Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Hey there! Have you missed me? Have you even noticed I've been gone? I have two and a half weeks left until my oral exam, and am in full freak-out mode. It's not a pretty sight. I don't think you need the details.

So if you think you haven't heard from me lately, you might be hearing from me even less from now until December 10th. But, you know, there are always the archives. Oh, and I have this super easy Pumpkin Soup to help tide you over. Want some?

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Soup

From The Vegan Table

3 tablespoons water, or more as needed

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

2 cups vegetable stock

1, 15 oz. can pumpkin purée

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 cups milk (non-dairy if you want to keep it Vegan)

Salt, to taste

Parsley, for garnish if you want

Preheat the water in a soup pot and add the onion and garlic. Cook over medium for about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Add more water if the pot gets dry.

Add the turmeric, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, and cayenne. Stir to coat the onions and garlic, then add the stock, the pumpkin, the maple syrup and the lemon juice. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.

Stir in the milk, remove from the heat and purée according to your preferred method (mine is with an immersion blender, but you can also purée with a normal blender in batches). Return the soup to the heat, and heat over medium until hot, but don't boil (milk doesn't like boiling). You only need about 5 minutes. Taste, add salt, garnish with parsley and serve.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oh little blog, how I've been neglecting you. My dog can relate. So can all of my friends, my family, my plants if I had any. Good thing I don't own fish. My books, on the other hand, not very ignored. Stupid books. But there's just a little over one month left to go, which is both too much and too little, until my Oral Exams (seems like that should be capitalized). And then I'll really be back, and probably with a vengeance since I've had it to here with frozen dinners and cereal. In fact, I've had it past here.

So tonight, I'd like to imagine I'm back in the forth grade again. Incredibly awkward, not very good at making friends, too shy, too quiet. Those cute fourth grade boys never talk to me. Except one time, which I remember distinctly, when the second coolest boy in school told me he loved my mother's oatmeal cookies. Oh heck yea.

My mom recently made a batch and sent them to me, along with the recipe to share with all of you. So if you have your eye on the second coolest boy, these will do the trick. Promise.

Too Cool for School Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon molasses

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups quick cooking oats

2/3 cup raisins (don't be that person who skips the raisons)

1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, you know what to do)

1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F and set out an ungreased cookie sheet

Cream together the butter and sugar by beating until pale and fluffy with an electric beater.

Add the eggs, the molasses and the vanilla to the butter and stir in.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt, and gradually add this mixture to the butter mixture.

Stir in the oats, raisins, nuts and chocolate and drop by teaspoonful onto the cookie sheet. These guys like to spread, so leave plenty of room.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned and delicious.

Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew

I don't need to tell you what season it is. Starting off with something like "It's Autumn!" is a little insultingly obvious. But, see, the thing is, it is autumn. We're eating totally different things than we were this time, even last month (when I'm not just feeding myself yogurt and cereal. It happens.). My diet at least is overwhelmingly orange. Persimmons, squash, sweet potatoes, all orange. It's like consuming a little of that near-electric autumn light. You know, the kind that nearly shimmers.

But anyway. My mission right now is to cook, when I cook, in large enough batches to sustain myself over several lunches brought to school, and even a few dinners. This recipe not only fit that qualification, but made several fellow orals-studiers a little jealous (I could just tell, okay?). And the best part about this, is that it gets better over the course of a few days. Served with a big helping of quinoa (or couscous if you prefer) it will keep you going for hours. Also, and you would never believe it if I told you after you'd had a bit, this recipe is made with zero oil. Zero butter. Zero, zero, zero. The veggies are sweated in vegetable broth, then flavor is built in layers around eastern spices and the character of the vegetables themselves.

Did I mention that it's utterly delicious? It is. Promise.

UPDATE: I just wanted to reiterate that this is best served over some kind of grain like quinoa or over couscous. Not only will that stretch the amount of food you get, but this isn't particularly soupy, with just enough broth to give your grain base some flavor.

Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew

From Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The Vegan Table

1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoon vegetable stock, divided (you can use water, and more stock if you want a soupier stew)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 large red bell peppers, seeded and chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne

1 teaspoon grated or minded fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes

1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (don't drain them)

1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 3 tablespoons of the stock in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers and garlic and sweat the vegetables until the onions are translucent. This should take between 5-7 minutes. You can add more liquid if it starts to evaporate too much.

Add the brown sugar, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, ginger and saffron, and stir to coat well. Cook for 1 minute, then add the sweet potatoes and continue stirring. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, the remaining stock and the chickpeas. Make sure the potatoes are submerged in the liquid so they'll cook. I found that this amount of liquid didn't quite cover everything, but I also didn't want my stew to be overly runny so it would be more transportable.

Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the sweet potatoes are cooked, but not overly. This will take about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to your taste, and serve over quinoa or couscous.

Favorite Banana Bread

I know we've been through banana bread before on this blog. With one, I begged you to let your bananas really ripen, to turn black and gooey and I stand by that still. The other was a lower-fat version. The kind you perhaps make for yourself when you think you might not have the will power to resist eating the entire loaf. But this banana bread, this is for company.

Mark Bittman calls it the ultimate. And after thirty years of making banana breads (his estimation, not mine), it would be hard to challenge him. Now, if you're not a coconut lover, I want to tell you that the coconut in this adds a certain something, but it's not an overpowering coconut flavor. Don't leave it out, but don't expect a tropical tasting bread, either.

That's all to say that this bread is my new favorite, and I'm not just saying that because R made it tonight while I read, then let me photograph and share it. This banana bread really is the best.

Mark Bittman's Banana Bread

From Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups ap flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I think nuts are always optional)

1/2 cup grated dried unsweetened coconut

Oven preheated to 350 F, grease a 9x5" loaf pan.

Mix together the dry ingredients and cream the butter. Beat the eggs and bananas into the butter, then stir this mixture into the dry ingredients. Finally, stir in the vanilla, the nuts if you're using them, and the coconut.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for around 1 hour, but start checking earlier at about 45 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test.

Butter 'em Up Brownies

There are a few people I want to butter up with these brownies. You, first of all, if you're still bothering with this little blog. In my defense, I did warn you that I'd be studying for orals until December (until December 10th at 10:00 am to be precise). I don't think I excepted things to slow down quite this much, but I didn't expect twelve hour study days, either. So there's that.

The other person these brownies were meant to butter up is our new super. At the last apartment, our horrible landlord decided to stop paying the super, which meant nothing ever got fixed or maintained. But I'm smart enough to know that when you have access to someone who actually fixes things, you should be very nice to him. You should give him brownies.

Here's a recipe you can use.

Dark Victory Brownies

From Tish Boyle's The Good Cookie

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1/3 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup ap flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (if you want)

Oven preheated to 325. Line a 9" pan with aluminum foil with 2" of overhang around two opposite edges. Grease the foil.

In a double boiler, over lightly simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter together stirring until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

With a wooden spoon, beat the cocoa powder and sugar together until well mixed, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla, then add the flour and salt. Mix until just blended and stir in the pecans.

Pour the batter in the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove the pan to a wire rack and cool completely before lifting the brownies out by the foil. Cut into 16 square.

Coriander-Roasted Salmon with Cilantro-Dill Yogurt Sauce

Since I'm still busy studying my little life away, and since I've noticed the life being drained out of my blog lately, I've enlisted Merith, a dear friend, to help keep Cooking Books afloat. A consummate bibliophile like myself, she has some great things to share.

* * *

In my latest effort to avoid writing my thesis, I’ve taken it upon myself to entirely reorganize my mom’s house. Ironically, she is a librarian, yet is the most disorganized person I know. My first task was to attack the library – and attack I did. Around 200 books (and counting) will hopefully go to happy homes, as they were rather neglected on the bookshelves of my mom’s library. Regardless, many more remain. Of the books, my mom’s cookbook collection is rather impressive and sizeable, and up until now, unused.

I now will follow in Andrea’s footsteps by attempting to use at least one recipe from each book, occasionally recording the process and outcome. After tonight, I hold even higher esteem for Andrea’s efforts – photographing food is often harder than cooking it. Even when you are a photographer (plug: A Portrait of a Woman). Natural lighting is a MUST with food photography, and tonight I failed to beat the sunset by minutes. Can’t win ‘em all. And it will get even more difficult as fall moves into winter (especially when you live in the Pacific Northwest).

But, for now, here is a delicious salmon recipe from a beautiful cookbook called Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes, a book I’ve long desired to cook from. Because I was only cooking for two, I halved the recipe and the only modification I made was that I used peanut butter instead of tahini – thanks to an unusable can of the stuff. The sauce still turned out, in fact it tasted great. I served it with couscous and a salad with strawberries and balsamic vinaigrette. Enjoy!

Coriander-Roasted Salmon with Cilantro-Dill Yogurt Sauce from Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes

Yield: 6 servings

1 ½ tablespoons coriander seeds

Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, pressed

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Salt and pepper

Salmon

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon paprika

6 (5- to 6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets (about 1 ¾ inches thick)

2 large yellow bell peppers, cut into ½-inch strips

Salt and pepper

Cilantro

Dill sprigs

Toast the coriander seeds in a small skillet over medium heat until aromatic, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the seeds cool slightly. Crush the coriander in a mortar with a pestle or coarsely grind in a spice grinder. Set aside.

To make the sauce: Stir the yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and lemon zest together in a small bowl. Mix in 1 teaspoon of the crushed coriander, the cilantro, and dill. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Can be prepared to this point up to 1 day ahead.)

To prepare the salmon: Whisk the honey, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, paprika, and remaining crushed coriander together in a shallow baking dish. Add the salmon and turn to coat it. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush two large baking sheets with olive oil.

Transfer the salmon to one of the prepared baking sheets and the bell peppers to the other; season both with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until the salmon is opaque in the center and the bell peppers are tender, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the peppers to a platter; top with the salmon. Garnish with cilantro and dill sprigs and serve with the yogurt sauce.

Another wedding cake

Photo Credits: Kate Haus Photography

So this last weekend I had the pleasure of making a wedding cake for one of my very dearest friends. Since it was an October wedding, she wanted autumnal colors. I tried to deliver with a pumpkin orange, a kind of burnt reddish/purple and some of the green that I used on my own wedding cake. The cake itself was a lemon poppy seed with lemon buttercream, and a raspberry curd between the layers.

It was a beautiful ceremony, outside, and performed by a mutual friend of the couple's. I hope my cake made a nice addition.

I've already written a post about laying fondant on a cake, and you can find it here. For this version, I used a stencil (which I got here) for the basic design and then painted in additional details freehand. The stencil was easy to use, I secured it to the cake by wetting the fondant and by using medical tape. One thing I would say, if you plan to use a stencil, is that powder coloring is easy to use, moistened with a bit of lemon extract (or Everclear, as the woman at the cake shop told me!). You don't want to get the paint too wet, or it will tend to seep under the stencil. Barely moist bordering on dry is best. You want to dab the pain on with the end of a flat brush, rather than making broad strokes. But otherwise, it's easy as, well, cake!