Pureed Butternut Squash, Potato and Poblano Coconut Curry Soup

This might as well be called "What's in your refrigerator?" soup.  But most soups are like that, aren't they? A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and less than an hour later your heart and soul are warmed with a bowl of soup.

What's very exciting about this particular soup is that I finally got to use my immersion Cuisinart hand blender!  It's fantastic.  If you don't have one, get it!  Or, you can use a blender, but it's so much more dangerous, and who wants to have an extra item to wash?

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cups chopped butternut squash
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 roasted poblano pepper, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon red curry paste
salt and pepper to taste
boiling water or hot vegetable stock
1 can coconut milk

Directions
1. In a large soup pot heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add squash, potatoes, carrots, onion, pepper, garlic and curry paste.  Saute, mixing occasionally for 15 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add boiling water or stock to the pot, just enough to cover the vegetables.  Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are completely tender.

Note: this is not where you want to keep your vegetables al dente.  This is going to be a pureed soup.  If your vegetables are not completely, thoroughly cooked, you'll have a very grainy and unappetizing texture to your soup - no silky, velvety deliciousness for you!

3. Turn off the heat.  Take your immersion blender and puree the soup.  Be careful not to lift up the blender while you're using it - if you do, you'll be sorry.  Have you ever been splattered with hot soup?  I hope not!

4.  Once the soup is completely pureed, whisk in a can of coconut milk.  If needed, gently reheat the soup, just don't bring it up to a boil again.  Taste the soup!  Adjust for salt and pepper and get your soup bowl ready!

I topped the soup with spicy sauteed shrimp.

If I was a Baker - Photos of Baking Creations at Whole Foods Market

I'm not a baker, but during the week of Christmas, I got a chance to work in the Bakery Department at Whole Foods Market.

I mostly did production and assembly, but I have to say, it was fun and a great creative outlet.  Here are some results of my labor. Fruit tarts, chocolate brownies with peppermint frosting, chocolate dipped canolis.

  

 

Which one is your favorite?  It's a miracle I didn't gain 10 pounds while working at the bakery.  Self control, or something like that :)

Pho on the Floor

Alright, so perhaps I'm the only one who thinks "Pho on the Floor" is cute and funny.  Prove me wrong!  Basically, I have yet to purchase any living room furniture.  And I was feeling under the weather.  And my friend came for a visit.  So we went to a local Than Brothers Pho and picked up containers of steaming fragrant broth, a block of rice noodles (not a joke! look at the picture below, the noodles really did come in a tightly compressed block), vegetables, and in my case thin slices of still frozen steak!

Have I mentioned that I'm still in search of perfect plates and bowls?  So we used my plastic prep bowls and sat on the floor.  And ate.  And chatted.  And caught up.  And made fun of the Bachelor.  It was a great night!

What do you love in your pho?  I'm a big fan of lots of basil, cilantro, Sriracha, Hoisin, and lots and lots of lime juice (fresh please!).  That's how I've been eating my pho until my pho buddy Alla opened my eyes to vegetables in the pho!  I have never been the same, and neither has my bowl of pho.  Since that first discovery, I have always been ordering pho with extra vegetables.  You never know you might get - sometimes you are delighted with fresh cabbage, carrots, and broccoli.  At other times you are "gifted" with a frozen mix of peas, corn and carrots.

What made this dinner even sweeter was dessert! Than Brothers are known for their cream puffs.  That's right.  A Vietnamese restaurant that gives you a cream puff as soon as you sit down and place your order.  Normally, I would eat the cream puff before the pho arrives, but this time I've exercised some restraint and waited until I slurped the last bit of broth.  Have you noticed how the last few spoon-fulls of broth is the most delicious and also the spiciest (Sriracha!)?  Hmm... So yes, the cream puff.  Delicious on its own but even better with Nutella and raspberry jam.

Snacking in the Kitchen Gets New Dishes - Lenox Chirp

New apartment, new kitchen has meant no plates, no bowls.  I've been looking for several months already but have yet to find something that I love.  Please, if I see another Fiesta dish set, I might just lose all hope.  It's tricky.  I'm looking for solid, but light salad plates and cereal/soup bowls.  Not really interested in sauces, cups, etc.  So far I've been eating out of storage containers and mixing bowls. It's been fun!

Then today, on my trip to Marshalls, I came across Lenox Chrip salad plates, on clearance!

 

I've seen the plates before, and if you know me, you know how much I love turquoise color.  So I thought and thought, and ended up buying all 4 plates at $10 each.  (They are sold at Lenox for $27 each). Now what?  I would really love to buy a few more and then some matching bowls.

I am concerned a bit about how food will look against the turquoise.  Thoughts?

 or 

These gorgeous bowls are $30 each!  No way, I will keep on looking for a better deal.  If you see them on sale, clearance, please let me know :)

Photos directly from www.lenox.com

A Sweet Life - Home Delivered Caramel Flan

This flan has been in the making for quite a few months.  There came a point when I was slightly doubtful that it would ever make its appearance.  And then, when I almost gave up, there it was!  Home made and hand delivered.  Cold, in a glass ramekin, covered with aluminum foil, it arrived at my door.  Dinner plans put the flan consumption on hold, so it was left to hang out in the fridge with a few other containers.

Late morning, hungry stomach, could mean only one thing!  It was breakfast time, and it was flan time.

I suppose I could eat the flan right out of the glass container, but why?  Here's a trick to un-mold the flan.  Pour hot water into a larger bowl.  Take a small knife and run it against the edge of the flan, loosening it up.  Then, quickly, lower the flan into hot water - this will slightly melt the caramel layer on the bottom.

Ready to go?  Wipe the bottom of the flan bowl (to avoid water on the plate), cover the flan with a serving plate, say a prayer and invert. If you're lucky, the flan will happily flop out of its dish right onto your plate.  The caramel will follow and form a lovely sweet puddle around the flan.  Eat time!

Breakfast for 2 - Poached Eggs over English Muffins and Potato Hash

I won't lie.  Perhaps this homemade breakfast was inspired by a fabulous and delicious egg experience last week at Beths' Cafe.  Whatever it was, I was craving eggs, salmon, and potatoes once again.  True, I could've gone for the imitation of Beth's Northwest Omelette (salmon, cream cheese and green onions), but I decided to go a different route.  So I poached, toasted, sauteed, sliced, and stacked.  And of course, most importantly, ate and enjoyed!

Anna's Potatoes
Ingredients (for 2)
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 small Idaho potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cups mushrooms, roughly chopped

1/4 cup scallions, sliced
salt & pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste

Directions
1.  Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat.  Add potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, tossing frequently.
2.  Add pepper and mushrooms and continue to cook for another 5-7 minutes or until potatoes and vegetables are tender.
3.  Sprinkle in scallions and season with salt and pepper.  Keep warm until ready to serve.

Next, poached eggs!  Soft, runny, bright egg yolk, gently encased in a cloud of egg white - this is one of my favorite ways to enjoy the egg!

Poached Egg on a Toasted Sourdough English Muffin with Avocado and Smoked Salmon

Ingredients

1 teaspoon white vinegar

4 Eggs

2 sourdough English muffins, sliced and toasted

1 avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced

4 slices of smoked salmon

black pepper

Directions

1.  Bring a pot of water to a simmer.  Add vinegar (the vinegar keeps the egg whites together, or at least that's the idea).

2.  Gently break eggs (one at a time) into a small bowl and very, very gently lower the eggs into the water.  You can use a spoon to control the egg white and return it to its original location (around the egg yolk).

3.  While the eggs are poaching, toast the muffins and layer with avocado and salmon.  Season with black pepper.

4.  Do not overcook the eggs (if you do, you might as well have boiled the eggs and saved yourself the trouble of poaching).  Remove the eggs from the water bath and gently pat dry on paper towel. Place on top of the English muffin stack.

5.  Serve immediately!  Do not wait.  Use your fork to split the egg yolk and see it ooze all over the salmon and the potatoes.  Magical.

Ok, Mimosa would've been nice.  But I didn't want to spend the rest of the day sleepy.  Enjoyed a non-alcoholic mimosa (half Orange Juice and half Marinelli's apple cider) along with a cup of coffee.

6-Egg Omelette at Beth's Cafe - Breakfast in Seattle

Breakfast happens to be one of my favorite meals...maybe...perhaps. I guess it depends on the day.  Lately, breakfast has meant a container of Plain Non Fat Voskos Greek Yogurt (free, courtesy of my sister) sprinkled with Udi's Hawaiian Granola, and an orange.  And maybe a cup of coffee, if I'm feeling particularly sleepy.  I remember back in the day, I would eat a bowl of reheated borcht from the night before and be happy and full and ready for the day!

And then there are days when I crave nothing other than eggs and bacon.  But I digress.  Last week, we had breakfast at Beth's Cafe by Greenlake.  After years of living in Seattle, I honestly don't have an explanation why this was the first time I visited this charming 24-hour diner.  Apparently they are famous for their 6 and 12-egg omelets.  So in we went.  First thing I noticed, or rather smell, was toasted, buttered, grilled bread - a great sign of what was to come!

We settled on a 6-egg omelette (to share, for two, worth an extra sharing $$ charge).  The omelette (ok, I would spell this as "omelet", but the menu says "omelette" so who am I to object?)  was oozing with cream cheese and filled with chunks of smoked salmon.  Perhaps green onions were added for good measure.  And if this wasn't enough, the omelette was served on giant hash browns.  I'm picky about potatoes and these were close to perfect!  Cooked through and crispy on the outside. Want more?  Ask for another heaping serving - afterall, these are unlimited hash browns.  

We should've stopped right then and there, but why?  We decided to splurge on a pancake and got a bit creative with the jam :)  

The point of the story - next time you're hungry for breakfast, or breakfast for dinner, or breakfast at 2am, you should stop by Beth's Cafe and share one of their omelettes with someone you care about.

Extra Sharp Tillamook Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes with Garlic and Thyme

Could there be anything more comforting than potatoes?  Well, yes!  How about potatoes with Half & Half and cheese?  What do you think about that?  I think it's time to pull out a mandoline and make some scalloped potatoes.  I'll admit, the last time I have made scalloped potatoes was at the Culinary Institute, but I'm willing and ready to give it another try! I took inspiration from Tyler Florence's recipe and got cooking.

So, happy New Year, have a delicious, healthy and abundant 2011, and enjoy this first dish of the year.

Extra Sharp Tillamook Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes with Garlic and Thyme

Ingredients
4 garlic cloves, grated on microplane
3 sprigs thyme
2 cups Half & Half
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil or butter
8 Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch slices (I used a mandoline, I recommend you do the same.  Once sliced, avoid putting potatoes back into water - you want to keep the starch on them to thicken up the cream while baking later on)
salt and pepper
8 ounces Extra Sharp Tillamook Cheddar, grated (avoid buying grated cheese, it is more expensive and has a coating on the cheese to prevent it from sticking, which also inhibits even melting)

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350.
2.  Place garlic and thyme in a small sauce pot, cover with half & half and bring to a light simmer.

 

3.  Oil or butter a baking dish.  Layer one third of potatoes on the bottom of the dish, overlapping slightly. Season with salt and pepper.  Cover with 1/3 of half & half mixture and sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese.

 

4.  Repeat layering two more times.  Here's a bit of a hint - nobody will see the middle layer, but they will see the top - so save the larger slices of potatoes for the top, and use the smaller or uneven slices in the middle.

5.  Bake uncovered for 60-90 minutes.  Switch to broil, if necessary the last few minutes to brown the cheese (Mine got brown and bubbly all on its own!).
6.  Allow to sit for about 10 minutes to settle, cut and enjoy.  Perhaps with a salad, so you feel better about all the cream and starch you're consuming :)