Sunday Soup: Roasted Tomato Arrabiata

In case the drop in temperature and changing leaves didn't tell you...It's Fall.  Fall is my very favourite season for many reasons.  I love the crisp air, the rich colours, sweater weather and most importantly fall foods! (I also LOVE Thanksgiving, but I'm sure I will address that in a later post.)

For me, fall is the begining of comfort food season.  This season typically lasts through till Spring and is usually the time when I pack on a few extra pounds...you know, to keep me warm.  This year, I am going to try to make healthy foods that are just as comforting.  I'm hoping my new cashmere sweater will keep me warm instead of those few extra pounds.

Fall harvest brings with it great fresh local produce that inspires yummy and warm dishes. Last year throughout the fall and winter I would make a soup or stew on Sunday nights to last throughout the week. I will keep this tradition this season as much as possible and share with you my various soup and stew recipes.

Last night I tried something new and didn't really follow a recipe.  I had never made a roasted tomato soup before and I think this one turned out quite well.  It's definitely got a kick to it, which is why I named it after my favourite pasta dish. I hope you like it!

Roasted Tomato Arrabiata Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs (approx) of vine tomatoes.  You could also use roma tomatoes.
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 small white onion diced
• EVOO
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 1/4-1/3 tsp crushed chili peppers
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (or more if needed)  

Directions:

Roast tomatoes and garlic in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour.  I cut the tomatoes in half put them on a lined baking sheet cut side up and sprinkled them with salt, pepper and olive oil.  You can roast the garlic at the same time by putting the cloves in a foil pocket and placing them on the baking sheet along with the tomatoes. While the tomatoes are roasting, saute onion in one tbsp. of olive oil at the bottom of a large pot.  Once the tomatoes and garlic are ready, add them to the pot along with all the roasting juices.  Add the thyme and chili peppers and 1 cup of broth.  Use an immersion blender to blend everything together.  Add the remaining stock and simmer for about 20 minutes. Feel free to add extra seasoning to taste.  Serve with some fresh basil and enjoy!  

Battle of the Burger

It's the first official full day of summer and I have decided that this will be the summer of the burger.  Whether I barbecue them myself, or eat them at burger joints like Five Guys (my friend is a burger connoisseur and swears that Five Guys has the best burger in the city), I am pledging to delve into the world of burgers and become an expert of sorts myself.

My boyfriend and I are going to be in Boston next month and we already have plans to go to Bartley's- which is famous for its burgers and was featured on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, one of my favourite Food Network shows. I can't wait!

But I will not wait for Boston to begin The Battle of The Burger. In fact, I think it's already begun with a clear winner. I have been experimenting with curry burgers and I believe that I have finally perfected the recipe. I will be making other burgers this summer, but I'm not sure anything can beat these Indian-inspired patties.

Fat Girl's Curry Burgers

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of ground veal and chicken (you can use any ground meat)
• 1 egg
• a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tbs curry powder (I use a medium yellow curry)
• 2 tsp of cayenne pepper (or more or less to taste)
• a handful of chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and pepper

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and form into patties.  Barbecue patties for approx. 7 minutes on each side. Place patties on buns (I use whole wheat or multigrain) and top with grilled eggplant and sauteed onions.  I spread some Masala mayonnaise on the buns as well. 

Masala Mayonnaise:
Mix together about 1/2 cup of light mayonnaise with Masala seasoning and cayenne pepper.  I didn't really measure it but a few shakes of Masala and a small dash of cayenne pepper should do the trick.

Moroccan Munchies

Last night I was a guest at a traditional Henna ceremony in honour of my friend's recent nuptials to her Moroccan husband. Over the next five months, I have six weddings to go to and this one started off the wedding blitz with a bang.  

This was my first time attending a Henna marriage ceremony.  The girls were dressed in very ornate Moroccan robes and their hands were adorned with henna designs.  Moroccan music played throughout the night as people celebrated the happy couple.  And the Moroccan food was aplenty. 

I discovered Moroccan flavour fairly recently and the flavours from last night's North African fare reminded me of a great recipe I have for a Moroccan inspired snack. The below recipe is the perfect healthy alternative to chips or any other salty crunchy snack.  You can make the spice blend for this recipe and save the rest in an air tight container to use when making roasted vegetables or rice (it's especially great when roasting butternut squash and carrots)

Crispy Moroccan Chickpeas

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. Moroccan Spice Mix
• sea salt to taste

Moroccan Spice Mix:

• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Drain and rinse chickpeas and pat dry with paper towel.  Toss chickpeas with olive oil, spice mix and salt. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for approx. 45 minutes or until they are slightly brown and rattle when you shake the baking sheet.  Let cool and serve.

Not Your Average Jerk

A few months back, I attempted a jerk chicken recipe.  It turned out mildly disastrous.  I marinated the chicken in a very aromatic jerk spice blend for 24 hours...probably about 23 hours too long.  The chicken turned out so over-seasoned that I was breathing the spicy fire of jerk for days.

In an attempt to rectify my jerk experiment and actually do justice to this delicious Caribbean inspired spice blend, I decided to revisit jerk.  This time, no marinating.

I love Mexican food, and I especially love fajitas.  We have a fajita night at my place almost once a week and I usually come up with some variation of a Mexican fajita. This time, I decided to make jerk chicken fajitas. I really like Caribbean food and I really like fajitas, so why not combine the two???

Thankfully they turned out much better than my last attempt at a jerk chicken dish, which is why I am happy to share this recipe.

You can buy a jerk spice blend at any grocery store, but I prefer to make my own.  The ones you find in the store usually contain sugar and are very high in sodium.  You can make this blend by combining the below spices. You can store the mixture in an old school film container (pre digital camera era), or small Tupperware.

Jerk Seasoning Blend:

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbs onion powder
• 2 tsp ground thyme
• 2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp garlic power
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Jerk Chicken Fajitas: 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground chicken (you can use turkey)
• 2 tbs of Jerk Seasoning Blend (half for the chicken and half for the veggies)
• 1 Roma tomato chopped
• 2 bell peppers (I used green and red) cut into strips
• sliced mushrooms
• 1 yellow onion
• the juice of one lime
• fresh pineapple
• tortilla shells (I like to buy whole wheat or flax shells- they usually have more fibre than the traditional corn shells)

Directions:
Saute veggies until they start to soften.  Add half of the Jerk Seasoning Blend.  Once the veggies are almost done, squeeze half of the lime juice into the pan and saute for a minute longer. add pineapple pieces and set aside.  Meanwhile, in a separate pan saute the chicken until it starts to brown.  Add the other half of the Jerk Seasoning Blend and the chopped tomato and continue to cook until chicken is done (juices will run clear), then add the other half of the lime juice.  Place some of each mixture on a tortilla and top with shredded lettuce or whatever fresh veggies you like (If you want to cut the heat a bit, you can top with a dollop of low-fat sour cream). Fold and enjoy!