Red Lentil Soup

K and I grew up in an ethnicly non-diverse area (which may even be an understatement).  The best thing about moving to Detroit for medical school was the vast number of ethic food choices, particularly Middle Eastern!  There was a great little Lebanese cafe down the street from my downtown apartment which I visited frequently, especially when Mom and Dad were visiting.  In addition to the best chicken schwarma and flafel burger I've had, they also had excellent red lentil soup.  Cincinnati has plenty of great Indian restaurants (for which I am super thankful), but I miss my pita and hummus!  To make this soup, we combined a few recipes this weekend to use up the ingredients we had around the house.

Red Lentil Soup
makes 4-6 servings

3 cups chicken stock
1/2 pound red lentils
olive oil (or bacon grease)
onion, diced
carrots and celery, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
juice of 1 large lime

Bring the chicken stock and lentils to boil in a medium sauce pan.
Once boiling, simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
While the lentils are simmering, saute the onion, carrots, and celery.
When soft, add the garlic and spices.  Cook for a few more minutes.
Stir the vegetables into the lentils along with the lime juice.
Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until mostly creamy.
Serve with more lime juice and fresh cilantro (if your sister will let you)!

Trust me, it tastes waaaay better than it looks!

Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower doesn't have to be mushy and drenched in melted Velveeta.  It can be slightly crispy, salty, garlicy, and oh so good!  Seriously, I could eat a whole head of cauliflower prepared like this.

Roasted Cauliflower
Preheat oven to 400*
Chop head of cauliflower cut into individual florets and spread on cookie sheet.
Drizzle generous amounts of olive oil on cauliflower.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic.
Toss so cauliflower is evenly coated.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until golden brown and soft.

White Cheddar Chive Biscuits

Well hello there blog.  Its been quite some time.  The last two months have been the hardest of residency so far... back to back on the in patient service.  80+ hour work weeks with either Saturday or Sunday "off."  Those quotes are because of the 11 hours I was usually awake (after a sleeping for a glorious 13) I spent several doing work related tasks.

Not this weekend.

Mom and Dad were in town to celebrate my birthday.  Saturday was the first day off in almost two months where I did NOTHING work related.  That alone would be enough to make it a fabulous weekend.  Not to mention spending much over-due time in the kitchen.  Who knew kneading was so therapeutic?




So here's to hoping there won't be another two months standing between me and the next post.

White Cheddar Chive Biscuits (inspired by the one and only JTB)
Makes 16 biscuits

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons cold water
1/4 cup sour cream, cold
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup chopped chives
3/4 cup shredded white cheddar
1 egg beaten for egg wash
Freshly grated parm
Smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 400F.
In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together.
With your fingers, add in the butter and mix until a coarse meal forms.
In a separate bowl combine egg, water, sour cream, and yogurt.
Pour the wet into the dry and combine just until moistened.
Mix in chives and cheese.
Turn out onto floured work surface.  Kneed just until well mixed, about 15 times.
Roll into inch thick slab and cut out biscuits.
Place evenly on greased baking sheet.
Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with Parmesan and paprika.
Bake for 12 minutes until golden brown.

We only baked half.  The other half are on the freezer to enjoy at a later date!

Spicy Indian Eggplant

I was introduced to Indian eggplant, a miniature version of what we're used to here.  A cute little girl gave me one from her family's garden as we were walking through her village.  Later in the trip at one of the orphanages, we ate these mini eggplants cooked with tomatoes and an array of spices.  When I saw Indian eggplant at the grocery store, I figured it was worth a little experimentation in attempt to recreate the dish I so fondly remember.  And... its quite possible that I had to stifle a little squeal of excitement as to not look like a total nutcase to the other shoppers in the produce department.

Unfortunately, my results were disappointing.  I loved the eggplant dish in India so much because it was one of the few meals which did not burn my tongue and lips!  The version Laurel and I created this week burnt our tongues and throats, but with the help of a healthy dollop of yogurt was edible.  I accidentally added a whole serrano chili when I meant to add less than half.  To reduce the heat of this dish, simply leave out the serrano seeds or omit the chili garlic paste.

Spicy Indian Eggplant (adapted from All Recipes)
serves 4-6 as a side dish

2 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chili garlic paste
1 serrano chili diced, with seeds
2 cups chopped eggplant, Indian or another variety
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can petite diced tomato with sweet onion
1/2 cup diced fresh tomato
plain yogurt for serving

Heat skillet over medium heat.
Pour oil into pan, allow to warm.
Add spices, ginger through chili garlic paste.
Once fragrant, add serrano, eggplant, and salt.
Let eggplant cook a bit then add fresh and canned tomatoes.
Simmer over medium heat until eggplant is soft.
Serve with yogurt (and chai of course).

Butternut Squash Soup

My wonderful parents came to visit me this weekend. And they brought fall with them.

Not the season, or the weather, but the flavors of.

Squash.

Pumpkins.

Concord grapes.

Michigan apples.

Mommy's applesauce.

So with my kitchen overflowing with produce, my mind started churning trying to decide what to make. I settled on butternut squash soup, mostly because I could throw it into the crock-pot and return to have the apartment smelling like heaven. If you want to make friends, you should try this recipe. Just saying.  Make a big pot, leave your door cracked open a bit, and invite some peeps over for a party.

Butternut Squash Soup
1 butternut squash (peeled and cut into 1 in squares)
5 carrots (peeled and cut into 1/4 in disks)
6 ribs of celery (peeled and cut into 1/4 in chunks)
1/2 medium onion (diced)
2 Michigan apples (yup. has to be Michigan. something like mac or cortland. peel and dice)
3 cups of chicken broth
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
salt and pepper

Put all of the ingredients into the crock-pot. Turn on high for 4ish hours, or medium/low if you want it to go all day. Use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree the soup. (I like my a little chunky, so I don't puree it too long.) Serve with a dollop of  greek yogurt or sour cream or some heavy whipping cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Salad

I found this recipe two years ago as I was just dipping my big toe in the food blogging pond (and wow, I've dived in deep since then!) on my then favorite blog, Smitten Kitchen.  Having never been a fan of butternut squash, I was leery.  Any other variety: acorn, spaghetti, pumpkin (obviously) I'm more than happy to have, but there was juts something about the strong butternut flavor that I could never appreciate.  Or so I thought.  This one dish changed my harsh judgement of the squash.  And for those of you who avoid anything with the word "salad" in the title, this may change your opinion of that word.  There is nothing green or salad-y about this dish, except that it has dressing.

Perfectly roasted squash and chick peas drenched in a light dressing of lemon, tahini, and fresh cilantro marry into a versatile side dish.  Or main course.  I've been known to bring a Tupperware full of this, and only this, for lunch on more than one occasion.

Warm Butternut Squash and Chick Pea Salad (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Salad
1 medium butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
olive oil
Salt
15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Dressing
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste
1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 450*
Drizzle olive oil on cookie sheet.
Spread squash cubes in a single layer.
Drizzle more olive oil on squash and sprinkle with allspice.
Mix with hands and spread back into a to single layer.
Bake for 30-45 minutes or until edges turn caramel brown and chewy.
Add chick peas to pan for last 5 minutes of baking, so they heat through.

While squash bakes, make the dressing.
Whisk garlic, lemon juice, tahini, water, and olive oil together.
Stir in red onion and cilantro.

Let squash and chick peas cool for five minutes.
Toss with dressing and serve.

Hasselback Potatoes

What comes to mind when I say "baked potato"?  Family dinners?  Side dish you never eat because you ordered a 32 oz steak?  Ehhh?  Well, these "baked potatoes" certainly aren't any of those things.  They are crispy, garlicy, buttery, and oh so fancy.  While they do take a substantial amount of time to bake, all but 5 minutes of that hour is completely hands off.  Plenty of time to make yourself a cup of ginger chai and read a good book.

Garlic Hasselback Potatoes (adapted from Joy the Baker)
2 potatoes
2 cloves of garlic
plenty of butter and olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450*
Wash potatoes really well because we'll be eating (and enjoying) the skins.
Slice into the potatoes, but not completely through.
Cut garlic cloves into thin slices, just enough to place one slice in each potato slot.
Drizzle cooking sheet with olive oil.
Place potatoes on sheet and move around a little bit in oil.
Drizzle potatoes with oil.
Sprinkle potatoes with salt and pepper.
Place a pat of butter on each potato.
Bake for an hour adding a pat of butter every 20 minutes.