Recipe recap - Almost Vegan Soup

Last night I tried a new recipe I snagged from my friend Read's blog.  It was delicious and had few ingredients which is great for weeknights.  The cauliflower made it seem creamy and hearty. Perfect for a Miami "winter" night.  It was 55 and we were cold, oh how the mighty have fallen.   

I used chicken broth, but if you used vegetable broth it would be a vegan recipe.  It was a complete success and I will be making this again.  

• Roasted Cauliflower and Kale Soup (adapted from William and Sonoma)
• 1 large head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
• 5 T olive oil
• 1 large bunch curly kale, stems removed and torn into small pieces
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 7 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss the cauliflower with 2 T olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender and the edges are browned and crisp, about 22 minutes. Take out of oven. Reduce oven temp to 300 degrees.

Toss half of the kale with 1 T of olive oil and season with a little salt. Roast, stirring once halfway through, until the kale is crispy, about 25 minutes

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the remaining 2 T olive oil. Add onion and celery , cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and stirring constantly for 1 minute. Until you smell the garlic, make sure not to burn it.  Season with s & p. Add cauliflower and broth, increase heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining kale, increase heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 10- 15 minutes.  You want some of the broth to evaporate.

Using regular or immersion blender (if you don't have one, buy one this second, number one kitchen gadget I use).  Serve with toasted pine nuts and crispy kale immediately. 

Here is a picture of the magic happening.  I enjoyed the soup with some crackers and cheese and had a nice weeknight meal.  

Happy 2014!

We're a week into 2014 and I am revamping a couple things. Nothing major and most are a reaction to holiday indulgences and relaxation, and it is time for a bit of a reboot. Others are small things lingering on back burner of the brain in terms of "I really should X." I believe January is not the only month one should examine changes. I try to make small, manageable tweaks to be happier, healthier, and live a more balanced life year-round.

That being said, here are the top things I want to concentrate on as 2014 launches off -

1.  Eat less fake sugar.  I do not consume a great deal, and the diet coke, tuna melt, chip lunch combo I cannot see ever fully going away in my life.  I aim to not add sweetener to coffee/tea and be more conscious of when I do choose to have sweetener in my meal/snacks.

2.  Drink less coffee, drink more tea.  We'll see how this goes.  So far, medium.

3. Try to enjoy my day/week more and stop slow down my continued planning of next month, next summer, 2018.  It is not productive, this is going to be a life long battle.

4. Write more letters/cards.  This is something I enjoy and I have fallen a bit off the wagon.  Probably attributed to wedding thank you note anxiety.  I love to send real birthday cards via snail mail.  Trying to get back on my game on this.

5.  Keep up with my tennis.  I took group lessons all Fall and have gotten a wee bit better!  I want to carry it through instead of letting the momentum fall.  This tends to happen after I have invested time/effort into something structured, then have to continue with just my own will. Once a week I want to go to the public courts/back wall - pretty realistic I think.

6.  Be thankful and enjoy what I have instead of pushing forward to the next thing.  Again, continual growth area.

Happy 2014 dear readers!  

Image 

Christmas barns

I love barns.  In the fall, in the winter, spring and summer. They remind me of a time before us, they are simple, they require hard work. I took a brief Pinterest roundup of some Christmas barns to share. I hope you enjoy. Two sleeps and a plane ride until I'm home for Christmas!

All images via Pinterest.

Simple Supper and a Surprise

Considering we live in Florida, we do not eat nearly enough seafood.  I might buy something at the market and cook it that night or the next day, but I want to get in the habit of incorporating seafood into dinner at least twice a week.

On Sunday night I made sauteed Florida shrimp with mushrooms, green onions, ginger, and a jalapeno.  I served it with spiced roasted eggplant and a little quinoa.  It was spicy, but pretty good. I then took all the shrimp shells and made a nice broth - something I wouldn't recommend doing in an open air apartment as I had to light candles for the remainder of the evening as dinner was lingering.   But, the broth was delicious.

Last night I made a one pot dish that was a play off of this Cooking Light recipe but I had no fennel.  It was delish, took thirty minutes, and was a nice light weeknight dinner.  I roasted brussel sprouts with balsamic to serve along side.

Here's the recipe for the simple fish stew -

1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 pint cherry tomatos, halved
3 garlic cloves, diced
2.5 cups seafood stock
2 cups marianna sauce
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/4 t paprika
1 lb white fish, cut into 1" pieces; I used tilapia
salt and pepper to taste

Add oil to pot and heat up (on medium), 2 minutes, add onion and saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add carrot and celery, saute 8-10 minutes, add garlic, tomatos, red pepper flakes and paprika.  Stir for 3 minutes actively, until tomatos burst.  Add seafood stock and tomato sauce, stir and bring up to a simmer, simmer for 5 minutes uncovered.  Add fish and bring heat down, cook uncovered for ten minutes. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese and crusty bread.

Also some of my lady friends did a Secret Santa this year.  It was a treat to come home on Monday and find a package waiting with a gift from an old friend.  She is the cutest and the note said, "Because I love your blog."  I love it some much and it brings a smile whenever I walk by the guest bedside table.

Recipe - Ole NYC standard

When I lived in the West Village I would stay in many a night and make this little chicken dish for myself and then eat the left overs for a few days.  It seemed fancy since it had white wine in it with the "good Dijon."  It is best served with rice and a steamed or roasted veggie.  Last night I did asparagus.  See if you like it!

Dijon chicken with mushrooms and tomatos

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
1 pint cherry tomatos, sliced in half
1 pint button mushrooms, sliced
1 yellow onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 T capers
2.5 T dijon mustard
1 cup white wine (any will do)
Half lemon, juiced
S&P
Olive oil

Dice all veggies while chicken is browning in pan on medium-high heat with a bit a salt with 1 T olive oil.

Remove chicken from pan with tongs and set aside, lower heat to medium and add onion, saute for 8-10 minutes.

Add tomatos, mushrooms, wine, mustard, dash salt and pepper, turn heat up to high, once bubbling, turn to low, add chicken and capers and simmer for 12-15 minutes.  Add lemon juice right before serving.  Serve over rice and with other vegetable.

Enjoy!

Be my guest - part one

I love guest rooms.  I think it is a space where one can experiment more with design; there is more freedom with a guest room.  I enjoy making my houseguests feel welcome and cozy in our home, and I wanted to share some of my thoughts for creating a warm room for guests to stay.

On my Christmas list this year is a glass carafe. It is a lovely personal touch for out of town guest on the bedside table.   Below are a few I found online to share.

Images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Friday round-up!

Back to Miami after a work and personal travel week.  I was in Montreal for a quick three-day trip last weekend - update to come asap.  Loved that city. 

This weekend we're headed to watch Alice in Wonderland at the Barnacle (coolest name for park) for a public showing and picnic.  Sunday is our first Dolphins game with R's work people. November, Miami, spouse work colleagues - outfit is very TBD.  

A couple things to share today:

We had THE best African Peanut Soup with Chicken and Sweet Potatos in Montreal. I am trying one asap. 

Holiday wreaths that are so beautiful and fun. 

Great Florida holiday wrapping paper. 

This purchase is probably happening soon. 

Hunting for a Christmas tree skirt that I find attractive/not outrageously expensive for two years now.   This one (gold) may do, still not sold...

This makes me tingly.