Hearty Vegetable Soup with Sausage

(4-5 servings)

I can't believe it's almost September. The summer passed very quickly and now I'm looking forward to cooler weather.

The markets are full of amazing produce at this time of year and a lot of it is local. I grabbed a link of my favourite smoked German sausage, then headed to the vegetable section. The nice thing about this soup is you can add almost anything you desire. Sometimes I'll add zucchini, broccoli, fennel or cauliflower as well as or in place of the green beans, bell pepper and kale. I love using fresh tomatoes, but they were very pricey this week, so I opted for canned instead. I have made this soup with either chicken or beef broth, white or red wine (or no wine at all) and a variety of sausages. The flavours change depending on what I've used, but the soup always manages to turn out really well. I use less in the way of seasoning for this soup because the sausage usually imparts its delicious flavour to both broth and vegetables.

Last March I was introduced to gremolata, a fresh condiment which is often used to finish a dish of braised meat. I thought it would be wonderful with this soup... and it was!

soup
up to 1 tbsp olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a soup pot)
about 1 lb meaty sausage, your choice, sliced into rounds
3-4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1/2 lb waxy potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
15oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup dry white or red wine (or use an additional cup of broth)
3 cups good quality broth
small handful green beans, trimmed and cut up
3 large leaves of kale, washed and sliced into ribbons
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
small handful fresh parsley, chopped
salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot with a tight fitting lid, then add the sausage and fry until it's nicely browned.

If the sausage rendered a large amount of fat, then remove some of it leaving about a tablespoon or slightly less. Reduce the heat and add the garlic and onions. Saute the mixture until the onions soften and become translucent.

Stir in the celery, carrots, potatoes, canned tomatoes, wine and broth. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Add the green beans, kale, red bell pepper and parsley. Lower the heat and cover the pot. Cook for another 25-45 minutes or until the vegetables can be easily pierced with a knife.

Check and adjust the seasoning if necessary with salt and pepper.

gremolata
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp lemon zest, minced

Combine the parsley, garlic and lemon zest.

Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with the gremolata. Enjoy.

Kale Salad with Feta

(about 4 servings)

The weather has cooled somewhat this past week and we have been getting a small amount of rain from time to time. I'm thrilled anytime it rains as we have had severe drought conditions going on for several months now.

Despite the cooler temperatures, I'm still making a lot of salads around here. This kale salad is quite similar to one I make with broccoli and equally tasty. I planned on using only one third of a cup of crumbled feta, but ended up with a bit more when I crumbled the cheese myself. I quite enjoyed the extra feta. :)

This salad will keep for a couple of days and travels really well.

1 bunch kale, washed and chopped or sliced (1" x 1/4"), about 4 cups
1/3-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, to taste
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds
3 tbsp yogurt
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp mustard
freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Place the kale, feta, onion, cranberries and sunflower seeds into a salad bowl and set aside.

Combine the yogurt, mayonnaise and mustard in another small bowl and pour over the kale mixture. Toss until everything is evenly combined. Add cracked pepper, to taste. Toss again.

Serve. This salad will keep for a couple of days, refrigerated.

Spiced Carrot Soup

(about 4 servings)

I can't wait for the cool weather to arrive. The sunshine is wonderful, but I love crisp autumn days. I have been munching mostly on sandwiches and salads, anything I can toss together in about 3 minutes. This heat just seems to sap my energy in terms of both cooking and appetite.

Carrots are in season in Texas at the moment, and when I saw them at the market I immediately thought of soup and cooler weather. I got up very early this morning while it was still relatively cool and made this delicious soup. It's slightly hot, slightly tart and slightly sweet. The flavour is quite amazing considering very little work goes into making it. This soup reheats really well, so if you are cooking for a crowd, you can easily double or triple this recipe.

2 tsp olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 medium sweet or yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp harissa, or more to taste
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 lb carrots, cleaned and cut up
3 cups water
1 1/2 tsp Better than Bouillon, Vegetable
1 cup plain yogurt
1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
1-2 tsp honey, to taste
salt, if needed
small handful fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil in a soup pot (one with a well fitting lid) and add the garlic. Stir until the garlic is fragrant; about 30 seconds, then add the onion. Adjust the heat to keep it from burning and saute the garlic and onion mixture until the onion is translucent; about 8 minutes.

Stir in the harissa, paprika, coriander, cumin and cinnamon. Stir until the spices are fragrant. Add the carrots, water and Better than Bouillon paste. Cover the pot and simmer the vegetables gently over low heat for 30-40 minutes or until the carrots pierce easily with a knife.

Puree the soup using a hand held immersion blender or transfer the soup in batches into the bowl of a food processor or blender and process until smooth. It doesn't have to be perfect. A few remaining chunky pieces can be nice. Return to the soup pot.

Whisk in the yogurt, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of honey. Taste and add more lemon juice or honey, if desired. Add salt, if needed (Better than Bouillon already contains salt).

Heat the soup through. Ladle into bowls and top with the chopped cilantro. Serve.

Roasted Hatch Chile Corn Muffins; Daring Cooks Challenge, August 2012

(about 12 muffins)

Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal! Rachael provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we’d never tried before – opening our eyes to literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!

Cornmeal is something I rarely cook with. The closest I've come to is masa harina I use to make tamales. What's interesting to me is the package of "cornmeal" I picked up looks very much like masa harina, except perhaps the texture is a touch coarser. I've always assumed cornmeal was rougher, more granular.

Although quite common, I made corn muffins because I've never made them before and they seemed easy enough. There was a recipe on the back of the package I used as a guide. I made a few adjustments and added leftover roasted hatch chile peppers, (there's a Hatch Chile Pepper Festival going on here at the moment). These muffins turned out great. They were still delicious a few days later when I split them, covered them with cheddar cheese and broiled them in the oven a few minutes.

adapted from recipe on the back of Pioneer Enriched Cornmeal
1 cup fine yellow cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg
3 tbsp agave nectar
3 tbsp olive oil
3/4 - 1 cup fresh shucked corn, about 1 ear
1/2 cup *roasted hatch chile peppers, chopped

Prepare a 12 standard size muffin tin by lining it with papers, then set set aside.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Combine the milk, egg, agave nectar and olive oil in another bowl. Set aside.

Add the corn and roasted chili peppers to the cornmeal mixture, then pour the liquid mixture over those. Stir until everything is just combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 lined muffin tins. Bake for 15- 20 minutes or until the tops have browned and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

*If you can't find roasted hatch chile peppers, then you can roast them yourself. This recipe uses red bell peppers, but the method is the same. I usually remove the seeds when I roast peppers, but the prepared ones I purchased contained seeds and they were fine; it's up to you!

Coconut Tapioca Pudding

(about 6 servings)

I have been enjoying coconut milk in soups and sauces and thought I'd give it a try in a dessert. This easy tapioca pudding ended up with a nice light coconut favour which was really nice with the juicy peaches. Mangoes, raspberries, strawberries, even bananas would be great with this pudding. I prefer my desserts barely sweet. You may want to increase the amount of agave nectar by a tablespoon or two. Remember, things tend to taste sweeter when they are warm, than when they have cooled down.

1/3 cup small pearl tapioca
1 cup water
13.5 oz can light coconut milk
3 tbsp agave nectar, or more to taste

*3 peaches, sliced (or fruit/berries)

Cover the tapioca with about 1 cup of cold water and set aside overnight. (It will triple its volume.)

The next day, pour off the water and drain the tapioca. Place into a saucepan and add a fresh cup of water. Cook over medium heat, stirring all the while until the mixture thickens and the tapioca becomes translucent; about 4-6 minutes.

Add the coconut milk and agave nectar. Taste, and if the pudding isn't sweet enough for you, then add  more agave nectar. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then remove from heat.

Allow the pudding to cool. It will thicken more as it cools.

Serve with sliced peaches or fruit of your choice.

*If you'd like to remove the skins first, then drop the whole peaches into boiling water for about 15-30 seconds followed by a dunk in cold water. The skins should  slip off easily.

Roasted Hatch Chile Peppers & Shrimp

(4 servings)

Every year around this time, Central Market in Dallas puts on a Hatch Chile Festival. Aside from different types of fresh hatch chile peppers, they also offer a ton of prepared foods, all containing these tasty peppers in some form. I had picked out a bag of them in the produce section before coming across stacks of containers of their in-house roasted hatch chile peppers; mild or hot. My lazy side kicked in. I swapped out my bag of fresh peppers for a container of wonderful looking roasted peppers which ended up in the following dish.

1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup *roasted hatch chile peppers, mild or hot
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 lb raw shrimp, peeled and cleaned
1/4 cup heavy cream

4 servings cooked linguine or rice

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and fry for about 30-45 seconds or until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the onions and adjust the heat to prevent the onions from burning. Cook until they are translucent and beginning to brown slightly; about 6-10 minutes.

Stir in the wine, roasted hatch chile peppers and salt. Simmer the mixture until the wine has reduced by about half.

Add the shrimp and cook until they begin to lose their translucency and turn pink. Stir in the cream and simmer until it's heated through. **Shrimp cook very quickly. You want to just cook them long enough to be done, otherwise they might become rubbery.

Serve immediately with either the cooked linguine or cooked rice.

*If you can't find roasted hatch chile peppers, then you can roast them yourself. This recipe uses red bell peppers, but the method is the same. I usually remove the seeds when I roast peppers, but the prepared ones I purchased contained seeds and they were fine; it's up to you!

Banana Bread

(1 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf)

Every once in a while I'll have a couple of very ripe bananas on my hands by the end of the week. I'll either slice them to freeze for smoothies or make muffins or a banana loaf.

This loaf is very easy to make and comes together rather quickly. I like to keep it in the oven just long enough for it to be slightly underdone. When I insert a toothpick, rather than it coming out completely clean, it has small bits sticking to it. The loaf tends to firm up as it cools and the result is a deliciously moist banana bread.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 - 1/2 cup agave nectar, to taste
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas, (about 2 large bananas)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour an 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan. Set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom and toasted walnuts in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

Combine the canola oil, agave nectar, yogurt, eggs, bananas and vanilla extract in another bowl. Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and stir to just combine. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle still has small bits attached to it; see photo. This technique can be a little hit or miss, so if you don't feel comfortable doing this, then leave it in the oven until your toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing it to cool further on a wire rack.