Indian-inspired lentil soup

We all need a little lift from now and then to keep our spirit high. When something goes wrong, we have to remember all the other good people & things that are still there with us, and it may sooth the pain. These are times when we need to keep our heart & tummy warm, because the temperature refuses to collaborate.

I came to making this soup out of literally whatever I had in the house. The only thing that I had to go buy, was the fresh parsley. Let me tell you, tough out the cold bum and run to the store to get it, because it adds a really nice touch.

 Indian-inspired lentil soup (makes about 10 servings)

• a splash of olive oil
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• a couple cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 can of Italian tomatoes, whole
• 2 boxes of chicken broth (about 2L)
• 1 large bunch of curly parsley, washed, stemmed and roughly chopped. And a few for garnish
• about 1 cup of dried lentil, rinsed and picked over
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tbsp curry powder (or more depends on your taste)
• Chili flakes if desired
• Lemon, sliced 

Heat oil in a big pot over medium heat, add onions and garlic, cook for a few minutes until fragrant but not burnt. Add the tomatoes & the juice, mash them up in small chunks with a wooden spoon. Then add the chicken broth, leaving about half of a box for thinning the soup later.

Turn heat to maximum, add the parsley and the lentils. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Add the masala, curry and chili flakes half way and mix well.

Serve with fresh parsley for garnish, with some freshly ground black pepper, and a small wedge of lemon. It really kicks it up a notch (unfortunately I didn't get the lemon when I made this, boo!)

****I put this soup into individual microwavable containers for lunch, and before taking them to work, I would add a bit of chicken broth, because it thickens up quite a lot

It is Valentine's Day weekend, and I made some cakes for the occasion, for an order. One was a "kitsch" Birthday/Valentines Day theme (yes, "kitsch" was an important part of the order) It was chocolate layer cake with fresh strawberry buttercream.

Yeehaw!!!!! Chocolate layer cake with fresh strawberry butter-cream

And then there were the cute cupcakes *sigh*...

From front to back: Cinnamon "bun" & Orange butter-cream, Double amaretto, Green Tea & Lemon butter-cream, Double Root Beer

I wish you all a wonderful weekend with your Valentine (although I am sure that everyday is Valentine's Day for a lot of you *wink*) Share some soup, share some cupcakes. Most importantly, spread the love!

Sauté Shrimp Primavera Ptitim (Israeli couscous)

Ptitim, also called Israeli couscous, is my new favorite pasta! There is a slight chewiness to them that is very pleasing to eat, somewhere between a pastina and barley.

I've had them before in restaurants, but this is the first time I cook them. They really keep their shape through cooking, reheating and they don't clump like couscous. They cook a tad faster than other pasta because of their small shape, and the sauce really cling to them. It's awesome!

I made something pretty simple, with stuff that I already have in the fridge: primavera sauce purchased at Jean Talon market, broccoli and shrimp. Quite straight forward, really....

Sauté Shrimp Primavera Ptitim

• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup Ptitim/Israeli couscous
• 6-8 shrimps, peeled, devained
• pinch of salt, pepper & chili flakes
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups of your favorite sauce, ready-to-eat
• About 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Boil the water, then add the ptitim, and simmer covered, for 10 minutes. Drain under cold water, set aside.

In the same pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat, sauté shrimps just until they turn opaque (which means they are cooked) sprinkle the salt, pepper and chili flakes, stir around to coat, set shrimps aside in a bowl.

Use the same pot & add the sauce over medium low heat until it starts bubbling. Add the cheese, it will thicken the sauce. Stir to mix well, then add the ptitim.

Gravlax : cured salmon

Days like these, I'm happy I stock my freezer the way I do. It's like -1000*C outside!!!!!! Eesh!

And the most recent things I made to add to the bunch, is gravlax.
Gravlax?
Gravlax??
Gravlax!!!
It sounds unappetizing doesn't it? If you repeat it long enough, you might actually never want to try it! LOL!

What it is, is simply cured salmon. The texture is just like smoked salmon, but the taste is more salty in depth due to the way it's made: cured in salt, sugar and dill.

It's one of the easiest things you will ever make. The only problem is waiting 3 days before you can sink your fangs into it graciously taste it. I made a big batch, then froze them in individual portion (Slice thinly, then overlap them onto aluminum foil and placed inside freezer bags)

Gravlax: cured salmon

• The best salmon filet you can get, whole, about 2 pounds, skinned and cut half length wise (Mine fit perfectly into a 9x13 glass baking dish)
• 7-8 Tbsp sea salt
• 4-6 Tbsp light brown sugar (depending on how sweet you want to make it)
• 1 bunch of fresh dill, chopped, stems removed

Line a 9x13 baking dish with plastic wrap. Sprinkle dill onto the surface (big enough to cover one filet)

Mix salt and sugar together. Take one half of salmon, press some salt & sugar mix onto the surface thoroughly. Place salt & sugar side down onto dill surface. Then repeat step with the other surface, and the other filet.

Sandwich the two together, and wrap up tightly. Place a chopping board on top, and then weigh it down with something heavy.

Place in the fridge. Turn over every 12 hours and remove any liquid that accumulate in dish. Do this for 3 days and then you shall be able to enjoy the fruit of your labor & patience.

Eat it however you'd like: appetizer (atop crackers spread with cream cheese) breakfast (aside some scrambled eggs and a bagel) quick lunch (sandwich with avocado, spinach salad, etc) I'm thinking I will even use it in maki rolls just like I would with smoked salmon. Hmmmm... yeah... *drool*...not a bad idea.....

Still everyone's favorite brownies...

There is one type of brownies that I am requested to make over and over again, and it's the Oreo Brownies. Actually, I think anything with chopped Oreo cookies in them, people will love it: brownies, biscotti, cakes, fudge, ice cream. Sold!

I have already posted once on Oreo Brownies here, and this is just a slightly different version, from Kraft Kitchen, with no addition of cocoa powder, a bit less of butter and chocolate. The best part of baking this (beside the obvious of eating them) is the use of just ONE bowl for your satisfaction.

One-bowl Oreo Brownies

(adapted from Kraft)

• 4 squares Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cup chopped Oreo cookies (Kraft suggested 1 cup cookies and 1 cup raisins, but really, raisins???)

Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, with an inch or so sticking our the sides of pan (for easy lifting later)
Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Stir in flour until well blended. Mix in 1 cup of chopped cookies.
Spread into prepared pan. Sprinkle with the rest of the chopped cookies. Bake 30 to 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out with fudgy crumbs (Mine only took about 15-20 minutes!!!!) Do not over-bake!!! Cool in pan, then lift out and cut in squares.

Another Oreo related thing I made last week is a Kaboum cake (A Quebec kids show) Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the cut cake, but just imagine: dark chocolate cake layers, with a filling of dark chocolate buttercream and chopped Oreo cookies. Hm.... it's a good thing I have self-control....

This was my inspiration for colors

And this is what the cake looked like

So, Oreo-up your sweet treats, I'm sure that will bring lots of cheers and hugs from everyone (And I better warn you, get used to the requests afterward)

Spinach, berries & smoked salmon salad with strawberry balsamic reduction

We just got back from Miami and a cruise in the Caribbean and now we are back to the freezing weather of Montreal. So usually, I would have opened this post with something along the line of "reality sucks!", or "it's like ripping the bandage off", but with all that is going on in Haiti, it just sounds... well... bratty and inappropriate. I don't think I need to say more on the horrible situation, as I'm sure everyone are well informed. I do sincerely hope that everyone there will get all the help they need, and that everyone over here continue to support all the volunteers who are working hard to make that happen (And here is one of the many ways to show it)

As for the cruise, I think we definitely brought winter along with us. The trip was great nonetheless. We had a few sunny, warm bikini days, but the rest was more like I-will-be-in-denial-and-wear-short-shorts-but-I-am-bringing-my-sweater-along kind of weather. It was our first cruise, and although it was an awesome experience, I don't think we would do it again anytime soon. Maybe when we are more like... 60-70 years old? (Not because of any negativity, but because we prefer to do a little more than just being pampered all day)

They had a great entertainment program for us every night. The crew was awesome: exceedingly polite, caring and friendly. And boy, did we eat...I'm not kidding when I say that we would go to a sit down restaurant, have the whole 3 course meal and then get up and go to the buffet for a second round... Needless to say, we were in the gym everyday running all that food off keeping ourselves in good health. It was so good.

So after a whole week of being spoiled, I haven't felt like cooking again just yet. I'm eating out, pulling out things from the freezer and and making meals that require no effort. And I successfully achieved my goal tonight.

It's a straight forward what-you-see-is-what-you-get salad: avocado, baby spinach, berries and smoke salmon with a strawberry balsamic reduction. Ok, so the reduction is the most "work", but I made this in advance, and keep it in a squeeze bottle in the fridge. Initially, I made them separately, and then mixed only part of both so I have 3 different sauces on hand.

Balsamic reduction  

(makes about 1 cup)

• 1 bottle of balsamic vinegar 500 ml
  
• A few cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
  
• Dried herbs: rosemary, parsley, thyme, etc

Put everything in a medium sauce pan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 40-60 minutes, depending on how thick you like it to be. (The result will reduce significantly to about 1/3 of what it was in the beginning, and it is so worth it) Strain if you'd like and bottle once cooled.

Strawberry sauce:

(makes about  1 cup)

• 15 big strawberries, chopped (I froze some back in the summer, it works very well)
• 1 Tbsp water
• About 1 Tbsp sugar (more or less depending on how sweet the strawberries are)
  
• 1 Tbsp jam, optional (I used boysenberry because that's what I had)

Put everything in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil and whiz everything up with a hand-held blender (or use a normal blender and then transfer back to the saucepan afterward) Mix well, then strain if you prefer the sauce to be seedless. Cool completely.

I mixed equal parts of both for this salad, but you can adjust it to your taste, to be more balsamic-y or berry-ish.


***You can use the strawberry sauce for ice cream or plain yogurt!

Enjoy the healthy salad, know how lucky we are to be alive and well. Send your thoughts to those in need today (contribution too, if you have!!!) We should all spread the love!!!

One soup, two ways

I have started a new relationship. Yes, I am in love with a Rebel... Canon Rebel XS.

I bought it yesterday and now I can't put it down. My heart flutters every time I hold it. With each picture taken, it beats a little faster. And with every glance, the butterflies in my tummy go haywire.

Ok, ok, maybe it's not dramatic like that, but pretty close, no joke... So today, I made soup for my Rebel. Vegetable Soup Two Ways. Just to say "Welcome to the family, sit down and have a hearty soup to warm you up. Make yourself at home!" That kind of thing....

Chunky Vegetable Soup

• A splash of olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced, or chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped.
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
  
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• a pinch of (sea) salt
  
• 1 cup of tomato puree (I used canned)
• 1 can of corn, drained
  
• 1L of chicken broth (Or vegetable broth if you prefer)
  
• 1 can of beans (I had pinto beans on hand) drained and rinsed
  
• a pinch of dried herbs like: thym, rosemary, parsley,  
  
• 1/2 cup cooking cream, or whole milk
  
• a few pinches of turmeric, curry powder and cayenne pepper
  

Heat olive oil over medium low heat in a soup pot (big enough to hold everything you have) and throw in garlic, onions, carrots and celery. Stir around a bit, add the salt and cover. Let sweat for about 10 minutes.

Add the tomato puree and corn, stir, let cook for a few minutes. Then add the broth, turn heat up to maximum and bring to a boil.

Add the beans. Season with dried herbs.

Chunky vegetable soup

Cream of vegetable soup:

Transfer half of the chunky soup into another soup pot. Whiz everything up with a hand-held blender, or in a blender. Then use a sieve, and "filter" the soup. Bring back to a boil, add  cream, turmeric, curry powder, cayenne pepper and stir well. 

Cream of vegetable soup

And voila. All I'm missing right now is some thick slices of bread, toasted with melted cheese on top.... Hmmmm....

I am going back to my Rebel. Have a great day and Happy Holidays once again!!!!!