roasted delicata squash soup.

 i love so many things about autumn, from the changing foliage and holiday lights to the seasonal excuse to throw pumpkin and maple into just about everything. i also can't get enough of how many different kinds of winter squash abound at the farmer's market.

this is a great soup to use up any and all of those squash. i decided to go with delicatas for this version, but a pumpkin or acorn varietal would work just as well. this soup gets its depth of flavor from roasting the squash for a half hour before adding them to the pot. it also has a soothing, creamy texture thanks to a simple homemade cashew cream. below is the minimalist recipe you can start out with, but feel free to add in additional spices and herbs as desired. and of course, as with most soups, it tastes even better the day after once all of the flavors have spent some time melding.

roasted delicata squash soup

adapted from veganyumyum

3 delicata squash

1 tbsp oil for roasting


1 onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups vegetable broth

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

for the cashew cream:

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews

1 cup vegetable broth

preheat oven to 400º F.

chop the ends off the squash. halve them and scrape out the seeds. place on a baking sheet cut-side down and brush lightly with oil. bake for 30-40 minutes until they are tender. flip them midway through if you need to prevent burning.

meanwhile, make your cashew cream. throw the cashews and brothin the blender and blend! let the blender run for 1-2 minutes until very, very smooth. set cream aside. 

remove squash from the oven.

in a large pot, sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until translucent. add the squash and using a spatula, break up the squash into chunks. add 4 cups of veggie broth. bring to a boil then turn down the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes, covered.

using an immersion blender, blend away. add half of the cashew cream and blend until very smooth. season with salt and more pepper.

serve in bowls and top with some fresh basil and a drizzle of cashew cream if you want. 

carrot miso soup.

if there's anything i miss about living in cold-weather climates (and there isn't), it would be the timeliness of warm soups in the winter months. here in california, it never quite feels like soup season. on a 70 degree day, albeit in january, i'd just as readily eat a crisp salad as a bowl of steaming hot liquid. in fact, as i type this, the latter sounds really awful.except that it's still technically winter, and in winter, i want to be eating soup, not pulling my own teeth to convince myself to want to eat soup. you feel me?this delicious pureed carrot soup with miso fits the bill of soups i can enjoy even while wearing sandals and shorts. the miso gives it a nice saltiness (so resist the urge to salt as you go along!), and if you have it on the hand, the toasted sesame oil is a welcome - but not necessary - finishing touch. i didn't top my bowl off with toasted sesame seeds or cilantro this time, but i could imagine those would work quite nicely as well.the final added benefit? the recipe makes a lot! perfect for hosting guests, freezing and reheating, or converting into a stir fry sauce. i did all three with mine.

carrot soup with miso

thanks to smitten kitchen

2 tablespoons olive oil


2 pounds carrots (about 8 large), roughly chopped

1 large white onion, finely chopped


6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

5 cups vegetable broth


1/3 cup white miso paste

drizzle of toasted sesame oil


2 scallions, thinly sliced

heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.

add carrots, onion, ginger and garlic. sauté until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. add broth and cover. simmer until carrots are tender (about 30 minutes).

puree soup using an immersion blender. in a small bowl, whisk together the miso and half a cup of the soup. stir the mixture back into the pot of soup. make sure the miso is fully dissolved.

taste the soup and add more miso if you want. ladle into bowls and garnish. 

the smartest thing i ever did: carrot soup turned curry sauce.

this past week, i have been preparing a number of recipes to post. from an apple couscous salad to a summer squash tart, there have been some nice successes in the kitchen recently. but none perhaps so great and so incredibly unexpected as the one which occurred yesterday.


and thus, i have decided to put the other almost-finished recipe posts on hold and indulge my over eagerness and poor time management tendencies to tell you about yesterday's delicious lunch-turned-dinner-turned-lunch dish. the added bonus? one post, two recipes!


the first is for lunchtime's carrot soup.while this simple pot wasn't quite as minimalist as my (or should i say gordon ramsay's) most recent three-ingredient broccoli soup, it was a certainly in that tradition. more and more, i'm convinced that the best soups are ones comprised of just a few raw foods. i threw this one together in under a half hour with ginger, garlic, shallots, carrots, and a vegetable broth. with a few bread rolls and some roughly chopped cilantro for garnishing, it was the perfect lunch to usher in autumn (which actually arrived in a bremen about a month ago... not that i'm bitter or anything...).later in the day, i received an email from a friend mentioning her desire to incorporate curry into everyday meals. despite being a huge fan of indian spices, i'm not head over heels for coconut milk. 


...


you still here? if you weren't so gravely offended by this confession that you just furiously slammed your laptop screen shut - or if you're even one of those people who also maybe, sometimes, once in a while doesn't have a hankering for coconut milk (don't worry, i won't tell!) - then first of all, thank you for your tolerance and open mindedness. let's continue.

i did some online research about coconut milk substitutes. soy and almond milk and greek yogurt were all frequently mentioned. but none of these seemed appealing... which was when i realized that the real issue was that i didn't want anything of the dairy variety. which was when the even greater realization dawned upon me that the sauce i wanted was a creamy, vegan indian flavored broth. and then, dear reader, it was crystal clear: the bit of leftover carrot soup would do the trick!lo and behold! tofu and vegetables in a curry carrot sauce. served over a mound of steaming, basmati rice. aka the most heavenly, flavorful, healthy dinner i've had in a very long time. even my boyfriend declared that this was the first rice dish he had ever consumed which he actually loved! and me? well i wiped my plate clean, went back for seconds, and then ate it again today for lunch over a salad. while now i'm flying high from my culinary ascendancy to greatness and pretending like i knew it would work all along, my confidence was less than overwhelming as i prepared to undertake the  soup-to-sauce venture. even as i was pouring the soup into the pan of tofu and vegetables (and ranting about how delicious this was going to turn out), i was secretely regretting not having bought and stored a frozen pizza in the freezer for back up.and yet, frozen pizza ended up not being necessary, and i think there are a few reasons why: we all know that the longer a soup sits, the better it tastes. the flavors meld and the consistency thickens. essentially, it naturally turns into a flavorful sauce anyway. so why not take advantage of that?! secondly, this vegan alternative to a milk or cream sauce gives the hearty dish a lightness that doesn't weigh you down afterwards (aka there's room for seconds! and dessert!). finally, the spices. pan frying the tofu and vegetables in mustard and cumin seeds, and then adding ground spices to the sauce give the dish a kick and reinvent the soup from earlier. so for the next time you'll be home for lunch and dinner, here are two recipes for your day.early autumn carrot soup

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 shallots, diced finely

1 tablespoon olive oil

7 carrots, washed and diced

6 cups vegetable broth

¼ cup cilantro, chopped roughly

salt and pepper to taste

in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. once hot, add the ginger, garlic and shallots. sauté for about 5 minutes to let soften up. add carrots and enough broth to cover them. let cook, partially covered, for about a half hour, until carrots are soft but not overcooked.

puree the soup according to your chunkiness preferences. add some more water if you like a thinner consistency. salt and pepper to taste. serve with a sprinkling of cilantro.


*this will leave up to two people fully satiated. leave about 3 to 4 cups in the pot for dinner's sauce.

tofu and vegetables in a carrot curry sauce

1 small head broccoli, in small florets

400 g extra firm tofu

100 g chanterelle mushrooms, washed and halved

1 red pepper, diced

1 onion, in long strips

4 cups leftover carrot soup (at room temperature)

1 tablespoon black mustard seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon ground curry

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon ground coriander

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup cilantro, chopped roughly

begin by preparing the tofu. unwrap and wrap in paper towels to drain the water. repreat 2 to 3 times until the tofu is dry. cut into thick strips for searing. heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. add the mustard seeds. once they begin to sizzle, add the tofu and distribute it to cover the floor of the pan. let cook, undisturbed, for around 4 minutes to sear on the first side. once lightly browned, flip over. when they are seared on both sides, remove and set aside for later.

using the same pan, heat another tablespoon of oil over medium-high. add cumin seeds. once sizzling, add all the vegetables. give them a good pinch of salt and turn the heat down to medium. sauté for about 10 minutes, until almost completely cooked. if the mushrooms have released some juices, turn the heat up to high for 2 minutes to let the liquid evaporate. add the tofu back to the pan.

now it’s time to add the sauce aka the soup! pour at least 4 cups of it into the pan and give it a good shake to coat the vegetables. add the curry, turmeric and coriander and give the mixture another stir. cook for 4 or 5 minutes on low to medium to let the sauce heat up and the vegetables absorb the spices. the if the sauce is too watery for your taste, turn the heat up to high for the last two minutes before serving to thicken up the dish. 

right before serving, add the cilantro to the pan. serve with basmati rice.

(could be) gordon ramsay's broccoli soup.

it's been a british kind of month. the reasons (note: only the first one approaches legitimacy):

1. i took a weekend trip to london to visit my cousin.

2. netflix has offered up instant viewing of all six seasons of gordon ramsay's kitchen nightmares.

3. i'm now on season 3 of the above mentioned show.

while there's always been a warm and fuzzy place in my heart for jamie oliver, whose endless optimism and jolly cockney slang i try and replicate in my own kitchen, i'm growing to appreciate the edgier - if not more fowl mouthed and offensively sexist - form of entertainment gordon ramsay offers. 

for those unfamiliar with his kitchen nightmare gig, it involves ramsay roaming the homeland searching for failing, disgusting restaurants on the verge of shutting down. he shows up as a charmingly sassy knight in shining armor to save the day by teaching their owners to, for instance, reduce the menu from 130 items to 15... or not to serve a dish featuring shrimp and a chocolate dipping sauce. sometimes he teaches the head chef how to make an omelette.

amazingly, through the use of simple lessons ("keep it f%#*ing simple!"), he gets them back on track to culinary success! it's inspiring, horrifying, and a great way to make yourself vow to never again eat in a restaurant with a dirty bathroom: if they can't keep that clean, then what's going on behind the scenes with your food?! 

even though i'm sort of hooked to the series (surprise surprise), the only downer is that i rarely learn any recipes or techniques from it. i mean, there are certainly cooking tips to be picked up - and my knowledge of how to run a kitchen staff has gone from none to slightly more than none - but it's uncommon that i'm brimming with new recipe ideas after an episode (or six).

that is, until a most recent episode, in which ramsay challenged some "twat" chef to a broccoli soup cook off! while his opponent whipped together some "bloody mess" using 11 ingredients, ramsay's soup consisted of a mere 3: broccoli, water, and salt. 

inspired by the simplicity, i took a gander at it the other afternoon. the only thing is that the whole sequence of him making this soup was about 20 seconds. he did explain the steps (recipe below), but details about measurements and timeframes weren't exactly explicit. which is why my broccoli soup may or may not actually be the one he was referring to. in any case, it was delicious! the broccoli flavor is bold and the soup is simple, super quick to make (tops 7 minutes!), as rich as can be in vitamin c, and surprisingly filling. while i might transform this next time into a 4 or 5 ingredient soup with a touch of garlic or a sprinkling of cilantro, i will definitely be making it again. and maybe, just maybe, dissuading ramsay from infiltrating my kitchen next season.

3-ingredient broccoli soup

1 head of broccoli, stem and all

1 large pot of water

1 tablespoon of salt (or more to taste)

chop up your broccoli. the smaller the pieces, the better. bring a pot of salted water to a boil. blanch the broccoli for about 3 or 4 minutes, until bright green. 

now here's the key part. the water you just used for blanching has formed a broccoli broth. so when you drain the broccoli, drain it over another pot where you will keep the broth. then, working in batches, add some of the broccoli and the broth (depending on how thick of a soup you'd like) to a blender. blend until smooth or slightly chunky. return finished soup to a pot to keep warm and salt.

enjoy with a chunk of toasted bread and an episode of kitchen nightmares.

summer squash and leek soup.

yesterday was the perfect summer day.

my friend holly stopped by bremen for a visit, and i did my best to prepare a day full of stereotypical activities associated with daily life in a small, historic european city. as you can imagine, there was a lot of quaintness to pack in.

we kicked things off with a morning trip to the farmer's market, which was not only excessively charming, but also led me to the discovery that portobello mushrooms do indeed exist in germany. a sale on summer squash also obviated having to make any decisions about what to prepare on what i knew would be a cool, breezy evening. after a stroll through the old town, we sat down to a quiche and fresh vegetable picnic in the park. the pond, lilly pads, birch trees, and countless families ducky families helped set the mood.

we rounded out the afternoon with chocolate marzipan gelato (what else?!) in the marketplace and a mandatory visit to the bremen city musician statue. i'm horrified by the number of times i've taken this absurd picture clutching this silly donkey's legs.

dropping holly off at the train station that evening, i felt a sense of accomplishment: i made bremen look cute!

granted, it wasn't just me. the weather was certainly a deal sealer. summers in bremen - when they aren't acting out of line with rain and wind and clouds - offer a nice mix of warm days complemented by cool, bright evenings. this soup is perfect for such a night. the spices add a bit of a kick without overpowering the squash, and the carrots add a much appreciated sweetness. you could also throw a potato (or a sweet potato!) in for a thicker base. personally, in the summer, i prefer a thinner soup and a hunk of ciabatta on the side for heartiness.

summer squash and leek soup

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 onion, diced

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 leek, cleaned (!!) and diced

2 carrots, chopped roughly

3 deliciously plump summer squash, chopped roughly

5 cups vegetable broth

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp curry

1 tsp turmeric

salt and pepper to taste

garnish:

¼ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

¼ cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

¼ cup fresh mint, roughly chopped

start by making your vegetable broth. i let some old carrot stubs and hunks of garlic and ginger simmer for a half hour to make mine, but you can also use pre-made stock or a powder.

when the stock is ready, take a large pot and heat the olive oil. add the garlic, onion, cumin seeds, and a pinch of salt. sauté until soft and pungent (about 10 minutes). add squash, carrots, leeks and stock, and bring to a boil. reduce heat and let simmer partially covered for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and almost falling apart. remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes (depending on your patience level!).

work in batches to puree the soup in a blender until smooth or just slightly chunky. transfer the puree back to a pot and thin with water if you like. add the ground cumin, coriander, curry, and turmeric. season with salt and pepper. simmer for 3-5 minutes.

chop fresh herbs and mix together in a bowl for garnish. serve soup immediately a dusting of herbs (and a small swig of olive oil, if so desired).

joyfully over-souped.

in the past few months, as things have been getting colder and the need for warm foods has risen steadily, i've learned the invaluable lesson that you can never run out of ways to eat soup. personally, i enjoy mine with a thick slice of toasted bread or a warm pita, but i have to admit that the approach below isn't bad either.

"comfort yourself the non-paula deen way" lentil soup

bremen has turned into a winter wonderland! the snowflakes are sticking, the christmas markets are booming, the glühwein is flowing, the waterfront looks like santa threw up all over it, and i'm in the mood for baking cinnamon-y treats and watching inane romantic comedies (serendipity!). oh yeah, and eating soup. there is something really comforting about the reward of an almost too-hot-to-swallow spoonful of soup and some hearty bread at the end of a long journey home through the snow. hence: today's entry, a lentil and carrot soup to comfort but not render you immobile the way, for instance, paula deen's cream of cheesy cheddar potato soup might :)

i've always struggled with making my soups thin enough. usually, they end up looking like a thick mush for spreading rather than a silky well for dipping. however, with this one, adding more water as you go works very well. you can start by cooking the lentils pretty much through using the recommended amount of water and then continue to add more broth as they gradually lose their shape. we don't own a blender, so soup in this apartment pretty much always has to have the word "chunky" in the title. that's not a bad thing here considering that the lentils become a smooth base by themselves and the carrots and zucchini retain their shape when you add them toward the end.



ingredients:

1 cup yellow lentils
2 cups water (to start)
1 tbsp vegetable broth
1 yellow onion
1 clove garlic
1 carrot
1 zucchini
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup parsley (as garnish)
salt and pepper to taste

start by rinsing your lentils in a sieve until the water runs clear. place lentils in a large pot with your two cups of water and a cube of vegetable broth. bring to a boil. reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover. it will take about 15 minutes for them to cook through. make sure to check on them often and stir as necessary.

in the meantime, add the olive oil and carrots to a skillet and saute for 3-4 minutes before adding your diced onion, zucchini, and finely chopped garlic. cook for another 8-10 minutes on a low heat until the vegetables start to loose their shape.

at this point, i added the veggies, another cup of water, and turmeric to the lentils. you can make the soup as thick or thin as you want by varying the amount of water you add. let the mixture simmer uncovered for another 10-15 minutes until lentils collapse and lose their shape.

salt and pepper and spice as desired. garnish with a some parsley. this paired nicely with a slice of millet bread, but i can imagine that adding a small helping of couscous or brown rice to the soup would also be quite delicious.