Roasted Carrot and Fresh Ginger Soup

Here's a comforting* soup you can pull together when 
there is practically nothing in the refrigerator or pantry...
and you are busy. With other things.

Besides being healthful and budget friendly,
the additional bonus is that it goes together quite quickly.

All that is required are a few carrots, an onion, clove of garlic, 
bay leaf, chicken or vegetable broth or stock, oil/butter, 
salt and pepper ~

and fresh ginger (which I always have on hand for

cooking and use in smoothies.)

*I've been needing extra comforting recently,

and I'll explain why at the close of this post  . . .

The method goes like this:

Peel and cut the carrots into large chunks, toss with oil and 

roast in hot oven until tender.

Sweat chopped onion in a large pot, when translucent add minced garlic and

minced ginger for just seconds. Add broth/stock to pot, then bay leaf

and roasted carrots carrots. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil,

then reduce to a simmer, cook for 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Using either a blender (or an immersion blender) puree the

contents of the pot until silky smooth.

At this point you can stir in some heavy cream to make it creamy,

or a tiny amount of Harissa sauce (to make it spicier),

a little finely grated orange zest

Garnish as desired;  here are some suggestions:

For each individual serving:

Shelled, roasted pumpkin seeds ~ (Pepitos)

a little lump of butter

finely chopped chives

finely grated orange zest

a small dollop of sour cream

toasted chopped nuts of your choice

buttery, crisp croutons

a tiny sprinkle of nutmeg or cinnamon

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe you

can get it here.

~*~*~*~*~*~

You may be familiar with the seasoning Harissa, 

the North African spicy red paste (or sauce),

if not here is the kind I use. (If you cannot find it locally, it's available

from amazon.com.)  It is really convenient to keep

a tube in the refrigerator to add a good, deep spicy 

flavor to all kinds of dishes.  You can also make your own,

but I don't use it that frequently so the tube version is the

way to go for me.

Word of warning ~ 
Do taste whatever brand you choose before
adding it to your recipe ~ it is potent!!


~*~*~*~*~

I've been a little distracted lately, 

my old faithful friend ~ my Black Labrador dog whom I've had

since he was just a little over 2 months old 

has been having some health issues, surgery, etc.  

It was non cancerous, he healed very nicely. 

He has been doing well for over a year.

and behaves much younger than his 13 years. 

Friendly, full of life and character, but so gentle and easy-going.

Sadly we recently learned he has bone cancer in his

foreleg... it is inoperable and the Dr. estimates the blasted

cancer will take over within 4 to 6 weeks. He is doing fine

at this time, on pain meds, and we will not allow him to suffer.

Lots of extra TLC being showered upon him now, while he's with us. 

Too soon 'THE' decision must be made, 

thus, the gray cloud hangs overhead. :(

Being "dog people", the news has affected us deeply ~ 

spending much more time with my pal, and not

so much the internet, or other things.

If I've neglected visiting your blog, or responding

to your lovely comments, emails, etc. I hope

you'll understand.  I'll try to do better.

Thanks for listening (reading!)

Thank you for stopping by today friends,
enjoy each minute of the day.

xo  ~Mari

Pasta with Cauliflower-Tomato Sauce (Slow Cooker Friendly) & Crunchy Bread Crumbs

Michele Scicolone, one of my favorite cookbook authors,  
posted a  Spicy Cauliflower Pasta Sauce made in 
the slower cooker on her Facebook page a few days ago ~ 
it sounded interesting and I had the small head 
of cauliflower on hand . . .  I'm sure you can guess the rest!

As usual, I was compelled to change it a little to suit my 
own taste, although you may like it just as Michele posted it.
It's healthful, low in fat and vegetarian friendly.
Plus it's easy on the budget.

I'll post Michele's way, plus my changes over on my

recipe blog so you can make it the way you like.  

Michele's original recipe calls for

a small head of cauliflower, a large can of crushed tomatoes,

water, olive oil, garlic, a little dried oregano, salt and red pepper flakes.

During the last few minutes I added some chopped, marinated

artichoke hearts, and some brined capers.  (I also had a bit

of Trader Joe's Artichoke Tapenade left over so I stirred

that in as well . . . you know, waste not - want not.)

Since we're not so keen on really spicy food any longer,

I cut the amount of red pepper flakes and only added

the tiniest pinch. Perfect!

For the crumb topping : 

Bread crumbs, a little olive oil, anchovy fillets, and

freshly ground black pepper. (Please don't let the

anchovies put you off ~  as they truly enhance this dish!)

If you don't have anchovies on hand (or cannot 

tolerate them), you can substitute fresh garlic and a little

sea or kosher salt instead. But I prefer the anchovies,

and I promise you, you'll barely notice their presence 

because they are cooked in a little olive oil until they nearly

dissolve and the flavor mellows, enhancing the oil, 

then added to the crumbs and sauteed gently until the

crumbs turn crisp and golden brown. Yum! 

This is an excellent condiment on other pasta dishes and

steamed/sauteed vegetables or grilled chicken/fish, too.

 I always make extra and store in an airtight container in

the fridge, ready to use and it keeps almost indefinitely

in the fridge, even longer in the freezer.

 

I think it would be safe to say that you and those you

 cook for would probably have to favor

rather assertive flavors to really enjoy this dish... 
Kraft Mac and Cheese® it's not.  ;)

I thought it was very good; quite low in fat

(but not lacking flavor.)

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe,
please jump on over to my recipe blog
right here.


Thank you for stopping today ~
I love your comments!

~Mari  :)

Cheesy "Pizza" Broccoli

I didn't want to serve the same ol' steamed, or stir-fried broccoli, then I remembered a recipe similar to this one, by Daphe Oz (Dr. Oz's daughter), from her lifestyle/cooking book "Relish"
Click image to learn more about the book. It's a perfect choice for college students, young singles and newlyweds. I'm none of those and I like it too. :)

Daphne's version is even more simple than the one I devised (no roasted tomatoes/garlic/red onions or mozzarella in her version)  but this one is a lot more flavorful, in my opinion.

By now, if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I love cooking intuitively ~ that is with a basic recipe in my head, and then letting the creative juices flow!  This is another one of those, and you can adjust it to suit your own taste.



Easy and flavorful, here's what you'll need for the basic recipe:
Cherry or Roma Tomatoes Salt, Freshly ground black pepper Olive oil (or oil of your choice)
Dried oregano leaves 1 or 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced Red pepper flakes Half an onion, slivered Fresh Broccoli Spears Grated Mozzarella Cheese Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
Optional: Lemon wedges Fresh oregano or basil leaves (Extras ~ see below)
Method:
Place rack in center of oven, preheat to 400ºF.
Wash and cut in half a couple of handfuls of cherry tomatoes, or as many as you want to make a single layer~  (you can use quartered Roma tomatoes or a similar variety;  tomatoes that are not too juicy work best in this recipe.) In a shallow baking dish toss them with some olive oil, sea salt and  a little freshly ground black pepper.
Place pan in oven and roast tomatoes for 10 to 12 minutes (make take longer, depending upon your oven and the baking dish you are using.) Scatter 1 or 2 sliced garlic cloves, half of a slivered onion (white, yellow, red/purple), a couple of generous pinches of dried oregano, and a couple of pinches of  red pepper flakes (optional), give a stir to coat with oil and continue roasting for 10 to 12 minutes ~ it's okay if some tomatoes begin to char.
While tomatoes are roasting, steam broccoli spears until just crisp tender. Remove tomato pan from oven, arrange broccoli over tomatoes, add a little s & p if desired,  sprinkle with grated mozzarella cheese (as much or as little as you like),  sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and place back in oven, or under hot broiler until cheese is melted and begins to bubble.  Remove from oven allow to cool for a moment, sprinkle with a few  fresh oregano or basil leaves. Serve with lemon wedges if desired.



Add any of these optional ingredients if you like: (to be added during second half of roasting tomatoes, or upon serving, as garnish):
sliced or halved flavorful black olives roasted red pepper slivers or pieces marinated mushrooms sliced green onions (scallions) cured anchovy fillets marinated artichoke hearts cooked Italian sausage crumbles, torn prosciutto, etc.   ~ almost anything goes!




Colorful and tasty, it makes a fine main course or a great side dish for simply prepared meat, poultry or fish.
Gluten-Free and Vegetarian friendly, too.

Bon Appétit! And thank you for visiting today!

xo~mari

Summer Squash Soup ~ Creamy, Comforting and Healthy

Here I go again with another super easy 'no need for a recipe' recipe. This is how I cook 80% of the time these days. I don't do a lot of more complicated recipes much anymore ~ I think I got that well out of my system while in my  20's and 30's.  And that was, ahem, a 'while' ago . . .  :o)

Photo: Hirt Seeds
Frost and freezing temperatures will soon be upon us, so this week we harvested the last few summer squash ~ mostly yellow crookneck. We are promised a few warm days before October weather really kicks in, but today is a chilly one so I decided to make some soup (again.)
You may have made this or something similar before, it's embarrassingly simple to make but I love it for that reason and it tastes so good.

And to go with:  (not low fat...)  But we're being so good with the soup, we can afford it, right?!

Cheese Toasts
I always like to serve a little "something" alongside soup, this time cheese toasts made from a few slices of baguette, I mixed some grated swiss and parmesan cheeses with a tiny bit of  mayonnaise to moisten, then stirred in some fresh thyme leaves. Just bake or broil until the cheese is hot and bubbly. Garnish with a few more fresh thyme leaves if desired.

To make the soup: Wash and trim the stem and blossom ends from the squash,  chop into chunks, put in a large pot with your favorite stock or broth (I used organic chicken stock from the carton), use vegetable stock if you want to make it vegetarian friendly. Bring to a boil, partially cover the pot and allow to simmer until the squash is very tender, you can add more stock if necessary. (You're going to need more later when it's  time to blend.) This time I also added a peeled, thinly sliced carrot just for a little extra nutrition.
While the squash is simmering saute a chopped onion (or a half an onion if you prefer) in a pan with little butter or oil of your choice.  Just cook them enough to make them tender and translucent ~ to save calories I usually add a little chicken stock or water to the pan rather than additional butter or oil if they seem to be drying out during cooking.
Once the squash is very tender add the sauteed onion and more stock to a blender container (I use the Vitamix™ just on the regular blend mode) whiz until the mixture is velvety smooth. You may need to do this is a couple of batches, and do be careful if the ingredients are hot.
A food processor would probably be my second choice if you do not have access to a blender.  You could probably use an immersion blender,  but it will take a lot longer,   and the mixture will not be as creamy.
If you're feeling decadent you can add some milk, half & half, or heavy cream while blending.  I think it's just delicious without.
Add salt and pepper to taste. May be made ahead, simply reheat when you're ready to serve.


This time I toasted a few hazelnuts/filberts, rubbed them in a fresh kitchen towel to remove the pesky brown skins,  then chopped coarsely and added a sprinkling of chives as a garnish.
If you have a chance to try it, I hope you like it as much as I do.
Thank you for stopping by, and for leaving any comments you would care to share ~ they always make my day!
~mari

Soup: Sausage & Vegetable with Kale

Some crazy weather going on here lately ~ I spied the first of the daffodils in the garden.  This, after a few consecutive days of nice weather and hope of an early spring. However yesterday we awoke to a thin layer of wet, heavy snow. Happily, the day redeemed itself  later bringing brilliant sunshine early in the afternoon, but not before I had begun last evening's dinner... having anticipated a snowy day.  It was good an comforting just the same.

See the grass moss  outside the window?  The snow had melted by early afternoon!


A simple pot of soup, this time with a half a bunch of chopped kale added for a nutritional boost.
I hardly make vegetable soup the same way twice,  and I really never use a recipe for this kind of soup.  If you've been cooking for any length of time, you probably don't either. :)
But if you'd like a description of how I usually make it, (with a link to a printable recipe) please see below.




I'm ready for SPRING!  How about you? :)


~*~*~*~*~*~

When making soup I usually follow these general steps  depending upon the type of soup I'm making:
This time I started out by browning some pork sausage, (about 4 to 5 ounces of bulk breakfast sausage simply  because I had it on hand.) * After it it was lightly browned and no longer pink,  I drained the fat and removed the sausage from the  pot.  Next I added a little olive oil to the pot, added chopped onions (use as many or as few as you like, I like lots), cooked until translucent, then added a couple of cloves of minced garlic; stirred for a moment. Sliced carrots went in the pot next, along with sliced celery, some Italian seasoning, a bay leaf,  then added enough low-sodium chicken broth to cover  the veggies by a few inches.  (I used low sodium-canned, but if you have homemade,  by all means use it!)  I brought that to a boil, reduced the heat to a simmer,  added the cooked sausage to the pot along with  a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (I like Muir brand),  a can of undrained Cannellini beans (white kidney beans),  and some frozen petite green beans  (simply because there was half a bag languishing in the freezer.) You can add a couple of teaspoons of "Better Than Bullion" (Chicken flavor soup base), to enrich the chicken flavor.
I simmer until the firmer vegetables (carrots, potatoes, or other root veggies) are just tender.
Add salt & pepper to taste, and garnish of your choice; chopped parsley or other herb, a grating of cheese or croutons, etc.
* Beef, chicken or fish can be used instead of your favorite sausage.  If using already cooked meat, or leftover meat, add it at the end, just to heat through to avoid making it tough by overcooking.


If you would like a printable copy of a basic vegetable soup that is very similar to mine you can find it here.
These types of soup recipes are very versatile and are particularly helpful if you belong to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). You will likely  will be presented with an assortment of vegetables in your box.


Thank you for stopping by for a visit today ~ Blessings to you and your loved ones.
xo ~m.  

Chicken Meatballs with Mozzarella

Chicken Meatballs with Mozzarella Centers

Ouch.   I've long been guilty of subscribing to food/recipe oriented magazines, and with good intentions I read them and earmark recipes I'd like to try. Unfortunately too often time gets away from me and before I know it the next issue has arrived in my mail box.
This year I'm trying to improve this habit ~  For starters I've pared down the number of subscriptions and I'm making an effort to actually make at least one or two recipes that I've saved.
Maybe you've found, as I have, that with access to the  internet the number of great recipes available to us is seemingly endless. So if you're not a magazine subscriber or cookbook-collector there is no need to be concerned about finding great recipes when there are so many available  at the touch of our keypads.



These are also delicious served as an appetizer with marinara (skip the pasta) or served with cocktail picks and your favorite salsa.


This recipe is from a fall 2012 issue of Everyday Food.
The changes I made to the recipe:  
1.) I did not deep fry the meatballs before baking;  I shallow fried them in a skillet with about 1/2-inch of oil, then drained well before baking to finish cooking them through.  You can skip the frying step, but the meatballs will be a rather unappealing pale gray color, and they won't have the pleasing thin,  crisp coating.
2.) I made each meatball about 1 1/2-inch in diameter; 3 or 4 meatballs of this size (with pasta) seemed like a generous portion.  3.) I grind my own chicken (boned, trimmed and skinned thighs) with the  KitchenAid Food Grinder (attachment for KA stand mixers).
If you haven't tried grinding your own meat, I urge you to do so. You can control the grind that you prefer, you'll know just what goes into your ground meat, and the quality is far superior to that which you can buy.  It's a very simple process and only takes a few minutes for worthwhile results.


A nice melty surprise when the meatball is cut open. The meatballs above were cooked right after assembly.


These were frozen after shallow frying. (Cooled then frozen, to be baked later.)

I froze half of the meatballs after shallow frying, cooled (before baking), they freeze beautifully ~ I thawed them for about an hour before baking.  The only difference I noted is that the mozzarella chunk left an exact impression after baking.  The melted cheese is not quite gooey as those freshly  assembled then cooked immediately, but I doubt anyone but you will know the difference!  ;^)
Note: You can also make these using ground turkey.


If you try this method of preparing meatballs, I hope it will become a favorite.
Thank you for stopping by today!
xo~m.

Grilled Buffalo Chicken Wings

Though they can't truly be considered low fat, this version of  Buffalo-style Chicken Wings contain substantially less fat  than traditionally prepared Buffalo Chicken Wings because  they are grilled, not deep fried, and finished  with a 0 fat sauce, rather than butter & hot sauce.

I actually prefer them over the traditional wings because  they are more flavorful due to an unlikely marinade ~



Amazing but true.

Bottled Italian Salad Dressing and Soy Sauce ~ 
I very seldom buy/use bottled dressings and was  skeptical about this combination until I tried it. 
Winner!
Just measure equal parts soy sauce to Italian dressing: Whisk together 1/2 cup of each for 3 pounds of wing sections ~ increase or decrease the amount according to the number of wings you're making.

Really easy to put together ~ 
Toss the wing sections in a large resealable plastic bag  along with the marinade then place in the refrigerator overnight,  flipping the bag once or twice to distribute the marinade evenly. 
When it's time to grill, remove the bag of wings from the  refrigerator and allow them to lose some of their "chill",  for about 15 minutes at room temperature.

Grill, using the indirect method, basting once at the first  turn of the wings (the discard remaining marinade.)  Turn every now and then until nicely browned and  cooked through; about 20 to 40 minutes depending  upon the size of the wings, and the temperature  of your grill.



When done to your liking place in a large bowl, pour  a generous amount of wing sauce over, and give them a  good toss to coat each one, then serve them up. You can do the blue cheese dip & celery sticks if you like ~  I just serve them on their own.
Delicious!

Best when freshly made, but you can refrigerate the  cooked and coated wings, covered.  To reheat, preheat oven to 275º (F), lay them out in a  single layer on a parchment-lined, shallow rimmed  baking sheet for about 10 to 12 minutes until hot.




Another calorie saving tip ~ I use Frank's Hot Wing Sauce® ~  that way you can skip the butter in the traditional-style  hot wing sauce. It's very good, and not too spicy,  just the way I like it.  To me it tastes identical to the traditional sauce. For those who prefer spicier, just pass the Tabasco® or other hot sauce. :)




I saved this recipe quite some time ago,  sorry I cannot recall the source but it may have been  from allrecipes.com ? 
 If you know, let me know and I'll  happily edit to give credit  where credit is due.


Have a wonderful weekend everyone! xo ~ Mari


Disclosure: I have not been compensated in any way by  the Frank's Hot Sauce® people, nor the Tabasco® folks.