healthy fat

Quarent-eating

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I’ve been having a great time with all this quarantine cooking.

Over the last few years there’s been too much hustling around between managing and maintaining several Airbnb’s, teaching Pilates four days a week, working at Tate’s office, and leaving town every.single.weekend, I’ve gradually lost my zeal for kitchen time

The last month has, of course, halted much of the hustle and given me time to luxuriate in kitchen time and food creation, not to mention keeps me out of the grocery store thus reducing risk of virus exposure and saving money.

There was a yard salad of danelion greens, chickweek, redbuds, violets, plus kale and arugula salad.

Topped with a dressing of Holy Basil vinaigrette (I grew the Holy Basil, also known as Tulsi, last summer and had the vinegar infusing in the fridge since then).

Some expired yeast and soon to-be-expired flour yielded rolls that didn’t rise, but were tasty and still good to slop up the soup.

(pre-baking)

And pizza dough, that was grilled and topped simply in the ‘margarita’ style, with homegrown sweet basil to literally top it off!

The best of operation ‘use up the random/outdated/dust collecting pantry items’ were definitely the macaroons that I made during Passover.

The coconut, vanilla beans, cardamon, rose petals, and cocoa powder have all been kicking around since the heydays of this blog, back when I used to post recipes often! I might have to bring back recipe posting, these were so good, they will definitely be repeated!

I’d love to hear the best and/or the most obscure things you’ve eaten if you too are quaren-cleaning out the fridge/pantry/cupboards!

Carrot-Miso Soup with Ginger

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Making soup is rarely a well planned event for me, more of a clean-out-the-fridge-and-see-what-transpires type of affair.

Sometimes the stars align and the end result actually inspires a trip to the grocery and an attempt at re-creation/”recipe” making;

this Carrot-Miso Soup with Ginger did exactly that.

 

carrot ginger soup

 

It starts with lots of ginger and garlic, peeled and minced.

 

carrot ginger soup

 

 

carrot ginger soup

 

Slooooow cooked on (very) low in a bit of olive oil

 

carrot ginger soup

 

carrot ginger soup

 

In the meantime, the carrots, celery, and onion got washed and chopped,

 

carrot ginger soup

 

And added to the pot.

 

carrot ginger soup

 

The heat can come up a bit more now but still not too high, we’re not looking to brown the garlic or onions at all.

 

carrot ginger soup

 

When the onions are translucent, add a few pinches of salt, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, a few grinds of fresh black pepper, and saute a bit more before adding enough water to cover the vegetables

 

IMG_0736

 

Once the celery is very soft remove the pot from the heat and add miso.

Start with a soup spoon full, it’s salty and easy to overdo and of course easier to add then to subtract.

I can be a bit lazy and I add the paste right to the soup but if you are new to miso or less confident in the kitchen (or just less lazy), it’s easier to control the amount and to dissolve it completely if you spoon off some of the soup broth into a small bowl and add the miso to the broth, stirring to dissolve, before adding the thinned paste to the pot.

 

carrot ginger soup

 

Use an immersion blender to puree.

I left mine a bit chunky, I love a variety of texture,  but you could certainly go all the way to a smooth puree.

I garnished with an abundant sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro.

 

carrot ginger soup

 

I love the contrast of the savory, herbaceous essence of the cilantro with the sweet undertones of carrots, miso, and ginger so don’t leave that part out unless you really don’t care for cilantro.

 

carrot ginger soup

 

As with nearly all soups, the flavor gets better for days just make sure not to boil vigorously when you are reheating to preserve the live probiotic properties in the miso.