Food Matters: Creamy Carrot Soup

Where does your food come from? Is this a question that you have ever asked yourself? I don’t mean which specific grocery store or restaurant, but who is growing your food and what does it go through to arrive on your plate? Have you ever wondered why you can find tomatoes in the produce section of a Northeast grocery store in the middle of winter, when the closest ripe tomato plant is hundreds of miles away? Have you wondered what chickens and cows are being fed before the wind up on your dinner plate? Do you recognize all of the ingredients listed on the nutrition labels of the food you eat?

In Food Matters, Mark Bittman explores the link of the food you eat, your health, and the environment. He brings to light that it requires 40 calories of fossil fuel to produce one calorie of beef protein, and that 2,200 calories are required to provide a 12 oz. can of diet soda. It is a quick, worthwhile read, followed up by dozens of recipes using whole foods.


You may have noticed that I’ve been cooking with a lot of root vegetables and canned food lately (while gazing longingly at recipes that call for fresh tomatoes). This is great website to help you think fresh, local, and seasonal when planning your meals.


This carrot soup recipe is one found in Mr. Bittman's book. I’ve made it several times, and love any simple soup recipe that uses a sauté of onions in olive oil and a root vegetable that is then simmered in vegetable broth. Try this with butternut squash, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, etc. You can also add a splash of milk or cream, if you like. This soup is simple, healthy, and filling.

Creamy Carrot Soup
(Adapted from Food Matters)
Ingredients
3 tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 ½ pounds carrots, roughly chopped
1 large starchy potato, peeled and roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 cups vegetable stock
½ cup chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Directions
Put the oil in a large, deep saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, until the carrots soften a bit. Add the stock and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pan. Or cool the mixture slightly (hot soup is dangerous), and pass it through a food mill or pour it into a blender. Puree until smooth, working in batches if necessary.

Garnish with parsley and serve.

Great Minds Think Alike: Chickpea and Winter Vegetable Stew

My friend, Christina, just sent this recipe to me the other day. Coincidentally, I had already flagged it in my most recent edition of Cooking Light. I have relished all of the recipes she has been sending me, and this incident clearly indicates that she and I are on the same wavelength with food!

While I had planned on trying this recipe, it is comforting to know that someone’s taste buds that I trust endorsed it! The recipe calls for Harissa, which is a fiery spice paste used in Moroccan cooking. Unable to find Harissa myself, and per Christina’s recommendation, I substituted with Sriracha. This dish is loaded with vegetables. It has great, warm flavors, and is spicy from the chili paste, and sweet from the honey.

Chickpea and Winter Vegetable Stew
(Adapted from Cooking Light, November, 2009)
Ingredients
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup (1/2-inch) slices leek
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3 2/3 cups vegetable stock, divided
2 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
1 cup (1/2-inch) sliced carrot
3/4 cup (1-inch) cubed peeled Yukon gold potato
1 tablespoon harissa
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound turnips, peeled and each cut into 8 wedges (about 2 medium)
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/3 cups uncooked couscous
8 lemon wedges

Directions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and leek; sauté 5 minutes. Add coriander and next 4 ingredients (through garlic); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 3 cups vegetable stock and the next 8 ingredients (through chickpeas); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in parsley and honey.

Remove 2/3 cup hot cooking liquid from squash mixture. Place cooking liquid and remaining 2/3 cup stock in a medium bowl. Stir in couscous. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Serve with lemon wedges.

Time to Tailgate: Mini Bacon and Potato Frittatas

I’ve never really caught on to the whole tailgating bandwagon. First, I like to sleep in. Waking up early on a Saturday morning for a sporting event is a concept that makes no sense to me. Second, beer doesn’t taste good to me anytime of day, let alone before noon. Third, tailgating makes a day with a long football game incredibly longer and with the weekends seeming to go by quicker each year, my time on a Saturday to run errands and do chores is precious. So while my husband makes a day of it each football Saturday, I’ll join in just once in a while.

One of those days happened to be last Saturday. We went out to cheer on our favorite football team to our third victory this season!!! It was a beautiful September day, and we had plans to visit one of my husband’s friend and colleague’s tailgates. “J”’s tailgates are actually a great stop before the game. His tailgate spot is about a block from the stadium, and J makes delicious egg and English muffin sandwiches on his grill. They are delicious.

As it was an earlier game that day, I decided to bring breakfast fare. I also wanted it to be finger food to cut out the need for utensils. I came across a recipe from Cooking Light. I hadn’t tried it before, but learned that my sister had previously made it. These mini frittatas are baked in a mini-muffin pan, so they are perfectly bite-sized. I used the Zingerman’s Arkansas Peppered Bacon that my husband loves, so my attempt at this recipe turned out really peppery. The sour cream really cooled it down, though. I baked the bacon (my preferred method of cooking bacon) at 400°F for about 10 minutes, until crispy. I sautéed the potato in a little olive oil (instead of bacon drippings). If I were making these for myself, I would omit the bacon and substitute some finely diced bell peppers. (I think a number of other veggies would work well too, such as mushrooms, chopped spinach, zucchini, etc.) I think these are a good breakfast or brunch item to take somewhere if you’re serving a crowd.

Mini Bacon and Potato Frittatas
Ingredients
* 2 cups finely chopped peeled baking potato (about 12 ounces)
* 5 bacon slices (uncooked)
* 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
* 1 teaspoon salt, divided
* 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives, divided
* 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 7 large egg whites, lightly beaten
* 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
* Cooking spray
* 6 tablespoons fat-free sour cream

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°.

Place potato in a medium saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 4 minutes or until almost tender. Drain.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add potato, onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and thyme to drippings in pan; cook 8 minutes or until potato is lightly brown over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; cool.

Combine the potato mixture, bacon, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons chives, cheese, pepper, egg whites, and eggs, stirring well with a whisk. Coat 36 mini muffin cups with cooking spray. Spoon about 1 tablespoon egg mixture into each muffin cup. Bake at 375° for 16 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool 5 minutes on a wire rack. Remove frittatas from muffin cups. Top each with 1/2 teaspoon sour cream and 1/2 teaspoon chives.