Carrot Soup with a Kick

I recently decided to re-vamp my carrot soup recipe to use up some schtuff that's been hanging around my fridge and freezer.  I was really pleased with how it turned out, especially considering the limited pantry that was available (I hadn't been grocery shopping in a while).

I used baby carrots that I'd frozen for this, but I think the flavor would be brighter if they'd been fresh.  Vegetarians can swap out the chicken stock for vegetable. This recipe made enough soup for about 4 servings which was perfect because eating the same soup for an entire week, every single meal, can get a tad boring.

What You Need:

2 large onions, chopped
1 Tb butter + 1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 bag baby carrots
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cups white wine
3 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp oregano

What to Do:

Fry the onions in olive oil and butter until they are translucent (don't fry them till they're brown because they won't puree well). Add the carrots (frozen or fresh) and the rest of the ingredients and cook down over medium high heat for 40 minutes - or until the carrots are soft.  Let this cool for about 20 minutes and then puree in a blender.  I like my soup really smooth so I puree it for a while - you can add more stock if you want to thin it out, too.  You might need to adjust the spices, but the wine gives this soup a great depth of flavor and the butter adds enough richness for you to make it seem like you spent hours making it ;)

The Perfect Pesto Pizza

Making pizza is one of those things that never gets tiring.  There are so many combinations I couldn't possible write down every one I experiment with.  But when I find one that really works - it's worth (yet another) pizza post.

I got it in my mind to make pesto pizza when I was doing a little cleaning of the freezer and noticed a container I had frozen from the last time I went to Costco.  Side note: freeze pesto with a layer of olive oil over the top and it'll be fine for months.

To really take this over-the-top I decided to make my own pseudo-sundried tomatoes.  They actually turned out phenomenal! Just halve some sweet cherry or grape tomatoes and place them, seed side up, on a baking sheet.  Bake at 300 degrees for about 40 minutes.  The juices will evaporate and the sugars concentrate leaving behind a wonderful snack - or pizza topping.

After pre-baking your crust, cut some thick slices of mozzarella.  

 

Slather the bread with pesto and arrange the cheese over it - then the tomatoes.  

Since the dough is already cooked, I just turned on the broiler and broiled the pizza until the cheese was just melted.  That only took about 10 minutes - super simple but the flavors melded together for the perfect treat to end a rough week.

German Apple Cake

When I visited Atlanta I knew I couldn't arrive empty-handed - especially after I found out it was Weston's grandmother's birthday.  I decided to re-vamp my pound cake recipe to include apples, which I know she really likes.  The result was a denser cake (I didn't use as many eggs or as much fat) with a tasty filling.  I call it German Apple Cake because Weston's grandfather said it reminded him of the cake he had while their family lived in Germany years ago.

What You Need:

1 1/2 stick butter

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 vanilla

1/4 baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup yogurt

4 eggs

4 apples, peeled and sliced thin

3 Tbs brown sugar

spritz of lemon juice

pinch of salt

What You Do:

In a saucepan mix the second set of ingredients and cook down until the apples are soft. 

In a mixing bowl cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla.

Add the eggs, one at a time. Then the yogurt.

Add the dry ingredients and stir just to combine.

Layer 1/3 of the mixture into a greased bundt pan, then arrange the apples over that.  Save 10 or 12 slices to make the top pretty.

Smooth the rest of the batter over the apples and arrange the top with the reserved apples.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Food Finds

As promised - here are a couple foodie items y'all might enjoy:

Whole Foods:

SMOKED Seaside Cheddar.  Yes.  I said it.  They found a way to make Seaside Cheddar even better (haha, that rhymes).  I think this might be available at many Whole Foods locations since I know the regular Seaside is also in Ann Arbor.  This cheese is sharp, creamy, and not overly pungent.  Lucky for me, the cheese monger at WF is super nice and always cuts the cheese pieces to the exact size I want.

Stevia

I've been wanting to try this for a while - but held off because I wanted to get the nutrition facts first.  Stevia is a plant-based, no-calories sweetener.  It IS quite sweet and even though I bought the little packets, I think 1/2 of one will be enough for my coffee.  BTW: I highly suggest trying a little vanilla almond milk in your coffee instead of store-bought creamers.  The milk plus the Stevia gives the perfect combo of creaminess and sweetness - without any guilt :)


Trader Joe's

Cookie Butter

Have you heard of this thing? I tasted it and was shocked that it wasn't a flavored peanut butter: it has the same consistency and is kind of like spreadable gingerbread cookie dough (but not as strong).  I had to get some even though it is not the most healthy thing in my pantry.  Sometimes you need a little junk food in your life.

TJ's Salsa

This salsa is delicious and a wonderful substitute for the big-name brand salsas you pick up in the chip aisle of the grocery store.  It's also cheaper which is kind of shocking...

Cuban Style Black Beans

Weston says these are great to have on hand, although I have yet to use mine.  They, too, are a lot cheaper than black beans in the grocery story.