Garden Vegetable Soup

This is a Mad Soup.

And now you're probably wondering what on EARTH makes this a Mad Soup.  And is there really such a thing as a "Mad Soup"??  Oh yes, yes there is.

I could go with the obvious and say that eating this soothing soup will make all intense emotions mellow out and float away.  I could also say that the aromas of all the vegetables simmering away in the rich broth will smooth out that furrow of frustration on your forehead.

But let's be honest here...  this is a Mad Soup because you get to chop stuff.  A lot of stuff.  And since beating up on meat isn't really my thing, I prefer to work out my frustrations by cutting up vegetables.

Garden Vegetable Soup
Recipe adapted from Alton Brown

4 tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
Kosher salt
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds 
2 peeled and diced potatoes
2 cups fresh or frozen green beans, broken or cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 cup chopped celery, with leafy tops
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup-ish white wine [get one of those mini bottles and pour into a 4-cup measuring cup.  Fill the rest of the way with water]
3 cups-ish water
1 quart bag of roasted tomatoes, chopped
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup packed, chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 to 2 tsp lemon juice

1.  Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt and sweat until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, green beans, and celery and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season again with salt.

Some of the veggies that felt the wrath of my knife.

2.  Add the wine, water, and stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the tomatoes, corn kernels, broccoli, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add the parsley and lemon juice (do NOT leave these out!!). Season, to taste, with kosher salt. Serve immediately with some hot, crusty bread.

All those gorgeous COLORS!!

Couple things to point out here, aside from the obvious satisfaction I derived from chopping up all these great veggies.  Usually when recipes call for a lot of oil or butter, I cut it back or out altogether.  However there is no meat in this to generate any additional fat so you really do need 4 tbsp of oil to get everything working.  Also, don't be afraid to season each layer of ingredients that you add to the pot.  Again, there's no meat or cheese in this, and vegetables can be pretty bland unless seasoned properly.  Be sure to taste this before serving to make any seasoning adjustments.

One of the cool things about this soup is that it's a great base to do whatever you like to it.  Have a diehard Carnivore in your house who's giving you the stink eye for making something vegetarian?  Toss in some shredded chicken or turkey.  Make this more of a tomato-y soup by replacing the wine/water with tomato juice.  Add some whole wheat pasta to this, or barley, or rice, or beans.  Do whatever you like!!  That's the beauty of soups like this one.

Carrot Cupcakes

I'm still working out some final issues regarding pictures, so I don't have the Lemon Pasta with Shrimp recipe quite ready to go.  I'm sorry.  Forgive me please?  How about I distract you with cupcakes... would that be ok?

Distracted yet?

Normally I am about the biggest fan of the boxed cake mix that you can find.  I have tried on numerous occasions to make a cake a scratch.  Don't get me wrong, the cake always turns out fine....however I don't think it's any better than what I get from whipping up a boxed version, so why expend the extra time, money, energy, and ingredients on a from-scratch version?  Much as I adore baking, even I don't see the logic in that.

These carrot cupcakes though....oh my.  They. Are. DELICIOUS!!  They turn out so moist and yummy and wonderful with just that hint of spice.  I will go out on a limb and say the cake is even better than a box mix, and certainly not any more difficult to put together.  Bonus!!

And then can we talk about the frosting?  Yes, let's talk frosting.  Unless you're talking cream cheese or that caramelly deliciousness that tops a German chocolate cake, I don't really do frosting that much.  I'm sorry if that offends but I'm just not a frosting person.  Being carrot cake though, these demand a cream cheese frosting so I get extra excited about carrot cake in general.  But why stop at ordinary cream cheese frosting?  Let's step this up and add a lemony kick to it!  W.O.W.  The balance of the sweet tart frosting with the moist, rich, spicy cake is just out of this world.

Is it any wonder I made these for my mom's birthday?  She is TOTALLY WORTH IT!!

Carrot Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe from Ellie Krieger, The Food You Crave

For the cupcakes:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots [Note: do NOT get the pre-"shredded" stuff from the grocery store; shred these yourself.  Those bagged "shreds" are more like matchsticks so unless you like carrot crunch in your cake, shred your own carrots.  Trust me on this one.]
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts, or thereabouts ;)

For the frosting:

4 ounces Neufchâtel cheese (reduced-fat cream cheese), softened
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. In a medium bowl, sift together both flours, the baking soda, salt, and spices. 

Yay for spices!!

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, and eggs until well combined. Whisk in the applesauce, vanilla, and carrots. 

 I am absolutely in love with that gorgeous orange color.

3.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the walnuts. 

Walnuts are my favorite.  I buy them in bulk.

4.  Divide the batter between the muffin cups; I find the best way to do this is with an ice cream scoop. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mmmmmmmmm cake batter...

5.  To make the frosting, with an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and lemon zest until smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with the walnuts. The cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator, where they will keep for about 3 days.

Fluffy, pillowy clouds of sweet tartness.  YUMMM!

I think these cupcakes are the cat's meow.  But.  I have one teensy tiny issue with it.  Between the batter and frosting, it makes EXACTLY enough for 12 cupcakes.  So be careful not to overfill the muffin tin.  And when you're frosting, maybe frost a little conservatively.  The flavor is powerful enough that you don't really need a lot of frosting, however if you are a frosting person you will want to double the frosting recipe.  Use any leftover frosting on pancakes. ;)  Or as a fruit dip.  THAT would be tasty.

Glazed Salmon with Spiced Carrots

So if I were to say the word "spicy," what would be the first thing that comes to mind?  Hot? Habenero?  Fire extinguisher?  Hmmm, interesting.  Believe it or not, "spicy" does not always have to result in flames racing across your tongue, incinerating every taste bud in it's path.  I mean, I like a good kick in the mouth as much as the next person but it's nice to shake it up a little too.  Spicy just means that something has lots of spices in it: hot, mellow, sweet, or savory.

Glazes are such fun!

I love to play with spices.  You hear a lot that "fat is flavor," which don't get me wrong because it is, however some of us just don't like or can't tolerate a gallon of oil or bacon fat in our food.  So how do I get to enjoy tasty food without frying something in 10 lbs of butter?  Yup, spices.  

I tried three new recipes in one meal, which is rare for me.  Normally if I'm trying a new recipe I stick with tried and true compliments to make sure there is something in the meal that I'm guaranteed to like.  However I came across this salmon recipe, which included the carrots as part of it, and I was stumped as to what to make with it.  Potatoes would be too heavy.  Rice?  Wild rice would be great with salmon however I know there is not a chance that my 3-year-old would eat wild rice.  And, I'm sorry, plain rice just didn't see worthy enough to serve with this.  So I did some quick digging and came across a Spiced Rice recipe.  Again, not spiced as in "holy God get me some water NOW".  But spiced as in a deeper, almost more mysterious flavor.  All together, this meal worked.  Plus it easily comes together in under a half hour (bonus!!).  

Glazed Salmon with Spiced Carrots

Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine

1 lb carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on a bias (fancy word for saying you need to angle your knife as you cut)

4 tbsp olive oil, divided

4 salmon filets (I just used one big piece of fish that was scored into 4 pieces)

2 tbsp honey or agave nectar

1 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp lime juice, divided

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cumin  (LOVE CUMIN!!!!)

Dash of cinnamon

1. Preheat broiler.  In a medium bowl, toss sliced carrots with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Spread slices on 1/2 of a broiler pan and broil 2-3 minutes until they just start to soften.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp olive oil, dijon mustard, honey, and 1 tbsp lime juice.  Brush glaze on the tops and sides of the salmon filets.  Season with salt and pepper.  Lay filets on the other side of broiler pan.  Broil for 5-7 minutes or until salmon is cooked through and carrots have softened.

Two dishes, one pan, less cleanup.  Wahoo!!

3.  Let salmon rest a couple minutes while finishing the carrots.  In a medium bowl, combine last tbsp olive oil and lime juice with the coriander, cumin, and cinnamon.  Toss in carrot slices to coat.  

Next time I may add some chopped fresh parsley for some color

I served these two lovely dishes with Simple Spiced Rice.

1 tbsp butter

1 cup uncooked rice

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 cups water

1 tsp salt

2 whole cinnamon sticks

1 small bay leaf 

1.  Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook and stir in the rice and onion until the rice kernels are coated with butter and the onion is translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. The rice will give off a slightly toasted fragrance. Pour in water, and mix in salt, cinnamon stick (break it in half if it won't fit) and bay leaf. 

Toasty!

2.  Bring the mixture to a boil, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the saucepan, and simmer the rice until all the water has disappeared and the rice appears dry, about 18 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve. 

I love the opportunity to use cinnamon sticks in my cooking

The end result of this meal?  Lovely, lovely spiciness.  The kind that warms you through and makes you happy (which, incidentally, is probably mainly from the cinnamon that's running through this entire meal).  I'd encourage you to play around with your spices. Spicy doesn't have to be chili powder and red pepper flakes.  Cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, allspice,... these are lovely ways to wake up those taste buds and warm the soul too. ;)