Creamy Potato Soup

So I actually "blogged" this recipe before-- but was corrected in the actual soup made by a comment from my sister R. (I had not made the soup, just eaten it at a family dinner). Now a few months later the Robber has purchased a big bag of red potatoes, languishing on the counter. Having time off, I took it upon myself to turn some of the potatoes into soup, with excellent results and minimal effort. We ate this soup with half whole-wheat biscuits and the Robber declared it a success, which for soup, is saying something.

Adapted from Potage Parmentier, a recipe in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

Ingredients:

1 lbs peeled potatoes, sliced or drained (I used six smallish red potatoes)

1 lbs thinly sliced leeks including the tender green (I used two leeks, some of the green)

5 C. water

1 T. salt

2/3 C. light whipping cream

Pepper to taste

Additional salt to taste

Directions:

1) Place chopped potatoes and leeks in large pot. Add in water and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer partially covered 40-50 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

2) Remove 1 C. (or more, as desired for texture) of water/broth.

3) Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it has the desired consistency (I like to leave a few chunks of potato hanging around in my soup rather than make it uniformly blended.)

4) Remove from heat. Add in whipping cream and stir thoroughly. Add in additional salt and pepper to your taste. Serve warm.

Cinnamon Roll Scones

Just when I was going to close the door on new scone recipes, this one had to come along! Actually, it's not a new recipe at all, but rather an alteration of the lemon blueberry scone recipe I already have. The wheat flour makes the scone less sweet overall, but the texture is just as perfect here as with the lemon version. I didn't have cinnamon chips so I chopped up some white chocolate instead, which makes for a more subtle scone as I imagine the cinnamon chips would have been more overpowering. The toasted pecans in it were delicious, and as the Robber is currently on a huge toasted pecans kick (he always is, actually) he has been eating these non-stop.

I skipped the "finish" part because why would you put butter and sugar on top of a scone you are going to glaze? It seemed too much for me.

From Annie:

http://annies-eats.com/2012/02/13/cinnamon-roll-scones/

Ingredients:

For the dough:

8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen whole

½ C. milk

½ C. low-fat greek yogurt

1 C. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface

1 C. whole wheat flour

½ C. sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

For the filling:

Milk or cream, for brushing

3 T. sugar

¾ - 2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I used more because I lacked cinnamon chips)

2/3 C. chopped pecans, toasted

¼ -1/2 C. cinnamon chips (white chocolate, strawberries, whatever)

To finish:

2 T. melted butter

Coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

For the glaze:

1 C. confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 T. milk

Directions:

1. Adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425˚ F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Grate the frozen butter on the holes of a large box grater.

2. Whisk together the milk and yogurt in a medium bowl; refrigerate until needed.

3. Combine the flours, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated

4. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined. Transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, and knead with well floured hands, 6-8 times, just until the dry ingredients have been mostly incorporated.

5. Roll the dough into a 12-inch square. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (a dough scraper really helps with these steps). Fold the short ends of the dough into the center in thirds, to form an approximate 4-inch square. Transfer the dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.

6. Return the dough to the floured work surface and roll into an approximately 10-inch square. Lightly brush the surface of the dough with milk or cream. Whisk together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dough. Layer with the toasted pecans and cinnamon chips.

7. Roll the dough up into a tight log. Lay the log seam side down on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to slice into 8 round discs. Place the shaped scones on the prepared baking sheet (I patted my slices down flat a bit on the baking sheet). Lightly brush the top of each scone with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar. (If freezing ahead of time, flash freeze on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then wrap individually and store in a freezer bag until needed.)

8. Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 16-20 minutes (about 20-22 if baking from the freezer). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes.

9. In a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and milk. Whisk together until smooth, adding additional milk or sugar to reach your preferred consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the scones. Serve warm.

Toffee Mocha Cream Torte

What Sister F. made us for dessert. I liked the cake part of this and the Robber loved the whipped cream and the toffee part of this. It is unlikely that I will make this cake in all of its parts again but I liked the chocolate cake from scratch part enough to want to keep the recipe. I couldn't taste the coffee flavor at all, Sister F. says it just enhances the chocolate flavor, which maybe is true as this did taste quite chocolately in a satisfactory way.

This is from the Taste of Home Blue Ribbon Desserts.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 C. butter, softened

2 C. sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 2/3 C. all-purpose flour

3/4 C. baking cocoa

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 C. buttermilk

2 tsp. instant coffee granules

1 C. boiling water

For the topping:

1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules

1 tsp. hot water

2 C. heavy whipping cream

3 T. light brown sugar

6 1.4 oz. Heath candy bars, crushed

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl; add to cream mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Dissolve coffee in water and stir into batter.

3. Pour into three greased and floured 9-inch round baking pans. Bake at 350F for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

4. For topping, dissolve coffee in water in a large bowl, cool. Add cream and brown sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Place bottom layer cake on a serving platter, top with 1 1/3 C. of topping. Sprinkle with 1/2 C. of crushed candy bars. Repeat twice. Store in the refrigerator.

African Peanut Stew

What Sister F. served us for Sunday dinner over rice and with some form of deliciously grilled strips of chicken. She served this with whole unsalted peanuts on the side and with herbed flatbread. What a hearty, delicious Sunday meal! I ate some leftovers the next morning for breakfast.

From Sister F., original source unknown.

Ingredients:

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 C. finely chopped red onion (about 2 medium)

1 1/4 C. finely chopped green bell pepper (1 large)

1/2 C. chopped carrot (1 medium)

1/2 C. chopped celery (2 stalks)

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 T. minced, peeled fresh ginger

1 T. curry powder

1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

1 bay leaf

4 C. reduced sodium vegetable broth

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 1/2 C. shelled edamame

1/4 C. creamy or crunchy peanut or almond butter

1/4 - 3/4 C. chopped fresh cilantro

1 6 oz. bag baby spinach, torn

1/2 tsp. salt

Blank pepper and additional salt to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a 4 qt. saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and peppers, carrot and celery. Saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add garlic, ginger and curry powder. Saute until fragrant, about 1 minute (do not brown garlic.)

3. Add tomatoes and bay leaf and cook, uncovered, until tomatoes are slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.

4. Add broth and sweet potatoes, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 8 minutes.

5. Add edamame and peanut butter, stir to combine. Add cilantro and spinach, cook until thoroughly heated and spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and desired.

Pumpkin Waffles and Magical Buttermilk Syrup

This last weekend the Robber and I went down to Claremont so that I could see where the Humbob used to humbobble around as he turned from a wee Bob to a young Bob. We stayed with his friends, the F.s, who were in the bishopric of his singles' ward at the time. The F.s are generous, enthusiastic cooks who love to eat and were constantly serving us the most delicious foods. At one point I was surrounded by fresh hummus, organic peanut butter, ricotta cheese dip, bagel chips, pita chips, apple slices, and pretzels. Oh my! For Sunday breakfast Sister F. made us fresh blueberry waffles with this syrup and the Robber just about died of happiness. He gushed about the syrup so much that I asked Sister F. for the recipe (along with several others.) Apparently she brings waffles and syrup to the high school she teaches at too and the kids there are much like the Robber in their response.

We didn't have the pumpkin waffles, but why not set the recipe down here just in case we run into a waffle maker some day?

From Sister F., no link available.

Ingredients and directions for the waffles:

2 C. all-purpose flour

2 T. baking powder

1 T. cinnamon

1 T. sugar

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites (beat until stiff peaks and then fold into batter at the end)

1 C. pumpkin

1 T. vanilla

1 1/2 C. milk

3/4 C. butter, melted

Mix all ingredients together. Best if you use a Belgium (Belgian?) waffle maker.

Ingredients and directions for the syrup:

In large frying pain, boil:

1/2 C. butter

1/2 C. milk and 1 tsp. lemon juice (or 1/2 C. buttermilk)

1 C. sugar

1 tsp. light corn syrup

Remove from heat and then add:

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

Syrup will be very frothy once you add the baking soda.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

This is the frosting that the Robber used for my carrot cake birthday cake. After making the recipe we both thought it wasn't maple-y enough, so the Robber added in perhaps another 1/4 C. of maple syrup but then the frosting was too runny. What to do? Use maple extract instead of syrup? So there is that speed bump to consider but the maple in the cream cheese with the cake was actually very good and worth trying to find a way to make it work. Tried to find help with that on the reviewers comments on Epicurious, but no luck.

The link also sends you to a carrot cake recipe that the Epicurious people just love, love, love so if our other carrot cake recipe ever disappoints we may try turning to that one. The reviewers are also a fan of some cream cheese lemon zest frosting recipe on Epicurious, so if you think maple sounds gross try looking for that one. I'll only be posting the recipe for the maple frosting here, however, not the cake or the lemon frosting.

From Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carrot-Cake-with-Maple-Cream-Cheese-Icing-102155

Ingredients:

10 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

5 T. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 C. powdered sugar

1/4 C. maple syrup (Robber used 1/2 C.)

Directions:

1. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed until well blended.

2. Beat in maple syrup. Chill until just firm enough to spread, 30 minutes.

3. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 3/4 cup icing. Top with second layer. Spread remaining icing over entire cake. Arrange walnut or pecan halves around top edge. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; chill. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.)

Birthday Carrot Cake Ala The Robber

The Robber made me this delicious carrot cake for my birthday with maple cream cheese frosting. He tried to find a recipe that was lighter so the whole affair wouldn't seem quite as heavy as carrot cake usually is. I'm not a carrot cake expert, so I'm not sure how it stacks up to other cakes but it was very, very good. I am certain the Robber loved it even more than I did. I think he is hoping I will make it for him for Easter. "Carrots are what the Easter bunny eats, right?" So this will be making a comeback in our house.

From the Food Network, adapted by the Robber:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/carrot-cake-recipe/index.html

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour

12 oz. grated carrots, medium grate, approx. 6 medium carrots

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 T. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/3 C. granulated sugar

1/4 C. dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

6 oz. plain yogurt

6 oz. vegetable oil

Optional: 1/2 C. raisins (plumped by soaking for 1/2 hr in warm water)

Optional: 1 C. chopped, toasted pecans (can also add to surface of cake)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep cake pan (Or two 9" pans for two layers). Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl and add in grated carrots. Toss until the carrots are well-coated with the flour.

3. In separate bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt. Drizzle in the vegetable oil and combine. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined.

4. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cake reaches 205 to 210 degrees F in the center.

5. Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow cake to cool completely. Frost after the cake has cooled completely.

Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pecans

So one thing about my current rotation is that their food is GREAT. They are a vegetarian residency and every day they have salad and the best fruit salad and I am just in eating heaven because I can eat a lot of volume with few calories. A few days ago they had this amazing couscous chili with garbanzo beans and kidney beans and couscous and tomatoes and it was so so good. But on to this couscous. This couscous, also so so good. Light. Tasty. I thought the finely chopped pecans were essentially to giving it an underlying nutty, tasty flavor but then the Robber thought they weren't needed as much. Who knows, but that this was delicious.

From the NYTimes Well Vegetarian Thanksgiving 2010 blog:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/08/health/20101108_thanksgiving.html#Couscous_Salad_With_Dried_Cranberries_and_Pecans

Ingredients:

1 C. couscous, preferably whole wheat
Salt
2 large carrots, grated
1/2 C. chopped pecans
1/2 C. chopped dried cranberries
1/4 C. chopped scallions
1/4 C. olive oil, or more as needed
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon, or more juice as needed
1 tsp. coriander
Pinch of cayenne, or to taste
Black pepper
1/2 C. chopped fresh parsley
1 T. chopped fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon dried

Directions:

1. Put the couscous in a small pot and add 1 1/2 cups water and a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil, then cover and remove from the heat. Let steep for at least 10 minutes, or up to 20.

2. Put the slightly cooled couscous in a large salad bowl along with the carrots, pecans, cranberries, scallions, oil and lemon zest and juice, and sprinkle with the spices and salt and pepper. Use 2 big forks to combine, fluffing the couscous and tossing gently to separate the grains. (The salad can be made up to this point and refrigerated for up to a day; bring to room temperature before proceeding.)

3. Stir in the parsley and sage. Taste and adjust the seasoning, moisten with a little more oil and lemon juice as you like, and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Rosemary Chicken Salad

I made chicken salad on Saturday for M.'s baby shower and, loving this new blog, looked to it for some inspiration. What I ended up making was a hybrid between my standard chicken salad and this one-- basically I just made my old salad but used some of her ideas (using one half Greek yogurt instead of straight mayonnaise, a hint of Dijon, rosemary) and was very pleased with the results. I use toasted slivered almonds, cucumber, and celery in my salad and also threw in some green onions this time, for effect. Anyway, everyone liked the salad, so I'll blog this recipe here as a remind to myself that next time I made chicken salad I might make my hybrid again.

From a Hint of Honey:
http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2009/01/rosemary-chicken-salad-sandiwches.html

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken breast, cooked and diced
1/3 C. green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 C. smoked almonds, chopped (I use toasted slivered almonds)
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
3 T. nonfat Greek yogurt
3 T. mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Whole wheat bread or pita, for serving (I still think eating chicken salad with a cheddar dill scone is amazing.)

Directions:

1. Toss to combine chicken, onions, almonds, and rosemary in a medium bowl. Add yogurt, mayonnaise, and Dijon, stirring to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield: Serves 4

Raspberry, Almond, and Goat Cheese Empanadas

This was another recipe where I told the Robber what I made and he made a face at me and I wanted to say well then, you can't have any, but then he ate one and decided it was the best thing ever and I am a sucker when the Robber likes what I make and I get all happy, but maybe I would be happier if I hadn't told him and then I could just eat these all myself! So good!

I didn't have the time or energy to make 20 small empanadas, so I made 8 big ones which threw the filling-to-dough ratio quite off, with not enough filling, so I threw in some Ghiradelli chocolate chips and almonds into my leftover dough and it was delicous! I might just use this dough and put anything into it, but trust me if you have the goat cheese, go that route. So good.

Note: I also did not put the almonds in the filling but rather opted just sprinkle the tops generously with almonds (after brushing them with egg so the almonds would stick), which allowed the filling to remain creamy and smooth on the inside. I mixed the raspberries into the filling directly also instead of adding them separately to each empanada.

Note: If you make 8 empanadas, use about 1/4 cup of filling per empanada.

From a Hint of Honey:

http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2009/05/raspberry-almond-and-goat-cheese.html

Ingredients:

For the basic sweet pastry dough:

3 C. all purpose flour (I used half white whole wheat)

1/4 C. sugar

Pinch of salt

2 sticks butter (16 T.), cut into 16 pieces

2 eggs

2-4 T. cold water

For the raspberry goat cheese filling:

12 oz. raspberries (fresh or frozen)

11 oz. plain goat cheese, room temperature

½ C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 T. orange zest

½ cup sliced almonds

1 egg, yolk and white separated and lightly whisked

¼ cup demerara or Turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top

Directions:

1. Prepare basic pastry crust dough as follows:

1. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor.

2. Add the butter, eggs and water until a clumpy dough forms.

3. Knead the dough for a few minutes.

4. Form dough into 2 balls, flatten into thick discs, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

5. Divide dough and roll out into as many thin disks as desired.

2. Combine the goat cheese, sugar, vanilla, orange zest in a bowl, mix well.

3. To assemble the empanadas place a spoonful of the goat cheese mixture, a couple of raspberries and a few almond slices on the center of the empanada disc.

4. Brush the edges of the empanada disc with the egg whites.

5. Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, use a fork to help seal the empanadas.

6. Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give them a nice golden glow when baked.

7. Sprinkle the almond slices on the top of the empanadas, do this immediately after you brush them with the egg yolk, it will help the almond slices stick to the empanada.

8. Sprinkle each empanada with a little bit of the demerara sugar.

9. Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes or until ready to bake, this will help them seal better.

10. Bake the empanadas in a pre-heated oven at 375 F for 15-20 minutes (longer if making bigger empanadas) or until golden. Serve warm.

Yield: 8-20 empanadas.

Balsamic Roasted Asparagus

The irony of the title of this blog is that I don't really try out new vegetable recipes all that often anymore. That's because somehow vegetable recipes don't really come across as appetizing enough to bookmark and save as often as say, scone recipes. But that was the original intent of this blog... to learn how to cook vegetables in appetizing ways. The realization of this disconnect sent me searching the other day, with little success, but I did find this recipe which sounded easy and promising so I tried it out. The net decision was that asparagus is one of those things that really is best when just cooked simply, but I liked the idea of roasting it instead of trying to cook it in a pan (honestly who has a frying pan large enough to easily cook asparagus evenly?) If I do this again, I'll omit the garlic and just use the balsamic vinegar.

From my new favorite cooking blog, a Hint of Honey:

http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2010/02/balsamic-roasted-asparagus.html

Ingredients:

1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed

1 T. balsamic vinegar

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Lightly grease or line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2. Toss the asparagus with the vinegar, olive oil, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.

3. Roast in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the asparagus, mine could have baked for only 10 minutes), turning halfway through, until tender-crisp.

Yield: Serves 4.

Cornmeal Cranberry Drop Scones

Why would you eat cornmeal scones when you can have cornbread? This is what the Robber asks me after taking a bite of these scones. I, on the other hand, find that while corn-bread-ish indeed these were actually surprisingly there own thing. A little more dense than cornbread. The dough only barely sweet, making each bite with a dried cranberry in it a tangy surprise. And a satisfying scone matrix, if you ever decide you want your butterscotch chips/raspberries/dark chocolate/apricots/what-have-you in cornmeal instead of cream.

From the Well Vegetarian Thanksgiving Blog from the NYTimes. If you haven't discovered their vegetarian Thanksgiving dishes, you should, because some of them are pretty fabulous:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/01/health/20111101_vegetarian_thanksgiving.html#Cornmeal_Cranberry_Drop_Scones

Ingredients:

1 C. whole wheat pastry flour

1 C. coarsely ground cornmeal

1/4 C. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. lemon zest

7 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 egg

2/3 C. buttermilk

3/4 C. dried cranberries, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes and drained (I suspect these would be good with whole frozen cranberries too)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment.

2. Sift together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Dump any bran remaining in the strainer into the bowl. Place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the butter and lemon zest and pulse until you have a coarse, even mixture.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and the buttermilk. Turn on the food processor and add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. As soon as the dough comes together, turn off the machine. Add the cranberries and pulse just a few times to distribute through the dough. Don’t pulse too many times or the cranberries will be chopped.

4. Drop the batter by heaped tablespoons (or larger wedges) onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving an inch or more of space between each one. Bake one baking sheet at a time in the middle of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, reversing the baking sheet front to back halfway through, until lightly browned.

Yield: 20 3-inch scones or 8 regular size scones.

Nutritional information per 3-inch scone: 113 calories; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 20 milligrams cholesterol; 17 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 113 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein.