Zesty Cook » ginger

Easy Carrot Ginger Soup

zesty — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:00:05 +0000

End of the week is upon us – I hope everyone is doing well thus far. The weather is starting to warm up a little but not enough to my liking compared to Florida last week. I thought I would warm everyone up with a super simple smooth soup. Now I have made this soup before but I had a bag of carrots hanging out in the fridge growing more hair than I can and I hate wasting food so carrot soup was the answer. The combination of carrot and ginger coupled with the nutty flavor of the cashews make this soup so rich and creamy. This soup tastes so good with a nice piece of crusty bread or along side your favorite sandwich.

Did I tell you I love Ezekiel bread now? I cannot get enough of that sprouted goodness.

The soup is really straight forward so I didn’t get into too many pictures of all the steps. Feel free to add some of you favorite flavors in as substitutions. The spices in this recipe are vital to the flavor. Be sure they are fresh and ready to make you smile.

Ingredients

2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
4 cups water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground fennel
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
3-4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup toasted cashews

Method

Place the carrots in a medium saucepan and add the water.

Bring to a boil, cover and cook until the carrots are very tender (10-15 minutes)
Heat the olive oil in a small fry pan. Add onion and cook over medium heat until translucent.
Add ginger, garlic, salt, and spices.

Lower the heat and continue to saute for another 8-10 minutes, until the onions are soft.
Stir in lemon juice.
Combine the spice-onion mixture with the carrots and the cashews.
Use a blender to puree the mixture until smooth.
Once smooth, pour back into the saucepan and prepare to serve.
Top with a dollop of sour cream.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The soup will thicken up a bit in the fridge, but just a little water before you microwave it at work and it will be just as good as when you first made it.

Somewhat of a generic question and could gather a variety of answers, but tell me, what is your favorite soup to eat to warm up?

I hope everyone has a great Friday and a super weekend. Let me know if there is anything you would like to see me cook, bake or make for upcoming posts and I have a slight clarification to make on Wednesday’s giveaway post. Dempster’s bagels are available in Atlantic Canada and Ontario and Quebec only. I was wondering why there were not a lot of entries but when I got a few questions such as” Where the heck would I buy these” from folks I knew something was up.

Take Care

zesty

A Whole Lotta Avocado and Orange Salad!

zesty — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:00:06 +0000

Good day to you! I am back with another exciting post to keep you on your toes and wanting to almost lick the screen with excitement. Well that might be slightly over the edge but I was trying to be somewhat funny. I know… I know I am not that great at being funny – well at least portraying myself as funny over the internet. In real life I am hilarious – ask anyone if you don’t believe me!

Ok enough of me being a dork and onto a serious note. I have a kick bum salad to share with you today. It was part of the superb Bistro night at the NYE Gala. When you read the ingredients you will be saying to yourself… wow these ingredients are very simple and you are right. Simple and easy wins the race. I am telling you – great food made simple is definitely the way to go. I have had a hard time grasping that in the early part of my life when I always thought great food had to be fancy, but it really doesn’t have to be that way.

Just take a look below and see the specs to make this beauty.

Ingredients

Mixed greens for 8 people, store mix or make own as desired.
3 Large oranges
2 Avocados
1 Tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 Tsp. salt
1/2 Tsp ground black pepper
2 Tsp. honey
2 Medium shallots, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Method

Segment the oranges and collect juice from the procedure, set aside segments and the juice.
Should have about 3/4 cup of juice and add to this with another orange if needed.
Combine 1/2 cup of the orange juice with ginger, and mustard. Salt and pepper to taste.
In a second bowl mix 1/2 the shallots with the remaining orange juice and whisk in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
When ready to serve, open and dice the avocados and mix with honey ginger dressing, add the remaining shallots, cilantro and mint.
Add this mixture to the greens and gently mix.
Top with remaining dressing at the table if needed.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Did you know, Avocados contribute nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and beneficial plant compounds that add to the nutrient quality of your diet.

Around the Blogsphere

So I finally had some time yesterday to check out the blogstalker again. Nate was missing in action for a while but I did miss a few oh his hilarious posts. Nate is a fantastic writer and will definitely make you laugh as he talks about food blogs all over the net. He has mentioned zesty a couple of times and seems to enjoy my hair style. If you have not yet checked him out… you must today over at the blogstalker.
I am pretty excited to do a guest post this coming Sunday at Picky Palate. In the same breath, I am kind of nervous and wondering what I should feature as the post. I am sure I will come up with something.
I have completed the Campbell’s Video Shoot for GoodBite.com. I am reathrilled about the outcome. It launched on January 26th so I will be sure to keep you posted and get you ready for the big splash in a couple of weeks.
OPEN SKY Discount NEWS….. Open Sky launched a new look yesterday and it is looking super hot. You can check out my new store front and in addition to the sexy new look you can enter a coupon code “REDESIGN” and receive a 10% Coupon. This discount will run until the end of January so spread the word and buy whatever you see fit. If you are looking for certain products and do not see them in my store – let me know and I will work on getting them in my store and trying them out.

Get Your Icebox Ginger Snap!

zesty — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:00:40 +0000

I think I am heading downtown to attend the Remembrance Day Ceremony later on this morning and then heading to the house to do some work. The trim is all on upstairs and the doors are hung. I am ready to start cleaning the floors and start prepping for the hardwood. I guess I never told you that we changed our mind on the upstairs flooring and switched from a laminate floor to “real” hardwood. We chose a cappuccino color for the upper level and we are pleased to have that decision behind us.

On to the Ginger Snaps – I always seem to have these every year at this time of the year and right through until the new year. Have you ever had an icebox ginger snap? They are certainly a great little snack with a glass of milk or if you are like me… I smear a bit of butter on the back side. These are really simple to make and take no time to prep or to cook. They are a great cookie to eat right out of the fridge or the freezer.

Ingredients

1 Cup Butter
1/3 Cup Brown sugar
2/3 Cup Molasses
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Tsp. Baking soda
2 Tsp. Ginger
Pinch of salt
1/2 Tsp. Cloves
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon

Method

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
In a large bowl mix as listed above and place it on a large piece of wax paper.
using your hands shape into a large rectangle about 1 1/2- 2 inches thick. It will be smooth on the top.
Wrap it up in wax paper and chill in fridge for an hour or two. ( You can chill overnight if you want)
Remove from fridge and unwrap. Cut into slices and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: These little cookies make a great outer shell for a quick ice cream sandwich. Just be sure to pop them back in the freezer for a few minutes once you build them to prevent the ice cream from oozing out.

A Gentle Reminder

Check out Megan’s Pumpkins For Pink E-Book, which raises money for the fight against breast cancer. I contributed my Double Ginger Gingerbread Cookies recipe to it.

Have a great Wednesday and I will see you all back here tomorrow. Oh before I forget. I am on the road all next week in Virginia and I am looking for guest posters. If you are interested and would like to be featured shoot me an email.

Take care
zesty

Kicked Up Carrot Juice and a House Update

zesty — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:00:53 +0000

Happy Monday to you!

I am aboard a plane to sunny (or maybe not) California this morning. There are lots of things going on right now but I did manage to have a nice family weekend. We had a fun Friday evening visiting our Grandmother, a visit to the house build on Saturday along with a visit to the Vet College Open House. Yesterday, we had a birthday party to attend. I hope to get a lot accomplished throughout the week regarding zesty and all the blog makeovers that are on my list. I also have another pretty big announcement to make in the very near future.

I was out at the house talking to a few contractors on Saturday and trying to get everything organized for the week I am gone. I added some updated pictures at the bottom of the post to keep you up to date on the progress.

Back to the food… or juice! We bought a juicer back when I was on a big juice kick . It faded away the last little while but I wanted to share with you a fun juice to have when you are craving something a little different.

Carrots are a great way to get into juicing…. they are a great staple for any juice recipe. They provide a good base to mix in and experiment with other vegetables. They are not too sweet and not too bitter.

Ingredients

1/4 inch piece of ginger
1 apple
4 carrots

Method

Cut the ginger leave the skin on.
Core the apples.
Slice off the tips of the carrots.

Put through juice extractor.

Zesty Tip: A lot of people tell me that the juice that comes out of the juicer is too warm – I totally agree. I like to add the juice to an ice bath after I make it for about 15 -20 minutes to reduce the temperature of the juice. Try it!

House Update

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you have a great day. I will be on the road all week but I have a couple of guest posts lined up for the next couple of days.

Take care

zesty

Soft Chewy Molasses Cookies with Travel

zesty — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:00:47 +0000

I am on my way home! With that brings anticipation of snow and cold weather. Oh well that is life and I will survive. My day is action packed with 11 hours of travel so I am looking forward to getting on solid ground.

With that being said, I though I would continue the baked goods week and share with you one of my favorite soft chewy molasses cookies. As I have mentioned before, I love soft and chewy cookies similar to the chewy chocolate chip cookies and white macadamia nut cookies. However, I also love MOLASSES and everything about it.

These molasses cookies have a soft chewy texture. Growing up we called them Tuffies. Have you ever heard molasses cookies called that before?

These take no time to make and use pretty generic baking ingredients. They are also very easy to flip to Vegan cookies as well.

Ingredients

3/4 Cup butter
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1 Large egg
1/2 Cup molasses
2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Tsp. salt
2 Tsp. baking soda
1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tsp. ground ginger
1 Tsp. allspice
1 Tsp. nutmeg

Method

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cream together butter and brown sugar.
Add egg and molasses and mix well.
Fold in dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Cover and chill for about an hour to firm up the batter.
Take small amounts of dough and roll them in your hand to form small balls.
Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350° for 9-10 minutes.
Leave on sheet one minute until set.
Cool on rack.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: when baking cookies in large batches, keep the dough chilled in between batches. To store soft chewy cookies, I keep them in a container with a lid to prevent them from drying out. You can also add a slice of apple in the container to keep them moist.

I will be back on the island I call home tonight. I will see you in the morning with hopefully another fun post to lead you into the weekend. Have a great day!

Take care

zesty

Zesty Sunshine Carrots with Basil

zesty — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:00:33 +0000

Happy Monday everybody! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Today I thought I would share with you a great fall classic. With thanksgiving just around the corner, serve this as a side dish that will warm you up and tantalize your taste buds.

I never tried basil before with this recipe. I really enjoy the punch that the basil gave. Let me know what you think!

Ingredients

5 Medium Carrots
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 Tsp. Cornstarch
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1/4 Tsp. Ginger
1/8 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. Basil
1/4 Cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
2 Tbsp. Butter

Method

Cut carrots however you prefer.
Boil in water for about 10 minutes or until almost tender.
Meanwhile combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, basil, cinnamon and ginger in a small saucepan.
Add orange juice; cook, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly.
Boil 1 minute. Add butter.
Pour over drained carrots.
Toss and serve.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When cooking any root vegetable that you will later add a sauce too – make sure to slightly under cook your vegetables as they will continue to cook in the sauce. To stop the cooking process after boiling them or steaming them – you can shock them in ice water.

I hope everyone has a great Monday!

Take care

zesty