Fall Vegetable Soup

This post is dedicated to my friend Jae, who has asked for this recipe for a very long time. Really, it isnt a recipe at all, but here is one version of my vegetable soup, featuring everything I found in the fridge that day. If you only have potatoes, onion, and carrots, you can still make this soup, but I would suggest adding parsley root, parsnip, cabbage or other fall/root vegetables. It is the first time I have added chili to this kind of soup, and I am not quite sure it fits. If you like chili, you can try it, if not, skip it.

VEGETABLE SOUP
Makes 3-4 servings

- 1/2 leek

- 1/3 rutebege

- 1 sweet potato

- 2 carrots

- 3 small potatoes

- 1/2 red onion

- Chili

- Bay leaf

- Vegetable stock

How to:

Cut all the vegetables in small pieces.

Boil about 1,5 liters of water, add the stock and bay leaf.

Let all the (except leek and chili) vegetables simmer for 15 minutes, or until tender.

Add leek and chili the last 5 minutes.

Serve hot with bread or flatbread.

Potato and leek soup

I have been feeling a little under the weather the last days, and really wanted a good, hot soup for dinner. What I had in the fridge made a super easy, healthy and quick dinner.

Potato and leek soup
2 servings

1 leek
4 potatoes
1/2 rutabaga (kålrabi)
chicken/vegetable stock

Cut the leek and cook in butter or oil till soft.
Add the rest of the vegetables, cut in small pieces, and fry for a minute or two. Cover with water, add the stock and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes, till the vegetables are tender.
Use a blender (I used my new one, yay!) to blend into a smooth soup. You can leave some chunks for texture if you prefer that.
I made the soup dairy free, but feel free to add cream, creme fraiche or sour cream.
Serve with fresh chives, and perhaps some bacon.

PS. This soup will be very green. Kids will love it or hate it I guess.

Food = love

Those days when you want to eat chocolate for dinner... are probably the days you should eat vegetables. At least thats what I preach to myself after a long day at work and I feel uninspired to cook. And yes, this was one of those days!

I went to the grocery store without too much faith in my sense of self-restraint, but all the pretty fruit and vegetables at the entrance tricked me into filling my basket. And before I knew it, I had a plan. Well, half a plan anyways. When I came home I was reminded of a curry salad I had made a couple of times before, and decided to go for it. Normally I am not a dressing girl, but this one is actually good!

Here is what I ate:

Salad
Spinach
Grated carrot
Pork
Garlic
Leek

Other additions could be aragula, coriander, chicken, asparagus, bean sprouts etc

Dressing
Serves 2-3
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 TBS sour cream
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp dried basil or 2 tsp fresh basil
1 tsp scallions, minced
1/4 tsp sea salt freshly ground pepper

Instructions
Whisk everything together.
Easy.
The original recipe used mayonnaise, but I dont really like it, and dont even have any in my house. sour cream is great substitute here.

Picture from A Cup of Jo. Do you want your own Food=Love print? Get it here.

A good weekend for food

Food festival and Snipetorp market, all in beautiful weather. So many tasty things, I wish I had money to buy more of it, and the capacity to eat it too... Here are a few instagram snapshots: 

Pretty evening light.

The view from the church clock tower!

A traditional cow.

Local produce: tomatoes, radishes, celery root, 

red current jelly and honey - mmmm!!

Change of season

Winter suddenly showed up yesterday, and what is better than a good and hearty stew on a cold day?

I found this recipe in the fall issue of Sweet Paul Magazine, but there is also a fresh holiday/winter issue out. Read, enjoy and be inspired to craft and cook for the next months! 

FALL STEW

Serves 6

Ingredients: 

Oil/butter for frying

1 red chili

1 white onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp ground coriander 

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

2 potatoes

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 can mixed beans

2-3 dl vegetable stock

1 small butternut squash, in small cubes

some chopped fresh spinach

chopped cashews

How to:

Heat butter/oil and cook onion, garlic and chili for 3-4 minutes, till soft

Add the spices and potatoes, cook for another minute

Add tomatoes and stock and let it all simmer for 10 minutes

Add beans and squash and simmer for another 10 minutes, till vegetables are tender.

Salt and pepper to taste

Serve with spinach and cashews.

Really easy, really good, and really good for you!!

Produce: before the party

I told you about my birthday some days ago, 

and this is what cooking for a dinner party looks like: 

Bread in an early stage.

I love cutting, cooking and eating vegetables.

Here with carrots, turnips, beet, garlic and thyme.

"See, THIS is a rosemary twig. Now what about that twine..."

 Tie a pretty bow and repeat.

(I actually really like the colors going on in the picture above.)

Sadly, I have no pictures of the finished result, and we ate it all. 

What I wore:

Vintage dress, some store in Oslo

Apron, vintage fabric, made by me

Bracelet, from my grandma

Matching orange knife, a gift

More updates on my life over at Kristins blog. 

(I guess thats what happens when you live together)

Incredible India

When I started my four simple goals this fall I set out to cook something new every week. It has been a very interesting and fun goal, but I must admit I failed last week. I came as close as buying a new ingredient though: fennel. The problem was that I didnt feel like cooking, so it had to wait till this week.

Yesterday I went to Asia mat (our local Asian food store), mostly to keep my friend company, and because we like to look at everything they have there... She got Samosa and sweet chili sauce, but Im not a big fan of that, so I kindly declined her dinner invitation. But then I saw some Indian naan bread, and my interest was sparked. Perhaps it helped that I was asked to share about India for the DTS class the next day. Some of them are going to India for outreach this year, and so did I a few years back. At home, with the naan bread and some coconut milk from Asia mat I was ready to make curry like Jamie Oliver would:

Jamie Olivers Curry

5 Tbs Oil
2 Tsp mustard seeds
1 Tbs fenugreek seeds
3 green chilies (I didnt have any so I used chili paste instead)
1 handful curry leaves
2 pieces fresh ginger (I didnt get that either and used dried ginger)
3 onions (and I used some garlic too)
1 Tsp chili powder
1 Tbs turmeric
6 chopped tomates (or one can)
1 can of coconut milk
water
salt

Vegetables
800 g of whatever you have/like/want
I used potato, carrots, fennel, kale, leek, kohlrabi, celeriac

But what to do with all these ingredients???
1. Find all the spices (you can get them at your local Asian food store)
2. Chop all the vegetables (if you havent done this before it can feel a bit stressful if you cut as you go...)
3. Heat oil and add the mustard seeds. When they start jumping around like crazy add fenugreek, chili, curry leaves and ginger. Cook for a few minutes, remember to stir well.
4. Add onion and vegetables and cook for another 5 minutes. (I didnt read through the whole recipe first, such a silly thing to do, and added the vegetables as a number six on the list. I had to wait longer than necessary for my dinner to be done, but I dont think it changes the taste much.)
5. Add chili powder, turmeric and tomatoes. After a few minutes add some water and coconut milk and let it simmer till it its thicker/your vegetables are cooked.

I also really wanted some raita to go with it. I was sure I had a recipe in one of my many cookbooks, but I searched to no avail. Until I found this:

Soothing Yoghurt and Clove Sauce
(from Andreas Viestads book on spices)

1,5 dl plain yoghurt
1Tbs finely chopped shallots
1/2-1 Tsp freshly ground cloves

This one is a LOT easier:
1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (add some sugar if you´d like).
2. Enjoy

A new dish! Apparently, cloves have a soothing effect, and so does yoghurt, so this really is the right condiment for a hot and spicy curry (the curry wasnt that spicy actually, at least not in my opinion) This sauce has an interesting taste to it, but I might have been a little too generous with the cloves, and failure to grind the cloves properly may or may not have resulted in not so soothing experiences...

The whole meal was successful, and accompanied with Ibsens "Hedda Gabler" it was a very good night. I am excited for our book club tomorrow. But first: another Christmas concert!

PS. Pictures wont be as frequent these days due to lack of daylight combined with a far from excellent camera.

Thistle and weeds, part 2

Look what I found!

A real artichoke! I watched Julie and Julia again this Monday, and of course I was inspired. Earlier that day I went to Asia mat for a couple of things, and behold, a whole box of these beautiful thistles were sitting on a shelf and they were calling out my name. "I will buy one", I thought to myself, "and if I dont have time to cook it, at least I will have something pretty to look at." So I purchased my very first artichoke. 

After looking at it for a couple of days I decided it was time to take the next step. Consulting Andreas Viestads article on how to cook and eat an artichoke I simply cut the stem of it and boiled it for 25 minutes or so. In the meantime I made Hollandaise sauce, just like Julie... It wasnt even hard! The only mistake I made was to use salted butter and add salt (again!), mainly because I used two different recipes, so really I set myself up for failure here. I really dont know what Hollandaise is supposed to taste like, but I think it was pretty close. 

Then the eating: Peeling one leaf off at the time, dipping them in the sauce and sucking the ends of them is fun finger food, but after a while I got impatient to find out what the heart of it looked like, and sped up the eating process. Suddenly a flower appeared out of nowhere, and I screamed with excitement! My roommates werent that into it, but let me have my moment. I found the heart and enjoyed it all!

It really is a flower!

Eating an artichoke will certainly not fill you up, even when accompanied by a sauce that is basically butter. So make sure you make a main course, not just a starter, next time you prepare one of these darlings. 

Fill in the blank Friday

1.   The first thing I do in the morning to start my day is  drink a glass of water and take my vitamins before the very essential cup of coffee!

2.  Today I wish I was able to sleep in and be crafty all day. 

3.  If I had an extra $100 in my bank account today I'd take it out and spend it on flea markets this weekend. 

4.  Tomorrow   my sister is coming to town! Hooray for sister time and planning our parents birthday party. Maybe we will squeeze in some flea markets in there too.

5.  Two things that don't go together are   NO cash in my wallet when and a total at the store of 1 kr (15 cents). Good thing Im not charged to use my debit card... 

6.  Something I can never pass up at the grocery store is  nothing really. I have pretty good self-control, though I do love grocery shopping and tend to buy more lemons and limes than I really need... 

7.  The last time I tried something new was   yesterday when I (accidentally) made an attempt of making bread without yeast. I tried adding it after it had been "rising" for some time, but I will not do that again, nor recommend it to anyone else. 

Thanks to Lauren for this little challenge!

(788) Days of October

It is October 1st today! Fall is really here now, the air smells different, the mornings are more than chilly and I am considering getting my winter coats out. 

Two years ago I went to the states in October, and my road trip through Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, South Dakota and Iowa I discovered that fall in the Midwest is great. Golden leaves, mild weather, and the introduction of a whole new aspect of fall: Pumpkins!

I wrote about pumpkin spice latte earlier this week, but here are a few more reasons I love that orange/yellow/green gourd/squash/fruit (but really, I think of it as a vegetable):

I look a bit scared, but really, I am happy right here.

Pumpkin carving. 

We dont really celebrate Halloween in Norway, I wish we did though,

so I could carve pumpkins more often.

Pumpkinland!

Where we conquered the corn maze and I saw pumpkins in all shapes and forms...

So many more than I had ever witnessed in my 24 year old long life. 

And then there is pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, canned pumpkin, decorative pumpkins, pumpkin decorations, pumpkin seeds, baked pumpkin... 

the list goes on and on and on.

Can you tell I love pumpkins?

Thank you Erika for that wonderful trip! It was the start of my love story with all things pumpkin, and the love has not waned, but rather it keeps on growing. 

Hmm.. perhaps I will even try to grow my own sometime.

*Yes, I changed the number in the title. I guess my math brain wasnt working last night... 

My view. Part 2: Dinner

I invited a small monster over for dinner.

But that was a deceptive scheme from my part, because I wanted to EAT him!
And so I did, together with some carrots, potatoes, onion, parsley, rutabaga and leek.

...but first I let it all simmer in water.

Mmm... yummy vegetable soup!

Pumpkin treats

Did I manage to make something new last week?

We left for Sweden early Tuesday morning and were back Saturday at 5 PM with little energy left for cooking, so there was nothing to do but resort to frozen pizza. Then the first half of Sunday was spent on the couch, reading "Anne Franks diary", magazines and blogs and drinking coffee.

I had bought the cutest little butternut squash because I wanted to make Pumpkin Spice Latte, and figured I needed real pumpkin to put in it. So I went ahead and made pumpkin puree out of it by roasting it in the over for about 50 minutes and mashing it with a fork, no complicated tricks there. But the clock was ticking, and I had to make dinner before church, so I decided to eat some of it as a side dish with a pepper steak I bought on the boat from Sweden. It is widely known that Norwegians go to Sweden to buy cheap alcohol, cigarettes, meat and candy. Since I am not the typical "harry"-shopper I spent money on baking powder, organic whole-wheat spaghetti, tea and baking chocolate in addition to the mandatory bacon, chicken and candy. The pantry is now full, and I am ready for winter.

I also made broccoli (almost) like Andreas Viestad would: Boiling the flowerettes in water with salt, butter and baking powder (the latter to preserve the rich green color) for 5 minutes until tender, then draining them and tossing them with lemon juice and cilantro (he used capers and parsley, and I had neither, so I substituted them with cilantro. Probably a whole other experience, but thats okay). The lemon gave a subtle tang to a vegetable that so easily gets overcooked and boring. This time I liked it better, and accompanied by the squash and a rare steak it made for a good meal.

There was never any time for that Latte. As always, we barely made it out the door in time for church. How does that happen when we dont have anything to do all day, and church starts at 5 PM? Its a mystery. After church there was food, then a movie, then time for bed, but today was the day. First I made my own pumpkin spice mix with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cardamom and cloves. I was certain that nutmeg meant cardamom, but thats what I get for being too lazy that check the dictionary. I found some recipes online and went for this one. It was overall pretty good, but I should probably have put the puree in a blender, cause there were strings of pumpkin, which you obviously wouldnt want in your beverage. Ive only had a pumpkin spice latte once before, and that was two years ago, so I have no idea what it is supposed to taste like, but I think I would cut down a little on the cinnamon next time. 

My very first Pumpkin Spice Latte, made from scratch!

"Where did you get that cup?" you might ask. My parents went to London for a vacation and I asked them to bring me back some Starbucks coffee. A little while later, I get a package in the mail, not only including coffee, but lots of take-away cups and lids as well! My kind dad had walked all over the place, asking for cups till someone was nice enough to give some to him. 

Awesome!

I want to recommend the blog of a 1000 awesome things. If you havent checked it out yet, you should. The posts bring a smile to my face, like

#432 When the crosswalk changes to walk just as you approach it

especially on a bike.

And todays 

#416 When you try cooking something new and everyone likes it

Dinner today was quite okay, but I was the only one eating it, so noone asked for the recipe. But I thought these little somethings were too cute not to share. I found them at Asia mat and I am not sure what they are. Peas? Beans?  This was after I took them out of their shells (who didnt taste too bad either, so I saved them for a rainy day) and steamed them with some butter. Love the color, love the freshness, love vegetables. I got to make up for all that sugar you know...

Veg out!