Cauliflower Curry Soup

Hello! I've spent such little time with my computer and such a great amount of time outside this week in the crisp air that I've hardly had a chance to check in. How has your week been?

Would YOU like to make a slow-cooking, really tasty, very suitable FALL soup? The recipe that I'm featuring today is so simple and delicious that I'm planning to make it many times over the next few months. My belief is that it could easily be used as a template for a much richer variety of soups as time goes on. My husband noted that adding small pieces of chicken would amp the heartiness and give it a bit more texture and taste. I think that tofu would create the same idea. If you make it and decide to add/subtract ingredients as you go, please share your ideas with me! I'm always interested.

Please forgive my hasty introduction. I usually find myself with more time to be contemplative and leisurely with my morning coffee/tea/blogging schedule than the time I have in the evenings. Are you a morning person? Or do you prefer your evenings? Or late nights? I'm most thoughtful when I rise with the sun...I tend to become clumsier and less thoughtful as the daytime hours tick by.

Ok! Here you go:

Set your crock pot to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, one medium onion, chopped, 2 garlic cloves, minced, 2 carrots, sliced and one apple, chopped. Leave unattended (if you wish) for ten to twenty minutes. Add one medium head of cauliflower, chopped into small pieces. Add 2 tablespoons of curry powder and mix until all vegetables are well coated. 
Once this step is complete and your veggies all have an orangish hue from the curry powder, add 6 cups of vegetable broth and 2 cups of water. Also, a pinch of salt and black pepper, to taste.
Voila! Set on medium heat and cook for 6-8 hours!
Once you're nearing mealtime, add 1/2 a cup of milk or cream and blend soup with an immersion blender. Taste and add salt and pepper again, if necessary for your palate. (If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer soup to blender in batches and then transfer back to crock pot).

This soup is fabulous with a chunk of bread or some sesame crackers. I serve with a dollop of greek yogurt and a handful of roasted cashews, chopped, for garnish. YUM!

You can expect to find many slow-cooker recipes on my blog as the temperature decreases. I love coming home to the scent of sweet squashes, winter greens and spices that have been cooking all day long as I've been going about my every day business. It cooks itself! Comfort food! Perfection.

This weekend, I'm hosting a Kitchen Shower for my Sister-in-Law (to be married in October!) I've planned my menu and prepared most of my foods for the party. Early next week, I'll do a party planning feature and share some of my ideas with you for tapa-like, mid afternoon party foods and will completely fill you in on all of the details of my sangria bar! 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week! Time for me to get my baby from his crib, pour a glass of wine, turn on a bluegrass-y Pandora station and make some decisions about tonight's dinner. Find a moment to consider your day through a calm sense of reflection. Take a deep breath. Enjoy your Thursday evening. 

Pumpkin French Toast

It's almost AUTUMN! To celebrate season change and family visiting us, I made a Pumpkin-Stuffed (eggless) French Toast this weekend and it was divine. What did you do this weekend?

We enjoyed an amazing art festival downtown where we viewed a lot of awesome local art, sampled a variety of international foods and enjoyed a bit of time in the Beer Garden, where my favorite brew was an Indian Spiced Ale.

We also celebrated more family (existing and soon to be part of our family) with a party honoring the upcoming marriage of my Sister-in-law and future Brother-in-law (fun!). Altogether, our weekend was family-rich, fun and FULL of good eats and drinks.

To finish off the weekend, we hosted a fun brunch where I toyed with a recent tinkering of stuffing breakfast foods with amazing additions to create hearty, satisfying foods to honor the colder months to come. Featured below was a (successful!) new recipe that I would love for you to try.

Pumpkin-Stuffed (eggless) French Toast

Mix 7 ounces of cream cheese, 2 cups of pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice and an additional 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a medium bowl.

Cut a hearty, crusty bread (french, sourdough, etc) into 8 slices (to serve 4).

Spread pumpkin mixture on 4 slices of bread and top with additional 4 slices to form sandwiches.

Heat griddle to 375 degrees, or medium heat.

Fill a casserole-type dish with 1 3/4 cups of milk, 1/2 a cup of pure maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Put sandwiches in maple syrup milk mixture to soak, 4-5 minutes on each side.

Put butter to melt, in griddle. Transfer the bread to griddle and cook until golden brown, with a caramelized texture from the syrup soak. Repeat with remaining bread.

Warm in oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees while waiting to serve. This will give it the final crunch.

One of my recent birthday presents was a variety of olive oils and vinegars. I served this french toast with seasonal fruit drizzled with a balsamic vinegar that has been aged for 25 years. Also, a side of bacon for my carnivorous diners, cooked to perfection.

We ate candlelit brunch with the lull of "Postcards From Italy" Pandora station in the background, a soft breeze coming through open windows and reminding us of the hopeful days of Fall. Served generously with mimosas (of course always recommended for a leisurely Sunday brunch).

I hope your weekend was relaxing, upbeat and enlightening. What was your highlight? I love a weekend like ours where there are too many to choose just one. I hope your weekend was similar in that way. Happy Monday morning-I'm ready for a coffee refill already...are you? :)

Banana Ice Cream

Some of my favorite things include receiving emails from friends with a simple link, photograph, a memory or a joke. I love taking time out of my day to pause and think about a dear friend or family member by receiving a simple and unexpected email or letter and sharing in a moment of connection. My dear friend Kate often sends simple things, like links or mass emails seeking opinions on items she wants to purchase such as bath mats and water bottles. My very favorite thing from time to time is when she text messages pictures that she took of things we experienced together months, or years ago, without any caption at all. My heart expands three times with one computer/phone click. I love that silent moment of connection. We live hours apart but after this magical friendship gesture, I feel closer to her than ever.

I received this link in an email from her yesterday: click here to see! The only subject message was "omg!!!!!!!!!" so I knew I had to share in her discovery. After feeling instantly motivated by the author's ice cream enthusiasm, I knew I had to join BOTH of them in their excitement. I pulled out the ingredients (simple and healthy!).

I blended 2 frozen bananas, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (would love to try almond butter next time!) and 2 teaspoons of honey. I froze in airtight container until solid and served with 86% dark chocolate. I think the most exciting thing about this discovery is all of the options! It's an interesting thing, because the variation that I made is "ice cream" without dairy. It's very different from what we expected, but delicious.

If you have just a few spare moments today, perhaps share a link, or a joke, or a photo memory with a loved one via email. Technology doesn't have to create barriers in our relationships with one another...it can do just the very opposite.

Greek Yogurt Lasagna

My first exposure to Greek yogurt was during my first pregnancy with my now 2 1/2 year old, Cloveleigh. I began eating it plain, or with honey, as an afternoon snack to provide extra protein to my vegetarian diet. Because of it's health benefits and deliciousness, I slowly began adding it to different areas of my cooking to substitute other food items such as cream, certain cheeses and sour cream. We've evolved into a household of hardcore Greek yogurt users. We've tried every kind we can get our hands on and have established a loyal and unwavering relationship with Cabots Lowfat Greek Yogurt.

My general rule with dairy products is that I try not to use anything less than full fat, and pay close attention to taste and chemicals added to reduce the fat in certain dairy products. One night, my husband challenged me and set up a tasting bar of both full fat and reduced fat Cabots Greek Yogurt, and I was determined to prove my point (full fat in small doses ALWAYS wins in taste and healthiness)...so with a blindfold I set out to WIN...and lost. I couldn't tell the difference between them at ALL...and so from there we further evolved into a Lowfat Cabots Greek Yogurt eating family and it's where we are today.

Recently, I decided to substitute ricotta cheese with Greek yogurt in my lasagna recipe that I'm providing you with today. I add broccoli to give it a certain heartiness often found in meat-based lasagna recipes. The result was INCREDIBLE! There was a certain fresh and tangy taste that isn't generally present in my go-to lasagna recipe, and I'm officially a Greek yogurt lasagna convert. Enjoy!

Greek Yogurt Lasagna

In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups of steamed broccoli, 2 cups of your favorite Greek yogurt, 9 ounces of freshly shredded mozzarella cheese and 3 ounces of...ready for another twist?...shredded sharp white cheddar cheese. Add salt, pepper and 2 cloves of freshly minced garlic.

Either make (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/penne-with-vodka-sauce-recipe/index.html) or purchase 2 jars of vodka sauce.

Boil one box of whole wheat lasagna noodles, al dente.

Spread vodka sauce on bottom of a casserole dish. Add layer of noodles. Spread yogurt and broccoli mixture in a layer on top of noodles and then top with a layer of fresh spinach leaves. Spread another layer of sauce, another layer of lasagna noodles, and repeat process until all ingredients have been used.

Finish with a layer of noodles, sauce and a combination of shredded mozzarella and sharp white cheddar cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes with foil. Remove foil and bake for a final 15-20 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown bubble (yum!)

I served this lasagna to my family one night and then to dinner company a few nights later. It went far and received rave reviews around the table! It was even better leftover and reheated. Per habit, I served with a spinach salad on both occasions. And plenty of red wine :)

How has your week been? Mine has been so great. We've been adjusting (easily!) to the cooler weather. I've started two of my mornings this week taking long, leisurely walks and sipping coffee with my dear friend (who is about to have a BABY!). I've also had company in town to help celebrate my extended birthday week and have wholeheartedly welcomed my NEW year of life with open arms. I have high hopes for laughter, love, travel and many culinary adventures in my 29th year of life. My baby is beginning to stir so off I go to fall in love with him all over again, like I do every day as I retrieve him from his afternoon nap. Have a wonderful afternoon!

Fig Salad + Caprese Bread

Happy Friday! Do you have any weekend plans? We're hoping to relax, let Cloveleigh play with some new school friends, log some quality baby time and go couch shopping! I'm also hoping to put in a few good therapeutic cooking sessions. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the weather cools down a bit (I've heard rumors that it might...have you?)...our week has been one LONG short week! I'm looking forward to some maximum relaxation time, a glass (or 2) of wine, and a legit Pandora station (and maybe a 2 year old dance party) this evening. How do you unwind at the end of your day/week?

Last night, I pulled everything out of the refrigerator, surveyed the countertop produce and went to work. My goal was to create something simple and delicious.

The result: Fig Salad paired with Caprese Bread.

Fig Salad

Combine spinach, fresh figs, shredded carrots, copious amounts of avocado (if you love it as much as I do), slivered almonds and crumbled blue cheese.

This creates a simple, delicious and colorful salad that would look beautiful amongst a variety of other foods for a DINNER PARTY! I thought it tasted incredible with ginger dressing. I've read a lot about the combination of avocados and figs and I have to admit now...I agree!

Caprese Bread

Toast a 9 grain baguette in the oven (after drizzling with olive oil), bottoms faced down, on a baking sheet. Add sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil (lots!), fresh tomatoes and slices/chunks of fresh mozzarella (the fresher, the better). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and broil until the edges of the bread begin to turn golden brown. THIS will achieve THE perfect crunch. Who doesn't like a good, crunchy bread? (I LOVE a good, rustic bread...in moderate amounts, of course!)

I was excited to share this recipe with you because of it's simplicity and because of the salads' potential to entertain at your next dinner party. My more time consuming recipes will come this weekend, when I have freer hands. Stay tuned for a greek-yogurt lasagna and fig and honey muffins (both which I'm hoping to invent this weekend!)...thank you to my loyal readers for all of your feedback and for taking the time to prepare, share and hopefully LOVE some of the recipes that you find on my blog. Cheers!

Carrot Soup + Peach Salad + Lemony Kale

A seasonal food party! As I find one season closing and another one approaching, I find myself making a variety of trans-seasonal foods and combining them for a colorful combination that essentially makes no sense at all...and I LOVE IT. Autumn is my personal favorite, so I'm itching for sweaters, warm coffee drinks, boots, crunchy leaves and spiced wine (I'll share my recipe with you this Fall!). We are a family of cold-weather lovers and Autumn gives us all an electric sense of hope in all things related to life. Do you experience this? This Fall/Winter will be our first for our baby boy, Banner. I just love a bundled up baby with a tiny, pink nose.

Let me share my recipes with you that you can find photographed above! This was our dinner last night and includes soup (that will be amazing all of the way through February), a salad (hurry and make it while Summer produce and your farmers market is still available, it's divine) and our own household kale staple, which we've named Lemony Kale.

Peach, Tomato and Feta Salad with Homemade Basil Vinaigrette

Combine 2 large ripe peaches and 2 large ripe heirloom tomatoes (cut into large, bite sized chunks) in a medium sized bowl.

In a blender, combine 1/2 cup of fresh, torn basil leaves, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard and 1 tablespoon of honey. Blend well.

Toss tomato and peach salad with homemade dressing. Add 1/4 cup of feta cheese before serving, and serve at room temperature. DELISH!

Carrot, Sweet Potato and Ginger Soup

Cut 2 sweet potatoes and 4 carrots into chunks. Add to your favorite soup pot with 2 cups of vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20-30 minutes. During simmer phase, chop 2 teaspoons of jarred, pickled ginger. Add to soup.

Once vegetables are soft, add salt and pepper and blend soup with either immersion blender or by transferring to your blender in batches. Add more broth during this phase if needed, to reach desired consistency.

Transfer back to stovetop and simmer on low until ready to serve, at least 15-20 more minutes to enhance flavors of the ginger in your soup.

Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

This recipe requires such a short amount of time, and such few ingredients for a soup that tastes like it's required a lot of thought and TLC. This makes it perfect for both entertaining or for a quick weekday dinner. Either way, I hope you'll love it as much as we did.

Lemony Kale

Heat 2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in saucepan on medium heat. Add one large bunch of kale, the juice from one whole lemon, sea salt and pepper. Cook, stirring attentively, for 20 minutes on medium heat. Turn to low heat and sit until ready to serve.

This is a relatively low maintenance meal, full of nutrients and has a crisp and refreshing taste. We make this at least once a week and it can carry you through most seasons, as it's usually available year-round. Because kale's peak season is Fall (and even Winter), we can't wait for the delicious taste of kale to heighten as the next few months unfold.

I hope you enjoy these recipes and find time to give them a try. What's your favorite season? And why? We can't wait to live somewhere one day with SNOW again! We found it to be so romantic (during our Charlottesville days) to be snowed in with pots of soup, mugs of spiced wine and the snow falling outside. I'm lucky to have a husband who thinks that the seasons can be just as romantic as I do.

Toasted Coconut Brownie

So. I've been entirely out of commission and fighting flu-like symptoms since late Monday night. I'm completely desperate to share my early-week veggie curry recipe with you, but every time I've tried, my stomach churns. And it's awfully depressing, because it was incredible! My body launched itself into fever and chills 12 hours after we ate it (I promise, not as a result of the curry, more a result of preschool germs)...and well, you can imagine how distant I'm trying to keep myself from curry memories now. However, I'm (almost) just as excited to share my brownie recipe with you! You'll forgive me, right?

Do you want to know my ridiculous fever-breaking secret? I do the opposite of what I'm always told and have a chocolate milkshake and within hours, my fever breaks. It works every time. There is no medical or scientific basis for my claim. It's my thing. Do you have a "thing" that helps you heal?

In regards to this brownie, please prepare and eat with heed. No self-loathing thoughts about "deserving it after a bad day", etc. When we do that, we end up eating a lot more than originally intended and end up HATING the brownie (is it really the brownie we feel such upset towards?) To me, a craving is a result of a vitamin/mineral deficiency, hormonal changes or mental. Everyday "cravings" should be closely examined. I think that wanting something sweet and calling it a craving changes it from a "want" to a "need" in our minds and immediately helps us forgive ourselves for indulging. Please enjoy this brownie in small squares and slowly. Do not make my brownie your punishment. In other words, please enjoy this on a good day, not just on a bad day. Enjoy this brownie because you're fabulous.

During our meandering of Asheville recently, we made ourselves comfortable here: http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/articles/the-lounge, and ordered a variety of different things. Shortbreads, macaroon brownie, rose-infused homemade house soda. I LOVED the macaroon brownie and have done my best to recreate it. My recipe lacks the TLC of ANY dessert created in a chocolate lounge-but will at least substantiate until you (or I) can enjoy the real thing.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir 2 eggs, 1/4 a cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract, 1/2 a cup of butter, melted. In separate bowl, sift 3/4 cup of Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa, 2/3 cup of flower, 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder, a pinch of salt, 1/2 a cup of shredded coconut and 3/4 cup of milk chocolate chips. Combine ingredients from both bowls into one bowl. Stir. Spread into a greased 2 quart pan. Top with a generous amount of coconut and bake for 35 minutes, or until coconut is perfectly golden and crunchy. Enjoy!

So as I'm sitting here, before the masses awake, in almost darkness with a mug of green tea, my thoughts are flowing. Doesn't that always happen the day that we're recovered from feeling sick? You feel like a superhero! The 3 most recent novels that I've read have been written by authors from London, where their stories also take place. One term I have noticed in all three books is "early days", and I love it. Women refer to their early pregnancy as "it's early days", and couples refer to early relationships the same way, "oh well, you know, it's early days". I've never heard a term that mitigates such straightforward + cavalier feelings at the same time, have you? All you're required to say is "it's early days" and the crowd nods in a quiet, contemplative understanding. I adore it. Do you ever pick up terms in books or on TV and integrate them into your daily language? I don't often, but this time I'm going to try :) Have a wonderful day. And good morning!