Peanut and potato soup

This one is also a new recipe that I took the recipe from 'The New Soup Bible' by Anne Sheasby. I was curious about the combination and you know what? It works


Comments and substitutions
1. If you're a sissy when it comes to hot stuff I'd advise adding less chillies
2. I used a new potatoes - I like them and I had a bunch of them.
3. I used peanut butter instead of peanuts (I don't really have a food processor...)
4. I used less liquid but that's because I like thick soups
5. I processed the stock and vegetables together

Ingredient

• 60ml peanut oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 fresh red chillies, seeded and chopped
• 200g canned chopped tomatoes
• 150g cups of unsalted peanuts
• 1.5l stock
• 2 tbsp of chopped cilantro to garnish
• salt & pepper

Directions
1. Heat oil over low heat, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes
2. Add garlic, pepper, tomatoes, potatoes, and chillies. Stir well until coated. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until softened
3.meanwhile toast peanuts by cooking them in a large dry frying pan. Move them around until golden
4. Set 2 tbsp aside and process the rest in food processor until finely ground. add the vegetables and process until smooth.
5. Return mixture to the pan and add stock. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Pour in bowl and garnish with cilantro and peanuts

Friday Fill-Ins #149

A weekly meme hosted by Janet at Friday Fill-Ins

1. Plans and schedules are optional - if life ran according to plan, it would be very boring indeed .

2. Sometimes however, I'm happy when things run according to plan.

3. The last thing I drank was a cup of coffee - what else?

4. One of the most valuable things in my life is my sister .

5. I like loads of cheese on my pizza.

6. Dear November, please be nice on my birthday and allow the sun to shine.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to writing more of my NaNoWriMo novel (I'm at 12,000 words, hurray!), tomorrow my plans include a long phone conversation and some work and Sunday, I want to eat cheesecake in Brick Lane!

The Friday 56 - The lighthouse

A weekly meme hosted by Storytime with Tonya and Friends.

* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56. * Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
* Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

This week's book is PD James' 'The lighthouse'.



'He had chosen to follow his father's profession, not from enthusiasm or even, it now seemed from conscious choice, but out of vague filial respect and the knowledge that an assured job was waiting for him'

BB: A week with the Barefoot Contessa

Yes, I know it was supposed to be a week with the Barefoot Contessa but I got busy and all of a sudden it was Wednesday. So I got cooking and what you got as a result is a day with the Barefoot Contessa!

I cooked everything on the list but I won't post the recipes on this post otherwise it'll be huge. Instead I'll just post my comments and the links to the recipes (and I have enough food to last me a few days now...).

So here goes:



Roasted Potato Leek Soup I though this recipe was great! I didn't follow it to the letter but I really liked it.

Comments and substitutions
1. I'm not a big fan of creamy soups so instead of the cream and creme fraiche I just added some milk, and a blob of creme fraiche when serving (it's not on the picture... I added it aterwards)
2. I like my soup thick so I didn't add nearly as much liquid as in the recipe
3. I used baby potatoes with their skins
4. I used vegetable stock since I'm vegetarian...
5. I loved it!


Caramelized butternut squash I love roasted butternut squash and I usually roast it in the oven with olive oil so I was curious to see how it would taste like with butter and sugar... An YIKES! way too sweet, I didn't like it at all!


Chicken Chili Well.. I'm vegetarian... I made it with Quorn (micoprotein), their fake mince is quite good, but their fake chicken not so much, still I was hoping that it would work.

Comments and substitutions
1. They didn't have yellow peppers so I used orange ones instead
2. I don't really like cumin so I omitted it - I also wasn't sure how it would work with the basil.
3. I used Quorn
4. Meh, it was OK but nothing to write home about

French String Beans The recipe is quite similar to how I usually make my string beans (I saute tomatoes, peppers and onions in some olive oil and then mix it with the beans). It was good though I have to say that I roasted my peppers longer than 15 minutes.

Peanut butter and jelly bars *groan* OMG - so many calories for something that doesn't even taste all that great... I had high hopes for this but I really didn't like the result...

Comments and substitutions
1. I reduced the amount of sugar - and I'm glad I did
2. Reading all the comments I decided to increase the amount of jelly - I might have increased it a bit too much...
3. The external aspect was a bit off putting....
4. I tried to do half the batch with Nutella and I think I liked it better than with the jelly
5. This will never be made again!

A-Z Wednesday

Welcome to A-Z Wednesday hosted by Vicki from Reading At The Beach
To join, here's all you have to do: Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.

Post:
1~ a photo of the book
2~ title and synopsis
3~ link (Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc.)
4~ Come back here and leave your link in the comments. If you've already reviewed this book you can add it also.

Be sure to visit other participants to see what book they have posted and leave them a comment. (We all love comments, don't we?) Who knows? You may find your next "favorite" book.

THIS WEEKS LETTER IS: M

This week's book is Maggie O'Farrell's 'My Lover's Lover'

Synopsis:When Lily moves into Marcus’s flat and plunges headlong into a relationship, she must contend not merely with the disapproval of flatmate Aidan, but with a more intangible, hostile presence. Could it be that Sinead, Marcus’s ex, is trying to communicate with her? When Lily begins to ‘see’ Sinead, first about the flat, and then on the streets of London, she must question not merely her sanity, but whether the man she loves is someone she can, or indeed ought, to live with at all.

Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme, started by Bermudaonion where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun.

Today's words come from Peter Robinson's 'Wednesday's Child'

scree: a sloping mass of loose rocks at the base of a cliff

They accompanied Glendenning as he picked his way over the scree, complaining all the way, and ducked to enter the flue.

smelting: extract (metals) by heating

Banks wandered into the smelting mill and looked at the ruins of the furnace and the ore hearth while her waited, trying to put the first shocking glimpse of those intestines out of his mind

quiff: a prominent forelock (especially one brushed upward from the forehead)

sideboard: sideburns

duck's arse: a haircut style that was popular during the 1950s.

He had greased-back hair, complete with quiff, sideboards, and duck's arse, a triangular face with Kirk Douglas dimple on his chin, a long, thin nose, and eyes as flat and grey as slate

Spiced Lentil Soup with Parsley Cream

I love red lentils but I've never had the processed in a soup so I was curious to try this recipe. It makes for a very heart soup and the colors are lovely.



Comments and substitutions
1. I'm not a big fan of cumin so I put less of it. I think next time I'll forgo it completely...
2. I used less liquid but that's because I like thick soups
3. I didn't use the smoked bacon hock as I'm vegetarian
4. I didn't use shallots
5. I blitzed the parsley with the yogurt. I also think that cilantro would work really well.


Ingredients

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp of coriander seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 smoked bacon hock
• 1.2l stock
• 275g red lentils
• 400g canned chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced

For the parsley cream

• 3 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
• 150 ml Greek yogurt
• salt & pepper

Directions
1. Heat frying pan and add coriander & cumin seeds. roast over high heat, moving them over until they start to smell. Crush in mortar and pestle and add turmeric
2. Heat oil in pan, add onion & garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes till soft. Add spice mixture and cook for 2 minutes while stirring.
3. Place bacon in pan and pour stock. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add red lentils and cook for 20 minutes or until lentils and bacon are soft.
5. Stir in the canned tomatoes and add another 5 minutes

6. Remove bacon from soup. Let it cool and then remove the meat from the hock, discarding skin and fat.
7. Meanwhile puree the soup until almost smooth. Return the soup into a clean pan and add the meat.
8. Heat oil in frying pan fry the shallots for 10 minutes until golden and remove using a slotted spoon.
9. To make the parsley cream mix the chopped parsley and the yogurt. Season with plenty of salt and pepper.
10. Ladle soup into bowls, add a dollop of parsley cream to each and pile some crispy shallots on top. serve at once.