Tuesday, November 18, 2008

squashingly delicious soup, thai thirsty soup, and ameri-mex pie

Okay, so I didn't write for a few days, and now the things are just piling up!! In addition to these random creations, I also made some whole wheat cinnamon rolls (that did not end up that fabulous, I just really wanted some cinnamon rolls) and some oatmeal cookie dough (of which I ate as dough consistently for three days and then finally decided to make the last bit into a cookie...and it was actually really good! Damn myself for getting sick on dough.)

Not to waste any time: 

This first recipe was
 featured in the Interlake (aka Flathead Valley newspaper that usually features such mi
nd-altering cover stories as "Black bear spotted near Whitefish Lake, later could not be found"). However, and this will be a trend in all of my creations, I did not have all the necessary ingredients. So I compromised. And I liked my result! So I'm just going to include mine. If anyone is interested in the real one, lemme know~

Squashingly Delicious Soup

3 tbs butter
3 cups butternut squash (cubed)
1 1/2 cups onion (chopped)
3 large carrots (chopped)
2 medium red potatoes (chopped)
1 medium Granny Smith apple (chopped)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
3-4 cups chicken broth
 (or 4 cups water and 3 bullion cubes)
1/2 cup apple cider/juice
1/2 cup whipping cream

Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat, add vegetables and saute for about 10 minutes. Add apple and spices, mix. Add broth/water+bullion and cider, bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 30-45 minutes, or you know, however long you want. For a more pureed soup, stick in the blender for a minute. As I have no such luxuries here, I just used a potato masher until everything was all blendy. Before you want to serve, add whipping cream and bring back to a simmer. Add more spices if you feel like it!


So this is probably a more Vietnamese soup than Thai...but I'm calling it Thai because it uses this spice I found in Missoula at this fabulous spice/tea store called "Thai Spice". I wasn't sure what it would taste like, but it's delicio
us! Unfortunately, I can't relate to you what exactly it's components are to this spice besides ground hot pepper...as when I inhaled it I choked for a good 10 minutes. 
 
Thai Thirsty Soup 
(so titled because if you leave it over night, the noodles drink up all the broth)

2 tbs vegetable oil
1 small red potato (cubed)
1/2 small yam (cubed)
1 egg
4 leaves bok choi (chopped or however you like 'em)
3 teaspoons Thai seasoning
1 teaspoon curry powder
3 cups water
 4 tbs whipping cream
dash of red pepper flakes
salt to taste
rice noodles (about 2-3 servings)

Saute oil and potatoes about 10 minutes in a wok, add egg until cooked through. Add bok choi, seasonings, stir. Add water and let simmer for a good 30 minutes, then add whipping cream and pepper flakes + salt to your liking. Finally, add rice noodles and cook for about 7 minutes (don't want them in there too long, or they'll steal all the broth!) 

Last, and probably least, we have tonight's creation. I was craving something Mexican, but definitely did NOT have the adequate supplies. So this is what I came up with. It is extremely easy. Painfully easy, actually. It wasn't super flavorful, but that's what you get for using ingredients from Target. If I did it again I would want to include some cumin, guacamole on top, and some cilantro. That would make it even tastier. 

Ameri-Mex Pie 
(because let's face it, the only real Mexican food you'll ever get is in Mexico. Or Chicago.)

In a saucepan, saute the following: 

1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed, it grosses me out when canned beans froth)
1 Roma tomato (chopped)
1/4 large onion (chopped)
1/2 green pepper (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 jalepeno pepper (minced)
1 serrano (or other chili pepper) (minced)
What was left in my jar of salsa (but you could very well use up to a half jar, if you have it)

Then, in a pie or other circular pan, layer: 

Corn tortillas
Bean mixture
Blend of pepper jack and sharp cheddar cheeses (about 3/4 cup per layer)

You should be able to repeat this layering twice, with a final layer of corn tortillas on top. Slice another Roma tomato on top and cover with cheese. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. 




 



4 comments:

Graham said...

You're going to have a blog stalker on your hands if you keep putting such srum-diddly-umptious Thai recipes on here. The thirsty soup turned out heavenly with a few modifications:

"Thai spice" is not likely found in non-interesting areas like southwest Michigan unfortunately, so more curry powder needed to be used instead with extra additions of turmeric, ginger and cumin to compensate. Mom had some fresh Kale that I threw in for funzies and my golly, if it wasn't a fine accompaniment! No yams for moi.

Also, a recommendation, if I may, to further "Thai-ify", consider coconut milk, in place of cream as well as soy sauce, in place of or in addition to, salt. And, as always, hefty portions of chili sauce to let you know you're alive.

Keep dat slicin' and dicin'!

Britta Linnea said...

oooh, nice work graham. sounds delicious. i'm hoping you pick up some recipes to share whilst in the east...especially if you can find out the ingredients of this fabulous dessert bar, the name currently escapes me.

maybe i never knew the name to begin with. either way, it's one of the only indian sweets not in ball form, not including syrupy sugar, and does not leave you with a gross milky aftertaste. in fact, it has the texture of a butterfinger bar and tastes like pistachio-almond-cardamom goodness. muchos gracias!

Emily Elizabeth said...

Hi there. I just found your blog, and it's lovely. In addition to wanting to try all of your recipes (without exception, seriously), you writing makes me want to read the local Colfax newspaper again (weekly, roughly 5 pages). My mom used to mail it to me freshman year at Olaf, and once Shamp and I laughed forever about a two-page cover story concerning the boy scouts canoe trip, in which two canoes tipped over in the Red Cedar River (max depth: 2.5 feet).

-Moen

Britta Linnea said...

Hahaaa.. Emily, I love it. I actually picked up the "Hungry Horse News", which is an even smaller paper than the Daily Interlake, last week. Headline, "Grizzly Bears Fared Well this Year". Tragically, a headline later in the week read, "Man kicked off train found floating down river". However, reading on, the man was actually causing a disturbance on Amtrak and was kicked off. He proceeded to enter the river (approx 20 degrees), float downstream, and was encountered by the sheriff about a mile down, where he was arrested. However, there is no word on what happens after the arrest. I don't think there is an investigative unit here in western Montana. If I read more highlights, I will def include them!