Spicy Coconut Curry Carrot Soup

I looked at a few carrot soup recipes before deciding to base it on a ginger-curry soup and make up the amounts myself. I'm happy to say that it turned out really well!  I think this is quite forgiving and easy to customize based on individual tastes.

I found it too sweet at first, because of the wonderful sweetness of carrots from the garden, so I added quite a bit of salt and threw in this magical red curry paste. This is what we use for our Thai curry stir-fry and it has been a favourite in our pantry for a while now. It comes in small expensive jars (or in a larger bag of paste from Superstore for something like a quarter of the price).

Sliced yellow onion

Diced garlic (4-6 cloves)
1 Tbsp coconut oil

Carrots (lots. Cut into rounds)

Approx 2/3 carton of chicken stock

2 tsp yellow curry

Sprig of rosemary

Sprig of thyme

1/2 tsp ground ginger
Salt and pepper to taste

Squirt of spicy red curry paste , to taste (be careful! It seems to get spicier as it cooks!)
1/2 cup coconut milk

Garnish with cilantro or basil

Start by sauteing the onions and garlic in the coconut oil, and place in the slow cooker with the carrots and chicken stock. Add the spices (except for the red curry paste) and let it cook down until everything is soft (likely a couple of hours on high). Take out the sprig herbs and use an immersion blender to puree the carrots, onions and garlic. Add the red curry paste a bit at a time, as well as the coconut milk.

Garnish with some cilantro, and serve with cheese biscuits (I use my super easy biscuit recipe and just add in some grated strong cheddar).

Enjoy!

Lasagna

This may be "Canadianized" lasagna, but it is my favourite type because it's what I grew up with. I was always happy when Mom made this for dinner.

To make 1 large and 1 mini-lasagna:

Sautee:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 chopped yellow onion, on the larger side
• Several garlic cloves or 1-2 tsp garlic powder
• Approx 2 lb ground beef (this could be even less, compensating by making it saucier - it's all based on preference)

Sautee the onion and garlic in the olive oil, then add ground beef and cook until browned.  Add water if needed, but be sure to pour off any fat/grease before adding sauce.

Add:

• 1 Tbsp parsley if you have it, or I used a mix of basil and oregano
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 cans of pasta sauce (I used a pre-spiced "garlic and herb" sauce, 28-oz size can)

Let the sauce and meat simmer for 5 minutes. Separately, blend:

• Approx 2 cupes cottage cheese
• 2 beaten eggs

Also prepare:

• 1/2 lb lasagne noodles, cooked and drained (half a package)
• 1/2 lb sliced mozarella cheese - or as desired
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Now you are ready to assemble the lasagna(2).  Layer in this order, spreading through the two pans:

• thin layer of meat sauce
• half of the noodles
• all the cottage cheese mixture
• half of the mozzarella
• half of the remaining meat sauce
• remaining noodles
• remaining meat sauce
• remaining mozzarella
• grated Parmesan cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  I prefer my cheese topping browned and crusty so I end up leaving it in closer to the 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Pierogi Pizza

If you've ever had "pierogi pizza" at Boston Pizza, you have experienced a wonderful thing.  One day I decided to make it myself.  I found someone else here who first tried, and I am thankful for their efforts!  I have adjusted the amounts to what I found worked best for me.

Original recipe for the pizza dough here. It is super easy - no-rise, not thin-crust. I have adjusted mine to be partially whole wheat and it still gets devoured.

Dough:

• 1 packet of yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 c warm water
• 2 1/2 c flour (I use 1 whole wheat and 1.5 all-purpose)
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped (optional; I have not tried this)
• Cornmeal for pizza stone

Topping for 1 large pizza:

• 1-2 large russet potatoes (sliced thinly, peeled if you like but I don't mind a bit of potato peel strings on my pizza)
• 2-3 tsp Cayenne Pepper (I increased this way up from the original because it needs to be spicy!)
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/4 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (grated)
• 1/2 cup Medium Cheddar Cheese (grated)
• 4 Bacon Slices (cooked and cut into pieces)
• Sour Cream

Cook the potato slices in about 1-2 cups of water with the spices. This won't take nearly as long as cooking chunks of potatoes, so be careful not to overcook!  Cook with lid on maybe 10 minutes, then remove the lid to let the water burn off. Add a bit of vegetable oil if desired so the potatoes do not stick together and to the pan.  Be careful not to burn or cook the slices to mush! Remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

Spread a thin layer of sour cream on your pizza dough, and distribute the potato slices evenly (get close to the edge because when the dough rises you do end up with an empty crust around the edge, which I hate).  Sprinkle the pieces of bacon on top and then add cheese.  Simple.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes until crust and cheese is golden.  Best to do this on parchment paper (on a pizza stone) spread with cornmeal. Garnish with dollops of sour cream and chopped green onions. Serve hot, or if you have to serve my husband, refrigerate and serve cold!

Entrees

I don't cook.  My husband likes to, and he has made some amazing meals in the past. Unfortunately, sometimes we forgot how many options we have for dinners.  This post is just for when we need inspiration (or to make our mouths water).

Saffron risotto with shrimp and mussels



California and chicken teriyaki rolls

Seafood linguini with clams

Tuna nicoise salad (inspired by the Mediterranean cuisine we experienced in Barcelona)

Flank steak with bean sprout stir-fry

BBQ chicken pizza (or roasted corn and chicken, or basil and tomato, or roasted garlic, or pierogi pizza... the list is endless)

I am one lucky lady!