Ease into Fennel
We are back from Germany, and after all that bread and sausage eating, its time for some low-fat food. This soup is the first thing I’ve cooked in over two weeks, and it is uber low-fat, and very flavorful. I googled carrot and fennel soup and came across quite a few, but decided on this one (with a few minor changes) from Orangette, a fabulous, fabulous food blog.
Most people don’t know what fennel is… I actually had someone stop me in the grocery store, asking me what this strange bulbous veggie in my shopping cart is. It seems people either love or hate fennel. It has a slight licorice flavor, and a wonderful crunch when eaten raw. Its fabulous thinly sliced in a salad. This soup has a combination of carrot and fennel, but the fennel definitely plays a supporting role in this soup, as the sweet carrot flavor really shines. Give fennel a chance!
I will warn you, however, this soup tastes (and is) very healthy. Although I liked the soup, Stephan didn’t care for it, and said it tasted like baby food! Gotta love brutal honesty!
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Cut the Cheese
We eat a lot of cheese in my house, and every once and a while, it’s time to clean out the fridge. What do I make with all the random hunks of cheese in my fridge? Macaroni & Cheese!!! But, no fear, this isn’t the mac-n-cheese you remember. Its made with great, flavorful cheeses and topped with a crunchy panko crust. It was definitely the most fattening thing I’ve made in quite a while, but dangit, it was good! The recipe is adapted from Alton Brown’s on the Food Network.
I served it as a main course with a tomato, cucumber and red onion salad.
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Got your gourd?
Now that its fall, I like to make fall themed foods. Pumpkin is one of my all time favorite fall foods… Pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pasta… Just all things pumpkin. I even have a pumpkin candle that I only feel its right to burn during the fall. Don’t forget the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks too, its out of this world! For this recipe, you can adjust the amount of pumpkin to add, but I like my risotto more pumpkiny (if that is a word.)
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Yo Quiero Quesadilla
I’m not one to order quesadillas at Mexican Restaurants because they are usually loaded down with some obscure yellow cheese and just oozing with extra fat. So this is my take on (somewhat) healthy quesadillas. I use Queso Blanco, which is the perfect cheese for quesadillas, as it doesn’t melt and get all gooey and oily. Its also very mild, and really meshes well with the roasted red pepper and caramelized onions. You can use any type of filling for quesadillas, from chicken to chorizo to different veggies. Just make sure everything is cooked first.
I usually serve it with yummy fresh roasted corn salsa, which I make often when fresh corn is abundant.
Dreary Days = Soup
I’ve been up in North Florida at St George Island with the family for the past few days, just relaxing and fishing. I just came home to rainy and dreary weather here in South Florida. Since it actually dipped below 80 degrees, I was in the mood for a bit o’ soup. One of my most favorite soups is Pasta Fagioli. It’s an incredibly easy and quick cooking soup, and is made from basic ingredients I usually have in my pantry. There are many, many different recipes for this soup, some adding marinara, some adding Italian meatballs… I don’t add either of those. I’ve been tweaking it a bit each time I make it, and this last time was just perfect. My secret (which is now no longer a secret) is to puree half of the white beans.
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Hakuna Frittata!
Just like Lion King, when making a frittata, there are no worries! :)
I began my love of frittatas while working as a Pastry Chef at the Aquarium Restaurant in Kemah Texas. I often worked early mornings, prepping for the dinner service that night. The kitchen prep ladies would make breakfast for the staff, and one of the most popular items was a frittata. They would go from station to station, grabbing a handful of bacon from Garde Manger, perhaps some par-cooked Haricots Verts from the saute station, julienne of carrot… whatever tickled their fancy. I’ve even had it with lobster on a few occasions when the executive chef was away from the kitchen… but we were sworn to secrecy!
Pearls of Wisdom
Another Africa hot day in lovely South Florida and I was craving a cold dinner. I’m sure Confucious said somewhere “When day hot, eat cold couscous.” Or something like that.
I found this recipe on a message board I frequent, but didn’t actually write it down, so its probably completely different than the original recipe. Whatever… its good, with a surprising mix of flavors and textures. I use only pearl couscous, as I prefer it to the regular tiny grained couscous, which always seems mushy to me. My grocery store usually has a dusty box or two of it on the top shelf near the rice and pastas. If you can’t find it in a regular grocery store, Whole Foods always carries it. We ate the couscous as a main dish, with delicious sunflower seed bread from The German Breadhaus, which has… hands down… the best German bread in South Florida.
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Broccoli and Almond Risotto
For those that don’t really care for broccoli, (my husband being one) this is the perfect use of this delicious and oh so healthy veggie. I always add a handful of chopped almonds at the end, which gives the perfect crunch to the risotto. You can use a little less oil and butter, but it will not be quite as rich. We generally eat this as a main course, as its quite the satisfying meal.
Got Mozz?
Insalata Caprese is my husband’s most favorite salad. I purchase the best possible tomatoes when I make this salad, and if I can’t find good, vine ripened tomatoes, I won’t make the salad. My favorite (other than out of someone’s garden… of course) are Campari Tomatoes. They always have great flavor, but sometimes are hard to find. Luckily, my local Costco usually carries them. The best part is the balsamic reduction…. its so delicious and really looks great on the plate.
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Anything Goes Pasta
Last night was one of those nights when I had no fresh vegetables other than a lone zucchini, and absolutely no urge to go to the grocery store. I knew I had to get creative to make dinner. We also had little bit of Delallo Bruschetta Topping we bought in Captiva last weekend. This bruschetta topping, by the way, was delicious if you happen across it! Anyway, I used the oil from the bruschetta instead of plain olive oil. I also had about a tablespoon of goat cheese left from a chicken roulade that I made the other day.
I combined all this and a few other things from my pantry, and it turned out to be really good.
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