Carrot Ginger Soup

Happy Friday everyone!

It’s been a little over two weeks since blogged but its feels great to be back.  I would be lying if I said I was busy but I wasn’t.  Actually I found a new hobby.  I recently learned how to sew.  One weekend I asked my mom If she can teach how to sew a skirt and she agreed to teach me.  I’m glad I asked because it’s experience that I will always remember.  So I’ve been obsessed with sewing own my own clothes lately.

Well that’s what I’ve been up to the past week but lets talk about this carrot ginger soup that I’ve made.  I had bag carrots that’s been sitting in my fridge for a while so I decided to make this soup for a quick-lunch/dinner.

Who knew ginger and carrots goes so well.  If I known about the ginger carrot combination, I’ve would have made this soup a long time ago. I’m crazy about ginger as I’m crazy for sriracha.  I’m crazy about other things too but I won’t talk about them on here.

This soup so creamy without the added cream and it’s comforting.  And I don’t have to feel bad eating this soup because I know im eating something that’s good for my body.

Carrot Ginger Soup

Adapted from EatLiveRun

 I added a small onion and garlic to the soup since I didn’t have a shallot on hand.  I also added some ground cumin for taste.  I’m a sucker for cilantro, so I garnish my soup with it instead of green onions.  Despite my changes, I’m still posting the original recipe down below.

1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped

2 T minced fresh ginger

1 shallot, minced

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp coriander

1 T olive oil

thinly sliced green onions for topping

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the minced shallot and sauté until tender, about five minutes. Add the ginger and sauté for another three-four minutes.

Add the chopped carrots, broth, coriander and salt and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until carrots are tender. Carefully transfer to a blender and purée.  Serve with thinly sliced green onions on top.

Banana Muffins

Good morning everyone!  How would you like a baked banana muffin to start your day?

Banana Muffins

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

In the original recipe, the muffins are frosted in a  mascarpone cream cheese frosting and topped with toasted walnuts.   If you can’t find mascarpone, just substitute the mascarpone for cream cheese frosting.  What ever you decide to use, the muffins should still taste great.  I decided not to frost the cake because I was serving these muffins for breakfast.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed

Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly.

And the secret ingredient is……

Beets.

Let’s take a moment to talk about beets.  Beets are a root vegetable that’s probably one of the underrated vegetable to be eaten .  Beets have a deep purple skin and it’s flesh has a vibrant reddish/purplish color.  These vegetables should be handled with a little caution because the flesh bleeds and will stain everything.  Beets have long stalks with the greens attached to them and they are edible.

Last summer I was introduced to beets for the first time.  I couldn’t understand how people thought beets were good.

So why am I making a chocolate beet cake when I don’t like beets at all?

First I wanted to try something different.  I love carrot cake, banana cake, zucchini bread; so why not a chocolate beet cake. Secondly, I thought flavor of the beets would diminish with chocolate batter.  Boy was I wrong.  The cake has a strong earthy flavor.  What I mean by “earthy flavor” is that it tasted like dirt (sorry beet lovers).  Though it has an earthy taste you can still taste the chocolate.  I was trying so hard to like this cake but it ended up in the trash.

After I made this cake I realized that I can’t like everything.  Even if it’s beets.  Maybe later down road I might appreciate them.

Chocolate Beet Cake

Adapted from The Avid Appetite

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 C butter, at room temperature
4 oz semisweet chocolate, melted
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups beets, (canned or fresh) pureed
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease a 10″ springform pan with cooking spray w/flour (e.g., Baker’s Joy).

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the brown sugar and butter. Add melted chocolate and combine. Add one egg at a time, mixing until completely combined.

Add vanilla and beets and mix well.

Sift flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt together. Add to beets batter and mix.

Pour into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar or you could frost the cake like I did.

August Favorites

Happy August everyone.  I can’t believe are in August already…summer definitely gone by fast.  Well it’s time for another monthly favorite.  I love writing these because I love to share what I now love and my new discoveries.  So let’s get started.

1.  I’m lovin this Chicken Pho.   I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to try Vietnamese food.  I spent a few years in the Bay Area and there were so many Vietnamese restaurants  that I passed by.  Now living in Southern California, I have to travel a distance for international cuisines.   Since this was my first pho experience I thought it was good, but I’m sure there might be better ones.

2.  This would have to be my favorite granola so far.  I love eating this  for breakfast, as a snack, and for dessert.  I top this granola with plain yogurt, drizzle of honey, and sliced bananas.  So basically it’s a parfait.

3.  These ginger chews.  If you like  crystallized ginger, you’ll love these.

4.  I love my new mini lemon juicer.  I always struggle to get the most juice out lemons but this tool makes squeezing lemon juice a lot easier.  I know it’s tiny but it  gets the job done.

I’d like to end this post with a song that I’m digging at the moment.

Have a great weekend everyone!