on what kind of potatoes you are using).
5. Remove from heat, add cream.
6. Process in food processor in batches or use immersion blender if you've got one.
7. Return to pot and heat until steamy but not boiling.
8. Serve with salad and crusty bread, yum!

Corn Chowder

I am discovering a new love of corn. The second time we got corn in our CSA there was a corn chowder recipe adapted from Simply Recipes another food blog I love so I decided I had to try it. Conveniently almost all the other needed ingredients were also in the box that week or left over from the week before, I think all I needed to by was a bell pepper. The original recipe calls for bacon or bacon fat which was obviously not used, but I did sprinkle some fake bacon I chopped up to add some smokey flavor, tasty but not necessary, I didn't add to any of the left overs. You could add more or less of the veggies, definitely not a recipe where exact science is needed. Garlic would be good sauteed with the onion/carrot/celery.

recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
  
• 3 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed from the cobs , cobs reserved
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 1/2 cups milk (I used rice milk which I think added a pleasant sweetness)
  
• 1 potato, peeled and diced (I used a few small knobbly potatoes from our CSA - possible Rose Finn)
  
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves

1. in a large sauce pan. saute onion in butter until soft about 5 minutes. add carrots and celery and cook about 5 more minutes.
2. break the evacuated cobs in half and add to sauce pan. add milk and bay leaf and bring to boil.
   
3. reduce heat to a bare simmer. heat should be as low as possible to maintain a gentle simmer but prevent scalding (I don't know if scalding is as big of a concern with rice milk). cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. discard cobs and bay leave. raise heat - add potato, pepper, salt and pepper. lower heat once a low simmer is reached again. simmer 15 minutes or under potatoes are almost fork tender.
5. raise heat - add corn and thyme. lower heat again to maintain a low simmer. simmer for 5 minutes.

makes about 5 servings

Curried Singapore-Style Noodles

Every time I post a blog entry, I feel like I need to have a story to go along with it. This one is short and simple. I asked Jordan to cook something for dinner while I was at gym boot camp one night and this is what he came up with. Its really tasty and delicious. He made it with chicken, but I think it would taste great with shrimp too.

Adapted from Hannaford Fresh (March-April 2009)

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb angel hair pasta
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 C low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1/4 C low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 C carrots, julienned
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 medium zucchini, julienned
• 2 medium leeks, white parts only, sliced into thin rings
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp asian-style hot chili sauce

Optional Ingredients

• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 8-oz. packages of super-firm tofu, drained, patted dry, and cubed
• 1 lb large shrimp (41-50 count), peeled, deveined, tails removed
• 1 lb chicken, cubed

Recipe

1. Cook pasta in salted water until al dente (~4-5 minutes). Drain. Return to pot and toss with sesame oil.
2. In a small bowl, mix vegetable broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, and vinegar. This will be the sauce to add later.
   
3. Prepare optional ingredients over med-high heat with 2 tsp oil (chicken (~10 mins), tofu (~5 mins), shrimp (~2-3 mins)). Set aside when done and tent with aluminum foil.
4. In same or different pan from chicken, add the leeks, carrots, bell pepper, and zucchini. Cook and continuously stir for 4 minutes.
5. Add remaining ingredients (scallions, garlic, ginger, curry powder, hot chili sauce). Stir in and cook for 1 minute.
6. Add optional ingredients.
7. Pour vegetables over noodles and mix until evenly distributed.
8. Pour sauce over noodles, stirring once again until evenly distributed. Re-heat mixture over med-high heat and serve.

Servings Original recipe says 4, I say 5-6.

Fresh Pea and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad

adapted from smitten kitchen

I am a little late in posted this recipe. It is no longer summer and it is no longer pea season. Peas became my new favorite vegetable this summer. I don't think I had ever had fresh shell peas. The ones from our CSA were amazing. The recipe calls for blanching the peas, I did, but I think it would have been fine just using them raw. If you do blanch them you can save the blanching water to boil the pasta.

• 1 lb small pasta
• 1/2 cup snow peas
• 1 cup fresh peas (shelled)
• 3/4-1 cup roasted red pepper dressing
• feta cheese

If blanching - boil snow peas for two minute then add to ice bath, boil peas for seven and add the ice bath. Boil pasta. Slice snow peas into slivers. Toss peas, pasta and as much dressing as you want. Sprinkle with feta cheese.

Caprese Salad with Reduced Balsamic Vinegar

I love this dish. Basil. Mozzarella. Balsamic vinegar. Oh, did I mention basil? Mmm!

Ingredients:

• ~ 3 Tomatoes (I buy the ones that come on the vine)
• 1 bunch basil
• ~2-3 ovoline balls of fresh mozzarella
• ~1/2-1/3 C. Balsamic vinegar, reduced
  
• Salt
• Pepper

Recipe:
1. Reduce the balsamic vinegar by initially bringing it to a boil over med to high heat. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and watch carefully. Fully reduced balsamic vinegar is a thick, syrup like liquid. The final reduction will be probably 1/4 to 1/3 of the original volume you measured out.

2. Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella into slices of even thickness (~1/4 in. thick). Separate basil leaves from stems.

3. Arrange tomatoes, basil, mozzarella onto a serving platter, repeating the pattern (any way you like).

4. Drizzle with reduced balsamic vinegar.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato Arugula Sandwich

This was a quick simple sandwich that was full of flavor and very satisfying. I made it on Vollkorn bread from Macrina Bakery, which is my new favorite bakery. Vollkorn is a hearty bread with whole grains and seeds but it is sweetened with honey and molasses. The arugula came from my CSA and was spicy and peppery and really made the sandwich. The tomato was an large heirloom. I toasted the bread lightly, spread a layer of herbed goat cheese, added a thick tomato slice and some arugula.

Cherry Tomato Coucous

For a side dish to dinner this week, I decided to make a dish from one of my favorite food websites. It was easy, quick, and delicious.

recipe from 101cookbooks.com

3 C couscous
1/2 basket cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 med. cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4" pieces
1 C cooked chickpeas
1 lemon, juiced
1 lime, juiced
~1/4 C EVOO
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/3 C basil or cilantro, chopped
1/3 C goat cheese

• Cook the couscous
• In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, citrus juice, EVOO, salt, pepper
• Add couscous to veggies, mix together
• Top with basil/cilantro and cheese
  

Servings: 4-6 (mine probably made around ~8 servings (see below))

I modified the ingredients and made a LOT of this dish
- Approx. 4 C. couscous
- Used one basket of cherry tomatoes
- 1 can (~15 oz) of chickpeas
- Added basil to veggies before couscous (but would still add the cheese last)

Next time I make this recipe, I think I will leave out the cucumbers and perhaps add another bean (e.g. black beans).

Easy Primavera

I have basically decided that you can't go wrong with fresh veggies cook gently and serve with a starch (whether it is spaghetti, couscous, quinoa, etc). Topping with a little bit of cheese and fresh herbs doesn't hurt either. This recipe was supposed to be a primavera but I am not sure if it is. Roma beans are wide a flat and came in my CSA but any bean or vegetable substitution should work well.

inspired by a recipe in my CSA which was inspired by a recipe that she couldn't remember who to credit

Ingredients:

• small onion, diced
• two zucchini/summer squash, quartered and sliced
• a handful of Roma beans, ends trimmed, snapped into bite sized pieces
• two cloves garlic, minced
• handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered
  
• 1/3 cup fresh herb of your choice (cinnamon basil, basil, summer savory) minced
• olive oil
• spaghetti
• freshly grated parmesan (I actually use pre-shredded asiago)
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• boil water and make some spaghetti
  
• sauté onion with olive oil
• add squash, beans, and garlic, until crisp tender
• add salt and pepper here or later (or both)
  
• when pasta is almost done add tomatoes for a minute or two and then add herbs
  
• put pasta in a bowl, top with veggies, and sprinkle with cheese