Parsnip and White Bean Soup

Another soup recipe from Three Chefs: The Kitchen Men. What can I say, I was in a healthy, veggie soup mood. Michael Bonacini talks about how underrated the parsnip is - and I agree! I'd only ever roasted them before, so I decided to try this soup to see how they were soup-wise.

This was a very simple recipe. First I cooked one diced onion and four cloves of garlic for 5-8 minutes. Then I threw in two large chopped parsnips and two large chopped potatoes. This was going to be a very white soup.

So this recipe calls for butter beans, aka large white lima beans. I didn't think these would be hard to find, but no luck! Since it was getting all pureed anyway, I just threw in a can of white kidney beans. Protein's protein, after all! I added three cups chicken stock (mix of low sodium/no sodium), a bay leaf and 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

Once the veggies were soft, I stirred in 1/4 cup sour cream (recipe called for creme fraiche, but I'm just not that fancy) to add some richness. Then I blended it in batches, adding two cups milk along with it. It was whipped, frothy goodness. And if there ever was a time for white pepper, it would be for this recipe. I have to admit, however, that my favourite part was the garnish - fresh croutons! Which basically means every time I had a bowl, I got to fry up cubes of bread in butter to add. No complaints about that.

Glogg (Mulled Wine)

I like trying fancy drink recipes but rarely get to make something for a crowd. We had a friend and her family visiting a few weekends ago, though, and I decided to make a nice warm pot of glogg - Scandinavian mulled wine. The recipe comes from Martha Stewart magazine - I got the Jan. 2013 issue in my stocking - so it was also the first time I'd ever made a Martha Stewart recipe. I liked this one because I didn't have to go out and buy apple cider or port - it's just spiced vodka and wine. FYI I doubled the recipe so I could feed the crowds.

Now this being Martha Stewart, the first step occurred seven days prior to the dinner party - steeping a small amount of vodka (8 oz) with spices - cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves. They were ground spices, though, which made a lovely slurry. I also had to filter it about ten times after the 7 days were up so it wasn't too powdery. I also made a simple syrup in advance - 2 cups sugar to 1 cup water. Scary how much sugar went into that!

The day of the party it was easy to throw everything together in a large pot. The flavoured vodka, a 1.5 L bottle of cheap red French table wine, 20 oz more vodka (supposed to be 24 but I ran out) and most of the simple syrup. It was quite potent, as you can imagine, so I did end up adding the full 2 cups of the simple syrup in there. It's great for a party since you can just leave it on super low heat and serve as needed.

My favourite part was actually the suggested garnish - I skipped the raisins but added the slivered almonds. Confusing for some visitors, but I loved eating them - it added a nice crunch! I'm not sure how potent a drink it ended up being, since I had a few glasses and didn't feel very tipsy. But it was very tasty. We were just missing a roaring fire and some snow outside...

Carrot and Riesling Soup

I received an extra gift after Christmas from my mother-in-law: a copy of Three Chefs: The Kitchen Men, a cookbook by three Toronto chefs: Michael Bonacini, Massimo Capra and Jason Parsons. I was not aware these three had a thing going on Cityline, entertaining the at-home-on-a-weekday-and-watching-Cityline crowd (oh, to be unemployed again!) but it's a fun book to flip through. The recipes seem a little restaurant-fancy, but a few caught my eye.

I picked Jason Parsons' Young Carrot and Riesling Soup recipe (p. 32) because, well, I like cooking with white wine! And the idea of making a soup with wine sounded luxurious and delicious. This guy seems to be a chef at a winery, so no surprise he throws white wine around like it's water. I approve. I also liked that the soup was flavoured with caraway seeds and a cardamom pod. Of course as usual I changed the recipe around a little, so here's what I did.

I melted 1/4 cup butter in the pot. Then I added one chopped onion, 4 garlic cloves, and 1 cardamom pod. After a few minutes I deglazed with 1.5 cups of riesling and added two chopped green onions, 3 or 4 chopped carrots, and one chopped celery stalk. After toasting 1 tsp of caraway seeds I added those, with 5 cups of chicken stock and 1/4 bunch of dill. Then I let that simmer until the carrots were soft, about 25 minutes.

Then comes the fun part: slowly ladling the soup into the blender in batches. Man, do I need an immersion blender! The recipe also called for straining the soup in a fine mesh strainer before serving. I did this with a small amount to see what it was like, and it was a lovely, thin, smooth orange soup. But I felt guilty about getting rid of all that yummy vegetable puree, so I just kept it rustically blended.

Just before serving, I added 1/2 cup more wine and salt and pepper. Wow, was this ever good - the wine added a nice sweetness and tanginess to the soup. I also love dill, and don't use it nearly enough, so that was a bonus. Definitely a repeat.

Thai Yellow Curry with Shrimp

I received an awesome gift from my sister for Christmas: three cans of what she claimed were the best thai curry pastes you can buy in Ottawa (and I presume Toronto as well). I'd only ever used the little glass Thai Kitchen jars so I was excited to try something new. I was inspired by the January issue of Bon Appetit magazine's Thai Chicken Curry recipe and went to work.

In a large pan, I heated up some oil and put about 3/4 of the can in to cook for a minute or two. Then I threw in an onion, two carrots, and one green pepper, and stir-fried those for about 10 minutes.

Then I added one can of coconut milk (not the light stuff either - the full fat kind) and 1 cup of water, and let it simmer and mix for about 7-8 minutes. Then I threw in some broccoli and continued cooking for about 6-7 minutes. I was craving veggies, obviously! Actually that's one of my pet peeves when ordering thai curries at restaurants - they usually don't include any vegetables, so you're stuck with meat or tofu, sauce, and white rice. Not the most healthy meal... but sooo good.

Lastly I threw in a pound of tiger shrimp I had bought on sale (of course) and cooked for 3-4 minutes - the shrimp was already cooked so it just needed heating. I served the curry over some brown rice, and wished I had some cilantro for garnish. It was really good - the thai paste definitely was better than the stuff I'd been using. It tasted like eating in a restaurant, seriously. We went back for seconds - it didn't last long. Who needs The Friendly Thai when you can make your own?

Cheddar Cheese Risotto

Whenever I have white wine in the fridge that needs using up, I make risotto. I only recently discovered risotto, maybe a year or two ago - and I still don't know if I'm making it correctly. It's always a little crunchy... more so than I think it's supposed to be. But you know what helps novice cooks like me to make a good risotto? Put a large amount of cheese in it. I got this recipe from a library copy of Nigella Express, impressed by how Nigella always knows exactly what I want - Kraft Dinner, all the time.

As usual with Nigella's British measurements, I had to improvise a little. I start with 1 Tbsp each olive oil and butter in a large pan. I had green onions this time, though I usually use regular onions, so I cooked those a for a few minutes. Then I threw in 1 1/2 cups arborio rice and stirred it for about a minute, then I mixed in 1/2 cup white wine and some Dijon mustard.

Now comes the fun, arm-exercising part - continuous stirring! It's not too bad, except for on the hottest August days and I decide I want to stand over a hot pan for 20+ minutes... not smart. Anyway, at the same time as I cook the onions, I put a pot of chicken stock to heat. It seems it's important for the stock to be hot, to better absorb or cook the rice, I'm not sure. Either way, it gets stirred into the rice, ladle by ladle, until it's gone and the rice is mostly cooked. As I said up top, it's always still a little crunchy for me, but my arm's usually too tired to keep stirring, so I give up, and stir in lots of shredded cheddar cheese.

The result is a cheesy bowl of delicious carbs. I could add veggies.. but I usually don't. With risotto, it's pretty important to use good stock, but I don't - just low-sodium store brand for me. Next project - make my own stock for extra deliciousness!

Candied Almonds

In the last post, I described a couple things I had made for holiday parties. Well, I also like to give food-based gifts! Most of the people I know don't NEED anything, but everyone likes some snacking food. And, if it's not to your taste, or you're ready to explode from Christmas chocolate/candy overload, you can re-gift or put it out at your next party. For the last two years I've made candied almonds, and now I'll share with you my secret recipe! I believe it came from the LCBO magazine years ago, but I'm not sure.

It's a two-step process. First, in a large pan, combine 1.5 Tbsp maple syrup (the real stuff, of course), 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp each cayenne and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat - this takes only a minute or two, then it gets kinda foamy. Throw in 1 cup raw almonds, and stir around for 2-3 minutes to coat the nuts. After a couple minutes it sort of dries out and isn't as syrupy, and that's when it's time for step two: the oven.

Set it to 325, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the almonds on, try and get them in a flat layer and bake 15-20 minutes, stirring at least once. They will be fairly sticky, but stirring isn't usually too hard. Once they've cooled, you can break them apart (I just do it by hand - but some of those sugar shards are sharp, so watch out) and put them in a nice gift bag (thanks Bulk Barn!).

These make great gifts - crunchy, sweet, spicy, easy to make large batches, and fairly foolproof as long as you don't burn them. Very easy to snack on while making them too... so make extra. The first batch I found a little too salty, so I only put in half as much in the second batch. They were better, and the spiciness from the cayenne was a little more pronounced. I don't really care for salted nuts, though, so I may just be too sensitive to the sodium. Another Christmas classic, though I suppose I may have to come up with something new for next year.

Cheddar Rosemary Beer Bread

Another favourite from the Joy of Cooking, 1997 ed. The edition is important because after that one they modernised it a bit more, I hear, and it's not as good. This tome, however, is an invaluable classic, and pretty much the go-to book for all sorts of traditional things and other fun stuff. This recipe is listed as Quick Beer Bread, p. 775, and I took some ideas from the Beer, Cheese and Scallion variation, p.776.

First I mixed the dry ingredients - 2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup oats, 2 Tbsp sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt. I also threw in some chopped fresh rosemary, which we happened to have in the house, 2 tsp caraway seeds (because they're fabulous) and I also grated in some cheddar cheese.

Now came the easy part - throw in a cup and a half of beer! It foams nicely. It can be any beer, as long as it's still fizzy (and not stout). Now, since Christmas has only recently passed, we had some weird cans of beer we didn't particularly want to drink, as we're a bit snobby in that area. So I used Tuborg, something called 'Liquid Sountrack', who knows why. Mix, pour into greased loaf pan, cook 35-40 minutes. That's it!

The hubs had been nice enough with his time off work to make a fabulous chicken dinner called Coq au Biere, inspired by our new BeerBistro cookbook. So what better to go with it than another recipe that includes beer? Cooking with beer is fun. The Joy of Cooking also suggests this dense, savoury beer bread for soups, stews and cheese. A new addition to the cheese plate, perhaps?

Chocolate Holiday Cupcakes: Two Ways

December was a busy baking month for me, making desserts for parties and goodies to give as Christmas presents. For two parties, I made my usual cupcakes, but attempted to make them a bit more seasonal. I usually use the classic Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, a great little book with lots of fancy ideas. I mostly just use the basic vanilla and cupcake recipes, though, not usually vegan either, and spruce them up a little.

The basic chocolate recipe is quite easy. It involves souring 1 cup milk by adding a tsp of vinegar and letting it sit for a few minutes, then mixing in the other wet ingredients (1/3 c oil, 1 tsp vanilla) and the sugar (which I usually reduce to 1/2 cup from 3/4 cup). Whisk the dry ingredients (1 cup flour, 1/3 cup cocoa, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt) and then mix them all together in a delicious chocolatey batter. And since there are no eggs - you can definitely lick the spoon. Bake for around 20 minutes @350 and voila!

For the first party of the season, a Chanukah party, I was inspired by a tea from Tealish (a great Toronto tea store), whose seasonal 'Dreidels and Donuts' tea involved flavours of chocolate and jelly donut. So I decided to put cherry jam in the middle of each cupcake. I also added some almond extract to the batter with the vanilla. Instead of an icing, I made a glaze, like a donut would have, from icing sugar and milk.

While they looked quite nice, there was a fatal flaw in this plan. Unlike muffins, whose thicker batter can support jam in the middle, cupcake batter is very thin, and the jam just made its way down to the bottom of the liner was it baked. While they still tasted good, they were hard to eat since the bottom of each one was full of gooey jam! Ideally you could flip it upside down onto a plate, but oh well. Lesson learned.

For a Christmas party, I decided to make candy cane cupcakes. I added 1 tsp mint extract to the batter. I topped them with a simple butter-icing sugar icing, and then topped the icing with crushed candy canes. While the Dollarama candy canes were quite disappointing (why were they soft, and not hard, and sorta grey in the middle?) I think the cupcakes turned out well. Can't go wrong with chocolate and mint!

Banana Muffins

I make a LOT of muffins - I keep them in the freezer and take them out for the commute back home from work. I also make a lot of banana muffins - mostly because we eat a lot of bananas but also have quite a few go brown on us, in which case they get popped in the freezer to await becoming muffins. I usually follow a slightly modified version of the recipe from the good ol' Joy of Cooking (1997 ed. - the muffin page is caked with batter and taped into place, I may use it a lot...) but googled around for some changes awhile back and found this recipe, which claimed they were the EASIEST and the BEST - and the blogger had 1000+ comments to prove it. We're in the big leagues here - so let's try 'em out!

I love making the banana slurry. I mashed 3 bananas (usually pretty watery from having been frozen) with 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil (she had 1/3 cup melted margarine) and 1/3 cup sugar (she had 1/2 cup). You know me, always trying to be healthy. I also added in 1 tsp vanilla, just because.

The dry ingredients differed from the Joy of Cooking a little in the amount of floor - 1 1/2 cups instead of my standard 2 cups. What are we making here, cupcakes?! I also added in 1 tsp cinnamon - this recipe doesn't seem to have a lot of other flavourings, does it? The temperature was also at 350 instead of my standard 400. Hmmm. After adding some walnuts, I threw them in the oven and awaited the lovely banana smell to waft over to me.

No surprise, they turned out just fine. Don't know what else to say except everyone should bake muffins all the time - they make your house smell good, and they're ALWAYS better than whatever awful baked good offered by any/all coffee chains. Low-fat ones are better to keep frozen until the day you're going to eat them, but this means they are damn convenient for work snacks. And they're even better with chocolate chips in them...