Lobster Mushroom Bisque

OMG…. Heaven in a bowl!!! I seriously couldn’t get enough of this stuff. When are we going mushroom hunting again??? Unfortunately lobster mushroom season is slowly coming to an end in the Pacific Northwest. This was my first season going mushroom picking and we had such a great time wandering in the woods! None of us got lost and we had a great haul (although we didn’t really get any of the really large chanterelles). We collected tons of yellow and white chanterelles, lobster mushrooms, and chicken of the woods. We pretty much ate mushrooms everyday of the week and we still have chanterelles in the freezer. The lobster mushrooms were definitely my favorite, but we had fun with the chanterelles and chicken of the woods too. We made this lobster mushroom bisque from One Tomato Two Tomato with only a few changes… mostly just to accommodate what we already had in our kitchen. The bisque turned out fantastic! You … Continue reading →

East Meets West Red Curry

I made an AMAZING curry for Steve and I last week. He was craving braised beef short ribs and I was craving Thai curry and Indian curry…. I really couldn’t decide. So I decided to combine them all into one … Continue reading →

Healthy Lentil Soup

Toasted Hazelnut and Cauliflower Soup

Spicy Vietnamese Beef & Noodle Soup

I just found this buried deep within the archives of my blog….forgotten, unpublished and without a pic, but I figured I’d just post it anyway, since we’re in Vietnam right now….and it’s kind of a westernized version of Vietnamese Pho. … Continue reading →

Food Coma

Steve and I stuffed ourselves silly during a full day cooking course at Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School. We ate so well in Chiang Mai….mostly we ate tons of Khao Soi (Khow Soy), a delicious yellow curry with egg … Continue reading →

Creamy Potato and Kale Soup with Parmesan Garlic Toasts

Soup Recipe Serves 6 as entree. 1 bunch of kale, rinsed, stems removed and chopped 5 medium potatoes, rinsed and cubed 1/2 cup half and half or cream (optional) 5 cups vegetable or chicken broth 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 … Continue reading →

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Apple Potato Soup

Spicy Fennel and Kabocha Soup with Spiced Candied Pumpkin Seeds

Homemade Vegetable Broth

Ale and Cheddar Soup

Lobster Mushroom Bisque

Posted on October 26, 2014 by autumnadams4

Mushrooms infected by parasitic ascomycete fungus….my favorite!!!

This was my first season going mushroom picking and we had such a great time wandering in the woods! None of us got lost and we had a great haul (although we didn’t really get any of the really large chanterelles). We collected tons of yellow and white chanterelles, lobster mushrooms, and chicken of the woods. We pretty much ate mushrooms everyday of the week and we still have chanterelles in the freezer. The lobster mushrooms were definitely my favorite, but we had fun with the chanterelles and chicken of the woods too.

We made this lobster mushroom bisque from One Tomato Two Tomato with only a few changes… mostly just to accommodate what we already had in our kitchen. The bisque turned out fantastic! You would never know that their weren’t any real lobsters in it. Steve and I both went back for seconds! And the leftovers were quickly gone!

Ingredients

Serves 4.

3 lbs lobster mushrooms, cleaned & thinly sliced
7 T. unsalted butter
1T. extra virgin olive oil
5 large shallots, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium-large yellow onion, chopped
2 T tomato paste
1⁄4 cup vodka
10 sprigs italian parsley, plus 1 T. Chopped (set aside)
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 large fresh bay leaves (3 if using dry)
2 cups Chardonnay
6 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth (we used 4 cups veg and 2 cups chicken)
1 t. tabasco sauce
1 c. heavy cream
Kosher salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot heat the oil and butter on medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until all of the moisture is released and the mushrooms begin to brown. Then add in the shallots, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for approx. 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked.

2. Stir in the tomato paste until mixed well.

3. Deglaze the pot with the vodka. Use a spatula to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom.

4. Bind the parsley and thyme together, add the bay leaves, wine and broth.

5. Simmer for up to an hour, allowing the mushrooms and vegetables to become soft.

6. Remove the bay leaves, parsley and thyme and then puree the soup in the blender in batches.

7. Add the puree back to the pot, add the heavy cream. And simmer for a bit longer.

8. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Note: We served ours with a crusty bread from the bakery and it was perfect.

East Meets West Red Curry

Posted on March 1, 2014 by autumnadams4

We devoured this Thai-Indian fusion… I had no idea it would be so delicious!!!

Ingredients

Serves 3-4.

1 1/2 pounds beef short ribs
1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 of a large eggplant ( 1/4 inch slices if you’re going to grill it, 1/2 inch cubes if you’re going to roast it)
1 1/2 onions, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups coconut milk
3 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1 teaspoon cayenne
fresh ground sea salt and black pepper to taste
3 dried bay leaves (2 fresh if you have them)
1-2 star anise ( I love it, so I put two in, but one is probably plenty)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon coconut oil or vegetable oil
2/3 cup of green onions, 1/4 inch slices
3/4 cup of fresh basil, sliced
homemade red curry paste

Red Curry Paste

5-6 dried thai chilis, soaked in water for 15 minutes
1 1/2 tablespoons lemongrass, chopped
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons galangal, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, chopped
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 shallot, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions for Curry Paste

1. Combine all Red Curry Ingredients in a mortar and pestle, and pound it until it’s a paste like consistency.

2. Will make between two and three Tablespoons of curry paste. I used all of it for the East Meets West Red Curry.

Instructions for East Meets West Red Curry

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and move the oven rack to the middle.

2. Sprinkle eggplant with salt and place it on a cutting board lined with paper towels, this will draw some of the moisture out of the eggplant.

3. Prepare your short ribs. On a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil (and lightly greased) place your short ribs. Next, season the short ribs on all sides with the cumin seeds, cayenne, garam masala and salt and pepper and really rub the spices into the short ribs.

4. If you will be roasting your eggplant toss it lightly in oil, salt and pepper and go ahead and place it on the cookie sheet with the short ribs.

5. Cook the short ribs (and eggplant if you’re roasting it) for about 20 minutes, until the short ribs are browned.

6. While the short ribs are cooking you can grill your eggplant, brush it with oil and season with salt and pepper before placing it on the grill. Grill for 4-5 minutes on each side on medium-high heat.

7. Now is the time to prepare your red curry paste, if you haven’t already, this takes about 10 minutes.

8. In a dutch oven (over low-medium heat), add one tablespoon of oil, tomato paste, and the red curry paste. Saute for 1-2 minutes to bring out the flavors and then add the onions. Saute the onions for about 4 minutes until soft and then add the garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes.

9. Add in the coconut milk, beef broth, bay leaves, star anise and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer.

10. Remove the short ribs from the oven and place them in the dutch oven with the curry (set aside the eggplant for later) and turn the oven temperature down to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

11. Cover the dutch oven and place it in the oven for 3 hrs.; after about 1 1/2 hours you may need to rotate the short ribs to make sure they are evenly cooking in the curry. If you do it right the meet will fall right off of the bone.

12. Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven and put it on the stovetop on medium/medium-high heat. Skim as much fat as you can off of the top. Add the cauliflower and eggplant and cook for another 5-6 minutes or until cauliflower is fork tender.

13. Reduce the heat and stir in the basil, green onions, salt and pepper. A squeeze of lime is delicious too.

14. It’s finally done!!! And it’s so worth the wait.

Serve with brown rice.

Healthy Lentil Soup

Posted on February 18, 2014 by autumnadams4

Yum!!! Perfect soup for the cold weather we’ve been having.

I’ve gotta be honest. I haven’t been eating alot of meat lately and I’ve been feeling a bit tired. And the weather has been pretty shitty, so I made a GIANT batch of lentil soup hoping that it would give me the protein and vitamin boost I’ve been needing. This recipe would be easy enough to make vegetarian or vegan, but I’m not that picky. This soup is a hodge-podge of different lentil soup recipes I’ve seen around the internet…. if I saw an ingredient I liked I just added it to the Crock Pot. I love Crock Pot meals because sometimes I really don’t have the energy to cook up a big meal…. and this recipe makes so much food I was able to put half of it in the freezer.

Ingredients

10-12 servings.

16 oz. green lentils
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 celery stalks, 1/4 inch slices
3 carrots, 1/4 inch slices
2 leeks, sliced, white and light green parts only
1/2 bunch of swiss chard, stems removed and sliced
1 28 oz. can of organic tomatoes in juice, diced
4 cups of vegetable broth
4 cups of chicken broth
1 T. olive oil
2-3 bay leaves
1 1/2 t. dried thyme
1 t. chili pepper flakes
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
sour cream or plain yogurt, for garnish
fresh cilantro, for garnish

Instructions

1. In a large saute pan heat up the olive oil over medium heat, add the onions and saute until they “sweat” and are slightly translucent (took about 5 minutes), then add the minced garlic and cook for another minute or two being careful not to burn the garlic. Adjust the heat if necessary.

2. In a large Crock Pot combine all of the other ingredients except the salt and pepper. Add in the onions and garlic and stir it all up.

3. Set Crock Pot to low heat (cook time 8-10 hours) or high heat (4-5 hours).

Note: We do not have a large Crock Pot, we have a smallish one, so if you also have a smallish one, cut the recipe in half. Or do what I did and let it finish on the stove top in a dutch oven. I cooked it for about two hours covered on low-medium heat, at a simmer. And it turned out perfectly.

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Homemade Vegetable Broth

Posted on November 22, 2013 by autumnadams4

Since Steve and I returned from Asia we’ve been trying to reduce our waste, which has meant using cloth napkins for all meals, making food from scratch, natural cleaning products and skin care, naturally fermented food and drinks, vermiculture composting, and trying to reduce the amount of pre-packaged stuff we buy…. it’s been a big lifestyle change for us, and we have to make a CONSTANT effort.

Anyway, here is a link to an AMAZING homemade vegetable broth from Simply Recipes. It’s such a great way to use up vegetable scraps too.

When I get home from Portland I am going to make a huge batch of it and put it in the freezer! I’m loving soup season!

Toasted Hazelnut and Cauliflower Soup

Posted on November 15, 2013 by autumnadams4

Steve and I are always trying to find ways to incorporate more veggies into our diet and we’ve been on a cauliflower kick lately. We’ve made a cauliflower pizza crust…yum; and now we’ve made this AMAZING soup…I think it’s just as good as the fennel kabocha squash soup that we make, but this soup cooks up way faster. The hazelnuts really give this soup a rich, creamy texture. It’s perfect for this cold, winter weather we’ve been having in Bend.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, florets only
3-4 large shallots, sliced into 1/4 inch ribbons
2/3 cup toasted hazelnuts
4 roasted garlic cloves, minced
7-8 cups of chicken broth (veg broth would be tasty too)
1/2 T. olive oil
2 T. butter (totally not necessary, but I love butter)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Toast the hazelnuts in the toaster oven or regular oven. Our toaster oven gets nice and hot and it took less than 8 minutes to get them a nice golden color. Be careful not to overcook (ie. burn) the hazelnuts. Once the hazelnuts are toasted remove the skins by rolling them between your hands.

2. Heat oil and butter on medium in a large soup pot. Add shallots and saute until soft and then add garlic being careful not to burn the garlic.

3. Add the cauliflower florets to the pot and saute for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Now it’s time to add the chicken broth. Start with 5-6 cups. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes. Depending on how much liquid cooks off you may want to add another cup or two of broth, so your soup won’t turn out like baby food.

5. Once the cauliflower is tender and the broth has simmered down let it cool slightly, then add it to your blender or food processor with the toasted hazelnuts. Blend until the soup reaches your desired consistency. We were able to put the entire batch into our blender, but it might be necessary to blend in batches.

Spicy Vietnamese Beef & Noodle Soup

Posted on March 20, 2013 by autumnadams4

This is one of our favorite recipes from Beverly Leblanc’s recipe book called Soups: 365 Delicious and Nutritious Recipes. It’s fairly easy to make, pretty healthy, and hearty enough to call a meal. The only changes we make are substituting beef broth instead of beef stock, we add thai chilis to the simmer, and we add basil as one of the herbal garnishes. This time we forgot to throw the red peppers into the simmer, so we ended up adding them at the end…it was still good, but I’d definitely not forget them again.

Recipe

Serves 3-4 hungry people.

2 cartons Pacific Foods Organic Beef Broth
1 1/2 pounds top sirloin, cut into thin strips (against the grain)
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 1/2 inch section of gingerroot, peeled and minced (we usually do a little more than this)
4-5 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds
1- 1 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 package of rice noodles (pad thai size…vermicelli rice noodles work fine too)
3 thai chilis
lime cut into wedges
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
handful of mint, chopped
handful of thai basil (or regular), chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 large jalapeño, sliced
1 cup of beansprouts

Instructions:

1. Soak bean sprouts in cold water until ready to use.

2. In a large soup pot combine beef broth, thai chilis, star anise, cinnamon, cardamom seeds and fish sauce, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add bell peppers for the last few minutes until they have softened.

3. Pre-cook noodles according to package.

4. Remove spices from pot with chopsticks, slotted spoon, or other utensil.

5. In deep serving bowls combine beef (uncooked), noodles and bean sprouts. Pour boiling (or near boiling) broth over the top and garnish with cilantro, mint, basil, jalapeño, green onions and lime.

We love our asian condiments, so we usually also serve it with sambal, siracha, spicy black bean sauce…you get the picture….anything spicy we have in the fridge will usually end up in the soup, but it’s also delicious when served a bit more mild.

We’re soup addicts and usually make soup(from scratch) atleast once a week, so we’ve loved using Beverly LeBlanc’s Soups: 365 Delicious and Nutritious Recipescookbook. I don’t think it is being published anymore, but I’ve seen used copies for cheap on Amazon.

Food Coma

Posted on March 20, 2013 by autumnadams4

Between stuffing ourselves to oblivion we enjoyed plenty of mojitos at Griffin Bar. I have a sweet spot for Griffin Bar…Egg and his friends are always welcoming and they don’t mind practicing their English. They’ll help you plan a moto trip, whip up a mean mojito (for only 50 Baht), and if you’re lucky they’ll treat you to some live music. Griffin Bar’s street front is completely nondescript and without their sign advertising 50 baht mojitos you probably wouldn’t give it a second look(on Soi 7 off of Moonmaung). Before you know it you’ll be helping Egg hold up the bar and you’ll be many mojitos deep…and each one is stronger than the last.

Mojitos, reggae and impromptu jam sessions…

And about that cooking school induced food coma….or maybe it was a mojito induced coma…

Sawat, our cooking instructor at Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School, was AWESOME!!! He was hilarious, his english was nearly perfect and he was patient…far more patient than I would have been. They had a menu of about 18 different dishes so we could choose our favorites to learn how to make. Everything was delicious. For about $30-35 a person we each learned how to make 6 dishes including how to make our own curry paste and Sawat made one of our favorites….green papaya salad.

From the top left: curry paste at the market, my homemade curry paste, yellow curry ingredients and the finished product.

We were stuffed after the first three dishes. Steve made: green curry (the paste and the dish), tom yum soup, chicken basil stir fry, fried spring rolls, and bananas in coconut milk. And I made chicken coconut galangal soup, yellow curry (the paste and the dish), cashew chicken, fried big noodles, and mango sticky rice.

Here are some more pics from our day of cooking class.

From top left: Sawat (our cooking instructor), Minced chicken for Steve’s Chicken Basil, Cashew Chicken, and sauces and seasonings from the market

Steve’s Tom Yum Soup

Chicken Basil Stir Fry

For all of our dishes we used super fresh ingredients from the market and their garden.

Roselle at the cooking school’s garden.

If anyone is interested in any of the recipes just shoot me a message and I’ll forward a copy to you.

Creamy Potato and Kale Soup with Parmesan Garlic Toasts

Posted on November 28, 2012 by autumnadams4

Yum…I can’t wait to eat the leftover soup!!!

Soup Recipe

Serves 6 as entree.

1 bunch of kale, rinsed, stems removed and chopped
5 medium potatoes, rinsed and cubed
1/2 cup half and half or cream (optional)
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 smallish-medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 leek, rinsed, tough green parts removed, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound italian sausage (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized soup pot and add onions and leeks (set aside 1/4 cup). Cook until tender and slightly translucent.

2. Add garlic for a couple of minutes, then spices, and broth. Bring to a boil and then add potatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Add kale and simmer for another 10 minutes.

4. In a saute pan cook the italian sausage along with the remaining 1/4 cup of leeks until golden. Drain on paper towel and cover with foil to keep warm.

5. Add half and half or cream and then puree contents with an immersion blender until desired consistency

6. Ladle soup into soup bowls and garnish with the italian sausage and parmesan garlic toasts.

Toast Recipe

Baguette or artisan bread, sliced into 12 1/2 inch slices
olive oil
1 head of garlic
parmesan cheese, grated
dried basil
chili pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Cut off top of garlic head and drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes at 400°F.

2. Brush toasts with olive oil.

3. Remove garlic from foil and allow to cool. Once cooled enough to handle press the cloves out of the garlic and smash them into the bread toasts until evenly covered, about one clove per toast.

4. Add cheese, and sprinkle chili pepper flakes and dried basil.

5. Broil toasts a few minutes until edges are golden brown and cheese has melted.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Posted on November 9, 2012 by autumnadams4

Yep, I’m still on a pumpkin/squash kick….and I’ve been pretty lazy about posting, so I’ll go ahead and start with our Thai inspired curried pumpkin soup. This recipe is so versatile and can be made vegan and gluten free. We made ours with chicken broth, half and half, and butter because we had a little bit of each that we wanted to use before it turned bad, but I actually think the vegan version might be better. Also, this soup was super easy to make…the hardest part was peeling the fresh pumpkin, but with a little patience our OXO Peelerdid the trick.

A little comfort food for a cool fall day.

Recipe

Serves 6 as entree.

1 smallish-medium pie pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or butter
1 1/4 teaspoon curry powder (I think you could use a curry paste if you don’t have powder)
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup coconut milk or half and half
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (optional, omit for vegan)
sour cream (optional)
cilantro, chopped, for garnish
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot bring your chicken broth to a boil on medium-high heat and add your pumpkin. Depending on how big/small your pumpkin chunks are it could take 15-20 minutes.

2. While your pumpkin is cooking, in a saute pan combine butter or oil, onion, garlic, curry powder and chili pepper flakes over medium heat and cook until onion is tender and translucent, probably 5-7 minutes.

3. Once your pumpkin is tender go ahead and add the onion mixture, peanut butter, nutmeg and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and slowly add coconut milk or half and half to the mixture. Blend until creamy using your hand blender.

5. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and cilantro.

Note: Toasted peanuts or pumpkin seeds would also be a nice addition.

For other great pumpkin and squash recipes I really like this book.

Ale and Cheddar Soup

Posted on November 2, 2012 by autumnadams4

Earlier this week Steve and I took the dogs hiking up on Larch Mountain, just east of Portland in the Columbia River Gorge in the pouring rain just because we were getting antsy sitting around all day. Well it was pouring and it wasn’t particularly cold so we were soaked under our rain gear too. It was a pretty miserable hike and we turned around without completing the loop. On the plus side, we made an amazing Ale and Cheddar Soup from Kevin Lynch over at Closet Cooking, which is one of my new favorite blogs and I have got to share the recipe, so hop on over to his sight and take a look. YUM!!!

Delicious!!! Bacon, Cheese, and Beer….

Fat Girl Does The World

Soup Posts