Carrot Ginger Soup

I still don't have my camera working, so for now I only have the final image. I know, I know...I'm working on it. Here is a recipe I made today for carrot soup...it is DELISH. Once again, soups prevail!

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup fresh ginger, grated

good virgin olive oil

2 lbs of carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

6 cups of vegetable stock or chicken stock

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of red pepper flakes

(top with a dollop of sour cream, a drizzle of olive oil, and some fresh ground pepper)

In a saucepan heat up a drizzle of olive oil, add the onions and cook until translucent--about ten minutes. Add in the minced garlic and ginger and cook an additional 5 minutes. Add in the stock and chopped carrots and the red pepper flakes. Cook, uncovered for about 30 minutes until carrots are just cooked through. Remove pot from heat and use a hand blender to puree the soup, if you don't have a hand blender you can make batches in a food processor. add the juice of the 1/2 lemon and taste, add salt as needed and it's ready to serve.

I add a dollop of the sour cream, a drizzle of the olive oil and some fresh pepper for a little additional flavor. YUM!

Mumbo Gumbo

WOW. I had no idea gumbo was so delicious! I read over about 5 or 6 gumbo recipes, and wanted to take my turn and try it. This recipe will NOT disappoint... everyone tonight had seconds! It received rave reviews from the 5 lucky enough to try it. ;) Oh, and my dog knocked over my camera the other day, so I don't have the step by step photos...although I have a backup so just be patient for the next posting...

You'll need the following:

1 1/4lb Kielbasa sausage, sliced thin (or you can use chicken apple sausage)

3 large skinless chicken breasts, each piece cut into thirds

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3 tbs butter

1 large onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

fresh parsley

1 28oz can whole organic tomatoes

1/2 lb deveined, and peeled

4 cups good chicken stock

2 tbs Southwest Spices (equal parts cumin, cayenne pepper, salt,

In a large dutch oven or heavy bottom pot heat up about 3 tbs of olive oil, and add the slices of sausage and lightly brown them up. Remove them from the pan. Toss the cut chicken with two tbs of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and add them to the pan to brown on both sides. Do not worry about cooking chicken all the way through, you just want to get a good seal around the chicken. Once lightly browned, remove the chicken from the pan. Add in the diced onion, minced garlic and diced bell pepper and cook for about 10 minutes. Add in the butter and flour and stir constantly to get the the roux going, about 5 minutes. Add in the chicken stock, and mix together to combine the roux and stock. Add the chicken and sausage slices, and the can of whole tomatoes, including the juices. (I chopped the tomatoes first before adding them). Bring to a boil and let simmer for 1 hr, stirring occasionally. I added another tbs of the Southwest Spices, but that's optional. Add in the shrimp, and let simmer until shrimp are cooked through, roughly 7-10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over white rice.

Yummy Zucchini Bread

I have had a craving for zucchini this and zucchini that lately, so here's my recipe for zucchini bread. And of course since it's baking, I love to add that tablespoon of brandy into it for a little background flavor that people seem to love. This was a hit at New Years Eve Brunch.

Butter and flour two loaf pans, and preheat the oven to 325.

Take 2 medium zucchinis, peel them and shred them with a grater.

It should make about 2 cups of grated zucchini. I blotted mine with a paper towel, just to remove some of the excess water from the zucchini.

In a large bowl, beat 3 eggs together until frothy.

Mix in 1 cup vegetable oil and 2 cups sugar.

Stir in your grated zucchini, 1 tbs vanilla, 1 tbs brandy.

Stir in 3 cups of flour, adding 1 cup at a time, stir then add the next cup.

So here's 1...

2...Keep mixing it together

and finally the third cup...

Once all three cups are combined, add in 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt

1/2 cup of chopped pecans. (walnuts would be great too) I also added a tiny amount of lemon zest, maybe a tsp of a lemon I had handy.

Pour half of the mixture into one loaf pan, and the other half into the other. Bake for 60-65 minutes.

Awe baby...

The best part of this recipe is that since it makes 2 loaves, you have one for yourself and one you can give. Or you can pop the extra loaf into the freezer until your other one is eaten up!

yum!

I think I'll go have my last slice now...