WE HAVE MOVED!

Soupies we have moved here: http://mondayssoup.wordpress.com/
Please visit us! And change us in your google readers and what not.

Thanks for ladling us into your bowls,
Alayna & ML

Appetizer Party

Appetizers. They're delicious. Everyone loves them. Plus it seems like you can go a little more crazy with trying to make an exciting appetizer because it's not the same sort of commitment as a whole meal, or entree. Having a whole party surrounded by appetizers (and cake) is a great idea to shake up boring February. We recommend. Invite your friends to bring their favorite appetizer dish, and if they don't have any ideas what to bring, scroll down.

Pate

• melt about 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan with one bay leaf and one sprig of fresh rosemary
• add 3/4 pound of chicken liver and cook (stirring occasionally) for about two minutes, then add a splash of whiskey (about a shots worth)
• cook a few more minutes until still pink in the middle, but not bloody... this should take a total of less than five minutes
• let cool for a few minutes, then put liver and juices into the food processor with some salt and pepper and blend until smooth
• scrape into a dish, cover with seran wrap and let cool for a few hours until solid
• enjoy!

Walnut Jam Cake

• toast 1 1/4 cups of walnuts in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 350
  
• butter and flour two 8 inch cake pans
• once they are cooled, crush your walnuts in the food processor with about 2/3 cup of sugar and transfer to a mixing bowl
• add 1 stick of butter, cut into pieces, and beat thoroughly
• then add 4 large eggs, beating again
• last but not least, mix 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, a few shakes of salt and some allspice in a separate bowl, then beat into the mix
• pour into your buttered pans
  
• cook for about 30 minutes at 350, checking to see if a toothpick comes out of the center clean
• cool for about 20 minutes in the pan, then flip out of the pans to cool the rest of the way
• once cool, decide which half will be your bottom, and spread a thick layer of jam (I used a blackberry/blueberry chunky one) on top
• top with the other cake, and serve with a dollop of whipped cream* on top

* to make whipped cream: whisk a small carton of heavy cream until stiff (you can make a ravine with your finger and it stays), add about 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk in... done!

Roasted Pears with Goat Cheese

• peel, halve and core about 4 pears (any kind)
• mix the juice from half a lemon with about a teaspoon of vanilla and in a separate bowl, about 1/3 a cup of sugar with a few shakes of ginger and allspice
• drizzle the lemon mixture onto your pears first, then sprinkle with the sugar mixture, finishing the lemons by dotting each one with a small tab of butter
• roast at 375 for about 45 minutes, flipping halfway through and occasionally basting with the juices
• Serve warm with the cup filled with goat cheese

Clementine Cake

• cover about 6-7 small, thin-skinned clementines with water and bring to a boil, then down to a simmer, cooking for about an hour (longer for thicker skinned fruit) until very soft. Take out of the water, and once cool, de-seed and then mush them in your food processor, skins and all
• butter and line an 9inch cake pan (I used a square one) with parchment paper, cutting to fit
• in your food processor (or by hand), grind about 2 cups of almonds, and mix them in with 1 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• beat 6 eggs in your mixing bowl, and add in dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly, followed by the clementine pulp
• Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, checking to see that a toothpick comes out clean from the center

Vegan Ethiopian Magic Meal

Diners of the week!

Friday dinner’s is BACK with a vengeance! I am finally done with my grad school applications and realized that, you know, I have friends. So this weekend I invited over some people I know from Amigos de las Americas, a volunteer organization I’ve been working with for about a decade. They’re all wonderful adventurers with great stories, and, more importantly tend to like things like ‘nature’ and ‘vegetarianism’.

Now, because AMIGOS vegetarians have a lot of experience eating in other people’s houses in North, Central and South America while working on development projects (and usually those other people don’t have a ton of extra food to go around) I think they are a little different from other vegetarians because they’ll eat pretty much whatever you put in front of them. That said, when someone says they are “veggie with vegan leanings”, I take them seriously.

And so I present.... a totally vegan Ethiopian feast. Most entertaining part? You lay the ingera (traditional Ethiopian flatbread) on your plate and ladle your stew onto it, then use another piece as a spoon/fork. No silverware needed! I will say, I wasn’t going to make ingera at all because it looked too hard/time-consuming until my wonderful co-worker Jolie suggested just buying some from my local Ethiopian restaurant.... brilliant girl, that Jolie. And I’m pretty sure my hand-purchased bread tasted a lot better than my hand-made would have.

So without further ado, the stews that celebrated international soup day!

Also, these portions could have served eight people.

Green Lentil Stew

• Rinse about 2 cups of lentils then place in a large saucepan with 2 cups of water, 1 large white onion chopped, 6 chopped cloves of garlic, and some generous shakes of red chile. Also add teaspoon, nutmeg, cardamom salt and pepper
• Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes, until lentils and soft and onions have more or less disintegrated. Stir periodically and add more water if needed.
• Add in a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (or red wine, which is what you’re actually supposed to do and cook for 10 more minutes... add more salt and pepper if needed
• .... keep it cooking for another hour or so if you want, but on a simmer. It will make the lentils nice and soft, and you won’t have to think about them!

Sweet Potato Stew

• Heat some olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté one large chopped onion, 6 pieces of chopped garlic, and about two inches of chopped ginger for 10 minutes, until onion is a nice golden color.
• Add 3-4 chopped sweet potatoes and one roughly red pepper and sauté for 1 min.
• Add a mix of paprika, allspice, cinnamon, coriander, and some ground fenugreek and fry for 1 minute. Don't worry about things sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add 1.5 cups of water to deglaze the pan, then add 2 tomatoes, half a cup of lentils, and two big handfuls of chopped green beans. Mix well.
• Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes, until lentils and potatoes are soft. Stir occasionally. It is even better of you can let it cook on a low heat for an hour or two. Add more water if stew gets too thick.
• Stir in a handful of parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper

Eggplant Stew

• Heat a large non-stick pan (cast iron preferred) over medium heat. Add in 3 smallish red onions (chopped) onions and fry for 30 minutes, stirring regularly, until a nice golden brown. When onions stick too much, deglaze the pan with a splash or two of water.
• Add in 3 chopped cloves of garlic, about an inch of chopped ginger, and a mixture of allspice, pepper, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, paprika, and chile powder (also known as a bastardized version of berbere, which is a real Ethiopian thing) and mix well, until spices are fragrant.
• Add in ¼ cup of margarine. When it melts, add one large carrot (diced) and one large eggplant (thinly sliced). Fry for 5-7 minutes, until eggplant begins to soften.
• Add two tomatoes, about 1.5 cups of water, and two handfuls of chopped green beans and mix well. Bring to bubbling, then loosely cover and let simmer. The lentils will cook in 20 to 30 minutes, but you can cook longer. Salt and pepper to taste.

Happy dining (and soup day!) friends!