Tuesday, October 26

Veggie Sweet & Sour Soup

My attempt to get rid of the cough that has been plaguing Angelo this week. A little sweet, a little sour, a pinch of spice to knock that cold right from your chest.
Ingredients:
1 large carrot, sliced thin
3 celery stalks, julienned
Quarter onion, sliced thin
mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 red pepper julienned
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2-3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar (rice or white)
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp spicy sesame oil
1 cube vegetable bullion
2 tbsp brown sugar
Sriracha sauce to taste
4 cups water
Angel hair pasta

In large sauce pan, saute onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and ginger in the sesame oil till the celery and onions start to turn clear. Add 1 cup of water and vegetable bullion. Allow to simmer till bullion has incorporated (of course you can use stalk, but bullion was all I had and it worked well).

Add vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and Sriracha and bring the pot back to a simmer. Add the remaining three cups of water, 1 at a time. Test flavor, add more soy/sugar/spice/vinegar as desired. Add mushrooms and peppers (I like them a bit more crispy when the soup is finished so I wait till the end.) Add about a good fist full of angel hair pasta directly to the pot. Cook 8 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro and lime & eat!

I added some tofu for a little extra protein, but this would be good with shrimp or chicken.

Sunday, October 10

Pumpkin-Walnut Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping


Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 can of pumpkin puree
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 cups sifted flour
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Combine in large mixing bowl and cream together: butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Fold in Pumpkin puree, and slowly add in half-and-half.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold into wet mixture. Stir in vegetable oil. Add in chopped walnuts. In a lined muffin pan, fill cups full. Should make 12 very full muffins.

Streusel Top:
Combine 1/3 cup sifted flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup cubed chilled butter. Mix together with a fork and knife, until large pearl sized clumps are formed. Sprinkle topping over muffin batter.

Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes.

Roasted Vegetables with Hollandaise and Smashed Red Potatoes



Roasted Vegetables:

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
Combine 3/4 cup olive oil, juice of one lemon, and 1/4-1/2 cup fresh chopped herbs. I used fresh parsley, cilantro, thyme and sage from my new fall herb garden. Add 1- 2 tsp kosher salt, ground pepper, red pepper flakes, and 2 cloves of garlic crushed. Whisk these ingredients together and set aside.
In an oven safe roasting dish, Pyrex dish, or oven safe pot, chop and combine a variety of fresh vegetables. I used 1 lb Brussels sprouts, 1 head of cauliflower, 1 red pepper, 5 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, 1 medium yellow onion, and 3 shallots. Pour olive oil- herb mix over vegetables and toss. Take 1/4 cup butter, cut into to cubes, and distribute over vegetables. Bake for 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Hollandaise Sauce:

Separate 4 egg yolks from the whites. Combine the 4 yolks with juice of one lemon in a metal bowl or a heat safe Pyrex bowl. Whisk in 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and if desired 1 tsp tarragon. Melt 1/4 cup butter and set aside, re-heat if it starts to cool.
Over low heat bring one cup of water just to a simmer in a small saute pan and then remove from hot burner. Place yolk-lemon mix in its heat safe bowl over saute pan with hot water. Whisk in melted butter, and continue whisking until mixture has just started to turn a light yellow color about 1 minute. If kept over heat for too long the eggs will thicken and scramble.

Smashed Red Potatoes:

Boil 8 red potatoes till soft, about 20-25 minutes. Drain water. Roughly slice through potatoes with butter knife to break them up, leaving skin on. Add in 4 tbsp butter, 1/4 cup half-and-half, and beat together. Add in salt, pepper, and garlic to taste.

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