What's cooking??

[chordslikethis]

Do we have a thread like this? Seems to me we do, but oh well.

What are you cooking lately??

Myself, with the cold weather, I have been delving into my favorite of the food categories - soups, stews, and other "one pot" and slow cooker meals.

Cooking is my "therapy", and lately believe me I need it. In the last week I have concocted a coconut curry yam soup with quinoa and black lentils, an italian lentil and barley, and a vegan jambalaya.

I've also been baking like a madwoman - experimenting with 9 Grain bread recipe that turned out like a dream, dairy free pumpkin muffins, carrot and raisin, ginger bran, and a lemon poppyseed muffin as well.

And cookies! Giant chunky oatmeal peanut butter, mexican hot chocolate snickerdoodles, and classic chocolate chip. All dairy free.

And I wonder why I can't get into my skinny jeans.

[chordslikethis]

I have been taking just a few snaps of my concoctions with the ol iphone (why do I have that expensive DSLR??), because I've been trying to compile my "recipes" electronically, and maybe one day doing up a cookbook. Just for myself, maybe as a gift. Here are a few. All dairy and meat free (and the carnivores in the house actually don't notice or miss it, I think?)

the mexican hot chocolate cookies



the chunky oatmeal pb



lemon cutout cookies (I love anything lemon)




a beet borscht, with ingredients from the farmer's market (even the bun. i didn't bake that)



african yam stew. a favorite here. easy and cheap to make



ginger bran. i love a bran muffin.

[cherac]

WOW, I wish I was your neighbour!

I cook 4 things: Eggs, chili, grilled fish fillet with steamed vegetables, and muffins from box. I honestly don't know that I've "cooked" anything else since March.

But Coconut curry yam soup sounds awesome! Post if you have a recipe please

[jodycamp]

I want your recipes for the 1st 2 cookies in the pic (mexican hot chocolate and chunky oatmeal). They look yummy!

[SouthernBellefromSC]

wow these sound yummy and the pictures look great!!!

[LML]

I wish I was Jen's husband.

[Michelle]

Yum!

[Michelle]

Jen I was looking for almond flour pie crust recipes and came across this which immediately made me think of you. Vegan Acron aquash with cranberry apple stuffing. Looks utterly fantastic! It's gluten free too.
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.co...quash-and.html

[chordslikethis]

Yum, thank you! I have never actually had acorn squash, but I'm willing to try it! I enjoy the butternut, and I'm a big fan of the spaghetti squash.

Cher, you've got one up on me. Even when I ate them, I could never properly execute an egg. Screwed them up every time, any way I did them. I still attempt to make an omelet for Ben from time to time, but I think he wishes he'd made it himself.

I don't really have a recipe. Every time I make it I tweak it a little. There is this awesome stand at the farmer's market that makes a curried sweet potato soup on wednesdays, and I just CRAVE it, so have been trying to recreate it. It isn't the same, but it is still pretty good. This is what I did last time:

(the curry blend I used was a local Sask product, but I am sure you could find something similar. this is what I use for this soup: http://www.saskmade.ca/catalog/food/...a-curry-powder)

1 medium onion, diced
3-4 gloves of garlic, minced
4 yams or sweet potatoes, peeled and diced. I usually use yams, because I put sweet potato on the shopping list, but Ben buys yams. close enough.
3-4 TBSP minced ginger, or about 1 Tbsp powdered ginger
3-4 Tbsp of red masala curry blend (see above)
7-8 cups of veggie broth (I use water and veggie bouillon cubes)
salt and pep
1-2 packets of stevia, if needed (sometimes, depending on the yams or sweet potatoes, the soup needs a little extra sweetness. this is just to your own taste of course)
cayenne, if you want a little heat (I do!)

-Heat some olive oil in a heavy soup pot over medium to high heat. Saute your onions, then add garlic and ginger, and saute until your onions are tender and clear. Drop in your curry blend and stir to deglaze your pot. Add the broth and sweet potatoes. Cook until potatoes are good and soft, around 30 min.

-Now take the pot off the heat. If you're lucky enough to have an immersion blender (I am not), blend your soup right in the pot. Otherwise let it cool a bit and blend in batches in the food processor or blender.

-Return the blended soup to the pot and back to LOW heat. Whisk in a can of light coconut milk and warm, but don't let it boil wildly.

-Season to taste, and serve.

Option:

I like to add some quinoa for protein, and red lentils because they are tasty and thicken up a soup so nicely. If you're so inclined, add about a half a cup of each, and simmer on low for about 20 minutes, or until the quinoa "pops". (Last time I was out of red lentils, so used black beluga lentils. they hold their shape much more than red, if that's what you're going for).

the end. hope I remembered everything.

[chordslikethis]

here's a snap of the soup

[chordslikethis]

Jody, the mexican hot chocolate cookies are actually an Isa Chandra recipe. Copy/paste:

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

For the topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the cookies:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons almond milk (Or your preferred non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (or more vanilla extract if you have no chocolate)
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil, sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts.

4. Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got a pliable dough.

5. Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Pat into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2 inch discs. Transfer to baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

I'll see if I can find my recipe for the PB ones. I can't at the moment, which worries me. They turned out so nicely last time.

[sam.i.am]

whoa, I wish I lived near to you, Jen! You are amazing!!
You do a great job with the photos, too

[LML]

Agreed. This is exactly the types of food I love, and how I would eat all the time if I felt like cooking.