Scrappy Saturday: Empty the Fridge!

My mom has been out of town for the last week and a half. I watched the house. She comes home today, and I realized that I have way too much stuff in the fridge. Crap! What to do?

Objective one: Dispose of produce in the drawer.
Solution: roasted root vegetable hash and roasted broccoli.
Roasted root vegetable hash: Take half of a large peeled carrot, two giant beets (peel them, and four red potatoes. Dice them. Toss in olive oil (2 to 4 T), soy sauce (2 T), vinegar (I used about 1/2 t. chive vinegar), and salt and freshly ground pepper. If, like me, you have fresh herbs hanging around in your garden, throw some in. I'm going to use 1/2 t. rosemary and 2 t. thyme. Toss it all together, dump onto a cookie sheet that you've lined with aluminum foil, and roast for about 30 minutes. Give the pan a shake every ten minutes or so. Stab a piece with a fork. You might need to cook longer if you used a large dice, or for a shorter period of time if you used large dice.
Roasted broccoli: Cut up two crowns of broccoli. Peel the stems and cut it up as well. Toss with the juice of half a lemon and an equal volume of olive oil. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper, and toss onto another lined cookie sheet. Shake it when you shake the hash. Give it the stab test after twenty minutes.

Scrappy Saturday: Leftovers

So, I had some of the carrot soup hanging around. I also had two lovely red bell peppers that I'd roasted last night. I heated the carrot soup (thinned) and tossed the red peppers into my minichop with some red curry paste. All in all, I probably used about 1/2 t. of the paste. I thinned the pepper mixture with water, salted it, and left it alone. When both the carrot-ginger soup and the red pepper-red curry soups were hot, I poured some of each into a bowl. I did the "pour at the same time and same rate from opposite sides" method. I wound up with a bowlful of lovely colors, bright orangey red on the left and a yellow kissed with orange on the right. It looked impressive and tasted great. Because the red pepper soup was thicker than the carrot soup, the two didn't blend until you stirred. You could alternate mouthfuls or swirl them together. So. Good. Mom liked it, too.

I also made little toasts, which I drizzled with the oil from the peppers. Winner!

TGIF. Carrot-Ginger Soup and Red Curry Crostinis

Well, it's Friday. Thank heaven. Tonight's dinner was inspired by autumn and a nice man.

The Soup, brought to you by fall:

Carrot-Ginger Soup

This soup is fast, cheap, and easy. It's also bright orange and has a nice punch of flavor, which can really perk you up on a cold, drizzly, and gray fall day.

1/2 an onion, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
a piece of ginger half the size of your thumb, peeled and chopped
1/2 lb. baby carrots
1-2 T. canola oil
boiling water
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Use medium-low to medium heat. Toss in the onion, garlic, and ginger (you can add in a bit of chopped chili if you have it and like the heat). Stir it around. Once the onion starts to turn translucent, add the carrots. Stir again. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are totally translucent. Cover the whole thing with the boiling water and turn the heat up to medium. Allow the whole thing to bubble over medium heat. Stir once in awhile and add more water every now and then so that the ingredients are always covered. Once you can easily squish a carrot with the spoon, remove from heat.

Puree in a blender, put through a food mill, or blend with an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper. If you need/want it, toss in some white wine, too. If you have some garam masala hanging around, a little sprinkle of it on top is nice.

The crostini thingies, inspired by a nice man:

Red Curry Crostinis

I admit, I've never tried to do crostinis before. However, a gentleman friend recently invited me over for movies and made nice little toasts and a cheese plate. He also had an impressive selection of wine. Anyway, I've had cheese and toast on the brain since then. So, toasts tonight!

You'll need:
2 slices of bread (please use real bread, not the fluffy weird kind)
1 t. canola oil
1/8-1/4 t. red curry paste (depending on how well you tolerate the heat)
1/2 t.- 1 t. brown sugar
a few drops of vinegar

Blend the oil, curry paste, brown sugar, and vinegar well. Spread onto the bread. Toss under the broiler. Keep an eye on it. Burned toast is not too sexy.

Sunday Suppers: Souffle Rockefeller

Today, I made dinner for my mom and her boyfriend. I decided to make a souffle.

You'll need:
4 eggs (organic and free-range, please)
1 c. milk
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 c. spinach
3 T. mixed fresh herbs (I used marjoram, parsley, oregano, and chives)
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 to 1 c. shredded Parmesan
1 c. soft seasoned breadcrumbs

Pre-heat the oven to 475. Take a few tablespoons of the Parmesan and toss with the breadcrumbs. Butter a souffle dish, and sprinkle in a small handful of the breadcrumbs. Shake the pan to distribute the crumbs and cheese. Set aside.

Steam the spinach and herbs, then rinse in cold water. Squeeze out the cold water, then chop finely and set aside. Put a double boiler on over medium heat. Melt the butter in the top, then stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. When it's smooth, add the cheese and stir until it's melted. Add the milk and whisk until thickened. Stir in the spinach.

Separate the eggs. Whisk the yolks lightly, then mix them into the cheese sauce. Remove mixture from heat. Beat the egg whites until they stand in firm peaks, then fold in the cheese mixture. Pour it gently into the souffle dish. Sprinkle on the rest of the breadcrumbs then put into the center of the preheated oven. After ten minutes, reduce the heat to 400 F and bake for twenty more minutes. Serve immediately.