Carrot and Pumpkin Soup

I’m still loving my weekly organic box deliveries. Summer provided plenty of zucchini and tomatoes, but as we ease into autumn, the box has also changed to reflect the new season.

Last week, that meant carrots and pumpkin amongst other autumn fruits and vegetables.

Yesterday was cold and damp, the perfect day for a smooth, warm, comforting soup.

Adapted from Eatliverun

Ingredients:
1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup pumpkin puree (mashed roasted pumpkin)

2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 shallot, minced

2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1 Tablespoons olive oil

Croutons, pumpkin seeds and flax oil to garnish

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the minced shallot and sauté until tender, about five minutes.

Add the ginger and sauté for another three-four minutes.

Add the chopped carrots, pumpkin puree, broth, coriander, garam masala and salt, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until carrots are tender.

Carefully transfer to a blender and puree. Serve with croutons, pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of flax oil.

Simple and scrumptious!

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Cream of White Asparagus Soup

*I found this prepared post deep in my drafts. It may not be spring and there is certainly no white asparagus available at the moment, but I still wanted to share a simple, elegant, delicious recipe. I hope you all have had a wonderful start to your work week.

I love Italian and Indian food, both of which are very vegetarian friendly.

In the land of sausages and salami however, being a vegetarian doesn’t make traditional food very accessible.

I sometimes feel a bit guilty for refusing to eat the food that is so important to the German culture.

Luckily, there are a few traditional German dishes that I adore, in all their meat-free ways.

This simple, spring soup is one of my favorite traditional dishes, spargelcremesuppe or cream of asparagus soup.

Using the white asparagus from my CSA box, this recipe was not only traditional, but local, too.

White Asparagus Soup

Adapted from this recipe

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 c. chopped onion

2 Tablespoons butter

1- 1 1/2 pounds white asparagus, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces, heads reserved

2 small potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup cream

Salt and pepper, to taste

Dry white wine, to taste

Parsley for garnish

Method

1. Peel the asparagus from the head down. Remove the heads and reserve for later. Cut off and dispose the woody ends of the asparagus then cut the remaining asparagus into small pieces.
2. In a large saucepan, sauté the onion in the butter until soft. Add the pieces of asparagus (minus the heads) and the potatoes, steam for 5 minutes. Add the broth and boil gently for about 30 minutes, or until the asparagus is very soft.
3. Purée the soup using a hand blender.
4. Bring the soup to a simmer and add the reserved asparagus heads. Cook at least 5 minutes, or until they are fork-tender. Remove from heat and add the cream.
5. Taste and add salt and freshly ground pepper as needed. Stir in a splash or two of white wine or vermouth. Garnish with parsley.

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Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup

I am not very good at following recipes. Even when I have the best intentions, I somehow either forget something, add too much or too little of something else or end up over/ under cooking.

On Friday, I had every intention to make the Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup recipe from Clean Start.

Unfortunately, I didn’t read the recipe carefully enough and was coming towards the end of cooking before I realized that I should have roasted two heads of cauliflower, not just one.

What’s a girl to do?

Quick, microwave two potatoes. There, extra bulk.

Although I’m sure the original recipe is better than my mishap version, it was still quite tasty and comforting.

Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Potato Soup

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic bulb

1 large sweet onion, diced

2 large potatoes, cubed

2 tablespoons mirin (Japanese cooking wine)

2 teaspoons sea salt

5-6 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

ground white pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Place cauliflower and potato in a large baking dish and toss with 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Cut off top of garlic and drizzle olive oil over. Rub the olive oil into the bulb then wrap in aluminum foil. Place the garlic and vegetables in the oven and roast for 1 hour, stirring every now and then. Remove from oven and set aside. When the garlic is cool enough to handle, gently squeeze the bulb to release the roasted garlic cloves. Discard peel and garlic skins.
3. In a large soup pot, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium low heat until translucent. Add the roasted vegetables, garlic, mirin, salt and broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Remove the soup from the heat and blend until smooth with a handheld blender. Return the soup and bring to a simmer. Stir in 1 tablespoon thyme and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Before serving, stir in the remaining olive oil. Garnish with more fresh thyme leaves and serve with crispy herbed bread.

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Spring Greens Yoghurt Soup

After tasting six new, delicious Persian dishes at the cooking class last night, my mind and taste buds were still hypnotized by the first bite of the night, Spring Greens Yoghurt Soup.

Looking at the recipe, I wasn’t expecting much, but this soup packs a powerful, refreshing punch.

Served warm, this is the kind of soup that makes you slow down while you’re eating to take in the interesting combination of flavors.

Spring Green Yoghurt Soup

4 servings

Ingredients

2 bunches spring onions

5 Tbsp. butter

1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) fresh spinach

1 bunch parsley

1 bunch dill

1 bunch mint

1 bunch cilantro

150 grams (5.3 oz.) finely chopped walnuts

1 liter ( 4 1/4 cups) vegetable broth

salt and pepper to taste

800 grams (about 3.5-4 cups?) plain yoghurt, room temperature

1-2 Tbsp. freshly ground nutmeg

Method

1. Wash, dry and cut the spring onions into rings then cook them over medium heat in a large pan with melted butter.
2. Wash the spinach and herbs then chop roughly. Add the spinach, herbs and walnuts to the pan with the onions. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring to wilt the greens.
3. Add the vegetable broth and flavor with salt and pepper. Continue to cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the soup from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. (If the soup is too hot, it could curdle the yogurt.) Once the soup has cooled slightly, add the yogurt and nutmeg. Stir gently to combine and serve.

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Sweet Potato, Pumpkin and Coconut Soup

I’m often amazed by flavors.

Sitting around my kitchen are dozens of food sensations, just waiting to be revealed.

Mix a little of this with a little of that and BAM!, you’ve got something great.

Last night’s dinner was a little like that.

Modest little sweet potato and his color companion, pumpkin were just waiting to be made into something flashy.

That’s certainly what happened.

Sweet, spicy, aromatic soup.

Makes 4 large servings~ Adapted from this recipe

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 red chilies, sliced (or to taste)
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 average sized organic Hokkaido pumpkin,cut into chunks (deseed but don’t peel)
• 1 large sweet potato, cut into chunks
• 750ml (a bit less than 3 1/4 cups) vegetable stock
• 200ml (a bit less than 1 cup) coconut milk
• 2 heaped tsps of curry powder (or curry paste)
• Fresh arugula, parsley or cilantro to garnish
• Slivered almonds

Method
1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and gently fry the onions, chili, ginger and garlic until soft.
2. Add the pumpkin and sweet potatoes to the pan and sprinkle with the curry powder. Fry gently for another few minutes.
3. Pour in the coconut milk and stock, cover, bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer gently until the potatoes and pumpkin are cooked.
4. Blend the soup using a submersion blender or allow it to cool down a little then pour the soup into a blender and blend at high speed till smooth and creamy.
5. Reheat a little if necessary and serve with some fresh greens and slivered almonds. Delicious served with hot naan bread.

This morning we woke up to snow on the ground. I had hoped the ‘wintery’ part of winter was over but wasn’t so lucky.

The photo above is from 2 mornings ago. Every day before work I go out on the emergency exit balcony and take in the view. The few minutes I spend out there are precious to me, especially on days like this when I can’t help but feel like God has created a beautiful sight just to get me in the right frame of mind for the day.

I hope to keep this positive frame of mind over the weekend as I write reports for my students. Wish me luck.

I hope you all have a great Friday tomorrow.

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Spinach and Leek White Bean Soup

It has been snowing all day in Bonn. On cold and damp days like today, my hungry mind turns to one thing- soup.

I adapted the following recipe from allrecipes.com.

This is one comforting and warming soup. The combination of veggies, protein and whole grains is not only delicious, but nutritionally outstanding. This may be one of my new favorites.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 leeks, white and light green parts, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 liter vegetable broth

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. ground rosemary

1/4 cup quiona, soaked for 10 minutes in hot water and rinsed

1/2 cup frozen spinach

4 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges (Don’t leave this out, it makes the dish!)

freshly grated parmesan cheese

 

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the vegetable broth, quinoa, beans, bay leaf, cumin and rosemary. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper.
3. To serve, squeeze lemon wedge over each serving. Sprinkle each bowl of soup with 1 tsp. parsley and shaved parmesan.

Serve with warm crusty bread on a cold winter’s day.

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Witches’ Brew

For the last three years I’ve delighted in making a Witches’ Brew with my classes. I don’t like Halloween but I do like cooking. This is my way of playing along with the season by putting and educational spin on the topic.

Instructional texts are taught through a revolting recipe.

Uneasy students checking out the “skinned rat.”

Do you think I have their attention?

This photo is circa 2008. I was really into it that year! 2008 is the same year that when asked where I would get the ingredients, I told my students my cats caught the rats in the basement of my apartment building. A very concerned mother came in the next morning to make sure that I wasn’t really going to feed the children skinned rats.

The kids are given a haunted spell containing the ingredient list for the brew. They first finish the spell with an appropriately gruesome rhyme.

Slimy slug

to make you_____

Skinned rat

to make you_____

Frog’s skin

to make you_____

Martian’s head

to make you_____

Bloodshot eye

to make you_____

Potion powder

to make you_____

Stardust is a must

Magic spell

to make you_____

After working up the students to really believe the spell is what it says it is, they are taken into the kitchen to put the recipe to use.

One by one, the ingredients are revealed!

Get it? Spell? Alphabet pasta?

They love imagining the slimy slugs and frog’s skin. Whenever I would slip and accidentally use the real name of the food, my students were quick to correct me.

“It’s not kohlrabi, Ms. Brady, it’s a martian’s head!”

Boil, boil toil and trouble!

B for brew.

Have a safe and spooky Halloween!

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Celeriac Soup

Autumn is slowly creeping upon us. Her cool demeanor and elegant appearance is certainly present in the Rhineland.

A tree outside my window has already been brushed with Autumn’s golden red hand.

When the temperatures begin to drop along with the cool rain, one food item is on my mind.

Soup.

Several days ago I showed you the ugly duckling of root vegetables. The celery root, or celeriac.

 

Yesterday, this ugly duckling grew into a beautiful swan when I made celeriac soup.

I Combined the ideas from this website and this website to create the recipe below. After taking my photos of the ingredients, I decided to add butter, nutmeg and pepper as well.

Start by gathering your ingredients.

If you can’t find a celeriac in your grocery store, visit your local farmers’ market and request one. Any farmer who sells celery should be able to produce the root for you as well.

 

 Scrub and peel the celeriac. Be very careful to get into all of the root grooves or else you might end up with some sandy bites of soup. I speak from experience. Notice the celery-looking bits?

 

Heat the oil and melt the butter before tossing in the chopped up veggies. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

 

Add the vegetable broth and bay leaf then simmer over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes, or until the veggies are soft.

 

Out with the old.

 

In with the new.

 

Give it all a stir.

 

Then blend until smooth! If you don’t own an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender or food processor, just be sure to work in small batches, blender no more than 1/2 full. The heat pressure along with the pressure from blending can cause an over-full blender to burst. Better safe than sorry.

 

Stir in the nutmeg and pepper then serve.

 

Celeriac soup is most similarly related to the French cuisine, so a dollop of crème fraiche is a must.

 

This soup is so comforting and rich. Perfect for an early Autumn day.

I already plan to buy another celeriac and leek from my fruit and vegetable lady on Tuesday so I can make this soup again.

I was feeling extra generous last night and gave the remaining two portions to my neighbor/ colleague/ friend’s mom who is preparing for knee surgery next week. When I called to ask if she and her husband would like fresh homemade celeriac soup for dinner, the response was a definite, yes!

I sprinkled a little more nutmeg and pepper on top of their soup and passed it on. I can’t wait to hear what they thought of it. I  hope they loved it as much as I did.

I hope you try the recipe and love it too!

Celeriac Soup

Ready in 45 minutes and very easy

3 large servings

Ingredients

• 1 celeriac, cleaned, peeled and cubed
• 1 potato, cleaned and cubed
• 2 small onions, roughly chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 handful fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives and thyme
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. nutmeg, or to taste
• pepper to taste
• crème fraiche for garnish

Method

1. Heat the oil and butter in a pan and add the chopped celeriac, potato, onions, garlic, and leek. Allow to cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
2. Add the broth and bay leaf. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the celeriac and potato are soft.
3. Remove the bay leaf and add your fresh herbs. Stir then blend until smooth. (See important safety note about blending above.) Stir in the nutmeg and pepper. Dish, garnish, serve and enjoy.

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Party Food

Last night, Sebastian and I went a roof-top barbecue at my friends Zoe and Jan’s house. Although I told myself before going, “you will take tons of photos to capture this day and your wonderful life abroad,” I didn’t. My camera didn’t even come out of the bag. Such a shame.

Anyways, I do have some photos for you, we’ve got the pre-party food preparation… and the post-party food recuperation.

Let’s start at the very beginning!

Because we were going to a barbecue, marinated veggie kebabs were in order.

I started out by cutting up chunks of smoked tofu, red pepper, zucchini and onions. Rhythmically skewed, the kebabs were ready for a bath in some ridiculous flavor.

I then made a marinade out of fresh thyme, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. All mashed up together, it was kebab bath time.

Lookin’ good! I love how dainty the thyme leaves are.

I left the kebabs to sit in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before going to the party. They grilled beautifully over the hot coals.

I also brought along a huge batch of my Worthy Caprese Salad

This is a 9×13 cake pan with a double layer of tomatoes, mozzarella, basil oil and balsamic vinegar. I was shocked how quickly this whole pan was eaten up. Every last piece of mozzarella was gone. I’m telling you, people love this!

We had so much fun at the barbecue. The food was good. The view was wonderful. The company made the night. I am so lucky to have such an amazing group of friends over here. Truly blessed, really.

Unfortunately, the good times last night made for hard times this morning.

Now we begin the transition into party-food recuperation.

I sometimes wonder if I am allergic to alcohol. If I drink wine, I’m fine. If I drink two or more glasses of anything else, I’m sick as a dog the next day.

Kate brought a very British alcohol called Pimm’s to the party last night, complete with a buffet of mix-ins like cucumber, lime, lemon and mint. I only had 3 drinks, wasn’t even tipsy, but felt sick as a dog this morning.

Sebastian was also feeling sick this morning… but with good reason.

Nothing settles an upset stomach like a broth-based soup.

Into the pan went water, vegetable bullion, 2 celery stalks, 1 carrot and alphabet noodles. Once the veggies and noodles were cooked, the bowls were topped with fresh parsley.

 

Matching soup with toasted bread for dipping.

I’m feeling much better now!

Have a happy and well Sunday!

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Eating from Nature

I could not sleep last night. My mind was fighting with itself, making lists, planning lessons, and organizing my classroom.

For over 2 hours, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Sleep eventually came but I woke up on my first day back at work feeling exhausted. Luckily, only the teachers and assistants are in this week!

Breakfast helped get me out of bed.

2 egg omelet with spinach and soft goat’s cheese.

I got to school early and started to work right away. Before long, work was interrupted by catching up with my dear friends and colleagues- hearing all about the wonderful adventures they were on this summer.

I munched on grapes for a mid-morning snack.

Lunch was leftover veggie stir fry from last night.

I stayed at work until 5 then came home and ate the peach before going to the grocery store.

It’s Quiz Time!!!!!!

Can you identify this vegetable?

How about from this angle?

Ok, I’ll give you a little clue…

If you guessed celeriac or celery root…

 You Win!!!!!

For two weeks now, I’ve been unable to find just the celery, so today I bought the whole kit and kaboodle!

Celeriac is rumored to be a fantastic root vegetable. Great roasted or in soups, but I’ve not yet tried to cook this ugly duckling.

I was, however, able to use the celery in my dinner.

Spicy Lentil and Tomato Soup

Adapted from Easy GI Diet

Serves 4

Ingredients

250 g (8 oz.) red lentils

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 large celery stick, finely chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes, drained

1/2 tsp. paprika

1-2 fresh red chili peppers, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

2 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water

salt and pepper to taste

fresh parsley or cilantro to garnish

Method

1. Place the lentils in a bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion, garlic and celery over a low hear until softened.
2. Drain the lentils and add them to the vegetable pan along with the tomatoes. Stir well. Add the chili, paprika, cumin and vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper.
3. Cover the pan and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. Add a little more water or vegetable stock if the soup becomes too thick.
4. Garnish as desired and enjoy.

Calories: 288, Protein: 18g, Carbohydrates: 28g, Fat: 2g

This soup is so good! Spicy, fresh and clean tasting.

While eating it, I was struck by the wonderful knowledge that the taste is created by the combination of only real, nature-made food. There’s nothing like eating fresh, whole, real food.

When I thought the meal couldn’t get any better, the fresh German bread jumped in.

 The bread of the week at my local bakery.

Before I leave Germany, I must take a bread-baking lesson. That way, no matter where I go in the world, I’ll be able to bring one of my favorite things about Germany with me and share it with others.

While making the soup, I heard the loudest, most blissful purring coming from the office area.

Look what I found.

Two very loving, very cuddly kitties.

They make my heart melt… numerous times per day.

Happy Monday, all!

p.s. make the soup, it’s so simple

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