In the kitchen no. 3 - Hearty Tomato Soup

It was 70 degrees in the DC area on Friday. Monday evening, it snowed.

Mother nature is toying with me.

The warm weather kicked my body into cravings of spring - fresh vegetables, a green herb garden and constant sunshine. But the threat of snow earlier in the week had me craving comfort foods. This hearty tomato soup is the perfect compromise.

Hearty Tomato Soup

(Flat Belly Fat - Olive Oil)

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

- Olive oil, 1/2 cup

- Yellow onion, 1 medium, roughly chopped

- Fennel bulb, 1 whole, roughly chopped

- Fresh thyme, to taste (I used the equivalent of about 3 heaping tablespoons)

(If using dried thyme, about 1 heaping teaspoon is the equivalent)

- Garlic cloves, 4 large peeled and crushed

- Organic tomato paste, 1 6-ounce can

- Organic canned diced tomatos, 2 28-ounce cans

- Filtered water, 4 cups

(if I happen to have stock on hand, I will use part stock, and part water; I had chicken stock on hand this evening, and used about 1 cup of stock and 3 cups of water. I find that stock gives the soup a more complex flavor. I don't, however, use all stock - it can overpower the tomatoes). 

- Dried basil, a pinch

- Kosher salt, to taste

- Cracked black pepper, to taste

- Kosher salt, to taste

- Cayenne pepper, a pinch (optional)

- Balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons

- Heavy cream, one tablespoon per serving (optional)

1. Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a large soup pot. Roughly chop the onion and fennel bulb and add to the olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until softened and the edges are caramelized, about 10 minutes.

2. Towards the end of the vegetable cooking, toss in a bundle of fresh thyme and 4 crushed garlic cloves.

3. Add the entire can of tomato paste to the vegetables. Mix thoroughly. Add the two cans of diced tomatoes, water/stock, basil, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer, partially uncovered, for 30 minutes until reduced by about 1/3, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the balsamic vinegar to the soup; if you prefer a sweeter soup, add the balsamic at the beginning of the simmering process (with the tomatoes) to give the sugars sufficient time to reduce and sweeten.

5. Puree the soup with a stick blender. If you don't have a stick blender, you can puree in small batches in your food processor or regular blender, but allow it to cool first.

6. Pour into soup bowls, garnish with heavy cream and fresh thyme. We made this a complete meal by adding fresh-baked French bread, and a spinach salad, with orange slices, red pepper and English cucumber.

Even the goobs enjoyed it. He looks like such a big kid in this photo. Thank goodness it's just the angle -  he's still just a little squish :) I can easily hang onto this age a bit longer...

In the Kitchen no. 2 - Muhammara, and the Flat Belly Diet

In general, I am so not a fan of fad diets - I've tried a few, but never stuck with one. They are exactly what they promise to be, and that just doesn't fly with my foodie palate.

A few months ago, however, I ran across the Flat Belly Diet, created by Prevention Magazine. It's based on a Mediterranean diet with an emphasis on monounsaturated fats - olives, avocado, nuts and seeds, dark chocolate, and select oils.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner folks.

You can explore the science behind the plan on your own time, but I will say that as a former student of biology and macro-nutrition, I find the research and methodology behind the diet to be very sound. And I get to each chocolate every day. Needless to say, after browsing through the book over a latte at Borders, I immediately purchased it, along with the companion cookbook.

Muhammara is the perfect example of the kind of foods I get to consume on this diet. It's packed with nutrients and antioxidants, and is filling enough to have for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Muhammara
Active Time: 20 minutes; Inactive Time: 1 hour
Six servings
Hint: if you're short on time, use pre-prepared roasted red peppers; one 8-ounce jar is the equivalent. 

- red bell peppers, 3 whole
- olive oil, 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup
- walnuts, 2 cups
- garlic, 4 large cloves
- lemon, 1 whole
- cumin, 1 teaspoon
- red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon
- kosher salt, 1 teaspoon
- 1/2 cup pomegranate syrup*

*I make a large batch of pomegranate syrup a few times a year. I buy a 32-ounce bottle of pomegranate juice from Trader Joe's, pour it all into a sauce pan, bring it to a boil and let simmer until reduced to about a cup.  It keeps well in the fridge. I use the syrup for muhammara, add it to smoothies and mix it with a little olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette for salad dressing. You can also purchase syrup from stores like Whole Foods - if doing so, use only 1/4 cup, as store-bought syrup is much thicker and sweeter.

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Place the walnuts on a baking sheet and bake until toasted (10 minutes)

3. Halve the peppers, remove the seeds and stem and place skin side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and rub into the skin. Roast at 400 until the skin is black, bubbling and pulling away from the meat (50 minutes).

4. Remove the peppers from the oven and immediately cover with a bowl to allow them to steam for about 15 minutes (this will loosen the skins). Peel the skins from peppers.

5. Meanwhile, make garlic oil. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium high heat; add the garlic and sauté until slightly browned (1-2 minutes).

6. In a food processor, add the walnuts, roasted red peppers, garlic cloves and oil, the juice of one lemon, cumin, red pepper flakes and salt. Puree until smooth. 

Eat with pita and veggies or slather on a sandwich with cucumber, bell peppers, muenster and sprouts. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

In the Kitchen No. 1 - Savory Bread Pudding

If you know thismuch about me, you know that food is one of my few great loves. When I was on maternity leave, I started sharpening my gourmet cooking skills - I was actually had kind of a creepy(?) obsession with it, but that's for another posts (<<--- whispers to herself "damn hormones...."). Going back to work took a bit of a toll on gourmet nights in the Whitman kitchen, but I still try to cook fresh, from-scratch meals most nights. I have a few staples that we all love, and rely heavily on Food and Wine magazine and its various recommended books. Lately I've been experimenting with adapting gourmet food to weeknight cooking (i.e., quick meals).

The recipe this is based on calls for a ton of prep work, and a very long cooking period. Total investment, 'bout 3 hours (I know, I've made it as directed). So I swapped out a few things, and spent the cook time bathing and putting the baby goo to bed. The result? A semi-gourmet meal in about half the time. It does seem like a lot of work for a weeknight, and I think next time I'm going to try a savory bread pudding in the crockpot. That shall be an "experiment" for sure...

Artichoke and Sweet Onion Bread Pudding*

(loosely based on/inspired by Thomas Keller's "Leek Bread Pudding" in Ad Hoc at Home; oh, and by the way, Keller is a freakin' genius)

Ingredients:

1 12-oz bag of frozen artichokes

1 large sweet onion

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1 loaf of rustic bread, cubed (roughly 8 cups)

3 eggs

3 cups milk

3 cups heavy cream

6 ounces fontina cheese, grated

a pinch of nutmeg

pepper to taste
salt to taste

dried basil to taste

fresh chives, 1/4 cup

*This recipe is delicious. This recipe is NOT healthy. But did I mention that it's delicious?

 1. Heat the oven to 450. Sautee frozen artichoke hearts over medium heat until they are slightly softened and browned.

 2. Meanwhile, roughly dice one large sweet or white onion into 1" pieces.

3. Once the artichoke hearts are browned and softened, sprinkle with sea salt and add four tablespoons of butter. Allow the butter to melt and emulsify with the juices from the artichokes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened.

 4. While the onions cook, dice up the bread into 1" chunks. I like to use "Tuscan Pane" from Trader Joe's - it's hearty with a ton of flavor, but comes presliced, which makes the cutting process super quick. Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet and cook until golden brown and toasty (about 25 minutes). Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 350.

5. Whisk the 3 eggs slightly, then add 3 cups of milk (fat content is your choice - we typically drink 1%, so that's what I used) and 3 cups of heavy cream and whisk completely. Add a touch of nutmeg, dried basil to taste (I used about a teaspoon), fresh ground pepper  to taste and chopped fresh chives. (When cooking, I rarely measure - I almost always eyeball, and it's usually not a problem. Baking is another issue...) 

 6. Toss the toasted cubed bread and cooked artichokes and onions in a large bowl.

 7. Shred the Fontina.

8. In a large casserole dish, layer the bread/artichoke mixture with the shredded cheese (a la lasagna) and then pour the custard (milk/egg mixture) over the layers. Allow to soak for 20 minutes until the bread has absorbed most of the custard. Bake at 350 for an hour and a half.

The verdict. This recipe was quite tasty. We ate it as an entree with a quick tossed salad, and it paired well with a Chardonnay from Courtney Benham (CA). The richness of the bread pudding really cut through the oak (which I admittedly don't always appreciate). The meal time took about 2 hours total, though only 25 or so minutes of prep time - I was able to get Cass settled while it cooked, but I think next time we'll save this one for a weekend. I like my 40 minute meals from fridge to table. Next time I'll feature something faster and healthier.