Curried Cauliflower Soup

Sometimes your plans don’t always work out.  I am the kind of person who, when there’s a plan, I tend to psych myself up about it.  Then, if said plan does not end up working out, I get really disappointed.  And mad.  That’s why I hate it when people say they’re going to do something, or go somewhere, and then don’t.  I just hate getting my hopes up!

In quite a round-about-way this soup is the result of plans that didn’t end up, and hopes that were dashed.  You see, a certain new food truck in Nashville, one whose food I love, (and don’t want to speak badly of so I won’t name them) tweeted they would be in a certain area of town the next day selling their food at lunchtime.  I got REALLY excited!  They were coming to OUR part of town; they’d never been within walking distance from our work!  I know my coworkers and I get tired of the same selection of lunching establishments, whether we eat out often or not.  Most of us don’t have the ability to drive to another part of town just to grab lunch, we have to go places within walking distance.  So, I emailed a long list of coworkers first thing the following morning, to let them know about the deliciousness coming our way.  I raved about this food truck.  I then tried to find out the exact location the food truck would be parked.  After some digging (much more difficult than it should have been), I discovered, the actual location was in fact nowhere NEAR our area of town.  I.WAS.MAD.  Mad that I couldn’t eat the yumminess, and mad I looked like a fool for telling everyone it was coming here!

You see, I almost always bring my lunch to work.  It’s healthier, and cheaper than eating out.  Because of the “special occasion” of the food truck coming, I didn’t pack a lunch that day.  That just ADDED to my annoyance!  So, come lunch time I went on foot in search of where I would eat.  I ended up stopping in an adorable little cafe, Provence, I sometimes forget is there.  They have a couple locations throughout town, I tend to frequent a different location.  They rotate soup selections, and as soon as I saw Curried Cauliflower Soup, I instantly knew what I was eating for lunch!  Paired alongside a half sized brie, ham, & green apple panini, I had QUITE an incredible lunch!  It was so delicious, my anger at the food truck melted away.  I wrapped up my lunch quickly, so I would have some extra free time to search for a copycat recipe!

What I’ve learned from this experiences is… when God shuts the door he opens the window.  Or… there’s a silver-lining?  I’m not quite sure!  What I do know is I need to take silly little let-downs like failed lunch plans a little easier, and just let them roll off of me.  Besides, if I HADN’T planned on eating the food truck that day, I would have brought my lunch, like normal, and never had the opportunity to discover this delicious soup.

I found a version of this soup on Martha Stewart’s website, and after making it following the instructions, it wasn’t a close enough version to what I had at Provence.  So I upped the cauliflower, and downgraded the onion, and tweaked it about more.  What I ended up with was a delicious soup I’ve ate over & over.  When paired with naan (or crackers) & hummus, it makes quite a filling & healthy lunch!  The pureeing of half of the cauliflower really thickens the soup up.  This soup is pretty light on the curry.  If you’re new to exotic spices, this seems like the perfect introduction to curry.  If you’re a curry-flavor lover, then you could up the ante even more.

Curried Cauliflower Soup

adapted from Martha Stewart Every Day Food

Ingredients:

2 heads cauliflower, cut into florets (about 8 cups)
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt
1 tablespoon chopped butter
1 onion, sliced 1 inch thick (note, I prefer to remove as much onion before purreeing, so I like to slice them really thick)
2 teaspoons (or more) curry powder
4 cups water
2 cups reduced-sodium canned chicken or vegetable broth
salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a baking sheet, toss cauliflower with vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Spread out, and roast until the florets turn brown, about 25 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder, cauliflower, water, and broth; cover, and bring to a boil. Uncover, lower heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer 4 cups cauliflower to a bowl, and set aside. Put remaining florets into a blender or food processor, add 1 teaspoon salt, and process until smooth. At this point I also chose to remove the onions. (You can keep them in if you like, it's just a texture thing to me.) Stir puree into broth in pan, and reheat if necessary. Ladle soup into bowls, and top with reserved florets and parsley.

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Vote Vote Vote!

**This picture doesn’t really have a purpose in this post, except I like it.  I took it with my instagr.am app (free!) on my iPhone.  Follow me, and I’d love to follow you!  I’m “erinsfoodfiles”, so look me up!**

Sorry, no recipe right now, but just wanted to mention two local Nashvillians up for stuff, and if you’d like to take a second please vote!  I don’t do this often (in fact, have I ever?!  I’m not sure…), so I hope you don’t mind!

First up the local chef Tandy Wilson, who has a heart of gold, is up for Food & Wine’s Best New Chef Southeast.  Tandy is the chef at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, City House.  City House has amazing food, and amazing cocktails!  You can tell every item on the menu is carefully crafted.  Heck, even their barware is gold plated!  The Fiance is a huge fan of their pork belly pizza (and so is Beth, check out her post!), and we both love their Sunday Supper.  Know who else is a huge fan of City House?  Gwyneth Paltrow (scroll down).  So please take a second and go vote!!

Also, on a non-foodie front, Zarna of Zarna’s Runway, is a local Nashville fashion blogger.  It was from a giveaway on her site I won a gift certificate to an online store and bought some rad boots I get compliments on all the time!  (PS. Her brother has a food blog, Vivek’s Epicurian Adventures)  Zarna is also a fashion blogger for Vogue India.  Her fashion is SO inspiring, as she mixes high-end with low-end, vintage & modern, as well as clothes from her Indian heritage.  The girl has lots of killer shoes too!  Well, she’s in the running for refinery29′s Next Big Style Blogger.  If you’ve got a moment, check out her blog, and vote for her!

Have a great weekend!

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Maple-Glazed Salmon with Warm Wheat Berry Salad

I apologize that it’s been so long since I’ve updated!  We’ve been a bit busy.  I mean, I didn’t even have time to live tweet during The Bachelor last week.  Travesty, I know, right?

This is a super delicious dinner that I’m glad I finally got around to making.  I’ve had the wheat berries in my pantry since before we moved (on Halloween).  This wheat berry salad was so delicious, I’ll probably make it again on it’s own!  As you know I love whole grain salads, and wheat berries are something I had previously only had from the salad bar at Whole Foods.  They are obviously much larger in size than quinoa, couscous, barley, and have a stronger texture, so they can be a bit chewy.  It does take some time to cook the wheat berries, but you can do that step in advance and prepare the rest of the salad as the salmon cooks.  I loved the chewiness of the wheat berries & cranberries when combined with the crunch of the celery, carrots, and walnuts.  (Pssst… No wheatberries to be found in your area?  Just use brown rice!  The cooking time is about the same, and I think you could get the same chewy-type texture.)

The maple glaze is pretty basic & straightforward, and tastes delicious on the salmon.  Also, the maple glaze tastes equally delicious on chicken!  I was cooking for just the two of us, therefore only planned on making two pieces of salmon.  I forgot to halve the recipe, so I had plenty of glaze leftover.  I also made the full recipe of the wheat berry salad, so I just used the leftover glaze on chicken, and enjoyed this flavor combo again!  YUM!

Maple-Glazed Salmon with Warm Wheat Berry Salad

adapted from Health, as seen on MyRecipes
serves 4

Ingredients:

4 cups water
1 1/2 cups wheat berries (brown rice is an acceptable substitute)
1/2 cup finely diced carrots
1/2 cup finely diced celery
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup toasted pecans
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 pounds salmon
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup Dijon mustard

Directions:

Bring 4 cups water to boil; add wheat berries. Reduce heat and cook, uncovered, for 1 hour or until tender and most of liquid is absorbed. Drain; set aside.

Cook carrots and celery in 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over moderate heat for 3 minutes or until tender. Add wheat berries and cranberries, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until hot. Transfer to serving bowl, and stir in next 4 ingredients (through pepper). Cover and keep warm.

Preheat oven to 450°. Brush a baking sheet with 1 teaspoon olive oil; arrange salmon, skin side down. Combine maple syrup and mustard; spread on top of salmon. Roast in middle of oven for 7 minutes. Turn broiler on; broil salmon for 3–4 minutes or until golden on top.

Serve salmon atop wheat berry salad.

Nutritional Info: Calories: 419; Fat: 15g (sat 2g,mono 5g,poly 5g); Cholesterol: 107mg; Protein: 42g; Carbohydrate: 27g; Fiber: 3g; Iron: 3mg; Sodium: 312mg; Calcium: 60mg

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Edamole & Fried Wonton Strips

Eda-what-ay?  Edamame + Guacamole.

I mean come on, who can resist the temptation of a big bowl of guacamole?  It’s like kryptonite.  It’s bright green, and renders us useless in it’s presence.  Just the other night while dining at a preview night of the newest Nashville restaurant, Tavern, as guests of the beautiful Beth, we ordered some guacamole (with pistachios?!).  Perhaps it was the two cocktails I had prior to it that wet my appetite, but I just couldn’t stop eating it until it was all gone!  (PS. Check out Beth’s post about Tavern over on Eat.Drink.Smile)

This edamole is a bit of a healthier twist, although… if you choose to serve it with fried wonton strips, I’m not sure it’s much healthier!  I’ve been wanting to recreate this recipe ever since the first time I had a similar version at Holland House, and after the second time I had it at Holland House… and the third time… Ok, you get the point!  The Fiance isn’t even a fan of edamame, but this he really liked.  I decided to go ahead and throw in some avocado simply because I had some on hand.  I’m glad I did because I think it helped just a bit adding creaminess & smoothness to the dip.  I went easy on the seasoning, just adding salt & pepper, and I think it turned out perfect.

I made up a batch of this one night before dinner, and we ate it with tortilla chips.  The following day, as I prepared to photograph it, I went ahead and cut up wonton wrappers into strips and fried them (I intended to do this the night before as well, but didn’t have time), and ta-da!  Just like Holland House’s version, these were absolute PERFECTION!  They were the perfect dipper for the edamole.

I think these would be a very welcome addition to any Super Bowl spread.  Especially if you wanted to add some unique flair to the table.

Edamole & Fried Wonton Strips

ErinsFoodFiles Original
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Edamole:
2 cups shelled edamame beans
1/2 of a ripe avocado
2 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon lemon juice*
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil*
1 Tablespoon water*
salt & pepper to taste

*You may find yourself needing more liquid so add more of any of these ingredients.

Fried Wonton Strips:
approx 10 square wonton sheets
canola or vegetable oil for frying
salt

Directions:

Edamole:
In a food processor combine edamame, avocado, garlic, oil, lemon juice, and water. Pulse or puree until well blended, scraping down sides as needed. Season with salt & pepper, then pulse a few more times.

Fried Wonton Strips:
Heat oil over medium to medium-high heat in a shallow frying pan. Use enough oil, so that it is about 3/4" thick. I used the smallest frying pan I have, because I knew they would fry up fast, so I would do just a few at a time. Plus, that way, you will need less oil. Prepare a plate with a layer of paper towels on top.

Using a pizza cutter, cut sheets into 4-5 strips depending on the width you want. I stacked 2 sheets at a time to cut.

Quickly transfer 4-5 strips to frying oil. Watch very closely and flip over when they just begin to turn very light golden. Fry just a few seconds more until they are crispy, and transfer to paper towel on plate. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining wonton strips. Layer more paper towels on top if needed as you go along.

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Nutella Cookies

I was trying to come up with some kind of cute/funny/meaningful personal anecdote to share with you all to preface this recipe.  But quite frankly, who the hell cares when you’ve got NUTELLA COOKIES TO TALK ABOUT?!

Everytime I buy a jar of Nutella I tell myself “Erin, you are not allowed to just eat this straight out of the jar.  You need to find a recipe to make with it.”  Yet, 3 out of 4 times, I end up with a spoon in hand digging in.  I’ve search near & far of the good ‘ol interwebs trying to find THIS exact type of Nutella cookie.  I’ve seen Pinwheels, Sandwich Cookies, No-Bake Cookies, Chocolate Chip, Thumbprints, and more.  I’ve even seen some that seemed like they were what I wanted, but after scanning the ingredients or instructions, decided “No, that’s not what I want at all.”  Oy.  To be both picky & indecisive is a curse.

Anywhoo… As luck would have it, one day the recipe just came to me.  Not like, in my mind or anything… but in my Google Reader!  hehehe…  Creator of all things yummy, decadent, & delicious, Culinary Concoctions by Peabody posted this recipe, and I am ever so thankful.  I did a few adaptions in method, and used Frangelico instead of vanilla, and now this one’s a keeper!

Nutella Cookies

adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Yields: A lot of delicious cookies. I can't give you an exact amount because quite a bit of raw dough was consumed and never made it into the oven, throwing off quantity estimates. ;)

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup Nutella or other hazelnut chocolate spread
1 egg
½ tsp. Frangelico (if you have it, if not vanilla will work just fine)
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream butter with an electric mixer about 1 minute until smooth. Add in both sugars. Beat on high speed about 3 minutes until light & fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

With the mixer on low, add the egg and Frangelico (or vanilla). Then add the Nutella and mix well.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix just until the dough is smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

Using a small ice cream scoop (or a teaspoon) form the dough into balls and place on greased cookie sheet. To prevent my cookies from spreading too much, I stuck the cookie sheets in the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking.

Bake 6-7 minutes (or 7-8 if baking from freezer). Let cookies cool about 5 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

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