spicy cauliflower soup.

It doesn't get much easier than this. Simple, hearty and healthy, this is one of those soups you could eat bowl after bowl of and never feel guilty. I find cauliflower soup has a tendency to be really fatty with all the cream, potato and cheese added. No starch, no gluten, and no grains, this soup will leave you feeling as light as a feather!


Spicy Cauliflower Soup
   Serves 4-6

- (1/4) cup of olive oil
- (1) onion, peeled and diced
- (1) carrot, peeled and diced
- (1) teaspoon ground coriander
- (1) teaspoon cumin
- (1) teaspoon chili powder
- (1) teaspoon curry powder
- (1/4) teaspoon turmeric
- (1/4) teaspoon dried chili flakes (more if you like it spicy)
- (1) teaspoon salt
- (1/2) teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
- (6) cilantro sprigs, coarsely chopped
- (1) large head of cauliflower, trimmed of green leaves and coarsely chopped (about 6 cups)
- (3) cups of chicken broth
- (3) cups of water

For garnish:

- a dollop of plain yogurt (per bowl)
- chopped cilantro or mint
- a squeeze of fresh lime juice

I generally like to chop up all my veggies first...it makes it a lot easier when you're working away at the soup.

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, coriander, cumin, chili powder, curry powder, turmeric, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often until onions are soft but not browned.

 

When softened, add the cilantro sprigs, cauliflower, chicken broth, and water. Raise the heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. 

 
Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the cauliflower is very tender, about 30 minutes. Stir vigorously with a spoon or whisk to coarsely purée the soup. I ended up using a potato masher to break down the veggies a little more.


Taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary, and serve hot. Garnish each serving with yogurt, cilantro or mint, and a squeeze of lime juice. 

Enjoy!

fresh and spicy squash soup.

My mom's family, the "Vlaar's", are a rowdy bunch. We always get together for a big family feast every holiday, and while there may only be 20 or so of us, it generally sounds like a small army. I'm sure many of you can relate. After years of thanksgiving dinners, Christmas dinners, Easter dinners, birthday dinners...we've started to develop a few solid traditions. Predictable is such a negative word...I prefer reliable. We can always rely on Uncle Doug to get a rousing game of Bananagrams started. We can always count on the boys sneaking off to the basement or some back room to watch football while the girls prefer to chat or go for a walk. We can always rely on Uncle Arnie to be the last one to show up (unless Joe and I are driving separate cars...because then he'll always win). And of course, we can always count on an amazing meal.

The meal itself, over the years, has also started to become somewhat reliable. Trust me...I'm not complaining! New recipes seem to need the official "Vlaar seal of approval" to make it to the next holiday, and while some have sadly failed (Uncle Arnie's almond mashed potatoes circa 1999), others have passed with flying colours. Among the current repertoire is of course "Seven-Layer Salad", "Aunt Tina's Cheesecake", the infamous "Broccoli Bake", and this "Spicy Squash Soup". It's the perfect combination of flavour, warmth and spice, and it makes the perfect addition to any holiday meal. If you're not a fan of anything too spicy, I'd definitely cut back on the ginger and the red pepper flakes. Enjoy!


Fresh and Spicy Squash Soup

- (2) tbsp vegetable oil
- (2) onions, chopped
- (2) cloves of garlic, chopped
- (1) stalk of celery, chopped
- (1/4) cup of minced ginger root
- (1/4) cup of chopped fresh cilantro
- (2) tsp ground coriander
- (1) tsp ground cumin
- (1/2) tsp each salt and pepper
- (1/4) tsp grated lemon rind
- (1/4) tsp turmeric
- (1/4) tsp red pepper flakes
- (8) cups of peeled butternut squash, cubed
- (1) tomato, chopped
- (4) cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- (1) can of coconut milk
- (1/4) cup of fresh cilantro leaves


In a large, heavy pan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, celery, ginger root, fresh cilantro, ground coriander, cumin, salt and pepper, lemon rind, turmeric and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, for 5 to 8 minutes, or until aromatic and onions are softened.

Stir in squash and tomato. Pour in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender. 

 In blender or food processor, puree soup in batches until smooth. 

Return to pan and heat until steaming. Stir in coconut milk and heat through. Serve garnished with fresh cilantro. Note...I ran out of fresh cilantro half way through...oops!!!

coconut red lentil soup.

I must explain to all of you my lack of blogging recently. It isn't that I've been too lazy, although once you hear the real reason you may beg to differ. It isn't that I haven't been cooking. Trust me...we've been eating. And it definitely isn't due to a lack of new recipes to share. Since recently joining the addictive habit of Pinterest, my camera is overloaded with new recipes we've been trying. Sidebar...I must apologize to all of you who are "following" my posts on Pinterest, as my "repins" have all been of the foodie persuasion.

The real reason for my recent absence has been due to a little technical glitch with my laptop. I have recently lost all function of my letter "e", and for those of you who think this may not be a big deal...stop and consider the number of times I have had to "copy" and "paste" just to write this paragraph! Super frustrating! And it's a "good" day when it's just my letter "e" that decides not to work. Some particularly frustrating days, my "e" along with my "d", my "s" and some days even my "c" decide not to work! Luckily this is a "good" day. My husband is convinced this problem must be some sort of virus I picked up on Pinterest, but I'm not fully convinced. I unfortunately think it has more to do with the honey that may have dripped on my computer while I was blogging about granola bars...oh the hazards of the job :)

So while I generally like to "reword" a recipe I find, this one is copied directly from 101 Cookbooks...just for my sanity. Feel free to follow the original recipe from Heidi here.   

Since it's February, and since the weather in Montreal continues to dip below -20 degrees C, I will continue to make soup. And this recipe is a keeper! So tasty and hearty and according to my mom..."the kind of soup that really sticks to your ribs". For the past two weeks I've made a big pot of it on Sunday afternoon, and then enjoy it in my lunch at work for the rest of the week. For those of you who may be scared off by the raisins or the cilantro, I think it would still be great without them...maybe even with a dollop of peanut butter or sour cream on top! Don't judge...the added fat just seems to add a certain "je ne sais quoi"!


Coconut Red Lentil Soup

- (1) cup of yellow split peas
- (1) cup of red split lentils
- (7) cups of water
- (1) medium carrot, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- (2) tablespoons of fresh peeled and minced ginger
- (2) tablespoons of curry powder
- (2) tablespoons of butter
- (8) green onions, thinly sliced
- (1/3) cup of golden raisins
- (1/3) cup (80 mL)of tomato paste
- (1) 14-ounce can of coconut milk
- (2) teaspoons of salt
- one small handful of cilantro, chopped

Give the split peas and lentils a good rinse - until they no longer put off murky water. 

Place them in an extra-large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the carrot and 1/4 of the ginger. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft.

In the meantime, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is quite fragrant. Be careful though, you don't want to burn the curry powder, just toast it. Set aside. 

Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions, the remaining ginger, and raisins. Saute for two minutes stirring constantly, then add the tomato paste and saute for another minute or two more.

Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add this to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt.

Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so. The texture should thicken up, but you can play around with the consistency if you like by adding more water for a thinner soup or simmer longer for a thicker consistency.

Feel free to eat this soup on it's own, sprinkled with cilantro and the remaining green onions, or add on top of your favourite grain; rice, barley, farro, whatever!

Enjoy!

p soup.

I should start this blog post with a disclaimer...pea soup was not always my favourite. To be completely honest, I couldn't stand it! The look of that nasty pork hock sitting on the kitchen counter when my mom was about to start a fresh batch, the look of the murky water in the pot as the peas began to break down, and the smell! Not a very good way to start a blog about pea soup. I am pretty sure I have officially scared everyone reading from ever trying out this recipe.

But I can honestly say that I am now a fan. While the phrase "you'll learn to like it" never worked for my relationship with beer, it did with pea soup. I definitely think it's an acquired taste, much like other Dutch foods that come to mind...droppies (salted black licorice), pickled herring, and deer meat (which I have yet to become a fan of). Another disclaimer...that not all Dutch food is questionable. There are many Dutch treats such as Kroketten (Dutch croquettes), apple floppen (basically deep-fried apples) and Boeterkoek (translation..."butter" "cake") that are all guilty of increasing the size of my dearly named "inner-tube". For those of you wondering...it's that much loved extra bit of weight that us ladies seem to carry right under our belly buttons, wrapping all the way around...similar to a child's flotation device.

Back to my soup. Pea soup, specifically Dutch pea soup (as I can't speak for the French), is one of those types of soups that can serve NOT as an appetizer to a meal, but as the meal itself. It is so hearty and filling! There is much discrepancy among the Dutch on the proper consistency of a truly great pea soup. Some people like it runny, much like an ordinary broth soup, while others prefer it thick enough to double-time as a grout to fix those nasty cracks in your tiles. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of liquids in this recipe according to your preference.


Dutch Pea Soup (Snert)
        (Serves 6-8)
 
- (8) cups of water or broth (chicken or vegetable)
- (500) grams green split peas
- (1 or 2) hunks of pork hock (also known as ham hock or pork knuckles) (optional)
- (2) bay leaves
- (3) cloves
- (250) grams of smoked sausage such as kielbasa (optional)
- (1) cup of carrots, sliced
- (1/2) cup of onions, chopped
- (1) cup of celery, chopped
- (1) tsp of salt (if using water and not broth), otherwise just a pinch
- (1/2) tsp of pepper


Put 8 cups of water or broth in a large pot on the stove. Add in the split peas, the pork hock, the bay leaves and cloves and bring to a boil. 

Cover the pot and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour (or until the peas have cooked to a purée), stirring occassionally to make sure the peas don't stick to the bottom. You will see the broth slowly turn to a vibrant shade of green!

Remove the ham hock from the soup. This is sort of the tough part. As best as you can, remove the thick outer skin from hock and cut the pork meat into little chunks. Add the meat back to the soup along with the sausage and cut up vegetables.

Cook gently for 30 minutes. Remove and slice the sausage and then return it to the soup. At this point your soup should be ready to enjoy. Make sure to give it a taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve immediately or feel free to do like I do and store in containers and freeze.

soups on!

I swear...I wait all summer long for the temperature to dip below 15 degrees Celcius (59 degrees Farenheit for all you Americans). Don't get me wrong, I love summer, but at 15 degrees, I can wear jeans all day long without having them stick to my legs...I can flat iron my hair and not end up looking like frizzy poodle by the end of the day...and I can make a big pot of soup without turning our apartment into a sweat shop.
Soup is one of my all time favourite meals. Served with a side of fresh bread, some cheese and crackers, grilled cheese sandwiches...hmmm...it just brings me back to Sunday afternoons after church. I'm sure all you Dutchies can relate! Any true Dutch mom makes a big pot of soup on Saturday and the family gathers 'round on Sunday afternoons to a big spread of soup and buns, a big hunk of Dutch cheese (Gouda for anyone scratching their head), and possibly Boterhamworst (if someone had made it to Ramaker's that week).
My mom's typical Sunday soup was nothing you could ever write a recipe for. While it was kindly referred to as "fridge soup" in our house, that's exactly what it was! Whatever was in the fridge that week...some vegetables that were starting to go bad, a half empty jar of spaghetti sauce, a couple sausages from last nights dinner...it all went into the soup! It was never the same, but it was always good!
This soup is slightly more structured than "fridge soup". A sudden abundance of tomatoes in my fridge had me scouring for the best possible tomato soup recipe, and as I have always been a fan, I counted on the Barefoot Contessa to stear me in the right direction. While I varied slightly from the original recipe, the results were still amazing! After making this big batch for just the two of us, I was really able to experiment with it for the next week. This soup tastes great just as it is...feel free to grate some sharp cheese in it, drizzle it with a bit of olive oil or cream, or even toss in some croutons. It can also double as a marinara sauce to pour over pasta and, as I ran out of pizza sauce this week, I used it on top of pizza crust and it turned out amazing too! You could toss in some chicken or ground beef if you're looking for something heartier, or even some fresh seafood for a spin on seafood chowder! It really is the soup that keeps on giving.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

- (~4) cups of ripe tomatoes cut in half lengthwise (Roma tomatoes work great, but any kind works)
- (1/4) cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- (1) tbsp of salt
- (1 1/2) tsp of freshly ground pepper
- (8-10) cloves of garlic (I know...crazy!!!)
- (2) cups of chopped yellow onions (about 2 onions)
- (2) tbsp of butter
- (1/2) tsp crushed red pepper flakes (add more or less depending on your preference)
- (1) 28 oz. can of plum tomatoes (whole, diced, or crushed...however you prefer)
- (4) cups of fresh basil leaves
- (1) quart (946 mL) of chicken stock or water

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Toss your halved tomatoes with 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt, pepper and about 4 or 5 cloves of garlic (whole). Spread tomatoes and garlic out on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes. If you're using some smaller tomatoes such as cherry or grape tomatoes, keep an eye on them as they have much less liquid in them and tend to roast faster.

In the meantime, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter and the red pepper flakes over medium heat in a large stockpot. Mince the remaining garlic and add to the oil along with the chopped onions. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the onions start to brown.

Add the canned tomatoes (I ended up using about 3 cups of pureed Roma tomatoes instead), the fresh basil and the chicken stock. Don't worry if you don't have the full 4 cups of fresh basil, just what you have. And if you don't have fresh basil, freeze dried or regular dried basil works too. I totally recommend trying to get your hands on the real stuff, but substituting a couple heaping teaspoons of dried basil will still taste great!

Add the oven-roasted tomatoes along with any liquid left on the baking sheet.

Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. At this point you can do as you like...leave the soup as it is - super chunky, puree it slightly using an immersion blender, a regular blender or a food mill, or completely puree the soup until it's totally smooth. I like my soup with a bit of texture, so I just gave it a few quick buzzes using my immersion blender.

Season to taste and enjoy! This soup can last for at least a week in the fridge, but throw it in the freezer and it will taste just as delicious next time you heat it up!

mexico on my mind.

This morning I woke up with Mexico on my mind. It seems like many things in my life have been centering around this beautiful country lately, and I'm wondering whether to take it as a sign that I need to return (hint, hint Joe!). Maybe it's like LOST and the island is calling me back...I guess I just officially "outted" myself as a nerdy LOST junkie...oh boy :).

My first trip to Mexico, or to anywhere tropical for that matter, was about six months ago. Joe and I went to Riviera Maya for our honeymoon, and as soon as we arrived at our resort I turned to Joe and told him that he had officially ruined me for good. An all-inclusive, 5-star hotel with like 10 pools, 5 swim-up bars, 24-hour room service that would deliver chicken wings to our door-step at any time of the day, and MARGARITAS...and Banana Mamas...and Daquiris...and Pina Coladas...
Where was I? Right. Mexico. While I'm sure a number of you are probably thinking that an all-inclusive resort is actually a pretty skewed representation of what Mexico is really like, the Valentin Imperial will always be Mexico to me :).

This past weekend we hosted a dinner party at our house, and the theme was (not even chosen by me)...Mexican. My sister called me yesterday to tell me that she was leaving on vacation this morning to...Mexico. I looked at the calendar this morning and guess what holiday is in two days...Cinco de Mayo! Oh...and avocado's were on sale for 99 cents this week at the grocery store...if that's not coincidence, then I don't know what is!

This recipe is a very simple spin on a chicken soup. It's sooo fresh tasting and has a TON of flavour! If you like things a little spicy...double or even triple the amount of hot sauce. Make sure to check out the Margarita recipe at the bottom too, because happy hour isn't just for weekends...right?



Mexican Chicken and Lime Soup

- (2) tsp. extra virgin olive oil
- (1) medium onion, chopped
- (2-3) cloves of garlic, minced
- (1) large boneless skinless chicken breast, diced
- (6) cups of chicken stock
- (1) medium tomato, seeded and diced
- (1/2) cup of ripe diced avocado
- (2) tbsp. lime juice
- (1/2) tsp. hot sauce (or more if you like)
- (1/4) cup of coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
- a dash of pepper

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium to low heat. Add onion and garlic, stirring for about 3 to 5 minutes or until softened. 

 

Add stock and bring to a boil.

Stir in chicken and reduce heat to low. Simmer very gently, partially covered for 10 minutes. 

Just before serving, stir in tomato, avocado, lime juice, hot sauce and cilantro. 

Season with pepper and serve immediately.

A little extra...

The Classic Margarita

- (1 1/2) oz. Tequilla
- (1 1/2) oz. Triple Sec
- (1) oz. fresh lime juice

Shake ingredients together and serve over ice in a salt-rimmed glass. Garnish with a lime and enjoy!