Salmon and Leek Pot Pie

While parts of Washington are getting all kinds of crazy amounts of snow this week, down here in the Willamette valley it's raining cats and dogs. Areas of my town have flooded; people are evacuating out of their homes, and some of the farms where I buy my produce and eggs are completely submerged. It's times like these where I am actually thankful that I live on a big ass hill. Whether you are holed up in your house because of rain or snow, make this salmon and leek pot pie to chase away your winter blues.

You know who else likes salmon? This fuzzy one:

Salmon and Leek Pot Pie
adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
serves 4

Notes: The original recipe makes 6-8 servings, but since I only had one pound of salmon in the freezer and didn't want to buy more, I halved it. You'll still have to bake a whole sheet of puff pastry regardless, but this way you'll have lots of extra to nibble on. This recipe calls for dill, which if you know me at all, you know that I think dill is pretty much the worst thing ever, so needless to say, I left it out. The cookbook seems to think it's pretty important in this dish though, so if you like it, use it.

For the topping:
Flour for the counter
1 (9 1/2- by 9-inch) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (heads up, this takes about 40 minutes!)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

For the filling:
1 pound salmon fillets, skin removed
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large or two small leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 garlic clove, minced
3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill (Optional. If you do use it, don't sub dried)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch nutmeg (freshly ground if you have it)
Pinch cayenne pepper
Extra lemon wedges for serving

Get all your ingredients prepped while the puff pastry is thawing.

Preheat the oven to 425 F, and adjust the oven rack to the lowest position. Lightly dust a clean counter top with some flour and gently unfold the sheet of puff pastry. Using a pizza cutter, cut along the two seams so that you have 3 pieces. Then cut each of those crosswise into four pieces, so you have 12 total. You could also get fancy and use different shaped cookie cutters if you wanted. Brush the pastry with the egg, then transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and lightly browned (don't worry if it doesn't look done; you will put it back in the oven later). Set aside to cool on the baking sheet until needed.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400 F (at this time I also moved the oven rack up to the middle position, because I was afraid of baking the pot pies that close to the heating element, even though the recipe didn't say to move it up).

Remove any pin bones from salmon and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Now decide whether you want to make your pot pies in individual ramekins or a 9x9 (or 9x13 if doubling the recipe) baking dish. I chose ramekins. Divide the salmon among the ramekins or spread out in the bottom of the baking dish and set aside.

Add the butter to a large Dutch oven and heat over medium. When the butter is melted, add the leeks and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, just about 15 seconds. Next, stir in the flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Slowly whisk in the clam juice and milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Off heat, add the peas, dill (if using), lemon juice, nutmeg, and cayenne. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Pour the mixture over the salmon in the baking dish or ramekins. Use a spoon to redistribute the salmon evenly throughout the dish.

Arrange the puff pastry rectangles over the casserole, or place one on top of each ramekin. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the salmon is fully cooked (place ramekins on a baking sheet before placing into the oven). Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving with the lemon wedges (enough time for a photo!).

Leftovers: We made four ramekins' worth of this meal, only ate two that night, and covered the other two with foil and stored in the fridge. The next night, we heated them up right in the ramekins in the microwave, using the "soup" setting. The puff pastry was obviously not as crisp the second day, but other than that it was delicious.

Make ahead: The topping can made up through that first 8 minute baking step up to one day in advance. Wrap them in plastic wrap and store at room temperature until ready to use. The sauce can be made up to a day in advance, just don't add the "off heat" ingredients. Transfer the sauce to a covered container and refrigerate. When ready to assemble and bake the casserole, transfer the sauce back to a saucepan and bring to a simmer, then proceed with the recipe. 

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. 

Barley and Beef Stew

It's officially cold and wintery. Bring on the soup! We really liked this recipe from Mark Bittman. Big chunks of veggies, hearty grains, and tender beef. So good.

We're finally nearing the end of our Bald Hill beef stash. It's taken us a little over a year, and in the process we've learned a lot about different cuts of beef and how to cook them. I've tried a lot of different cuts that I might not have ever tried otherwise. We've had some great classics, such as:

Salisbury steak (made with cube steak)
Beef sirloin tip roast
Beef stroganoff (made it twice, once with beef tenderloin and again with beef sirloin)
Braised short ribs
Roast beef (to make taquitos)
Flank steak

Other cuts I didn't blog about include oxtail (braised in tomato sauce - delicious), liver (with onions and pan sauce, visually appealing but disgusting), arm roast chopped up for beef stew, and many, many steak dinners.

We also got a ton of ground beef in this order. We ended up giving some away, and we also gave a large portion to my dad which he returned to us later in jerky form (he makes awesome jerky). My favorite recipes that we made with ground beef, besides the usual burgers, include:

Phyllo-wrapped ground beef and vegetable pastries
Thai-style ground beef
Sesame-soy meatballs
Stuffed bell peppers with rice and ground beef
Frito Chili Pie - from the Pioneer Woman - a simple recipe to throw together (almost no prep because most ingredients are canned) and it's absolutely delicious. Before now I would have never thought to put Fritos on chili. It's definitely going to become a staple recipe in our house I think. We've already made it twice in the last month.

We have a few cuts left that I haven't decided what to do with yet - London Broil and Rib Steak. Any suggestions???

CSA Week 23:

In the box: 1 lettuce, 1 bunch carrots, 1 bunch arugula, 1 basket grape tomatoes, 2 pounds sweet potatoes, 2 pounds Nicola potatoes, 1 Butternut squash, 3/4 pound Jimmy Nardelo peppers, 2 pounds Liberty apples.

We sauteed the peppers, along with some onions, and piled them on top of chicken andouille sausages from Costco. We even had hot dog buns in the freezer - bonus! I warmed them in the oven at 200 F and they tasted just like fresh ones.

Since I am house/pet-sitting for the next couple of weeks at a home on the outskirts of town (in the woods and on a mountain, no less), Joe and I split up the CSA. I took the arugula, some lettuce, grape tomatoes, half of the apples, and the other sweet potato, and gave him the rest.

I stopped over for dinner on Sunday and Joe had prepared an amazing beef stew using up the rest of the carrots and Nicola potatoes. He used the beef stew recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (if you don't have it, you should get it!). We had an huge arm roast in our beef stash so he cut that up into chunks, and saved the bone to make stock later. Note to self: arm roasts make great stew meat! Very tender and flavorful.

We still had some mascarpone leftover from when we made the tomato and tapenade tarts so I wanted to think of a way to combine that with the arugula, grape tomatoes, and maybe some pasta. I found this recipe from NPR. Basically you whisk together the mascarpone, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a little of the hot pasta water, then toss it together with hot cooked corkscrew pasta and arugula. I sliced the grape tomatoes in half and threw those in too. The hot pasta wilts the greens nicely and their peppery flavor offsets the creaminess of the sauce. Next time I would double the sauce recipe; I like my pasta very "saucy".

We seem to be hording our winter squash for now. We now have a Delicata and this new Butternut in our collection.

Barley and Beef Stew
adapted from Mark Bittman - How to Cook Everything
makes about 4 servings

Notes: Instead of barley, you could also use kasha, buckwheat grouts, millet, or cracked wheat. Instead of starting with a hunk of chuck or round, we just used a package of beef stew meat and cut it into smaller pieces.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound beef chuck or round, trimmed of surface fat and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
3 cups chicken or beef stock, or water
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium potatoes, preferably waxy, peeled and cut into about 1-inch pieces
8 garlic cloves, peeled (optional - but so good I wouldn't skip them)
2 cups sliced mushrooms, preferably an assortment (I used cremini and shiitake), OR 1 cup sliced button mushrooms and 1/2 cup dried porcini or other dried mushrooms, reconstituted in hot water to cover (but mushrooms in general are optional here)
1/3 cup pearl barley
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Chopped parsley or celery leaves for garnish

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. When hot, add the beef, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides. Add the onion, cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the stock (if you used dried mushrooms, include their strained liquid - just reduce the amount of stock accordingly). Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and slowly simmer (should barely bubble) for about 30 minutes, stirring every so often.

Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, mushrooms, barley and thyme. Bring back up to a boil, then lower the heat again, cover, and slowly simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring every so often.

When all the vegetables are tender, the stew is done. Taste and adjust the seasoning, garnish with parsley, and serve.

Corn and Salsa Tortilla Soup

It's getting colder and rainier here in the Pacific Northwest, but the corn is still coming in strong. Eight more ears for week 17 of the CSA. I've made corn chowder before and love it, but seeing as the poblano plants in our garden were finally starting to ripen, we felt like something with a little more south-of-the-border flair. I chose this recipe that I'd cut out of a magazine a few years ago because it called specifically for poblanos and I just liked all the toppings. It's very prep-intensive, but the actual cooking part is very quick.

I would like to point out that I tried something new this week: liver. We had a package of beef liver that came with our quarter of cow. I followed a Julia Child (i.e., traditional) recipe for liver and onions. The raw meat smelled weird, but I pressed on. After lightly dredging the pieces of liver in flour, salt, and pepper, I pan fried them in a mixture of butter and oil for about a minute on each side, then I added caramelized onions, vermouth, and broth to make a quick pan sauce. I served it on a platter and garnished with parsley. I made mashed potatoes, cucumber sauteed in butter, and poured glasses of red wine. The verdict? It looked great, but it tasted AWFUL. I ate two bites and wanted to puke. Never again...::shudders::...never again.

Have you ever tried liver? What did you think?

My mom hates liver because she used to have to eat it every Tuesday growing up, so she never served it to us as kids, but my dad likes it. I guess I just had to try it for myself and decide what I thought of it. I really liked the idea of using the whole cow, so I was really hoping I would like it. But unfortunately I couldn't get past the texture and taste, and it reminded me a little too much of the tissue samples I process at work. Oh well, live and learn, right?

CSA Week 17:

In the box: 1/2 pound spinach, 2 cucumbers, 1 bunch carrots, 1.5 pounds Heirloom tomatoes, 8 ears corn, 2 pounds White Rose potatoes, 1 yellow watermelon, 2 pounds Abate Fatal pears

I made a pot of delicious pumpkin oatmeal for Joe, Jamie, and Doug for breakfast, but I had to open a huge can of pumpkin to do it. So, later in the week I made some delicious pumpkin polenta with spinach and white beans using the spinach from the CSA, and a Rachael Ray recipe. This recipe also has a version that uses chorizo and black beans that I've already blogged about.

The cucumbers were sauteed with butter and the potatoes became mashed potatoes - side dishes for the liver fiasco I mentioned above.

I made a colorful appetizer to nibble on while cooking dinner one night using the heirloom tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper:

We brought the watermelon to a friend's BBQ and ate the pears for snacks throughout the week.

The carrots are still in the fridge so they will be included with week 18.

Corn and Salsa Tortilla Soup
adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray - August 2008
serves 4

Note: I think a great variation to try next time would be to grill the corn, peppers, and onion first, then add them to the soup.

3 poblano chiles
6 corn tortillas, halved then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick strips
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
6 ears fresh corn, kernels scraped from the cob (no need to boil first), or two 10-ounce boxes frozen corn kernels
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Pepper
One 32-ounce container (4 cups) vegetable broth
One 14.5 ounce can fire-roasted diced or crushed tomatoes
1 avocado, chopped
1 lime, quartered
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
1/4 cup sour cream (optional, we skipped it)

Preheat the broiler. Place the poblanos on a baking sheet and broil until blackened, about 10 minutes, turning partway through. Transfer the peppers to a bowl and cover. Check them after about 5 minutes. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel, seed, and chop them.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. On a large baking sheet, toss the tortilla strips with one tablespoon of the oil and the cumin. Spread them out into a single layer on the pan. Bake for about 10 minutes, then sprinkle with salt. Set aside, and try not to munch on too many.

Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet (a dutch oven would work too), heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the corn, cook for about 10-12 minutes, until looking charred around the edges. Next add the red onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes more, until the onion is softened. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, and poblanos. Bring to a boil to warm everything through and cook the tomatoes a bit. Now it's ready whenever you are.

Ladle the soup into bowls, top with tortilla strips, avocado, cilantro, sour cream if using, and a squeeze of lime juice. Grated cheddar cheese would also be great. 

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.

Poached Chicken with Vegetables

The scale has been frustrating me lately. Well, it's not really the scale's fault. Can I instead blame the Girl Scouts and their addictive, fattening cookies? Sigh. No, blaming 8-year-old girls for my weight seems just as unfair as blaming it on an inanimate object. This frustration is stemming from the fact that I was over my weight limit at my last WW meeting and they had to waive that weigh-in. I think I only get one waive per year. And it's only March!

I decided to get proactive, so that next month's meeting will be better. I signed up for E-tools, their online food tracking website. It costs money, which sucks, but I've been using it to record everything I've eaten for a whole week straight now, which is my longest streak in, oh, 6 MONTHS.

If you're not familiar with, or don't care about Weight Watchers, that's ok, because here is the other way I decided to get proactive: Poached chicken and vegetables. No oil, no butter, just a sensible portion of white meat chicken and tons of veggies. Yes, I think I'm on the right track with this one.

There should have been some oil in this recipe, drizzled on at the very end, but we totally forgot to add it. Since we didn't even miss it, I'm leaving it out of my adaptation of the recipe. I also used less chicken than it called for, since there is just the two of us, and I didn't have that much chicken anyway. I ended up using one 9-ounce chicken breast split between us. We saved the leftover broth and vegetables for lunches this week.

We only had lemon thyme instead of regular, so we used that. Then we decided, on a whim, to throw in some kaffir lime leaves with the broth, just to continue with the new citrus theme we had started. It was subtle, but we could definitely notice it!

We also roasted a delicata squash with a tiny pat of butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar to go with this meal. All things in moderation, right?

Poached Chicken and Vegetables
adapted from Real Simple
serves 4

2 leeks (white and light green parts) thinly sliced
3/4 pound Yukon gold potatoes (that's about 1 medium and 1 small), sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
4 sprigs fresh thyme (or lemon thyme)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (homemade, if you have it)
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or less, if you're trying to stretch a buck)
1 bunch Swiss chard or kale, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped or torn.

Put the leeks, potatoes, fennel, thyme, broth, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper into a large pot and bring to a boil.

Once it's boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken to the pot, and simmer for another 7 minutes.

Add the chard or kale and cook for another 3 minutes, or until the greens are tender and have wilted down, and the chicken is cooked through. Taste the broth and season with more salt and pepper as needed.

Remove the chicken from the pot and transfer to a cutting board. Slice the chicken into about 1-inch thick pieces.

Divide the chicken among individual bowls. Ladle the vegetables and broth over the chicken, and serve.

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.

White Gazpacho with Grapes and Toasted Almonds

What can you make with cucumbers and green grapes when you don't want to cook because it's like a million degrees outside?  White gazpacho, that's what!  

This soup was so good!  I love how it packs a punch of garlic but is immediately mellowed by the cool cucumber and grapes.  I watched a clip of Ellie Krieger making this soup and she served it in martini glasses for a dinner party.  So cute and pretentious - I decided to pretend I was fancy and serve mine that way too (I put Joe's his Chimay chalice so it was more manly).  

White Gazpacho with Grapes and Toasted Almonds

adapted from Ellie Krieger - The Food You Crave

Makes 4 one cup servings

1/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons slivered almonds

2 large English cucumbers or 3 large regular cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped

3 slices white bread, crusts removed

1/2 cup warm water

3 cloves garlic, peeled (I used just one big clove, and I thought it was pretty strong)

6 scallions, white parts only, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste.  

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup green grapes, cut in half

Toast the almonds in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 3-5 minutes.  Set aside.

Soak the bread in the water until soft, about 2 minutes.  Reserve one cup of the cucumber for the garnish.  Place the soaked bread, the rest of the cucumber, the garlic, half the scallions whites, the vinegar, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the almonds, the salt, and the oil into a food processor.  Process for about 1-2 minutes, or until the cucumbers are thoroughly blended and the almonds are almost invisible.  Taste and season with more salt, vinegar, and/or lemon juice, if desired.  

To serve, ladle 1 cup gazpacho into each serving bowl.  Pile the remaining cucumber, scallion whites, grapes, and almonds on the center of each bowl and serve.    

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.

Rhubarb Lentil Soup with Creme Fraiche

Want to try something different with your rhubarb this spring?  Make this soup!  I cut this recipe out of Cooking Light magazine a couple of years ago because it sounded so interesting and I finally got around to making it this year.

I was at the farmer's market this weekend and the rhubarb looked really good!  I bought a bunch, so I had enough to make this soup, plus a little extra that I chopped and froze for a more typical strawberry-rhubarb crumble or pie later this spring (maybe using the strawberries out of my garden, if they would hurry up and grow already).

This is a very healthy soup!  It has lots of veggies, plus protein-packed lentils.  There is a lot of chopping initially, but the soup cooks pretty fast once you get going.  The Co-op didn't have any red onions that day, so I substituted a yellow onion and it was fine.  Instead of fat-free, low sodium chicken broth, I used Joe's mom's turkey stock.  You could also use vegetable stock or broth (which makes more sense actually, when you consider that the rest of the soup is meat-free).

You top the soup with a dollop of creme fraiche - so yummy.  Creme fraiche is cream that has been cultured, so it's a little tangy, and it has the consistency of sour cream.  The recipe actually has you stir together creme fraiche and dill, of all things.  SICK.  That is the one herb I loathe.  I was actually going to suck it up and buy some for Joe's sake, (and not allow it to come in contact with any of my other groceries of course), but they were out at the Co-Op.  What an absolute shame.

Rhubarb-Lentil Soup with Creme Fraiche
adapted from Cooking Light - May 2008 issue
serves 6

1 1/2 cups boiling water
3/4 cup dried petite green lentils
Cooking spray
2 cups finely chopped carrot (for me that was about 3 large carrots)
1 3/4 cups finely chopped celery (about 4 stalks)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped red onion (about one large onion)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups chopped rhubarb (about 12 ounces)
4 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
6 tablespoons creme fraiche
Dill sprigs (optional)

Put the lentils into a small bowl, and pour the boiling water over them.  Let stand 10 minutes.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and coat the bottom with cooking spray.  When hot, add the carrot, celery, onion, and parsley.  Sauté for about four minutes, then add the rhubarb, and sauté for another three minutes.  Drain lentils and add to pan.  Stir in the chicken broth and salt, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 35 minutes, or until lentils are tender (ours were done after about 20, maybe we simmered too fast?  Still tasted fine to us!)

Move the pan off the heat and let cool for about five minutes.  Blend about 3 cups of the soup in a blender or food processor.  Remove the center piece of the blender lid to allow steam to escape, and cover with a clean kitchen towel to avoid splatters (OR use an immersion blender and just blend about half of the soup right in the pan).  After you return the pureed soup to the pan, and add the pepper.

In a small bowl, combine the chopped dill and creme fraiche.  Ladle the soup into bowls, and top with a dollop of the creme fraiche mixture.  Garnish with dill sprigs, if you want.

Serving size = about 1 1/3 cups soup with 1 tablespoon creme fraiche mixture.

Turkey Noodle Soup

This meal is brought to you by my mother-in-law, Sharron!  She made a delicious turkey at her house for Easter dinner.  After dinner, Joe carved the rest of the turkey (and we packaged up a portion of it for ourselves for leftovers), then Sharron put the whole carcass in a huge pot of water and let it simmer for about an hour or so.  Then we poured the contents of the pot over a strainer, reserving the broth.  It filled three large mason jars, and she let us take two of them home with us!  We don't cook whole chickens or turkeys are our house very often, so to get real homemade stock like this was really a treat.

When we got the jars of stock home, we refrigerated them overnight, and the next day they had become completely gelatinous, with about a half-inch layer of white colored fat on top.  We scooped off the fat with a spoon, and kept the stock refrigerated until we were ready to use it.    

A few days later, I made Mark Bittman's Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, using one of his variations that included fusilli and roasted garlic, and using turkey instead of chicken.  Of course, it turned out awesome!  It would be hard to screw up anything that started with homemade stock.  I only had one problem with it, and that was the shape of the onions.  He has you halve the onion and thinly slice it.  To me, that produced slices of onions that were too long compared to the other ingredients.  If I were to make this again, I think I would quarter the onion and then slice it.  But that's just me being picky.  It reminded me of a little place I like in town called the Soup Shop; all the ingredients in their soups are roughly the same size, which makes it easy to get perfect spoonfuls of soup!

To go with the soup, we had slices of Sharron's "Alligator Bread".  It's a sweet bread, kind of like Challah.  She has been making it since Joe was a little kid.  She just decided to make it in the shape of an alligator one day, and Joe and his sisters loved it so much that she has been making it that way ever since.  Isn't that so cute!?

Turkey Noodle Soup with Fusilli and Garlic
adapted from Mark Bittman - How to Cook Everything
Serves 4-6

8 ounces fusilli (or other curly pasta)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1 large carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 head of roasted garlic, cloves removed from their skins and mashed into a paste
6 cups turkey stock (or chicken stock)
8 ounces cooked and cut up boneless turkey meat (we did a mixture of light and dark meat)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish (we forgot this)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Salt the water and add the pasta.  Cook until it's just about done, but still lightly chewy.  Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.

Add the oil to a deep saucepan and heat over medium-high.  When hot, add the onion, carrot, and celery.  Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion becomes translucent.  Add the mashed garlic, stir, then add the stock.  Season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.

Once the soup is boiling, add the cooked pasta and the cut up cooked turkey.  Cook for a couple of minutes, just enough to finish cooking the pasta and thoroughly heat the turkey.  Taste, and season with more salt and pepper as necessary.  Garnish with the parsley and Parmesan.