Roasted Carrot Soup

Did you know Ottawa has been the coldest capital in the world for the past few days? yes that's right, colder than Ulan Bator, Astana, Reykjavik, Nuuk and Moscow. And not just by a little. 

It's the perfect time to put on those roots sweatpants, or better yet, stay in your cozy pjs all day and bust out that puzzle that you've been meaning to do, turn on Netflix or just relax. It's also a great time to whip up this delicious carrot soup.

I got inspired for this recipe by Greta Podleski's recipe in her new book, Yum and Yummer ( great cookbook,  I highly recommend it!). We followed the recipe loosely, but used curry paste instead of powder, and used some different herbs that Stefan crushed in his mortel and pestel and then roasted using a torch ( amazing birthday gift I got from Antonella). That combined with roasting the veggies just made the soup that much more flavourful and delicious. If you don't have fresh herbs or a torch no problemo, just use regular dried herbs and it'll still be good.

Carrot, Ginger Lemon Soup

So, the weather's not getting any better and I never know what to eat when I get home super late from the gym. So I thought i'd make a big pot of soup which will hopefully last me for the week.... Hadn't thought about my parents eating it too so I'll probably be making a new batch of soup soon :) 

The soup was okay to make. I've never really made soup before let alone with a double portion recipe, 1 kilo of carrots and cutting up 1 1/2 onions... 

The end result though was delicious.

I followed a recipe that I found online, though I must say I did whatever I wanted :p

Here's the list of ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons of oil (to fry the onion in)
- Around 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh ginger
- 3 small garlic cloves (my garlic press didn't work so I just chopped it up real small)
- 1 kilo peeled and chopped carrots
- 5 small tomatoes, chopped
- grated lemon peel
- 3 cups of veggie stock
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

-> chop up everything so you're nice and prepared.
-> heat up the oil and simmer the onions --- then add the ginger and garlic
-> once it smells good at the chopped carrots, tomatoes and lemon peel
-> saute for a bit then add the broth mix :) 
-> put a lid on the pot and let cook on low heat for about 20-25 minutes (till the carrots are fully cooked)
-> Lastly puree it all together if you please :)

I had a couple of spoons of the soup normally and I have to say I think it tastes better pureed as all the tastes are blended together :) 

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Cheddar Crisps

Fall is a prime time for soups. The weather is getting chilly, and there is even talk of snow in the forecast for this weekend. I like to have a batch of soup on hand, especially with all the root vegetables in season. My summer vegetable share is over but I have signed up for a different one for the fall. The baskets are much smaller but I get it every week, instead of bi-weekly. I also love that they give something home made each week. So far I have gotten frozen strawberry compote, pumpkin butter, a little kit with directions with ingredients for making homemade bruschetta..etc. it's super cute!

As much as I love soup, sometimes it is nice to have a little something to go with it. These cheddar crisps are delicious.  I got the inspiration from Salt and Serenity. I had seen Parmesan crisps in the store and they are super expensive. At that price I would have expected these to be really hard to make, but was pleasantly surprised as to how quick they were. I made these as part of my dad's birthday dinner. Because my dad is recovering from knee surgery, we made a nice dinner at home instead of going out. My sister was visiting for the weekend, and we put together this menu:

I love making menus for home made meals.  It makes it feel that much more like a special occasion.

Anyway, back to the crisps

Butternut Squash Soup

So I found boxes of pre-cut butternut squash yesterday and I thought "why not make butternut squash soup?" I'm generally pretty lazy to cut up a butternut squash (those things are darn hard to cut up, disagree?). Since I'm buying pre-cut butternut squash, it's pretty straightforward.

Leak and Potato Soup

I don't know about you, but I almost always like to have a homemade soup on hand, especially in the winter. Its so convenient to take for lunch or to have ready for dinner. I get this from my grandmother who always has a vegetable soup of some kind.

I picked this soup to make for my friend L  because I thought I had leaks. Unfortunately they had gone bad, so I had to go out and buy some more, but it was worth it. This soup is nice and filling and is a great comfort food during these dreary cold months of winter. Especially this year with temperatures dipping to -40.  I got the recipe from Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer and and Marion Rombauer, an all time favourite.

Emily said she has recently discovered- and fell in love with- leaks, so maybe she will give this soup a try!

Indian-Spiced Carrot Soup

The other day I woke up and had an urge to make soup. I ended up making a soup that didn't turn out that well so I didn't post the recipe on here. I also ended up rushing like crazy so as to not be late for work!! I'm motivated in the morning to excercise and to cook or bake. The problem is, I don't really have time for it, and especially not for both. Perhaps if I woke up an hour earlier that would help, but I find it so hard to get out of bed when it's dark out.

Lilly's Beet Soup

A few years ago, when I was doing my Masters in MTL, I lived in graduate residence. It was apartment style, and I was lucky enough to have two amazing roommates. On top of being wonderful people, fun to  chat and hangout, they were both great in the kitchen. I definitely learned a lot. Lilly is a great cook, always making tasty and delicious meals with healthy ingredients, and Linda is an amazing baker! She makes the prettiest looking desserts. She also makes the best dumplings! One of my favourite parts of my time in mtl, was cooking and eating with these two wonderful ladies :) I miss you both!!

Spinach and Lentil Soup with Cheese and Basil

I couldn't think of what to make for dinner tonight, so I ended up looking through a file of clippings from cooking magazine. This recipe, from Cooking Light January 2012, sounded really good and I happen to have basil in the fridge along with most of the other ingredients.  It is surprisingly filling. 

The soup also fits right in with the vegetarian theme of the day, as i attended a fair called Veg fest. I must admit, after walking through the fair, and seeing stickers with animal photos with signs "don't eat me" I was in no mood to eat meat. There were booths with samples of delicious foods. My friend and I ate lunch there, and I had a plate from The Table, one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants.  Now back to this delicious soup recipe.. 

Ingredients:

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup chopped pancetta (for a non vegetarian option-I omitted)

3/4 cup chopped celery

3/4 cup chopped carrots

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme 

1 bay leaf (I was shocked/surprisingly pleased to find i had these in my cupboard) 

1 cup dried brown or orange lentils

3 cups low sodium chicken broth (or 1 cube + 3 cups water )

2 cups water

1 (6 ounce) package of baby spinach 

1/2 cup fresh basil

1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

-Heat a pot over medium heat. Add oil, swirl to coat. Add pancetta (if using). cook 1 min. Add in onion and next 4 ingredients (through Bay leaf); cook 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add lentils, brother, water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover, simmering for roughly 35-40 minutes until lentils are tender and mixture is slightly thickened. Discard bay leaf. 

- Blend soup. The easiest way to do this is by using an immersion blender.  If you don't have one of these, I strongly recommend you get one as they are possibly one of the most useful kitchen items to have- and they aren't very expensive. However, you can also use a regular blender. Blend until smooth and then return to heat, add in spinach, basil, parmesan cheese, lemon juice and black pepper. Stir until spinach wilts. Serve and enjoy. 

Mulligatawny Soup

I was home sick the other day, suffering from the aftermath of a bad migraine.  Luckily enough, I got 2 magazines in the mail, clean eating and a running magazine. This definitely cheered me up. By the evening(after a long nap and about 10 episodes of 'the Big C' later), I was feeling better and decided to make this typical indian soup (recipe from Clean Eating). If you are wondering why it doesn't look quite like the one you order at the indian restaurant..well I couldn't tell you. It didn't taste exactly the same either, but it is still really good and is probably a lot healthier/lighter.

I have since gotten, Cooking Light, Real Simple and Bon Appetit in the mail.. I'm swimming in delicious recipes. Hopefully I will have time to try some of them out. I love magazine subscriptions..it really is a gift that just keeps on giving.

Ingredients:
-1 cup brown basmati rice
- 2 tsp olive oil
-1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
-pinch sea salt and ground pepper
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 leek, white and light green parts only sliced
- 1 carrot peeled and diced
- 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 4 cups chicken broth (preferably low sodium)
- 2 apples cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup low far coconut milk
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Sriracha hot sauce, to taste
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, for garnish

Instructions
-prepare rice according to package, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. fluff with a fork
-in large pot, heat oil on medium high, season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pot, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes (I had to cook mine longer as it was still pink) until edges are golden brown
-remove chicken and add garlic, onion, leek, carrots, and ginger. saute for 3 minutes. Add curry powder and cook stirring constantly for 2 more minutes
- return chicken to pot. add both. bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, simmering for 30 minutes
- remove from heat and add apples, coconut milk and lemon juice. season with additional salt and pepper, Sriaracha sauce if desired.
- spoon rice into bowls, top with soup and cilantro.

Spicy Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

As some of you may know, I love thai food! So when I spotted a recipe for Thai soup in cooking light magazine, I couldn't wait to try it out. It took me a couple of days to do some research  ( ie what does lemongrass look like and where do I find it?) and  get all the ingredients. I found this website http://thaifood.about.com/b/2007/11/25/all-about-lemongrass-how-to-choose-cut-and-cook-with-lemongrass.htm  quite helpful. I ended up buying lemongrass stocks at an Asian Supermarket, however I saw they did have them at the regular supermarket too.  After gathering the ingredients, making the soup was easy.   It has a bit of a kick to it and is perfect for very cold weather. I have been eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner..and will definitely be adding it to my list of go-to soup recipes.

Ingredients:
-2 teaspoons canola oil
-1 cup sliced mushrooms
-1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
-4 teaspoons peeled fresh ginger
-4 garlic cloves (I put 2)
-3-inch lemongrass stalk, halved lengthwise
-2 teaspoons sambal oelek( ground fresh chille paste)- I didn't have this so i used curry paste and a little   bit of chile powder. Seemed to work just fine
-3 cups chicken broth
-1 1/4 cups light coconut milk
-4 teaspoons fish sauce
-1 tablespoon sugar
-2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
-1/2 cup green onion
-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
-2 tablespoons lime juice

Directions:
Heat a dutch oven (or just regular pot if you don't have a dutch oven) with the oil, add mushrooms, and 4 next ingredients; cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chile paste, cook 1 minute. Add chicken broth, coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar. bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Discard lemongrass. Top with onions, cilantro and lime juice.