The Pear and Gouda Soup Experiment

Question: If a recipe sounds unique and quite frankly super funky, will it always taste good?

Hypothesis: Yes, unique and super funky always works. Remember bok choy tacos, "I can't believe it's not bacon" maple doughnuts and basil nectarine pizza? All winners.

Data: Okay so I love pears. I love gouda. I mean who doesn't? Pears lend themselves very well to savory dishes. I love pear on pizza, quesadillas, grilled cheese. What do all three of these have in common?

Cheese.

So soup with pears + cheese = delicious? Running experiment now.

900: Perfect pears, skinned, sliced and diced.   910: Make a vegetable broth jacuzzi for pears.   920: Obtain large hunk of gouda and make a velvety cheese sauce.   
930: Blend pears and cheese sauce.   935: Enjoy
938: Add spinach and enjoy
939: Add dried cherries and enjoy
940: Say s#$@ it and eat the bowl anyways.

Conclusion: Soup with pears + cheese= epic fail. Pretty, but epic fail.

I know you all don't come here for recipes that are big flops. But I think it's my duty to tell you about recipes that under no circumstances should you ever try. I absolutely love soup. I could eat it every day. But this soup disgraces other soups. It shouldn't be able to call itself soup.

More like oops. Get it? Because it's so bad?

...

Anyways, now that you've been warned you certainly deserve some good soup recipes. Here are my top 3 recipes. I would say they're perfect for chilly January weather, but this weekend it's supposed to be in the mid 60's. Oh Ohio.

1. Cream of Broccoli and More Soup 
2. Roasted Garlic and Red Pepper Minestrone 
3. Espresso Bean Chili

Until next time fellow science nerds. I'll be keeping myself busy in the lab :D

What I'm Listening to Today
Plainsong: The Cure
You'll Get Over: Patrick Park
Dreams: The Cranberries-->is it so totally 90's of me to say I love love this song?

View the original article here

Harvest Butternut Squash Soup with Kale and Mushrooms

When I was a kid I used to love winter. I eagerly awaited the first snow, drank hot chocolate with wild abandon and delighted in celebrating Christmas and my birthday within the same month.

I never had to worry about shoveling the driveway, whether the heat worked or driving in wind blown snow. Those were all things adults did.

Then boom. I became an "adult" and suddenly winter stunk like four week old garbage. It became like a really horrible third date, where the charms of the first and second dates have worn off and you're just left with an annoying idiot who picks food out of his teeth with the corner of his credit card and will not stop talking about how many different types of cacti he has in his apartment.

Things really came to head between winter and I yesterday when I was sitting in my apartment wearing two pairs of pants, three pairs of socks, three shirts, a sweatshirt and two blankets and I was STILL FREEZING! Our heat was on, but it was so GD cold it made no difference.

Aside from moving to Hawaii to cure my winter blues, my preferred solution is to make a big pot of soup. Soup is not only fabulous for warming up your half frozen body, it is also a great way to use "strange" ingredients in your fridge.

You know the odds and ends vegetables, left over cubes of cheese, that half bag of quinoa. Just throw it all in some soup and call it a day. No recipe really required. Just taste often and add whatever sounds good.

For my soup I just happened to have a butternut squash, two packages of mushroom blends, kale and farro. I literally just combined all the ingredients with a little onion, salt and pepper and broth and a hearty soup was born.

I'm not sure if winter and I can be friends ever again, but I at least still have soup to keep things civil between us. How about you? What's your favorite food to eat on a cold day?

Harvest Butternut Squash Soup with Kale and Mushrooms 
HTIC Original

1 T. olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced
1/2 bunch kale, chopped
2 packages of mushrooms (I used an artisan blend, but any type would do)
32 oz. low sodium vegetable broth
3/4 cup farro 
Salt and pepper

1. In a large pot heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 7-9 minutes or until onion is soft and translucent. Season with pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Add mushrooms and cook with onions, stirring often, until mushrooms are softened 5-7 minutes. Season with pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Add vegetable broth, kale, butternut squash and farro. Season with pinch of salt and pepper. Bring mixture to boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
4. Cover soup and stir occasionally. Cook until farro is cooked through, approxiamtely 45-60 minutes. Add water during process and season with salt and pepper if needed. 
5. Serve soup nice and hot with some saltine crackers. Try to stay warm and enjoy!
Serves 6-8 

What I'm Listening to Today-->M83 has a really great, chill CD. Highly recommend if you need some relaxing but powerful music

My Tears Are Becoming a Sea-->this song plays during the Rust and Bones trailer. I think it is intense and wonderfully beautiful.
Wait
Splendor

View the original article here

Chocolate Rugelach

We've all been there. Looked back at a moment and thought...

 "Seriously did I really do that?"

Sometimes it's a good thing like climbing a mountain or running a 10k without walking.

Other times it's a bad thing like eating half a pizza or slamming your fingers in your car door.

And then there are those stupid times. Like locking yourself out of your apartment not once but twice in the same week. Or for instance making plans to meet a friend for dinner without getting their phone number first.

I mean...no problem right? Just talk to them via Facebook. Friend doesn't have a smartphone.

Okay, well just wait in the parking lot until she shows up. Not sure what car friend drives.

Uh, maybe she's just running a little late. 30 minutes goes by...

Ah! Message on the phone from friend. "Are you still coming?"

Uh oh.

Insert the biggest fail of them all, definitely a face palm moment when you realize friend has been sitting in restaurant the whole time you were sitting in your car. Yes, you seriously did just do that.

If you're having one of those stupid moments, I have just the fix. Certainly a recipe you can file under the good "seriously did I just do that" category. It involves pastry dough blitzed with cream cheese, a hefty sprinkling of dark chocolate and butter. Did I mention the butter?

Rugelach is a traditional Jewish pastry which is fitting given Passover ends tomorrow. I don't have many Jewish friends, nor do I know much about their culture, but I do know one thing. Ever since Coffee Emporium started selling rugelachs I can't get enough of them.

Seriously I think I need to take out a loan to feed my habit. You think the bank will go for that?

While rugelach do take a little time to make they are actually quite simple if making pastry dough from scratch doesn't scare the pants of you. The dough is very easy to work with and anyone with two hands can roll rugelach like a champ.

I brought these to Easter dinner that included Neatloaf, vegetable cobbler, cheesy potato casserole, sweet potatoes, salad AND rolls. Aka complete carb attack.

Did I mention I also made chocolate peanut butter pudding parfaits and we all had seconds of everything.

I think we'll file that under the good, bad and stupid category. What do you think?

Chocolate Rugelach 
Adapted Slightly from Crepes of Wrath

2 cups of AP flour
2 sticks butter, cubed
1 t. salt
8 oz. cream cheese cubed
2 T. Greek Yogurt 
1/2 cup finely chopped dark chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
3 T. butter, melted
1 egg
1 T. heavy cream
Coarse sugar for decorating

1. In a food processor combine flour and 2 sticks butter. Pulse a few times to coat butter with flour. Add salt, cream cheese and Greek yogurt.
2. Process until dough starts to form a ball. Turn dough out onto a piece of aluminum foil. Wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes (you can cool it longer if you like).
3. In a small bowl combine dark chocolate and sugar. Set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 350.
5. Powder a flat work surface with flour. Unwrap chilled dough and roll out, making sure to keep the dough moving so it doesn't stick (can use wax paper on the bottom and top also to prevent sticking). Roll to pie crust thickness and cut extra dough off the edges to form a large circle.
6. Using a pastry brush, cover the entire dough surface with the melted butter. Sprinkle the chocolate and sugar mixture over top.
7. Using a pizza cutter, cut 12 slices out of the dough.
8. To roll your rugelach start at the wide end and simple roll to form a crescent shape. Grease a cookie sheet and place each rugelach seam side down.
9. Brush each rugelach with the egg and heavy cream mixture. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
10. Bake rugelach for 17-22 minutes or until golden down on top. Allow to cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Try not to do too many stupid things today and enjoy!

What I'm Listening to Today
A Mile Away: J Minus
Your Scars: Charlemagne 
Sad Eyes: Josh Rouse

View the original article here

College Kid Soup

College is a really exciting time in a person's life. Often it's the first time someone has lived on their own. They have no curfew to follow or really any other rules for that matter. They are exposed to a whole new group of people they wouldn't have met otherwise. And they are busy studying what will become their future.

But like many things in life the good does come with the bad. Because while college really is great, there is no denying one simple fact.

College kids are dirt poor. Like work three part time jobs and still barely have enough money for food poor. Buying good nutritious food isn't a top priority, because who can afford it anyways? Pizza, Chipotle, McDonald's...they are all more affordable, right?

Well I'm here to give you some education. A life lesson to college kids and adults alike.

Never will you save money eating out every day.

Sure the Dollar Menu seems like a great option but you're paying a dollar per serving (which isn't really that impressive) and you get no leftovers. Wouldn't it be easier if you could just grab your lunch out of the fridge on your way out the door instead of having to stop at a restaurant?

Insert soup. Basically the easiest thing on the planet to make and probably the cheapest. All you need is a simple formula and the different combinations are endless. If you're living in a dorm you just need to find a kitchen.

A kitchen and $3. 

I make a variation of this soup every week and it for lunch every day. Because I too am a poor college kid. I'm not in school anymore, but when your internship pays you less than $2 an hour, you have to become resourceful.

The recipe is very basic:
You dump all this into a pot, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes or until the rice is done. That's it.

And even better the recipe makes roughly 10 servings so each cup of soup costs about a $0.25. Suddenly that dollar snack wrap from McDonald's doesn't look so impressive now does it?

If you're feeling extravagant you can substitute beef or chicken for the beans or some fun grains for the rice like quinoa or farro. Also if frozen vegetables aren't your thing you can use any fresh vegetable you like.

For my soup this week I used this combination:
Black Beans Canned Tomatoes Frozen mixed vegetables Quinoa Shredded Brussels sprouts and jalapeno Chili powder, cumin, minced garlic, cayenne, unsweetened chocolate, brown sugarAnd it was delightful. I'd love to hear your soup combos that you've tried in the past.  Because goodness knows I'm not the only 20 something strapped for cash looking to eat on the cheap. Even if you're Bill Gates sometimes saving a dollar on the grocery bill isn't such a bad thing.

Plus let's not forget the money you'll save down the line on your medical bills if you eat soup every day instead of that McDouble. I know your health as a 65 year old isn't on your mind when you're in college. But maybe it should be.

Just something to think about while you slurp your soup.

College Kid Soup Suggestions
white beans, tomatoes, frozen spinach, rice, garlic and dried basil/oregano garbanzo beans, tomatoes, frozen green beans, penne and dried basil/oreganolentils, tomatoes, frozen cauliflower, rice and curry powder kidney beans, tomatoes, frozen stirfry mix, rice and ginger powder black beans, tomatoes, frozen corn, rice and chili powder
What I'm Listening to Today
Fortunate Fool: The New Amsterdams
My Love Has Gone: Josh Rouse
Love the Lie: Jf Robitaille

View the original article here

Kale and Cabbage Salad

At least once a week I find myself reading a recipe and deciding I'm going to skip a few steps.

This recipe calls for fresh basil? Eh, will cilantro work instead?

I should let my pie dough rest for 30 minutes? Will 5 work?

That salad should sit overnight? But I'm hungry now...

In every cooking class they say you should read the recipe before you start. I try really hard but some days it just doesn't happen. And I always get bit in the butt for it. I guess my only words of advice are this:

If a salad recipe says you should let it sit overnight, let the darn salad sit overnight.

A few weeks ago I had five straight days of garbage truck eating ending in a particularly shameful dinner of two doughnuts, half a large pizza, 1/2 pint of ice cream and three handfuls of Skittles.

Needless to say it wasn't my finest moment.

Also needless to say, I deperately wanted salad and soups for the entire week after. I had to restore the nutritional balance in my body. I literally felt like death. How do people eat like this all the time?

Okay, okay. Enough of my rant. Back to salads.

When I saw this recipe in Meatless, I knew I had to make it because it screamed healthy. I mean raw kale and red cabbage in a simple apple cider vinaigrette. The original recipe called for hemp, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. When there are three different seeds in a recipe it gets an A+ on the healthy scale.

I only had sunflower seeds in my pantry, so insert skipped step #1.

The recipe called for a whole onion, I only used a half. Skipped step #2.

Recipe wants parsley, I used cilantro. Skipped step #3.

Recipe says let sit overnight, I ate 10 minutes later. Skipped step #4.

Now if you are inpatient like me and don't let this salad rest, it will still be fine. But it will taste like you're eating raw kale and cabbage. Not the best experience. If you let it take a nap it will be much more pleasant. Just like a baby.

Nobody want a cranky baby, right?

Letting this salad sit overnight gives the dressing a chance to soak into the greens and soften them a bit. The second time I ate it, I wolfed down my bowl, versus just picking at it the first time. To help this process along I also suggest doubling the dressing recipe (doubled recipe is listed below).

Insert skipped step #5.

What can I say, I have a problem.

Kale and Cabbage Salad 
Adapted from Meatless

1/2 bunch kale, thinly sliced
1/4 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded carrot 
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 T Dijon mustard
1 T apple cider vinegar
2 T olive oil

1. In a small bowl whisk together mustard, cider vinegar and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. In a large bowl combine kale, cabbage, onion, cilantro and sunflower seeds. Pour dressing over top and toss to combine.
3. Allow to sit for at least 3-4 hours or preferably overnight. Serve alongside your lean protein of choice and enjoy!

What I'm Listening to Today
The Death of Us: The New Amsterdams
Down the Hillside: Jose Gonzalez
Antenna: The Acorn

View the original article here

Roasted Vegetable and Edamame Salad

There are some problems vegetarians face that our omnivore friends don't deal with. Problem number one is a little something I like to call 'the starch conundrum.'

We all love starch, I mean who doesn't? Sometimes life calls for a big plate of fries, a bag of pretzels or a bagel the size of your head. But you omnivores when you eat a super starchy meal you can usually balance it out with a piece of meat. It's a great combo. The fact that steaks are served with potatoes is no accident.
But for the vegetarian a lot of our protein choices some attached to carbs. So instead of refuge from the carb storm, instead we drown, falling deeper and deeper into the pool of high blood sugars. For the past few weeks my lunches have come with a side of afternoon nap which isn't very convenient when you're supposed to be working.

A solution to 'the starch conundrum' is needed.

Easy fixes include eggs, yogurt, tofu the usual suspects. Or in the case of this salad how about edamame, pistachios and a touch of feta cheese.

Edamame is kind of a freak of nature. It looks like a bean and tastes like a bean but it doesn't act like a bean. Well I know it is really a bean, but let me explain.

Black beans have 24 g carb, chickpeas 18, white beans 20. But the little green edamame only has 8 g PLUS 12 g of protein which is more than its bean compadres.

Way to go edamame.

Which speaking of small green things, lets talk about pistachios. These guys are packed with protein, second only to peanuts. And they're GREEN. I mean they're so much cooler than those dull peanuts any day of the week.

This salad can use any root vegetable, but I am quite partial to beets and carrots. The edamame gets roasted right along with the roots until their outside skin is nice and tan. I recommend eating this salad the day of, but it's still pretty tasty left over.

All you vegetarians out there, what are some ways you side step 'the starch conundrum?' I'd love to hear your strategies! 

Roasted Vegetable and Edamame Salad
Adapted from Meatless 

3 small beets, peeled and sliced
5-7 small carrots, peeled and sliced
1 cup shelled edamame, fresh or frozen 
2 T. olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
To Serve: 2 T. pistachios, 2 T. crumbled feta

1. Preheat oven to 450. Arrange beets, carrots and edamame in an even layer on a large baking sheet.
2. Drizzle olive oil over vegetables. Top with salt and pepper and roast for 30-35 minutes or until edges of vegetables and surface of edamame have browned.
3. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Serve 1 cup of vegetables topped with pistachios and feta. Say goodbye to post lunch crash and enjoy!

What I'm Listening to Today
Click, Click, Click, Click: Bishop Allen
Fiery Crash: Andrew Bird
Bookworm: Margot and the Nuclear So and So's 

View the original article here

Coconut Almond Butter

I like it when things are simple.

We're talking drinking coffee on the front porch while the sun rises. Or maybe lounging in a hammock on a summer evening. I'd certainly take a fat slice of apple pie while we're at it.

Keep it simple stupid. 

Just because I like things simple certainly doesn't mean that's how they are. I manage to make things really complicated, really fast. Anyone else like that? You're left there scratching your head wondering, 'how did this happen? Should this have been easy?'

So while life can't always be simple, it's nice to know some things can be.

Like snacks.

Lately my favorite snack has been peanut butter and graham crackers. When I was in high school I ate the H E double hockey sticks out of PB and grahams. It wasn't unusual for my lunch to be a graham cracker and peanut butter sandwich with some pretzels.

Hmm...didn't I say I was training to be a dietitian? Hey I was young, we all make mistakes.

My love affair with the pair has come back with a vengeance. But I decided to mix things up a bit and try homemade almond butter with my grahams instead.

And while almond butter itself is exceptional, almond butter with coconut is the bee's knees. If you're feeling especially indulgent you could dip half of your little graham sammies in some melted chocolate a la an Almond Joy.

::Insert mad dash to the kitchen to melt a bowl full of chocolate::

This spread can be whipped up in under 10 minutes and keeps well in the fridge. If graham crackers aren't your thing (btw are you clinically insane?!) try one of these combos instead:
Coconut almond butter on toasted whole grain bread Apple slices with coconut almond butter Snack wrap with whole grain tortilla, sliced banana and coconut almond butter Coconut almond butter mixed into vanilla Greek yogurt and topped with dark chocolate chipsCoconut almond butter on celery sticksMe? I'm going to stick with the graham crackers. Keeping it simple :D  Coconut Almond Butter 
HTIC Original

1/3 cup low fat coconut milk
1 cup unsalted almonds
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 T. honey

1. In a food processor combine all ingredients. Process until a paste has formed.
2. Continue to process to desired chunkiness. Add additional coconut milk if too dry. Enjoy!
Makes about 1.5 cups

What I'm Listening to Today
Runaround Sue: Dion and the Belmonts-->what a great song.
Every Line of a Long Moment: Roddy Woomble
Wild Country: Wake Owl

View the original article here