Fate & Cupcakes

There is an amazing bakery, Whipped Bakeshop, opening up 2 blocks from our new house ON MY BIRTHDAY!!

This must be fate.

Check out some of the amazing Whipped Bakeshop goodies here.

my new favorite soup

Pasta and Chickpea Soup

(recipe and photo courtesy of Chat & Chew)

It's super easy - such a hearty soup and great combination of veggies, pasta & beans that I would have never thought of! I especially love the softened Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds!

Pasta & Chickpea Soup

1/8 pound prosciutto or ham, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, peeled and cut into chunks
1 medium carrot, cut into chunks
1 stalk celery, cut into chunks
1 large clove garlic
1-1/2 teaspoons rosemary
1/4 cup olive oil
1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 4-inch square piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano rind (optional)
Salt and pepper
1 cup small pasta tubes (ditali)
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

By hand or in a food processor, finely chop together prosciutto or ham, red onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Set a 3 quart soup pot over medium heat and add olive oil. When oil is hot but not smoking, add the chopped mixture and cook 10 minutes until vegetables are softened.

Place tomatoes and their juice into a food processor and chop coarsely. Add to the sautéed vegetables along with the drained chickpeas, chicken broth, tomato paste, bay leaf and Parmigiano-Reggiano rind. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir.

Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the softened Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, cut it into 1/4-inch cubes and return to soup (soup can be made ahead to this point).

Just before serving, add pasta and rosemary to simmering soup. When pasta is al dente, ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle generously with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately.

Link to Chat & Chew here.

Van Gogh's sunny cake

Found this great recipe for  

Vincent Van Gogh's Sunny Sunflower Cake 

via kitchen scraps

Vincent Van Gogh's Sunny Sunflower Cake 

INGREDIENTS

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup butter, melted

plus more butter for greasing

1/4 cup runny honey

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup sunflower seeds, shelled

zest of 2 lemons (save lemon juice for icing)

100 ml cream or milk

For icing:

1/2 cup butter, soft at room temperature

pinch of saffron

4 cups icing sugar

juice of 2 lemons

pinch of salt

PROCEDURE

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Butter up a 9-inch round cake pan.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Tip in the melted butter, honey, sugar, egg, cream and lemon zest. Mix thoroughly until smooth, then stir in the sunflower seeds.

Pour the batter into the baking pan and blap the whole thing in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the lemon icing. Cream the butter (and optional saffron) using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment until it is light and fluffy. Alternate by adding a quarter of the icing sugar and a quarter of the lemon juice until it is all thoroughly incorporated. Keep in the fridge for later.

Set the cake aside to cool for 20 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Allow it to cool completely before icing. Cut the cake in half horizontally to and put some icing between the layers before covering the whole thing in the remaining icing. Keep in the fridge until ready to eat.

Serves 8 people and goes nicely with a cup of tea or some absinthe.

I got beef.

So, the freezer is slowing shutting down. 

And our freezer full of steaks, ground beef, elk, and burgers is slowly thawing.

They need to be consumed this weekend...

Beef party!!! 

Saturday evening! 

Bring a grain, a vegetable, but do NOT bring any meat.

Call me for details.

Siete de Mayo

The rain finally let up last night, so I surprised Roger by taking him on a bike ride with a 6pack of Negra Modelo in tow to La Lupe, where the best tacos in the city are served. It was a lovely night and it seems like La Lupe was still recovering from Cinco de Mayo, so Siete de Mayo was chill. 

Queso Taco + Chorizo Taco + Flan =  love

Afterwards, we took a nice long bike ride home, ran into a dog who despised skateboards so much, he ran after them (while some one was riding it, mind you) and bit it out from under this poor kid's feet. We also discovered a Banjo-centric concert happening behind the Mummers Museum. 

Philly Love.

Weekly Meals

Yes, I'll admit it. Lately I've been a little lazy with planning entire home-cooked meals. But I'm trying to get better. Below are some recipes/ideas I'm hoping to try this week. 

1. Simple Japanese Dinner: BBQ pork chop, rice, cucumber salad. Sounds very refreshing. And Simple.

2. Steak & Eggs: Usually it's too rich for me to order for breakfast, but it sounds like a tasty dinner.

3. Spring Salad with Peas, Avocado & Mozzarella: I've never tried this flavor combination - it sounds wonderful. 

4. Red Pepper Quinoa Burgers with Hummus: Since it is warming up, I'm beginning to crave burgers. I'm excited to try one with quinoa.

 

Culinary Aspirations

With installation finished here at work and Roger working all weekend, I'm hoping to clear the cobwebs out of the oven.

Top Five Projects:

1. Empanadas. R has such a love for these Argentinian treats. I know I can never make them as good as the memory of his grandmother's empanadas, but I can try.

Recipe: Argentinian Empanadas

2. Apple Pancakes. Need I say more? Yes, I do. These would be awesome with some brown sugar whipped cream.

Recipe: Apple Pancakes

3. Milk braised Chicken with Lemon, Cinnamon & Sage. This sounds/looks absolutely mouth-watering. And who doesn't love a roast chicken?

Recipe: Milk braised Chicken with Lemon, Cinnamon & Sage

4. Key Lime Bars. From one of my favorite Hawaiian blogger chefs. (Because there is a vast number of Hawaiian blogger chefs out there. Actually, you would be surprised.) Anyway, I'm a sucker for Key Lime Pie. But with a Hawaiian twist? I'm sold. 

Recipe: Key Lime Bars

5. Jello Shots. Just Kidding! After last night, the last thing that sounds appetizing to me is a recipe for "How to get drunk. Fast!"

Recipe: Jello Shots

Real #5. Mongolian Beef. I need to use the stockpile of beef that is taking residence in my freezer. And It would be awesome if I could use it for homemade Chinese food.

Recipe: Mongolian Beef

Food Inspiration

In case I was running out of meal ideas... I now have this!

I cannot believe how many things on these pages peak my interest. The first thing I want to make? This Cherry Tomato Onion Tart with Parmesan Crust. Recipe here. 

Roger is in for a treat.