Vitamix Ice Cream

Every time I try this at Costco, I'm always pleasantly surprised.

1 cup thawed frozen fruit juice concentrate (i.e. Welch's or other 100 % juice)
3 baby carrots
1 small handful cabbage (purple)
1 tblsp. protein powder or nonfat dry powdered milk
1-2 cups frozen fruit, 1-2 cups ice (3 cups frozen fruit and/or ice total)

Run VM on High 45 - 60 seconds (or until you see 4 "columns" inside container)

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I combined a few recipes and added a few things of my own, and this is what I came up with. It was spectacular!  The saffron was perfect.

2-3 Tbs olive oil
3 cups of diced onions
4 cups of chicken stock
4 cups of fresh tomatoes
large pinch of saffron
salt and pepper to taste
chili powder (as much as your taste buds can handle)
couple shakes of paprika
1/2 cup wild rice or orzo
1 cup heavy cream

Saute the onions in the olive oil for 15 minutes or so.  Chop the tomatoes up in a blender along with the sauteed onions.  I like a little bit of chunk in mine.  Pour back into your pot and add the spices.

Cook the 1/2 cup rice in 1 cup of the chicken broth for about 10 minutes.  Then pour into the soup and wait another 20 minutes or so as it heats up.  Add the cream last and enjoy.

You can serve with either Gruyere shredded on top or make your own grilled cheese.  Here is my favorite way to make it.

Grilled Cheese

Butter both sides of the outside of the sandwich and grate fresh parmesan onto both sides.  It crisps up the sandwich beautifully.  Then shred some gruyere on the inside and grill it up.  Perfection.

Kale & Quinoa Scramble

 Photo Courtesy of Yummy Supper.

Okay the original recipe from this great blog actually calles these "Patties."  However, I was unable to flip them properly and turned them into Scramble!  I made sure I had plenty of crispy on top though because that gives it a great texture.

• 1-2 cups quinoa cooked
• 4 eggs, whisked
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 4 spring onions, sliced thin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup steamed kale, chopped
• 1 cup breadcrums
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
•  
• optional toppings: avocado, cilantro, lemon juice, salsa verde, garlic oil

We added fresh lemon juice, cilantro and Arbequina Olive Oil.  

Quinoa & Black Bean Burger

I'm always trying to find new Quinoa recipes. I don't cook it nearly as much as I ought to. But this was heavenly and may become a new favorite. Everyone of my kids at every bite.

I think I'll be frequenting What's Cooking Good Looking? some more.

Prep Time / Cook Time
20 minutes / 25 minutes for the beans & quinoa to cook + 10 minutes to cook the patties

Makes
5-6 burgers

Ingredients

2 cups of cooked quinoa (cooked in chicken stock)
2 cups of black beans (Canned is fine as long as it is organic, no sodium. If you're using dried, rinse your beans and soak them overnight and drain when ready to use.)
1.5 cups of chicken broth
1 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of cumin

1/4 tsp paprika
3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt & pepper
olive oil
* toasted buns (I loved Brioche hamburger buns for this)Directions

• While you are cooking your quinoa, combine the black beans, turmeric, cumin, and broth in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low, cover partially, and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Drain the beans.
• In a large bowl combine the beans, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper. When the ingredients are well combined (mashed), add in the quinoa and combine. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
• Form the mixture into patties. Depending on how big or small you make them, you should get around 5-7 patties. Transfer the patties to a plate, cover and refrigerate while you are preparing your avocado spread or until you are ready to use (they will keep for about 3-4 days).
• For the avocado spread: In a bowl, mash the avocado until it is smooth. Add in the tomato, smoked paprika, red pepper (if using), season with salt and pepper and combine.
• In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the cakes (maybe 3-4 at a time depending on the size of your pan) turning over once it has browned (about 5-7 minutes per side).
• Serve immediately on a toasted bun, or bread with the avocado spread.
  

Butternut Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons

I went to NYC a week ago. We had lunch at Bouchon. I was told I couldn't leave without getting the Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese. But when I saw the special of the day was Butternut Squash Soup, I caved. I'm glad I did. The Tomato Soup was lacking and I may a way better grilled cheese. (Perhaps I should post that sometime.)

So I'm home now and desperately had to recreate their Butternut. It was all vegetables. No cream! Can you believe it? Although, again, I caved in my version. I viewed several recipes who tried to mimic Bouchon and this is what I came up with.

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbs butter
1 butternut squash
2 leeks
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
3 Tbs parsley
2 Tbs sage
4 ish cups of chicken stock
3 Tbs honey
1 ish cups of heavy cream
1-2 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

375 degrees. Cook the butternut squash until you can stick a knife cleanly into it. About 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile melt the butter and simmer the onions and leeks for about 10 minutes. Peel the squash and cut into chunks. Add to the pot along with the chopped parsley, sage and garlic. Let simmer on low. After about 10 minutes add the stock and cumin.

Blend it well.

Just before you serve it add the cream.

GRUYERE CROUTONS

8 slices sourdough bread cut into small chunks
olive oil
gruyere

Place the bread chunks on a silpat with some olive oil - just enough to cut most of them. Toast them at 350 in the oven for about 8 minutes, just until lightly toasted. then sprinkle gruyere and toast for another 3 minutes.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup and Red Beet Chips

Okay sometimes a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do. I know it's usually Pizza and Movie night on Friday night like tonight, but we've had two birthday parties in two days and one more tomorrow where I'm sure pizza will be served once again. So I broke tradition more than 100% and went with an absolute kid un-favorite.

But knowing their little bellies were plenty filled on cupcakes, tootsie rolls, peanut butter cups and juice boxes, I had no problem serving this soup, knowing they wouldn't eat it. At least they were extra ready for bed after coming down rapidly off of their sugar high. =)

But as for me, I thought this soup was heavenly. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. It is rich and smooth and a very full flavor. My cousin gave this recipe to me over a year ago. (The same cousin who once tried out for America's Next Top Chef.) It was time I gave it a try.

(And just so you know, tonight I just made the soup and not the beet chips or the fancy floret toppers. Come on! I've got three little kids. Never enough time.)

CREAM OF CAULIFLOWER SOUP with RED BEET CHIPS
(adapted from Keller’s “Ad Hoc”)

1 head of cauliflower
2 T butter
3/4 cup chopped yellow onions
1/8 tsp curry powder
kosher salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 + 1/2 cups water

peanut oil for frying beet chips
1 beet
1 tsp white vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
black pepper, freshly ground

Make the soup….
Remove the leaves and core of the cauliflower, separate about 1 cup of good-looking florets, not larger than a quarter, and reserve them. Chop the rest of the cauliflower in chunks of similar size. Melt 1.5 T of butter in a large saucepan, add the chopped onions, curry powder, and cauliflower, sprinkle 1 tsp salt, and cover. Cover the saucepan with its regular lid, cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower starts to get tender.

Add milk, cream, and water to the pan, and simmer for 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender, and blend until fully smooth. Adjust the seasoning.

Make the red beet chips….
Peel the beet (wear gloves) and make paper-thin slices using a mandoline. Ideally, you want to use only nice, full circles (good luck!). Heat the peanut oil (about 1 inch of oil in a deep pan), and once it is hot but not smoking, add a few beet rounds. Fry them until they stop bubbling hard, it should take a little over 1 minute. Place them on a baking sheet over paper towels, seasoning with a little salt right after frying. If needed, keep them warm in a 200F oven.

Cook the reserved florets….
Bring some salted water to a boil, add the teaspoon of vinegar, and cook the reserved florets until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain them. Right before serving, melt the remaining 1/2 T butter in a small pan and allow it to get dark golden. Watch it carefully, because burned butter is nasty, and tastes bitter. Once the butter is turning a nice golden brown, add the florets and saute them until golden too.

Serve the soup….
If the soup is too thick, thin it with a little water. Ladle it into a bowl, add some cauliflower florets in the center, and a few beet chips on top. Serve more florets and chips alongside.

Empanadas

Our friends Jeremy and Danielle made these for us. They were so good. Tonight my kids finally caught the love of them. This turned out to be a fairly easy meal b/c I could prep it in shifts. The night before I knew I was going to have leftover mashed potatoes. So while they were boiling, I chopped the onions and bell peppers so I could saute them the next day for this. So after dance and right before the baseball game, I had about 40 minutes to make salsa, make the dough, saute the stuff and miraculous find all the missing parts of the baseball uniform. I mixed the whole filling together and let it sit while we left for the game. So when we came home at 7pm dinner was ready in about 15 minutes and it was delicious.

Filling
leftover mashed potatoes (or 4 potatoes)
1/2 cup bell pepper
2 small onions chopped
3 Tbs oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 cup corn
1/2 cup chopped pimientos
1 cup cream cheese room temperature
1 cup mild cheddar and mild jack

Saute the onions and bell peppers for about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and be careful not to enjoy it like you do cookie dough!

Dough
1 cup warm water
1/2 Tbs vinegar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbs melted butter
oil for frying

Mix all the ingredients together. I found that when I let it sit for a good hour or two the consistency was much better. It's great to make right before a baseball game.

Serve with Lupita's Green Salsa and this great Salsa.

African Tomato & Peanut Soup

This was a Nadia find back from my Rochester days. It's a very full soup and I looooove it.

1 Tbs canola oil
1 large onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp ground corriander seeds
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can)
2 large (about 1 1/2 pounds) sweet potatoes
1 carrot coarsely chopped
4 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 pinch cayenne
2 Tbs peanut butter
1/4 cup chopped dry roasted unsalted peanuts
1 Tbs chopped cilantro

Brown the onion in the oil. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and simmer for another 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Dump into a blender and puree. Return to large cooking pot. Add water, salt, cayenne and peanut butter and bring to a boil. Serve and top with chopped peanuts and cilantro. Mmmmm mmm.

Good Goat Burritos

Mmmmm mmmm. A crowd pleaser. Thank you Nadia. She gave this great cookbook years ago when I was first trying to think of dinner without meat for every meal. I have so under utilized this cookbook. I am repenting of my ways. The few recipes that I have tried from Vegetarian Planet have been wonderful.

By the way, if you're like my family (not me and my daughter) then you might call these Good Cow Burritos and use chedder cheese instead of goat cheese. My family ... soooo uncultured. But they did lick their plates clean. =)

Good Goat Burritos
3 cups of chopped scallions
1 Tbs olive oil
5 cloves of garlic
2 cans of tomatoes
3 cups of cooked rice
1 can of Trader Joe's Refried Black Beans
1 can of Black beans
3 Tbs cumin (or more if you're like me)
salt and pepper to taste

Goat Cheese (or the other stuff if you must)
cilantro
tortillas

Saute the scallions for 5-10 minutes until you feel their done. Add the garlic and saute for the last minute or two. Then add the remaining 6 ingredients and cook until warm.

Get the BIG tortillas. They are so much easier to wrap a burrito correctly. Sprinkle the tortilla with water and cook on a skillet until slightly browned. Spread a thin layer of goat cheese on the tortilla. Add the rice/bean mixture and top with cilantro, sour cream or whatever else you like. Sit on your comfy couch and enjoy the Olympics while eating.

Carrot Soup

For Valentine's Charlie and I went to a couples cooking class at Sur La Table. It was heavenly. We made a Carrot Soup that was perfect. Although it wasn't in our recipe packet. So I used this one from Cooks Illustrated. Thank you!!!! Soooo good.

Carrot Soup

2	tablespoons unsalted butter , or the same amount of vegetable or olive oil
1	medium onion , 3 medium shallots, or 1 medium leek (white and light green parts only), chopped
2	tablespoons dry sherry or white wine
1 1/2	pounds carrots (about 8 medium), peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced thin (about 4 cups)
2	cups low-sodium chicken broth or low-sodium vegetable broth
1	teaspoon table salt
	ground white pepper
	pinch ground nutmeg
1 - 1 1/4	cups whole milk
2	teaspoons minced fresh tarragon , mint, chives, or parsley

1. Heat butter or oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add sherry and carrots; stir constantly and cook until sherry evaporates, about 30 seconds.

2. Add broth, salt, pepper to taste, and nutmeg to saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Ladle carrot mixture into blender. Add 1 cup milk; blend until very smooth. Return soup to saucepan; cook over low heat until warmed through. If soup is too thick, stir in additional milk to thin consistency. Adjust seasonings. (Soup can be refrigerated for 3 days and reheated just before serving.

4. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Garnish with minced herb and serve immediately.