Smoky Tomato Soup

Life, with some exceptions, has a rhythm. A regularity, a predictability to give the amorphous concept some structure.

Since toddler soccer began, Tuesdays can be counted on to involve a conversation like the following:

Upon arrival of the park to play soccer,
Max: "bye bye"
me: "bye bye what?"
Max: "bye bye ball"
me: "you don't want to play soccer?"
Max: "nooooooo. trains (referring to the multiple playground pieces of equipment that are shaped like trains)"

I know what you are thinking, "If this is a common occurrence why do I continue to bring him to soccer?" I can't, and don't, force him to play.  But I have to at least give him the chance to play because the class has already been paid for, and he will sometimes play happily for like 4 minutes. I don't want to sound like I'm some sort of psychotic parent demanding athletic skills to be proficiently demonstrated by a toddler aged child.  I have no athletic ability to speak of myself!   He may not like going to soccer, but he loves going to that park for the playground equipment.  He already knows that is where the best toys are located in town.

And just like the regularity of this conversation with my child (I am most definitely looking forward to the end of the class, where we no longer have to engage in the charade of attending it), my love of smoked paprika flares up. And I am compelled to make things taste smoky.

I feel like an evangelist for the stuff, even becoming some sort of smoked paprika fairy godmother and gifting it to others in hopes that they too will see the light of smoked paprika. In addition to introducing my container of smoked paprika to new people, I love introducing it to new ingredients as well. Like eggs. And eggs (okay, I guess that isn't really new, but the richness of eggs just goes so amazingly well with smoked paprika). And cauliflower. And jalapenos. Just to name a few.

And now, my penchant for putting smoked paprika on things took the form of big, juicy heirloom tomatoes. Tomatoes that were roasted with garlic and jalapenos, sprinkled with spices like earthy cumin and fruity ground pasilla peppers, and, you guessed it, smoked paprika, and then blended into soup.  I should note that we enjoyed this with a grilled cheese of cheddar and smoked gouda.  A predictable accompaniment for such a soup.

Ingredients
3 large heirloom tomatoes, chopped into wedges
handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
2 jalapenos, halved (or to taste)
5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
3/4 teaspoon ground pasilla
1/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon smoked salt
1/8 teaspoon ground sumac
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons half and half
smoked salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix the tomato wedges and hales, jalapeno, and garlic.  In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, and liquid smoke.  Drizzle over the tomato mixture.  Toss gently to coat. In another small bowl, whisk together the pasilla, , ancho chile, coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and sumac.  Sprinkle over tomato mixture. Toss gently to coat.  Pour into 9 x 13 pan, and place in oven for 30-40 minutes.

Once roasted, remove the tomatoes, jalapenos, and garlic, as well as about half of the cooking liquid left in the pan and place in a pot.  Blend with an immersion blender.  Add more of the cooking liquid, if needed, to get desired consistency. Place over medium-low heat and stir in the butter and half-half.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.  Once soup is warm, take off heat.

Corn, Scallion and Cotija Dumplings in a Coconut Corn Broth

There are nights, as we make our way upstairs to bed, that I am overcome with tiredness. A tiredness that makes each step incredibly difficult to take.

Okay, every night I'm tired.  I'm not exactly known as one of those full of energy types.

There are times when I fall asleep within a few minutes of getting into that beautiful, amazing place known as bed.

Other nights, however, my brain does the opposite of shutting off.  I become incredibly awake. Happy and awake.

So when this occurs, I enjoy "demonstrating my awakeness," a phrase coined by Seth.  Perhaps by engaging in one or more of the following.
-Initiating vigorous, contentious conversation
-Using a cheerful, loud voice
-Continuing conversations that were previously over
-Asking a million questions
-Discussing the episode of television we are watching
-Snorting in his face
-Walking to the other side of the bed, getting in his face, and saying hi

After numerous "demonstrations" and a subsequent reprimand to go to sleep, I usually decide to read.  But there are times when I put this silent, private awake time to good use.  And think about food.  Glorious, glorious food.

Like, for instance, some dumplings.  Dumplings stuffed with lime-scented cotija, corn, scallions, and jalapeno.  Dumplings coated in a coconut milk and corn broth, infused with the flavors of ginger and garlic and lime. "Demonstrating my awakeness" might not always lead to my desired outcome (Seth joining me in my awakeness), but at least some good can come of it.

Ingredients
For the corn stock:
husk of 5 corns
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
small red onion, halved
water
pinch salt

For the corn:
4 ears of corn, husked

For the coconut and corn broth:
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons grated ginger
extra virgin olive oil
1 cup corn broth
1 cup coconut milk
zest and juice of 1 small lime
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
sprinkle more cotija for serving

For the corn scallion dumplings:
the cooked kernels from 4 ears of corn
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 chopped scallions
1/4 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
1 minced jalapeno
black pepper
1 package wonton wrappers (I made about 40 dumplings)

Instructions
To make the corn stock:
Place everything in a large pot and cover with water.  Cover with lid, set over medium heat.  Simmer for 1-2 hours.  Strain.

To make the corn:
Cook the corn using your preferred method.  I just stuck them in a 400 degree oven and let them roast for about 15 minutes.

To make the coconut and corn broth:
Heat some oil in a saute pan on low.  Add the garlic and ginger and saute for about a minute, until fragrant. Pour in 1 cup of the corn stock, coconut milk, lime juice and zest, fish sauce, and coriander.  Simmer for just a few minutes.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.  Finish with a sprinkling of fresh basil and cotija cheese.

To make the corn scallion dumplings:
Place the cooked corn kernels, lime juice, lime zest, scallions, cotija, jalapeno and black pepper in a bowl. Toss together.  Take a wonton wrapper and place in the palm of your hand. Place ½ tablespoon of the corn scallion mixture in the middle. Dab water around two adjacent sides of the wrapper, then bring up the other two sides of the wrapper to form a triangle.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add 4-5 dumplings and cook (about 1-3 minutes).  Remove the cooked dumplings and repeat. Serve with broth.

Peaches and Cream Chamomile Tea Cooler

Sometimes your instinct and reasoning skills line up to tell you something.  A situation in which success should be guaranteed.

You see the way he gets all excited playing with a ball.  You know how energetic he is.  You are extremely aware of his inability to sit still.  Friends and family all said yes, he will love it.  Toddler soccer seemed like the perfect activity for Max.

But it was not.  To say the least.  In his defense, the soccer class was held on a patch of grass immediately adjacent to the big toys on the playground.  Like right there, calling out to him with its siren song of fun and climbing adventures.  A song that he could only hear, apparently, as none of the other tots seemed to be running off to play on it.

At first, everything seemed like it would be perfect.  Hilarious and adorable, with a happy little tot playing with the soccer ball.  But that scene was crushed after all of like thirty seconds (I'm not exaggerating), when he decided he needed to be elsewhere. The two train-shaped toys were especially appealing to his sensibilities.  After using various strategies to get my child back to soccer, I eventually had to admit defeat.  As soon as I would carry him over to the soccer balls he would just dart right back to the playground area.  Futility at its finest.

So that was that.

I was so wrong about his interest in soccer.

But I don't think I am wrong here.  I had a vision, instinct and reasoning, telling me that sweet cream and peaches and chamomile and lemon would come together to make a delicious summery drink.

Sometimes our instincts are wrong.  And sometimes they are spot-on.  Not sure what to make of that situation.

Ingredients
For the chamomile-black tea:
8 regular-sized chamomile tea bags
3 regular-sized black tea bags (I insist on my mom sending me packages of Red Rose brand of tea)
4 cups just-boiled water

4 peeled peaches
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons International Delight Cold Stone Creamery Creamer Sweet Cream Flavor
honey, to taste (depends on the sweetness of your peaches)

Instructions
To make the chamomile-black tea:  Pour the water over the tea bags.  Steep for 4-6 minutes, remove bags. Cool.

To make the tea cooler:  Pour the tea, peaches, lemon juice, creamer, and honey (if using) in bowl.  Blend everything with an immersion blender (or regular blender) until frothy. Ladle into ice-filled glasses.

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By the way, in addition to the Sweet Cream creamer flavor, International Delight and Cold Stone Creamery have three additional flavors! They are:
Cold Stone Creamery Hot for Cookie
Cold Stone Creamery Founder's Favorite
Cold Stone Creamery Churro Caramel

Sound amazing?  Click here to find out where to get them!

Love ice cream + coffee? This summer, International Delight is bringing your favorite Cold Stone Creamery ice cream flavors to coffee and they're celebrating by giving away five $400 grand prizes to throw this summer’s ultimate Ice Cream Social!  To enter, visit the ID + Ice Cream Pinterest board and pin your favorite image using the #IScream4ID hashtag. Good luck!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

Peach, Basil, Ginger, and Brie Puffs

I'm not really sure how it started. I didn't grow up saying this word.  I used words like fruits and vegetables, or more specific words like "apple" or "strawberry."  Or place-centric references like "I'm going to the store" or "I'm going to the farmer's market."

 But I hadn't used the word "produce."  Until now.  

And somewhere along the way, I taught Max to say this.  And now we (and by we, I mean he) loves to say this word.  Not just say it.  But live it. Dance to it.  Replace all the words of Hey Jude to simply "produce." Games of identifying whether or not the object in front of us is produce or not.

Instead of saying "we are going to the farmer's market," we say "we are getting produce today!"

Seth recently asked me why Max is so excited about going to the farmer's market, why he is so excited about produce?

I just laughed.

Who wouldn't love produce?!?  I'm kidding, this is not one of those posts espousing the beauty and deliciousness of produce from farmer's markets...

I laughed because Max doesn't actually like being at the farmer's market (unless he is chowing down on a juicy peach or tossing back berries by the handful).  He just likes saying the word.  Once we are actually out shopping, shoes will be definitely, defiantly kicked off and "bye bye produce" will be shouted pleadingly.

And while he has an appreciation for the actual word, it most definitely does not mean he loves all produce.  We are not one of those impossibly charming families where kids skip around swinging baskets of hand-picked fruits and veggies and turn their heads in disgust at the sight of a processed food item.

This time, Max was super excited to eat his produce in peach form.  He did not however enjoy the peaches turned into puffs.  Puffs filled with lime-scented peaches, ginger, basil, and brie.  They tasted pretty awesome to me though...  To make up for his lack of enthusiasm, he did perform a produce dance.  So that helped.

Love this video from Cooking Light about buying and storing fresh peaches! So informative!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped peeled peaches
2 tablespoons chopped basil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 ounces brie
1 sheet puff pastry dough, thawed
1 tablespoon half and half
turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions
Heat oven to 400 (or whatever temperature is recommended on your puff pastry dough). Cut the puff pastry into four triangles. In a bowl, toss together the peaches, basil, lime juice, lime zest, honey, ginger, and cornstarch.  Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the peach mixture as well as a slice of brie on each triangle, bring the opposing edges over and seal the puff into a triangle shape. You may want to use just a bit of water to help seal. Whisk the egg and milk and brush the half and half on each triangle and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown and puffy.

Mango Stuffed with Lime and Strawberry Cream, Topped with 5-Spiced Granola and Strawberry Hibiscus Tea Drizzle

We all have different sides, different facets of our personalities.  We have the potential to be any of of these at a given moment.

For instance, our cat Rambo.  He can be a wild-eyed pig cat, ripping through every room at the speed of light.  He can be a dignified elder statesmen cat, appearing to be pondering life's big questions.  He can be a sweet cuddly pig, settling into position on my head to be my hat or on my lap to do some tail sucking (yes, he sucks his tail).

JiJi has the potential to be a hen, looking as though an egg will be laid any second.  She can be a needy baby, demanding cuddles, as though her life truly depended on it.  She can be a fun little kitten mouse, batting and pawing at her toys.  She can also get her scary Jiji on - fur bushing out and weird sounds emanating from deep within - at the sight of another cat outside.

I, too, have a multiplicity of selves.  I can be the mean mom, sending Max into time-out for throwing markers. Or the fun one, taking him out for malted chocolate milkshakes.  I can be a paragon of routine and regularity and then toss that all aside on a whim, allowing the day or days to take me where it wants. I can blast the music and dance ridiculously, or I can get in a debate about politics.

This month's Creative Cooking Crew challenge is to "stuff it."  I decided to make a mango stuff-able, scooping strawberry lime cream in the middle as well as some Chinese 5-spiced granola, then drizzling a strawberry hibiscus tea mixture around it.  The round-up of all the CCC "stuff it" entries will be posted on July 29, so check back then for the link to see all of the amazing posts!  Round-up is live - click here to see all the amazing posts! 

These stuffed mangoes too have differing sides.  They could be breakfast.  Or dessert.  Or breakfast's dessert, which totally needs to be a thing because breakfast is most definitely jealous of dinner.  After all, breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day - should it not also get a dessert?  Or it could be a fun snack.  It has the potential to be all these things.

Ingredients
For the 5-spice granola:
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup roughly chopped almonds
1 tablespoon Chinese 5-spice powder
pinch salt
3 tablespoons warm coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tablespoon agave nectar

For the strawberry hibiscus tea drizzle:
2 tablespoons dried hibiscus leaves
1 tablespoon black tea
1 cup just boiled water

For the lime and strawberry cream:
2 pint strawberries, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lime zest

For assembling:
2 mangoes, halved, with about 1-2 tablespoons of the flesh removed (just eat it! or save it for a smoothie.  but I just ate it.)
fresh lime juice

Instructions
To make the 5-spice granola: Heat oven to 300.  In a bowl, toss the oats, almonds, 5-spice powder, and pinch.  In another bowl, mix together the coconut oil, honey, and agave.  Pour the coconut oil mixture over the oats and toss to coat.  Spread on baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown, turn oven to 250 and continue baking for about another 15 minutes, until dry.

To make the strawberry hibiscus tea drizzle: Combine hibiscus and black tea.  Pour water over the hibiscus and tea leaves.  Steep for 4 minutes.  Strain.  Cool.  Once cool, use an immersion blender to combine the tea with 6 medium-sized strawberries.

To make the lime and strawberry cream:  Combine the strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and lime juice.  Set aside for 30 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream with the sugar, vanilla, and lime zest.  Once the mixture holds stiff peaks, fold in the strawberry mixture.

To assemble the dish:  Drizzle the mango with some fresh lime juice. Spoon the strawberry cream into the mango.  Top with granola.  Drizzle the hibiscus tea around the mango.

Chocolate Pudding with Strawberries and Orange Blossom Whipped Cream

One of Max's most favorite things in the entire world is making matches. He turns life into one giant matching game. When he makes a match, the word "same," is yelled with gusto.

In one of his books, a trombone caught his eye. I would just like to point out that this occurred after I had explored other musical instruments with him - looking at and listening to french horns, and violins, and cellos, and harps - but trombone had not made the cut. How could I possibly have forgotten to show him a trombone? I clearly had fallen down on the "introducing him to the wide world of musical instrument" front of parenting.

After seeing the trombone in his book, he asked to find more trombones on the computer. Then he wanted the keyboard to make trombone sounds. And to have the iPad instrument app showing a trombone. So many opportunities for him to yell "same" with incredible enthusiasm.

Matching also occurred when I made Max waffles that he had requested, and subsequently, refused to eat them. So I did the very mature, adult thing and pretended to cry.

Max told me to go upstairs with him, where pulled out some with books in which characters were crying. He pointed at me, and then the books, and also yelled "same." Again. So incredibly excited to make a match. Not at all concerned that I was "crying."

Luckily, Max was able to yell out "same" when helping me to assemble this dessert.  A dessert with strawberries tossed with orange juice and zest, chocolate pudding, and whipped cream flavored with orange blossom water.

He pulled out books with strawberries as we were making the strawberry part.  However, he was a bit stumped when it came to the whipped cream and pudding.  Apparently those are not as common in his library.  But I totally think they should be.  Pudding and whipped cream should be in ALL the books.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon brown sugar
pinch salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
5 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
*adapted from Gourmet

1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons orange blossom water
pinch salt

2 cups chopped strawberries
drizzle of orange juice and orange zest
shortbread cookie, for serving (optional)

Instructions
For the pudding:  In a medium-sized pot, whisk the sugar, salt, cornstarch and chocolate chips.  In a bowl, whisk half and half, milk, egg yolk.  Pour over the dry ingredients in the pot.  Set over medium heat, bringing the mixture to a boil.  Stir frequently.  Let the mixture boil for a minute.  Take off heat and stir in the vanilla and butter.  Pour into dish and chill.

For the cream:  In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream, orange blossom water, and pinch of salt, and use the whisk attachment to whip the mixture until stiff peaks form.

For the berries:  Toss the strawberries with a drizzle of fresh orange juice and orange zest.

To assemble:  In a bowl, layer the strawberries, then the pudding, then orange blossom whipped cream. Top with a shortbread cookie.

A Rice Bowl with Spicy Tahini Chicken, Stir-fried Mushroom and Asparagus, and Marinated Carrots

It isn't clear how it began.  But I'm totally calling it genetic, as my sister is seriously awesome at it as well. For as long as I can remember, my sister and I have been quite skilled at eye-rolling.  That ever-so-mature response when something or someone annoys you.  

This response has many triggers, one of which is recipes touting super special "secret" ingredients.  Like the avocado in that brownie.  Or the kale in that smoothie.

And now I'm rolling my eyes at myself.  Because I am here to explain the secret ingredient of rice bowls. And noodle bowls, for that matter.

The secret is the bowl.  It doesn't matter what bowl it is. It just has to be a bowl. 

Lets all be honest.  Rice and noodle bowls are pretty trendy. But I would argue, that they are trendy for good reason. If the content of these bowls were served on plates, and called "here is a plate of noodles with stuff" or "here is a plate of rice with stuff," I'm pretty sure none of us would get excited about it. We would all be like, "Oh, isn't this basically like going to a buffet and placing heaping piles of random stuff all on one plate."

And we would all be basically correct.

I am still working on gathering evidence for my theory, but I'm pretty sure that bowls have invisible tiny fans scattering delicious invisible taste enhancing seasonings over the contents of the bowl. It will take me some time to figure out how to test this. Science is not my strong suit.

But somehow piling seemingly random concoctions in a bowl makes total sense.  Here, zingy carrots, with stir-fried asparagus and mushrooms, and the earthiness from the tahini chicken, sprinkled with some parsley and scallions and a drizzle of sesame oil, all work together.  I may be rolling my eyes at myself, but at least I am enjoying a yummy dinner while doing so.

Ingredients
For the carrots:
1 cup julienned carrots
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons walnut oil
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

For the stir fry:
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed, chopped
1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
minced jalapeno, to taste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon honey

For the tahini chicken:
1/2 pound chicken breast tenders
canola oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup tahini
1 tablespoon Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoon Sambal Oelek chile paste
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice

cooked rice (I made 2 rice cups in the rice cooker)
chopped scallions
chopped parsley
lime wedge
sesame oil

Instructions
To make the carrots:  Place carrots in small bowl.  Whisk the oils and vinegar together, and pour over the carrots.  I like doing this ahead of time.

To make the stir-fry:  In a small bowl, stir soy sauce, oyster sauce, and honey.  Heat canola oil in wok or saute pan on high.  Add asparagus and mushrooms.  Cook for 2 minutes, and add the ginger, garlic, and jalapeno.  Turn heat to medium-low.  Once the garlic has cooked, add the soy sauce mixture.  

To make the chicken:  Sprinkle salt and pepper liberally on both sides of the chicken.  Heat canola oil in a skillet on high.  Get each side nice and brown (about 3 minutes each side).  Turn heat to low to finish cooking (if needed).  Stir together tahini, yogurt, chile paste, honey, soy sauce, and lime juice.  Chop the chicken, and toss with the tahini mixture.

To assemble the rice bowl:  Scoop some rice into a bowl.  Place a few scoops of the stir fry on top of one section of the rice.  Place some tahini chicken on another section.  Place the carrots on top.  Scatter chopped scallions and parsley on top.  Drizzle the whole thing with sesame oil.