Curried Lentil Soup in a Jar

Tis the season to start thinking Christmas and Christmas parties, treats and hostess gifts.  I always have the urge to DIY this time of year, be it food or crafting, it's gonna happen.  This year I opted for flavoured booze and soup in a jar.  Food and booze.  That's right....Food.  Booze.  

Anyhow, this soup is stupid easy, cheap and pretty darn delish.  Gorgeous in a jar and it allows the giftee to make a super simple meal. Delicious with added veg or on it's own. I've loosely adapted this from a Good Housekeeping recipe.  I don't usually add anything to mine and I puree it at the end.  Feel free to add extra veggies to yours.

Curried Lentil Soup in a Jar

Makes 1 500 ml Jar 

Heaping 3/4 cups dried Green Lentils

1 tbsp Curry Powder

3 tbsp dried Onion Flakes

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tbsp dried Parsley

1 tsp Kosher Salt or 3/4 tsp Sea Salt

3/4 cup dried Red Lentils

pinch Chili Flakes (optional)

500ml Jars

In a 500 ml jar, layer the ingredients. 

Attach the directions:

In a pot combine dried ingredients, 2 jars LOW SODIUM broth Vegetable or Chicken)  and 1 jar of water.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Puree if you'd like a thicker soup.

*Do not use full salt broth...there's salt in the dried ingredients.  

Split Pea Soup with Ham Hock

I love fall....I love sweaters and boots and soup.  On a crisp cool fall day, there's nothing better than a piping hot bowl of soup.  I have yet to find a soup I really don't like.
Split Pea Soup is one of my all time favourites.  It's hearty, soothing and actually quite healthy with a big punch of fibre.  In 1 hour, you've got a big pot of soup that will feed you for a few days....or not, if you live in my house.  The husband tends to be a bit of a soup hoarder.  The man can devour more soup than humanly possible.  Anyhow, whip up a batch, would ya?!

Split Pea Soup with Ham Hock

Serves 6-8

2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 large Sweet Onion, finely chopped
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
2 Celery stalks, finely chopped
2 Carrots, finely chopped
1lb bag split peas, picked through
1 Smoked Ham Hock
8 cups chicken stock, low sodium
Salt & Pepper

In a large pot heat olive oil over med heat.  Saute the onion, garlic, celery and carrot for about 5 minutes.  Add the split peas, whole ham hock and Chicken stock.  Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and cover for 1 hour.  Check to see if peas are tender.

Remove the ham hock.  Remove the meat and set aside.  With a hand blender, puree the soup, making sure not to burn yourself.  Alternatively, you can use a blender but you'll need to let the soup cool a bit before blending or the heat can cause it to explode a bit.

Once it's blended, add the shredded meat back in.  Serve!

*Will hold well for 3-4 days in the fridge.

Prosciutto Wrapped Pears with Blue Cheese

So this might be the easiest dang appetizer, and one heck of a tasty treat. 3 simple ingredients and you have an impressive appetizer to serve your guests. There are only 3 ingredients so use the best quality you can find.

You can use either Prosciutto or Speck.  I have used both and they are equally delish.

Prosciutto Wrapped Pears with Blue Cheese

Makes 16 Pieces

2 Pears
8 thin slices of Prosciutto or Speck, sliced in half lengthwise
Blue Cheese, Stilton or Gorgonzola
1/2 fresh Lemon, squeezed

Cut the Pears into 8 slices (without the core).  Toss with the lemon juice.
Lay a slice of prosciutto out and crumble on about 1 tsp of blue cheese.  Place the pear on one end of the prosciutto and roll it up.  Secure with a bamboo skewer.  Voila!

Quick Pickled Onions

Ok, you know when you stumble across something that's so simple yet so delicious and versatile?  This is it.  Making burgers a week ago, I thought why not spruce them up a bit and why not use the onions to do it.  Then a few days ago we had delicious grilled pork tenderloin, and again served with the onions.  Seriously, these bad boys go with anything. Toss them on tacos, burgers, sandwiches, flatbreads, which a friend recently did, a salad, cheese platter, grilled meats.  I'm  telling you, anything.
These are a bit sweet, a bit tangy, a bit salty and a bit crunchy.  They'll hold in the fridge for 2 weeks but I guarantee they won't last that long.  Double the recipe if you need more.

Quick Pickled Onions

1/2 large Red Onion, thinly sliced
1/2 Jalapeno, thinly sliced (optional if you want a little heat)
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tbsp Sugar
3/4 tsp salt

Place the onions and the jalapenos, if using, in a jar.  Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Pour over the onions and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow juices to combine.  Will keep well for up to 2 weeks.

Avocado Pesto

It's hot and humid out.  Hard to complain about Summer weather but it can be a real sweaty chore to cook dinner.  I tend to rely on my trusty BBQ and a crisp salad, or pasta with a raw sauce to get me through those evenings.
My favorites include my Pasta Caprese http://delishdishcooks.blogspot.ca/2014/08/pasta-caprese.html or this simple Pesto.
Yes, you have to boil water if you're serving this with pasta but really, how much time and effort does that take? This is also amazing on fish or chicken, or used as a spread
I came up with this last week on a sticky night and I served it with pasta, shrimp and cherry tomatoes. Absolutely delish!
Get going...you know you want this.

Avocado Pesto

1 cup fresh Basil
Half large ripe Avocado, or 1 small
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic
2 tbsp Pine Nuts
1/4 cup fresh Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Squeeze of Lemon (optional)

In a small or regular sized food processor, add the first 5 ingredients and whiz until smooth (add a tiny bit of water if it's too thick).  Add the cheese, S & P and the lemon if using. Voila.


*A blender can be used but you'll need to scrape the ingredients down quite a bit...it'll take some patience and time.

Halloumi with Chili

One of my favorite cheeses to entertain with.  Halloumi.  The cheese you can grill, pan fry or bake and it won't turn into fondue.
This is one of Nigella Lawson's recipes.  She gives exact measurements but I think it's cool to add what you want with this one.  It's so simple it doesn't need to be exact.

Halloumi with Chili

Halloumi, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1-2 tbsp Fresh Chili, finely chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Lemon

Pan fry the Halloumi in a dry non stick pan, over medium heat for 1-2 minutes per side, or until each side it golden.  Alternatively, you can grill the cheese.
Place it on a platter, sprinkle with the Chili, drizzle with the olive oil and spritz with a little fresh lemon.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus with Parmesan and Basil

HELLO SPRING!  Where have you been all of my life, or at least the last month?!  I think I can speak for everyone...Thanks for showing up you sexy SOB.
Anyhow, with Spring comes Asparagus, speaking of sexy.  Long, gorgeous and delicious.  Wrapped in salty Prosciutto with a sprinkle of Parmesan and a burst of freshness from the Basil.  This is reminiscent of an appetizer I blogged a couple of years ago but with a couple extra ingredients and served as a side dish. Bake it or grill it....you'll love it.
Your Welcome.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus with Parmesan and Basil

Serves 4

1 bunch of Asparagus, ends trimmed
4 slices of Prosciutto
1/4 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
4 Basil leaves
Olive Oil
Lemon, optional

Preheat the oven or grill to 400F.
Lay a piece of Prosciutto down, sprinkle a scant tbsp of cheese over the meat and a Basil leaf on top of that.  Lay the Asparagus down and wrap the Prosciutto around it.  Drizzle a little oil over them.
Grill or Bake for 7-10 minutes, making sure not to overcook them.  The asparagus should still be tender crisp.  Sprinkle with any remaining cheese and squeeze a little fresh Lemon juice over top just before serving, if you're so inclined.

Flatbread 2 Ways

Our family has an annual weekend called "Cousinpalooza" in February.  We get together, eat, drink, sing, play in the snow if the weather allows.  It's an awesome time filled with laughter, love and this year, spreading germs.  The nastiest dang virus made it's rounds.  Now, that's a lot of love.  However, before we all came down with said ridiculously long lasting virus, we got to indulge in some fab food, this flatbread included.

I couldn't make up my mind, so I came up with two.  The ingredients are so simple and really, to give you exact measurements would be a bit silly.  Add as much as you'd like.  Both of these have such fantastic flavour and texture.  Have good honey on hand.  They both benefit greatly from a nice drizzle.

Flatbread 2 Ways

Makes 4 Flatbreads

4 store bought Flatbreads

Pear, Pancetta & Blue - Makes 2 Flatbreads

Olive Oil
1-2 Pears, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Pancetta or Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 -3/4 cup Blue cheese, Gorgonzola or Stilton, crumbled
Baby Arugula
Honey
Pepper

Preheat oven to 400F

Drizzle a little Olive Oil on 2 of the flatbreads.  Add the pear, then the cheese, then the bacon.  Bake for about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper, add fresh Arugula and drizzle with honey.

Goat Cheese and Oven Roasted Tomatoes with Thyme - Makes 2 Flatbreads

Olive Oil
1 pint of Cherry Tomatoes
1 Tbsp freshly chopped Thyme leaves
Salt & Pepper
1/3 cup Goat Cheese
Honey or Balsamic Glaze

Preheat oven to 400F.

On a sheet pan, covered in parchment paper, toss the tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil, 1/2 of the Thyme leaves and Salt & Pepper to taste.  Roast for 10-12 minutes, or until they just start to burst a little.

Drizzle a little Olive Oil on 2 flatbreads.  Crumble each one with the goat cheese, add the oven roasted tomatoes, rest of the fresh Thyme leaves and some freshly cracked black pepper.  Bake for about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and drizzle each one with a little honey or Balsamic Glaze.

Butternut Squash Soup with Thai Flavours

Good golly it's been a looooong time since I've shared a recipe!  Life just kind of got in the way.  Jeepers.  Hopefully now with things settling down a little, I can spend more time in the kitchen!

With the cold weather kicking in as expected in my part of the world, I turn to soup almost daily.  Sometimes it's a mish mash of veggies, simmered in stock with a couple of potatoes and pureed into a thick but nourishing bowl of love, or leftover protein and veggies in an aromatic stock with grains or pasta.  Whatever it is, it never fails to warm up them chilly bones.

This soup has all the yummy Thai flavours combined into one super delish pot of love. It's not authentic so don't be chirpping off about that. Just make it and enjoy. It's simple and kind of has an addictive quality to it, as Thai food does.  Hit's all the right spots for me.

Butternut Squash Soup with Thai Flavours

Serves 4-6



1 tbsp Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
1 cup sweet onion, diced
1 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 cups peeled, cubed Butternut Squash
3 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
2 tsp Red Thai Curry Paste
1 cup Coconut Milk
2 tsp fresh lime juice
Cilantro or Parsley

In a heavy bottom pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion, ginger and garlic, cooking for 2-3 minutes.  Add the butternut squash and cook another 2 minutes.  Pour in the broth and salt and  cook until the squash is tender.
Combine the curry paste and Coconut milk in a bowl and stir to combine.  Pour into the soup.  Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for 10-15 before putting in the blender*, or use a hand blender and blend it directly in the pot.
Once it's smooth, add in the lime juice.  Serve and garnish with a drizzle of coconut milk, squeeze of lime and Cilantro or Parsley.

*Be very careful blending hot liquid in a blender.  It can splatter and burn.  If the soup is warm, pour it in the blender, put the lid on and cover the lid with a tea towel, holding the lid on tight.