My Creole Potato-Kale Soup

I love our organic produce, meat and dairy delivery. Always thinking of new ways to incorporate all these good things I'm getting on a weekly basis into our diet. Part of the fun, is thinking of new ways to use all these ingredients together.

Dan's Creole Potato-Kale Soup 

1 onion diced
1/2 pound chorizo, bulk not link
1 pound small red potatoes, halved or quartered to same size
1 large bunch kale, rough chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 quart stock (vegetable or chicken)
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons flour
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Smoked paprika to taste

In a stock pot cook the sausage until fat begins to render. Add onions and garlic and cook down until they start to turn translucent. Add the chopped kale and stock and cook for 20 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for 15 more minutes until potatoes are tender. Add more stock if necessary. The chorizo will leach off enough spice for this soup. Add salt, pepper and paprika as necessary.

Mash the flour into the softened butter, making a paste. Stir the paste into the soup mixture to thicken it. Add the cream.

Makes 8 servings.

Cranberry-Orange Scones

Last weekend we had a bunch of friends over for Oscar's baby blessing at church. I put on a brunch spread for our friends, and wanted something sweet. Instead of serving a traditional dessert, I came up with these slightly sweetened scones for a compromise. They turned out good.


Dan's Cranberry-Orange Scones

2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/4 Cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Teaspoon sea salt
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
2/3 to 1 Cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
Zest of large orange
1/2 Cup dried cranberries


Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl sift together all dry ingredients. Stir in the organge zest. Add diced butter and cut in with pastry blender or your fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the dried cranberries ensuring they are liberally covered in flour. Mix fresh juice with 2/3 cup buttermilk. Gradually add enough butter milk mixing until just incorporated. Add more buttermilk as necessary to ensure slightly sticky, but not wet dough. Shape dough into a large disc, about 3/4 inch thick. Slice into wedges. Place scones on silpat lined baking sheet 1 inch apart. Bake scones 20-24 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to slightly cool before drizzling orange glaze.

Orange Glaze

2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
Powdered Sugar

Combine juice and cream in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar to desired consistency. Place glaze in a icing bag, snip the tip, and drizzle over slightly cooled scones.

Makes approximately 12-15 scones.

Oscar's Baby Blessing

Today we blessed Oscar in our church. I was so nervous that Oscar was going to cry, but he did great. Dan also did a great job, but he did cry :) The blessing was very nice, and even though we couldn't have family with us we were surrounded by our friends which was wonderful. Dan blessed Oscar with a desire to have a strong faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and to be able to seek after those things that are good and bring happiness as well as feeling accomplished as he finds his way in the world. He also let Oscar know that we love him very much and that he may have that knowledge his entire life. We are so blessed to have this little miracle in our lives!

I bought Oscar a cute little outfit to wear. He even got to wear Dan's old baby shoes for the blessing.






Dan did a great job making a beautiful spread of quiche and scones for our friends to enjoy in a post-church brunch. It was a wonderful day!

Oscar's First Easter

Oscar's first Easter was pretty laid back. Dan and I bought him a basket for the Easter bunny to put a few toys and some candy in. We decorated the house and dyed eggs all prior to Sunday. On Sunday we went to church and were able to show Oscar off to the congregation, there were many there that had been anxiously awaiting to meet him. The talks were nice, but the best part was listening to the primary kids sing the song Gethsemene. I kept thinking how fun it will be to one day see Oscar up there smiling and singing. That afternoon we went to our good friends house for a little easter egg hunt, a wonderful meal, short walk in the beautiful sun and carrot cake for dessert. It was a very nice day. I think Oscar had fun :)

Moist Carrot Cake

I was in the mood to make a from scratch carrot cake for Easter dinner. So I perused my cook books and came up with a version of cake based on a Barefoot Contessa carrot cake recipe and a Gourmet Magazine carrot cake recipe. I don't like raisins or dried fruit in carrot cake, so naturally it was a no brainer to leave that out. This is loaded with fresh grated carrots, as well as a bite of lemon juice and buttermilk to give it a nice tang. I omitted the heavy cream and the sour cream to lighten this up. Lots of chopped nuts are in the batter, and I plan on making a coconut cream cheese frosting when I put this together on one of my cake plates.



Lots of fresh grated carrots.



Using my Kitchen Aid to mix it all up.



Getting ready to bake it off.

Dan's Carrot Cake

2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 extra-large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
3 cups grated carrots
Zest & juice of one lemon
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Beat the sugar, oil, lemon juice & zest, buttermilk and vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the grated carrots and nuts to the remaining flour, mix well, and add to the batter. Mix until just combined.

Divide batter among prepared cake pans. I typically use three 6" cake pans. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350°F and cook for a further 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Frost with your favorite cream cheese or buttercream frosting.

Oscar & His Forming Personality

Still completely in awe that Oscar is ours. That he is in our lives, and that we get to be his parents. I love his mannerisms that are forming. His personality. His squeaks he makes, and his facial expressions. Words can't even begin to describe how much I love this little guy of ours.

Mild Spiced Tandoori Chicken

I really like Indian food, and preparing it at home is pretty easy for the most part. With a few ingredient staples on hand in our pantry, I can throw some tandoori chicken together in no time flat.



Dan's Mild Spiced Tandoori Chicken

2 cups plain reduced fat yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Zest of one large lemon
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, peeled & rough chopped
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon madras or spicy curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 skinless leg-thigh chicken pieces
Onion, optional
Cilantro, optional

Blend yogurt and next 13 ingredients in processor until smooth. Transfer to large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight for 2 to 3 days.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Remove chicken pieces from marinade, reserving marinade. Place marinade-coated chicken on preheated barbecue grill. Grill chicken until just cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Or, pan sear in large skillet with a bit of olive oil over medium high heat for 6 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to platter. Top with chopped onion (optional) and cilantro (optional) and serve over rice.

Reduce leftover marinade in a sauce pan for 15 minutes over medium high heat. Serve reduced marinade as a side of sauce if desired.

7 weeks old!

I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Oscar is already 7 weeks old and a few days...and I started to realize I don't really have many photos of him yet with our good camera. So I decided to do a little photo shoot of him, especially now that he is smiling more!

German Style Soft Pretzel Rolls

My Sunday's typically are a day to bake, cook and do whatever other preparations I need for the upcoming week work week, so we both are not so rushed at night Monday through Friday in prepping good home cooked meals.



Holly was craving German style pretzels, so I decided to figure out a way to make these soft style pretzel rolls for her. They are based loosely off a food network recipe, but I adjusted the types of flours, add malted milk, and a few other things to the dough base. These will be perfect with some seared organic turkey brats we've got in the fridge, and a smothering of caramelized onions and grainy dijon mustard. Simple, yet so tasty. Reminds me of our trip we took with friends to Germany in 2010.



After several risings, the rolls are being boiled in a baking soda water solution to get a tough chewy exterior.



The dough reacting to the baking soda.



Post water processing, and drying on the cooking sheet with lots of maldon sea salt sprinkled atop.



One tray out of the oven.



Both trays out of the oven.



Dan's German Style Pretzel Rolls

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 small cloves garlic, grated
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons malted milk powder
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup barley flour
1/2 cup baking soda
10 cups water
coarse ground sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

In a small saucepan, heat the milk, 1/2 cup water, sugar, honey & malted milk to 105 to 110 degrees F. Add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the water mixture and wait for at least 10 to 15 minutes until the yeast blooms.

In a separate saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and garlic and cook until the butter is melted and the garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.

Combine the all-purpose flour and barley flour in a mixing bowl. Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the blooming yeast, and then add in the melted butter and garlic mixture. Add the salt. Mix on medium speed until the dough has come together and is smooth and elastic in texture and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, 5 to 8 minutes.

Line 2 baking sheets with silicone mats. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board and form into a ball. Cut into 4 equal pieces, and then cut those in half to form 8 equal pieces. Using your hands, roll each piece into a ball and place onto a prepared baking sheet. Cover with a dish cloth and let them rest in a warm place for 12 to 15 minutes.

Once rested, lightly dust your work surface again and roll the balls into logs. Place onto the other prepared baking sheet, cover, place back in the warm spot and let rest for an additional 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place one oven rack high and one low. Line 2 more baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

In a large pot, bring 10 cups water to a boil, and then add the baking soda. In batches, place the dough in the water and cook for 30 seconds on each side. Using a slotted spatula, remove the logs and place onto the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle the logs with pretzel salt as they come out of the water, to ensure the salt sticks. Then cut 3 diagonal slits on top of the bread, not too deep.

Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, rotating between the top and bottom racks of the oven halfway through the cooking.