I’ve started to do online grocery delivery. Don’t get me wrong, I actually like grocery shopping but sometimes it can be a real pain. Before I started work I had all the time in the world to go to the store and it was always fairly empty, I could read labels and not be pumped. I could muse over which brands to buy. And the checkout lines were short. It was glorious. And then I started work and I had to shop with the crowd on the weekends or after work. There’s children crying, people stopping their carts in the middle of the aisle, and general crowded nonsense. It’s exhausting and takes all the fun out of wandering around and pondering what looks good.

Online shopping has changed all that. No more carrying heavy bags, bumping into people, and long lines. Online delivery means I plan meals so I get home from work and have everything I need for dinner. It means I can order tons of heavy juice containers or the obscure ingredient I can’t find on the shelves. But if I’m honest, every time I place an order I make a mistake. Usually it’s been a small one. I order two cans of something when I only meant to order one. Or I order a giant carton of milk when I meant to order just a pint. But my biggest mistake has to do with carrots. I meant to order four carrots and I ordered four, 1 kilogram bags of carrots. SO MANY CARROTS.

So I’ve been doing carrot everything. I’ve put carrots in a stir fry, I’ve roasted them, and I even made a carrot and coriander soup. But still, there were more carrots. I hit the internet and searched for recipes that used lots of carrots. There are all kinds of crazy carrot recipes out there. Do you know there is such a thing as carrot jam? Anyway, I decided I wanted to make a carrot bread but so many recipes I found were more like cake layered with tons of cream cheese frosting. Now, don’t get it twisted, this bread isn’t so healthy either. It has a whole cup of brown sugar. But, I wanted a bread with the appearance of health. There’s a lot of nice things about this bread. It’s moist, has a lovely flavor that reminds me of oranges and molasses, and it’s easy to make. The downfall, I only needed to use one carrot. One. Just one carrot. Sigh.

When I found this recipe, I was drawn to it because it comes from Mark Bittman. His books, How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, were two of the first cookbooks I bought myself. They are giant cookbooks that really helped me learn to cook. The book has lists of essential tools, it has pictures to demonstration difficult techniques, and it has all the basic recipes you need (like how to hard boil an egg) as well as more complex recipes too. What’s great about those books is that if you have an ingredient you don’t know what to do with, these books will sort you out. Have an eggplant? Just search eggplant in the index and you’ll have at least half a dozen recipe options. It’s truly a great resource.

I’ve adapted this recipe just slightly from the original. I’ve used less orange zest – but that flavor is still present just not overwhelming. I’ve added pecans for some crunch and for the illusion of health. Once, I also made this recipe with self-rising flour because I ran out of all-purpose. If you do this with self-rising flour just cut out the baking powder and do everything else the same.

Finally, if you have any ideas for more carrot recipes please let me know! I need them.

Messy level:  Three spoons, but just barely. Having to grate carrots and orange zest adds an extra tool which can be hard to clean. Also for me, I’m prone to flinging carrot peelings onto the floor.

Brown Sugar Carrot Bread

 

Print

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons cold butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup almond milk
• zest of one orange
• 1 egg
• 1 cup grated carrots
• ½ cup roughly chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
2. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with butter.
3. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the butter to the flour mixture. Use a fork, 2 knives, or your fingers to cut it into the dry ingredients. Keep doing this until there are no pieces bigger than a small pea.
5. In a medium bowl, beat together the milk, zest and egg.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until moist and there aren't big ribbons of flour. Don't mix until everything is smooth.
7. Gently fold in the pecans.
8. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for about an hour.
9. Let cool, then serve.

3.2.2925

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You know the stereotype that Brits have bad food? I’m going to take a bold stance and say that it’s totally wrong. The Brits have yummy food and I’ve had plenty of it since moving here. I’ll concede that a lot of dishes are hearty and meat based, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea, (yes cup of tea reference on purpose), but fish and chips, mash, Victoria sandwich, coronation chicken, and steak and ale pie are all delicious. But my favorite thing ever might be Sunday roast.

On Saturday, Ryan and I went to a Halloween party and we may have stayed out really late and had too much fun. So the next day we woke up groggy and I was grumpy. Ryan suggested we go to the pub for a Sunday roast and I immediately perked up. It is the perfect meal for a rainy lazy Sunday.

We went to the Horatia, which is our local pub. The kitchen is run by Borough Foods Kitchen, which means all the ingredients are sourced from traders at Borough Market. Which, by the by, is an awesome market with all kinds of great food and I should totally write a TT post about that. Anyway, Borough Market has the best ingredients and as a result the Horatia’s food is always really good.

The Horatia is a quirky place. It’s decorated with lots of taxidermy animals, which at first feels weird but eventually seems a little charming. It has mismatched furniture, grandfather clocks, and chalkboards listing all their craft beers. It’s kind of giant as pubs go, and I think they have swing dancing lessons one day a week.

Ryan and I first went for Sunday roast after a number of British people told us it was a must-do for our time here. The meal is like comfort food, it’s filling, and familiar, and indulgent all at the same time. The basics of the dish is a roast meat, with fixings, and gravy. In addition to the food itself, I like the atmosphere of the pub. On Sundays, the pub feels extra happy. There are families, groups of friends, couples, kids, and even dogs. It’s so nice, and different from how I’ve experienced bars in the US.

But let’s get to the important stuff and talk about the food. At the Horatia, the meat options are beef, chicken, pork, and lamb. One of us always gets the beef. It’s so tender and flavorful. The following is meant as a compliment, although I know it may not sound like it, but you know when you go to a buffet and there is a carving station? That is always my favorite bit, but the person who does the carving always gives out a tiny portion. I always have to ask for more, and it still isn’t as much as I want. At the Horatia, the portion is the giant slice of roast beef I always wished for in the buffet line.

The last time Ryan got “the works” which was a slice of pork, beef, chicken, and lamb. That was a nice option because then no one had to make a sacrifice on choices. Along with the meat, it comes with the fixings. This one specifically has crunchy parsnips on top, parsnip mash and roasted carrots. It also has mushy peas, which have mint in them.I try them every time, but I never really like them. There’s Yorkshire pudding, which is that roll looking thing. It’s called pudding, but isn’t sweet or dessert like. On the side potatoes roasted in goose fat and braised cabbage. I’m often anti-greens but I really liked this cabbage. And on top of that, lots and lots of gravy. Quite the feast right?

Oh yeah, and of course, don’t forget to have it with a pint.

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I’ll be honest with you, the first time I made this I was grumpy and I had mini melt-down. Ryan had to step in and help because I was being pouty and said things like “I quit,” and “it’s ruined.” The reason for all this drama is that I didn’t give myself time to make a new recipe slowly. I didn’t have cold water to make the pie crust. The kitchen was hot and the dough wouldn’t roll. I was hungry. I thought the steps were easy, and I wanted it to be done right now. 

The steps are easy, and even with my hissyfit, everything came out nicely. Although today’s photos are from the second time I made the recipe. But what I’m trying to advise, is that when you’re cooking be patient, give yourself plenty of time, and it’s ok if it doesn’t come out perfect. Even the recipes we know how to make well can be a pain when we are rushed, hungry, and grumpy. When you’re cooking, take your time and enjoy it. If you want to rush and are too hungry to wait, then definitely defrost something or get take out.

This recipe is fairly straightforward and very flavorful. It’s roasted root vegetables wrapped in a free-form pie crust. No pie pan is required! You can use whatever pie crust recipe or store-bought version you like. As well, pick whatever root vegetables you prefer, but I’ll let you know what I chose below. What makes this recipe is the thyme and balsamic. It makes the whole thing fragrant and delicious. Even though pie crust isn’t so healthy (at least the way I make it), I think this is such a great way to eat a bunch of vegetables.

Adapted from the Gourmet Housewife

Directions

Pie crust:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp shortening

cup of cold water (you won’t need it all)

Filling:

2 parsnips, peeled and cubed

1 turnip, peeled and cubed

2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 medium carrots, peeled and cubed

1 red onion, cut into chuncks

thyme (about 4-6 sprigs)

salt

pepper

balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the vegetables on top, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves.

3. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool just a little bit. Turn oven down to 350°.

4. While the vegetables are cooking make the pie crust. In a medium bowl mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening. This means use two knives and chop up the shortening until it is pea sized. Then, add 1 tbsp of cold water and mix it with a fork, into the flour mixture. Keep adding water and mixing until you get a dough that sticks together (about 4-5 tbsp).

5. Take your dough, put it on a floured work surface, and roll it out until it’s 1/4″ thick. If you’re having trouble rolling out your dough, put it between two pieces of parchment paper, then roll out it out that way. This worked for me because then the dough didn’t get too hot and it held its shape.

6. Now, put the vegetables in the middle of your pie crust. All of the vegetables might not fit just yet. Drizzle with balsamic. Then scoop up the edges of the pie crust and fold them on top of the vegetables. You aren’t trying to cover them entirely, this is more of an open face pie. Then, if you have any extra vegetables you can spoon them on top in the open part. Drizzle with more balsamic if you’d like.

7. Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the pie crust is light brown.

8. Slice and serve.

Messy level: I’m giving this three spoons because of the pie crust. Ordinarily, I don’t think pie crust is that hard. But, pie crust gets mushy when it’s hot and spooning hot vegetables on to pie crust leads to a little bit of a mess. It’s not unbearable, but it’s kind of annoying. Otherwise, chopping and roasting is pretty mess free.

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On Tuesday, Ryan and I had an appointment to set up a bank account. We arrive at the bank and the person we were supposed to meet was out sick. Also, part of the ceiling had collapsed so things were a mess. We had to reschedule. Sigh.

I then had an appointment to see an apartment. The place was very close to the tube station and in a cute development, but in a very residential place, and we wanted something a little more urban. I get to the place and the owner shows me around. Some parts were really nice, and some parts were not. There was black gunk on the bathroom floors! It must have shown in my face because the owner asked me twice why I didn’t like it. Awkward.

Next, I went to a department store to buy some underwear. (Sorry for the intimate detail) The sizing is all different and I’m holding things up and Googling size conversions to see what might work.

Finally, I went to a coffee shop. I had a huge pile of coins in my purse and I was trying to figure out if I had enough to pay (because I don’t know the coins by heart yet) and then I spilled everything all over the floor. So embarrassing! Ryan and I had just read an article that said only Americans help other people in distress. And maybe that’s true, because no one offered to help me clean up my scattered coins. I took my coffee and pastry and slunk to a hidden seat in the back of the cafe.

But, the day turned around and Ryan and I explored a new neighborhood and had a great dinner at a small Turkish restaurant.

Since then, I’ve had some really great wins too. I went to the Globe Theatre! I love Shakespeare. Ten years ago, I visited London and didn’t see the Globe and I’ve regretted it ever since. I decided to walk there and I’m so glad I did! It was sunny, I walked along the Thames and took pictures of the skyline. The theatre itself was pretty impressive and I loved learning the history. I loved picturing what it would have been like in Shakespeare’s day, and I hope I can convince someone to see a show with me there.

I then got lunch and ate outside along the Thames. Only a few weeks ago I was in DC surrounded by snow, and here I am now eating lunch outside.

Ryan and I also have successfully set up a bank account, done some laundry, and gone to the grocery store.

In general I love going to the grocery store, and it has been especially fun seeing the new and different things here in London. Grocery shopping and cooking has really helped this place feel like home. There’s so much here I don’t know how to do, but shopping and cooking feels like an adventure I do know about, and is something I can do well.

They have all kinds of cool stuff in the grocery store. Their cheese section is huge! Seriously, there are about 4 different sections for cheese. There’s also a huge section for beans. The portion sizes are way smaller than we’re used to. The family sized juice is about the size of regular juice. The eggs aren’t refrigerated. But what I really thought was cool was that the cartons tell you the breed of chicken. I also saw quail and duck eggs, which I’ve never seen before. I will definitely need to figure out how to use those. There’s also beet juice! I need to try that, although I’m a bit afraid. Also, I saw brown sugar, which is totally normal. But, it was advertised as “treacly.” I didn’t know what that meant, so I had to look  it up. Finally the milk jugs look different and so do Starbucks to-go drinks.

Also, next time I go to the store I’m going to do a “myth busters” edition, where I’ll hunt down all the things people said we couldn’t find here in London. Stay tuned!

Anyway, I didn’t go crazy shopping in the store. Ryan and I are in temporary housing so I don’t want to make things that need a lot of ingredients. I need recipes that are low maintenance, can be made exclusively on the stove, and fairly healthy. A stir fry seemed perfect.

This is really an improv dish, so use the vegetables you like and trust your instincts. Use more veggies if you like. Cook until it looks good to you. Do what feels right. This is a super easy dish, quick, and great for people not wanting to do a ton of work.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked rice

1 large carrot

1 1/2 cup broccoli florets

½ cup peas

4 (or more) white mushrooms

1 pound chicken breast, cut into chunks

About 2 tbsp of concentrated chicken stock (you could also use regular chicken stock, I just bought the small concentrated packets from the store)

olive oil

salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Put 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water in a medium sauce pan. Heat on high until the water comes to a boil. Turn the heat to low, cover the pot, and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.

2. On medium high, heat a little oil in a sauce pan. Add the carrots and broccoli. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Add 1/2 the chicken stock concentrate. Also add about 1 tbsp of water to help make the stock saucy. Cook the vegetables for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally but not constantly. It might take longer than 10 minutes, but you want the vegetables to be easily chewable with a little bit of crunch.

3. Remove from pan, add a splash of olive oil, then add the mushrooms and peas. You’re doing this in steps so everything can cook evenly and the vegetables that need longer get longer. Cook for about 5+ minutes. You want the peas to be soft and mushrooms to be soft and a bit smaller and wilted.

4. Remove mushrooms and peas from pan. Add a flick of olive oil and add the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the chicken is all the way cooked through. This could take as little as 5 minutes, but close to 10 minutes depending on thickness of the meat.

5. When the chicken is all the way cooked through, add all the vegetables back in. Add the rest of the chicken stock and another tablespoon of water. Stir to get everything coated. Taste it and adjust seasonings as necessary.

6. Serve the stir fry on top of the rice. Eat and enjoy!

Messy level: 2 spoons. The messiest part is just switching out everything between the pans. You could do everything in multiple pans if you wanted, but I only have 2 burners, and that would be super messy. Mostly, this is a super clean dish.

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Basically, Ryan’s job gave him a promotion and a transfer to their London office. Exciting right?! I’ll be honest, I’ve felt a ton of emotions about all of this. Excitement, over living in a new city and seeing new sights! Fear, of starting somewhere new. Stress, over all the logistics of moving. Proud, of Ryan’s great accomplishment. Sadness, over leaving my wonderful job and moving away from family and friends. And happiness, that Ryan and I are able to take on this wonderful adventure and live abroad, which is something we have both dreamed about.

It’s been a few weeks since we made the decision and started announcing it to the people closest to us, and now my top emotion is definitely excitement. There’s tons to do as we prepare for our move, but I can’t wait for the museums, experiencing a new culture, and traveling. I have always wanted to see the Globe Theater. I’ve been dying to return to Rome. And now I can do those things more easily. But also, I can’t wait to have new food adventures.

To start the food adventures, I ran out and bought a British cookbook as soon as we officially decided we were going. Barnes and Noble only had one British cookbook, but it’s ok because it was the one I wanted. I bought Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain. This book is gorgeous! Full color pictures, an image of the food for each recipe, and great pictures of places, restaurants, and people from all over Great Britain. However, the book showed me that I need to learn some British jargon because I’m not totally sure what a “knob of butter” equals or how exactly to know if I’ve made “squiffs and quiffs” with the mashed potato topping.

Truly, I don’t know anything about British food, so I decided to start with the only dish I slightly knew about: shepherd’s pie. The recipe is so flavorful, aromatic, and satisfying. It’s the kind of food that as you eat it, the pace of the world seems to slow down, and staying snuggled up in the apartment flat (I need to practice practise my British lingo) feels like the best thing ever.

I’ll be honest though, the first time I made this, it came out soupy. It tasted delicious, but it was all wrong in texture. The problem was, I followed too closely to the recipe and didn’t listen to my intuition. That might sound counter intuitive, because shouldn’t the recipe lead me in the right direction? Yes, sometimes. But pots, pans, ingredients, and heat levels are different across kitchens and so sometimes the timing in a recipe isn’t what works best for you. For example, the recipe said that a liquid would thicken in a few minutes. It wasn’t thickening, but I moved on anyway, and that’s how I had soupy shepherd’s pie. The next time I made it, I really waited for it to thicken even though it took way longer than a few minutes. My end result was much better because I trusted my eye and watched what was happening in the pan.

So for this recipe, don’t worry too much about times and instead be patient and trust what you see and feel. It will be worth it and you’ll end with something delicious. Most importantly though, if you have any recommendations or advice about London please leave it in the comments!

This recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain

Ingredients:

2 yellow onions

2 cups chopped carrots

1 tbsp olive oil

3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided

sea salt & white pepper

leaves from 8 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

1 lb ground beef (or veal or lamb)

2 tbsp all-purpose flour, divided

zest from 1 lemon

1 cube of chicken stock

1/3 cup of beer (preferably something English!)

2 pounds russet potatoes (I’ve also done this successfully with waxy yellow potatoes)

1 cup of milk

1/2 white mushrooms, thinly sliced

3/4 cup light cream

1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Chop the onions and carrots into small, bite sized pieces, about 1/3 inch.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large sauce pan. Add the onions and carrots. Season with some salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaves. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until the onions have softened a bit.

3. Add the flour. This will soak up some of the excess liquid. Then add the ground meat, lemon zest, and stock cube. Stir everything until it is all well mixed. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat.

4. Once the meat starts to brown and is sizzling, add the beer. Then, add just enough water so that the meat is 1/2 covered by liquid.

5. Bring everything to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer with the lid askew for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

6. While the meat is cooking, peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters. Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold salted water. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork (this can take anywhere between 15-30 minutes).

7. When the potatoes are done cooking, drain the water. Let them sit an steam for a minute or two. Then, mash the potatoes. Add in the remaining butter and slowly add the milk. Mash until you have nice fluffy potatoes.

8. When the meat has been cooking for 30 minutes, heat the oven to 350°.

9. When the meat has been cooking for about 1 hour, add in the sliced mushrooms. Then add the cream. Turn up the heat a bit and bring everything to a boil. Allow to thicken on it’s own for a few minutes

10. Slowly sprinkle in the remaining tablespoon of flour. You might not need the whole thing, but stir in the flour until the meat mixture has thickened. You want the meat to be like it’s in a thick gravy and when you pull a spoon through the pan, it takes a little bit liquid to fill in the spoon’s path.

11. Transfer the meat to an oven safe casserole pan. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top.

12. Spoon the mashed potatoes in an even layer over the meat. Make it pretty or make it messy, whatever look you like. Or try to make a Union Jack, like I did.

13. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until it’s a bit golden on top.

14. Spoon out the finished pie into a bowl or plate.

Messy level: This recipe has a lot of steps, ingredients, and dishes. It’s not hard work, but it does take a bunch of work, so I’m giving it 4 stars. This is the kind of meal you make on a leisurely weekend day because it takes a long time and there’s a lot of clean up. Transferring things between pots, pans, strainers, and casseroles there is lots of opportunity for spills, splashes, and messes. It’s a good recipe, but it’s not clean.

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Now, back to cooking. For today’s post, I’m offering a recipe that is perfect for these cold days we’ve been having here in the DC area. This recipe is hearty, filling, and spicy. I guarantee this dish will warm you up. Now, I’ve told you about my tagine before but just in case you don’t remember, it’s a Moroccan earthenware slow cooker. As a kitchen appliance, it’s so pretty. It’s so pretty, I wasn’t sure I’d ever use it. And at first, I was having a hard time with the tagine, that is until my mom and I came across the cookbook Tagines & Couscous.

My mom and I were shopping at a Lecruest outlet store when I spotted the book. The lady who worked in the shop raved about it! She said it was so user friendly and they had made plenty of amazing dishes for their classes and taste tests. We were sold. Literally. Both us got a copy. Now I make this recipe (well, below is my adaptation of it) all the time. Honestly, I make this recipe almost every other week.

I have found some of the ingredients in the book hard to find (like rose water), but, when I really can’t find them, I’ve powered through with the recipe and it has still come out delicious. Also, please don’t be afraid of how many spices this recipe calls for. It’s an investment at first, but I’ve found them to be worthwhile and useful for other recipes. Additionally, If you don’t have a tagine, try this out with a dutch oven.

Finally, I heartily suggest making couscous as a side. You can find couscous in the same aisle as other grains. It’s such a great complement to this dish because it’s buttery and subtle and helps to balance the spiciness of the dish. And believe me, this dish does have some kick.

Ingredients: 

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp turmeric

1-2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp honey

2 cups carrots, cut diagonally into 2″ pieces

1 lb lean beef, cut into cubes (I use what Trader Joe’s packages as stew meat)

1 14oz cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained (you can use up to 2 cans if you love chickpeas)

sea salt

chopped cilantro (optional, for garnish)

Directions:

1. If using a tagine, put the your heat diffuser over the burner. Put the bottom of the tagine on top. Pour in the oil and heat over medium-high until warm.

2. Add the onion and garlic. Saute until soft, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the turmeric, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, and honey. Stir to coat the onions and garlic. Let the spices toast a bit, just for 1 minute.

4. Add the carrots. Saute for 4-5 minutes. Make sure they get coated with the spices.

5. Stir in the beef. Saute for about 3 minutes. Make sure you get the beef coated and it has started to brown. It’s ok if it’s 50% brown and 50% pink.

I’m sorry this picture is a little blurry, but I wanted you to see you don’t have to completely cook the meat.

6. Pour in enough water so everything is 50% covered. Bring the water to a boil. Place the cover on the tagine, and turn the heat to low.

7. Let everything simmer in the tagine for 40 minutes.

8. Add the drained chickpeas to the tagine. Stir everything together so the chickpeas also get some seasoning. Cook for 15-20 minutes.

9. Turn off the heat. Make sure the vegetables are tender and the meat is cooked through. You should have a nice stew-like meal swimming in some spicy broth. Season with salt, if desired. Garnish with cilantro, if you’re  using it. Serve over a bed of couscous.

Messy Level: I give this one three spoons because it is undercover messy. Yes, everything is in one pot and that makes it pretty clean. But turmeric is a sneaky nemesis! It makes the liquid yellow and everything that liquid touches will be dyed yellow. If you have cheap counter tops, like I do, you might end up with some stains so please be careful!

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The first recipe I watched was for soup au pistou and I knew it was the perfect winter soup. Yes, it calls for green beans and basil so technically it might be more of a spring soup, but it’s everything I want right now. It’s cold, it’s windy, and sometimes dreary and I want soup. This soup is hearty without being heavy, full of vegetables, and the pistou (kind of like a pesto) gives the broth a robust flavor.

Now, this recipe is adapted from Julia Child’s for a few reasons. First, she used just water in her broth. I used a mix of water and chicken broth because I had an open container of broth in the fridge that had to be used. You could definitely use all water, more chicken broth, or even vegetable broth. Second, Julia calls for either leeks or onions and I used a mix of both. The reason being my leeks didn’t go as far as I thought they would.

The third adaptation is that Julia has a beautiful gilded soup tureen and I do not. Does anyone have a soup tureen anymore? Julia makes the pistou, then puts it in the soup tureen, and then slowly mixes in the soup from her pot. It looked beautiful, but… really? Since I don’t have a soup tureen do I really need to use two pots? I don’t think so, and I’ve come up with my own solution for those of us lacking in a soup tureen. If you have a soup tureen, I’d love to know it. Send me a picture or write in the comments below!

Ingredients:

3 quarts liquid (water, chicken broth, or vegetable broth)

2 cups diced waxy potatoes (I used Yukon gold)

2 cups diced carrots

2 cups diced leeks, or onions, or a combination of the two

1 tbsp salt

1 15oz can of white navy beans, drained

1/3 cup broken spaghetti (Julia used orzo, I just smashed up some pasta)

2 cups green beans, cut to 1″ length

ground black pepper

Pistou:

4 cloves crushed garlic (I just minced 4 cloves of garlic then smushed them a bit)

4 tbsp tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped basil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup olive oil (or a little more or less to your liking. Julia Child said between 1/4-1/2 cup)

Directions:

Prep step: Chop all your vegetables!

1. Bring liquid, potatoes, carrots, leeks/onions, and salt to a boil in a large pot (6 quart pot would be best).

2. Once it’s come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

3. Add beans and spaghetti. Let them cook for about 10 minutes.

4. Right after you’ve added the beans and spaghetti, make the pistou. Place the garlic, tomato paste, basil, and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon or pestle and mash up the ingredients until you form a lumpy paste. Then, slowly, about a teaspoon at a time, mix in the olive oil. Add olive oil until you have something the consistency of pesto. I used about a 1/3 of a cup in total oil. Set aside until soup is finished.

5.  Add the green beans. Cook for 5-10 minutes. You want them to be a bit crunchy, but cooked through. Basically, stay away from mushy green beans.

6. When soup is done, add 1-2 cups of soup to your pistou. Whisk the soup and pistou until smooth. Then, gently pour the pistou soup into the rest of the soup post. Mix that together until the broth is a beautiful red-orange color throughout.

7. Serve and enjoy!

Messy level: Honestly, for the number of ingredients, I’m surprised to give this recipe 1 spoon. There is so little mess! All I had to do was chop, heat, and mix. You’ll end up with very few dishes and almost no splatter. This recipe is a winner!

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But this recipe is awesome.

Seriously. It’s vegan and it’s awesome. And not only awesome, it’s quick and easy to make. It’s the kind of thing you can make when all you have is condiments and a few vegetables. This recipe comes from The Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay Nixon. She calls is “Cheater Pad Thai” because it’s so easy to make. As a warning, this recipe although delicious, doesn’t really taste like Pad Thai in a restaurant. It has Pad Thai flavors in it, but there’s something a little different about it. But, if you want a taste of Thai at home, this is a good recipe.

Also this is a recipe you can fool around with depending on what you have at home. You can alter the proportions of the sauce to your taste, and you can use whatever vegetables you think will taste best. I usually use carrots, onions, garlic, and bell pepper. I’ve also done peas, leafy greens, bean sprouts, and squash. If you need your meat, you can cook up pieces of chicken, shrimp, or beef and throw it in with the rest of the ingredients.

When it comes to stir fry, I like to use a wok. Now, prior to having a wok I thought it was something scary to use. That might be because I saw an episode of Top Chef once where the contestants had to cook Asian street food using a wok and some of them freaked out because they had never used one before. So I thought, if those professionals are scared of a wok, how can I use a wok? Ryan and I got it as a wedding present and we were really excited. I unpacked it and then did a whole lot of research. I watched YouTube videos and read a bunch of articles online.

Now I may be using the wok wrong, but I totally love it. What I learned (I think) was you’re supposed to use a wok at very high heat, which then sears the vegetables, and then because of the shape of the pan it keeps the vegetables from getting too soft – so they are cooked but crunchy. Also you’re supposed to use your “aromatics” first to give the pan flavor. That means you saute things like onions, garlic, and ginger first – and then you add the vegetables based on crunchiness (so carrots before bell peppers). Also you’re supposed to stir constantly and move the vegetables around and up the sides of the pan. This helps cook them, make them crunchy, and give them good flavor. If you have a wok, try it out! A regular pan works well too. I like the wok because it’s spacious and I can swirl the veggies around without flinging anything out of the pan.

Ingredients for 2-3 servings:

1/3 to 1/2 box of rice noodles.

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp peanut butter

2 tbsp sweet red chili sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp hot sauce

1 cup (or as much or as little as you want) of chopped vegetables

Directions:

1. Cook rice noodles according to package instructions.

2. Stir fry vegetables until they are softened but still a bit crunchy.

3.  Mix soy sauce, peanut butter, chili sauce, garlic powder, ginger, and hot sauce. Alter ingredients to taste. I like a little more peanut butter because it makes the sauce thicker

4. Once the vegetables are almost done, add the sauce to the wok. Mix the sauce and veggies together.

5. Add the noodles to the sauce and veggies. Mix until you’re satisfied. Serve and eat!

two sp

Messy Level:
Low to Medium. The pan ends up being coated in sauce so it takes a good scrub. But, it doesn’t use that many pans, therefore dishes don’t take that long!

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