My sister is sick, so I made sippable soup. She likes the pureed orange gingery kind, made with sweet potatoes, carrots and red lentils. I’m trying to sip more of the stuff myself – partly because it’s like drinkable vitamins, and partly in an attempt to replace that afternoon coffee that I’ve always thought never affected me at night. But then I realized that perhaps other powers are at work when I jolt awake at 3am and lie there, trapped inside my brain, until just before the alarm goes off.
Although I’m inherently against the concept of New Year’s resolutions (in the sense that they’re easily broken, and thus dissolved), I nonetheless get reflective over the holidays and begin the year with boundless intentions to do more (and at the same time, less), be more (and again, less), experience more, read more, and eat better – mostly this comes about at this time of year because festivities grind to a halt, and I find myself needing to wean off of chocolate and sugar and bread and butter and cream. (Not entirely, but in lesser quantities.) I vow to have more dinner parties, eat more soup (translation: more vegetables in a format that necessitates slower eating), do more creative stuff (there is a bit of me that’s artsy and crafty, and I keep ignoring her), and get more sleep. Travel more, if I can manage it, and use up all that food in my pantry and freezer before buying more. I’ll start with more soup. It’s important to have achievable goals.
You can find roast bison in the Co-op deli – no sodium, no msg, no preservatives. Leaner than beef. Lots of protein and iron.
Roasted Ginger-Orange Carrot Soup
2 lbs. carrots, peeled (or scrubbed) and cut into 1” chunks
canola oil, for cooking
1 Tbsp. butter
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. curry powder or paste
3-4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup orange juice
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup half & half or heavy cream (optional)
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spread the carrots out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with oil; toss to coat well and roast for 20 minutes, until soft and starting to turn golden on the edges.
In a medium pot, heat a drizzle of oil with the butter over medium heat. When the foam subsides, add the onion and ginger and cook for 5 minutes, until the onions are soft. Add the curry powder, roasted carrots (scraping any flavourful browned bits from the pan), stock and orange juice and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove from the heat and using a hand-held immersion blender, puree the soup right in the pot. (Alternatively, process it in a blender in batches until smooth.) Stir in the cream, if you’re using it, and serve hot. Serves 6.
January 05 2011 | soup | 17 Comments »
Before you go hanging that halo on me, you should know that this was followed by day-glo nachos at the hockey game. (Yes, I believe that actually going to the game calls for nachos, even a few days into a brand spanking-new year.)
Also, I need to brace myself for re-entry into a world where Toblerones are not considered an acceptable breakfast. And it appears hardly anyone drinks their coffee with Bailey’s in January.
I had a beautiful big bunch of kale, a hankering for walnuts, and the last of the garlic from the last of the CSA boxes last year (potent stuff – I’m good for keeping away Vampires until at least Halloween). It was inspired by this version, which I decided needed to be upgraded with a little browned butter. (Really, the butter browns as you toast the walnuts and garlic – but doesn’t it make it sound better?)
Kale with Browned Butter, Garlic and Pan-fried Walnuts
1 large bunch kale, stems and center ribs discarded
1 Tbsp. canola or olive oil
1-2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup walnut halves
2-4 garlic cloves, finely crushed or grated
Tear kale into large pieces. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the kale for about 5 minutes, until tender. Pour into a colander and press with the back of a large spoon to remove excess liquid.
Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in a large, heavy skillet (cast iron, if you have it) set over medium-high heat. Add the walnuts and cook, stirring, until golden and fragrant. Stir in the garlic. Remove the walnuts and set aside, and add the kale to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook until heated through. Add the walnuts back to the pan and serve immediately.
January 03 2011 | veg | 14 Comments »
I’m humbled by all the recaps and recipe round ups and best-of-2010s out there among food blogs – I even managed to pull together a list last year on the eve of 2010 – but this year, I’m too busy digesting. My gut is in full protest. (It was totally worth it.) I haven’t even managed to get through one book this holiday, and the pile of clean laundry has been turned into a cozy bed/nest by the dog. Tomorrow is going to bring one mighty hefty dose of Sundaynightitis. On the upside, there’s lots of room for improvement in January.
Last night – New Year’s Eve – we finally managed to have Mike’s mom and sister over for dinner to open the gifts that have been torturing W under the tree since Christmas. I made a leg of lamb with potatoes in the slow cooker (they had never tried lamb before – fortunately it went over well) and a big salad, and a chocolate cream pie. And after they left we went next door – I highly recommend making friends with your neighbours for the ultimate in easy New Year’s Eve outings – particularly if you have a five your old boy and they have a twelve year old with friends and a basement full of video games – and if you can swing a next door neighbour who also happens to be a chef? That just drives your property value straight up.
I wasn’t even allowed to bring anything, food-wise. Wade made (don’t you think that should be the name of his catering business? Wade Made?) pork ribs in the smoker, and chicken wings and drumettes, lamb kofta, crostini with Romano cheese and skillet-pickled mushrooms, two kinds of cheese fondue (one made of goat cheese), a hot rock on which we cooked thin slices of marinated bison, and a veritable vat of bagna cauda with an enormous platter of roasted veg. There were cheese platters, bowls of spiced nuts and caramel fondue with chunks of apple, cake and mini donuts. All in quantities that did not reflect the number of people over. (Totally in our favour.)
As you can imagine, I ushered out the old year a little more indulgently than I meant to. I blame the champagne. And the pitchers of Cosmopolitans. And S for pouring them. (Tip: if you add a splash of ginger ale, it’s like a grown-up Shirley Temple. We dubbed them Dirty Shirleys.)
Today also marks three years here! Three! How can that be? I have all of you to thank for making that happen. Thank you.
January 02 2011 | leftovers | 26 Comments »
