Soups On! {Smoky Red Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup}

Fall is in full force around here. Pumpkins and mums decorate steps, boots and scarves are daily essentials and we had two cords of wood delivered today. Hooray for fires! Around here the change in leaves from vibrant green to blazing crimson is mirrored by our shift in meals. We transition from leafy green salads to warm and hearty soups.

That’s right, it’s soup season bitches! Alleluia.

In this soup red lentils and roasted sweet potato flesh marry with chipotle, cumin and smoked paprika. Liquid smoke adds another depth of flavor. Are you familiar with liquid smoke? It’s amazing, inexpensive and can be found in most grocery stores. A little goes a long way and it’s such a fast and easy way to impart a lot of flavor in your meals. I always add a few dashes into the sautéed veggies when I make fajitas and I think it’s a great vegetarian alternative for dishes that call for bacon. This completes my public service announcement on liquid smoke.

This soup is healthy and filling, a perfect combination in my eyes. I used chicken stock because it’s what I had on hand but vegetable stock can easily be swapped out here for a vegetarian option (vegan, actually-minus the cheese I used for garnish). Sometimes the best part of a soup is the toppings, no? Get creative here. I used a little shredded cheddar, some chopped avocado and a few sprigs of cilantro. You also can’t go wrong with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Smoky Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sized onion, diced
1 large clove of garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 large sweet potato
1 teaspoon chipotle sauce
Few dashes liquid smoke, adjust to taste

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Prick the sweet potato a few times with a fork and place on a baking sheet. No need to wrap it in foil. Bake for 45 minutes until flesh is tender and the skin peels away easily.

In a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed soup pot heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, salt and pepper and sauté until translucent, about five minutes. Add garlic and sauté about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add carrots and celery and continue cooking, stirring frequently until just softened.

Add in paprika and cumin, stirring to coat vegetables and to slightly toast the spices which releases more of their aromatics. Add in broth and lentils, bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are soft (about 15 minutes).

Add roasted sweet potato flesh, liquid smoke and chipotle and blend everything with an immersion blender (worlds best invention) or transfer soup in batches to a blender or food processor. Blend to your desired consistency. I’m a huge fan of puréed soups so I processed mine until it was smooth, but feel free to leave it a bit chunkier if you like more texture in your soup. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking as well.

Enjoy!
Xo

Lumberjack Mac & Cheese

Around this time last year I created a recipe for macaroni and cheese. It was a huge hit with my family and was even requested for me to bring as a dish on Thanksgiving. Whoever heard of mac and cheese for Thanksgiving? Smart weirdos, that family of mine. My husband begs me to make this dish and I’ll admit its a great bribe (i.e. If you do all the laundry and mop the floors I’ll make you that mac and cheese). Yeah. That kind of thing happens in our house.

Last week A couple weeks ago I shared my recipe with my friend Maggie on her lovely blog The Rural Roost Click here to check out the post!

Enjoy!
Xo

{Who’s got the} Herbed Eggplant Rollatini for Two

I have no idea why that song is in my head. I don’t even know who sings it (well-that is until I googled it just now). Maybe it stems from the Breaking Bad binge we’ve been on in our house lately. But don’t worry (or, sorry?) the only herbs in this easy weeknight meal are the legal home garden variety.

My little garden has been putting forth eggplant like whoa all Summer long. I was feeling burnt out on roasting these aubergine beauties and my husband had been begging me to make rollatini for a while now. I’d been putting it off because a.) I never seem to have all the necessary ingredients in my fridge at the same time and I rarely menu plan and b.) I vaguely remember the whole process being a little time consuming and messy. This may be because I haven’t made it in years and my kitchen skills and confidence have increased ten-fold since then, or I may have been following a more cumbersome and involved recipe back then. Whichever it was, I was wrong! This recipe came together quickly and with barely any effort.

The star of this show is the over the top herb-y ricotta filling. Most rollatini recipes call for either some oregano or basil, but that wasn’t enough for me. I used oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, sage and chives! Aka every herb I have growing in my yard. The combo packed such a fantastic flavor punch! Feel free to play around here, use what feels and tastes good to you.

I have another secret ingredient in this rollatini. Cottage cheese. Okay, not a secret anymore. Most rollatini fillings include ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan. Remember how I said I don’t meal plan? I only had enough mozzarella on hand to either use in the filling, or sprinkle on top, but not both. It wasn’t a question- I wasn’t willing to budge on that crispy, cheesy top. With the remaining mozzarella delegated to the top of this eggplant party I began searching my fridge to see if *just maybe* I had something else to use in the cheese mixture. Cottage cheese to the rescue. I admit I was a bit weary of this addition but boy oh boy was it a good decision. The cottage cheese gave the filling such a delicate texture and kept everything from getting too dry in the oven.

This rollatini is a Summery version of a classic cold weather dish, guaranteed to satisfy your hunger without weighing you down!

Herbed Eggplant Rollatini
(Serves 2 very hungry adults or 4 normal people)

1 large eggplant (sliced lengthwise to get 8 pieces)
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1/2 freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Handful of finely chopped fresh herbs to taste (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, chives etc)
1 1/2 -2 cups tomato sauce **
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter

** I used two cups of roasted tomatoes (a mix of cherry, grape and other heirloom varieties from my garden). I roughly chop the large tomatoes and leave the little ones as is, toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 20-25 minutes at 400 on a baking sheet. Then I mash them all up into a “sauce” and store in pint jars in the fridge. It’s the best. Use whatever sauce makes you happy!!

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Arrange eggplant slices on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and set aside for about ten minutes and to draw out any excess moisture and remove any bitterness. Pat dry with a paper towel and to remove salt. Bake eggplant slices, rotating pan halfway through to cook evenly, until soft and beginning to brown, about 10-12 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, grease the bottom of a 9×9 baking dish with one tablespoon of softened butter, and spread about half a cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together ricotta, cottage cheese, Parmesan and herbs. Dollop heaping spoonfuls of the cheese mixture onto one end of an eggplant slice. Roll it up and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices and ricotta mixture.

Top the eggplant with your remaining sauce and then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling. If you wish, turn on the broiler for a minute to get the cheese topping extra brown and crispy. Your husband will thank you for it. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Happy Eating!
Xo

Golden(hour) Zucchini Noodles with White Wine Tomato Broth

This dinner was a happy accident. After having nearly three weeks of vacation, getting back into the groove of a work schedule is especially draining. All last week I would come home from work just spent, no energy or motivation to do anything except watch Orange is the New Black. Have you watched it? I’m obsessed- already blew through the whole season. When does season two start?! I digress.

So last week I was unusually lazy after work and didn’t have any real dinners planned. But my jungle of a garden keeps producing and I can’t in good conscience let anything go to waste. I had a monstrous golden zucchini begging to be consumed so I started chopping, still not knowing the direction this meal was going. I had made zucchini “noodles” for the first time a week or so prior and was really pleased with them so I figured I’d do that again.

Enter: giant, juicy, red tomato from the garden. I daresay Summer produce doesn’t get much better than that. I chopped it up and threw it in towards the end of cooking the zucchini (which is all of like three minutes) with some oregano, and a few splashes of white wine. Holy holy. It made THE best broth. I could swim in that stuff. So light and sweet but with that robust tomato flavor you just can’t replicate with a mid-winter grocery store tomato. Good things happened in that pan.
I served the noodles with a generous grating of Parmesan and chunks of toasty French bread I made the night before (amen bread machine).

Can we talk about the golden hour for a minute? You know, that fleeting time of the evening when the sun pours through the windows and everything’s awash in the buttery glow of its rays? Its my favorite time of day. The ordinary seems so magical during the golden hour. I have such a weakness for that gentle amber warmth. At the end of the day, I love sitting down and enjoying dinner with my husband in the pool of light afforded to us by that magic hour. Food always looks more beautiful in it. And so it was with the golden zucchini noodles in the golden light. Hell, even if it tasted like crap I still would have swooned at its beauty.

Golden Zucchini Noodles with White Whine Tomato Broth

Serves two

One large or two medium sized zucchini
One large tomato, chopped
Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
One tablespoon butter (optional)
Handful chopped fresh oregano
Quarter cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

Using a sharp chefs knife cut zucchini zucchini lengthwise into very thin slabs and then cut slaps into very thin strips. Alternately, this could be done using the julienne blade of a mandolin if you have one.
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add zucchini and sauté until they are softened but not mushy (about three minutes). Add chopped tomato and oregano and continue cooking for another minute. The tomato will break down, this is a good thing. The juices will create the scrumptious broth. Add in the white wine and turn the heat up to medium high and bring the broth to a light simmer for a minute or so. If you’re feeling decadent, toss in some butter to add a richness to the broth (highly recommend).
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with a generous grating of fresh Parmesan and some toasted bread (which is perfect for soaking up all the goodness from the bottom of the bowl when you are finished).

Happy Eating!
Xo

Good morning sunshine, I’ll get you some waffles.

Finally. It’s been years. Yes, literally years.I’ve been tossing around the idea of starting a food blog forever, always procrastinating (I’m especially good at that) or coming up with some excuse not to (what to call it was my big one). But! No more. Welcome to my little corner of the Internet where I’ll share with you all the goodness cooking up in my little blue kitchen. Some of it original recipes created by me, some of it inspired by others. All of it delicious 🙂

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Yesterday Yesterday I snuck out of bed early, while the man and dog slept. I tiptoed downstairs, brewed a pot of coffee and got into the groove with Pandora. My mission: waffles. It was a recipe I saw posted a few weeks ago on Joy the Baker and was dying to try ever since. Lemon ricotta poppy seed waffles. You had me at lemon, Joy. Then you went and threw in ricotta and I gone done fell in love. These could very well be called Sunshine Waffles. The brightness of the lemon combined with the gentle warmth of the ricotta make these waffles a sunshiney start to the day.

Lemon Ricotta Poppyseed Waffles 

(recipe from Joy the Baker)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup part-skim milk ricotta cheese

3/4 cup water or milk (I used water)

2 teaspoons poppy seeds (optional)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, rub together granulated sugar and lemon zest until the sugar is scented with lemon.  Add the lemon sugar to the bowl with the dry ingredients.

In a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together butter, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, ricotta, and water.  Whisk until thoroughly combined.

Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.  Add the poppy seeds (if using) and stir to incorporate.  Try not to over mix the batter.  It’s ok if a few lumps remain.

Heat you waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Dollop batter into the waffle iron and cook until golden brown.  Serve immediately**.  These waffles can also be individually wrapped and frozen.  They’re great heated up in the toaster or in the oven.

**While these would be best served immediately, since aforementioned members of house where still sleeping as I selflessly slaved over a hot waffle iron, I kept these warm and toasty on a baking sheet in the oven set to 200 degrees. Keep them in a single layer so they stay crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. If you stack them, the steam generated will make them soggy (yet still very edible, I’m sure).

I served them with a drizzle of honey and a big bowl of fresh fruit.

It was a good morning.

xo