I thought I would try my hand at a raw soup.  I tried a raw soup recipe a few years ago by a well-known raw foodist from his recipe book and it really didn’t appeal to me.  My taste buds have matured a bit since then and I’ve also discovered what tastes I enjoy and don’t enjoy raw (spinach=yes, dinosaur kale=no) so I thought I’d give raw soups another chance.  What I love about the idea of raw soups is that they’re healthy, easy to make, packed full of nutrients and gluten-free.  What I like about this particular soup, is that it has some texture to it and I’ve added one of my favorite vegetables to eat raw: red peppers. Yum!

Cream of Spinach Soup

1 1/2 cups Sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
2 cups filtered water
3 handfuls baby spinach leaves
1/4 whole lemon, juiced (or to taste)
salt, to taste
1 whole red bell pepper, diced
1 handful cherry tomatoes
a dash cayenne pepper

Blend sunflower seeds with water until creamy. Add spinach, lemon juice and salt and blend until smooth. Add diced red bell pepper and tomatoes before serving.  Season with cayenne pepper if desired.

Well here I am on the other side of Christmas.  Dinner on Christmas Eve was a success!  Fifteen members of my family went home to await the arrival of Santa Claus with full bellies and visions of mincemeat pies dancing in their heads.

I had promised to take pictures… and of course, forgot!  But I can share the menu and some of the recipes (at least for the items I made).

Antipasto

Veggie tray: One of my Christmas platters filled to the brim with bite sized pieces of broccoli, cauliflower, baby carrots, celery, cucumber, red peppers and grape tomatoes.  I had a small bowl of spinach dip for my sister-in-law who likes to dip her veggies.  The rest of us made do with raw.

Deli plate: The classic staple on my family’s dinner table.  Prosciutto and salami.  I also had a small serving dish with bocconcini and another with olives.

Cheese platter: Another festive platter filled with bite sized pieces of 5 year old aged cheddar, 2 year old aged white cheddar, swiss cheese, parmesan, and brie.  Rice crackers and bread sticks were in handy reach of all the different platters.

Appetizer

Minestrone Soup

BBQ Meatballs (for my nephews)

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 large egg
1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Combine ingredients.  Form into 1-inch meatballs.  Brown in skillet.  Drain.  Serve with tomato sauce or barbecue dipping sauce.  Can be made one day ahead and reheated.

Entree

Vegetarian Lasagna courtesy of my sister

Prime Rib Roast

I honestly don’t know how many pounds my prime rib roast weighed.  I know it was 8 bones.  That’s what I asked the butcher for when I went to pick up the cut of meat.  It’s hard to give precise measurements for seasonings but I’ll post the basic quantities for a smaller roast and you can adjust as required.  I let the prime rib rest uncovered in the bottom of my fridge for two days before roasting.  Makes the meat much more tender.

3 pounds beef
2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
olive oil

Mix seasonings together.  Rinse beef and pat dry.  Rub roast liberally with olive oil.  Pat roast liberally with seasonings.  Insert meat thermometer.  Cook in roasting pan on low heat (200F to 250F) until roast hits internal temperature of 145F.

Sides

Caesar salad

Milestones Salad

My sister-in-law eats at Milestone’s often and always orders this salad.  While I don’t know the real recipe, she said my version is just as good as that in the restaurant.

4 cups mixed baby green salad
12 whole strawberries, hulled and halved
1/2 cup walnut halves, carmelized
1 tablespoon goat cheese
honey dijon dressing, to taste

Mix first four ingredients.  Toss with honey dijon dressing minutes before serving.  Variation: I added a handful of dried cranberries and a handful of sunflower seeds for an extra special treat.

Scallop Potatoes, courtesy of my sister-in-law

Roast Potatoes

Dessert

Believe it or not, people had room left over for dessert.  I spent a few hours in the kitchen the day before our Christmas eve dinner baking up a storm.  Cheesecake, chocolate brownies, macaroons and almond butter cookies.  I also picked up some desserts at the bakery.  I haven’t quite mastered Greek pastries yet and didn’t think this was the year to try LOL

There was also a big fruit platter: strawberries, honeydew melon, cantaloupe and pineapple.  As well as a billowing bowl of oranges, apples and pears.

And my nephew got his little hands on the chocolate covered profiteroles and proclaimed them “Soooo good!”

No one went hungry, that’s for sure!  And my parents and brothers left with a week’s worth of leftovers.  I have a fridge full of leftovers too.  Keep an eye out for the leftover recipes LOL

Happy holidays!  I hope you were able to enjoy good food and laughter with family and friends.

I don’t remember my mum making minestrone when I was growing up but I do remember a very close friend of the family making the best soups and minestrone was always one of my favorites. The temperature dipped below freezing today and i needed a good hearty soup to warm me up so I decided to whip up a batch of minestrone. In true Accidental Chef fashion, I made the recipe up as I went along. I used gluten-free macaroni noodles for the pasta (made out of rice flour) that added a nice richness to the broth. When Romana makes the soup, she soaks the dry pasta in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes before adding the pasta (minus the soak water) to the pot.

Minestrone Soup

1 clove garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 small can tomato paste (I didn’t have any so I used tomato soup instead)
4 large tomatoes, diced
1 whole zucchini, sliced
1 cup cooked beans (I used Romano beans)
1 cup macaroni pasta (I used gluten-free), uncooked
1 cup spinach
8 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot on medium. Add garlic, onion, carrot and celery. Saute until the onions are soft.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, spinach, zucchini and beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients except parsley, cook until pasta is done to taste.

Add parsley a minute before serving.

Accidental Chef’s Note: There is no end to the variations of this soup. You can substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth to make this a vegetarian meal. You can add tiny meatballs. You can even use rice instead of pasta and any variety of vegetables. Feel free to experiment!

I was at the market early this morning and picked up some butternut squash on a whim.  I’ve never made Butternut Squash Soup before but last night I was talking to my sister and remembered that she had made the soup for Thanksgiving a few years ago and it was yummy.  I thought it might be nice to try my hand at making my own Butternut Squash soup so that next time she’s over, we can trade recipes.

Roasted Curried Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash, halved and seeded
2 whole red onions, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 whole carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium head garlic
6 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup plain yogurt
olive oil for sauteing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Wash and cut butternut squash in half.

Place squash halves onto the prepared baking sheet. Wrap garlic in foil and set with squash. Roast in the center of the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until the squash is tender. Remove from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.

In the meantime, place large saucepan on medium heat and saute onion, celery and carrot for about ten minutes until vegetables are tender. Squeeze garlic cloves out of their skin and add to saucepan. Scrape the flesh from the squash and add to contents of saucepan.  Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth.  Add chicken stock if required.  Puree until smooth.  Add remaining stock and seasonings. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.  Serve hot.

Vegetarian Variation: Substitute vegetable stock for chicken stock

Every year, as the leaves begin to turn, my tummy starts craving soup.  I love soup.  And I’m lucky enough to have a father who loves to make me soup.   Unfortunately, the soups he makes are not gluten-free so I can no longer enjoy his simple but delicious soups.  So I’m now the Chief soup maker in my family.

Today is the first soup of the season.

Spinach Chickpea Soup

1 medium red onion, diced
4 whole cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 cups raw baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock if cooking for a vegetarian)
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water

Soak chickpeas overnight or for at least 8 hours in cold water.  Drain chickpeas and discard water.  Place in heavy soup pot with chicken stock.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until chickpeas are tender (approximately one hour).

Saute
onions about 5 minutes, until translucent.  Add garlic and cook 2-3
minutes more.  Add onions and garlic to soup pot with tomato paste.
Let soup simmer approximately 30 minutes.

Add chopped spinach (and more stock or water if needed) and season with salt and pepper.  Let simmer for another 15 to 30 minutes.  Serve hot.

Variation:  Add 1/2 teaspoon cumin, coriander and chili powder to soup for a different flavor combination.

The Accidental Chef is back!  Not that I have had any time off from nightly KP Duty but somehow got hung up n the fact that I never seem to have my camera handy when I’m at my most creative moments in the kitchen.  No picture meant no recipe posted for you to enjoy.  Good thing I got over myself

So I’m back in my virtual kitchen ready to share my experiments with you.  Enjoy!

My neighbor plants a garden every year and I’m often the beneficiary of the overflow.  Leek is in season!  And there is plenty to share.

Nothing tastes better than vegetables fresh from the garden.  I went over this morning (in the rain) and harvested four stalks of leek for the potato leek soup I have been craving all week.

The side tonight was stuffed mushroom caps, suggested by my honeyman.  I had never made stuffed mushroom caps but figured my kitchen was ripe for an accidental recipe so I set to work.  You’ll find some unique ingredients listed, I used what I had on hand rather than searching for a recipe for stuffed mushrooms.

Fresh From The Garden Leek Soup

4 large stalks of leek, cleaned and dark green sections removed
5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cleaned and chopped into 1-inch cubes (peeling is optional)
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
A dash of paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon of chopped chives

Melt the butter in a 6-quart pot.  Chop the leeks and sauté  with the spices for approximately five minutes, taking care not to burn your spices.  Add the chicken stock and potatoes and bring to a boil then reduce to medium-low heat.  Cover and let gently simmer for approximately 1 to 1.5 hours or until potatoes have softened and the broth has thickened from the starch from the potatoes and the broth has reached your desired consistency.

Traditional potato leek soup is pureed until smooth at this point and a cup or two of heavy cream is added to the puree.  I prefer my potatoes left whole and no other flavors dampening the flavor of the leeks.  To add the cream, turn off the heat and puree the potatoes with an immersion blender until smooth.  Stir in the cream.  Taste and adjust seasonings as required.

Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve.

Virgin Mushroom Caps

1/2 pound large mushrooms
3 tablespoons of butter
2 whole shallots, finely diced
1/4 cup pepperoni, finely diced
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped baby spinach
1/4 cup gluten free rice crumbs (or 1/2 cup bread crumbs)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup old cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Wash the mushrooms. Pop stem out.  Chop stems and set aside. Melt 1 tablespoons butter; brush over mushrooms.  Spray a shallow baking dish (about 8-inch square, or one which will fit mushrooms in one layer) with butter-flavored spray or grease with butter.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet.  Chop green onions; combine with reserved chopped mushroom stems, pepperoni and garlic. (Note: I used pepperoni because it was what I had on hand.  My original thought was to use bacon but I did not have any.)  Add to skillet along with the spinach; sauté until tender.  Remove from heat and transfer to small mixing bowl.  Add bread crumbs (or rice crumbs if you require a gluten-free variant), salt, and pepper and cheeses to vegetable mixture; stir well.

Fill each mushroom cap with a little of the stuffing, mounding up.  Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes, until mushroom caps are tender.

I often do not leave myself time in the kitchen to play and decided that today was as good a day as any to whip up an entire meal from scratch.  First up: lentil soup.  And then: gluten free white bread.  Mmm… mmm… good.  We just finished dinner and just as I was packing up leftovers to bring to my honeyman’s folks, we had an unexpected guest at the door, who ended up eating the rest!

Sometimes I’m amazed when things turn out.  I didn’t really use a recipe for the lentil soup.  I’ve seen my mum make it a thousand times so I guessed at quanitities and ingredients and I’m happy to say it was FAB!  I guess the cooking angels were smiling on me today!  Must be my lucky day!

Lucky Lentil Soup

1/2 whole red onion, diced
1 whole clove garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 tablespoon oil
2 liters chicken stock
1 1/2 cups dry lentils
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 whole green pepper, diced
1 whole red pepper, diced

Heat oil over medium heat in a stock pot.  Add onions, garlic and celery.  Saute until softened (about five minutes).  Add chicken stock to pot.  Rinse lentils and drain.  Add to pot along with tomato paste, paprika and salt and pepper.  Boil on medium-low heat, stirring occassionally, for one hour.

Stir in diced peppers and simmer for 30-45 minutes longer.  Serve in bowls with warm bread.

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Wheat Bread

Confession time: I used a bread machine.  First time in my life!  I grew up in an Italian kitchen.  The only machine we had was a pasta machine – one of the old ones that you crank by hand.  I learned how to make bread by hand: kneading the dough until it felt just right.  It didn’t occur to me to do it any other way.  Well my honeyman has one that was gathering dust.  I tucked it away in a cupboard when we moved in together a few years ago and it hasn’t been seen since!  He’s been bugging me to pull it out for a few weeks so I decided to give it a whirl.  It sure made clean up easy.  We have black floors in our kitchen (why anyone would put black tiles in a kitchen is beyond me LOL) and any time I make dough, flour ends up everywhere.  But with the bread maker, it all ends up in the bread machine!  I still prefer to knead things by hand, black floors notwithstanding.  There’s a lot more love in dough that’s been brought to life by hand.

But the bread still turned out and it was yummy!  We had an unexpected guest stop by and I served him up a bowl of Lucky Lentil Soup and Gluten-Free Bread and he said that it was the best meal he’d had in weeks.  When we told him it was gluten-free bread, he said “I can’t believe it’s not wheat!”

1 whole egg
1 1/3 cups water (I used almond milk instead)
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon liquid honey
1 cup tapioca flour
2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup potato flour
1/3 cup almond meal (I didn’t have any but a quick Google search revealed that it’s just ground almonds)
1 tablespoon xanthum gum
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons powdered milk
1 tablespoon dried yeast

In a bowl whisk the egg and the water together. Add to the breadmaker. Pour in the melted butter, lemon juice and the liquid honey. In a bowl combine the flours, xanthum gum, powdered gelatine, salt, sugar and the powdered milk. Add to the breadmaker. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Set breadmachine to basic and 2 lb . After the bread is cooked allow to cool in the breadmaker for 10 minutes before removing.  Cool on wire rack if you can stand the wait or dig in!

Oh any by the way, mystery dinner guest, I can’t believe you’re not Gene Simmons.

Growing up, I doubt a spoon of stew ever touched my lips. It just wasn’t comfort food in Mamma’s Kitchen. My first bowl of stew was in my late 20’s, seated at the dinner table with my future-inlaws one snowy winter’s eve. It was yummy but certainly not something I’d want to serve often in my own kitchen. but what inspired me to master the recipe was the fact that my honeyman loves stew.

I’ll admit, I’m still not a big fan of stew but my Accidental Stew got a great review the other night at the dinner table so it’s worth sharing.

Deborah’s Accidental Stew

This recipe calls for quite a bit of time in the slow cooker. Reducing the amount of liquid will shorten the time needed.

a splash of extra virgin olive oil
500 grams stewing beef, chopped to bite-sized pieces
1 litre chicken stock
a pinch of sea salt (optional)
1 whole shallot, diced
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 whole dried red chilies
three ribs celery, chopped
three whole carrots, peeled and chopped
four to five medium potatoes, cubed
3/4 cup dried red kidney beans
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon paprika
pepper, to taste
handful chopped parsley, to taste

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over a high flame. Add the stewing beef and cook until browned. Drain fat and toss into slow cooker with chicken stock, shallots, onions, garlic, red chilies, celery, carrots, potatoes and kidney beans. Let cook on high or low temperature until desired consistency is reached and vegetables are tender. Note: if you’re short on time, you can add cornstarch to thicken the broth but the starch in the potatoes will do the trick if given enough time.

When desired consitency is reached, remove red chilies and discard. Stir in tomato paste, paprika, parsley, and pepper. Let cook on low heat until ready to serve (at least 30 minutes).

Serve with garlic bread and a side salad.

Gluten Free Variation:  Be sure to use gluten free chicken stock and skip the garlic bread or substitute glluten free bread. And be sure to use gluten free salad dressing or make your own.