Cauliflower and Blue Cheese Soup

Cauliflower and Blue Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Large Sweet Onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 cloves of garlic
1 Medium head Cauliflower, cored and cut into 1" piece flowerets
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
4 cups vegetable broth (canned or homemade)
2 cups half and half
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 to 3/4 cups blue cheese
such as: Gorgonzola, Danish blue cheese, Stilton, or Blue Costello
1/8 tsp kosher salt

Garnish:
Chopped fresh basil
blue cheese crumbles

Can also add a few fresh made croutons or a few crosstini.



In a stockpot or large saucepan, heat butter;add onion and garlic, saute until soft. Add the cauliflower and celery; cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Add broth and bay leaves. Cook on medium heat until cauliflower is soft, about 5-8 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Transfer to food processor or blender in batches. Return to pot. Or use a hand held immersion blender, and puree until smooth.

Mix cornstarch into half and half. Add mixture to pot, with pepper, blue cheese, and salt. Taste, add more salt and pepper, if desired. Bring to simmer on low-medium heat, until thickened. Be careful because of half and half not to burn bottom of pot or overheat and cause curdling. Serve with garnish of choice.

Recipe and photos by Marie at Best Wishes Marie... just a person "trying to make sense of it all."
one letter at a time. Thanks, Marie!

Black Bean Burger Recipe with Cilantro-Lime Mayo

Stephanie, your courage and kindness are inspiring. I am sending you many healing thoughts.

In my early twenties, I worked in a restaurant that, while sporting a fair share of meat and seafood dishes on the menu, was staffed by a pack of vegetarians. Not that they actually travel in packs, but they all seemed to congregate in this restaurant. I was one of the lone meat eaters and felt like a mink-wearing socialite at a PETA meeting. Aside from the typical array of salads, the only vegetarian option on the menu was the veggie burger. My experience, to that point, with veggie burgers was one unfortunate meeting with the dense, chewy frisbees of flavorless protein that were first introduced into the mainstream market. After much coercion by my plant-eating friends, I bit the proverbial bullet and ordered the restaurant’s veggie burgers. Black beans, rice, herbs, and spices had me hooked. While I may not have revoked my meat-lovers’ membership, I can say that I am content to work at least one vegetarian meal onto our menu each week. I’ve come a long way, baby.

Burgers:

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse 4 slices stale or toasted whole wheat sandwich bread to form breadcrumbs. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add 1 medium onion, chopped, and sauté until soft. Add 2 cloves garlic, minced, 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper (membranes and seeds removed – unless you like more heat), and 1 teaspoon ground cumin. Saute for additional 2 minutes.



Scrape the mixture into the food processor. Add 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed, 1 ¼ cups cooked brown rice, 2 teaspoon fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Pulse until the beans are chopped, but not pureed.

Scrape the black bean mixture into a large bowl. Add ½ of the breadcrumbs and ¼ cup chopped cilantro. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture until combined.




Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and form into patties. If the mixture is too moist to form patties, add more breadcrumbs. Place the patties on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and cover with additional plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.




Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large skillet (preferably not nonstick, so a good crust can form) set over medium heat. Add the burgers and cook for 4 minutes per side.

Cilantro-Lime Mayo

In a small bowl, combine ½ cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Stir well.

Lightly toast 4 whole wheat buns. Spread 2 tablespoons cilantro-lime mayo on each bun, and top each with a black bean patty, 2 tablespoons crumbled cotija cheese (found in most supermarkets), 1 slice large tomato, and 3 slices avocado. Serve.



Printable recipe (the link for the printable recipe is http://sites.google.com/site/cookincanucksprintablerecipes/black-bean-burgers-with-lime-cilantro-mayo)

Dara can be found cooking up an array of meat and vegetarian dishes at Cookin’ Canuck.

Sugar and Spice Sweet Potatoes

Oh. My. Goodness.

Say hello to my newest favorite potatoes.

The spices on these sweet potatoes are so awesome and can be used in so many ways to liven up these beautiful, orange delights.

This is what I did:

1. Combine well the following ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon course ground pepper



2. Boil the sweet potatoes until soft, take off the skins, and then cut them into 3rds or 4ths.



3. Smash them with a potato smasher and and then brush them with melted butter.



4. Sprinkle them with 1/2 of the seasoning.

5. Roast them, or fry them up in a pan with butter or olive oil. Turn them over and sprinkle with the remaining seasoning. Make sure you get a yummy, golden crust on the potato. It's the best part! Serve with fresh cilantro on top.



It is over the top delicious!

The seasoning would be great mixed in with just a regular baked sweet potato with butter.

This recipe was adapted by Melody of Cheat Day Cafe from DLYN. Photos and recipe courtesy Melody. Thanks for sharing!

An Easy Orange Cake for Strawberry Season

Stephanie - sending lots of happy, healing, deliciously sweet and juicy thoughts your way!

Several Amish families moved to our area two years ago, and in my opinion we're all the luckier for it. The Amish neighbors I've met so far have all been very friendly, and they've already brought much to our rural community.

There are three basket makers and a furniture maker. The rough cut siding on our new sheep barn came from the Amish sawmill down the road. One of the families sets up a stand next to their house each summer and sells organic produce from their large garden. They grow wonderful sweet corn, and I think I ended up buying most of their tomato harvest last year.

But best of all? This time of year, three of the Amish families sell strawberries.



Farmgirl Susan's Easy Orange Cake
Makes one 9"x5" loaf

My favorite way to eat strawberries is standing outside next to the berry patch. My second favorite way is alongside a slice of this moist, not overly-sweet cake.

This is the kind of simple recipe I love to have in my collection, and since creating it two years ago, I've turned to it again and again. It mixes up quickly, can be eaten plain or gussied up, and stays moist for several days. It tastes even better the second day.

I first made this cake specifically to go with fresh strawberries, but is also very nice with fresh blueberries. Like most baked goods it freezes beautifully—and can be easily sliced when frozen.

Sadly, commercially grown strawberries are high on the Environmental Working Group's 'Dirty Dozen' list of the most contaminated produce—and they're often beautiful but tasteless. Celebrate the short and sweet strawberry season by seeking out local, organic berries from a farmers' market, a small U-Pick farm, or a generous friend's garden. Their amazing flavor will stay with you all year.

3/4 cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened
1¼ cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons finely chopped or grated organic orange zest (I use a vegetable peeler & a sharp knife)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional syrup:
1/3 cup orange juice (strained if freshly squeezed)
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 350°.

2. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer (I use a hand held mixer) to cream until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Add the eggs, vanilla, yogurt, orange juice, and orange zest and beat 1 minute.

4. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix well.

5. Pour batter into a greased 9" x 5" loaf pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Ovens vary, so start checking for doneness after about 45 minutes. Let the cake cool on wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes and then carefully remove it from the pan.

6. If desired, combine the orange juice and sugar and stir until sugar dissolves, then spoon or brush over the cake. Slice and serve (preferably the next day if you can wait that long) plain or piled high with fresh strawberries and whipped cream or ice cream—or both! This cake will keep at room temperature for 3 days or can be frozen.


Susan Thomas shares recipes, stories, and photos from her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres at FarmgirlFare.com. She writes about her organic heirloom garden (which is in desperate need of a new strawberry bed) at InMyKitchenGarden.com.

Apple Delight

Today's treat comes from Amy at Super Healthy Kids. She's cooked up a healthy, kid friendly treat with only four ingredients!

Oats and apples! A combination we have used in our house a million different ways and never get sick of it. We love apples because

• you can literally buy them all year round, although they get super yummy in the fall.
• They are perfect for taking in your school lunch (have you tried packing a pear in your lunch? Always get’s squishy and bruised by lunch)
• They are full of vitamins and fiber

And we love oats because they are

• versatile (hot cereal, cookies, hamburgers, apple crisp… ton’s of uses!)
• I can get 25lbs for under $10!!

While we experiment a lot with these two ingredients, this dessert has become a family favorite. This “dish” can be whipped up for one, or for the whole family. It’s super fast, and very yummy. We call it, Apple Delight:

Apple Delight

3-4 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

¼ cup dry oats

1/8 cup brown sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

Mix altogether and spoon into muffin cups. (I love the silicone cups) Bake in oven at 350 about 10 minutes, or until apples are soft.

Thank you so much, Amy! Recipe and Photo courtesy SuperHealthyKids.

Sea Salt Caramel Brownies

Susan Whetzel at She's Becoming DoughMesstic is here today, sharing an amazing recipe for Sea Salt Caramel Brownies.

Or I guess you could call them Fleur de Sel Caramel Brownies, in case you want to serve them at a fancy dinner party. Everyone knows that you can get away with serving anything at a fancy dinner party if you name it something French. Francais. Whatever.

Talk about rich…these are the epitome of rich. Gooey. Salty. Sweet. Chocolate….what’s not to love?

I have been dreaming about making these brownies for weeks…but my problem was not having the right caramel recipe. So, I tweeted, and Jenny (@icywit) hooked me up with the recipe from the Baked Cookbook. Thanks Jenny! Of course, being me, I have to change everything a little bit, so I just added a splash of vanilla – YUM. Everything is better with vanilla.

You could make this caramel and use it with a box mix brownie if you want (I won’t tell) but this brownie recipe is almost as easy as opening the box. If you DO decide to go box method, I would recommend using the “fudgy” version, and using all butter versus oil. I would also reduce the amount of water. There you go. Easy, peasy.

Oh, and get the kiddos in on this one. My Seven, as you can see, had a great time!

Sea Salt Caramel Brownies

Sea Salt Caramel – adapted from Baked Cookbook

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/4 cup sour cream

In a small saucepan, combine the cream and the salt. Simmer over very low heat until the salt is dissolved. set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and corn syrup carefully. They will not combine well until the sugar begins to melt. Cook over high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 350 degrees, 6 to 8 minutes. Without a thermometer, just pull the sugar off the heat when it is a medium goldish brown – it will continue to cook in the heat of the pan. Better to pull it too early than too late. Remove from the heat and let cool for one minute.

Add the cream mixture and the vanilla to the sugar mixture. Whisk in the sour cream. Let the caramel cool to room temp, then follow the brownie instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate any leftover caramel. it makes a great ice cream topping or tastes great straight out of the jar.

Brownies

Ingredients

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• pinch salt
• 1/4 cup Chocolate Syrup
• half of the above caramel recipe

Preheat oven to 325F.

Melt Chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

In a bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, and vanilla, and mix until well combined

Add flour, salt, chocolate syrup and chocolate mixture and blend well.

In a greased 8×8 pan, pour a little over half of the brownie batter and bake for 18 minutes. Remove from oven and pour in the caramel. On top of the caramel, add the rest of your brownie batter. If it doesn’t pour smoothly, just plop it in a swirl it around a little bit. Return to oven and bake for another 18-22 minutes. Brownies will still appear a little shaky, due to the caramel, but they will firm up once cooled. Do not overbake.

Enjoy with a nice glass of milk, or better yet – ice cream!

Thanks so much Susan, for sharing! This recipe and all photos were originally published March 8, 2010.

Beachy Green Pesto Pizza. Classic Marinara, Too.

Today's guest is Kathy from Lunch Box Bunch. She's sharing her recipe for two delicious versions of vegan pizzas - her Beachy Green Pesto Pizza and a classic Marinara:


Sandy pizza is no fun, except when the "sand" is the crispy chewy cornmeal crust of my paradise-approved beach boardwalk pizzas.

Beach boardwalk pizza: that greasy, cheesy not-so-healthy fare that tastes perfect on a sunny day, just got a lot healthier with my mini beach pizzas. You make them at home (sandy shore not included, sorry.) You have to try my Beachy Green Pesto Pizza. With a thick spicy lemon pesto sauce and thick slices of vegan mozzarella cheese. And for all the green-afraid out there, I've thrown in a classic tomato marinara and cheese too. Both pizzas are vegan. Recipes and photos ahead. So turn up that "ocean waves" track on your itunes and start flipping some pizza dough....


Why Pesto? I love using homemade pesto as a pizza sauce. And since it is thick and rich, it works perfect for this beach boardwalk pizza-not too light-and just flavorful enough. The pine nut pesto adds that rich taste you are craving as you lounge by the shore.

Now let's get to the recipe...

Beachy Green Pesto Pizza
vegan
makes 1 mini pizza, 6 "

1 cup pizza dough
*tennis ball sized, multi grain or whole wheat is healthier than white dough
4 Tbsp pesto sauce (recipe below)
5 strips vegan mozzarella cheese
*I like Follow Your Heart brand
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup corn meal
red pepper flakes
1 tsp pine nuts

*You can also use my cheesy walnut pesto recipe here (this one is a bit simpler)healthy
1/2 bunch basil
3/4 cup pine nuts, raw
2 lemons, juiced
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
5 garlic cloves
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp vegan Parmesan cheese (optional)
1/2 cup Italian parsley

Before Baking:


To Make:
Pesto
Combine all ingredients in a food processor.
Blend until smooth. I like a thick pesto for this pizza, so if you need to add more pine nuts or basil, go ahead.
You may also want to add more salt-do a taste test first.

Pizza
I get my pre-made multi-grain pizza dough from Whole Foods. But Trader Joe's and other supermarket's now carry fresh pre-made pizza dough. You can even buy it from some local pizzerias.
Punch out the dough.
Knead it a bit on a corn meal floured surface.
I like to do a few pizza dough tosses in the air before rolling it out with a rolling pin.
Using your fingers, press out the dough so that the outer crust is much thicker than the inside crust. The thinnest part of the crust should be the center.
Rub 1 Tbsp olive oil allover the front and back of the pizza dough.
Drape the bottom of the dough through your cornmeal.
Let the pizza sit and rise for about 5-10 minutes.
Now you can start layering your pizza.
Spread the pesto thickly on the crust.
Drape the cheese over the pesto.
Sprinkle the pine nuts over the cheese.
Drizzle 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil on top of the pie.
And brush the crust with the other 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil.
Sprinkle a bit of corn meal on the top and sides of the crust.
You're done!
Bake the pizza at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Broil the pizza for 3 minutes to bubble the top cheese layer.
Garnish with fresh basil leaves and some fresh red pepper flakes.

Next up, the Classic Marinara Beachy Cheese Pizza...
Before Baking:



Classic Marinara Beachy Cheese Pizza
vegan
makes 1 mini pizza, 6 "

1 cup pizza dough
*tennis ball sized, multi grain or whole wheat is healthier than white dough
3 tomato pizza sauce (bottled or my recipe below)
1/2 cup vegan mozzarella cheese, grated
2 Tbsp vegan cheddar cheese, grated
*I like Follow Your Heart brand
3 white button mushrooms, sliced thin
1 fresh garlic clove, sliced thin
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup corn meal
red pepper flakes
1 tsp pine nuts

Pizza Sauce
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp agave syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 small tomato
1/4 cup basil
pinch of parsley leaves
1 Tbsp lemon juice
*blend all in a mini food processor

Pizza
I get my pre-made multi-grain pizza dough from Whole Foods. But Trader Joe's and other supermarket's now carry fresh pre-made pizza dough. You can even buy it from some local pizzerias.
Punch out the dough.
Knead it a bit on a corn meal floured surface.
I like to do a few pizza dough tosses in the air before rolling it out with a rolling pin.
Using your fingers, press out the dough so that the outer crust is much thicker than the inside crust. The thinnest part of the crust should be the center.
Rub 1 Tbsp olive oil allover the front and back of the pizza dough.
Drape the bottom of the dough through your cornmeal.
Let the pizza sit and rise for about 5-10 minutes.
Now you can start layering your pizza.
Spread the pizza sauce on the crust-thinner amounts in the center of the pizza.
Sprinkle the cheese over the sauce.
Sprinkle the pine nuts over the cheese.
Lay the mushrooms on top.
Sprinkle a few red pepper flakes.
Drizzle 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil on top of the pie.
And brush the crust with the other 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil.
Sprinkle a bit of corn meal on the top and sides of the crust.
You're done!
Bake the pizza at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Broil the pizza for 3 minutes to bubble the top cheese layer.
Garnish with fresh basil leaves and some fresh red pepper flakes.




Thanks so much, Kathy! Recipes and photos originally posted on the Lunchbox Bunch blog.