Archive for November, 2005
Nothing beats a steaming cupful of thick, creamy, rich-tasting soup on a cold day. This is particularly enjoyable, to me at least, when I know that the soup isn’t loaded with heavy cream. Not only does this make the soup much, much healthier, but it gives it a little bit of lightness that a soup heavy on the heavy cream wouldn’t be able to achive.
Sweet potatoes are an excellent choice to thicken a creamy soup because they have a rich taste and smooth texture. They also can absorb a lot of moisture, which I find makes them incorporate more easily into a soup. Since they are, unsuprisingly, sweet tasting, I added a bit of cumin to downplay that sweetness; it doesn’t take very much to highlight it. You can eiiher roast the sweet potatoes in the oven or peel and boil them until tender for this soup.
This soup is simple and has a nice tang to it from the ginger and the lime. The soup is very thick and rich tasting. If you like a soup that is less thick, just add 1/2 to 1 cup more liquid once the soup is done. It is lovely for a first course, but still satisfying enough to be an entree. Because of the lime in it, it goes very well when garnished with a bit of Fresh Cranberry Relish. If you have leftovers, you might need to add a bit more liguid to it when you’re reheating.
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Countdown to Thanksgiving: T-3 days.
I like to be able to check things off my list in advance. There’s always so much to do on Thanksgiving Day. Oh, I don’t have a problem with the cooking, but it does get annoying to clean out bowls and appliances every 5 minutes when doing prep work for various dishes.
This relish, from Food and Wine magazine is extremely easy on two counts: it can be made in advance and requires no cooking. In fact, it is incredibly easy to put together. Simply combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pluse until evenly, but coarsely blended.
The fresh cranberries have a great, bright texture and the cirtus flavors are bold and refreshing. It is quite tart because the citrus goes in unpeeled, but the flavors balance out well. Just be sure to wash everything really well before you add it. I used fresh lime in place of the lemon called for in the original recipe, since I like the lime-cranberry flavor combination. You can add a bit more sugar if this is too tart for you.
It makes a great accompaniment turkey (or any other meat) and is a nice change from traditional sauces.
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I was looking around various websites for waffle recipes when the idea of an orange flavor struck me (Gee, I don’t know why). This recipe on Mr Breakfast immediately appealed to me, since I love yeasted waffles. They are usually able to achieve a lightness that eludes waffles made with chemical leaveners alone, though I do like those as well. I had already decided on the recipe when I realised that it was vegan. Never having made vegan waffles before, I immediately wondered if they would produce a texture similar to, if not the same as, non-vegan waffles. Naturally, I didn’t hesitate to make them, since I’ve made many vegan baked goods that I’ve liked.
For a yeasted recipe, these are suprisingly quick to make. Once everything is blended, the batter needs to stand for only 30 minutes before it is ready. I did reduce the amount of flour called for slightly, because I was worried about the batter being too thick. The orange flavor was noticeable but not overwhelming. The waffles turned out to be fairly crisp on the outside and moist, though not dense, inside. While perhaps not as crispy as a batch made with lots of butter might turn out, they were very good. I’d definately make them again, possibly substituting some of the orange juice for lemon next time and stirring in some dried blueberries. My mouth is already watering.
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This is the first blogging event that I actually felt compelled to participate in. Not that I mind, though, since it was my post that inspired the event. Barbara, of Winos and Foodies, noticed that the cupcakes were quite popular among bloggers and spread around my appreciation (and others’ appreciation) for the talented Donna Hay. The premise of the event is simple: make a batch of these Nutella Self-Frosting Cupcakes. Barbara is even giving out a prize for the best looking bunch!
The cupcakes are one of my most popular recipes, based on a recipe for peanut butter frosted cupcakes by Donna Hay. But since I don’t think I can improve on my original cupcake swirls, I decided to take my swirl to a whole new medium. I swirled scones.
These scones are very moist and fluffy. I added a bit more sugar than I ordinarily would to balance out the sticky, rich flavors of peanut butter and nutella. I used natural peanut butter, unsalted, with peanut chunks. Yum! They’re a bit more unusual than plain scones and a much more socially acceptable option than cupcakes during breakfast. Or while reading Barbara’s roundup.
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I love a versatile recipe. It’s fun to mix up fruits and flavors without having to sweat the details of flour, leavening, etc. This recipe makes a great tasting loaf no matter how I mix it up. Since the fat – butter in this case, though you can use vegetable oil of you prefer – is melted, no creaming is necessary and it only takes about 5 minutes to put together the batter. A very quick quick bread, no?
The loaf is a great choice for breakfast or paired with a cup of tea.I like the richness that using buttermilk adds to the bread The bread is a bit sturdy and holds up well to toasting. It’s not overly sweet, but provides a great backdrop for the bright, tart cranberries. The spices are mild, to enhance the flavor of the berries and the buttermilk without overwhelming the loaf. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the ingredient list, since they’re mostly spices. Keeping it wrapped, the bread stayed moist for a few days.
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