Entries from February 2007 ↓

Indian potato soup

The 45 minutes of simmering requires a little planning ahead, but this is so easy to throw together.

  • 1 tablespoon ghee (make
    it
    or buy it) or vegetable oil
  • 1 generous pinch
  • 1/4 teaspoon whole seeds
  • 2 , peeled and cut into large chunks
  • 2 tablespoons
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or other (optional) (NOTE: this is not the Mexican spice blend called chili powder, but simply dried hot peppers ground to a powder)
  • 4 cups water
  • Have everything ready before beginning to cook.
  • Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium flame until it almost smokes. Put in the and the . Stir once. seeds will begin to sizzle in a few seconds.
  • When seeds sizzle, add , , , salt, and optional cayenne.
  • Stir and continue to fry for 2 minutes.
  • Add water and bring to a boil.
  • Cover, lower heat, and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and coarsely mash into the rest of the soup with a potato masher or a slotted spoon.
  • Serve in small bowls. Is also good over a little bit of rice.
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black and white bean soup

Black & White Bean Soup
This is a terrible photo that I continue to intend to replace. Alas.

I created this recipe after having the black bean and pepper cheese soup at Bridgetown Grill. Mine’s not as spicy, though you can add as many as you like to up the spiciness. We generally eat this with a loaf of crusty bread from the farmer’s market, and a green salad.

  • In a large heavy bottomed soup pot, sauté the , , and jalapeño in a bit of vegetable oil until very soft.
  • Purée the cooked mixture in a blender with some of the veggie added in to facilitate blending. Return puréed mixture to soup pot.
  • Purée each can of beans and one at a time. Do not drain the beans and . Add veggie to the blender if extra liquid is needed. Add the puréed beans and to the soup pot.
  • Heat the soup through. When the soup is hot stir in the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and blended in with the soup.
  • Garnish individual bowls of soup with chopped green .
  • To make this soup extra snazzy for entertaining, heat the black bean purée separately while preparing the rest of the soup as above. You’ll have a “black” mixture and a “white” mixture. Fill each serving bowl 2/3 full with the white mixture. Carefully spoon several spoonfuls of the black mixture into the center of each bowl. You’ll fill the bowl while creating a black spot in the center of the bowl. Garnish with green .
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miso ramen soup

This is one of my ultimate comfort foods. This recipe is for one serving. Make as many servings as you want at once in the same pot.

  • 1 package noodles (discard the “flavor pouch”)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon (could also use soy sauce)
  • 1 clove , minced
  • 2 tablespoons (rounded or heaping) brown (soy or rice is fine as long as it’s brown. I just don’t think the white kind tastes as good.)
  • 2 tablespoons
  • Put the water in a pot. Add the and minced . Bring to a boil.
  • Put the noodles in the water. Boil for 3 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
  • Put in the bottom of a small bowl. Ladle some of the hot liquid from the pot into the bowl. Mush the and water together until it makes a thinnish-sludge. Add this back to the pot.
  • Add the to the pot. Stir together well.
  • Serve in a big homey bowl and enjoy. Pick the noodles out with a fork and slurp the from the side of the bowl. Yummm…
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German pancake

German Pancake

A favorite weekend breakfast. It is so quick and easy and open to many variations. A little sweet, but not too sweet. Also, there is textural and flavor variety! The edges are crisp and delicate, while the bottom is soft and rich and eggy. I’ve made a variation of this in a 9×13 glass baking pan and it works ok. I prefer the skillet result, though.

This recipe was adapted from Real Simple magazine, where they suggest spreading the pancake with 1/2 cup jam or preserves before dusting with sugar. That seems a bit much sugar for me, but a light slather of lemon or lime curd could be divine. What sounds best to me is a pile of fresh fruit in the center, and maybe some lightly sweetened whipped cream. A light drizzle of maple syrup in lieu of the sugar would also be quite tasty.

I’ve made a savory version of this for lunch/dinner before. Leave out the vanilla and add a clove of minced and about 3 tablespoons minced onion to the batter. Also add a bit of pepper and maybe a touch of some spices that would complement whatever else you were serving. I usually made it to subsitute for an authentic flatbread to serve with Indian dishes.

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