Skeptickle

This week has been especially wet and cold here in the Bay Area. We had pretty much everything: thunderstorms, hail, and the occasional tornado warning. Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in California any more. So it would make sense to make a hearty soup for the occasion. But since many of us are trying to eat healthier for the new year, I had to adjust the traditional Potato Leek Soup recipe to accommodate these needs. This turned out to be really tasty without the use of heavy cream, and leftovers for the next day was even better!

Photo from: http://www.thekitchn.com

Skinny Potato Leek Soup Recipe

1 Tablespoon EVOO

1 Tablespoon butter or butter substitute

8 slices turkey bacon

1 quart low-sodium chicken broth and/or beef broth

1 cup nonfat milk

1.5 lbs Golden Yukon potatoes, cleaned (and skinned if you prefer)

1 Tablespoon flour

3 leeks washed and sliced into 1/4 inch slices.

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

5 stems fresh thyme, tied together with butchers twine

1 bay leaf

1 Tablespoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Chopped chives, crumbled bacon, or thyme sprig for garnish.

Directions:

Place the potatoes into a large soup pot and pour in the chicken and/or beef stock. Cover and heat on medium high heat until boiling. Turn down the heat to medium low heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft when poked with a fork.

In a large fry pan heat the EVOO and butter and fry the turkey bacon until crisp on both sides. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Using same pan, saute the leeks, onion, and garlic in the drippings until translucent. Slowly mix in the flour, salt and pepper to make a roux. Turn off heat.

Transfer this mixture into the large pot with potatoes and break up the crisped bacon into it. Using a potato masher, mash the softened potatoes until it’s your desired consistency. You can also use an immersion blender for smoother soup. Add the bundle of thyme, bay leaf, and milk into the mix and simmer on medium low heat for about 30 minutes. Add more stock or water if the soup gets too thick for your liking. Take out the thyme bundle and bay leaf right before serving. Garnish with chives. Serves about 4 people as entrees and 6 as starters. Enjoy!

Photo from mastermaq on flickr.

Butternut squash ravioli is one of my favorite cold-weather dishes. I get it every time I see it on the menu at a restaurant. I used to be very intimidated in trying make it myself, but a moment of inspiration came to me last year and I just had to give it a shot. I managed to document this “first time” (though, not very well):

As you can see, we had made a royal mess. The dark orange stuff is the mashed butternut squash and the light orange stuff is the squash with ricotta filling.

The (almost) finished product after about 2 hours of work. It was worth it!

There  are many ways to augment this recipe to fit different skill levels. The easiest and fastest way is to buy all the ingredients already prepared so as to save you several steps, and then put it together according to the directions. The most time and effort-consuming way is to make everything from scratch: pasta dough, butternut squash puree, cream sauce, etc. I’m a believer in slow food, but not that slow, so I opted to use fresh prepackaged pasta sheets from Whole Foods instead of rolling out my own (not that I have a pasta machine to do it with anyways). The following recipe is for the intermediate cook, but you can further simplify it by using canned butternut squash puree instead or by adding sage to any prepackaged cream sauce.

Ingredients*

2 6″x12″ fresh pasta sheets

1 medium butternut squash

extra virgin olive oil for brushing

8 fresh sage leaves, julienned

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

pinch ground nutmeg

S&P

Maple syrup (optional)

1 egg

*Serves about 4 people

Directions

Preheat oven to 400℉. Rinse the butternut squash and cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard any seeds and veins. Brush the fleshy side with extra virgin olive oil and place face down on a baking pan. Roast in the oven for about 55 mins or until soft when fork is inserted. Let cool on the side.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a sauce pot at medium heat. When butter is all melted, add the sage leaves and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and simmer and stir until it has a thicker consistency. Add S&P to taste.

When the squash is cool, scrape out the softened flesh into a large bowl. Discard the outer skin. Mash the pulp with a large fork or potato masher (you can also use a food processor). Measure out 2 cups of the squash and mix it with the ricotta cheese, nutmeg, and S&P to your liking. You also have the option of making it sweeter with a dash of maple syrup. Set in refrigerator for now.

The next step will be unnecessary if you happen to have a ravioli-maker. But for those of us who don’t, here’s how to prepare the pasta skin. Align one pasta skin on top of the other and place them both on a flat, lightly floured surface. Cut the pasta into squares as evenly as you can (I usually do 3″x3″ ones) until you have a pile.

To fill: Brush the outside edges of one side of a pasta square with egg wash (egg mixed with water), fill the inside with 2-3 teaspoons of chilled filling, and then pinch the edges together tightly with another pasta square (making sure to gently push out any air bubbles while doing this). Place finished raviolis on a baking sheet.

Boil the raviolis in a large pot of salted water for about 5 minutes or until they float to the surface. Drain the water and toss the raviolis with the sage cream sauce. Serve with grated parmesan cheese and fresh sage leaves for garnish. Enjoy!

I don’t know why I had such a prejudice against casseroles in the past. Probably because whatever nutritional ingredients are included in it (practically all vegetables, lean chicken, etc.) get cancelled out by everything else in the dish (processed cheese, mayo, cream, etc). I also particularly dislike vegetables that have been cooked to death, which a lot of casseroles almost require in order for it to be palatable for picky young people. All these thoughts went out the window when I took my first bite of a broccoli and rainbow chard casserole that Rob and I came up with a few days ago. It was so delicious that we even looked forward to eating all the leftovers! It’s probably not the best thing for you, but it’s okay to enjoy some home-cooked southern comfort food once in a while

Click image for source.

Broccoli and Rainbow Chard Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 cans (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup

3 cups milk

1 onion, chopped

1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli florets

1 bunch chopped rainbow chard (Swiss chard okay)

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

S&P to taste

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1-2 cups butter cracker crumbs (Ritz crackers are great)

4 cups dry spiral egg noodles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350℉. Heat olive oil in a pot on medium heat and saute the chopped onion until translucent. Toss in the broccoli, chard, and seasonings and saute for a minute. Stir in the milk and cream of mushroom soup. Meanwhile in another pot, boil the egg noodles in salted water until cooked half-way through (just until it bends). Drain the noodles and combine with the broccoli mixture in a large baking dish. Spread a layer of grated cheddar cheese onto the top of the mixture. Then spread a layer of cracker crumbs on top and oven bake the dish for about 25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Cool down before enjoying .

Image from lansang.com

This is a really quick and delicious recipe if you can obtain the ingredients. The thing I love about Thai food is the wide range of tastes that you can get from one single dish: sweet (sugar), salty (fish sauce), tart (lime), spicy (chilies). This soup can be used as a starter, or pair with steamed jasmine rice or Asian noodles as a main course.

• 1 tablespoon peanut or sesame oil
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 1 qt low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 1.5 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar (or substitute with white sugar)
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated galangal (or substitute with ginger)
• 1 teaspoon garlic minced (optional)
• 4 whole kaffir lime leaves
• 1 stalk lemongrass cut into 3″ pieces
• 3 sliced small thai red chili peppers (or substitute with serrano)
• juice from 2 limes or lime wedges
• cilantro for topping

Mix in choice of cubed chicken, tofu, seafood (esp. shrimp), mushrooms, vegetables, etc.

Heat the oil in a pot on medium heat. Add grated galangal (or ginger), garlic, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, chili peppers, and any desired mix-ins (I last used tofu, spinach, and shiitake mushrooms). Saute for a minute to bring out the flavors, then stir in sugar, fish sauce, coconut milk, and chicken or vegetable stock. Simmer on medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and let cool for a couple minutes. Remove the kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass with a slotted spoon. Stir in lime juice then or serve with lime wedges. Top with cilantro. Serves about 4 people as starters or two people as main courses. Enjoy!

Image from http://www.chopra.com/qatar.

It has been pretty hot here lately in Northern California and I found myself often craving thick cold drinks. After a little experimentation, I learned to make a banana shake that’s icy enough to be refreshing and creamy enough to feel satisfying. I’m pretty sure it’s not as bad for you as other milkshakes because it mostly consists of bananas and ice. It’s a very simple recipe -here are what you need:

• 2-3 super ripe bananas
• vanilla bean ice cream or vanilla frozen yogurt
• ice
• milk (preferably nonfat)

Fill the blender half way with ice. Use the “ice crush” button and pulse it a few times to break it down. Pour in about 1 cup milk, 1 scoop ice cream or froyo, and bananas. Blend together just enough to combine. Easy and delicious!