A Happy Dump-and-Throw Accident: Spicy Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup

This is truly a happy dump and throw accident. I had these sweet potatoes, you see. And a handful of CSA carrots, a few baby red potatoes (too few for a serving) and some ginger root that needed to be used up. Hmm.

What I didn't have was any vegetable soup stock. But I did have some frozen butternut squash soup from last season. So…here we go…

Spicy Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 large carrots, peeled and chopped
5 baby red potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 red onion, chopped
ginger root, about two thumbs worth, pealed and chopped
1/2 stick butter
2-4 cups vegetable stock
Spices…all to taste:
Ground cardamom
Cayenne powder
Turmeric
Cinnamon
Ground black pepper
Sea salt

• Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the onions.
• Saute until onions soften
• Add spices…start with small amounts and add more 
• Saute in the butter…they will start to be very aromatic
• Add vegetable stock, or in my case. butternut squash soup and stir until onion and spice mixture is mixed thoroughly into the stock.
• Raise heat until liquid begins to boil
• Add chopped vegetables and cook for 5-7 minutes in the boiling stock
• Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are cooked all the way through. 

Now, here is where I made a happy mistake. I didn't taste. I got out the immersion blender, blended the cooked vegetables until the mixture was nice and creamy and removed it from the heat.

THEN I tasted. And practically choked because, clearly, I was pretty heavy handed with the cayenne. Like, wow.

So, back to the pantry cupboard where I fortunately found the secret mystery ingredient…a can of coconut milk. THANK GOODNESS.

I added the full can to the soup, and creamed it with the immersion blender again.

THIS, ladies and gentleman, is an excellent soup. Still spicy, but now tempered with the creaminess of the coconut milk and the inherent sweetness of the sweet potato, carrot and butternut squash.

Which all goes to show you…measuring is highly overrated.

Bon appétit.

Red Pepper Sweet Potato Cream Sauce

After I made the butternut squash ravioli, I needed a creamy sauce to compliment it. This was a completely seat-of-the-pants experiment that worked like a charm. I swear, sweet potatoes are magical vegetables!

• 1/2 - 2/3 cup of ricotta cheese

• 1 baked then mashed sweet potato

• 1/2 roasted red sweet pepper

• small amount of milk (1 tablespoon...maybe a little more)

• dash of cayenne

• dash of red pepper flakes

• sea salt and pepper to taste

Throw it in the blender and blend till creamy. Heat briefly in microwave before adding to pasta.

A Ravioli Fiesta

I was away last week, and had a particularly wonderful dinner one night of butternut squash and sweet potato ravioli. I have never made ravioli before, but did some experimenting today and made several dozen raviolis in two flavors.

Making the Pasta Dough:

4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons egg beaters
water

Mix the flour, salt, egg and small amounts of water.
Knead dough, adding water as needed to mix in all the flour.
Form fully kneaded dough into a ball and set it aside.

Making the Ravioli Fillings:

Spinach and Ricotta
8 oz Ricotta cheese
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 teaspoon pesto
salt

Mix all ingredients together. Set aside.

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato
1 sweet potato - baked and mashed
1.5 cups butternut squash - baked and mashed
cinnamon
cardamom
cayenne
salt

Mix all ingredients together. Set aside.

Shaping the Ravioli:
Roll out the dough.
Place a teaspoon of filling about 2 inches apart on one half of the roll.

Fold the dough in half.
With a sharp knife, cut through both layers of the folded pasta, and then trim to squares.
Seal the edges by pressing with a fork.

To cook, boil water. Add a small amount of olive oil.
When the water is boiling, add the ravioli.
Cook until the ravioli rises to the top of the water (about 5 minutes).

We had the spinach/ricotta/pesto ravioli tonight with homemade tomato sauce. 

I've frozen the butternut squash and sweet potato ravioli for another day.

Andrews Family Vegetarian Chili

If I had to name one dish as the staple in the Andrews Family larder, this would be it: Andrews Family Vegetarian Chili. We make this in a 12 quart stock pot, and freeze it into individual size containers for a quick, healthy, tasty meal. It starts like most of our vegetable dishes do...with lots of chopping. The proportions below are for a 12 quart pot. 

Ingredients

• Diced:
• Red Pepper (3-4)
• Green Pepper (2-3)
• Onion (1)
• Minced: 
• Garlic Cloves (2-3)
• Jalapeño (2)
• Chopped
• Zucchini (2 small) 
• Yellow Squash (2 small)
• Baked, Mashed Sweet Potato (1 large)
• Chopped Cilantro (1 entire bunch, washed)
• 5 cans black beans, drained
• 5 cans red kidney beans, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, or 1.5 cups your favorite tomato sauce (I use my homemade sauce)
• Spices:
• Cumin
• Cayenne
• Chili Powder
• Oregano
• Sea Salt
• Black Pepper

Directions

• Chop, mince, dice, bake, mash, and drain all ingredients as listed above. 
• In stock pot, add olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot
• Add onions, peppers and garlic
• Saute over medium/high heat until onions are translucent
• Add first round of spices, about 1 tsp of Chili powder, cayenne, oregano, cumin, a sprinkle of salt and a pepper
• Add diced tomatos / tomato sauce, and reduce heat to medium
• Add zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potato and cilantro, stirring well to mix thoroughly
• This is a good time to add more spices to taste
• Add beans, one can at a time, stirring each time to mix thoroughly
• Once all ingredients are in the pot, reduce heat to low
• Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally and adding spices to taste, until vegetables are cooked through.
• This dish benefits from a long, slow cooking cycle, giving the spices and flavors a chance to age. 
• This can be served with sour cream, diced avocado, and cilantro garnish. 

Spicy culprits: Chili Powder, Cayenne, Oregano and Cumin

Yummy Goodness:

Close-up...

The Sweet Potato: Is there ANYTHING it can't do?

Behold the lowly sweet potato. Homely, ungainly, oddly middle-aged looking....the Mrs. Patmore  of the vegetable family. But the sweet potato, my friends, is possibly the most versatile and clever of the root vegetables, and indeed the entire vegetable family. 

Baked sweet potatoes - with sea salt and a dash of cayenne or curry powder, or butter and a tip of cinnamon...an easy, healthy side dish. 

 Mashed sweet potatoes...another easy, healthy side dish with your choice of seasonings or...

Mashed sweet potatoes are also a key ingredient in the Andrews Family kitchen as a way to thicken the Spicy Chick Peas, or the Andrews Family Vegetarian Chili.

Sweet Potatoes have even made an appearance at the breakfast table on Easter Sunday. Sweet Potato Waffles with ginger are a spicy wonderful variation on thick belgian waffles. 

Sweet Potato Apricot Hand Pies - sweet potato is not just for breakfast anymore! These are a yummy, not-too-sweet treat that can be made ahead of time, frozen, warmed in the toaster oven and enjoyed at any time of day. 

The moral of the story? Do not underestimate the creative powers and versatility of the dumpiest of the bunch. Creativity knows no bounds, and, as the saying goes, you can't judge a book by it's cover.

Catching Up...

So, anyway, I went to China a few times this year. 6, in fact. A total of 16 weeks. I'm back now and still catching up on all sorts of things including remembering how to cook for myself and how to eat something other than rice. It's a long story. 

Meanwhile, I'm on a mission. While I was gone, riding out a Category 5 Typhoon from the 20th floor of my 4 star hotel (see, I *told* you it was a long story!), my husband was weathering a 4-day power outage and trying to save the summer's worth of meals I had cooked and stored in our second freezer. Luckily he was successful. He also ate well whilst I was gone and I'm now on a mission to restock our freezer for the winter. Since there is no snow yet, ski season has not come into full swing, I'm back in the kitchen wreaking havoc. 

AND, I have new inspiration!! Mary gave me this for my birthday: 

It's a collection of recipes from 7 different areas of the world, all vegetarian and all can be done in the crock pot. And, well, if you're going to get out the cutting board and the good knife, you might as well chop everything you can get your hands on. Right now, the Lebanese Eggplant Stew is simmering in the crock pot. Recipe below.

And my own bastardization version of the Potatoes and Peas in Red Curry Sauce is on the stove. As you can see in the picture below, there are no peas, and the curry is Yellow. Ok, so I improvised. Recipe below. 

Lebanese Eggplant Stew

1 eggplant, cubed
1 zucchini, cubed
3 tomatoes, quartered
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1 cup Aunt Tobi's homemade tomato sauce, or water

• Combine all ingredients in slow cooker, mix well, cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours. 

Potato and Chick Pea Yellow Curry

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 inches of ginger root, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cans chickpeas, not drained
2 cups carrots, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
2 cups potatoes, cubed
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 can coconut milk
1 large sweet potato, baked, then mashed
2 heaping tablespoons Yellow Curry Paste
1 teaspoon cumin
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

• In large pot, heat olive oil, onions, garlic, ginger root and peppers. Saute till onions become translucent. Add small amount of salt. 
• Add potatoes, carrots and celery. Mix well and turn heat to low. 
• Add chickpeas. Stir.
• In separate bowl, combine coconut milk, mashed sweet potato, cumin and yellow curry paste. Stir till well-mixed and smooth. 
• Add curry mixture to vegetables. Stir well to mix.
• Add chopped cilantro.  
• Cover and cook on low till potatoes are soft. Stir occasionally. 

Butternut Squash Quiche

This flavorful quiche makes a light entrée and a great Thanksgiving side dish. We like lots of curry, so we use these amounts as a starting point. Your tastes may vary.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped sweet onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups chopped spinach leaves or kale

4 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese, room temperature

16 oz butternut squash, roasted and mashed

2 large sweet potatos, baked and mashed

1 1/4 cups fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)

1/2 tsp. each salt and black pepper

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp curry powder

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" pie pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
• Bring a large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove.
• Add onion and garlic and, stirring occasionally, cook until softened and slightly browned, about 6 minutes.
• Add spinach and cook until wilted and excess moisture has evaporated, about 2 more minutes.
• Transfer onion-spinach mixture to the large bowl.
• Add cheese wedges, breaking them into pieces as you add them.
• Mix thoroughly, until cheese has melted and is evenly distributed.
• Add all remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix well.
• Evenly transfer mixture to the pie pan.
• Bake in the oven until firm and lightly browned on top, about 1 hour.
• Allow to slightly cool. Cut into 6 slices and enjoy!

Spicy Chick Peas and Cauliflower

This is a flexible dish that can be made with a wide variety of vegetables, depending on what you have in your refrigerator.

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, chopped
2 cans chick peas, NOT drained
1 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large hunk of ginger root, minced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 pound butternut squash, chopped
1 large sweet potato, baked and mashed
1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon cardamom pods
Sea salt
2 tablespoons Olive oil

Directions

• Bake the sweet potato in the microwave. When done, remove skin and mash potato with a fork. Set aside. 
• Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan, add the onions and sauté until onions begin to be translucent. 
• Add the garlic and ginger. 
• Add the salt, cumin, garam masala, coriander and mustard seeds. Cook till the mustard seeds pop. 
• Add the chick peas, cardamom pods, butternut squash, sweet potato and cauliflower. 
• Mix well. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are cooked. 
• Add cilantro and stir. Taste and adjust spices as needed.
• We like our spices strong. Your tastes may differ.

Alternative Preparations

• You can slow cook this dish, transferring all ingredients from the pan to the crockpot at the same step when you add the chick peas. 
• You can add or subtract vegetables in accordance to what is in your fridge. I’ve experimented with: 
• Chopped or shredded carrots 
• Chopped kale 
• Chopped spinach 
• Baby potatos 
• Chopped eggplant 
• Red peppers 

Serve with warm whole wheat naan.