Matsaman Curry

A few years ago we took a Thai cooking class from Niddy Lindsley for Joe's birthday. She came to our house armed with a rice cooker and bags of groceries and taught us the traditional way of cooking several different Thai dishes. We took lots of notes and still try to replicate her dishes in our kitchen years later.

Tonight we made a version of Matsaman curry (my favorite curry). Usually it's made with onion, potatoes, and pork or chicken. This time we used what we had on hand, which happened to be an eggplant, some carrots, and some chicken thighs.

On a good week, I try to plan at least three meals and shop for all the ingredients on Sunday. This was not one of those weeks. I managed to get to the store, but I had no plan. So I bought some random veggies that looked good and that I knew we liked: eggplant, carrots, asparagus, cabbage, and some kale. I bought some boneless chicken thighs because they are relatively cheap, and the ingredients for my current favorite snack, cottage cheese and pineapple. Between the basic veggies I bought and our Costco stash of salmon burgers, Ling Ling Potstickers, and chicken apple sausages I knew we could figure out some simple meals this week.  

So while this particular version of curry is definitely not traditional, it's still a delicious, home-cooked meal. 

I love how she uses the coconut milk in this dish. You add the thick, creamy part of the coconut milk first, which rises to the top of the can, and then you pour in the remaining coconut water later on in the cooking process. For this to work, you can't use light coconut milk, you can't shake the can before you open it, and you have to make sure that you buy one without guar gum, which I think is a stabilizer that keeps it from separating. We like Aroy-D the best, but Mae Ploy is good too, which is what we used this time. We also like Mae Ploy curry paste, as seen below.

Matsaman Curry with Chicken Thighs, Eggplant, and Carrots

adapted from Niddy Lindsley

serves 4

Notes: If you wanted to be more traditional, use 2 medium potatoes and 1 medium onion, diced, instead of the eggplant and carrots. If you click on the link to her original recipe, you'll see a few more ingredients on her list that we didn't use. We just didn't have them on hand, but if you do (or have time to go buy them) by all means, use them. Your dish will be that much more authentic and delicious. 

2-4 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

2-3 tablespoons Matsaman curry paste

1 pound boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat, and chopped

1 can coconut milk (15-19 ounces)

1 cup water (or more as needed)

1 medium-large eggplant, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

2 medium carrots, diced or cut into matchsticks

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

1-2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons lime juice

basil (Thai or regular) for garnish

While you get your other ingredients ready, place the diced eggplant into a strainer, place the strainer on a plate, and sprinkle some salt over the eggplant. Let sit for at least 30 minutes and up to one hour. This helps extract bitterness.

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the curry paste. Cook until fragrant, 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. 

Add the chicken, and a little more oil if the pot looks too dry. Cook until browned for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the creamy part of the coconut milk and simmer 4-5 minutes, until you can see the red oil start to separate and float to the top. 

Add the eggplant, carrots, peanuts, and the rest of the coconut milk (the watery part). Add more water to cover if needed. Stir to combine and simmer for about 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. The red oil will separate to the top again. 

Add the sugar, fish sauce (pictured below), and lime juice. Taste and add more fish sauce or lime juice as needed. If it's not spicy enough for you, add more curry paste.

Serve over rice. Garnish with the basil. 

Manhattan Clam Chowder

I love a bowl of creamy New England clam chowder just as much as the next gal, but not this month. For me, January is always about cutting back, trying to make up for the onslaught of unnecessary fat and sugar consumption otherwise known as December. The healthier tomato-based version of this classic chowder seemed like the perfect remedy.

This year was better (eating-wise) than most, on account of a nasty case of bronchitis that showed up at my door in the last few days before Christmas.

Why is that a good thing, you ask? I had planned to do all my holiday baking that week, and since no one wants a plate of cookies from someone who's coughing constantly and sounds like a 70-year-old smoker, I didn't bake a thing. Well, except for one batch of Leanne's Sugar-Free Coconut Almond Bark, but I made it right before I got sick, and I ended up eating most of it myself (I was sick, don't judge me). But at least the one thing I did make was full of healthy fats and contained no added sugar!

This chowder recipe is from a cookbook based on a popular restaurant called Mother's Bistro and Bar in Portland, OR. I went there once for breakfast (we waited outside for an hour to get a table!) and loved it. It's delicious comfort food made from scratch; you can't beat that.

Besides wanting something healthy, the other reason I decided to make this soup because I had a can of baby clams in my pantry that was set to expire soon and I didn't want to waste it. I love the little kick from the Tabasco. Don't be turned off by the long ingredient list - just think of all the veggies you'll be eating! From experience I can say that this soup freezes very well.

Manhattan Clam Chowder
adapted from Mother's Best, by Lisa Schroeder
serves 7-8

2 strips bacon, finely diced (1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, finely diced (1 1/2 cups)
1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced (3/4 cup)
2 ribs celery, finely diced (1/2 cup)
1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced into half moons and washed (1/2 cup)
1 medium green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced (about 1 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced (1 teaspoon)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 (10.75 ounce) can tomato puree
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (3 cups)
3 1/2 cups fish stock or 2 (14 ounce) cans clam juice
2 (10 ounce) cans baby clams in juice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 dashes Tabasco sauce, or to taste
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce, or to taste

Set a large heavy soup pot or dutch oven over high heat. When hot, add the bacon. Cook over high heat until it starts to brown , then lower the heat to medium and continue to cook until most of the fat has rendered and the bacon is just about crisp, about 4 minutes.

To this, add the vegetable oil, onions, carrots, celery, leeks, and bell peppers. Saute for about 10-15 minutes, stirring every so often, until the vegetables are very soft. Add the garlic and saute for another 2 minutes.

Next, add the diced and pureed tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, potatoes, and the stock or clam juice to the pot and mix well. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are fork tender.

Add the clams with their juice, the Tabasco, and Worcestershire. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Bring back to a simmer for several minutes until heated through.

Ladle the chowder into bowls and serve with crusty bread or crackers. Oyster crackers are ideal, if you have them. 

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Butternut squash, curry powder, and apples are a classic combination and this soup is perfect for a chilly fall day! I thought it paired nicely with grilled cheese.

An added bonus when making this recipe is that I got to use my new food mill! I thought sure this would be one of those kitchen purchases that would only see the light of day once a year to make apple butter, so I was super excited to find a use for it so soon. Don't have a food mill? Not to worry, you can use a food processor, an immersion blender, probably even a potato masher. You're not looking for a velvety smooth texture with this soup.

It's so delicious, even Forest wanted a taste.

But a moment later he became extremely interested in a deer who was foraging in the backyard. Lots of deer and wild turkeys up here.

And let's not forget the cat, Lucky. He's older than dirt but still wants nothing more than to snuggle with you all day long.

CSA Week 24:

In the box: One bunch radishes, one bunch carrots, one head celery, one head cauliflower, 3/4 pound broccoli, 1 pound Sweet Girl tomatoes, 1 Delicata squash, 3 heads garlic, 1 basket strawberries, 2 pounds Jonagold apples

Same story as last week: still house/pet-sitting (see adorable animals above), so we split up the box again.

One night for dinner I cooked up some pasta and tossed it with a jar of my roasted summer tomatoes. I found a bag of fully-cooked, frozen meatballs in the freezer at the house where I'm staying, so I baked a few of those to go on top for protein. They were not good at all, but at least the pasta and sauce were delicious. I roasted the broccoli to go alongside, one of my favorite ways to eat broccoli. If I were smart I would have roasted the tomatoes we got this week for the sauce, because when I stopped in at home on my lunch break a few days later I noticed that they had gone bad. Darn! They must have been really ripe when we received them.Too bad I wasn't home to notice it.

I used some of the celery to make Yumm! Tuna Salad, which I ate two ways: on top of a big bed of salad greens, and on top of a toasted English muffin with cheese. I sliced a few stalks into short sticks for dipping in hummus as a snack. I gave the rest to Joe and hinted that maybe he could make a batch of beef stock this week.

Joe also got the cauliflower, delicata squash, and the carrots. He said he peeled and sliced the squash and then sauteed it in a pan with some oil until tender, and had it with rice. Apparently that the basic recipe from How to Cook Everything and there are a ton of variations. He says he's going use the cauliflower to make the Test Kitchen curried skillet cauliflower we made a few weeks ago. I haven't heard anything about the carrots.

Local strawberries in fall, whaaat? I was very surprised. Aside from being a little white in the middle, they were actually pretty sweet! They made a tasty snack just as they were.

I roasted the radishes in the oven while I baked a Cousin Jack's Pasty. They needed a little more time to cook than the pasty did though, and eventually I got impatient and took them out, even though they could have gone longer. I washed and chopped the radish greens and steamed them in the microwave for a couple of minutes, then tossed with salt and olive oil (no pepper because they are already pretty peppery).

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
adapted from Ina Garten
makes 3 1/2 quarts

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh or Jonagold (about 4)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups good apple cider or juice (not from concentrate, no sugar added)

Add the butter, oil, onions, and curry powder to a large stockpot. Cook over low heat, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, until the onions are tender, Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot as you do.

Meanwhile, peel and seed the squash. Cut into chunks (I cut mine into approx. 2 inch pieces). Peel and core the apples, then cut them into chunks of similar size.

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 30-40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade (or other method producing similar results, such as a potato masher, a few pulses in a food processor, or immersion blender).

Return the soup back to the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot. 

Julia Child's Provencal Tomato Quiche

This is a different sort of quiche than I've made before. It doesn't use any milk or cream, and there aren't even very many eggs in it. The surprising ingredient is anchovy fillets. I still had some left in the jar from when I made the amazing anchovy butter so it was a good excuse to use them up. If you are hesitant about the anchovies, don't be. They just add a really nice salty flavor - not fishy at all.

You start with a pre-baked pie shell (I used a whole wheat store-bought one to keep things simple), then you layer it with mashed anchovies, a filling of sauteed onions and tomatoes mixed with egg, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, then finally, sliced tomatoes. I thought the colorful heirloom tomatoes from our CSA would be great for this. This quiche was delicious - I wanted to devour the whole thing myself, and probably would have, if no one was looking.

CSA Week 19:

In the box: 1/2 pound spinach, 1.5 pounds heirloom tomatoes, 1 1/4 pounds broccoli, 2 pounds White Rose potatoes, 1 Acorn squash, 3 red bell peppers, 1 head garlic, 1 watermelon, 1 basket French Petite plums, 2 pounds Rome apples

Winter squash are here! We are so excited. Besides sweet potatoes, squash are one of our favorite winter vegetables. I'm sure there will be many times this winter where we will simply roast the squash and top it with nothing but butter and maybe a little brown sugar, but for our very first squash of the season I chose to make a soup. I used a recipe from one of my many Mark Bittman cookbooks: The Best Recipes in the World. It's a Laotian-style squash soup made with squash, onion, tomato, chickpeas, stock, coconut milk, and fish sauce. Pureed and topped with cilantro (and scallions if I had had any).

Whenever I see broccoli and potatoes together I immediately want to make one of my favorite meals: oven-roasted potatoes and broccoli topped with homemade mornay sauce. That's cheese sauce, people. I've blogged about it before. This time I used 2% milk and sharp cheddar. I roasted the potato wedges first, then when they were close to being done, I added chopped broccoli (florets and stems - peel stems first), since they don't take quite as much time as potatoes. Roasted broccoli is just amazing, right? It's got such a different flavor than when it's stir-fried or steamed. Amazing. Joe also bought some sweet Italian sausage links to add to the meal, so we cooked those first, in a skillet, then sliced and tossed with the roasted veggies. We didn't cook all the potatoes, so there are still a couple in the fridge for another time.

We made fajitas using the red bell peppers, along with a couple other colors of peppers and onions that we bought. They went into the grill basket in big pieces and then we thinly sliced them once they were done. We also grilled a huge piece of skirt steak that we marinated first in a mixture of garlic, Serrano chilis, oil, salt, and lots of lime juice.

We ate the watermelon and the plums for snacks. Garlic went into the stash.

For breakfast one morning, we had fried eggs over a mound of steamed spinach. It was healthy, but next time I think I would saute the spinach in a little oil or butter to add more flavor.

We still have a couple of potatoes, and we haven't done anything with the apples yet. Rome apples are good cooking apples.

Provencal Tomato Quiche
adapted from Julia Child - The Way to Cook
makes one 9-inch pie, serves 4-6

Note: Use fresh, in season tomatoes for this dish. Julia would have you peel the tomatoes, but I didn't bother and it was fine with us. For the seasonings, she doesn't give amounts, and I didn't measure, but I gave my best guess as to what I used, so at least it's a starting point. If you absolutely don't think you can stomach the anchovies, I think a good substitute would be kalamata olives, because they would provide a similar salty flavor.

2 cups sliced onions
about 1/4 cup olive oil
1 large clove garlic, pureed
5 medium fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled if you want, seeded, extra juice squeezed out, and chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
1 egg plus 3 yolks, lightly beaten
8 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained and then mashed with 1 tablespoon olive oil
One 9-inch frozen pie shell
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or other hard cheese
1 or 2 large tomatoes, sliced, for topping the quiche

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Unwrap frozen pie shell. Prick all over with a fork. Lay a piece of foil gently over the top, and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, add 2 tablespoons of the oil and heat medium. When hot, add the onions and saute for 8-10 minutes, until tender but not browned. Add the garlic, the chopped tomatoes, and bring to a simmer. Cook like that for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Mash the tomatoes with the back of the spoon a little bit if needed; the mixture should start to form a thick puree. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, cayenne, and tomato paste if needed, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a large glass bowl and let cool to tepid.

Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the eggs and parsley.

To assemble the quiche, start by spreading the mashed anchovies across the bottom of the pie shell. Next, pour the tomato/egg mixture into the shell, smoothing with a spatula. Sprinkle the cheese evenly across the surface, and then arrange the tomato slices on top. Salt lightly, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. When it's done, it will be lightly puffed, and the crust will be nice and brown. 

Roasted Summer Tomatoes (for Winter Enjoyment)

This week was a bit of a challenge with the CSA. We got the box on a Tuesday, and we knew we were leaving for Greece on Friday of that same week. So this week was all about seeing how much of the box I could freeze for later in the three evenings after work I had available in between packing and cleaning and everything else.

What I didn't have time to consume myself or otherwise store for later I figured my dad could handle - he generously volunteered to stay at our house with Sid Vicious while we were gone. For short trips a daily visit from a pet-sitter is sufficient, but for a ten day long trip I was worried he would get too attention-deprived, so I was relieved that my dad offered this enormous favor. Sid is more like a dog in that he seems to require a lot more interaction than other cats I've owned in the past.

By the way, I love how I tried to be all casual about our vacation by slipping in it at the end of that first sentence. Ha. I can't pull that off. Before this trip I had never been to Europe. Neither of us had. So this was actually a big freaking deal for both of us. Joe was going to Athens for a conference so I decided to tag along too. We had a great time! I'll be sure to share some photos in the next post.

CSA Week 14:

In the box: 1 head lettuce, 1 cucumber, 1 basket grape tomatoes, 1 pound Sweet Girl tomatoes, 4 ears of corn, 1 pound Romano Beans, 1 red onion, 1 head garlic, 1 basket blackberries, 1 basket strawberries

I froze the whole container of blackberries to add to my growing collection of CSA blackberries. I ate the strawberries for dessert by dipping them into a small bowl of melted chocolate chips.

The Romano beans were pretty easy to freeze as well; they just needed to be trimmed and blanched first.

The Sweet Girl tomatoes and red onion were combined with some store-bought Romas to make a double batch of this amazing Quinoa Caprese salad. Half went into our bellies, the other half was delivered to my friend Amy and her family who just brought home their new son from Taiwan. I loved this salad because 1) it makes great use of delicious summer tomatoes 2) you get all the elements of a traditional Caprese salad from the basil and big pieces of fresh mozzarella, and 3) it uses quinoa, the magical super grain full of fiber and protein. For lunch I put a big scoop of this salad on top of greens to add even more veggies.

I left the corn, cucumber, and the rest of the lettuce for my dad.

I saw an article in the local paper about roasting tomatoes in small batches and freezing for later to add to soups and sauces. I decided to try it out using the grape tomatoes from the box. I also used some cherry tomatoes from my own garden. That is the recipe I decided to share this week.

Roasted Summer Tomatoes (for Winter Enjoyment)
adapted from the Corvallis Gazette Times

Notes: The great thing about this method is that it works for large or small amounts of tomatoes, so if you have a small garden, you can roast whatever you harvest each week and just collect them in the freezer until you have an amount you can actually do something with later.  The result is a nice chunky mixture which could be used as a topping for polenta or a slice of crusty bread, as a thick sauce tossed with pasta, or a great way to beef up a soup. Oh, and it would be great as a topping for meat like steak, chicken, or fish.

Olive oil
Tomatoes (big, small, whatever you have), washed, stems removed, halved or quartered if large
Peeled garlic cloves
Fresh or dried herbs such as basil, oregano, or parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Generously drizzle some oil onto the bottom of a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet. Add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine.

Roast until the tomatoes are starting to darken, stirring occasionally. Everything will have softened and there should be lots of tomato juices in the pan. I roasted cherry tomatoes which took between 20-30 minutes. It might take longer if you are using larger tomatoes.

Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Allow to cool. At this point, you can remove the skins if you'd like. They should peel away very easily. I was too lazy so I skipped this step. If you don't want a chunky sauce, you can puree the mixture in a food processor. Store in jars or plastic bags in the freezer. 

Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables

This hearty bean stew is a great recipe to make with summer produce. It uses tons of veggies, white beans, and a little bit of meat.

I used to make a Rachael Ray cassoulet type recipe that, while delicious, called for three pounds of meat and claimed to serve four (talk about hefty portions!). This Mark Bittman recipe makes about six servings and calls for just one pound of meat. I used one good quality sweet Italian sausage link and 3/4 of a pound of duck breast. When you're only buying one pound of meat, you can afford to splurge a little and buy something interesting! 

CSA Week 12:

In the box: 1 bunch carrots, 1 basket grape tomatoes, 2 pounds Sweet Girl tomatoes, 2 pounds French fingerling potatoes, 1 head garlic, 1 bunch basil, 1 pound summer squash, 1 basket blackberries, 1 basket strawberries

Let's see, this week I made pesto with the basil and used it as a dip for carrot sticks, grape tomatoes, and snow peas (from our garden). I admit, with no shame, to eating the last of the pesto with a spoon. :-)

Almost all of the tomatoes, all of the squash, and some of the carrots were used to make the cassoulet.

I used most of the potatoes and some of the garlic to make an awesome potato and black bean dish (recipe from one of my new favorite blogs, The Edible Perspective). I made a little more than it said so I added more of all the spices, not really measuring anything. It turned out fabulous - we just piled the potatoes and black bean mixture into bowls and topped with chopped tomato, sliced scallion, cilantro, and a little sharp cheddar cheese. Sometime I'm also going to have to make her vegetable filling from that same post!

Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables
adapted from Mark Bittman - Food Matters
serves 6

Notes: From personal experience, I can tell you that this soup freezes well and goes great with a side salad for lunch.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sausages, bone-in pork chops, confit duck legs, duck breasts, or a combination
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 leeks or onions, trimmed, washed, and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths
3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium zucchinis or 1 small head green cabbage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups chopped tomatoes, with their juice (canned are fine)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
4 cups cooked white beans (canned are ok), drained and liquid reserved in any case
2 cups stock, dry red wine, bean cooking liquid, or water, plus more as needed
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the meat and cook for about 10 minutes, turning as needed, until deeply browned on all sides. Remove from pan and drain off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat (add more olive oil if it doesn't look like 2 tablespoons).

Turn the heat down to medium. Add the garlic, leeks or onions, carrots, celery, and zucchini or cabbage. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes or so until the vegetables have softened.

Add the tomatoes and their liquid, the reserved meats, and the herbs. Bring to a boil. Add the beans. Bring to a boil again, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to a steady but gentle simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes. If the mixture becomes thick during this time, add a little more liquid. It should thicken up and the vegetables should get very soft and tender.

Remove the meat and place on a cutting board. Remove bones and skin as needed, then chop the meat into chunks, whatever size you want, and return to the pot, along with the cayenne. Cook for a few more minutes, just to warm the meat back up. Taste, adjust the seasoning as necessary, and serve.

Moroccan-Style Chickpea Soup

I know what you're thinking. It's August. It's way too hot for soup. And you're probably right. But, hear me out. I work in a very air-conditioned building and sometimes I DO want a bowl of hot soup for lunch, even in August. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. Also, Joe wanted to go out to dinner that night, but I wanted to cook and use up some CSA veggies. So we compromised: he made this soup while I did my TurboFire workout, and then we went out to dinner afterwards. Best of both worlds! When we came home, the soup had cooled and we portioned it into small containers to freeze. I've been enjoying this soup all week long. 

CSA Week 9:

In the box: 1 red leaf lettuce, 1/2 pound spinach, 2 pounds tomatoes, 1 basket grape tomatoes, 1 pound summer squash, 1 bunch basil, 1 head garlic, 1 bunch radishes, 1 basket raspberries.

This soup used the remaining pound of potatoes from last week, and some of the summer squash from this week.

We ate lots of salads this week topped with grape tomatoes, chopped regular tomatoes, basil, and spinach. I followed Barefoot and in the Kitchen's method of prepping the lettuce ahead of time and it helped save a lot of time during the week. I tore lettuce and spinach into pieces, washed them in the salad spinner, and put them into a plastic bag with a paper towel. I only prepped about half of the lettuce this way, then a few days later, I did another batch, since lettuce seems to last longer intact as a head of lettuce than it does torn into pieces.

We made a veggie pizza topped with pesto made from the basil, sliced zucchini and red onion (sauteed first), sliced tomato, and slices of fresh mozzarella. That same night I chopped the rest of the squash and tomatoes to save for a weekend breakfast burritio. We sauteed the veggies, added salsa, black beans, leftover Mexican rice, shredded cheese, and wrapped it in a tortilla.

I don't really care for regular radishes plain; they are pretty spicy for me. But this week I discovered that a great way to cook radishes is to first cook bacon, then saute sliced radishes in the leftover bacon fat in the pan. So good!

Moroccan-Style Chickpea Soup
adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
serves 4-6

Notes: They recommend serving with "plenty of Tabasco". Nice idea, but we totally forgot to do this. We also forgot to mash some of the potatoes with a spoon to thicken the soup, but since we froze the soup, they got a little mashed during the thawing process, so it worked out. If you are planning on freezing some or all of the soup too, you could probably skip the mashing step as well.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika (we only had hot smoked paprika, so we used that)
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 (15.5 ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed
1 pound red potatoes (about 3 medium), scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 pound zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley and/or mint
Pepper, to taste
Lemon wedges and Tabasco, for serving

Using a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened. Add the garlic, paprika, saffron, ginger, and cumin. Cook, stirring, for just 30 seconds, so that they become fragrant. Add the chickpeas, potatoes, tomatoes (including their juices), zucchini, and broth. Stir to combine. Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are fork tender.

Mash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon to thicken the soup. Off heat, stir in the fresh herbs. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve with lemon wedges and Tabasco.

Homemade Granola

We have been on a granola kick for about 6 months now, and buying it at the store was getting really expensive! When we had the time to drive out to Costco we'd pick up a big box for a pretty decent price, but if we didn't have time to make the trip we'd have to buy it at the regular grocery store which, even from the bulk section, is not a good value at all, especially when I insist on buying a high quality kind without fillers or refined sugars.

So this was my first attempt at making it from scratch. Turns out, it's a piece of cake! Seriously, it takes about half an hour, and it makes enough to last us about two weeks. I used a recipe from America's Test Kitchen, making just a couple of changes based on my personal preferences. There is a lot of wiggle room with granola though. Basically you are just mixing together oats, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits to your liking, adding some sweeteners, and baking in the oven until toasty and crisp.

One thing I changed from the original recipe was to grind up some of the oats before mixing them in with the rest of the ingredients. My friend at work said this helps make the granola chunkier, so I tried it with the second batch I made. I did notice that it was a little chunkier, which I liked, so I'm going to continue to do that with future batches.

I've estimated that two tablespoons of this granola is about 2 WW Points+. It's helpful for me to think of it more as a condiment. I like to sprinkle it over my morning bowl of Cheerios or plain yogurt to add some flavor and healthy fats.

What ingredients do you like in your granola? What's your favorite way to eat it?

Classic Granola
adapted from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
makes about 7 cups

Notes: Since this granola has a shorter shelf life than a store-bought product, it only lasts about a week stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It does freeze well, however, so I store half of my batch in the freezer in a sturdy ziplock bag and just take it out and let it thaw on the counter once we've finished the first half.

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins

Make sure you have an oven rack adjusted to the middle position and preheat the oven to 325 F.

Measure out 1/2 cup of the oats and grind them in a small coffee grinder or food processor. Add them to a large bowl along with the remaining rolled oats, walnuts, coconut, almonds, flax seeds, and sunflower seeds. Toss the ingredients together to combine.

To a small saucepan add the oil, maple syrup, and honey. Warm this mixture over low heat for a few minutes, then add to the large bowl of dry ingredients and toss to coat.

Spread the granola in an even layer over a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the mixture has turned a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and stir in the cranberries or raisins. Let the granola cool to room temperature. It will continue to crisp up during this time. Loosen the granola with a spatula. Store in an airtight container for up to one week (see note above regarding freezing).

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Rice and Ground Beef

These stuffed bell peppers were made with the batch of peppers that I froze back in October. Turns out, frozen bell peppers make excellent stuffed peppers, in case you were wondering.

I had read that you could bake them from frozen, but mine had some ice crystals that I wanted to remove, so I rinsed them under tepid water until they were pretty much thawed and all the ice came off. Before I added the filling I made sure I had dried them off really well with paper towels.

Are you wondering why my peppers had ice crystals on them? Well, funny story. I was rearranging some appliances in the kitchen, which required the unplugging and rearranging of cords. Turns out, I forgot to plug the chest freezer back in! I didn't notice until two days later when I opened it up to take out some ground beef. Luckily, the three tightly packed boxes of beef were still frozen solid. The peppers were near the top and sitting in a basket by themselves so they had thawed a bit. I'm so glad I opened it when I did; what a huge loss that would have been if the beef had gone bad! It made me jealous of the freezers in my lab; they have an alarm that sounds if the temperature gets too high.

Anyway, there are lots of different recipes for stuffed bell peppers. We liked this one a lot. About a year ago I made a vegetarian version that was really good as well. They are nice because you basically just assemble and bake. We made the full recipe for the filling, but we actually only had two bell peppers left in the freezer, so we baked the extra filling in a couple of small oval baking dishes on the same tray with the peppers. It made awesome burrito filling for other meals later in the week!

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Rice and Ground Beef
adapted from Cooking Light - August 2006
serves 4 (2 pepper halves per person)

Notes: The recipe calls for 1/3 pound ground turkey and 2/3 pound ground sirloin. I didn't want to buy a package of ground turkey just to use 1/3 of it, so I just used all ground sirloin. You could use all ground turkey instead too if you wanted (or get wild and crazy and try ground buffalo!).

4 large green bell peppers (or any color)
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (remove seeds if you don't want it very spicy)
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain rice (such as jasmine)
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (we just used homemade, which I'm guessing is not fat-free)
2 cups tomato sauce, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound ground meat, such as sirloin, turkey, buffalo, or a combination

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Wash peppers and pat dry. Cut in half length-wise, discard seeds and white membranes. Try to leave the stems intact if possible (it makes a nice presentation, but other than that I don't think it matters). Place the peppers on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan, cut side up.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeno to the pan. Cook, stirring often, for about five minutes, or until the onion is lightly browned. Add the rice and cook for another two minutes, continuing to stir frequently. Next, add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat, and let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. It's frustrating to have to wait, but if you add it to the rest of the ingredients when it's still hot you might scramble the egg, and that's not what you want.

In a large bowl, add 1 cup of the tomato sauce, 1/4 cup of the cheese, the black pepper, the egg, and the meat. When the rice mixture is cool enough, add it to the bowl, and gently stir the mixture together with a spatula until well blended. Spoon about 1/2 cup of this filling into each of the pepper halves. Pour the remaining 1 cup of tomato sauce evenly over the peppers.

Cover the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese, then bake uncovered for another 3 minutes or so until the cheese melts.

Shredded Beef Taquitos

I wasn't really all that excited about the Superbowl this year. Unlike the majority of my extended family on my mom's side, I am not a Steeler's fan (my grandpa joked that he's still crying over their loss). My apathy about the game did not stop me from getting excited about the food, however. For some reason I really had a craving for taquitos, and I wanted to make them from scratch, for the first time, ever.

For the filling, I decided I wanted to do shredded beef, an obvious choice for us, seeing as we have so much on hand these days. A quick google search for a good taquito recipe introduced me to one of my new favorite food blogs: Life's Ambrosia. She had it all figured out: directions on how to make the taquitos and a recipe for cooking a beef roast in a slow cooker to get the shredded beef. Perfect! I compared her recipe to a few others and decided I liked her method the best.

Some recipes want you to roll the taquitos and then fry them in oil - tasty, for sure, but not the healthiest method. Others have you simply microwave the tortillas, roll, then bake. From what I read, however, microwaving did not make them pliable enough - so the tortillas tore as you tried to roll them.

It seems that this recipe had the best of both worlds: first, you lightly fry the tortillas in a small amount of oil (just like my grandma does when she makes shells for tacos!) making them perfectly pliable, then you roll them up with the meat, and bake for a bit in the oven. The taquitos were nice and crispy, and not too oily.

The meat filling was great. I cooked a 5-pound roast the day before the game in the slow cooker and shredded it with two forks. I realize this seems like a lot of meat, but since I was going to all this trouble, I wanted to make it worth my while and make a big batch of taquitos, plus this way we would have leftover meat. Once I assembled all the taquitos (I made about 30), I baked a small tray of them to eat that night, and froze the rest, unbaked, for future meals. We used the rest of the meat for sandwiches later on in the week.

Shredded Beef Taquitos
adapted from Life's Ambrosia
makes about 30 taquitos

Notes: These would be just as good filled with cooked chicken or pork.

Canola or vegetable oil (as needed, should have at least 1/2 cup on hand)
30, 6-inch corn tortillas (yellow or white)
4 cups cooked beef, shredded (recipe follows)

Optional toppings:
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Guacamole

If baking the taquitos right away, preheat the oven to 350 F.

Heat a couple tablespoons of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, carefully fry the tortillas, one at a time, about 30 seconds per side. Drain on paper bags, like my grandma does, or paper towels. You just want to fry them enough to get them really soft and pliable, not crisp.

Once you've fried about half of the tortillas, you can turn off the heat for now, and start filling and rolling them. I had to do batches because I ran out of room on the counter to drain my tortillas.

To fill the taquitos, place about 2 tablespoons of the meat onto the tortilla and roll tightly closed. Be careful not to overfill or it might not close very well. Lay them side-by-side, tightly together on a baking sheet so they stay rolled up while you assemble the rest.

Finish frying, filling, and rolling the rest of the tortillas.

If baking all or some of the taquitos right away, arrange them on a baking sheet with a little space between each one. If any threaten to unroll, secure with a toothpick. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. The ends will get browned and the meat sticking out of the ends will look a little crispy.  

Optional: Remove baking sheet from the oven, and sprinkle taquitos with cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly, then remove from the oven and serve with guacamole.  

To freeze: Arrange rolled, unbaked taquitos on a baking sheet with some space between them. Freeze for about an hour, then pile them into freezer bags and freeze. Bake, straight from frozen, at 350 F for about 20 minutes. Add shredded cheese and broil if desired. 

Roast Beef in the Slow Cooker
adapted from Life's Ambrosia
makes all the shredded beef you could ever want, and then some

Notes: Since I used a larger roast than she did, I increased all the spice measurements. Other than that, I did not really change anything.

1 (5 lb.) beef roast, trim fat if desired
1 1/2 tablespoons salt (I used Kosher)
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups beef broth
2 cups water (or more as needed to cover)
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled

Mix together the salt, pepper, chili powder, granulated garlic, cumin, and oregano. Rub onto all surfaces of the roast.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Brown the roast on all sides, 4-5 minutes per side. Put the roast into the slow cooker. Add the onions, garlic cloves, broth and water. The roast should be almost all the way covered, if not completely covered with liquid. Put the lid on and cook on high for about 8 hours.

Remove roast from slow cooker and shred with two forks.

Modern Bouillabaisse

I wanted to use up some seafood in our freezer - we had about a pound of cod fillets and a pound of shrimp, so this soup was perfect for that purpose. I made a double batch because I knew I was going to give some to my friend our weekly meal exchange.

Bouillabaisse used to be made with whatever fish and market produce was available.  As people became more wealthy and better fish became more readily available, the vegetables became more of an afterthought.  Bittman describes this recipe as a "return to tradition", using lots of vegetables and plenty of flexibility in what kind of fish you can use.  

I'm not sure what happened, but it seemed that by doubling the ingredients, the volume of the soup increased exponentially. Has this ever happened to anyone else? Instead of the predicted 8 servings, I estimate that we had more like 16. I'm really not exaggerating here, nor am I really complaining. It's a soup that freezes well; we put about half of it into single serving tupperware containers and froze it right away. It's been about a week since we've made it and I've already had some for lunch.  It defrosted nicely in the microwave, and the vegetables, while more tender than they were originally, were still good.

This recipe gives you the option to use shrimp stock, which is incredibly easy to make. You make it from shrimp tails, which is a good use for something you are going to throw away anyway. Just put the tails into a saucepan with a few cups of water in it, then cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Pour the liquid into a bowl or storage container - through a strainer first to remove the tails - and voila, shrimp stock. With this last 2 pound bag of shrimp we bought at Costco, we tried to remember to make a batch of shrimp stock every time we cooked with shrimp, and just kept the stock in the freezer until we needed it. You can also get fancy and add some chunks of onion, carrots, celery, lemon, or parsley stems to the simmering liquid.

Modern Bouillabaisse
adapted from Mark Bittman - Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating
Serves 4?

1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
2 leeks, white and tender green parts, trimmed and cut into coins (or use onions)
Zest from one orange
Big pinch saffron (optional)
1 dried hot chile, or a pinch of cayenne, or to taste
1 sprig fresh tarragon (optional)
2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; drain them first)
About 1 1/2 pounds small red or white potatoes, peeled if you like (we didn't) and cut into wedges
About 1 pound almost any seafood, like monkfish, cod, scallops, squid, or shrimp; peeled, skinned, boned, and cut into chunks if needed
2 carrots or parsnips, cut into 1/4-inch coins (I used both)
2 stalks celery (with the leaves if you like) sliced into 1/4-1/2-inch slices
1/2 pound sugar snap or snow peas (optional)
2 cups vegetable, shrimp, or fish stock, dry white wine or water, plus more as needed
1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley leaves, or used chopped chervil or fennel fronds if you like
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 or 2 whole grain baguettes , cut crosswise into slices and toasted if you like (optional)

Heat a dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat and add the oil.  When the oil is hot, add the leeks, fennel, garlic, and orange zest.  Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.  Add the saffron, if using, the chile or cayenne, and the tarragon, if using, and cook for just a minute.  Add the tomatoes and potatoes, and cover.

Check the potatoes after about 5 minutes.  If they are not yet beginning to get tender, cover and cook for another couple of minutes (since mine was a double batch, this part took forever).  Stick the potatoes with a fork, if the fork seems to meet with just a little resistance, then add the fish, carrots and/or parsnips, celery, snap peas or snow peas if using, and stock.  Add more stock or water if needed, just to cover the fish and the vegetables.

Bring the soup to a boil, then cover and turn off the heat.  Let the soup rest with the lid on for about 5 minutes.  At that time, the vegetables that you just added should be crisp tender, and the fish should be opaque and cooked through (our chunks of cod were flaking apart).  If the fish is not cooked at this point, move the pot back on the heat and bring it to a simmer again for a few minutes.  Fish doesn't really take that long to cook though.  Stir in the parsley, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with the bread.

Smoky-Spicy Sweet Potato Soup

First off, I just wanted to point out a new feature that Joe added to my blog: a print-friendly button!  It's way at the bottom of each entry, and it will take you to a preview screen where you can then click a button to remove all images if you'd like, and you can also click on the text to remove any paragraphs that you don't want to print, such as my summaries at the beginnings of each post.  Also, if you delete something you didn't mean to, there is an 'undo' button at the top.

Now, onto the real post: a soup that we actually made before Christmas.  I'm finally getting back into blogging mode after a lovely and relaxing holiday season.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't have high hopes for this soup.  About a month ago I made a smoky pumpkin soup that was only so-so (hence, the reason I chose not to blog about it), and I was about ready to throw in the towel and admit that I just wasn't a fan of smoky soups.  Luckily, I was proved wrong - so wrong - with this recipe.  It was amazing!

One thing that I have been unhappy with in some of the other pureed soups that I've made in the past is the texture.  They tend to be a bit...mealy.  Not silky smooth like pureed soups I get in restaurants.  For this recipe, we used our immersion blender as usual, but we kept going longer than we have in the past, and I think that was the ticket; we just weren't doing it long enough.  Gold star for improvement!

This soup achieves its bright orange color from a combination of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes and some carrot, which I nearly forgot to add!  The carrot was shredded, sitting in a container by all the other ingredients, yet it somehow never made it into the pot.  When the soup was almost done I finally noticed it.  I'm sure it wouldn't have made much difference if I omitted it, nevertheless, I got out a little skillet and quickly sauteed it on it own, to catch it up with the other already softened veggies, and threw it in right before we pureed the soup.

Personally, I thought the soup had a quite a bit of heat to it, so I used a lot of sour cream.  I mixed a little into the soup, but that seemed to dull its cooling effect, so I found that I preferred to have a spoonful of the sour cream perched on the rim of my soup bowl, so I could dab a little onto my spoon with each bite of soup, thus increasing its spice-neutralizing ability.  We also made some pepper-jack quesadillas to go with the soup.

In case you are new to my blog, refer to my previous tip on what to do with the rest of the can of chipotle peppers.  It's not really my tip of course; I was given the suggestion by a co-worker a few years ago.

This recipe calls for either honey or maple syrup.  I grew up on Mrs. Butterworth's and it wasn't until I was much older that I learned to appreciate the taste of real maple syrup.  Now that's the only kind we buy.  Maple syrup comes in Grades A or B.  The best kind is Grade B.  While Grade A is more common in stores and cheaper, it is lighter and has a little less flavor.  That's what I've read anyway; I can't guarantee that I would be able to tell the difference in a taste test (maybe I should try sometime!).  Either way, it's still a better choice than pancake or waffle syrup (aka, Aunt Jemima and Mrs. Butterworth's).  That stuff is really cheap, but doesn't have any actual maple sugar in it at all; it's mostly made of high-fructose corn syrup!  Even though maple syrup is more expensive, you don't have to use as much because the flavor is so much more intense, so you can make it last longer.  If you use the cheap fake stuff, you pour on a lot and it still doesn't even really taste like anything, not to mention it doesn't even soak into your pancake because it's so viscous from all the weird stuff they add to it.

Smoky-Spicy Sweet Potato Soup
adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray Magazine - October 2008
Makes 4 very generous portions

4 sweet potatoes (2 1/2 pounds), peeled and sliced 1-inch thick
Salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 slices smoky bacon, chopped (we just used regular bacon)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped, plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce (if you don't want it very spicy, use only half of a pepper, and remove the seeds first)
5 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
32 ounces chicken broth
1 teaspoon grated peel and juice of 1 orange
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Honey or maple syrup, for drizzling
Pepper
Sour cream, for passing at the table.

Add the sweet potatoes to a large saucepan and add water to cover.  Bring to a boil, add some salt, and cook until tender, about 12-15 minutes.  Drain, return to pot.

Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium-high heat in a medium pot.  Add the bacon and cook for about 5 minutes, until crisp, stirring often.  Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate.  Try not to sneak too many bites, as you will need this later for garnishing the soup.

Discard all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon  fat.  Add the onion, carrot, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf.  Cook for about 6-7 minutes, or until the onions have softened.  Stir in the chicken broth, orange peel, orange juice and cinnamon.  Drizzle with honey or maple syrup and season with salt and pepper.  Let simmer for about 5 minutes.  Around the time the potatoes should be done.  Remove and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf.

Add the broth mixture to the pot of sweet potatoes.  Puree until silky smooth with an immersion blender (or puree in batches in a food processor or blender).

Serve the soup with sour cream and bacon on top.

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

I made this recipe without even realizing it.  I was trying to think of a yummy spice mixture for roasted pumpkin seeds, so I used the same spices as for Chex Party Mix: salt, garlic salt, and Worcestershire sauce.  (Side note: in my family, we call it "What's-this-here-sauce"). Turns out, someone has already thought of using that spice combination over at Allrecipes.com.  I used double the amount of spices though, and peanut oil instead of margarine. I also quadrupled the recipe. 

We had some friends over to carve pumpkins this year so I had seeds from 6 pumpkins to roast!  After everyone went home, I picked through the pumpkin innards and collected the seeds, trying to remove as much of the stringy stuff as possible.  Then I put them into a large bowl of cold water and agitated them with my fingers to clean them even more.  The stringy pulp sort of sinks while the seeds float, so you can skim them off with a slotted spoon.  I laid them out in a single layer on baking sheets to dry overnight.  They tend to stick to whatever you lay them on, so make sure you don't use paper towels or anything that will leave lint or a residue, (unless you like a little insoluble fiber on your seeds, then have at it).  I used wax paper, but I would have used parchment if I had had some.

If they are still pretty wet the next day, you can put them into a low temperature oven (the lowest it will go) for a couple of hours (I did that). If you know of a better way to dry them please enlighten me!  At this point, you can proceed with the recipe.     

Happy Halloween!

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
adapted from Allrecipes.com
makes about 2 cups

Note: All measurements are approximate, so add more or less according to your personal preferences.  I have also tried this spice mixture on hulled pumpkin seeds with equally yummy results.    

2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
1-2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 F.  

In a large bowl, toss the seeds with the oil.  Add the spices, and toss to coat.  Spread onto baking sheets in a single layer.  Bake for about 15 minutes, stir (rotate baking sheets if baking more than one sheet) and bake for another 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cool on baking sheets.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature if you're going to eat them soon, or in the fridge or freezer for longer storage.  They will go rancid if you leave them at room temperature for too long, so I'm told.  Mine never last that long.  

French Onion and Wild Mushroom Soup

One weekend when I was up in Vancouver, WA, I had some extra time so my mom and I visited the local Cash and Carry.  It's a store mainly geared towards restaurant owners.  I love wandering the aisles, recognizing familiar items such as those red and white checkered paper baskets that the tortilla chips are served in at Baja Fresh, or those tiny plastic containers that hold the sour cream and salsa that sit along-side my burrito from the Beanery.

They also sell items in smaller quantities for regular people as well, and at great prices too!  I got some great deals on many of my favorite Asian food items, such as a big jar of Mae Ploy red curry paste and a huge stack of nori sheets.  I also bought a pack of tiny 4-inch corn tortillas (only one WW point for three!) which will be perfect for fajitas.

I also bought this....

The biggest jar of dried shiitakes EVER!  AND they're from Oregon!

So, I'm officially soliciting your favorite ways to use dried mushrooms, since I now have a ton.

To start off, I chose to make a soup.  I picked a Rachael Ray recipe that I had cut out of a magazine awhile back: French Onion and Wild Mushroom Soup.  It came together pretty fast and the mushrooms really add their own earthy flavor to the soup.  You definitely want to use good-quality stock or broth for this recipe, since it doesn't cook very long.  We had just made chicken stock a couple of days ago so this was the perfect use for it.

One of my favorite things about this soup is the crusty, cheese-covered bread that goes with it.  I let my slices of baguette float on top of the soup, just long enough to let the bottom soak up some of the broth, then I swoop in and take my bite while the top is still crunchy.  

French Onion and Wild Mushroom Soup
adapted from Rachael Ray Every Day Magazine, March 2009
Serves 4-6

4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 large onions, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups broth (chicken, beef, vegetable)
1 ounce dried mushrooms (I used about half shiitake, half mixed wild mushrooms)
1/4 to 1/3 cup dry sherry
1 baguette or other crusty bread, sliced
1 large clove garlic, halved
1 cup shredded gruyere or swiss cheese

In a dutch oven or heavy soup pot, melt the butter with the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, bay leaf and thyme, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until the onions are softened and browned.  Turn down the heat a bit if it starts to burn.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring the broth, mushrooms, and 2 cups of water to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Use a slotted spoon to remove and slice the mushrooms as necessary to make small enough pieces for soup (a lot of my mushrooms were already small enough).

Preheat the oven to broil.

Add the sherry to the onions to deglaze the pan, scrapping up any browned bits.  Add the mushrooms and hot broth to the pot and stir to combine.

Toast the bread under the broiler, then lightly rub with the cut side of a garlic clove.  Top with some cheese and return to the broiler to let the cheese melt.

To serve, ladle to soup into bowls and serve with the toasts.