Happy Holidays

I’m taking a break from posting over the next week or so. Enjoy the holidays and see you back here next year!

Vegetarianism at the Holidays

Ah, holidays. Time for family, friends, overeating, and, um, stress. At least that’s what I find, and apparently a lot of other people feel the same way.

One cause of stress can be if you are the only vegetarian at the holiday meal (or if you are one of just a few vegetarians). Now, some hosts are accommodating and will happily make a meat-free dish or two. But some hosts find this very difficult and/or upsetting. So if I’m invited somewhere, I usually offer to bring a dish that I can eat. That eases some strain on people who can’t possibly imagine what a vegetarian might eat (even though those same people make plenty of vegetable-based dishes, of course; it’s just that they consider them to be side dishes, not main courses).

One things that’s often overlooked, as people are quick to complain about vegetarians’ “strange” eating habits or “demanding” needs, is that for vegetarians, it can be difficult to look at the table laden with animal products and to watch people, sometimes even people they love, shove dead animals parts in between their teeth. Most of us manage not to show our disgust or to give lectures, but it can be hard at times.

Holidays can be hard in and of themselves – we’ve all experienced the alcoholic relative or the arguing couple or the burnt meal – but we should all try to show a bit more sensitivity. If you’re the vegetarian guest, bring your own dish and don’t lecture people about health and morality. If you’re the host of a vegetarian, make sure you have enough vegetable-based or tofu-based dishes, and have a generous cheese tray, and also remember that your vegetarian guest might be struggling too.

It’s the holidays. If we can’t be cheerful, at least we can be kind. Right?

Quinoa and Lentils with Spinach

I love those Merchant Gourmet packages of quinoa and lentils. They’re so easy to make (you boil the bag) and you can vary them in many ways. Quinoa is protein-rich and very tasty, so I love to use it in my cooking. A simple dish I often make is to cook quinoa and lentils and make it with spinach and yogurt. That’s enough for M, but I add plenty of Tabasco to my bowl.

Ingredients:
1 package quinoa
1 package lentils
1 package baby spinach (about 100 g)
1 tsp salt
1 cup yogurt

Instructions:
1. Boil the quinoa and lentils according to the directions.
2. Wilt the spinach with the salt over low heat.
3. Open the packages and pour the contents in with the salt. Add the yogurt and stir.

Cheese Balls/Buns

These cheesey treats can be shaped into balls or buns, depending on what you want. They can be served with drinks or with soup, or simply on their own as a snack. You can vary them by adding different herbs or spices or by using different types of cheese. I like using a strong cheddar.

Ingredients:
50 g cheddar
30 g butter
pinch black pepper
1 tsp parsley
½ cup flour
2 eggs

Instructions:
1. Grate or chop the cheese. Melt it together with the butter over low heat. Then add the pepper and parsley.
2. Remove the mixture from the stove and add the flour. Mix well, until it turns into a dough ball.
3. Whip the eggs and add them. The dough should be thick and shiny.
4. Place spoonfuls of the cheese dough on a tray and bake for about 20 minutes at 170 C.

Lussekatter, or Swedish Saffron Buns

These Swedish saffron buns are traditionally eaten on the Santa Lucia holiday. Lucia, also called Lucy, was supposedly a Christian martyr who is considered to be patron saint of light. That’s ironic because she blinded herself rather than agree to marry a suitor who found her beautiful. She wanted to devote her life to God.

The buns taste like winter to me and the bright yellow colour brings a welcome shot of light to the dark days. They’re great with a mug of tea or coffee, or a nice steaming glass of hot mulled wine or glögg.

Look at the previous post to get advice on using dried yeast.

Ingredients:
.5 g saffron
1 tsp sugar
75 g butter
½ cup milk
25 g yeast
1 egg
½ cup sugar
3½ cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 handful of raisins
flour for the surface

Instructions:
1. Crush the saffron with the 1 tsp sugar in a mortar with a pestle until finely ground.
2. Melt the butter in the milk over low heat. Let it cool and then add some of it to the yeast.
3. Whisk the egg. Mix it into the rest of the butter and milk mixture. Then mix in the ½ cup sugar, the flour, the salt, the saffron, and the yeast, stirring frequently.
4. Cover the mixture with a cloth and let it rise for about an hour.
5. Boil the water and soak the raisins in it, so that they get plump.
6. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it on a lightly floured surface. Pinch of bits of dough and make bun shapes. The traditional Swedish lussekatter are made in S-shapes, but any shape is fine. Place the buns on a baking tray.
7. Let the buns rise for another 30-60 minutes. Decorate them with raisins.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 200 C. Serve warm.

Re-activating Dried Yeast

Some recipes call for fresh yeast but it isn’t always easy to find fresh yeast. So dried active yeast can be used instead, but it has to be reactivated. A simple rule of thumb is that you use half the amount of dried yeast than you would if you were using fresh yeast. Also, one tablespoonful of dried yeast is approximately equal to 15 g. So this recipe will tell you how to reactivate 15 g of dried yeast.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup boiling water
2/3 cup cold water
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp dried yeast

Instructions:
1. Mix the waters and then dissolve the sugar in it.
2. Add the yeast and mix well.
3. Leave it to sit for 20 or so minutes.
4. Then use in your recipe as directed.

Courgette with Yogurt and Mint Sauce

This is a really easy side dish. You can also use the yogurt and mint sauce for other vegetables or to cook tofu in.

Ingredients:
2 courgettes or 3 baby ones
oil
sea salt
2 tbsp Greek yogurt
2 tsp dried mint

Instructions:
1. Wash and slice the courgettes. Fry them in oil until they are lightly golden on both sides.
2. Sprinkle with salt and add the yogurt to the pan. Continue to cook over low heat until the yogurt breaks apart and becomes a loose sauce.
3. Sprinkle with mint and serve.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

As I mentioned, last week it was my sweetheart’s birthday. I made a big meal that included recipes I’ve posted here before, such as my goat cheese soufflé and roasted Jerusalem artichokes. For dessert, all M would say was that she’d like chocolate, so I decided to make a chocolate mousse cake.

What I did was to make two portions of chocolate mousse, one with eggs and one without. The one with eggs I baked, so that it turned into a very cream and rich base. The one without eggs I slathered on top of the base. In other words, the cake was composed of two types of chocolate mousse, one cooked and the other not. Mousse overload? Not at all.

This would be a great cake to make for someone who is gluten-intolerant, as it has no flour. You can also vary it quite easily by adding nuts or fruit to the mousse topping. You can also use milk chocolate, but I always prefer dark myself.

Ingredients:
butter and cocoa for the pan
375 g dark chocolate
50 g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp sea salt
12 eggs, divided
¼ cup sugar
another 1/5 cup sugar

for the topping:
125 g dark chocolate
1 ½ cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup sugar

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 150 C. Butter a springform pan. Instead of dusting it with flour, I always dust it with cocoa.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn. Add the vanilla and salt. Let the mixture cool.
3. Beat the egg yolks with the ¼ cup sugar. Mix with the chocolate.
4. Beat the egg whites with another 1/5 cup sugar until stiff. Fold this gently into the chocolate mixture and mix well.
5. Bake for about 40 minutes, until just firm in the middle. Let cool completely.
6. Melt the chocolate for the topping, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn. You can always add a touch of milk, butter, or water to the pan to prevent burning.
7. Whip the cream with the vanilla and the sugar. Fold the chocolate into the cream.
8. When the cake has cooled, spoon the mousse over the top. You can serve it right away as it is or you can put it in the refrigerator overnight, so the mousse hardens into a firmer frosting.

Noodle Casserole

A baked noodle casserole is simple and comforting. All you do is cook some noodles (ideally macaroni or penne) until just al dente. Then you mix the noodles with some vegetables, such as peas or spinach, add a protein, such as tofu and/or cheese, and bake it in the oven for 30 or so minutes. The noodles get chewy, with just a touch of crispiness on the top layer, and if you include a cheese sauce, as I do here, the whole dish gets a lovely melted cheesiness. And it’s so easy to vary according to your own tastes, such as by adding ground pepper or smoked paprika, or adding more vegetables. Many people will be familiar with a variation of this dish that includes tuna and either tinned or powdered soup, but I prefer not to use pre-made ingredients, such as tinned cream of mushroom or onion soup.

Ingredients:
about 150 g pasta (macaroni or penne)
100 g frozen peas
olive oil
1 package tofu and/or an additional vegetable
75 g cheddar cheese
¾ cup milk

Instructions:
1. Boil the past and peas until the pasta is al dente. Drain.
2. Lightly oil an oven-safe dish. Pour the pasta and peas into it.
3. Add the tofu and/or the other vegetable and mix with the pasta.
4. Grate the cheese and melt it slowly in the milk, stirring often.
5. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and vegetables.
6. Bake at 180 C for 30 minutes.

Orange Sauce

This is a simple orange sauce that you can use over vegetables, potatoes, tofu, or even fish, if you’re a pescatarian. M thought it was too orangey for her tastes, so if you find that’s the case for you too, you can simply use one orange instead.

Ingredients:
2 oranges
2 tbsp butter
½ cup cream
cinnamon
salt
sugar or agave

Instructions:
1. Zest the oranges and mix the peelings, butter, and cream in a pan over low heat, until the butter has melted.
2. Add cinnamon, salt, and sugar to your taste.
3. Serve over vegetables, potatoes, tofu, or even fish.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

As I posted a couple of days ago, I baked two types of cookies for my students. One kind was coconut macaroons and the other type was oatmeal raisin cookies. This recipe can be varied. I often add half a cup of nuts and/or chocolate chunks and/or coconut to it. And sometimes I use different spices, such as cardamom or nutmeg. You can also soak the raisins in rum, for a more adult flavour. Try it out and see what combination appeals to you.

Ingredients:
¾ cup raisins
boiling water
¾ cup butter or other vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup water (I use the water that drains from the raisins after I plump them)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
salt, optional

Instructions:
1. Add the raisins to the boiling water, so they get plumper.
2. Beat together in a large bowl the butter, sugars, egg, water, and vanilla until creamy.
3. Add the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt if you want.
4. Add and mix in the raisins
5. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
6. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown at 180 C.

Happy Birthday, M

This blog is a somewhat strange mixture of recipe posts and love letters to my beloved M. Today it’s her birthday and so I just want to use the blog to wish her a very happy birthday and to tell her that I love her.

M is the best and I’m really lucky to have met her. Happy birthday, M! I hope this will be your best year ever.

Coconut Macaroons

I’m a teacher and as it’s the last week of the semester, I baked for my students, as I always do. I made two types of cookies for them; young people tend to go for sweet treats. The first kind I made was coconut macaroons. They taste just like the macaroons I remember from Passover when I was a child and they’re so easy to make.

Ingredients:
5 1/2 cups (or about 400 g) flaked coconut
1 (14 ounce or 400 g) can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine coconut, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla; mix well.
3. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto aluminium foil-lined and generously greased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.

Spinach and Cheese Omelette

I eat a fast bowl of cereal for breakfast on weekdays, but on weekends, when M and I sleep a bit later and can have a more leisurely, relaxed morning, I want to make a nicer breakfast. The other day, I made an omelette.

M and I both love spinach and we had a big bag of fresh baby spinach leaves. And a strong cheese such as cheddar or spinach goes well. Serve with some toasted bread and butter and big mugs of coffee and you have a great weekend breakfast.

Ingredients:
oil or butter
4 eggs
½ cup milk
1 tbsp flour
100 g fresh baby spinach
50 g cheese (cheddar or feta work well with spinach), crumbled

Instructions:
1. Warm the oil or butter over low heat in a frying pan.
2. Mix the eggs, milk, and flour together well. There should be no lumps.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and immediately top it with spinach and crumbled cheese.
4. Cook for 5 or so minutes, until the egg has set and the cheese has melted. Then flip it over and cook the other side. If you can’t flip it perfectly, don’t worry. You can make scrambled eggs or several mini-omelettes instead.

Tomato Soup with Mascarpone and Ricotta

I’ve already posted a recipe for tomato soup, but I wanted to post a slightly different one. I had mascarpone and ricotta leftover from other dishes and I needed to use them before M and I went away for the weekend. So decided to make an extra creamy version of my tomato soup. It was very rich and flavourful and it was a great way to make sure I didn’t waste the leftover mascarpone and ricotta cheeses.

Ingredients:
1 onion
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp sugar or honey
olive oil
1 stock cube, or equivalent amount stock powder
2 cartons chopped tomatoes
1 cup milk
75 g mascarpone
50 g ricotta
garlic baguette to serve with it

Instructions:
1. Peel and dice the onion and garlic and put the pieces in the pot. Fry in oil for 5 minutes, then add the sugar and the stock cube and let caramelise for another few minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes. Then add the milk and cheeses.
3. Puree the soup with a hand blender.
4. Serve with a garlic baguette.

Roasted Root Vegetables with Kale and Ricotta

In the winter, the grocery stores stock many more types of root vegetables and so it’s the perfect time to try out new dishes with them. Simply roasting them and serving them with nutty rice enhanced with a bit of brightly coloured kale and creamy ricotta is an easy, hearty meal.

Ingredients:
1 celeriac
1 swede/turnip
3 carrots
3 garlic cloves
olive oil
sea salt
brown basmati rice (about 50 g per person)
75 g kale
50 g ricotta

Instructions:
1. Peel and dice the vegetables. Place them in an oven-safe dish and drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt. Roast them in the oven for 35 minutes at 180 C.
2. Meanwhile, rinse and boil the basmati rice as instructed on the package. Wash the kale and add it to the rice when there are just 5-10 minutes left of the cooking time.
3. Stir the ricotta into the rice when it is completely cooked.
4. Serve the vegetables over the rice.

Sachertorte

A friend of ours invited us to a murder mystery evening. I’ve never been to one of those before and it sounds like it could either be very silly or else quite a bit of fun. Or maybe both.

No matter how the murder mystery part of the night goes, we do know we’re going to have good food. And I’m to bring the cake. So I baked a Sachertorte, that Viennese classic. It sounds hard to make, but it’s actually quite simple. Served in thin slices with a bit of whipped cream, it is an impressive dessert.

I first had Sachertorte when I was visiting friends in Vienna one cold week in February. We walked around and they took me to all the lovely coffee shops in the city and we chatted over coffee and cake. It was delicious.

Ingredients:
butter to grease the cake tin
200 g dark chocolate
200 g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
5 eggs
apricot jam
about 50 g more dark chocolate
whipped cream to serve with it

Instructions:
1. Grease the cake tin. Melt the chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring frequently.
2. Add the vanilla, sugar, flour, and baking powder, and mix well.
3. Separate the eggs. Add the yolks to the mixture. Whisk the egg whites well, then gently fold them in.
4. Bake for 40 min at 180 C. Let the cake cool completely, then cut it in half lengthwise. Fill the centre with jam, spreading it until smooth. Then replace the top half of the cake.
5. Melt the other 50 g of chocolate and spread it over the top and sides of the cake. Serve with whipped cream.

Noodle Kugel

Just a day after the latkes, M got another Jewish dish to try. This time it was noodle kugel.

Kugel is an odd mixture of a dish. It has noodles, so it seems like a heavy main course. And yet it’s often quite sweet and could be more like a dessert. I served it as our main course, but it also works as a side dish. You can cut the sweetness a bit by serving it with vegetables. Of course there are variations on kugel, so you can replace the noodles with apples or carrots if you want.

I remember my maternal grandma making noodle kugel quite regularly. She always made me one when I came back to visit from university and even today she often makes me one when I come to visit. I appreciate that she goes to so much trouble for me, even as she’s in her late 80s.

M can’t know how my grandma’s kugel tastes, but hopefully she got a glimpse of Ashkenazi Jewish home cooking the night I made the noodle kugel.

Ingredients:
butter to grease the casserole dish
½ cup crème fraiche or sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp apricot jam
2 eggs
200 g egg noodles
1 cup corn flakes
more sugar and cinnamon

Instructions:
1. Grease the dish. Mix the crème fraiche or sour cream, cottage cheese, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, and jam together.
2. Beat the eggs and add them to the rest of the mixture. Mix all this well with the noodles, coating them.
3. Put the mixture in the dish and bake for 15 minutes at 180 C. Meanwhile, crush the corn flakes and mix them with more sugar and cinnamon.
4. Stir the noodles and then sprinkle with the corn flakes. Bake for another 20 or so minutes, checking and stirring as necessary.

Potato Latkes

Hanukkah is almost over and I was determined to make M some typical Jewish food while the holiday was going on. I’m an atheist Jew, which means I don’t believe in a god or any of the other accoutrements that usually accompany religion, but I do have a Jewish family and grew up with Jewish culture around me. That includes Jewish food.

M isn’t Jewish and never had Jewish food before, so I thought it would be fun to cook it for her. But I also was a bit worried. Even though M is always sweet and never criticises me, I had flashbacks to a previous partner, whose Christian family made fun of the Jewish dishes I cooked for them. They claimed to be interested in Jewish things, because of course their friend Jesus was a Jew, but then they mocked anything that was different from what they were used to, and they seemed to view Judaism as an outmoded set of beliefs that was simply there to make way for Christianity. Again, M is nothing like this, but somehow I was worried that she wouldn’t like the food anyway.

But Hanukkah seemed like a good time to force myself to face my stupid and ill-founded fears. I’d gotten 8 little gifts for M and they were piled up in the corner of the living room, poorly wrapped (I’m an awful wrapper!), and it was snowy and icy outside. So potato pancakes seemed like just the thing.

Potato pancakes – called latkes by us Jews – are quite easy to make. The only important thing to remember is that potatoes can be pretty watery, so once you’ve grated the potatoes, press them and strain out as much liquid as you can. That way the latkes will be much crisper. If you don’t want your Hanukkah food soaked in oil, despite the fact that it’s an oil-based holiday, use kitchen towel to pat the fried latkes dry.

Serve with sugar, crème fraiche or sour cream, and apple sauce, and open a few presents while you’re at it. Next thing you know, you’ll be singing “dreidel, dreidel, dreidel” too.

As for M, she liked the latkes. I was relieved. Now I just had to find something else to worry about, which meant wondering if she liked all the silly and sappy gifts I’d gotten her (heart-patterned socks, anyone?). Time for another latke!

Ingredients:
4-5 potatoes (I used blue ones for variation, but any firm sort will do)
1 onion
3 eggs
3 tbsp flour or matzoh meal
1 tsp salt
oil
sugar, crème fraiche or sour cream, and apple sauce to serve with them

Instructions:
1. Shred or grate the potatoes and try to press as much liquid out of them as you can.
2. Grate the onion and add it to the potatoes.
3. Beat the eggs and add them to the potatoes, then mix in the flour and salt. Blend well. Meanwhile, heat the oil over low heat.
4. Fry heaping tablespoonfuls of the potato mixture until crispy on both sides.
5. Serve with sugar, crème fraiche or sour cream, and apple sauce.

Pasta with Artichokes and Creamed Corn

I remember loving the “green noodles” my mother used to make when I was a child. The dish was simply spinach tagliatelle (the pasta has no noticeable spinach taste, but the colour is spring-like and lovely) with shredded cheese over it. My mother served it with lamb chops and I can’t explain why the dish appealed to me so much, but it created a lasting memory for me. When I went away to university, I used to request that my mother make “green noodles” for me when I came home for a visit.

When I saw fresh spinach tagliatelle on sale at the grocery store, I thought of mother and picked up a bag. One night, I made a simple tomato and pine nut sauce for it. Half the bag made enough food for me and M to have dinner plus leftovers for lunch. I wanted to do something else with the tagliatelle on the second night, which is the evening when I was hankering for comfort food and made creamed corn.

So I thought I’d turn the corn into a sauce. Artichokes go well with corn, so I added them too. A sprinkle of a medium cheddar finished the dish off. It certainly wasn’t my mother’s “green noodles”, but M and I liked it just fine. Instead of being relegated to the side while meat took the pride of place, my “green noodles” were a meal in and of themselves.

Ingredients:
creamed corn (see yesterday’s post)
200 g spinach tagliatelle
5-6 artichoke hearts
30 g cheddar

Instructions:
1. Make the creamed corn according to the post yesterday.
2. Boil the pasta. Meanwhile, chop the artichokes.
3. Drain the pasta, then mix it with the creamed corn and the artichokes.
4. Grate the cheddar and add it to the pasta, then serve.

Creamed Corn

I usually love to cook, but after a sleepless night and a long day at work, I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired. There were ingredients in the fridge, but none of them appealed to me. I wanted something fast and comforting. So I peeked into the freezer.

I saw frozen corn kernels. And suddenly I remembered creamed corn. Not the gross, almost syrupy tinned stuff that your mother might heat on the stove and serve as a side with a hunk of meat, but real creamed corn, lightly sweet, crunchy, soothing. A dish good enough to stand on its own, not as an afterthought.

It only takes a few minutes to pull this together and it uses ingredients you most likely already have on hand, so it’s good for a weeknight. I turned it into a sauce that I served over pasta, but more on that tomorrow!

Ingredients:
½ bag frozen corn kernels
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
½ cup milk (use cream if you want it even richer)
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

Instructions:
1. Lightly warm the corn in a saucepan over low heat until thawed (about 5-10 minutes).
2. Add the butter and sugar and stir.
3. Add the milk and continue to warm, stirring now and then.
4. Season with salt and pepper.

Progress

I was Skyping with some relatives recently. They asked what I’d been up to over the weekend. I shrugged and said not much, mainly due to the inclement weather This was in itself true. However, I let them think that I’d been up to not much all on my own.

That is to say, I didn’t mention M.

My relatives were probably feeling sorry for me. They must have thought, “Poor thing. Working all the time and now stuck at home all alone because of the weather, too. She needs a life.”

I have a small family. Some of them know about M and some don’t. Those who don’t know are people who are conservative or who wouldn’t get it or accept it. And of those who do know, most don’t really mention it or ask about her. None of them have met her.

I felt very sad after this conversation. I couldn’t say to my family via Skype, “Yes, I was stuck at home. But it was fine. I was with my beloved, and she makes everything better.” Instead, I just had to let them think I was lonely, and alone, when actually I’m neither.

Some years ago, I couldn’t have walked down the street, holding M’s hand. I couldn’t have introduced her to colleagues and friends as my partner. Clearly, lots of progress has been made. But it hasn’t been enough. One day, I’d love to Skype with my family and to have M sitting next to me, chatting with them. Maybe this will be the case, some day.

Kale with Pine Nuts

You see a lot of kale at Christmastime in grocery stores, and I try to use ingredients that are seasonal. I wanted to lightly stir-fry kale, toast some pine nuts with it, and add a tablespoon or two of yogurt. The strong flavour of the dark, cabbage-like kale together with the pine nuts smells and tastes like winter. The dish looks like a pine tree and is hearty and warming.

I served this as a side dish with mezzaluna pasta stuffed with pumpkin and pine nuts. That was store-bought, because I simply don’t have the time to make fresh pasta. But maybe one day...

Ingredients:
150 g kale
oil
1 tsp sugar or honey
pinch sea salt
50 g pine nuts
Greek yogurt, if desired

Instructions:
1. Lightly stir-fry the kale in the oil. After a minute or two, add the sugar or honey and the sea salt. Continue to stir-fry while stirring for another few minutes.
2. Add the pine nuts and a touch more oil if needed. Toast until golden brown.
3. Serve with a dollop of yogurt, if desired.

Root Vegetable and Apple Soup

Another cold, wintry day. Time, then, for another batch of soup. Not long ago, M brought home a bottle of carrot-apple juice. The carroty taste was a bit strong for me, but I liked the combination. So I decided to make a root vegetable soup that was sweetened and softened with the addition of a couple of apples.

Carrots, a parsnip or two, and apples, pureed with parsley and served with a dollop of yogurt: a milder take on the carrot-apple juice, warm, and healthy. Perfect on a snowy day.

Ingredients:
5 carrots
1 parsnip
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp parsley
1 vegetable stock cube
1 litre water
2 apples (I like the Pink Lady type, but then I would, wouldn’t I? Red would be fine too.)
yogurt or crème fraiche

Instructions:
1. Peel and dice the carrots and parsnip. Put them with the butter, parsley, and stock cube in a pot over medium heat. Cook for a moment or two, then add the water.
2. Boil for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables soften. Meanwhile, dice the apples, then add them.
3. Puree everything into a smooth soup, then serve with dollops of yogurt or crème fraiche.

Tiramisu

On a recent Saturday, I was feeling low. I’d had a lot of expenses lately and was feeling like things just weren’t going right for me. As I told M, she was the one good thing that happened to me all this year.

So a pick-me-up was needed. And what better pick-me-up is there than tiramisu, which literally means “pick-me-up”? Why is it a pick-me-up? Because it contains caffeine and sugar, so you do get a bit of a high from it. Some people add alcohol, too, though I don’t. And when you’re feeling low, a fattening and energising dish can really help. Well, at least it helps your head, if it doesn’t help your waistline!

My problems weren’t solved by a bowlful of tiramisu, but I did feel a bit better!

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar, plus 2 tsp sugar
1/3 cup milk
220 g mascarpone cheese
½ cup cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 package lady finger (or savoiardi) biscuits
¼ cup coffee or espresso
cocoa powder

Instructions:
1. Whisk the yolks with the ¼ cup sugar in a saucepan. Add the milk and bring to a boil. Boil for just a minute, stirring the whole time. When it has cooled, mix the mascarpone into it.
2. Whisk the cream, the 2 tsp sugar, and the vanilla extract until fluffy with a hand mixer.
3. Slice the biscuits in half lengthwise and soak in coffee so they become soft.
4. Place a layer of biscuits on the bottom of a dish. Add a layer of the mascarpone, then a layer of whipped cream. Sprinkle with cocoa powder. Add a second layer of each item, then sprinkle with more cocoa powder. Serve.

Goat’s Cheese Soufflé

I saw a recipe for a cheese soufflé and decided to adjust it to our tastes. Soufflés look very impressive when they come out of the oven all puffy, wafting delicious smells, and their warm, gooiness is sophisticated comfort food. I served this with the roasted root vegetable side dish I posted about yesterday and M really enjoyed the meal. She usually praises anything I make, which I think is just because she’s biased in my favour, but she particularly liked this soufflé. And of course I want my sweetheart to be happy, so I count this meal as a success.

This recipe can be varied in terms of what type of cheese you include and what herbs, if any, you use to season it. If you use a heavier cheese, shred it first.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp basil (or other herb if you prefer)
50 g butter, plus extra for greasing the pan
1/8 cup flour
2 cups milk
150 g goat’s cheese
4 eggs, separated
sea salt
black pepper

Instructions:
1. Chop the basil and fry it in the butter. Add the flour and stir for a few minutes. Then take it off the heat and milk in the milk and cheese.
2. When the mixture has cooled, add the yolks. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Whisk the egg whites and then gently fold them into the mixture.
4. Butter an oven-safe pan and pour the mixture into it. Bake at 200 C for about 30 minutes, until golden and puffy.