Carrot Ginger Soup

This is a very basic recipe. Makes one serving. Follow the directions and proportions once, then consider the possibilities.

I enjoy this recipe as is, but also add curry spices and top with sauteed jalapenos. Or replace some of the water with coconut milk and top with cilantro rather than parsley. The key is to compliment the carrots, not overpower their flavor. (I love carrots in minestrone, but that's not a Carrot Soup, it's a soup with carrots in it.)

Unfortunately, I'm not sure which magazine this recipe came from; I've carried this clipping for years and can't match the font styles to food magazines we subscribe to. You'll find a myriad of variations on the Internets. If you come across this, please ping me so I can credit the source.

Carrot-Ginger Soup

Ingredients

• 2 t. mild oil or butter
• 2 T. each: diced onion and celery
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced (about a cup)
• 1 cup broth (vegetable or chicken)
• 1 T. orange juice
• 1 1/2 - 2 t. grated ginger
• 1 t. unsalted butter
• parsley, optional
• orange zest, optional

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion and celery. Do not saute. Cover and cook over a low heat until they start to soften.
2. Add carrots. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes.
3. Add the broth, OJ and ginger. Cover the pan and simmer until the carrots are completely tender, about 30 minutes.
4. Remove from heat. Puree until smooth.
5. Pour into bowl, dollop with butter and lightly sprinkle with chopped parsley and orange zest.

Photo coming soon.

"Stressed" is "Desserts" spelled Backwards: Food Porn Roundup

Hello, Friends. It's time for another Food Porn Roundup. I know, it's been a while, but we've had a little excitement around here (a tree fell on the house). We're finally organized, having moved what we can do without for the next few months into storage and living in the back of the house.

Reading food blogs is a welcome distraction. Here are a few recipes I've bookmarked from some of my favorite blogs. Which do you find tempting?

Almost Bourdain

Sicilian Orange Cake

Chocolate and Zucchini

Basic Granola Formula

Wives with Knives

Cranberry Hazelnut Raincoast Crisps

White on Rice Couple
Chili Cheese Fries

Vietnam World Kitchen

Egg Foo Yung

Pease Pudding

Moroccan Quinoa Salad

Closet Cooking

Lime Meltaways

eCurry

Shrimp with Scallions & Garlic in Chile Tamari Sauce

Carrot Scallion Latkes

Elana’s Pantry

Cannelle Vannille

Pear and Hazelnut Tart

White on Rice Couple
Garlic Hot Sauce

Fuss Free Cooking
Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut (Nutella) Spread

Tamale Pie

I love handwritten hand-me-down recipes. My mother-in-law copied her tamale pie recipe for me on notebook paper, which after 35 years, is yellowing and now in a plastic sheet protector.

I also love one dish meals, and this is equally yummy warmed up for lunch (or breakfast!) the next day. Tonight I used ground beef because that's what hubby got at the grocery. Ground turkey or leftover chicken is excellent. Or skip the meat and add black beans & potatoes.

Brown the filling in one skillet, empty that goodies in a baking dish, and then use the same skillet for the cornmeal topping. In all, prep will take fifteen or so minutes. In our home, if you cook, you don't clean (, so my work here is done!

Peggy's Tamale  Pie
Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 1 red or green bell pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 1/2 lb. meat
• 1/3 lb frozen corn (or the kernels of one cob)
• 1/2 c. stewed or fresh tomatoes
• chili powder
• 1 chopped jalapeno (optional)
• handful chopped cilantro (optional)
• 1/2 c. cornmeal
• 2 c. milk
• 2 T. butter
• 1 egg
• 1 c. grated cheddar

Directions

1. Saute meat, veggies, herbs, spices until the meat is slightly browned.
2. Oil a baking dish and pile the goodies from the skillet in a big bowl.
3. In the skillet, add the cornmeal, milk, butter, egg and half the cheese and whisk until it starts to thicken.
4. Pour half the cornmeal mix in a greased baking dish. Add the meat and veggies, then top with the remaining cornmeal mix.
5. Bake in 350 degree oven for 50 minutes. Top with the remainder of the cheese and bake for 5 more minutes.
6. Mangia!

Beef Soup simmered in a Lemon Thyme & Fennel Broth with Cheddar Onion Drop Biscuits

I intended to make minestrone for dinner, but hadn't shopped accordingly. I love kale in minestrone, carrots, celery, cannelini. So I invented a soup using what we had on hand, which is how the best soups are made.

The house smells so good right now you could lick the air. The basis of the aromatic broth is lemon thyme and crushed fennel seeds. I happen to have lemon thyme growing in a pot on the porch. It's unlikely you'll find it in the grocery store, but regular thyme and a dash of lemon juice are a fair enough substitute. I also polished off the soup with a hearty squeeze of "lima dulce" or sweet lime, which we picked up at the farmers market last week. Another unlikely find at your local market, so freshly squeezed lime is fine.

Aromatic Beef Soup with Lemon Thyme and Fennel
Ingredients

• 2 c. cooked, cubed beef (leftover roast, for example)
• 1 med. red onion, chopped finely
• 3 fat cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1-2 T lemon thyme
• 1 T chopped fennel seed (not ground fennel seed)
• 2 T olive oil
• 5 cups broth (I use chicken broth)
• 1 c. uncooked rice (my choice: short grain brown rice)
• 1 c. frozen or fresh green peas
• optional: 1-2 T lemon and/or lime zest

Directions

1. Saute the onion and mushrooms in the olive oil. Add the garlic and fennel seed after two minutes.
2. When the garlic has softened, add the broth, thyme and beef.
3. Simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes, allowing the herbs to infuse the beef.
4. Add the rice. Continue to simmer until the rice is tender.
5. Add the peas. Cook only until they are tender, maybe one or two minutes more.
6. Serve with a fat wedge of sweet lime.

Cheddar Onion Drop Biscuits
Ingredients

• 2 c. flour
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. sugar (optional)
• 6 T. butter
• 1 c. plus 2 T. dairy (whatever you have on hand: milk/cream/buttermilk)
• 1 cup finely shredded cheddar or cheddar blend
• 1-2 scallions or small bunch of chives, sliced finely

Directions

1. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.
3. Add the butter, cubed, and using a pastry cutter, blend it into the flour.
4. Add the scallions, milk and cheese. Mix only until blended.
5. You can spoon the batter onto a buttered cookie sheet or shape 6 chubby patties by hand.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are browned.