Week one of the CSA. We had:
Off-the-chards Sunday (gratin and soup)
Guacamole with cilantro
Wedge salads (lettuce, tomatoes, radishes)
Breakfast for dinner: sausage, eggs and toast.
The sausage dinner was one of the most satisfying we've had at home. Something about it was so simple and perfect. Tony Koch, our farmer/rancher, told us the sausage would cook up and 'there wouldn't be any grease in the pan'. And, indeed, 1 pound of peppery, flavorful sausage (raised on their ranch and processed in Utopia, Texas) yielded about 1/2 teaspoon of fat during cooking. I was astonished. We still have about half of it left, which reminds me to make the dough tonight for sausage pizza lunch tomorrow...
This weekend: Curried Cauliflower Soup and Balsamic-Braised Chicken with Swiss Chard, both from America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution. Re: the soup, LH hates both the c's in this recipe. I thought it was easy-peasy and delicious; another ATK win. The braised chicken was very good too, a relief as most previous chicken attempts in the crock pot have turned out stringy and grey. (Another first: using anchovies! The chicken dish calls for one minced fillet. Apparently anchovies are a great source of umami, the savory fifth taste after sweet, sour, bitter and salty.)
Curried Cauliflower Soup
1 onion, minced
1 T vegetable oil
2 t curry powder
1 t minced/grated fresh ginger
5 cups low sodium chicken broth, plus extra as needed
1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into 1 inch florets
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 T minced fresh cilantro
salt/pepper
1. Microwave onion, oil, curry powder and ginger in bowl, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. Stir broth and cauliflower into slow cooker; cover and cook until cauliflower is tender, 4 to 6 hours on low.
3. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth, then transfer to large saucepan. Stir in cream and add additional chicken broth as needed to adjust soup consistency. Reheat soup over medium-low heat until hot. Stir in cilantro, season with salt and pepper.
Although very quick and easy, I employed a couple of shortcuts:
A cube of ginger (one cube = 1 teaspoon) from the freezer.
The soup is thick and creamy without heaviness and the curry adds such warmth... perfect for a winter day, or a rainy weekend like this one.
Enjoy!
Off-the-chards Sunday (gratin and soup)
Guacamole with cilantro
Wedge salads (lettuce, tomatoes, radishes)
Breakfast for dinner: sausage, eggs and toast.
The sausage dinner was one of the most satisfying we've had at home. Something about it was so simple and perfect. Tony Koch, our farmer/rancher, told us the sausage would cook up and 'there wouldn't be any grease in the pan'. And, indeed, 1 pound of peppery, flavorful sausage (raised on their ranch and processed in Utopia, Texas) yielded about 1/2 teaspoon of fat during cooking. I was astonished. We still have about half of it left, which reminds me to make the dough tonight for sausage pizza lunch tomorrow...
This weekend: Curried Cauliflower Soup and Balsamic-Braised Chicken with Swiss Chard, both from America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution. Re: the soup, LH hates both the c's in this recipe. I thought it was easy-peasy and delicious; another ATK win. The braised chicken was very good too, a relief as most previous chicken attempts in the crock pot have turned out stringy and grey. (Another first: using anchovies! The chicken dish calls for one minced fillet. Apparently anchovies are a great source of umami, the savory fifth taste after sweet, sour, bitter and salty.)
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| Buy this book, y'all. |
Curried Cauliflower Soup
1 onion, minced
1 T vegetable oil
2 t curry powder
1 t minced/grated fresh ginger
5 cups low sodium chicken broth, plus extra as needed
1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into 1 inch florets
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 T minced fresh cilantro
salt/pepper
1. Microwave onion, oil, curry powder and ginger in bowl, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. Stir broth and cauliflower into slow cooker; cover and cook until cauliflower is tender, 4 to 6 hours on low.
3. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth, then transfer to large saucepan. Stir in cream and add additional chicken broth as needed to adjust soup consistency. Reheat soup over medium-low heat until hot. Stir in cilantro, season with salt and pepper.
Although very quick and easy, I employed a couple of shortcuts:
A cube of ginger (one cube = 1 teaspoon) from the freezer.
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| I love these- I don't cook with ginger frequently enough to buy it fresh and this way it is always on hand. |
An immersion blender: to blend in the crock pot, then add cream. It was 10 pm, Luke was between shows and I did not feel up to transferring the soup to a blender in batches (I keep meaning to get a funnel), then adding to a saucepan. The result was still creamy (despite only having 1/4 cup of cream added to the entire dish) though probably a tad chunkier that it would have been if processed in the traditional blender.
The soup is thick and creamy without heaviness and the curry adds such warmth... perfect for a winter day, or a rainy weekend like this one.
Enjoy!
love the idea of that portioned out ginger product!
ReplyDeleteYou can do the same yourself, with a little work. Peel and grate a ginger root and pop it into ice cube trays. When frozen, put in a container or a bag and keep in the freezer.
ReplyDelete