Category: Food

Creamy Tomato Sauce for Pasta

I needed a quick meal last night — so I made a carrot-y, creamy tomato sauce for pasta.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 carrots, diced into small pieces
  • 1/2 large onion, diced into small pieces
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 3 oz tomato paste
  • 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • salt, pepper, Italian herbs

Method

  • Heat olive oil in a pan. Add diced carrots and cook for a few minutes. Add garlic and onions and cook for a few more minutes until the onions become translucent.
  • Add salt, pepper, and herbs. Then add tomato paste and stir to incorporate oil. Cook for a few minutes.
  • Add pasta cooking water to thin to a reasonable consistency.
  • Remove from heat and stir in yogurt. Add salt/pepper/herbs to taste.

Harissa Paste Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 15-20 dried guajillo peppers
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp caraway seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

  • Cover dried peppers with boiling water and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes.
  • Heat a skillet and toast spice seeds for a few minutes. Then crush seeds with a mortar and pestle.
  • Drain the peppers.
  • Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend into a smooth paste.

Spicy Garbanzo Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 6 cloves of garlic, thickly sliced
  • 2 tbsp harissa paste
  • 14 oz can of garbanzo beans
  • 8 cups of stock
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

  • Saute onion and garlic in harissa paste
  • Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15-20 minutes until garbanzo beans are cooked

Anya’s Posting Challenge — Again — And Pie

Anya said I have too much “computer stuff” on my website again — not enough kittens and pie and fun stuff. So I am not allowed to post anything about computers for ALL OF FEBRUARY! And, if I do post about it, I get March added on. And another month for the next infraction, and so on. So  … umm … pie!

Anya made a peach pie — I had extra pie crust dough from making a quiche a few nights ago, and we had frozen sliced peaches over the summer when we picked up a big pile of fresh peaches. I made a maple sugar crumble (maple sugar instead of brown sugar in a crumble recipe) for the topping. Anya used cookie cutters to decorate the pie with maple leaves and a snowflake. It was very tasty!

Anya’s 10th Birthday Cake: Strawberry Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder
  • 4 teaspoons water
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup strawberry reduction

Method:

  • Place water in a heat-proof container and sprinkle gelatin on top. Allow to sit for at least five minutes to hydrate. Place container into a pot of water (water should not come too close to the top of the container — we just need a little bit in the pot to make a water bath). Simmer until gelatin is clear and liquid. Remove from heat and allow to slightly cool.
  • Add maple syrup to whipped cream and beat until soft peaks form.
  • Slowly drizzle gelatin into whipped cream (beating as you pour).
  • Slowly add in strawberry reduction and continue to beat until firm peaks form.

Anya’s 10th Birthday Cake: Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Whipped Cream

Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Whipped Cream
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Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Whipped Cream

Recipe by LisaCourse: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium
Servings

12

servings
Prep time

1

hour 
Cooking time

40

minutes

Ingredients

  • 14 oz all-purpose Flour

  • 2 tsp baking powder

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 226 g unsalted butter, room temperature

  • 284 g sugar

  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

  • 170 g egg whites, room temperature

  • 125 g strawberry reduction, room temperature

  • 170 g heavy whipping cream

Method

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Flour three 8″ cake pans and set aside.
  • Whisk together the cream, strawberry reduction, and lemon juice.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the room temperature butter and beat until smooth and shiny.
  • Gradually add in the sugar, beating until the mixture is fluffy and light colored.
  • Add the egg whites, one at a time, and beat at a medium speed.
  • On a low speed, add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients followed by 1/3 of the wet ingredients, mixing until mostly incorporated into the batter. Repeat until all ingredients have been added.
  • Divide the batter evenly between the three pans.
  • Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes (a cake tester should come out clean).
  • Place pans on a wire rack to cool for ten minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the rack and allow to cool.
  • To assemble, place a cake on the cake plate. Cover with strawberry reduction, and top with a second cake. Cover with strawberry reduction, then top with the third cake. Coat liberally with strawberry whipped cream and serve.

Commentary

  • This year, Anya chose a strawberry cake. We looked through a lot of recipes online and merged a couple into what we hoped would be a very strawberry flavored cake. It was — the strawberry whipped cream was specially tasty. I think it could have used more strawberry reduction between the layers, though the cake was already very moist.