Tortilla Soup

This soup was inspired by my friend and faithful reader Irina. Her recipe is very loose and vague, so I really just did whatever I wanted to, and based it on her recipe. Oh man, it's exciting.


I started by sautéing some salt and pepper, garlic, chili powder and a tiny amount of red pepper flakes in olive oil. I also put on a pot of rice, but I didn't really take photos of rice cooking... it's kind of like paint drying... pretty self explanatory.


Next I chopped up some green onions (I like them better than yellow or white onions).


And then some red peppers.


I added both those things to the pot and let them cook until they were a bit tender.


Then I poured in some vegetable broth.


While the broth was heating up, I chopped some grape tomatoes in half. Okay, so it was just supposed to be chopped tomatoes, but 1) there weren't any good ones AT ALL at the grocery store and 2) I thought it was be awesome.


Anyway, then I threw those tomatoes into the broth. I also threw in some tomato paste.

And while that was cooking a bit, I opened a can of kidney beans and a can of black beans...

and rinsed them!

I threw them into the broth, along with the cooked rice.

I let that cook for about 15 minutes and then it was time to eat!

Irina suggested putting chips and cheese (soy cheeseloaf, if you're actually Irina) in the bottom of the bowl and then pour the soup on top, but I really can't do soggy things.
And Anders doesn't do cheese, so he put chips on the bottom of his bowl, and I elected just to put some on top along with my cheese.

This soup was absolutely great and delicious and quick. It was like eating nachos in soup form or something! I also like that I can just throw in what I/the grocery store happen/s to have on hand. The other excellent point is that Anders liked it. We don't eat soup like... ever. When he eats soup, it's usually from a can and with big hunks of beef in it. It did happen to be a little spicy for him, but we both really enjoyed it a lot.

Recipe

Tortilla Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, pressed
6-8 green onions, chopped
1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cups vegetable broth*
1-2 cups tomato, chopped
1 small can tomato paste
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 ½ cups cooked rice

×××

Sauté spices and garlic in oil. Add onion and pepper and cook until they become slightly tender. Add broth and simmer for a few more minutes. Add tomato and tomato paste and continue to simmer. Add beans and rice and stir well. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and cheese.

Guten Appetit! Continue reading...

Blueberry Cheesecake Squares

So here's my excuse for this stretch of time without updates: it was the end of the semester, and then Christmas, and THEN when I got back to Kingston my computer's power adapter died so I was without my computer for a few days. Now, instead of doing laundry or getting ahead on reading, I've decided to update my blog. With a baked good I made over a month ago... It was for a potluck Christmas dinner I went to at my best friend's apartment, the night before I went home for Christmas.

It started with a sort of shortbread base.




I pressed that into a greased baking dish, and baked it for a bit.




While it was baking I put together the cheesecake filling, something I'd never made before.


Now, when you say "whip together the cheese and sugar" it sounds just so wrong. But if cheesecake is wrong, I don't want to be right...


Added some eggs...


And whipped until smooooooth.


Next, I opened the can of blueberry pie filling I had bought on sale before Thanksgiving... thank goodness for canned goods.


And I poured the cheesecake filling onto the shortbread base...


And then spooned the blueberry filling into lines in the filling.


Next I took a knife and swirled the blueberry pie filling through the cheesecake filling.


It baked for a bit and then came out looking much the same as it did before I baked it, just a little more brown!

Riveting!!!!

All cut up and lovely.


Of course, I had extra pie filling, and I made this the day after I made my chicken pot pies, so I had extra pie dough, SO I made mini blueberry pies.

Cute!

The cheesecake was enjoyed by all at the potluck! I had fun making it, too, since I had never made cheesecake before. It's hard for me to say if this is a good recipe, since I hadn't made cheesecake before this, but it was very tasty and I did actually follow the recipe, so it couldn't be too bad!

Recipe

Blueberry Cheesecake Squares

×××

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, divided
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
½ - ¾ cup blueberry preserves or pie filling

×××

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. In a medium sized bowl, combine 1 cup of flour with brown sugar. With pastry blender cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes and remove from oven to cool on a wire rack.
In large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed beat together cream cheese and sugar just until combined. Beat in remaining 2 tablespoons flour, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla until combined. Pour over partially baked crust. Drop spoonfuls of blueberry preserves over top. With the broad side of a butter knife lightly swirl in preserves. Bake 20 minutes longer. Turn off oven; prop oven door open with handle of wooden spoon. Let cheesecake cool in oven 10 minutes; then cool completely on wire rack away from drafts. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and then cut into squares with a wet knife.
Store in refrigerator.

Guten Appetit! And stay tuned for my Christmas baking, including a five layer cake I made for my mother's birthday on December 26th! Continue reading...

Cinnamon Buns

So... it's been a while. And I don't really have time to be doing this right now, but I need a break between finishing class for the day and studying for the entire afternoon (well, at least until I go horseback riding...). Hence, I present, cinnamon buns and their less well-known but just as delicious cousin, chocolate chip buns!

I started out by heating up some milk and mixing it in my largest bowl with eggs, some oil (which I swapped in for melted butter), half the sugar.




Once that was well mixed, I added the yeast and, gently mixed it again and let the mixture sit for a few minutes.


After that, I threw in the other half of the sugar along with the flour, one cup at a time...




Until it formed this big lump of dough.


I covered the bowl with a tea towel and put it in my oven, which I had heated up then turned off.


While that was in the oven (for about an hour), I mixed together some brown sugar and cinnamon.

No need to measure!

Once the dough had doubled in volume:


I took it out of the oven and let it rest for a few minutes.


Then I divided it in two.


I rolled each bit of dough out into a long, thin quasi-rectangular shape.


And spread on some butter.


For the cinnamon buns, I heavily coated the dough with the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture I had prepared earlier.


And for the chocolate chip buns, I sprinkled on some brown sugar a chocolate chips.


Apparently I don't have photos of the rolling or cutting process, but all I did was tightly roll up each rectangle, starting at the long end. I then cut each roll into six equally sized pieces.

These went into my small Pyrex dish

I prepared the dish by making little tin foil dividers to keep the cinnamon out of the chocolate and the chocolate out of the cinnamon... I really don't like it when food mixes.

While the buns were in the oven, I made some cream cheese frosting.


And when they came out, they were golden and delicious smelling!!


I let the buns cool a little bit before I put on the frosting, but you have to put it on before they cool completely.


Later that evening, Anders and I enjoyed them with two of our friends.

And everyone lived happily ever after, because of the deliciousness.

These were really quite good. The recipe I originally found claimed to be "clone of a cinnabon" and I certainly don't agree with that, but they were still quite scrumptious.
I definitely used too small a dish and the bottoms of the buns didn't bake fully... luckily, that's the way cinnamon buns taste best! I actually liked this recipe so much I made another batch (all cinnamon) the next day to take to one of my 8.30 classes in which we were writing a midterm. They baked more fully the second time and I liked them just as much!
Next time I make them (which I wish could be sooner rather than later, but I just have too much to do...) I think I'll try to roll the dough out thinner so that the dough to cinnamon (or chocolate) ratio is lower. All in all, a really lovely recipe though!

Recipe

Cinnamon Buns

Buns
1 cup warm milk (110° F)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
8 gram package of active dry yeast
½ cup white sugar
4 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt

Filling
brown sugar, to taste
ground cinnamon, to taste
1/3 cup butter, softened

Frosting
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

×××

Heat the oven to 200°F. Beat together milk, eggs, oil and half of the sugar. Add yeast and allow mixture to rest for 10 minutes. Next, add the remaining sugar and the flour, 1 cup at a time. Turn the oven off, cover the dough with a moist tea towel and place the bowl in the oven for about an hour.
After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Cover dough with butter and* sprinkle evenly with cinnamon sugar mixture. **Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place buns in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F.
Bake rolls until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. When buns come out of the oven, turn the pan upside down over another pan to allow cinnamon mixture to redistribute through buns. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

×××

* To make chocolate chip buns, follow all steps up until the asterisk. At this point, sprinkle the brown sugar over the buttered dough, and then spread on the desired amount of chocolate chips. Continue to follow steps after the double asterisks (**).

Guten Appetit! Continue reading...

Easy food: pizza and Quaker muffins

The plan for my next baking endeavour was chocolate berry pie, but I haven't got the ingredients for it yet, so instead, the past two real food things I've made have been mostly packaged and easy.

First, Anders and I ate pizza for dinner last night. It's sort of a new dinner we've started enjoying, and it's nice because it's pretty easy.

We buy the crust ready-made with sauce included. Both are of surprising taste-quality.
We buy Molinaro brand:


Since Anders hates cheese more than anything in the world (no joke) and eats meat, we cut the shell in half and make completely separate pizzas.
His toppings usually include some sort of meat (most often bacon, but he's also put on ham, and maybe even hotdog once), pepper (red, orange or yellow), and some times pineapple.
I, on the other hand, like toppings that most other people think are insane. I put on the usual grated mozzarella cheese, then top that with broccoli and green olives. It's a lovely salty taste with a nice amount of crunch in the broccoli.



All in all, a great, mostly healthy dinner:



Second, today I made Quaker brand oatmeal chocolate chip muffins from a mix.

Yes, that is a poster of two girls making out in the background... I live with all boys, don't you know.

After a crummy day today, I was craving a chocolate hit, and while these are oatmeal chocolate chip muffins, most girls will understand that this is just not enough.
So, I had the ingenious idea of adding some unsweetened cocoa to a few of the muffins, before I remembered I live in a student house with four (now three, tomorrow two) boys and there is not a dusting of unsweetened cocoa to be found. Instead I nicked some of Trevor's Nesquick and added that to a few of the muffin cups before they went into the oven.


After baking for a mere 18 minutes, the muffins looked lovely and golden... kind of like this:


And how did the Nesquick ones actually turn out?

Pretty good. Could definitely use more chocolate, still.

Guten Appetit! Continue reading...