Tomato Florentine Soup

This hearty Tomato Florentine Soup is one of the few soups the kids seem to enjoy, and along with grilled cheese sandwich, it makes a quick and easy weeknight meal on cold nights. And considering we were a bit under the weather, what with it being stormy and all for a few weeks now, this Tomato Florentine was begging to be made.

For a quick recipe, I use canned tomatoes, but, when in season, fresh tomatoes stewed and strained would be great, even if a bit elaborate and tedious.

Ingredients
1 can stewed diced tomatoes
2 garlic cloves finely minced
1 small onion, finely minced
2 or 3 tsp dark brown sugar, adjust to taste
1 to 2 tsp smoked paprika
1 cup cooked pasta shells (or more if preferred)
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 to 2 tsp corn starch or arrow root powder for thickening

water as needed
salt and black pepper as needed

Italian Spices: basil, marjoram, oregano, thyme, or any other favorite combination; about 2 tsp each or adjust to taste. I prefer more basil and marjoram, and not as much oregano and thyme, as kids find oregano overpowering.

Garnish: chives, spring onions

Preparation

1. If using canned stewed tomatoes, run in the blender briefly and strain to get a smoother soup, without chunky pulp
2. Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil, add the tomatoes, spices, spinach, some water, cover and allow to simmer
3. Adjust salt, brown sugar, and black pepper to taste, toss in the cooked pasta shells (or other favorite pasta), and simmer some more
4. Make a solution of corn starch and water, add to simmering soup, while stirring constantly, to thicken as needed
5. Garnish with whatever is handy; I like chopped chives and spring onions as they are readily available in the garden, as are the fresh spinach leaves :)

Baked Artichokes in Soy Sauce Vinaigrette

Artichokes can be enjoyed in many different ways - steamed, boiled, baked, grilled. While not my personal favorite, when in season, we do enjoy the bounty. I like it baked usually, but steamed and then marinated well in favorite dressing is good too, especially if the artichokes are quite tender to begin with.

As I noted earlier, it can be a bit tedious to eat the artichokes, but if it is indeed a favorite item, that point is moot, I am sure :)

These how-to-prepare videos are quite helpful, and I followed the baked artichokes method listed there for the general methodology, which I am not reproducing here.

The marinade/dressing can be simple:

soy sauce + sambal oelek + minced garlic for a few

balsamic vinegar + olive oil + salt for a few

raspberry red wine vinegar + agave nectar + finely grated ginger + cayenne pepper powder for a few

I vary this each time to keep it interesting, and to use what's handy. Just drizzle some, wrap in foil and bake as directed. Or, steam as directed, drizzle some dressing, allow to marinate for an hour or two (even up to overnight in the fridge) and enjoy scraping the tasty flesh off the petals.

The hairy choke part can be removed easily with a spoon once it is fully cooked. The tender heart is my favorite part of the artichokes.

Along with some fresh-from-the-garden spinach salad and cous-cous patties, these baked artichokes can be a fantastic feast.

Home-made Pizza

Dough
Sauce
Cheese
Toppings

Just four basic building blocks to permute. Endless possibilities.

Pizza is well-relished at home. Especially since we get to load it with favorite toppings.

Typically, a medium pizza with olives, maybe some soy-pepperoni or soy-sausage, is the kids' special.

Anything from sauteed kale, sliced sauteed potatoes, brie, chunks of feta, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, zucchini, spinach, jalapeno, pineapple, capers, pepperoncini, sun-dried tomatoes, onions, spring onions, broccoli are all welcome in the large chewy crust for the grown-ups in the house.



I vary the pizza dough every once in a while, adding some buckwheat or whole wheat flour at times, changing the amount of flax meal and vital wheat gluten a bit, adjusting water as needed. This recipe here is the "standard" one, which I rely on for consistent results.

The longer the dough gets to rise, the better the crust will be. If we are just looking for a simple crust that hasn't developed any complex flavor, an hour to 3 hours of rising is fine as below. But as this article notes, allowing the dough to rise overnight is a wonderful secret to heavenly crusts.

Pizza Dough I:
2½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup gluten
1¾ tsp yeast
1 cup warm water, more or less
1 Tbsp olive oil
herbs, salt to taste

Combine all but water, sift/stir well; add a little water at a time and knead to a smooth elastic dough; place in an oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm place while getting the pizza sauce and toppings ready. Or make ahead and let it rise an hour or so if possible.

Makes about 2 medium regular crust pizzas.

Pizza Dough II:
2¼ cups all purpose flour
¼ cup flax meal
½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup gluten
2 Tbsp Italian Spice Mix
1 to 2 tsp salt (to taste)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2¼ tsp yeast (1 pkt standard dry yeast)
1½ cup warm water
1 tsp brown sugar (optional)

Same as above - combine all except water; add a little water at a time and knead to a smooth elastic dough. Allow to rise in a warm place for an hour or two if possible.

Makes about 2 large regular crust pizzas.


Quick Standard Pizza Sauce:
1 can tomato paste
1 Tbsp Pizza Spices Mix - oregano, parsley, rosemary, basil, marjoram, sage or any other combination
1 to 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced (optional)
salt to taste
½ cup water

Combine all but water in a saucepan over medium heat; add a little water at a time and stir till required consistency of pizza sauce - thick yet spreadable, not runny. Heat through and turn off heat.

We also love pesto instead of sauce. Either traditional Basil-Pinenut pesto, or even Mint-Fennel Pesto works well.


Cheeses:
Mozzarella
Colby Jack
Cheddar
Provolone
any good melting cheese

Different cheeses melt and cook differently, so, try a combination. I prefer a mixture of White Cheddar, Colby Jack and Mozzarella. We usually have large loaves of cheese, so, it is easy to grate the amount we need.


Pizza Stone:
While not mandatory, it is nice to have a pizza stone to cook the pizzas. We have nice aged one which serves well. If pizza stone is not handy, can use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Optional: Spread some corn meal to facilitate transferring unbaked pizza to oven.

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 430°F. If using a pizza stone, allow it to sit there longer to get very hot
2. Punch down the risen pizza dough, divide into two parts, and stretch each one to the size of pizza needed. Thinner crust cooks faster, naturally, so try to keep it uniformly thick
3. Preferably stretch them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper so it is easy to put it in the oven
4. Brush a thin layer of olive oil on the stretched dough crust, then spread the pizza sauce evenly
5. Sprinkle required amount of cheese. I don't like my pizza too cheesy, so, I have part of the pizza with very little cheese and the rest of it with more for D
6. Top with favorite toppings (drain well if using pineapple or other watery items) - I love mushrooms, but, since D can't stand them, I get to put them on my side of the pizza, the side with the lesser amount of cheese
7. Bake in a 430°F oven for about 10-12 minutes depending on the crust and size of the pizza, till done - the cheese will start burning if left for too long; (hotter the oven, faster the cooking time, naturally)

Yeshimbra Injera: Chickpea Flour Injera

Yeshimbra Dabbo, a bread made with fermented chickpea flour, is the inspiration for this dish. Injeras are Ethiopian thin pancake-like fermented flat breads usually made from flours like t'ef, sorghum, barley, maybe even corn, wheat, or a combination. I like making injeras as it is a great alternative to my favorite Dosai that I grew up with.

The idea behind Dosai and injera seems similar to me - fermented flour, spread thin on a griddle or pan, cooked over medium heat till required done-ness, served with some wonderful sides, torn by hand and relished slowly.

I like to make injeras with buckwheat, rye, spelt flours sometimes. Chickpea flour is another great option for soft fluffy injeras and they are quite tasty.

It does need some planning ahead as the batter is not ready till well-fermented - and that could take up to 36 or 48 hours depending on the season, how warm the place is to allow good fermentation. Usually, if I start the batter tonight, it is fermented and ready for dinner the day after tomorrow.

Ingredients
2 cups chickpea flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp rapid rise yeast
2 cups warm water (more if needed before cooking)

1 tsp baking soda and salt to taste, to be used just before cooking

Preparation

1. Combine the flours, yeast, and water, stir well, cover loosely with a cheesecloth and allow to ferment in a warm place for 24 to 36 hours; stir once every 12 hours or so
2. When it develops a slight pleasant sour smell and bubbles when stirred, it is ready to be made into injeras
3. Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat, brush or spray with oil if preferred
4. Stir in the salt and baking soda, add a little water if needed to make a thin batter like for crepes, which can be poured into the pan and spread around by simply picking up and tilting the pan
5. Holes form on the surface as it cooks; I usually cook only on one side till the raw batter turns color as it cooks through; but, can flip and cook the other side if preferred

Roll up the injera one by one as they come off the pan and stack them for serving. Perhaps lay a few of them flat and overlapping on a large plate and scoop small mounds of sides on top. Serve warm with sides like mesir wat, y'abesha gomen, yekik alicha or bamya alicha, maybe even some Yeqey Sir Qiqqil, some Selatta...

Some of the sides can be prepared ahead of time, refrigerated, and warmed up before serving.

Simple Mint, Fennel and Garlic Naan

This Mint, Fennel and Garlic Naan recipe is similar to my stuffed naan recipe, but, rather than use the piroshky dough, this recipe has no eggs, and has a couple of ingredients that I have been incorporating into foods over the last few years - viz., flax meal and nutritional yeast.

Ground up flax seeds (flax meal) is better utilized by the body than whole flax seeds which might just pass through undigested at times. Nutritional yeast tastes good in many savory foods like mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and even makes air-popped popcorn taste delicious. If buying these from bulk food stores, store in cool dry place and smell before using - flax meal can go rancid over time.

The fresh mint and fennel in the home garden was the inspiration for this dish - much like mint and fennel pesto.



Any other herb or even grated vegetables can be added to the dough to make interesting naans. Some of my staples: sprinkle some white or black sesame seeds, or some kalonji (nigella sativa), maybe some chopped spring onions, or some methi (fenugreek) leaves if handy.

If making on a weekend, I start the dough around mid-morning and let it rise till ready to make at dinner time. The mild sour smell and beautifully fluffed up dough indicates it is ready to be cooked.

These naans freeze well - place sheets of wax paper between each one, store in a zipper sealed freezer bag. Thaw in fridge overnight and warm up in toaster oven or conventional oven, or even stove-top. (Microwaving the naans don't work well for me).

Serve with Radish Greens Dal (I used radish greens from the home-garden which had to harvested anyway) and Muttar Tofu Curry (pictured);

or with Paneer Kofta Curry and Kohlrabi Dal;

or with any South Indian Koottu or Korma

maybe even some cucumber,mint, tomato, onion raita.

My gas stove and roti-wirework , with cast iron skillet come in handy to simulate the earthy texture and flavor, but, even just a cast iron skillet approximates the clay-oven-like (tandoori) finish.



Ingredients
4 tsp rapid rise yeast
3½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup flax meal
4 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
½ cup 110°F water
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1¼ cup warm milk (more or less)
1-2 tsp salt (depending on how salty you prefer the naan)
4-6 cloves of garlic finely minced (more if you prefer)
½ cup freshly chopped mint and fennel leaves, combined

Preparation

1. Making the dough: In a large bowl, add the rapid rise yeast, brown sugar and lukewarm water and allow to sit for 5 minutes till frothy
2. Add the salt, flax meal, nutritional yeast, flour, chopped up herbs, garlic, plus a little milk at a time, and knead to a smooth elastic dough; place in an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume - I leave it by the heating vent or in a slightly warm oven (oven turned off, of course)
3. When ready to cook, divide into 10 or 12 balls - bigger balls makes fewer but larger naans, as expected
4. Roll each ball out, one at a time, to a quarter inch thick round; fold once to form semicircle, fold again to form a rough triangular shape; roll with rolling pin to about ¼-inch thick and keep covered till ready to cook
5. Cooking the Naan: Heat a cast iron skillet to high heat; brush one side of the naan with water, place the damp side down on the hot skillet and leave it undisturbed for a minute or so till bubbles form on the top surface
6. Remove from skillet, flip and transfer to the roti-wirework and place the uncooked side over open flame of gas stove till it is cooked through, but not charred;
7. Alternately, flip and cook on the cast iron skillet till done

The complicated description above could be quite misleading - these naans are the easiest to make and quite wholesome :)

Spicy Cous-Cous Patties with Mint and Fennel Pesto

Cous-cous with Spicy Tagine is a favorite dinner for the adults in the house. Kids don't care for it much. There's usually some cous-cous leftover, nudging me to reconstitute them into something appetizing the next day.

These cous-cous patties are a nice way to use up leftover cous-cous. Simply add finely diced onions, carrots, bell peppers, maybe some spices like paprika and cumin, perhaps even some chipotle chilles, bind with eggs or bread, form into patties and pan-fry.

Or, shape them into small balls, even flattened balls, and deep fry, like bonda or vada. The deep fried flattened cous-cous balls remind me of one of my favorite street foods in India, Masala Vada, which is usually made with a few different kinds of lentils.




If I were to indulge à la Owl in Tearwater Tea, I would say the heels, the end-slices, of sliced bread loaves, loathed and discarded cruelly all over, warrant a mention.

Anyway, rather than eggs for binding the cous-cous, I prefer slices of bread, especially the heels, adding a bit of stock or water as needed to be able to shape the patties or balls.

Now, chutneys and pestos flow freely in my kitchen. Chutneys were nothing to write about when I was growing up in India - there were several varieties - any combination of handy edible ingredients, ground together with thought to flavor and texture, becomes a fine condiment to accompany any meal.

In those days, my mom reserved her precious Moulinex Mixer exclusively for delicate handling. All the heavy-duty idlee/dosai batter and chutneys were made using the large mortar-pestle called Aattukkal - The Grinding Stone. Quickly smashed ginger, garlic, black pepper, cumin was done in Ammi kal - a lesser known but just as valued companion of Aattukkal. Ammi kal is very much like the Mano and Matate used in the Americas.

Pesto, to me, bears similarities with the Indian chutneys I grew up with. After all, Pesto is made by quickly grinding the ingredients together in a mortar and pestle. Some favorite nuts, olive oil, fresh herbs, dash of salt/pepper is all it takes to make fresh pesto that has enhanced many a simple dish in our house.

The mint and fennel pesto with sunflower seeds came about thanks to the lovely mint and fennel in the garden that have managed to survive my negligence.



Mint and Fennel Pesto with Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Ingredients
1 cup fresh mint leaves
¼ cup fresh fennel leaves
1 clove of garlic
¼ to 1/3rd cup toasted sunflower seeds
2-4 Tbsp olive oil
hint of water, if needed
salt and black pepper to taste

Simply blend the ingredients together to desired consistency, adjust salt to taste.