Carrot Soup with Ginger and Lemon

Someone needs to tell New York City that it's fall!! I am all ready for scarves, pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween, but it's in the high 70's and humid in Manhattan today! I don't like it one bit, so I am just going to pretend it's crisp and breezy outside. How does that sound to everyone?

I am in love with this soup. The flavors are incredibly bright and vibrant, and it is a little bit more tart than a traditional carrot ginger soup, which I personally like because I am a huge lemon lover (I hoard them, in fact. More about that in another post). This is a great recipe for a light dinner or even lunch for the week. This is also nice for those times when you feel like you overindulged a bit over the weekend; something about the ginger and lemon combination just makes you feel clean and healthy.

Note: I added double the ginger that the recipe called for, because I love an intense ginger flavor. Adjust to your taste!

Carrot Soup with Ginger and Lemon (slightly adapted from Bon Appetit, June 1997)
Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/4 pounds medium carrots, peeled, chopped (about 3 cups)
2 tomatoes, seeded, chopped (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
3 cups (or more) chicken stock or canned low-salt broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons nonfat greek yogurt

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add chopped carrots, tomatoes and lemon peel; sauté 1 minute. Add 3 cups stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover partially and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly.

Puree soup in batches in blender. Return soup to pot. Mix in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls. Top each with a spoonful of greek yogurt.

Spicy Vegetarian Chili

I know some of you aren't going to like what I am about to say, but I am SO HAPPY IT'S FALL. Of course I love summer - who doesn't? But when I start to feel that first gust of cool air and the leaves crunching under my feet, it just makes me happy. And fall means some of my favorite things: apple picking, Halloween (hands down best holiday!), winter squash, and last but certainly not least, big pots of soup, chili and stew. Fall, I welcome you with open arms.

This chili is a less-traditional, healthier, vegetarian riff but it is absolutely delicious and definitely does the trick. This is a great recipe to make on Sunday night and eat for lunch all week. I topped mine with some greek yogurt and diced green onions, but a little bit of shredded cheese and chopped jalapenos would be great too.

Spicy Vegetarian Chili (adapted from Whole Foods Market)

Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped chipotles in adobo

1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
3 cups cooked red kidney beans, drained
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, drained

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery, peppers and garlic and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until vegetables are softened but not browned. Add chipotles, oregano, cumin, chili powder and salt. Stir to blend. Add tomatoes and 4 cups water. Gently simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Add beans and simmer an additional 30 minutes. Garnish individual bowls with green onions or greek yogurt/sour cream, if desired.

Roasted Fennel and Red Onion Salmon

I absolutely loathe doing the dishes. I despise it. I wish that after I cooked, the dishes would just disappear (or a little mini-me would be around to do them for me while I watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills). It doesn't help that I don't have a dishwasher in my tiny NYC "kitchen", but even when I did have one, I hated taking them OUT of the dishwasher and back in their proper place. Such is life, right?

This is why I love one pot (or one roasting pan, in this instance) meals. You only dirty one cooking vessel, instead of 3 or 4, which in my book, is a major win.

I have been making this salmon dish for many years now (in fact, it was one of the first salmon dishes I ever made!), and every time I make it the same thought still goes through my head: "What? There are only 5 main ingredients in this dish? And everything was just thrown into a roasting pan? How is it so good?" I promise after you make this, you will know what I mean. And don't be afraid of the fennel here. It loses some of it's telltale anise taste when roasted, and takes on a sweet, almost creamy texture.

Roasted Fennel and Red Onion Salmon (adapted from Real Simple)
Serves 4

2 small fennel bulbs, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 large red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 bunch fresh thyme (I took some thyme off the sprig and left some sprigs whole)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skinned
1 lemon, halved

Heat oven to 400° F. In a roasting pan, toss the fennel, onion, garlic, tomatoes, thyme, ½ teaspoon of the salt, ¼ teaspoon of the pepper, and the oil. Roast for 20 minutes.

Move the vegetables to the sides of the pan; place the salmon in the center. Squeeze the lemon halves over the salmon. Sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper.

Return the salmon to oven and roast until it is the same color throughout and flakes easily, 10 to 12 minutes.

Mexican Scrambled Eggs

I love mexican food. Like... a lot. Too much maybe. So, I'm always on the lookout for healthy, accessible mexican recipes that I can easily make at home and won't feel guilty eating. And by this point you all know how much I adore eggs for dinner. Easy, cheap, healthy, fast and versatile.

This recipe is from Martha Rose Shulman of Recipes for Health fame, another one of my favorite food writers. This is a great recipe for a weeknight dinner, or for brunch as well. In fact, as I made these I began to have daydreams about hosting a "make your own breakfast fajita" party. If only I had an apartment that fit more than three people...

Mexican Scrambled Eggs (adapted from The New York Times)
Serves 6

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small white onion, finely chopped
2 to 3 serrano or jalapeño chilies, minced (more to taste, seeded if desired)
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 pound tomatoes, cut into small dice, or 3/4 of a 14-ounce can, drained
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
6 to 8 large eggs
Tortillas and black beans, optional

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, for about three minutes until just tender. Turn the heat to medium-high, and add the chilies, garlic, tomatoes and half the cilantro. The mixture should sear in the pan. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the mixture is lightly browned, five to eight minutes. Season to taste with salt, and turn the heat down to medium. The tomatoes should not be watery.

Beat the eggs in a medium bowl, and add salt to taste and the remaining cilantro. Add to the pan and cook, stirring every few seconds to create large curds, until the eggs are scrambled. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve with tortillas and black beans, if desired.

Silky Cauliflower Soup

I needed soup last night. Bad.

I was recovering from a weekend of barbecues, seafood shacks and jalapeno margaritas on the Cape, not to mention the fact that summer has come to an end, and it was raining. Last night called for soup, and nothing else would do.

This soup could not be easier, quicker, healthier or more delicious, and although it tastes (and looks) like it, there is no cream, milk or even butter added. All of the creaminess comes from the vegetables, and my trusty immersion blender.

Served with a simple green salad, this is a perfect weeknight meal, or it would be great as a first course for a casual dinner party.

Slurp away!!

Silky Cauliflower Soup (adapted from Dave Lieberman)
Serves 4 to 6 (less if it's a main course)

1 head cauliflower

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 leek, white and light green parts only, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 quart low-sodium chicken stock

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped chives and red pepper flakes, for garnish (optional)

Remove the leaves and thick core from the cauliflower and chop.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and add the onion, leek and garlic. Cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and, using a hand held immersion blender, puree the soup, or puree in small batches in a blender, and return it to the pot. Add the parmesan and stir until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Roasted Chicken Breast with Olives, Tomatoes and Feta

Olives are one of my favorite foods. They are great on their own, in a salad, on a cheese plate, or my personal fave - in a martini! However, last night was the first time I made a sauce out of them. The result was a rustic, pleasantly salty sauce of olives, tomatoes, garlic and shallots, which pared perfectly with some fresh salad greens, roasted chicken and creamy feta.

This dish makes a great weeknight dinner. Quick and healthy, with TONS of flavor. 

Note: you may need to add a bit more dressing to the sauce and salad than the recipe calls for, I definitely did! But then again, I'm a dressing hoarder :) 

Enjoy the long weekend everybody!

Roasted Chicken Breast with Olives, Tomatoes and Feta (loosely adapted from Cooking Light)
Serves 4

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 cup multicolored cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

3 tablespoons oil and vinegar dressing, divided (I mixed 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar for this)

20 olives, halved (I used a combo of kalamatas and french green olives) 

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 small shallot, chopped

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

1 bag of salad greens

A few handfuls of fresh basil

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Saute breasts in a large shallow pan over medium high heat with some oil, butter or cooking spray, until all sides are seared (but not fully cooked through). Then, place the chicken breasts in the oven to cook through, about 20 minutes.

While the chicken is roasting in the oven, add a little oil to the same pan you used for the chicken. Heat oil, and add in onion, garlic and shallot. Cook until soft, and then add in tomato, olives and half of the dressing. Cook a few minutes, until tomatoes and olives are soft and heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Once chicken is done, add it to the sauce and cook them everything together over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, moving the chicken around so it soaks up some sauce.

Put the salad greens and basil into a serving bowl. Add the other half of the dressing, and mix.

Divide the salad among 4 plates, and top with chicken and sauce. Garnish with feta.