Cauliflower Soup and a Review of Heidi Swanson's new cookbook: Super Natural Every Day

Cauliflower Soup with Aged Cheddar and Mustard Croutons:

From Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking Every Day.
6 oz. artisan whole wheat bread torn into 1 in. pieces.
2 tbs unsalted butter.
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil.
11/2 tbs whole grain mustard.
salt.
2 tbs unsalted butter, or olive oil.
2 shallots, chopped.
1 onion,chopped.
1 lg potato,peeled and cut into tiny cubes.
2 cloves garlic,chopped.
31/2 cups vegetable broth or water.
1lg head cauliflower cut into small florets.
2/3 cup grated aged Cheddar.
2 tsp whole grain mustard.
extra virgin olive oil to serve.
Preheat oven to 350.
To make the croutons, put the torn bread in lg bowl. In small saucepan melt butter. Whisk the olive oil, mustard, and salt into butter. Pour over bread and toss well. Then turn on baking sheet . Bake for 10- 15 min. For soup: Heat butter in lg pot. Stir in shallots, onion, and a big pinch of salt. Saute until onions soften. Stir in the potatoes, cover and cook for 4 mins, just long enough for them to soften. Uncover, stir in the garlic, then the broth. Bring to boil. Stir in the cauliflower. Cook, covered for 3-5 minutes, just long enough to become tender. Remove from heat and puree. Stir in half the cheddar and the mustard. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve sprinkled with the remaining cheese, some croutons and a drizzle of olive oil.

I can't tell you how excited I was to be given an early release of Heidi Swanson's new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, set to be released in April by http://www.tenspeedpress.com/ As a blogger and a Bay area resident I veiw Heidi as.....well lets just say a Goddess. There are very few food blogger's that do not have her site http://www.101cookbooks.com/ on their blog roll.

I admire her unique and creative cooking style, her authentic voice and her commitment to introducing all of us to natural and sustainable foods and how to use them. I give a lot of credit to her for making me conscious of my own environmental footprint when it comes to the foods that I buy and the practices I support.

This cookbook feels more personal than even her first. It is like reading an edible autobiography. She talks about her personal food values, where she shops, her pantry, her equipment as well as her own kitchen. Even with her ever expanding database of recipes on her blog her cookbook is still alluring. I can't wait for number 3 and 4!!!

Set with beautiful photography unique to Heidi, along with the most amazing recipes, her book holds the promise of great food with just a few ingredients. We also get a very personal glimpse of what makes her Heidi. It is everything we could ask for in a second book and more. The dishes are in her classic style with a few more twists. Perfect partnerships with whole natural foods in very creative pairings. These are dishes that we can all enjoy at home every day.
Thanks Heidi!!!! I'll be cooking my way through your newest cookbook one fabulous recipe at a time.

Enjoy!!

Paris French Mushroom Soup: French Fridays with Dorie

Francais Soupe aux Champignon: Week Nine

Friday has again become my day for posting with the French Fridays with Dorie group and as before no recipes will be posted on Friday. You can find all the fabulous recipes we showcase in Dorie Greenspan's new cookbook Around my French Table.
This week was a lovely Francais Soupe aux Champignon . Which for all of us English speakers is french mushroom soup. It just sounds more romantic in French. I'm all about romance when it comes to food because I believe food transports us. Not only to other places but to other times and sweet memories from our past.

This dish is so easy you can cook it on a work night or on a busy weekend full of activity. I like that it is light in calories, but is filling and substantial. I did add a few enhancements.

My French nanny would have added: a thick slice of crust less bread soaked and then the moisture squeezed out, a dash of Cognac or Sherry and a Parmesan rind. All of which serve to enhance the flavor and richness of the soup without having to add cream.

Many of the high-end restaurants we have enjoyed lately will serve a nage,dashi or broth on the side of a fabulous mix of fresh herbs and veggies that the server will then pour over the dish table side.
Just as is done with this bistro-style soup. Here the soup is served along side a bowl filled with fresh mushrooms,chives and herbs. We enjoyed this along with some garlic rubbed, toasted baguette and a nice earthy Pinot Noir.

Enjoy!

Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup: French Fridays with Dorie

Spicy Vietnamese Soup: Week Three


In this weeks recipe I served the noodles the Vietnamese way, in the serving bowls not in the soup, or they become soggy. The same holds true for any crunchy add ins like bean sprouts etc.

Tip for carnivores: I crisped up the chicken skins in the oven and cracked a few pieces for each bowl as a garnish. OMG sooo good!!! IS CRISPY CHICKEN THE NEW BACON!?! Momofuku's David Chang thinks so.

No matter where you live food has the power to transport you. This week I took a trip to Vietnam with Dorie's wonderful soup recipe. It brings back memories of that fresh and distinctive cuisine that I don't get to experience all that often. I do have a few favorite Vietnamese restaurants that I try to get to when I can: http://www.monsoonrestaurants.com/ in Seattle http://www.slanteddoor.com/ in San Fransisco and http://www.xyclorestaurant.com/ in Oakland. All three of these restaurants marry traditional Vietnamese cuisine with pacific northwest innovation and are fabulous.


This soup gives us an opportunity to broaden our food horizons. Fresh and lively it has many of the ingredients that symbolize Vietnamese food: coconut milk, chili's, fish sauce, ginger. I love that there is a certain authenticity and purity to this dish. It was so flavorful. When I first used fish sauce I was scared to death. I thought there is no way I would like it. But it is like anchovies in sauces, it melts into the dish and adds a certain depth that you just can't get without it. Be brave. Neither one tastes like fish in the end.

I love to cook from Andrea Nguyen's book: Into the Vietnamese kitchen from Tenspeed press. It gave me more confidence to use ingredients that I was not familiar with and in doing so I've been able to explore a way of cooking that I would never have tried.

As with all of my Friday posts I will feature a Dorie Greenspan recipe for our group French Fridays with Dorie. The recipe will not be shown but I encourage anyone who enjoys these Friday posts to pick up Dorie's newest cookbook: Around my French Table or for that matter join the group and cook along.

Enjoy!

Tortilla Soup

For broth:

10 cups chicken stock

3 bone in chicken breasts fat removed

1/2 lg Spanish onion

3 cloves garlic smashed

2 Tbs chopped cilantro

1 Tbs Mexican oregano

For Sofrito:

1 chipoltle chili

1/2 Spanish onion

2 cloves garlic

2 lg tomatoes

1 jalapeno

1 tsp adobo sauce

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 cup cilantro

1 pkg corn tortillas cut into strips

1 tbs olive oil

It was a little cloudy today and thunderstorms are in the forecast. So, hurray!! I made my first soup of the season. I love soups. They are the ultimate comfort food. It makes me want to curl up with a good book. Few aromas spark an appetite like that of a simmering soup. It's a wonderful soul warming food filled with wholesome fresh ingredients. I think one of the real pleasures of a tortilla soup come from the garnishes. It's a very interactive experience for your. friends and family. The creaminess of the avocados, the crunch of the tortilla strips and the gooey tang of the cheese.

This soup starts with a Sofrito. Which is a combination of aromatic ingredients that have been cut or pureed and then slowly cooked in oil for at least a half an hour. There are many cultures that have their own sofritos: French has mirepoix. The Holy trinity in creole. Refogado in Portuguese. Soffritto in Italian. It is a classic base for lots of savory dishes. Soups, stews and gravy's.

Preparation:

Add stock,onion garlic,cilantro,oregano and chicken breasts to large stock pot. Bring to boil and turn immediately down to low..simmer for 30-45 min until chicken is cooked. Remove chicken. Shred chicken and strain stock and reserve. Using 2 forks to shred the chicken is a great trick I learned from a girlfriend that makes a lot of tamales. God forbid you have chunks of chicken in this soup it has to be shredded.
In the food processor add sofrito ingredients except olive oil and process until smooth. Add olive oil to heavy stock pot and cook sofrito for at least 30 minutes.

It should lose most of its liquid.

Add chicken and stock to pot and simmer. Place the strips of corn tortillas into bowl and coat with olive oil. Preheat oven to 400. Place tortilla strips on baking sheet and bake in oven until brown and crispy. Serve with garnishes to include: shredded cheese, green onions,cilantro,avocados,tomatoes and sour cream.

This is one of those soups that I go back to often. It happens to be one of my daughters personal favorites. Now that she doesn't live at home, I can easily freeze and have ready when she visits.

It has plenty of flavor and is great for a chilly day. Indulge your senses with this spicy rich soup.


enjoy!

Silky Corn Soup

Corn is the yellow burst of sunshine in summer. Better grab it now because autumn is in the air. I can feel it in the coolness of the evenings and the ever so slight change in the light especially as it hits the ocean.

When I was young we ate seasonally. Partly, because my father was from a farm family in Canada. But also, that was just how we all ate during that time. We didn't import from all over the planet. Just think of what a vegetable must look like at harvest if it has to travel by plane or boat to get to it's final destination. Probably green, hard and tasteless. I prefer to buy local. It not only supports the local farmers but the taste is so much more delectable.

One of the great things about eating seasonally is that we learn to savor a certain time of the year and build memories around seasonal foods. My sister and I own a family home in Corvallis Oregon and one of the great things to look forward to is corn from Tweets, a local farm stand. My father loved the first corn of the season and this dish is in remembrance of him.

Silky Corn Soup
Serves 7

3 1/2 cups whole milk
8 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut from the cobs, cobs broken in half and reserved
1 pound of smoked ham hocks
4 1/2 cups water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 large fresh thyme sprigs
4 bay leaves
1/2 cup smoked ham diced
salt and pepper to taste

Bring milk, corncob halves and ham shank just to boiling large stock pot. Remove from heat, cover and let steep while sauteing vegetables.

Melt butter in large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion: sprinkle with salt and saute until translucent, about 5 min. Add corn kernels, carrots, celery, and garlic cook until vegetables are soft stirring frequently about ten minutes.

Add water, thyme, bay leaf, and milk mixture with the corncobs and the ham shank. Increase heat and bring to boil. Cover partially, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes to blend flavors.

Cool soup slightly. Discard corncobs, herb sprigs, bay leaves and ham shank. Working in small batches, puree soup in blender until very smooth. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain soup into large bowl, pressing on the solids. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. garnish with sauteed diced smoked ham and chives. You can also add some Tabasco to taste for each bowl.

This soup is so sweet and velvety. It is summer in a bowl.

Serve it with a nice warm baguette and a glass of dry white wine. Sit outside to enjoy some of the last warm nights of the season and create some of your own memories.

enjoy!