Cucumber, Avocado and Lime Soup (Perfect for a Summer Day)

Materials:

• 5 ripe avocados
• 1 english cucumber, peeled and diced, divided
• 1 small bunch scallions, diced, divided
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1.5 limes
• zest of 1 lime
• 3 c. vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 c. light cream
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 2 dashes Tobasco sauce, or more to taste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Methods:

1. Place the avocados in a large bowl or stockpot. Add half the cucumbers and half the scallions. Add the olive oil, lie juice, lime zest, stock, cream, cilantro, Tobasco sauce, salt and pepper.
2. Puree the soup using a hand blender or work in batches with a regular blender until smooth and creamy.
3. Stir in the remaining cucumbers and scallions.
4. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
5. Serve topped with cilantro garnish.

Source:

New England Soup Factory Cookbook

Notes:

This is a lovely cool, creamy and refreshing summer meal.

Peruvian Quinoa Stew

Materials

• 1/2 c. quinoa (I just love the red variety)
• 1 c. vegetable broth
• 2 c. chopped onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 1 bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces (I like red bell peppers provide a nice sweetness)
• 1 c. cubed zucchini
• 2 c. undrained chopped fresh or canned tomatoes
• 1 c. vegetable stock
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder (or throw in some mix of paprika, garlic powder, cumin & cayenne)
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• pinch cayenne (or more to taste)
• 2 tsp. fresh oregano or 1 tsp. dried oregano
• salt to taste
• chopped fresh cilantro
• shaved parmesan

Methods

1. Rinse quinoa well* with cold water. Use a fine mesh filter or coffee filter.
2. Place rinsed quinoa and 1 c. of the vegetable broth into a pot and cook covered on medium-low heat for ~15 minutes until soft.
3. While the quinoa is cooking place the onions, garlic and vegetable oil in a soup pot and saute on medium heat for 5 minutes.
4. Add celery and carrots to the soup pot and cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring often.
5. Add the bell pepper, zucchini, tomatoes and other cup of vegetable broth to the soup pot. Stir in cumin, chili powder, coriander, cayenne and oregano to the soup pot and simmer covered for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
6. Stir in the cooked quinoa and salt to taste/
7. Top with chopped cilantro and parmesan.

* Quinoa is coated with saponin to protect the seeds from insects and birds. Rinsing the quinoa is important to avoid a raw or bitter taste. Saponin will cause the seeds to suds a little when rinsed in water.

Source:

Moosewood Restaurant Cookes at Home, Moosewood Collective, 1994

Notes:

You could easily double the amount of quinoa in this recipe - 1 c. quinoa and 2 c. broth

Personal Notes:

I'm usually inspired to find a recipe based on some random ingredient I lust over. This time, it was that wonderful red quinoa. So yummy, and so darn healthy too!

Nan-e Nokhodchi (Roasted Chickpea Cookies)

Materials:

• 1/2 c. canola oil
• 3/4 c. confectioner's sugar (not packed when measured)
• 2 tsp. finely ground cardamom (green pods!)
• 1-1/2 tsp. rose water
• 2-1/4 c. fine, roasted chickpea flour, sifted (not packed when measured)
• unsalted pistachios, slivered or chopped

Methods:

1. Combine oil, sugar, cardamom, and rose water in a bowl and mix until white and creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add chickpea flour all at once, and mix for one minute until dough is combined and no longer sticky.
3. Dust work surface with chickpea flour, and knead dough my hand for about 2 minutes.
4. Flatten dough into a square about 3/4" thick.
5. Transfer to a piece of plastic wrap or parchment and cool in refrigerator for 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 300F.
7. Unwrap dough and use either a small cookie cutter to cut out cookies (traditionally a tine four leaf clover about 3/4" wide) or cut into small ~3/4" squares.
8. Transfer cookies to non-stick cookie sheet or pan lined with parchment, leaving ~1" between cookies.
9. Decorate each cookie with pistachio pieces, pressing nuts into the dough slightly.
10. Place sheet in the middle of the oven.
11. Bake ~25-30 minutes, or until cookie bottoms are lightly browned.
12. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool.

Notes:

The cookies are traditionally served during Persian New Year. Miss Neda Bagheri introduced them to me at her lovely little New Year's gathering in early 2010, and I was set to make some of my own ever since! It ended up taking me nearly three months to gather everything together. I think I checked about 6 grocery stores for chickpea flour before finding it at Market basket in Salem, of all places. The hunt for cardamom that wasn't $14 a bottle brought me to many an indian grocery store, in which I mistakenly picked up black cardamom pods first, and have yet to find a recipe to try them out with (suggestions anyone?). Finally we 'discovered' some green pods in the back of the pantry (makes me wonder what else is in there) as well as a coffee grinder that had been lost behind other neglected kitchen appliances. The last few ingredients were procured on a little adventure to whole foods last night, a store I should never ever be allowed to live near, as I will eat myself poor. Alas, I finally made the wonderful little cookies, and boy, were they worth it. A unique little not-too-sweet treat.