Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

No, this recipe isn't from Everyday Food or even Real Simple magazine, rather it is from one of Giada De Laurentiis' cook books "Giada's Kitchen", which I'm borrowing from our friends Joel and Katie. The soup turned out to be much thinner than I thought, which was a good thing because it meant the soup was lighter and less substantial (which I loved). And grilling the bread was such a good idea. I've never done it before, but I'll definitely remember this technique. My husband would suggest putting the bread in the bowl and pouring the soup over it, in his words it was "a very special experience".

For the Soup:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 medium shallots, roughly chopped
2 sage leaves
2 15 oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed (or halved, either way is fine)
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup half and half (she uses 1/2 cup heavy cream)
dash of course salt
dash of fresh ground pepper

heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Add butter, oil and shallots and saute until shallots are tender, 3-4 minutes. Add sage leaves, beans and garlic and stir. Add chicken broth and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook 15-20 minutes or until garlic is tender. Puree half of the soup in a blender (make sure to get the sage leaves in there) and add it to the soup in the pot. Turn the heat to low and add the half and half and salt and pepper. Allow to sit for 8-10 minutes on low heat to allow the flavors to marry. Garnish with chopped, cooked bacon and/or sage leaves.

To grill the bread:
cut panna bello or ciabatta bread into slices and drizzle with olive oil.
Heat a skillet or grill pan over medium high heat. Grill the bread for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown grill marks appear.

Salad:

Arugula
Toasted flax seeds
Chopped toasted walnuts
Feta cheese
Red wine vinaigrette

Toss it all in a bowl and eat it up.

New Blog Home!!!

Hello to the 5 people who read my blog! I've decided to move myself elsewhere on the internets:

http://thingsimakeandeat.wordpress.com/

Thanks for following me!

- xo Elly

Sandwich Times

Smoked turkey from Publix
Muenster Cheese
Tomato
Arugula
Mayo
Mustard
S&P

Slap it all on some Panna Bello Bread from Whole Foods and you're good to go! We ate these while watching the movie District 9 last night...that might not be the best movie to watch while eating food, but these were still quite scrumptious.

Delicious "lighter" Chocolate Cakes

This recipe is so easy and so so good, and it definitely doesn't taste "light".

1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup a.p. flour
1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush either eight 8 oz ramekins or one 8"X8" pan with oil. Set aside for later. In a medium sized bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda and salt. In a separate larger bowl, whisk together sugar, applesauce and oil until smooth. Whisk in egg white and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir just until moistened.
Pour batter into the ramekins or pan and smooth the tops with a spatula. If using ramekins, place on a rimmed baking sheet before baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve with chocolate sauce, chopped nuts or fruit and ice cream.

Lettuce Wraps

1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tsp fish sauce
4 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small serrano chile, miced
1 lb ground turkey
2 heads iceberg lettuce

2 cups cooked rice
shredded carrot
chow mein crispies
sesame seeds
lime slices

add soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar together in a small bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add shallot, ginger, garlic and chile to pan and heat until fragrant, 30 seconds or so. Add turkey and 1/2 the sauce and cook until turkey is completely cooked, 5-6 minutes. Serve wrapped up in lettuce leaves topped with the carrot, crispies, seeds and limes

The night after I made this I did a variation using red bell peppers, onion and sugar snap peas. For the meat I used chicken thighs which I cooked and shredded and added at the same time I added the turkey in the recipe above. Both were really good. The ginger, shallot, garlic, chile added so much flavor it was amazing. I'll definitely do this again.

original recipe from everyday food jan/feb 2010

The New Oatmeal

The most recent breakfast fetish in our home:
1/2 cup rolled oats made with 3/4 cup water, 1/4 cup almond milk, sea salt and vanilla
topped with:
maple nut granola (recipe below)
1/2 banana
Greek yogurt
maple syrup
flax seeds

Maple Nut Granola:
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 tsp sea salt
5 tsp veggie oil
5 tablespoons maple syrups
1 tsp vanilla extract

Bake in a 325 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

*Next time I would add 2 tbsp of olive oil and 3 tbsp of honey. It was a little dry...apple juice might help also. This is great on top of yogurt though!

original recipe from everyday food jan/feb 2010

Linguini in Tomato Sauce

Sometimes at the end of a long day all you want is some warm and familiar comfort food.

Boil 1/2 package of linguine according to directions on box

In a small pan saute 2 garlic cloves in 1 Tbsp olive oil for 1-2 minutes. Add 3 cups spinach a cup at a time waiting for it to shrink down as you go.

In a medium sized saucepan heat 1/2 container of spaghetti sauce over medium heat.

Drain pasta, toss with olive oil and portion it out into 4 bowls. To each bowl add the garlic/spinach, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Lightly toss the pasta and add sauce to the top. Sprinkle with more Parmesan and a small amount of feta cheese. I also added some Tapatio to give it a little kick. Totally hit the spot!