Wordless Wednesday: Slurp!

Can you tell she really loved the soup?

Spiced Tomato and Coconut Soup

Growing up you couldn't get me near tomato soup. My parents would warm up a can and serve it to us. Nothing else, no cream, chives, crusty bread, just tomato liquid as I called it. My disdain for tomato 'liquid' carried on until I met my husband. He loves tomato soup and would buy the canned version regularly early on in our courtship, because I was for damn sure was not going to make it for him! But the more I learned about food, I knew I had to face past food dislikes of certain foods. One of the first I tackled was tomato soup. I made my first tomato soup from scratch about 2.5 years ago and it was amazing. This soup had body, flavor, and not just a wet red glop o' liquid. My husband was very pleased and impressed as was I! So since then, I've made all kinds of different versions of tomato soups, including another favorite I made this past summer I blogged about. No more canned soups went inside my kitchen cupboards.

This soup is by Gordon Ramsay from his  book and series on Channel 4 Great Escape. Where he journeyed throughout Indian exploring one of England's favo(u)rite cuisines, Indian food aka curry. I caught a few episodes of this and it was a great learning experience and man it made me hungry. This book was also a Christmas present from the husband. I just cracked it open last Friday night, and when I saw this recipe,  I knew I had to make this tomato soup ASAP. I also found a few dishes for my upcoming and first Indian-themed dinner party with my pal Becca!

This soup is delicious, bursting with flavor and it can be made very quickly. To cut prep time, substitute canned whole tomatoes (drained) and use hot madras curry powder instead of the ground cumin, fenugreek, chillies, turmeric. I made this recipe almost exactly as he did, only I added less chili peppers as my daughter loves soup but can't stand heat!

This would make a great starter or a main course. Easily doubled and tastes even better leftover.

Spiced Tomato and Coconut Soup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb Tomatoes

2 T vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

Kosher/Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped (add more peppers or don't deseed for more spice)

1/2 dried fenugreek, crushed with a pinch of salt

1 bay leaf

1 t ground tumeric

1 t ground cumin

1/3 cup tomato puree

1 can of coconut milk (i used light coconut milk)

1T cumin seeds

pinch of asafoetida (optional)

handful of coriander/cilantro leaves for garnish

toasted coconut for garnish

Directions

Bring pan of water to the boil. Lightly score a cross at the top and base of each tomato then lower them into the boiling water for 15 to 20 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and refresh in a bowl of iced water. Once cooled, peel off the skins of tomatoes and then roughly chop.

Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan and add the onion, ginger and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and sweat for 4 to 5 minutes until onions begins to soften. Add the chillies, fenugreek, bay leaf, turmeric, and ground cumin and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Tip in chopped tomatoes and tomato puree and stir well.

Pour in coconut milk and use the can to measure out an equal amount of water. Add this to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for about 15-20 minutes until tomatoes are very soft and have broken down.

Puree the soup using a stick blender, or pour soup into a blender. If you really want a smooth result push puree through a sieve. I didn't do that, I like a little body to my soup :) Season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

When ready to serve, reheat the soup. In a small saucepan, heat oil (coconut or vegetable) and add cumin seeds and asafoetida if using. As they begin to pop, take pan off the heat and pour spiced oil in soup. Stir well!

Ladle into warm bowl and garnish if you want. This photo shoot was quite short as this soup was too hard to resist!!! Hope you try this!! It's perfect for this weather. The best thing is you don't need perfect tomatoes which you will not find this time of year in Germany. The sourness of the tomatoes adds good flavor to the soup :)

Enjoy!!

Why I love Twitter, Awards and Pinwheel Cookie Recipe (finally!)

First off, I would like to thank Christina over at Being Mrs. Jones and Visual Luxe for the new design layout. On Twitter, she asked if I would like a knew blog design and I typed (and said as I typed) YES!!! So happy with the new brighter look. Thanks again,  Christina!

On to the awards. Was awarded the Stylish Blogger from Wendy and Faith! Both are two blogs that I thoroughly enjoy reading on a regular basis.
Wendy has delicious recipes from her amazing cookbook finds and her own glorious creations. Her latest post is something I will certainly try! Check it out: Smoky and Spicy Rice Pilaf- NOMNOM!
Faith has everything from marriage, fashion tips, funny to real life stories that I am anxious to read every time I see she has a new post. One of my favorite blogs! Her post on Martin Luther King Day was incredibly touching and definitely something I can relate to and appreciate! Check it out here!

I always giggle when I receive the Stylish blogger award because I am the complete opposite! As you can see here...ahem. Even when I try, I suck!

Also was awarded Versatile Blogger from my real-life friend and blogger buddy Tessie. Her adventures in homemaking, motherhood, being a full-time student are quite a read. I call her Supermom because the lady does it all, but she doesn't sacrifice what she's loved before children and school! Great inspiration!

And last, but certainly not least I received the Lovely Blog Award from fellow European Expats Alisha from Ardent Epicure and Nancy of Spicie Foodie! They have lovely recipes that are so exotic, healthy, and damn amazing!
 Nancy has done what most foodies dream of and has released a cookbook called "An Epiphany of the Senses available on Amazon. If you haven't read her blog, please do. She has certainly inspired me! One of my most popular posts, "Autumn Mac and Cheese: Mommy's Little Secret" was inspired by her. Also, Alisha has the most creative recipe and they're almost always healthy with a great story and description of ingredients used attached!  Her latest post featuring azuki beans had me so intrigued! Hoping to find some soon! Check out her post here!


Now, why I love twitter. Twitter is awesome because it's great for people like me who have random thoughts! Also, great for finding inspiration for recipes. The blog love amongst the bloggers on Twitter is remarkable, from congratulating one another for Top 9 on Foodbuzz, retweeting blog posts it's nice to see such a nice community that I am proud to be apart of!

I also love twitter because Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman tweeted the cookies I tweeted about for cookie week back in November. I tweeted a photo of cookies and thought a couple people would see them, but then I saw that SHE retweeted them I was really surprised and excited. I did "The Cabbage Patch" aka my happy dance! The only thing I was sad about was I made the cookies when  my internet was out so I didn't blog about them- dang it! I got a few extra followers on twitter and the blog so I felt bad there was no cookie recipe here for them. Those cookies got over 1000 views from that retweet alone...that lady is the woman! haha.

The other sad part is that I took photos of process and it's all saved on the computer that my ninja baby destroyed. Sigh. But these cookies aren't difficult, give them a shot!


So here is the recipe finally. It's from "Cooking" by James Patterson. I love this book, it's taught me so much about techniques and cooking. It's one of my cooking bibles.

Black and White Swirl Cookies
Ingredients
For Basic Butter Cookie Dough:
1/2 pound cold butter, sliced
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour or 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt

For Chocolate Dough:
2 cups flour
2/3 cups confectioner's sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, butter sliced
1 egg
cocoa butter for dusting

Directions
Butter Dough
Make sure butter is as cold as possible. Put flour in bowl and sprinkle butter over the top. Make a well in the center then add egg, sugar and salt.and with the fingertips of one hand, move around the inside of the flour wall, moving around until the flour mixture and egg mixture blends together. Keep mixing until there is no loose flour. Try not to over mix. This can easily be done in a food processor, blending all ingredients until consistency of lumpy mashed potatoes. Or stand mixer, add flour and butter mixture, then pour in eggs, salt, and sugar while mixer is running at medium speed.

Chocolate Dough:
Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt very well in a large bowl or food processor. Mix in butter well, until you have large crumbs, then add egg to bind.

 Roll out a rectangle of each dough 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, lay one rectangle on top of the other, roll up tightly, and chill 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat oven  to 375F.

Once dough are chilled, slice about 1/3 inch thick. Arrange on baking pans, and chill for another 30 minutes.

Once chilled, bake for 12 minutes, or until only the very slightest bit of browning is visible on the edges of the cookies. Let cool until set and then transfer to cooling rack. Once cooled store in tightly sealed container for up to a week. They didn't last 2 days in my house!

Enjoy!!! 

Wordless Wednesday: Mama's Little Helper

Curly Sous (chef)
My daughter loves to help in the kitchen. From cooking, to setting the table to even washing the dishes! I love my little curly sous :) Here she's stirring pasta for her and her brothers' lunch.

Pomegranate Nutty Granola

I love granola. The first time I made my own granola was last year and I've been hooked ever since. There are so many different ways to serve this fun mix. As cereal, over yogurt, mixed in ice cream (though the husband isn't convinced), alone as a snack, over top muffin batter etc etc.

I wanted to make our favorite Nutty Granola from Ellie Krieger, but I was ready for a change yet still quite nutty, in fact, nuttier. While out at the grocery store,  I strolled past the pomegranate juice and thought, using a pomegranate syrup was a bit more...er sexier. I am a mother of 3, I gotta get my kicks some how ;). Excited, I put my creation to work and came out with some very delicious results. My little ones really loved it, and of course the husband did as well!

Note: I like my nuts coarsely chopped, but you can chop them a bit finer if you'd like! If you  do not want to make your own syrup, buy some (if available) or use maple syrup, honey or any other syrupy/gooey sweetener.

Pomegranate Nutty Granola
Print Recipe

For Pomegranate Syrup
2 cups pomegranate juice
1/4 cup sugar
squeeze of lemon


Granola
Pomegranate syrup (above) about 3/4 cup
1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
2.5 cups Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 300F
Add pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and white granulated sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir until sugar's dissolved. Decrease temperature, then simmer over medium to medium low heat until reduced by a little over than half. This should take about 25 minutes altogether together. EYE IT. Allow to cool, juice syrupy texture after cooled. Once cooled, stir in brown sugar well.

Now, add nuts, oatmeal, and  salt to a large bowl.

Pour syrup mixture over nuts and oats then stir in well.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, and spread mixture evenly on sheet. Bake 35 to 40 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. Doesn't it smell divine?

Allow to cool 30 minutes on cooling rack, then have your way with it!


Enjoy!!!

Parsnip Fritters with Blue Cheese-Walnut Whip

The Baltimore Ravens, my hometown team, are out of the playoffs. Oh, well. There's still snacking to be done and I have the perfect recipe- Parsnip Fritters! 

Parsnips are one of my favorite root vegetables. They're slightly sweet, pleasantly aromatic, and full of flavor with a hint of anise! My husband, again, picked out this recipe and I was more than happy to get my fry on. These fritters are so light that your will be absentmindedly popping one in your mouth after the other. Pair it with the Blue-Cheese Walnut Whip and you've definitely gotta party. Blue-Cheese and walnuts is an incredible pairing that I shall try again soon. The family adored these and they were gone very quickly.

Sneaky baby!

Try a new appetizer at your Super Bowl Party, shoot any occasion! Warning: They're highly addictive!

Parsnip Fritters with blue cheese walnut whip

Gary Rhodes' Cookery Year: Autumn into Winter

Note: I halved the recipe. Below is full recipe makes 32!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 1/4 lb parsnips, peeled and cored

salt and pepper

1/2 onion

2 eggs

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons flour

For Blue Cheese

3 oz blue cheese, room temperature

2/3 cups mayonnaise (homemade or purchased)

juice of 1 lime

8-10 walnut halves

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/3 cup cream

oil for frying

Directions

Rinse the chopped onion in a sieve, dry very well, then set aside.

Quarter the parsnips lengthwise and remove the central woody core, then discard.

Cook parsnips in boiling salted water until completely tender then drain. Place the parsnips back in th pot over low heat, allowing them to dry. Then puree with a potato masher for a coarse finish or blitz until smooth in a processor. Add to parsnips along with onions, eggs and butter. Add flour, beating it in well. Season with salt and pepper.

While the parsnips are boiling, make the whip. Whisk th cheese into the mayonnaise, breaking it down until reasonable smooth. Add the lime juice, walnuts, and season with with a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Lightly whip cream until soft peaks form.

Then gently fold into cheese-cream mixture until it's a whipped consistency.Can be served chilled or at room temperature.

Preheat the oil for deep frying between 160C/325F to 180C/350F in a deep fryer or in a large skillet with using a thermometer to read the temperature. The parsnip mix can be spooned with spoon ( I used a tablespoon) into the hot oil. Oil the spoon first to make it non-stick!

Turn the fritters from time to time until deep golden brown. Once they are cooked, remove them from hot oil, drain on paper towels and lightly salt, if desired.

Enjoy!

http://spiciefoodie.blogspot.com/2011/01/ybr-your-best-recipes-of-january-2011.html

Blueberry-Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Spring is certainly on my mind. After 4 consecutive days of rain and gloom in my town in Deutschland, I want something sunny, bright and of course delicious. Spring seems to have had a tag team match with winter recently. We've had some warm temps here, even reaching in the 60s. However, we have a common feature of spring that I am not so tickled happy about.....rain. Lots of it. So what's the best thing to do after a long puddle jumping marathon with the little ones? Bake some CAKE. A cake featuring a not so winter time fruit- blueberries. I used organic frozen blueberries, which are typically frozen at their peak of freshness, and some very seasonal lemons so I didn't feel so guilty. Besides, from the crumbly lemon scented cake base, the full sweet, bursting flavor of the blueberries, to the light cream cheese filling and the crunchy almond topping, you may end up running to your closet and put some shorts on. My daughter the "bewwy lovah" nearly ate all of the berries while I preparing the cake!

Blueberry-Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

From Sunset Magazine

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1  cup  fresh blueberries, rinsed, or frozen blueberries
• 1/4  cup  apple juice
• 1  teaspoon  cornstarch
• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  cup  sugar
• 1/2  cup  (1/4 lb.) cold butter, cut into chunks
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1  teaspoon  grated lemon peel
• 3/4  cup  plain low-fat yogurt
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla
• 2  large eggs
• 6  ounces  cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1  teaspoon  lemon juice
• 1/2  cup  sliced almonds

Preparation

In a 1- to 2-quart pan over medium heat, bring blueberries and apple juice to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until blueberries have released their juices, about 3 minutes. In a small bowl, blend cornstarch and 2 teaspoons water. Add to blueberry mixture; stir until it simmers and thickens, about 1 minute. Let cool to room temperature.

In a bowl or food processor, mix or whirl flour and 3/4 cup sugar. Add butter to flour mixture. Cut in with a pastry blender or pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Reserve 1/2 cup; pour remaining into a large bowl. Stir in baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon peel.

In a bowl, mix yogurt, vanilla, and 1 egg until blended; stir into flour-baking powder mixture until incorporated.

Spread batter in a buttered 9-inch round cake pan with a removable rim.

In a bowl or food processor, beat with an electric mixer on high speed or whirl cream cheese, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, remaining egg, and lemon juice until smooth. 

Spread over batter in pan, leaving a 1/2-inch border bare. Gently spread blueberry mixture over cream cheese mixture, leaving some visible. Stir almonds into reserved flour mixture and sprinkle over cake, concentrating most around edge of batter.

5. Bake in a 350° oven until center of cake barely jiggles when pan is gently shaken and top of cake is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then remove pan rim. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Hope you all enjoy and are staying nice and warm....preferably by an oven ;-)


Cream Cheese

Braised Lamb with Hokkaido Squash and Swiss Cheese Mash

The name of the recipe sounds more intimidating than it really it is. It's actually pretty simple. For Christmas, my husband bought me two cookbooks, one of the two was Gary Rhodes Cookery Year: Fall into Winter. Whenever my husband gifts me with a cookbook, it's sort of a present for himself as well, because he's the first to dive in looking for recipes he'd like for me to try. It's perfectly fine, though! I love to try new things and  the recipes he usually chooses are very different from anything I would think to try myself.


The cut of lamb that I actually braised was the shanks and arm chops. Why? Well, originally I just wanted 4 lamb shanks, but my local butcher, a halal butcher, only had two left. There were also some lamb arm chops available which I read are actually really good to braise so I bought two of those. Lamb shank is cut from the arm of shoulder, contains leg bone and part of round shoulder bone, and is covered by a thin layer of fat and fell (a thin, paperlike covering). This cut of lamb is pretty tough, so one of the best cooking method for it is braising or slow cooking to get that meat nice and fall from the bone tender! It's also a very cheap cut, so this meal looks fancy, but it's pretty cheap! Perfect for an elegant Valentine's dinner on a budget!

The flavor of the lamb was perfection, but not as strong due to long simmering, made fancy with a red wine, and aromatics. The squash with the gruyere cheese was truly a delight. I am not a fan of swiss cheese, but the delighful collaboration on the nutty, slightly sweet squash and the bold, creamy gruyere was absolutely divine. This would make an heavenly side dish with any meal. Originally this recipe called for pumpkin, but from the time I read through the recipe I knew I was going to use hokkaido squash instead! Please give this a try if you want impress your loved ones, lover(s), friends hell anyone. You're welcome ;)



Braised Lamb Shanks With Hokkaido Squash and Swiss Cheese Mash
Slight changes from Gary Rhodes: Cookery Year, pg 59
Printable Recipe
Ingredients
4 lamb shanks
Salt and Pepper
2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
Large knob of butter (heaping tablespoon)
2 onions, each cut into 6 wedges
2 carrots ut into 1/2 inch slices
3 celery sticks, cut into 1/2 inch slices
4 garlic cloves
Large sprig of thyme
2 bay leaves
Juice of 2 oranges and rind of 1
1 bottle full-bodied wine
600ml or 1 pint water
Generous pinch of turbinado sugar
Cornstarch, optional

For Squash
2 1/4lb hokkaido squash, peeled, seeded, and diced about an inch wide
Large knob of butter (heaping tablespoon)
1 heaping tablespoon shallots, chopped finely
Freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoon greek yogurt
2 or 3 oz Gruyere cheese, grated

Directions
Preheat oven to 325F (160 C). Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat the cooking oil in a large frying pan. roasting pan or dutch oven with cover. When at a medium heat, place the lamb in pan and slowly fry until golden brown all over. This will take up to 15-20 minutes and  a good percentage of the lamb fat will be released. Remove from pan keep warm on plate covered in aluminum foil. Discard any lamb fat and return pan.


Add knob of butter and then add cut vegetables,  garlic cloves, thyme, and bay leaves in the pot. Cook over moderated heat they begin to soften, about 10-15 minutes.


 At this point, add orange juice, orange rind, red wine, 600 ml or 1 pint water and turbinado sugar. Bring to a simmer.

Add lamb to the pot, cover, and put pot into preheated oven.


The secret to really good lamb shanks is to cook them very slowly. This will take about 2-3 hours, be sure to check every 30 minutes, turning and basting the lamb joints, and checking their tenderness. This will quite easily be identified by applying slight pressure by hand or with a spoon- the meat should give, almost wanting to fall from the bone. During the cooking time, should the simmering process be too lively, simply reduce temperature of the oven. After 2 hours have a good check. If still slight firm, leave for another 30 to 60 minutes to achieve perfect carve with spoon texture.

Once cooked, carefully lift the shanks from the pot and keep warm to one side, Strain the liquid through a sieve. If you wish, to serve th vegetables, garlic and herbs, they can be kept with the lamb. The cooking liquid can be served as thin or thick as you want. Be sure to skim impurities from top of liquid during simmering and not to reduce more than half or else wine flavor with be too intense with the lamb. If your looking for a thicker consistency, simply add a tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk briskly until combined, then thickened. Return  shanks and vegetables (if desired) to liquid and warm through for 10-15 minutes.



For Squash

The last 30 minutes the shanks are braising, prepare squash. Add large knob of butter to saucepan, and once bubbling, add shallots. Cook for a few minutes then add squash. Gently cook with out covering, then add 4 tablespoons of water, then cover with lid.

 Cook for 10-15 minutes gently stirring occasionally. Once cooked, drain, then add to serving dish and mash. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg; then add greek yogurt. Spread out nicely, then add grated gruyere cheese. By this time, shanks should be out of oven, so preheat the broiler, then broil squash until cheese turns golden and bubbly.


Serve along with lamb and veggies. Enjoy! preferably with a glass of red!