Cumin, Lentil and Carrot Soup

I got a really good deal on carrots, and had a ton to use up. I wanted to make a carrot soup, and found this Spiced Lentil and Carrot soup recipe to try. I made a few changes, and it was delicious. All three boys ate it right up!

To start with, I wanted to have leftovers, so I made the recipe bigger (not quite double). Here's my recipe:

Cumin, Lentil and Carrot Soup 

4 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of chilli flakes
~1 Tbs oil
1 med to large onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
~ 1 Kg carrots, washed and chopped or grated.
270 g red split lentils
~2 liters water or vegetable stock
squeeze of lemon juice
salt to taste

1.  Heat a large saucepan/small stockpot and dry fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for about 1 minute, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas. Remove the seeds and set aside. Heat the oil in the pot, and then saute the onion and then garlic, until soft and golden brown (about 5 minutes). Add the carrots and continue to sweat the vegetables until the carrots are beginning to get soft. Add the lentils, and cook for a minute stirring.

2. Add the water or stock and half of the toasted cumin seeds/chilli flakes, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 15-30 minutes, or until carrots and lentils are soft (it depends on how small the carrots are chopped/grated).

2. Remove from heat, and using an immersion blender, puree the soup. (You could blend it in batches in a regular blender as well.)  Season with salt and fresh lemon juice to taste.  Serve soup hot, garnished with the reserved cumin seeds.

Pirates and Pizza

My eldest wanted a pirate theme for his 5th birthday party. It being the summer holidays with three small children at home, things have been really hectic. So, I wanted to keep things simple. I made an ice cream pie in a 9x13 pan. Then I placed a skull and cross-bones stencil my husband to kindly made for me, on top of the ice cream, that had been sitting out for a few minutes to soften a bit.  Then, carefully, I sprinkled Oreo cookie crumbs on top. It's as simple as that, and you have a Jolly Roger flag cake.

My son also wanted pizza for his birthday. I thought it would be fun for the children to make their own pizzas, so I rolled out individual pizza bases the night before.placed the pizza bases on floured greaseproof paper (wax paper would work well too), layered the bases on a baking tray, and froze them. After making the first six pizzas today, I discovered that this works well, only if you remove the pizza bases from the paper while still frozen, and place them on a prepared pan (greased or sprinkled with cornmeal). Then you can put the sauce and toppings on. The first ones, I left on the paper to dress, and when they were finished, they had thawed and stuck to the paper, then stuck even worse in the oven. (oops, I should have known better).

Homemade Soy Yogurt

One of my favourite desserts is plain/natural yogurt with frozen or warmed berries and currants with granola. I love the tart and sweet together, and it's healthy enough that I don't feel bad eating it every night. I was getting my daily dose of probiotics from the yogurt and antioxidants from the berries, and I would feel good after eating it.

Then my 6 month old developed eczema about 3 months ago, around the same time he started sucking on his hands and drooling a lot. I thought that maybe he was teething, but he still has no teeth. After speaking with a few people, and looking things up online, we suspected a possible milk allergy/intolerance might be contributing to his terribly dry, red skin. Since I breastfeed, I cut dairy out of my diet for a week. His skin improved quite a bit, but cutting out dairy also meant cutting out my probiotics, and I was definitely feeling the effects. So, I ate some yogurt a week later, and the next day, my boy's eczema flared up. So, I quit dairy products again, and started searching for a way to get my probiotics without dairy.

I found a few recipes online for soy yogurt, which were all about the same. I ended up using this recipe. Of course, I've made a couple changes. I used a non-electric yogurt maker that I was given a few months ago. I also prefer to heat the soy milk on low heat in a saucepan instead of in the microwave.

I've attempted to make yogurt before, but it never quite turned out.  This time I bought a natural soy yogurt from the grocery store to use as the starter. I also bought a candy thermometer, which means that I can add the yogurt at the optimal temp to ensure it sets. The yogurt maker I have is essentially a large thermos with an insert to set the container on. I pour boiling water into the thermos so the water comes ups around the container of yogurt a few inches. Then I cover it with the lid, and wait for 10-12 hours.   I was so excited when I opened up the yogurt contained to find this for the first time:

I successfully made soy yogurt. As you can see, it sets pretty solid, and I prefer a more creamy texture, so, as shown at the top, I use a stick blender to make it smooth and creamy. Then I enjoy it with berries and granola, and my tummy is happy.

Coconut Oatmeal "Macaroons"

I had some leftover sweetened condensed milk sitting in the fridge that needed to get used up. Since I didn't have a recipe, I made up my own. I just mixed some coconut and porridge (quick) oats together with the sweetened condensed milk, and baked in the oven.

This is just about the easiest cookie recipe ever, super quick, and they were really tasty. You could also argue that they are somewhat healthy, with some calcium and the oats :) They turned out crispy on the outside and soft, dense and chewy on the inside. I didn't actually measure anything, but here's a guesstimate:

Coconut Oatmeal "Macaroons"

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup dessicated coconut (unsweetened)

1/2 to 3/4 cup porridge (quick) oats

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a cookie sheet/baking tray with non-stick baking paper (or grease the pan). Mix all ingredients together until combined. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough onto the pan. Bake in oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges start turning brown. Cool on wire rack, and enjoy.

Makes 12 cookies.

Winger's Dinner

My hubby's birthday was last week, and I surprised him with a Winger's Bar & Grill inspired menu. He'd been asking for wings for a while, and since that's one of his favourite places to eat in Utah, I wanted to make it as authentic as possible. I searched the web for some of the recipes, and just made up the rest. The recipes below are the ones I made, and are really just estimates. Here is the menu:

Chicken wings, this was a great recipe. The wings turned out really crispy just like they had been fried.

Winger's Original Amazing Sauce. I decided on this recipe as opposed to the Franks hot sauce recipes, since I didn't want it to be too hot for the boys.

Blue Cheese dipping sauce: 1/4 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup yogurt, Tbs chives, 1/4 cup crumble stilton cheese, salt and pepper to taste.

Potato Skins: Take small bakes potatoes, cut in half lengthways and scoop out the flesh, leaving just a little left in the skin. Top with crumbled bacon and grated cheese (you could spread pizza sauce on first if desired). Bake at a high temperature (about 400 F) until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream and chives if desired.

Raspberry Lemonade. This was a bit hit.

Asphalt Pie: (It's impossible to get a good quality mint ice-cream in the UK, so I decided to make my own. I didn't measure the ingredients out. Maybe someday, I'll try it again, and measure the ingredients to make a real recipe. It was REALLY good).

Oreo crust: oreo crumbs, and enough melted butter to get oreo crumbs to just start to stick together. Press into a pie dish or round cake tin. Bake in oven, 350F for about 15 minutes.

Mint chocolate chip ice-cream: Mix 1/2 bar of grated mint flavoured chocolate (Lindt intense mint), with 1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk, and about 1/4 cup milk.

Whip one container of heavy cream with about 1/4 cup milk until soft peaks form. Mix a small amount of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then gently fold the rest of the cream in until well combined. Pour over the cooled Oreo crust, cover and freeze until solid (a few hours at least).