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December 7, 2010

Cranberry Apple Cake

easy cranberry apple cake

Inside my head there’s a tornado of Holiday TO-DO lists whacking into the side of my skull. Christmas cards, Christmas gifts, Christmas candy, CHRISTMAS ANYTHING. AHH!! MAKE IT STOP. The only thing that calms the storm is the sound of Scoop. Measure. Stir. My measuring spoons hit the bowl, my sink is littered with batter smeared bowls and the cake goes off into the oven. I’m standing in the kitchen licking the remains of batter off my wooden spoon and suddenly I smell the heavy scent of cranberries, apples & cinnamon waft in the air. The tornado disappears and I’m temporarily focused on things that don’t stress me out. CAKE! Ahhhhhhh.

first piece

I’m in love with this cake! The recipe comes from Ina Garten’s new book, Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That?— a new addition to my cookbook library, thanks to my INA OBSESSED mom. She knows I love a good/easy recipe and thank goodness for that because this book is chalk full of them! The top of this cake is a splendid union of tangy cranberries & juicy apples rocking a cinnamon sugar citrus vibe. Think pineapple upside down cake meets Christmas. A very light spongy cake (that has no baking powder or soda!) is what it sits upon…and at the very bottom of that is a crispy cinnamon sugar crust. Three layers of deliciousness are all waiting for you to meet them. Go ahead, introduce yourself! I suggest you top off a slice with a scoop of vanilla bean gelato. I’m sure it will silence your holiday tornadoes. I can vouch that temporarily silenced mine!
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December 6, 2010

Christmas Decor 2010

whoa!

Almost done decorating for Christmas! We put up our tree late Saturday morning! Probably wasn’t the best idea because Cooper loved the tree soo much, he wouldn’t take a proper nap. How could I forget  how exciting Christmas can be for a young one!?!  He kept calling for his Christmas tree. So far hasn’t been touching the ornaments (that much) but he does insist on holding our hands and bringing us into the sitting room to show us the Christmas tree. I think he loves it.

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December 5, 2010

Soup Roundup!

After making FOUR soups this week, I’ve got tons of leftovers in the fridge & freezer! Today, a big bowl of Portuguese Kale & Potato Soup warmed up my afternoon. It’s so nice to just work through the leftovers on a lazy Sunday.  Since I don’t have any fridge space left for a new soup today, here’s a little roundup of soups from the past! Enjoy!

Trader Joe’s Tomato Roasted Red Pepper Soup I always keep this in my pantry!

Mexican Chicken Soup This soup is great for ANY kind of weather.

Sausage & White Bean Soup This soup changed my life! I always have the ingredients on hand for it!

Curry Zucchini Soup I love this soup. Especially because my mom always makes it on Christmas.

Sweet Potato & Chipotle Soup Smooth! Creamy! Spicy! Easy! A good tortilla chip vehicle.

Tuscan Ribollita The most incredibly hearty soup in my arsenal!

Vegetable Minestrone – I call this “Clean out your Fridge, Soup!” I make a batch of this almost weekly.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup So incredibly creamy, without the cream!

Creamy Mushroom Soup You might have the power to change someone into a mushroom lover with this one!

Here are the soups I accomplished this week:

vegetable lentil soup with garlic croutons

Vegetable Lentil Soup

broccoli cheddar soup

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

curried butternut squash red lentil soup

Curried Squash & Red Lentil Soup with Cilantro Oil

portuguese sausage & kale soup

Portuguese Kale & Potato Soup

Wow. That’s kind of a lot! Are you totally souped out now?! Don’t worry next week is gonna be filled with crafts, holiday treats and some more things to cross off my 31 comes before 32 list.

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December 4, 2010

Portuguese Kale & Potato Soup

portuguese sausage & kale soup

This soup has Sunday Afternoon written all over it. When it’s cold outside, and you want your belly full of greens, meat & potatoes, THIS is the soup you should turn to. It’s also one of those soups that gets better the second day, when the flavors meld together. I love that! The overnight stay in the fridge brings out more than you could have possibly anticipated!

Sausage AND Kale? I think this soup really has MY name written all over it.
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December 3, 2010

Curried Squash & Red Lentil Soup

curried butternut squash red lentil soup

This soup introduced me to two things: Red Lentils & Cilantro Oil. I learned that red lentils are super deceptive. They don’t really stay Red or keep their lentil shape when cooked. However, they do thicken up a soup and add extra fiber & texture. I like that. Cilantro Oil? It’s my new favorite thing!  It’s a crucial component to this dish and it is INSANELY good when paired with my Killer Garlic Bread. Casey and I tested out a shameful amount of pieces with it! How could the garlic bread be anymore enticing??!! Cilantro oil! The best part is that it’s easy to make and such a fancy little accompaniment.  The soup instantly elevates to fancy status because of that special green oil. Who knew?

mmmmm

OK back to the soup. I’m usually skeptical of soups that have water as the base instead of chicken or vegetable stock. This soup shocked me. There was simply no need for stock because the curry and ginger packed the flavor punch it needed. The squeeze of lemon at the very end adds the slightest tang and beautifully balances the sweetness of the butternut squash. And let’s talk about the butternut squash for a second. It’s creamy! The way it squishes between your tongue and the roof of your mouth? Lovely! I spent a good 15 minutes sampling that feeling with each cube. Please try it and tell me I’m not weird. Ok umm I’m feeling self conscious now. Go make this soup!

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December 2, 2010

Soups A Plenty!

I’m heavily distracted today. You would be too if you were scouring the internet for good soup recipes. There are soo many good ones, I don’t know even know where to start!  Here’s a list of soups that have caught my eye…

I’ve already made a few grocery lists…I’m pretty sure you will too. Prepare to get sucked in by the seductive powers of SOUP.

Vegetable Based:

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Parsnip Leek aka Cry Baby Soup from Gourmet Fury

Spicy Pumpkin Soup with yummy Thai Flavors from If You Can Make that You Can Make This

Pumpkin Soup with Creme Fraiche & Shrimp from Sparkling Ink

Red Cabbage Soup from Apron Strings

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup from 101 Cookbooks

Creamy Tomato Soup from Joy the Baker

Fabulous Roots Soup from Simply Photo

Purple Soup (cauliflower) from Chez Us

Curried Zucchini Soup with Coconut Milk from 3191

Mushroom & Tarragon Soup from Dula Notes

Celery Root Soup from David Lebovitz

Balthazar’s Creamy Mushroom Soup from Smitten Kitchen

Vegan Sweet Pepper Coconut Chowder from Resolute Woot

Potato Parmesan Soup with Parsley Fennel Pesto from Running with Tweezers

Chestnut Apple Soup from Sassy Radish

Onion Soup from Lottie & Doof

Miso Soup from Dana Treat

Vegan Tomato & Fennel Soup from Gluten Free Girl

Carrot Soup from Bleubird Vintage

Roasted Vegetable Soup with Polenta Croutons from Tartelette

Pear, Pecorino & Potato Soup from Cooking with Amy

Kale & White Bean Soup from Bake Me Away

Melted Leeks and Quinoa with Poached Farm Egg & Parmesan Broth from Married with Dinner

Delicata Squash Soup with Blue Cheese from A Chow Life

Hearty and/or Meaty

Chicken & Vegetable Soup from Honey & Jam

Lentil Soup with Chipotle Yogurt from Sprouted Kitchen

Scotch Ale, Pumpkin & Pork Stew from Nectar & Light

Black Bean & Ham Bone Soup from Three Many Cooks

Chickpea Tomato Soup with Rosemary by Orangette

Le French Lentil Soup (using Trader Joe’s steamed lentils!) from The Ugly Green Chair

Tortilla Soup from Matt Bites

Garlicky Black Pepper Shrimp & Black Eyed Peas Soup from Gourmeted

Italian Wedding Soup from Everybody Likes Sandwiches

Beef & Mushroom Stew from the Pioneer Woman

Pho Ga, Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup from Steamy Kitchen

Mulligatawny Soup from The 10 Cent Designer

Chicken & Dumplings from Leite’s Culinaria

Green Tea Soba Noodle Soup with Tilapia and Mushrooms from 5 Second Rule

Pesto Tortellini Soup from This Week for Dinner

Seafood Miso Soup from Wright Food

Chorizo & Lentil Soup from Seven Spoons

Pork Belly Ramen with Kale, Beet Greens & Snow Peas from Sean Wilkins

Oh btw! That soup up there is my Curry Butternut Squash Soup! It’s super creamy, but with no cream!

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December 1, 2010

Tracy’s KILLER Garlic Bread

KILLER GARLIC BREAD

While we’re on the subject of soups, I thought it would be nice to share my SECRET recipe for the most KILLER Garlic Bread. What goes better with soups than garlic bread? Not much! My neighbor taught me to add dill in the garlic butter. It’s what makes this garlic bread killer. That’s the secret!  I guarantee a loaf will be devoured faster than you can dish it out. I’ve learned that I must stash a few pieces in the kitchen when I make a batch because my company goes nuts for it and never leaves me any. Rude! But also totally understandable.

yesssss

If you were to ask me what my death row meal would be, I’d immediately tell you a buffet full of this KILLER GARLIC BREAD. Go ahead, try some. You’ll see what I mean.

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