Carrot Soup for the Single Soul

Yesterday was one of the days when the co-resident was not going to be home for dinner. Considering I don’t really have any strong dislikes for any specific food groups, my options seemed endless. Cooking for one however can be quite daunting. You don’t want to go though a complicated recipe and have it turn out perfectly with no one to go “ta da” for. You also don’t want to curl on the couch with instant noodles, though trust me sometimes that’s the best way to relax. Most of my cooking revolves around what I have in my refrigerator on any given day. So a quick peak established that I would need to find a recipe that involved carrots. Everything fit into the plan perfectly as I zeroed in on Carrot Soup with Yoghurt! a. The co-resident does not consider “Soup” to be a meal, b. Carrots do not feature in his list of ‘yummy’ things to eat, c. Cold Soup?? … That was pretty much an oxymoron that I cannot be bothered to explain to him. So yeah, he’s out and I’m making Carrot Soup!

Carrot Soup with Yoghurt

Prep time – 12 mins
Cooking time – 30 mins
Serves 4 (I’ve given the standard recipe)

What you need:

30g Butter (everything wonderful starts with butter)
6 Carrots (diced)
4 cups Chicken Stock
¾ cup Sour Cream/ Yoghurt
1 clove Garlic (crushed)
1 Onion (chopped)
2 medium Potatoes (diced)
2 Tbsp Fresh Chopped Herbs (parsley/ sage) to garnish

What to do:

Melt the butter (sigh..) in a large saucepan. Add the onions and garlic, sauté till onions are translucent and you can smell garlic in the air. (It helps if you toss the onions in first so that way the garlic will not burn/ discolor). Add carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes. Toss in the potatoes, reduce heat to low, cover and sweat the vegetables for 4-5 minutes (Yes, the veggies love a sauna too!). Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Season to taste (I add rock salt, freshly ground pepper and garlic powder.. Yes, I am addicted to garlic). Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 25 mins. Take off heat, let it cool for a bit, then puree the veggie stew in a food processor/ blender. Serve garnished with a big spoonful of yoghurt/ sour cream, sprinkled with herbs.

I put some bread (need my carbs) in the oven, spread with a lovely Parsley Garlic butter to compliment my wonderful carrot soup….Give it a try!

Spaghetti Friday

Mondays are strange days. You still haven't shaken the stupor of the weekend but you know there's loads of work to do.(sigh sigh..) Friday's on the other hand are full of energy. Somehow the thought that the next 48 hours can be spent outside the office is enough to put that zing in anyone's steps. So I headed home bouncing on a trampoline (well not literally), to whip up a quick but satisfying meal before catching a movie. There was a packet of Spaghetti and I was personally leaning towards a tomato based sauce but the co-resident/ husband wanted something cheesy. So the final outcome was Spaghetti in Creamy Tomato sauce with Olives. Its pretty much a throw everything in recipe, so go ahead and fine tune the quantities to suit your taste. Also I mostly cook for two (but the co-resident can easily eat for three), so my recipes serve 4 people. Well, in Indian homes we always make more than we need and feed people till they can't eat another morsel. So a little extra never hurt.. what say? Have fun with your Cooking..

Spaghetti with Olives in a Creamy Tomato Sauce

Serves 3-4

What you need:

350 gms Spaghetti

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

6 flakes Garlic (minced)

1 Med Size Onion (chopped)

1/4 tsp Chilli Flakes

20 Marinated Black/ Green Olives

1 tsp Flour

4 Tbsp Tomato Puree

2 Med Tomatoes (chopped)

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

1/4 tsp Sugar

1/4 tsp dried/ 2 Tbsp Fresh Basil

1/4 cup Grated Cheese

1/2 cup milk

4 Tbsp Cream

What to do:

In a saucepan heat the Olive Oil and add Garlic and Onions. Saute till onions turn transluscent. Add chilli flakes and fry for a few seconds before adding the flour. Now fry for a minute. We're making a roux here, so that the sauce is of coating consistency. Add in the tomatoes and saute for a few minutes. The key is to smash them around so that they release all their yummy juices. Add the tomato puree now and cook for 2 mins. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. There's the tomato sauce, now to make it creamy we need to add in the milk, and grated cheese (Slowly, gently, dreamily ... ) and stir till all the ingredients look like they have become one happy family. Now take the pan off the stove. Toss in the olives and basil, mix in the cream (full fat is always yummy), but skip if you don't exercise.

Cook the spaghetti according to instructions on the packet (toss in some rock salt in the water). Drain and mix the spaghetti with the sauce and serve hot. Always cook the spagehtti just before serving otherwise it will go cold and sticky and won't mix with the sauce well.

Bon Appetit!

Genesis

The reason God created Adam and Eve was that he could get a comment out of someone for what he created. If he was the only one to enjoy his creation, life would be pretty boring! In God's footsteps... My blog's created.. feel free to leave your thoughts on it. Also its still Day 1, so give me time to breath life into it. Also for all the people who think this blog is in anyway religiously inclined because God and Genesis is the first post, rest assured its not. So welcome to Food for Swaps and have a great weekend!