Spicy Salsa Baked Bean Soup

This is utterly stupid, but the I was going to make Trader Joe’s Vegetarian Black Bean Soup but I had accidentally bought a can of organic BAKED BEANS instead of black beans, but it was too late to stop cooking so I went ahead to make my soup anyway. Beans are beans, whatever. Plus, I’ve been bitten by the cold bug, so I’m craving for something soupy and sour.  I’ll post Trader Joe’s original recipe first, and then I’ll share my modified recipe.

• 2 cups of diced onions
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 (15oz) can black beans, undrained
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• Plain yogurt

OK, here’s how mine was put together, and I gotta tell you, this is the AWESOMEST soup I’ve made in a long time. I might just keep this recipe for our office’s annual chili cookoff… hehe…

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 chopped large sweet onion (2 cups of chopped celery if prefer to not use onion)
• 1 (15oz) can baked beans with sauce
• 2 tsp English curry powder (because I didn’t have cumin)
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (because I prefer using fresh ingredients whenever I can, so no pre-made salsa for me)
• 3 chopped jalapenos
• 1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder 
• 1 juiced fresh lime (more if you like it sour)
• Salt to season
• Chopped cilantro for garnish (more to cook in soup if preferred)
•  Plain yogurt

Method

1. Saute onions in olive oil until semi-soft.
2. Add curry powder or cumin, Mexican oregano and jalapenos and cook until soft.
3. Pour in baked beans and its sauce, tomatoes and vegetable broth.
4. Stir to combine and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and add in lime juice.
6. Season with salt and garlic powder.
7. Garnish with a dollop of yogurt and cilantro.

Steaming Fish in Parchment Paper

I had just remembered a very convenient way of steaming food, i.e. wrapping in foil or parchment paper and cooking it in the oven.

I tried this technique with my Steamed Vegetarian Tuna recipe yesterday and it worked amazing, without the excess water that dripped from the wok cover. Another reason why this worked great for me is because I do not own a big wok that allows me to place a large place in for steaming, nor do I own a pair of the special tongs that you use to remove a steaming plate of food from the wok.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F degree.
2. Drizzle some white wine and soy sauce over and around fish. You could use fresh lemon juice or apple juice if you like. The liquid seasonings will create the steam inside the parchment pouch when the dish is baked.
3. Starting with the “point” of the paper heart, roll and crimp the edges until the fillets are totally encased and sealed in the “half-heart” shape.
4. Place the pouches on a cookie sheet and bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes or until the pouches are puffy or had turned light brown in colour.
5. Remove from oven and place the pouches on a plate.
6. Using a pair of scissors, carefully cut an “X” in the center of the pouch, or cut an outline of the half-heart shape on the inside of the folded edges. Use extreme caution because the steam is very hot.

I’m on the list of Canadian Food Blogs

Since moving to Windsor, I’ve been feeling a bit out of my element and am searching to meet other Canadians with similar interests. I got to know that FoodTV Canada has a blog section and on it, they have a blogroll of Canadian food blogs. I e-mailed the admin and expressed my wish to have my blog be included as well. I didn’t hear anything back after a day but I when I went to check the FoodTV Canada blog, VOILA! I saw my blog listed on the left panel of the site.

Anyway, I’ve been sending mass e-mails out to my family and friends every time I make something in the kitchen to generate traffic to my blog. I think it’s time for me to ditch the clutches and see if my blog can indeed fly on its own. From what I’ve observed through the blog stats, I think I will be just fine

Yeay! Fresh produce in Windsor at last!

I went to meet up with Danielle Piche from Maple Syrup and Poutine blog and gang last night at our very first Cooking Club meeting and I tossed the question about getting fresh local and preferably organic produce around town. Everyone had something to say about the Windsor Market and I was completely lost.

Luckily for me, Danielle had written about the 2 markets in Windsor on Food Network whereby I could gleefully shop away to stock up my crispers in my fridge.

Fresh produce is extremely important to moi, a vegetarian. Since moving to Windsor in November I had been cringing at the sight of semi-limp state of vegetables at the grocery store. These sorry vegetables even cost about 30% more than in the U.S.

Anyway, here are the two places where you could probably find me on Saturday mornings from now on…   

http://www.windsormarketsquare.com/

http://www.downtownwindsorfarmersmarket.ca/ 
(from June 1 until October 31 only) 

Citrusy Caulifower Couscous

 

I’ve always wanted to cook couscous more often but somehow have never gotten to it even though it is extremely easy. I finally found a recipe that I can modify from EatingWell.com so I went ahead to make it and pair it with some vegetarian chicken breast than can be cooked right in the pouch since I needed to get to my first Cooking Club meeting in Windsor. It turned out quite well, even Andy liked it being that it was such a low-fat and healthy meal. Couscous, especially wholewheat couscous is an excellent carbohydrate to pair with your favourite protein dishes like stew or grilled meat.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups finely chopped cauliflower florets (about 1 medium head)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon freshly grate lemon zest
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup raisins or currants
• 2/3 cup whole-wheat couscous
• A dash of white wine
•  A handful of chopped cilantro or scallions
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add cauliflower and salt; cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.
2. Add broth, juice, white wine and raisins or currants; bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Stir in zest, couscous and scallions.
4. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
5. Fluff with a fork.
6. Add cilantro/scallions and salt and pepper to taste.

Basil Chicken Flatbread Pizza

We went grocery shopping at Zehr’s today and found some cheese flatbread and naan that were freshly made. We bought them and used the flatbread as our pizza crust. For the toppings, we had put sliced tomatoes, sliced vegetarian Tuscan chicken breast, chopped basil and Bocconcini cheese.

Here are some before and after pictures:

Before

After