I think the pictures speak for themselves here: as all great couples do, Marbles and I can agree on everything except the constitution of the Perfect Burger.
Posts Tagged ‘light’
Spiced carrot-lentil soup
It’s soup season, so of course I’ve been making SOUP! This recipe resulted from a previous cooking endeavor that only used one carrot out of a whole bunch, and a half packet of red lentils that had been glaring at me sadly from the cupboard. As the carrots wilted and the lentils moped, I said “ENOUGH ALREADY!” And then I blitzed them all into a quick, hearty soup.
I am really proud of my soup, as I’ve always hated the bland, overly sweet flavor of many carrot soups. This one, instead, is zingy, zippy, zesty and all kinds of good things that start with z. It is also nutrient dense, without becoming something you eat only because it’s supposed to be healthy. It’s a filling soup without being to heavy, with light flavors that can be spiced up or mellowed down to your own taste.
Roasted spiced carrots
I know lots of people who don’t like cooked carrots. And I understand why. There’s nothing more blah and boring than squishy, sweet carrot mush. For years I only ate them raw or lightly steamed, or chopped finely as a base for soups and sauces. But ever since I’ve discovered that you can roast carrots, I can’t get enough of the cheerful little buggers. Today I experimented a bit, and came with this recipe. The carrots are roasted for quite long, which makes them pleasantly soft but also gives them a nice hearty flavor. The spices, lemon juice and honey add some interest. If you’re one of those people who claims to not like carrots, I encourage you to try these. (more…)
Spinach and ricotta risotto
I just realized that it must seem like I only cook Italian-style food, which isn’t the case. I guess I’ve just been on a bit of an Italian food kick lately. Also, I’ve gotta say that Italian-style cooking is really adaptable, which is great for using up leftover vegetables and such.
This risotto was the result of a huge bag of spinach left in the fridge, some leftover ricotta, something I read somewhere in some magazine, and the fact that I’m not totally crazy about pasta. It’s a simple risotto, much lighter than the usual kinds, and full of zing from the chili peppers and lemon zest. (more…)
Grilled eggplant with basil and mozzarella
This is one of my favorite quick meals. It takes no more than half an hour (depending on how you tackle the tomato sauce issue), but is still fresh and, not unimportantly, beautiful! It also works well as an hors d’oeuvre, if you cut the eggplant slices in half and offer toothpicks on the side, or as a pretty starter for a small crowd. But I usually want to just scoop it all into my maul as soon as it comes out of the oven…
“Moroccan” vegetable stew
There is absolutely nothing authentically Moroccan about this stew beyond the fact that I invented it in order to use this fantastic new thing I discovered: Harissa! I got it at a Moroccan grocery store, so now I associate this stew with Morocco, despite never having been in or near Morocco (YET!). If you were to serve this stew to your friends I would highly recommend using air quotes when referring to it as “Moroccan.”
Because of the harissa, this stew is on the spicy side. However, the addition of sweet butternut squash and juicy raisins tones down the spice level considerably. The first time we had this we ate it straight from a bowl, but the second time I served pita’s and some home made tzatziki alongside. This was a good call, as the stew had become noticeably spicier overnight in the fridge. It also became tastier, so I highly recommend making enough to have leftovers.
I think this stew is the perfect summer food. It’s filling and flavorful but not too heavy or greasy. It also includes most of my favorite foods and none of my non-favorite foods, which of course is a huge benefit of inventing your own recipes. It’s also one of those “accidentally vegan” recipes that I seem to come up with a lot. And it’s accidentally gluten free as well. Actually, the whole thing was one big happy accident. An accident which landed me a girlfriend by the way, so take that as a warning or as a recommendation, depending on your situation.
Hello, and soup!
Because first posts are always awkward, and I’ve never been any good at introductions anyway, I’m going to use this very first post on my almost-first blog to give you the very first recipe of the many I would like to share with you. And since nothing is more comforting than soup, this recipe will be for…exactly!
I made this soup tonight for the fabulous Marbles, not only because she’s the one who designed this blog to look as awesome as it does, and who has been patiently teaching me how to use it, but also because she’s awesome and funny and I dig the shit out of her. And cooking is my way of showing people that I dig the shit out of them.
Anyway, onto the soup! It’s a pretty basic recipe, but I love it anyway. I got the idea from some discount cookbook at a discount bookshop, and remembered the basic premise, which consisted of chicken, rice and spinach. I’m pretty cocky about my cooking abilities (hence this here blog), so I decided I didn’t need the book and instead concocted my own spinach soup with chicken and rice. Although this soup tastes good at any time of year I associate it with summer, probably because the dill and lemon add a flavor that is vaguely reminiscent of Greece. And because I am so in love with Marbles’ design for this blog (polka dots AND partying veggies!) I will dub this Marbles’ Soup. (more…)