Carrot Ginger Soup with Curried Almonds

 

Another great one from linden & rosemary. The curried almonds are the best part - so don't leave them out!


Carrot Ginger Soup with Curried Almonds
Serves 4

For Nuts
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
Pinch of salt

For Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 pound carrots, peeled and 1/2-inch sliced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
Salt and cracked pepper
Light sour cream
Fresh parsley, for garnish

1. Toss almonds, oil, curry powder and salt in a small bowl. Toast in a small skillet over medium heat, tossing frequently, until light golden and fragrant. Transfer to plate and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add broth, carrots and ginger. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are very tender when pierced.
3. Remove from heat and transfer in batches to a blender (or puree using an immersion blender).  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Ladle into bowls and garnish with curried nuts, a dollup of light sour cream and fresh parsley.

Original recipe here 

Cannellini Burgers

 

It has been far too long since my last post...I have a bunch of backlog on recipes to add, so I'm going to be pretty busy. I had a final last Tuesday for an econ class I took through Harvard Extension school, and that sucked up my life for about a week, and now I'm catching up on all other aspects of life - specifically, cooking.

I made these cannellini burgers a few weeks ago -  my first shot at veggies burgers, and they were really good. I found these on a blog through Tastespotting - and I have made a few other recipes from the same blog. The pesto that goes with burgers is great with pasta as well.


Cannellini Cilantro Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

Makes 4 cakes

Pesto1 cup (loosely-packed) jarred roasted red peppers (you need 1 cup after draining)
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon pine nuts (or any nut)
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar or lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cracked black pepper

Cannellini Cakes1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cracked black pepper

For serving - mixed greens lightly dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and salt/pepper

1. To make pesto, combine all ingredients in blender and process into a coarse puree. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mash cannellini beans to a chunky paste. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Form into four patties. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When skillet is hot, spray with nonstick spray or add a little olive oil. Cook cakes for 5-6 minutes per side or until golden brown and heated through.
3. Serve cannellini cakes over mixed greens with roasted red pepper pesto.

Other ideas for the pesto:

Toss with hot pasta
Spread on toasted baguette with goat cheese
Use as a sauce for veggie pizza
Layer into a toasty sandwich or wrap




Original recipe here (and great blog)

Cheesy Zucchini Enchiladas

 

I've made this recipe twice with (/for) Dave, and it's pretty easy, and deliciously cheesy. The original recipe is supposedly a "Weight Watcher's" recipe, but just add some extra cheese and non-low-carb tortillas, and you're golden.


Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 medium scallions, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 medium zucchinis, grated
• kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups grated mexican blend cheese (or as much as you wish)
• 4 large tortillas
• chopped scallions (optional for garnish)
• chopped cilantro (optional for garnish)

Enchilada sauce:

• 1 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (optional for more heat - I just used 2 chilis)
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder (to taste)
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

For the enchilada sauce: in a medium saucepan, spray oil and sauté garlic. Add chipotle chile, chili powder, cumin, broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium nonstick skillet, sauté garlic and scallions in olive oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes; add zucchini, salt and pepper to taste and cook about 4-5 minutes.  

Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup(ish) cheese; mix well.

Divide zucchini between in each tortilla, roll and place seam side down in baking dish. 

Top with enchilada sauce and remaining cheese and bake until hot and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.

Serve with chopped cilantro, scallions, and sour cream if you wish.


Original recipe here

Red Velvet Rose Cake

 

Finally, I have conquered the layer cake. A few weeks ago I was looking for red velvet cupcake recipes, and stumbled upon this rose cake. I took it as a challenge.

I came home for Easter weekend and planned to do a lot of baking with my mom - and figured this was as good a time as any to experiment with a. another layer cake and b. frosting roses. My roses don't look nearly as great as the ones in the blog article that I found, but hey, it was my first try. And I'm not very artistic. (If you're going to try this, look at the number of roses Casey has on her cake - and try to use that same number and pattern. Also, I had a lot of extra frosting, so don't be shy when putting frosting between the cakes!)  Original recipe here

Beet and Avocado Salad (Mark Bittman style)

 

I am a horrible person, and I have never cooked beets before. They scare me. However, after tackling the red velvet today, I thought I could handle some red beets.

I bought the beets from Market Basket (aka hell) yesterday, and the only kind they had were called "Candy Cane" beets, and I was curious as to why (they looked normal on the outside, maybe just a bit more pink than most). But, once I cut into them, it was obvious why they were named "Candy Cane!"

 

I am so excited to cook beets more often now that I know how easy they are to cook. Beets are definitely on my list of top 5 favorite foods (maybe I'll actually make one of those someday). MB's recipe called for cooked beets, either boiled or roasted. I chose the roasting method, as MB advised this was the way to get the best flavor. It was great because after roasting them, the skin just peeled off by hand, so there was no messy peeling involved.


Ingredients:

4 small beets or 3 large beets
2 avocados, ripe but firm, peeled, pitted, and diced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt and pepper
one small red onion, diced
1 tarragon leaf, minced (*I bought tarragon and realized it smelled like anise, which I hate, so I left this out)

Heat oven to 400F. Wash beets, wrap in aluminum foil, and place on a baking sheet. Bake the beets for 45-90 minutes, or until a knife can be inserted with light pressure.

Allow beets to cool, then peel skin off (should come off by hand). Chop beets and layer with avocados.

For the vinaigrette, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. According to MB, you need to put this in a blender, but I just stirred by hand and it was fine. Add the onion to 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette, and pour over the salad.


(Recipe from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian")

Granola

After making the red velvet cupcakes (see below), I realized I needed to make more granola to bring to work. Granola is so simple to make I don't know why anyone buys it. I found this recipe on Tastespotting, obviously, and this was the second time I made it. I added some extra almonds than the recipe calls for, but otherwise followed all of the other ingredients. (NOTE: Remember to stir the granola, as it will burn!)

3 c old fashion oats
3/4 c sliced almonds (I used 1 cup)
1/4 c packed sweetened coconut
1/4 c packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)
2 T butter, melted
1/8 c canola oil
1 t vanilla extract
1 T agave nectar (or more if you want it more sweet)
1 t of cinnamon
pinch of salt

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl.  Spread out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, stirring granola every few minutes to ensure an even toast throughout.

Original recipe here

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Today was a beautiful Sunday in Cambridge, so I took the opportunity to run around Fresh Pond with Dave, but afterward I was itching to bake some cupcakes. I went to "Cupcake Camp" (http://www.cupcakecampboston.com/) last Wednesday with some friends from work, which was basically an all-you-can-eat-cupcake-extravaganza. I've been trying to stay away from the cupcake craze (why are cupcakes better than cake?!) but at Cupcake Camp, I nearly died and went to heaven upon tasting a red velvet cupcake. I've never been a huge red velvet fan, but this cupcake was chocolately and moist, and was pure bliss.

Yesterday, I went to HomeGoods (my favorite store on Earth) to purchase a mini cupcake tin, and after driving through annoying Somerville traffic and picking out the perfect cupcake tin, I got to the register and realized I had forgotten my wallet! Not the greatest start to a Saturday. I thought about going back yesterday or today, but couldn't bring myself to it. Therefore, I was left with making normal-size cupcakes. Sad. 

Anyway, I am happy to say my first red velvet-making experience was not a disaster, like my first layer cake experience. I somehow managed not to dye anything in the kitchen red (after using an entire bottle of red food dye). The batter was beautiful (see below....)

At my apartment, one of my roommates has a hand mixer, but I usually don't use it because the lowest speed is pretty strong (and therefore generally causes any liquid to cover the kitchen). Normally, to cream butter and sugar I just melt the butter in the microwave and then stir in the sugar. However, for this recipe the batter was pretty lumpy, so I had to use the hand mixer. The mixer was also helpful for the frosting.

BUT great news!!! Yesterday, the KitchenAid Classic stand mixer was on sale for $179 at Macy's, and my mom picked one up for me in Salem, NH (no sales tax!!). It is sitting and waiting for me at home in Andover, where we will happily unite in less than a week when I am home for Easter. I can't wait.

Now, after that long-winded talk about cupcakes, here's the recipe....

For the Cupcakes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2½ tablespoons red food coloring (I used one 1 oz bottle of it, which is 2 tablespoons)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk (or milk and lemon juice or vinegar, see how to)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons distilled white vinegar

For the Frosting
1 stick butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

For the Cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn mixer to high and add the egg. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl mix together cocoa powder, vanilla and red food coloring to make a thick paste. Add this to the batter, mixing until completely combined. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

Turn mixer to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining buttermilk and flour. Beat on high until smooth.

Turn mixer to low and add salt, baking soda and vinegar. Turn to high and beat a few more minutes.
Divide the batter evenly into the lined pan and bake for 20-25 minutes (12-15 for minis), or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, and then place on a cooling rack to cool completely.


For the Frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until well incorporated and smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl down as necessary. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until all is incorporated. Increase the speed and whip until the frosting is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Original recipe here