spicy chickpea soup

Brad surprised me with a night out to celebrate Valentine's Day. I had no idea what we were doing and the only clues he gave me were to wear comfortable shoes and that we would get to enjoy the bottle of Old Ghost we had been saving from our trip to Lodi, CA last Valentine's Day. The night definitely did not disappoint and we had an absolute blast at a supper club cooking class at Gatherings Kitchen, a local catering company. Every Friday night they host a supper club cooking class for 16 people. The menu changes monthly and the 2 chefs, Doug & Ruth are so incredibly personable it makes me want to hang out there every weekend. We all got to help prepare a 6 course meal while chatting and cooking and enjoying some wine, oh and learning some cooking techniques! The menu consisted of the following:

Appetizers

Herb Blini with Smoked Salmon & Creme Fraiche

Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Teriyaki Glaze

Soup

Spicy Chickpea Soup

Crispy Pita Chips

Salad

Hearts & Flower Salad with a Sherry Vinaigrette

Main

Filet Mignon Oscar with Bearnaise Sauce

Side

Beet Gnocchi

Dessert

Almond Cakes with Chocolate Passion-fruite Sauce

         cleaning & trimming the tenderloin         making the beet gnocchi              making the bernaisse sauce

Everything was absolutely scrumptious, but the spicy chickpea soup stood out above the rest! Brad and I couldn't stop talking about the soup all weekend, so by Monday we decided it had been long enough and we needed to enjoy this soup again. It is so quick & easy to throw together and so incredibly tasty. Do yourself a favor and double, or better yet, triple the recipe so you can enjoy it for a few days. SO GOOD!

their beautiful dining room

spicy chickpea soup

(2) 19-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
(1) 13.5 ounce can light coconut milk
1/2 C crush or chopped tomatoes
1/4 C apple juice
1/4 cilantro leaves
1/2 tsp garam masala (recipe below)
1/2 tsp ground ginger (we used fresh)
1 C chicken stock
salt & freshly ground pepper
1/4 C plain yogurt
2 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced

In a blender, combine the drained chickpeas with the coconut milk, chopped tomatoes, apple juice, cilantro leaves, garam masala and ground ginger and puree the mixture until smooth.

Transfer the puree to a medium saucepan. Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat. Season to taste with salt & black pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls, top with yogurt and scallion greens and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Gathering's Kitchen

Garam Masala

1 tablespoon dried miniature rosebuds (or black cardamom pods - optional)
A 1-inch piece cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup cumin seeds
1/3 cup coriander seeds
1 tablespoon green cardamom pods
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoons whole cloves
1 dried red chile
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground mace

If the roses have stems, break them off and discard. Heat the roses with the cinnamon, bay leaves, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, whole peppercorns, cloves, and chile in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the cumin becomes brown, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a spice grinder or coffee mill, add the nutmeg and mace, and grind until powder fine. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 months.

recipe courtesy of epicurious.com

our garden plan

see the little green specs?

Our brussel sprouts, leeks, broccoli & cauliflower are sprouting! 

2011 Garden Plan

be mine

We've FINALLY resurrected our long neglected supper club and are kicking off this month's Sunday Bites tonight with a curry theme. Oh how we've been looking forward to it too! Brad and I pretty much decided that we would be happy on a strict diet of only Indian food, or anything with curry. Brad made a delicious dish of stir fried veggies in coconut milk & curry paste, a few weeks back and has humored me more than once since then and made it multiple times at my request since it's pretty much my favorite dish (I will post that recipe soon!).

Our contribution to tonight's feast will be these delicious curried burgers that we've been looking for an excuse to make again, as well as the pictured Thai Curry Chocolate Truffles! I have posted the entire recipe which included making your own curry paste. Unfortunately we ran out of time and had to cheat and use our store bought paste, but I am looking forward to making our own curry paste in the future. Besides being a complete mess to form into truffles, these are relatively easy to make, just time intensive, but completely worth it! Delic! Now that I know how easy they are to make I'm looking forward to trying other kinds!

For ganache:

1 lb. of semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. Thai Curry Paste (see recipe below), or to taste
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Cocoa powder for dusting (optional)

Place the chopped chocolate in a food processor and pulse until chocolate is pea size. Bring the heavy cream to boiling and mix in the curry paste. Stir in the chocolate until melted. Remove mixture from heat, cover and infuse for up to 3 hours. Strain through a fine sieve (I skipped this step since we used store bought curry paste and it was already smooth) and reheat to boiling.

Pour the chocolate mixture through the tube of a running food processor and process until mixture is smooth (once again, this step can be skipped if using store bought paste). Transfer into a clean bowl and let it set overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.

Pipe or spoon truffle shapes onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze overnight. I found covering my hands in cocoa powder then rolling into balls worked best. If the ganache starts to get too melty, just place back in fridge for a few minutes until firm enough to mold. Dust truffles with cocoa powder.

Thai Curry Paste Recipe
Makes 1/2 cup

1 stalk lemongrass, finely sliced (use only the bottom 6” of the stalk)
1 tsp. lime zest
1 or 2 dried Thai bird chiles, seeds removed
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cardamom pods, husked
1 1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tbsp. coriander seeds
1 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tbsp. ginger root, minced
1 tbsp. coconut milk (optional)

Toast cumin, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon in a skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Shake the pan often to prevent burning. Remove from heat and cool.

Use a blender or food processor to blend everything into a smooth paste. Transfer to a small container and keep refrigerated or frozen.

recipe courtesy of extremechocolate.com

oatmeal muffins with butterscotch chips

I cannot get enough oatmeal lately. I was never really a fan of it growing up. I think I tried it once or twice, but could never get into it. I used to eat the premade packets of the sugary instant oatmeal - the ones where you just add water, but reluctantly gave those up when I gave up processed crap (but they were oh so good). Brad brought up a good point when he pointed out instant oatmeal wasn't any faster to prepare than good old fashioned rolled oats. He began fixing me oatmeal with a sprinkle of brown sugar and mashed bananas and I haven't looked back since.

As a breastfeeding mom, oatmeal has become my best friend. It is said to help increase milk supply so every day I have a bowl for breakfast sprinkled with brown sugar & milled flax (another milk increaser). Lately, Brad has been making fun of me for eating the same thing every morning, so I thought I'd try my oatmeal in a different form. I found this recipe and it promised to be a good old fashioned muffin - not to sweet and could  easily be dressed up by adding pecans & bananas or apples & cinnamon. Since I love oatmeal butterscotch cookies, I chose to add butterscotch chips. These muffins were nothing short of delicious and Brad couldn't get enough of them. They are super quick to throw together (I am a fan of any recipe that doesn't require lugging the mixer out) which I appreciate even more now that I have this little one helping me in the kitchen. 

oatmeal muffins with butterscotch chips

1 cup milk
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon milled flax
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In a small bowl, combine milk and oats; let soak for 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl, beat together egg and oil; stir in oatmeal mixture. In a third bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients, just until combined. Stir in butterscotch chips. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups until cups are 2/3 full.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
 

recipe adapted from this one

thai chili

Yum yum yum! This is an interesting twist on plain ol' veggie chili. The red curry paste & coconut milk give this dish such a fresh flavor and the bulger is a great substitute for ground meat, satisfying even the biggest  carnivore. Perfect comfort food dish you don't have to feel guilty about having seconds of!

thai chili

1 1/2 tsp red curry paste
1 tsp ground cumin
4 cups vegetable broth (low sodium)
1/2 cup bulgar wheat
2 cups sweet potato
1 green pepper, chopped
3 cups black beans
1/2 cup organic light coconut milk
2 cups jarred tomato puree/passata
2 scallions, chopped
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

In a 4 qt pot, add curry paste, cumin and a bit of broth. Mash mixture and stir until paste is no longer in lumps. Add remaining broth, bulgur, potato and bell pepper. Set over high heat and bring mixture to a boil. Cover tightly, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes.

Add beans, coconut milk and tomato puree to pot and stir. Cook, uncovered, for 7 minutes, until bulgur is tender and chili is thick. Stir in scallions and black pepper and serve.

Recipe adapted from the January 2011 issue of Clean Eating Magazine

potato leek lentil stew

I cannot remember the last time I wasn't just a little bit cold...(October maybe?)...I awake each morning, run to the warmth of the shower, dress for the day, hop in a cold car, drive to work, sit glued to the space heater underneath my desk at work, hop in a cold car to drive home, wrap myself in blankets on the couch while nursing my sweet baby...sounds like winter in Ohio to me! This stew promises to warm you up even on the coldest of winter days (it was like 0 degrees this past weekend!)...

I originally made this recipe back in the fall while visiting my mom - she had bought dried lentils in Amish country and didn't know what to do with them. The original recipe has you puree the soup, but I found I like it much better in stew form - much more of a comfort food this way and absolutely delicious.

potato leek lentil stew

3 bacon slices
2 cups chopped leek
1 cup chopped onion
5 cups water
2 cups chopped peeled baking potato (about 12 ounces)
1 cup dried lentils
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add leek and onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes. Add water, potato, lentils, carrot, and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Add bacon.

recipe adapted from here

velvet spice cake

My love affair with spice cake started 10 years ago when my sister got married. She married in the fall and besides being one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to, they had the most delicious food too. Up until her wedding, every wedding I had been to had just your everyday traditional wedding cake. You know, with the different levels and bride & groom cake topper on the top layer and the main reason I even paid attention to the cake was to get a piece to take home and put under my pillow so I could dream of who I'd marry that night. My sister's cake wasn't like that at all. It was a multi layer spice cake with cream cheese frosting between each layer, beautifully adorned with flowers and berries - like something out of a magazine. I wish I could post a picture, but that was way back before everyone had digital cameras (not to mention I'd have to go digging for a picture)! When my mom asked me to bring dessert to our Thanksgiving feast I decided to forgo the traditional pumpkin pie and opted instead for this spice cake. I found the recipe in the Joy of Cooking cookbook and had to try it since it boasted a "flavor unequaled among spice cakes". Although it doesn't compare to my sister's wedding cake, I think it's a pretty close second.

velvet spice cake
from joy of cooking

2 1/3 C sifted cake flour
1 1/2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
1 ts grated or ground nutmeg
1 ts ground cinnamon
1/2 ts ground cloves
1/2 ts salt
3/4 C unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/4 C sugar
3 large egg yolks
3/4 C plus 2 T yogurt - I used Greek yogurt (or buttermilk)
3-4 large egg whites
1/8 ts cream of tartar
1/4 C sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease & flour a bundt pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices & salt until thoroughly blended. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add 1 1/4 C sugar and egg yolks one at a time and beat on high until light and fluffy (2-4 minutes). On low speed, add the flour mixture alternating with yogurt.

In a separate bowl and with clean beaters, beat egg whites & cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4C sugar and beat until peaks are stiff, but not dry.

Use a rubber spatula to fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, 45-55 minutes. Frost with cream cheese frosting or serve with pumpkin ice cream!