Roasted carrot soup with dukkah spice and yogurt

Believe it or not, tomorrow is the first day of spring. If you live in the Boston area, then you probably know better than to get too excited about that fact. Although this week last year brought us temperatures in the 70's and trees blooming with flowers, this year brought us snow and freezing rain. Winter is certainly not over, and as anyone around here will tell you, it's not unheard of to get snow well into April. With the weather being so cold and wet, I thought it would be appropriate to post about soup (and I'm not the only blogger who felt this way). This carrot soup recipe came from Bon Appetit - the base soup is simple, just carrots and broth, but the carrots are roasted to give it extra depth of flavor. The toppings are what really make the soup special though. The yogurt adds some nice acidity, and the dukkah spice (an Egyptian spice and nut blend) gives the soup complexity. The soup is thick and filling and will definitely keep you warm while you wait for spring to arrive!

Meyer lemon cranberry scones

Wow, it has been a long time since my last post...I've been cooking a lot but haven't really been inspired to blog about any of it. But I was recently reminded of how nice it is to share recipes and food stories with others and it made me want to get back here and post something. And between the snowy weather this weekend and the fact that I've been down with a cold, I've been spending a lot of time on the couch paging through cookbooks and bookmarking recipes. I've got quite a list of things I want to try in the next couple weeks, and hopefully some of the recipes will be good enough to share!

I don't know about you, but snowy days make me want to bake. The apartment just seems extra warm and inviting when it is filled with the scent of baked goods. I came across this recipe when I was looking for something to bake using the Meyer lemons that I recently bought. If you haven't tried them, Meyer lemons are sweeter and more aromatic than regular lemons. They're only in season for a few months, so I try to grab them when I see them. The Meyer lemons work beautifully with the cranberries in these scones. The scones are fragrant and light, and have just the right amount of sweetness to offset the tart fruit. They're perfect for breakfast or as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea.

Pumpkin tart with cheesecake topping

Somehow, inexplicably, it is already December 10th, and I am just now getting around to telling you about the dessert I made for Thanksgiving. This pumpkin tart is from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook - it's got a gingersnap and graham cracker crust, pumpkin filling, and dollops of cheesecake batter swirled into the top - as you might suspect, it's pretty much the best pumpkin dessert ever. And as a bonus, it's really simple to make. No fussy pastry dough to roll out or fruit to chop. I'm glad I managed to post this in time for Christmas - if you're looking for something new to try during the holidays, this is definitely a recipe for you!

White bean and Swiss chard pot pies

Smitten Kitchen is my very favorite food blog, and I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook for many, many months. SK's recipes fit in well with my style of cooking, and I have always found the recipes to be reliable and very delicious - they're the kind of recipes that I'm comfortable cooking for guests without testing in advance. I finally got a copy of the cookbook a few weeks ago, and it is a delight. I know I'll be cooking out of this book for years to come. This pot pie recipe is the first one I tried from the book (it is also on the blog). These pot pies take some time to make, but it is worth it - this is some seriously tasty vegetarian comfort food. The pastry is tender and incredibly flaky and the filling is flavorful and hearty. Given the time it takes to make these and the amount of butter in each serving, I'd say this is a once-in-a-while kind of recipe, but it is definitely worth trying. It's the perfect meal for a snowy weekend day like today.

p.s. Sorry there's no picture of the filling - once we dug in, we were too busy eating to think about taking a photo!

Red lentil and pumpkin soup

I saw this recipe in the November issue of Cooking Light and the lentil-pumpkin combination really appealed to me. I have always enjoyed lentil soup and the addition of pumpkin just seemed like it would work well. I ended up making this soup for dinner tonight and was really happy with it. This is a great soup for fall/winter - it's healthy, filling, and flavorful, and also happens to be quick and easy to make. The pumpkin adds creaminess and a hint of sweetness to the soup, and the spices are well balanced. The recipe uses mostly pantry ingredients, so this is something that you can easily whip up when you're looking for a warm satisfying meal on a winter night.

Roasted carrots with browned butter and thyme

Sometimes I can't really decide whether something I've made is too simple to count as a real recipe. For example, the side dishes I cook for normal dinners are often just sauteed or roasted veggies with some salt and pepper, and the breakfast I eat most days is yogurt with fruit and granola. In my opinion, even though dishes like those are consumed often in my house, they aren't really worth blogging about. So when does a dish cross the line and become interesting enough to tell people about? I don't think there's a single right answer to this that applies to every blog - it really depends on the style of the blog and the target audience. I'm personally still trying to figure out my thoughts on this question and would love to hear your opinions!

I was originally unsure whether this carrot dish was blog-worthy. Carrots and thyme is not an original flavor combination, but it is a pairing that I honestly think is transcendent. There's something about thyme that elevates roasted carrots to a whole new level. The dish would be pretty good without the browned butter, but the butter makes it a bit more special, worthy of serving at a holiday dinner. So once I thought about how much I like this simple side dish, it seemed clear that I should share it with you and my decision was made!

Sweet potato, kale, and black bean enchiladas

As a kid, enchiladas were my favorite thing to order when my family went out for Mexican food. For some reason though, I hadn't ever cooked enchiladas myself until recently. I guess I usually make tacos or burritos when I have a Mexican craving, and I never really thought about making enchiladas instead. But I was doing a freezer cleanout recently, and found a package of corn tortillas that needed to be used. I had also been wanting to experiment with making chile sauces, and enchiladas seemed like the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone. It took a couple tries for me to come up with a good chile sauce recipe, and I am thrilled with the final result that I am sharing with you here. It has a nice deep chile pepper flavor that is tempered by tomatoes, and it isn't too spicy. It worked really well with the sweet potato, kale, and mashed black bean filling that I used (spring is almost upon us, but until spring vegetables arrive, I'm perfectly happy eating kale and sweet potatoes!). I'm really glad I made a batch of 16 enchiladas for dinner - Andrew and I have been really enjoying the leftovers and I don't think they're going to last very long...

In other news, I finally created a Facebook page for my blog so that I can stop spamming my whole friend list with blog updates. You can "like" the page here if you are interested in following via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/4SeasonsOfFood.

p.s. I know it's St. Patrick's Day, and enchiladas are really not Irish. Sorry. They do pair well with beer though!

Is there a dish that you love eating at restaurants but have never tried making at home?

Moroccan ragout with poached eggs

When I saw this recipe highlighted on Food52, I knew that I had to make it soon and I knew it was going to be amazing. Sausage and tomato sauce with Moroccan spices and poached eggs? Yes please. I changed the recipe a bit, reducing the amount of oil, using Spanish chorizo instead of merguez sausage, and substituting potatoes for half the sausage. It really was fantastic - we gobbled up half of it for dinner on Saturday night and the leftovers were even better for lunch the next day. And I might have eaten the last remaining bit for breakfast today. This is one of those standout dishes that I'd happily eat for every meal of the day - I already can't wait to make it again!

Macaroni and cheese with silken tofu, carrots, and broccoli

Have you ever tried silken tofu? I first learned about it from Mark Bittman, who used it in a pudding recipe for the New York Times. Unlike the tofu that you may be more familiar with, silken tofu has a soft, smooth texture like custard and can be used as a dairy substitute. Bittman's recipe made me very curious to try it, but I'm not a huge fan of pudding, so I never got around to it. Then recently, Emily of A Cambridge Story used it to make a pasta casserole with alfredo sauce. When I saw her recipe, I knew that I wanted to do something similar to create a healthier version of mac 'n cheese (maybe healthified mac 'n cheese will become a whole category on this blog. I've already got this one). The sauce in this recipe is made of silken tofu, carrots, garlic and some smoked Gouda cheese. That's it. No butter, no milk, no cream. The tofu really gives it a velvety smooth texture that just feels creamy, and the carrots give it some good cheesy color. The smoked Gouda adds tons of flavor - Andrew even thought there was bacon in this dish. I have to admit that I get a big kick out of sneaky uses for vegetables and healthy ingredients, so I really had fun with this =).

Do you have any tricks for sneaking vegetables or other healthy ingredients into recipes?

(Do you like the new dishes that I got for Christmas? They are technically French onion soup bowls but I think they were perfect for this recipe!)

Seared scallops with spiced butternut squash puree

Andrew and I don't exchange Christmas presents. Instead, we treat ourselves to a nice dinner at a restaurant that is a bit fancier than the ones we normally go to, and enjoy an evening out together. The first year that we were dating, we had a three-course meal at Rendezvous, the highlight of which was an amazing appetizer of seared scallops with Moroccan spices. This year, we had the five-course tasting menu at Journeyman, which included some of the most creative and inventive dishes I have ever had. To give you an example, one of the plates included rye bread ice cream. And it was good! Several of the courses at Journeyman also included vegetable purees, which had amazing complexity and depth of flavor. I was impressed - I didn't know something as seemingly boring as parsnip puree, for example, could be so delicious!

Anyway, after I bought some gorgeous sea scallops at the Somerville Winter Market, I decided to combine some favorite elements of our past holidy dinners into this dish. I spiced up a simple butternut squash puree with ras al hanout (a Moroccan spice blend) and served it with seared scallops. The combination was delicious - spicy and sweet, with a good mix of textures. And since I already had the cooked squash in the fridge, this dish came together in less than 10 minutes! It's so nice to know that we can capture the essence of some of our favorite restaurant meals right at home anytime we want.

What are the most memorable restaurant meals you've had?

Seared scallops with spiced butternut squash puree

Makes 3 servings

1 1/2 cups pureed butternut squash*

1 tsp ras al hanout (Moroccan spice blend)

9 large sea scallops (about 3/4 lb.)

1 tbs butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small saucepan, stir ras al hanout into squash puree until well blended. Heat puree over medium heat until warm, and add salt to taste. While squash is warming, pat scallops dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place a large, heavy skillet (cast iron is best) over moderately high heat. When skillet is hot, add butter. When butter is melted and foam subsides, add scallops to pan. Sear scallops for 2 minutes per side, or until they are just cooked through with a golden brown crust. Divide squash puree into three portions, and top each with three scallops. Serve immediately.

*You can cook the squash however you want (for example, bake the squash whole until it is tender, then halve it, remove the seeds, and scoop out the flesh), and then puree the flesh in a food processor.

A holiday menu

I've been working a lot lately. In the past I've always made it a priority to cook homemade meals almost every day, but right now I just don't have time. As I've mentioned before, I'm in the final stretch of my Ph.D. and should be defending my thesis in just about 2 months! I'm not sure what will come next, and I'm taking my time figuring it out so that I can find something I enjoy. Anyway...I'm saying all this to let you know that I probably won't be blogging too frequently for the next few weeks. I'll try my best to make some blog-worthy recipes and tell you about them, but honestly nothing too interesting is coming out of my kitchen these days. So I hope you will bear with me for a while and still be around when I return in full force in a couple months!

Since I don't have a new recipe to tell you about today, I thought it would be fun to suggest a holiday menu made up of some of my previously posted recipes (I'm not actually hosting a holiday dinner this year, but it is fun to think about menus anyway!). I've been blogging long enough now that I have enough material to do roundups like this. So looking back on what I've made in the past, here is what I would cook for a (mostly vegetarian) holiday dinner party:

Start out with some feta and radish toasts and celery root and potato latkes

 

Get dinner started with a kale salad with sherry-walnut vinaigrette

 












Serve butternut squash and hazelnut lasagna as the main course 

 












With brussels sprouts with bacon dressing and/or broccoli rabe with garlic and lemon on the side

 











And finally, some cranberry pecan caramel bars for dessert!

(These bars are probably the most popular thing I've ever made, and they are perfect for the holidays! I brought them to Shannon's cookie swap over the weekend - check out her recap post if you want more cookie recipe ideas from some fabulous local bloggers)

Are you hosting a holiday gathering this year? What is on your menu?

Maple-soy root vegetable stir fry

This is such a great way to cook root veggies - the sweet/salty glaze complements the starchy vegetables really well. This recipe is by David Chang (of the Momofuku restaurants), and I came across it in this month's awesome issue of Food & Wine. Before seeing this recipe, I had never really considered cooking potatoes with Asian flavors, but it tasted so good that now it seems like a completely obvious pairing. I'm curious about other sauces that would work well with these vegetables - maybe soy with hoisin and ginger, or something with garlic and Sriracha...I'm glad to have some new ideas to help me get through this endless root vegetable season!

Maple-soy root vegetable stir fry
Adapted from the March 2011 issue of Food & Wine
Serves 4

The original recipe uses Jerusalem artichokes and parsnips in addition to potatoes and carrots. Feel free to use whatever mix of starchy root veggies you have on hand.

1 pound small potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 large carrots, cut into 3/4-inch slices (if your carrots are thick, you may want to halve or quarter the slices)
2 tbs canola oil
2 tbs pure maple syrup
2 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tbs toasted sesame seeds
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Heat canola oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetables and cook until lightly browned, tossing occasionally, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until vegetable are tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove skillet from oven and place on stovetop over medium heat. Add maple syrup and soy sauce and cook until sauce is syrupy and vegetables are glazed, stirring often, about 5-8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, stir in sesame oil, sesame seeds, and scallions, and serve.

Feta and radish toasts

I am loving the March issue of Food & Wine! It's a theme issue about healthy recipes, but it's not about cutting calories or excluding fat - the focus is on flavor first, making delicious food that just happens to use healthy ingredients. I think about nutrition and healthy cooking with the same perspective, so this is right up my alley. I've already cooked two recipes from this issue, and I have a couple more planned for later this week. This is pretty unusual for me - I almost never make multiple recipes from a single magazine issue, not to mention all in the same week!

These feta and radish toasts were the first thing I made, and I'm submitting this post to Magazine Mondays. I've been buying amazing watermelon radishes at the Somerville winter farmers' market - they're gorgeously colored and mild enough to eat plain, but still fresh-tasting and flavorful. These toasts were a great way to use them for something other than a salad. The salty, creamy feta worked well with the crunchy radishes, and the parsley added a nice fresh aromatic note. This makes a nice start to a meal, and would be a good hors d'oeuvre for a classy party.

Kale and tofu stir fry with cashews

I'm starting to really love kale. It cooks quickly, and its texture never gets too mushy or slimy. I've been buying it weekly at the winter farmers' market, and lately have been trying to incorporate it more in main dishes, rather than just sides. We usually eat kale roasted or sauteed, but for lunch today, I decided to try stir frying it with some tofu and cashews. It came out quite nice - the kale soaked up the sauce even better than I had expected, and the different flavors and textures worked well together. The sauce I used here is a basic formula I've come up with after some experimenting - I like the balance of sour, sweet, savory, and spicy that it has.

Kale and tofu stir fry with cashews
Serves 4 as a light meal

I used a mixture of curly kale and Tuscan kale for this. Either one is fine, but curly kale soaks up the sauce a bit better. This stir fry is really good on its own, but you could also serve it with rice or noodles.

1 block extra-firm tofu (14 oz)
1 lb kale
1/2 cup whole raw cashews
3 large cloves garlic
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce
1 tbs hoisin sauce
1 - 1 1/2 tbs sambal oelek (Asian chile paste - the amount you should use depends on your heat tolerance)
1/2 tbs cornstarch
Approximately 1/2 cup broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable) or water
1 tbs canola oil, plus more if needed
1/2 tbs sesame oil
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Cut tofu block into 1/2-inch-thick strips. Place strips on 3 layered paper towels, and top tofu with 3 more paper towels. Put a cutting board on top of the towels and place a heavy weight (such as a cast iron skillet) on the cutting board. Press tofu under weight for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, force garlic through a garlic press and set aside. Remove ribs from kale and roughly chop the leaves. Rinse and drain the leaves, but do not fully dry (the residual water will help them cook). Mix together soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sambal oelek, and cornstarch in a liquid measuring cup. Add broth or water to bring volume to 3/4 cup.

When tofu is done pressing, cut into cubes. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat for 2 minutes. Carefully add canola oil and sesame oil (oil may bubble and splatter when it hits the hot wok). Tilt wok to coat sides and bottom evenly with oil. Add tofu and stir fry until until browned, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer tofu to a bowl. If wok is dry, add a splash of canola oil. Add cashews and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Transfer cashews to bowl holding tofu. Add kale to wok and toss with tongs until kale is bright green and excess water has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Clear a space in the center of the wok and add a small splash of oil if dry. Add garlic and stir fry in the center of the wok for 30 seconds, then toss with the kale. Return tofu and cashews to the wok and pour in sauce. Toss to distribute sauce evenly. Take wok off heat as soon as sauce thickens - this may only take 30 seconds or so on high heat. Serve immediately.

Stuffed cabbage leaves

Yum...this may be my new favorite way to cook cabbage. I know I just told you about a cabbage recipe last week, but that one only used half a head, so I still had the other half to deal with. I had been thinking about making stuffed cabbage for a while, but most of the recipes I'd seen included ground meat of some kind, and I was really looking for something vegetarian. I finally found the perfect recipe in World Food: Greece, which is a big, gorgeous cookbook that my sister gave me. Greece is probably #1 on my list of places to visit, but until I find an opportunity to go, I'll have to make do with getting a taste of it at home.

The cabbage here is stuffed with a sweet and savory mixture of rice, raisins, and nuts, and then braised in tomato sauce. The ingredient list is simple, and the dish doesn't take much active time, but it takes quite a while for everything to cook, especially if you choose to use brown rice like I did. Totally worth it though. This made a great dinner with some bread on the side to dip in the sauce. And I bet the leftovers will be delicious!

Hot and sour cabbage soup

Cabbage is one of the only non-root vegetables that is available right now, and it's cheap, so I'm trying to get it into our dinner rotation more often. This weekend I wanted to play around with cabbage soup, and thought that the flavors of Chinese hot and sour soup would work really well. I've eaten hot and sour soup plenty of times at restaurants but had no idea what ingredients gave it its unique flavor, so it was fun to learn how to make it. It's really not that complicated - the ingredients are fairly basic, and the signature hot and sour flavor mainly come from white pepper and vinegar.

I started with a recipe from Gourmet Today and adapted it quite a lot, simplifying the ingredients (e.g. shiitakes instead of more obscure Chinese mushrooms), adding cabbage, using only 1 pot, and making it vegetarian. It came out really good - way, way better than the downright bland version I got last time I ordered Chinese takeout. How on earth did they make a bland hot and sour soup? I can't understand it. Anyway, I'm definitely glad I don't need to depend on restaurants anymore to get some!

Citrus salad with ginger-anise syrup

Isn't this salad pretty?? I was so excited to find both blood oranges and Cara Cara oranges at the grocery store today! Adding those to the grapefruit and navel oranges I bought at the farmers' market, I had such a gorgeous selection of citrus at home. I knew I wanted to make a simple citrus salad that would show off the colors of the fruits, and I found the perfect recipe on Epicurious. The segments of fruit are tossed with a simple syrup, which blends in with the citrus juices to form a sauce. The original recipe only uses anise in the syrup, but I added ginger, because I love ginger and thought the flavors would blend well. I also used a different selection of citrus fruits than the original recipe, to take advantage of what I had. The salad was delicious and really refreshing. I did feel that the anise and ginger flavors were not strong enough, probably because they were diluted too much by the citrus juice. Next time I'll use less of the juice - the recipe below is written accordingly.

Citrus salad with ginger-anise syrup
Adapted from this recipe
Serves 3-4

2 1/2 tbs water
2 1/2 tbs sugar
2 whole star anise
2 slices peeled fresh ginger, about 1/4 inch thick
1 large ruby red or pink grapefruit
1 large navel orange
1 Cara Cara orange
1 blood orange
(You can use any combination of the above citrus fruits)

In a small heavy saucepan, dissolve sugar in water over medium heat. Add anise and ginger and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove syrup from heat and let sit for 30 minutes (do not remove anise and ginger).

Using a sharp parking knife, peel fruits and remove all the pith. Cut out the citrus segments from the membranes into a large bowl. Squeeze out juice from membranes into a separate bowl.

Remove anise and ginger from syrup. Add syrup and 1/4 cup of citrus juice to the fruit, and toss gently. Add more juice to taste. Salad can be chilled for 1 day.

German potato salad

I'm not really a fan of American-style potato salad. It tends to be gloppy with too much mayo, which just kind of grosses me out. This German potato salad, though, is another story, totally different than the cold potato salad you might be used to seeing at barbecues. It's served warm, with a tart bacon and vinegar dressing and some fresh parsley. We both really enjoyed it, and I think it would make a nice accompaniment to a number of dishes.

I found this recipe when I was looking for something interesting to do with some Yukon gold potatoes that I got at the farmers' market (farmers' market! in the winter!). The recipe comes from The New Best Recipe by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. It's a great book - I love the descriptions of the extensive testing that goes into each recipe. It really helps me understand how variations in ingredients and cooking techniques can affect the final product. And I can always trust that the recipes will come out good!

Pasta with lentils and kale

Okay, so this is definitely a dish to eat after a night, or weekend or whatever, of excess. You'll feel virtuous just by eating it. And lucky for you (and me), it also tastes good. The flavors are clean and simple, and everything blends together nicely. It's not fancy restaurant food, but it's good, healthy, tasty home cooking. And it has a short list of mostly pantry ingredients, which is great. I'll admit that I was a little skeptical about the recipe at first. I thought that it wouldn't be flavorful enough, so I added a cheese rind to the pot as the lentils cooked. It was a good addition, giving a flavor boost without overpowering the other ingredients. If you're looking for more (and I don't think the recipe really needs it), you could add herbs to the lentil pot or to the finished dish. Just don't go overboard - remember that the strength of this recipe is that you can really taste each individual ingredient.

French onion soup

Happy New Year! Starting this blog was one of the best things that I did in 2010 (not the very best thing I did though - that would be marrying Andrew). It's been a wonderful experience so far - this space has truly helped me focus my interest in food, explore new recipes and ingredients, and develop my own ideas about responsible and healthful eating. I'm very much looking forward to this new year of cooking and blogging. I want to take a minute here to thank everyone that has visited this site. I was really nervous about putting myself out there in this way, and your comments and encouragement have meant a lot to me. I wish you all a happy and healthy year, filled with good things to eat.

There's no particular reason why this post is the first one of the new year. It just happens to be something that I made recently that is fitting for dinner on a cold winter night. Better make it a weekend night though, because it starts out almost 40 minutes of cooking onions...it's worth it though. This soup may not be much to look at, but it is gooood. The soup is tasty on its own, but the cheesy toasts on top really make it special. And locally grown onions are plentiful right now, so it's nice to let them be the star of the show for once.