Roasted Red Pepper Soup (another one)

I found a few recipes on the net and came up with this combination. I was a bit laissez-faire on the amounts of ingredients so tweak it as you will. My recipe makes about 8 cups of soup.

4 large red peppers, halved and seeded
1/2-1 onion, cut in chunks (I don't put this in but you can)
1/2 head garlic (or more)
1 medium sweet potato, cooked into microwave, cut in large chunks, peeled
2 tomatoes
Olive oil
S&P
Italian seasoning (ie basil, thyme, oregano)
6 cups of chicken stock
Plain yogurt (or cream)

Lay red peppers, skin side up on baking sheet and brush with oil. Toss other veggies in a little oil and lay around the peppers. Brush the garlic with oil and wrap in foil. place in oven with other veggies.

Place in middle of oven under broiler set at about 400-450. Check frequently. 15-20 minutes.
When I got to this point, the peppers seem like they need longer cooking so I switch the oven to 400 bake instead of broil and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the peppers were soft and the skins were starting to blacken.

Remove from tray, and cool. Slip peels off tomatoes and garlic. Sweat peppers in a bag 10 minutes and then peel.

Put veggies in large pot and add 6 cups of chicken broth and seasonings. Bring to a gentle boil. Puree with hand blender. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Add thyme, basil, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a little cream or a dollop of plain yogurt. A dash of Franks Red Hot Chili Lime is tasty too.

I store in 1 cup containers all week in the fridge and add yogurt after I heat it up.

Thai Red Curry

OK, this one's for Bobm512z. It's not particularly healthy because of the high fat content of the coconut milk but I've tried using low fat and it's juat not the same. I also tried it with plain yogurt instead and it was only so-so.

Recipe

398 ml (14 oz) can coconut milk, undisturbed so cream floats to top (not low fat)
2-3 T olive oil
2-3 T red curry paste (I buy Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste)
1 1/2 T fish sauce
1 T fresh lime juice
1 T brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 red or yellow pepper cut in chunks
1-2 carrots cut in fairly thin slices
White part of 2 green onions, sliced (or sliced regular onion if you want)
1 lb shrimp, prawns, halibut, scallops, or chicken in chunks
Salt if needed to taste
1 diced tomato

Put oil and 4 T cream off the top of the coconut milk can in pan. Slowly heat over medium. Add curry paste when hot. Stir till oil separates and is lightly browned. Reduce heat and add fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and 1/2 c. water. Add peppers, carrots, and onions. Cover and simmer on low for 5 minutes. (I actually don’t cover it...) Add rest of coconut milk. Add fish or chicken in single layer. Cook gently till cooked thru.. Ad diced tomato and cook 1-2 minutes. Add diced green onions. Serve over jasmine rice.

You are supposed to garnish with the following but I never do because I can’t find fresh. I had them at a restaurant once though and they were good.

4 fresh kaffir lime leaves, sliced (or lime rind?)
sliced thai basil leaves

Notes: I am fairly casual in the amounts. I just squeeze in some lime juice, toss in a spoonful of sugar etc... I make it spicy to my taste at first, then it ‘cools ‘ down once I add the rest of the coconut milk. You can add more curry later if you need it. I find the heat o fthe curry paste varies from jar to jar so I adjust every time I buy it.

I’ve made it with chicken breast, cut in chunks.

Or a bag of frozen (thawed) prawns.

Or 1lb of halibut.

Or 1/2 lbs scallops and 1/2 lbs halbut or prawns.

All yummy. Jasmine rice is best but any kind of non-flavoured rice will do. I have often used brown rice.

Lybbe and Solorunner's Kale Salad

I got this recipe from two friends on Twitter. I'll give you the recipe then note my adaptations below.

Ingredients:
kale, chopped very finely (no rib)
cherry tomatoes
avocado
green onion

Dressing:
olive oil
lemon juice
salt and pepper

This is the basic recipe and it's delicious as is. However, I have trouble chewing raw kale right now due to my new braces so I blanched a head of chopped kale for 2-3 minutes (that's all) and ran cold water over it. Then I patted it dry(er) with a paper towel. I used some in a salad that day and left the rest for a salad at work the next day.

Also - I don't use oil on my salad, just fresh lemon juice and S&P.

One day I added some leftover cold asparagus, cut in one inch pieces - yum! And another day I added some dice red pepper. Another day, I used chopped tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes. Yet another day I chopped up some leftover cooked chicken breast and added that.

No matter how you make it, it's a wonderful salad, made of well-documented super foods!

Enjoy!

Cucumber Shrimp Spread

I love this recipe and often make it to take to parties. And it's low-fat!
Canadian Living Magazine – June 1998 P. 97

1/2 long English cucumber, peeled (seeded if nec)
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz cooked shrimp (frozen is fine)
3 T light cream cheese
2 T light mayonnaise
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
4 tsp chopped fresh dill

Grate cucumber into a sieve, sprinkle with salt, and let stand for 10 minute.

Drain, and squeeze dry in clean tea towel.

Pat shrimp dry and puree in food processor with cream cheese, mayo, lemon juice and rind, mustard, and pepper.

Pulse until chunky/smooth.

Stir in chopped dill and grated cucumber.

Garnish with a few whole shrimp and a sprig or dill.

Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Per tablespoon
26 calories
3 g protein
1 g fat
1 g carb

Hot Rum Toddy

OK, I know this isn't a "healthy" drink but it's what I'm craving with this never-ending cold of mine. My buddy Bowerm says it should be 1/2 cup of rum, but that would put me under the table, or perhaps cause a new drunken podcast. :)

Here's the recipe for a traditional Hot Rum Toddy, from http://www.foodandheritage.com/toddy.htm

Ingredients:

1 cup of hot water

1 ounce of dark rum

2 teaspoons of brown sugar

1 teaspoon of creamed butter

2 teaspoons of freshly-squeezed lemon juice

grated nutmet

dash of powder cinnamon

dash of powdered ginger

hint of powdered cloves

Method:

Mix your dry and wet ingredients (except the hot water and rum) into a paste. Pour into a serving vessel one cup of boiling water. Stir in the paste until dissolved. Add your once of rum. Garnish with a curl of lemon peel and a cinnamon stick. Serve when hot.

Quantities:

Serving for 1.

Jessup Food & Heritage, Ltd. 2000

Baked Chicken Penne

I got this recipe from the Kraft What's Cooking magazine holiday '08 edition. My 10 year old son made it, under my supervision, and it was delicious! He loves cooking and is going to be a good cook some day. :)

Baked Chicken Penne

1-1/2 cups whole wheat penne, uncooked
1 285 gram package baby spinach
1 T. olive oil
1 lb (450 gr) boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces.
6-8 mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp dried basil
1-1/2 cups pasta sauce (half 700 ml jar)
1-2/3 cups canned, diced tomatoes, drained (1/2 large can)
1/4 cup light cream cheese spread
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
2 T. grated parmesan cheese


Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook pasta, adding spinach to boiling water for the last minute. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large skillet. Add chicken and mushrooms and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, 3-5 minutes.

Add pasta sauce, tomatoes, and basil. Simmer 3-5 minutes, or until chicken is done.

Stir in cream cheese.

Put drained pasta/spinach into a 2 L casserole dish. Pour chicken mixture over the pasta and add 1/2 of the mozzarella. Stir until well-coated.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese over and bake 3 minutes more, until cheese is melted.

Make 4 servings, 2 cups each serving.

Calories 480
Fat 14grams
Carb 42 grams
Protein 45 grams

Cyberpenguin's Roasted Red Pepper Soup

2 – 2½ lb. red peppers (6-7)
3 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
1½ cups yellow onion, chopped
1 c. vegetable broth (or chicken broth, if you prefer.)
2 c. water
1 tsp. salt or to taste
Pinch of Cayenne pepper
8 - 10 fresh basil leaves
1/3 to ½ c. heavy cream (I recommend substituting w/non-dairy creamer or plain soy milk instead for obvious reasons! ;-))

Directions: Cut peppers in half lengthwise; remove stems, seeds & ribs. Lay cut side down on baking sheet; place under broiler. Roast until skins blister & blacken, 15-20 minutes. Remove & cover with foil. Let cool 10-15 minutes. Peel off skins, chop into medium pieces, & set aside. (Note: This can be done the night before. Refrigerate the pieces in a covered dish. Add the pepper juice to the soup as well.)

Warm oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion & sauté until translucent. Add chicken broth, water, salt and cayenne. Cover partially & bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15–20 minutes. Add roasted peppers & cook for 10 minutes more.

Drain peppers & onion in colander, reserving liquid. In batches, puree peppers & onions in food processor or blender. Return puree & reserved liquid to saucepan and reheat. Cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes. Stir in lemon juice & cook 1 minute more. Taste & adjust seasonings. Stir in 1/3 of shredded basil. Serve & float 1-2 Tbsp. cream on top & sprinkle with remaining basil. Serves 4.