Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake (Sourdough)

I've been craving dessert for the last few days but I never quite get around to baking anything. Today I finially managed to throw something together with the help of the Kidlet. The batter seemed a bit more glutinous than I'd normally want for a chemically leavened cake, but it smelled divine! Next time I might try swapping in cake flour for the all-purpose (the recipe didn't specify) to see if that helps any.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake

Adapted from Cultures for Health

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 1-2 eggs¹
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. strong black coffee
• 1/2 c. fresh/fed sourdough starter
• 120g soft (cake/plain/standard) flour
• 1/4 c. cocoa powder (non-alkalized)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 3/4 c. hazelnuts, chopped
• 1/4 c. chocolate-hazelnut spread (eg. Nutella)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Cream together butter and sugar.
3. Mix in egg(s), vanilla, coffee, and starter.
4. Sift in flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix until just combined.
5. Stir in hazelnuts.
6. Pour into greased and floured 8" round cake tin.
7. Drizzle chocolate spread on top and swirl it through the batter.
8. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 40-50 minutes.

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¹ Depending on the size of your eggs. Use 1 extra-large or jumbo egg. Use 2 medium or large eggs. If you have small eggs, you may even want to use 3. ^Back

Cabbage-Lentil Minestrone with Cheese Tortellini

After a couple days we were down to half a pot of soup again, so I decided to make a few more modifications to turn it into yet another new soup. This time I wanted to take it in more of a minestrone direction. More veggies, some extra tomato paste, and a package of cheese tortellini did the trick quite nicely. I really like this version! And I've really enjoyed seeing how many times I can keep building on and adding to the original lentil-cabbage soup as well.

Cabbage-Lentil Minestrone

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe of Smoky Chickpea, Cabbage, and Lentil Soup
• 1-2 c. vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 c. cooked kidney or cannellini beans
• Parmesan rind
• 1 (400g) package cheese tortellini
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 carrots, chopped
• 2-3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. water (optional)
• 1-2 small zucchinis (courgettes), chopped
• 450g green beans, chopped
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. red chile flakes
• salt and pepper to taste¹

Directions

1. Add broth, tomato paste, oregano, bay leaf, kidney/cannellini beans, and Parmesan rind to soup, cover, and bring to a simmer.
2. In a separate pot, cook tortellini until al dente, drain, and rinse/shock with cold water.
3. Add tortellini to soup.
4. Heat olive oil over medium heat.
5. Add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add carrot and celery and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.
8. Add zucchini and cook for 3-4 minutes.
9. If necessary, deglaze pan with water.
10. Add green beans, cover, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
11. Add vegetable mixture to soup.
12. Add chile flakes, salt, and pepper and mix well.
13. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

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¹ I was using home-made broth with almost no salt in it, so I added ~1/2 tsp. of coarse sea salt to my soup. You may need more or less depending on your taste and the broth you use. ^Back

We ate about half the lentil-cabbage soup for dinner the night I made it. I decided to try to turn the leftovers into a new soup. After dinner, I added a few more ingredients to turn it into this smoky chickpea, cabbage, and lentil soup.

The recipe below follows what I actually did. If you don't want to build this soup from a pre-existing soup, you can follow the link to the recipe I used for direction/inspiration to make this soup directly.

Smoky Chickpea, Cabbage, and Lentil Soup

Adapted from The First Mess

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe Cabbage-Lentil Soup
• 1/4 tsp. hot paprika
• 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 c. cooked chickpeas
• 1 c. chopped kale
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 3-4 drops liquid smoke
• bones from beef rib roast¹ (optional)

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to soup and mix well.
2. Cover and simmer for at least 20 minutes.
3. Serve with salad and garlic toast.

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¹ A few months ago I disassembled a rib roast for a recipe. I used the meat, but didn't need the bones so I tossed them in the freezer in the hopes of finding a use for them later. I don't think this soup particularly needed the meat added to it, but I had it available and it needed to be used up. It certainly didn't hurt, I just don't think it necessarily added much. If you've got some bones or scraps of meat that seem like they'd go well in soup, toss them in², but don't sweat it if you don't. ^Back
2 If the bones have already been cooked (leftover after cooking a roast or similar), just toss them straight in. If the bones are raw (as mine were), slather them with a bit of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for an hour or so before adding them to the soup. ^Back

There's been a lot going on lately and I haven't been very motivated to do recipe write-ups. I'm way, way behind. I've had a pot of soup on the go for a few days now though and I want to write it up before I forget.

I was suddenly hit by an intense craving for some sort of lentil soup. Something with a nice light broth, cabbage, and either brown or French lentils. After searching through a couple of cookbooks and browsing the internet for a while, I hit upon a recipe I liked. I found the inclusion of apple cider vinegar and white miso very appealing. And the finished soup really hit the spot. It was just what I was looking for!

Cabbage-Lentil Soup

Slightly adapted from Eating Bird Food

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, divided
• 1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 6 c. vegetable broth
• 1 (828mL) can diced tomatoes
• 4 c. (~1/2 head) green or savoy cabbage, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. red chile flakes (or more to taste)
• 1/2 c. uncooked brown or French (puy) lentils
• Parmesan rind (optional)
• 1 tsp. white miso paste

Directions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat. (Sauté setting on InstantPot.)
2. Add onion and cook until softened (3-4 minutes).
3. Add carrot and cook for 2-3 minutes longer.
4. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two.
5. Deglaze pan with 1 Tbsp. of cider vinegar.
6. Add basil, bay leaf, pepper, broth, tomatoes, cabbage, chile flakes, and lentils.
7. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1-2 hours. (Slow cook on high setting for InstantPot.)
8. Stir in miso paste and remaining vinegar.
9. Serve with bread or garlic toast and salad.

This Hello Fresh recipe wants you to make tacos and serve them half-open and covered in salad and feta. The Kidlet found that form factor kind of hard to eat, but absolutely loved them as burritos and, later, as quesadillas.

We did need considerably more tortillas than it called for, though.

Smoky Lentil Tacos/Quesadillas with Corn & Poblano Peppers

Hello Fresh

Ingredients

• 1½ C dry red lentils
• ½ lb poblano peppers, chopped
• ½ C frozen corn kernels
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 2 tbsp mexican seasoning
• ¼ tsp chipotle powder
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ C worth of vegetable broth concentrate
• ¼ C freshly chopped cilantro
  
• a large quantity of tortillas
• toppings (salad, feta cheese, etc...)
  

Directions

1. Add lentils and enough water to cover by 1" to a medium pot. Cover and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 10-12 minutes.
3. Drain, reserving ½C water.
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add the peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp, ~5 minutes.
   
6. Add the corn and cook until warmed through, 1-2 minutes.
   
7. Season with salt and pepper, and buffer on a plate.
8. Add another 1 tbsp oil, then the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.
9. Add garlic, mexican seasoning, and chipotle powder. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, ~30 seconds.
10. Add the cooked lentils, soy sauce, broth concentrate, and reserved water to the pan with the onions. Simmer until sauce thickens.
11. Remove from the heat and roughly mash the lentils with a potato masher. Stir in the cilantro and the corn-pepper mixture, and season with salt and pepper.
12. Serve as tacos or burritos, or add cheddar cheese and turn them into quesadillas.
    

This Cook's Country recipe card was a huge hit! We made a half batch (for the amount of fish we had) and most of it vanished into the Kidlet. It came together really easily, too. As written it calls for salmon, but we had trout and that also worked fine. 

We made a half batch, which was enough for dinner for all of us + leftovers for the Kidlet's lunch the next day. That's the version I've written up, but if you want to scale it back up to the original, just double all quantities.

Pan-Seared Trout with Curried Couscous

Cook's Country, FIXME which issue, recipe card p??

Ingredients

• 180mL vegetable broth
• 15mL olive oil
• 7.5mL Madras Curry Powder
• 120mL instant couscous
• 240mL cooked chickpeas (half a large tin, or 120mL dried)
• 120mL chopped spinach
• 2 (180-220g) skin-on trout filets
• cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Combine broth, oil, and curry powder in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat, stir in the couscous, and cover for five minutes.
3. Stir in chickpeas and couscous.
4. Meanwhile, dust the trout with cayenne powder to taste (2.5mL/filet is a good amount) and salt.
5. Cook trout, skin side down, over medium-high heat until the skin is crispy and the fat has rendered, ~7 minutes.
6. Flip over and continue cooking until cooked through, 5-7 minutes.

 We got a bunch of assorted frozen fish recently and have been seeking ways to use them up. symbol noticed this recipe in a recent Cook's Country and we decided to try it out.

It was a huge success. The recipe is written for fish alone and recommends serving it with a side of crusty bread; we served it over linguine, and I've adjusted the recipe accordingly. We both found it delicious and the only reason I didn't go back for seconds is that I'd already filled up on firsts.

This recipe is halved compared to the recipe given in the magazine, since that's how much fish we had. If preparing for more than two people you'll probably want the full-scale recipe. It also suggests skinless halibut, but we made it with skin-on filets and cooked them skin down and it turned out fine.

Halibut Puttanesca

Cook's Country, Oct/Nov 2020, p.15

Ingredients

• 2 (170-225g each) halibut filets
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground filter
• ⅛ C olive oil (or oil from the anchovies)
• 1 shallot (or ½ small red onion)
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 oz (30g) anchovies, drained and chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 8 oz (220mL) diced tomatoes in their juice
• ¼ C pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• ⅛ C capers
• ⅛ C parsley
• ½ lb linguine or similar pasta

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Sprinkle halibut with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium low heat.
4. Add shallot, garlic, anchovies, oregano, and pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant and shallot softens, 4-6 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, olives, capers, and parsley. Stir to combine.
6. Nestle halibut filets into sauce, skin side down. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
7. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake until fish is cooked through, 15-18 minutes.
8. While the fish is baking, bring some water to a boil and cook the pasta.
9. Serve the pasta topped with halibut and sauce.