#Cooking Thoughts 25.09.2024
- Entering that time of year when I want to COOK!
- The Fall and Winter is the time for comfort food.
- I dieted very strictly for months and now is the time to enjoy!
Starting “cooking thoughts”: 25.09.2024
- I eat veggies every morning for breakfast.
- Not everyone wants to do this…but it fills me up and during dieting I had to avoid
- my beloved “Toast, butter and jam” with my coffee.
- Coffee is now a treat….but I nibble on nuts instead of toast!
Breakfast: I had no broccoli in the fridge…so I used “spitskool” (chopped pointed cabbage) and chopped kale. I put the chopped veggie is a sieve…ran boiling water over them, drained. Spices: used “Foxpoint” (Penzeys Spices) for the first time and I was delicious! Added olive oil, splash balsamic vinegar then added cooked quinoa (1/2 c). This is a breakfast “MEAL”!
COFFEE: Made “real” coffee this morning (no instant anymore) and in each cup 1.5 tsp “koffiemelk”. This coffee creamer is very rich and only use very little. I haven’t had this treat in 9 months!!
BREAD: First slices of a bread in 6 weeks! (…if you want to lose weight, cut out the bread for a few weeks, months!)
Lunch: Three Cheese Bruschetta: 2 slices sourdough bread – bush sides with olive oil – bake in oven 200 C (176 F) 5-7 min (turn once til golden, let cool). Tomato: 2 diced with 1 tsp olive oil – 1 tsp balsamic – salt/pepper – 1 grated clove of garlic. Cheeses: 2 tsp cream cheese – 2 tsp feta mix. Spread: cheese mixture on bread slices, top with diced tomatos + grated italian cheese. GREAT…bruschetta tastes just like pizza that I have been missing for years. The flavors, the cheese and the CRUNCH! Website: Yellow Bliss Road
SNACK: 15 hr – apple/orange
Dinner: Soup by Ina Garten: Tuscan Bean Soup (used brown beans I had in the fridge)
Make sure you cooking pot is big enough…these are a LOT of veggies!
- 1 pound beans (used cooked beans) – 380 gr
- Good olive oil 1/4 c
- 4 ounces pancetta, diced (use bacon instead of pancetta) – 100 gr = sauté in oil
- 2 cups chopped leeks – 218 gr
- 2 cups chopped yellow onions – 265 gr
- 2 cups (½-inch) diced carrots – 360 gr
- 2 cups (½-inch) diced celery – 250 gr
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves) (grated)
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
- 8 to 10 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 2 bay leaves – all veggies and spices = add stock and let immer partially covered 30-45 min
Potatoes? add 390 gr and cook until softened = another 15-20 min
BEANS: – add per serving b/c I cannot fit the beans in this pan! Pan is too small.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese – serve with grated cheese + dollop sour cream?
NancyElin.blog 
I also like making soups in winter, the only redeeming thing for winter as fas as I am concerned, lol. With homemade bread
Soup is a major comfort food!
Finished my onion soup on the stove top… so much for the slow cooker, but it turned out well in the end! Going to do Aunt Sue’s potato leek soup this weekend… soup season has arrived!!
Any suggestions for a plain carrot soup?… had one in Boston years ago and it was just delightful! Plain, nothing fancy.
Never made carrot soup.
Weekend update: roast chicken today…smells delicious while cooking!
I absolutely love a chicken roasting in the oven… a real Fall treat! Of course I must also go with the stuffing and gravy too!!
However I will be doing Chicken Marsala with linguine this weekend… you know me, I have to go with what’s on sale at the store!
Enjoy your feast!!
I used to make soup all the time, and it is definitely a great food for winter. I will have to make more bean soups this winter.
I also like to cook long-cooking recipes in the oven in winter because it doesn’t overheat the house and in fact, it supplements our heating system.
I had to include something with “Fall” spices…nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon.
Found what I was looking for with Ina Garten’s Apple Sauce Cake. Easy-Peary and tastes great with my coffee …while reading!
Let us know how it goes!!