Spicy Chipotle Corn Bisque

This a simple yet highly flavorful soup.

The chipotle peppers make it smoky

and spicy. The turmeric, cumin and

capsaicin from the peppers

complement each other nicely and

promote healthy circulation and

digestion.

Ingredients

2 Tbl Olive Oil

1 Purple onion, diced

3 Cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp Cumin

1/4 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp Salt

2 Chipotle peppers, from a can, rinsed and chopped

3 C Frozen Corn

4 Small potatoes, peeled and chopped

Water

Sliced scallions and cilantro for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the onion, cumin and turmeric and saute for a few minutes. Add the garlic and peppers, stir and add the corn, potatoes and salt. Saute for about 5 more minutes, stirring frequently and then add enough water just to cover. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour until ingredients are soft. Once the ingredients are cooked thoroughly, puree in a blender until you reach the desired consistency. Top with scallions and cilantro.

Variations

For a less spicy soup, omit the peppers, increase the amount of cumin and add some mild chili powder

For more of an herbal essence, omit the peppers and cumin. While everything is sauteing, stir in some sage and thyme. Top with freshly ground pepper.

In the Green

Crème de Menthe * Chocolate Liqueur * Rum * Almond Milk

Shake over ice

Grilled portabellas, marinated in a creamy chipotle sauce, served on quinoa buns

When cooking with friends, I often enjoy sharing a bottle of wine or craft brew during the preparation process. Unfortunately it sometimes renders me forgetful and I find myself the next day wishing I had remembered to take photos to share with blog readers. Today is one of those days. I am certain though, that I will be making this delicious meal several times this summer. Let grilling season begin!

Quinoa Buns (these can be made in advance)

Ingredients

2 C cooked quinoa

1 C cooked oatmeal

2 tsp yeast

¾ C warm water

1/3 C maple syrup

2 Tbl vegetable oil

3 Tbl soy milk powder

2 to 3 C unbleached all purpose flour

¼ C vital wheat gluten (optional)

1 C whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

Combine yeast and water with a little bit of the maple syrup. Let it stand for about 10 minutes, until bubbly. Add rest of maple syrup, soy milk powder, oil and salt and stir until combined. Mix in about a cup of the white flour. Add the vital wheat gluten, whole wheat flour, oats and quinoa. Add more white flour as necessary and begin kneading. Knead for about 8 minutes, until elastic. Oil a large bowl, form dough into a ball and place in bowl, turning to coat all surfaces with oil. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours. Once the dough has doubled, press down to remove air bubbles and divide into about 15 balls.

Forming the buns (use extra flour as necessary)

Roll each ball out long and thin (like a rope), about a foot long. Tie a simple loose knot and tuck ends through the reverse side.* Place the rolls on an oiled cookie sheet and again let them rise in a warm place until doubled. (To try to keep them from drying out, I place two plastic bags over the cookie sheets. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the buns for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet.

Adapted from http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/healthyeating/r/quinoabread.htm

*This site has a step by step of something similar, though they roll the dough out and cut into strips rather than rolling it out into ropes like I did: http://www.eclecticepicurean.com/Isabella%20Cooks/July21-slumber%20party/BBQ%20Buns/BBQ%20Buns.htm (scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the final steps)

Chipotle Portabellas

1 small or medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered

2 cloves garlic crushed

1/3 C vegetable or olive oil

2 Tbl balsamic vinegar

4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

4 portabella mushrooms, rinsed and stems removed.

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor (except portabellas) until smooth. Coat both sides of each portabella in the marinade and let sit for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat the grill (medium to high). Grill the portabellas until tender, about 15 minutes, turning every five minutes.

Place on buns. I recommend topping with grilled onion, ketchup, mustard, lettuce tomato and avocado. Enjoy!

Oat Bread: Leftover multi-grain cereal

This is another great way to use up leftover hot cereals (multi-grain, cream of wheat, oatmeal etc.). Not only is this bread healthy and high in fiber due to to the oats, but its fluffy, yet somewhat chewy and has a nice color. To say the least is has an amazing texture and is delicious... and I feel like preparing more oatmeal just so I can make more!

Ingredients

2 to 2.5 C cooked multi-grain cereal (or oatmeal)

1 to 1.25 C water

2 Tbl molasses

2 tsp salt

1 Tbl yeast

About 5 c flour

1/4 c vital wheat gluten

In large bowl combine oats, water, molasses, salt, yeast and 1 C of flour. Lest rest until bubbly, about 20 minutes. Stir in vital wheat gluten and flour as necessary so that it becomes doughy but not too sticky. Knead about 10 minutes adding flour as necessary. Form into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap (I like to use the shower caps they give you at hotels) and let rise in warm place until doubled, about one to two hours. Once doubled, press down and divide in half. Place formed loaves in loaf pans that have been greased and floured. Score the bread widthwise. I think a razor blade works well for this Cover and let rise until well above the pan rim. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake about 30 minutes or until the center is about 200 degrees F.

**It is a good idea to let the crust set for a while before cutting, as difficult as this may be. Enjoy!

Healthy Almond Banana Muffins made with Leftover Oatmeal

We had a huge 'vat' of leftover multi-grain cereal, sititng in the fridge, longing to be used for something...so I made muffins.

Ingredients

For muffins

1 Tbl ground flax, wisped with 3 Tbl water (I also added about 1 tsp of ener-G egg replacer for a little extra lift) but if you don't have this on hand it shouldn't be a problem

1 cup cooked cereal (oatmeal, cream of wheat, multigrain etc.)

1/2 milk (start with 1/2, may need to increase depending on the aqueous nature of your cereal)

1 very ripe banana, mashed

1/2 tsp almond extract

1.5 c flour (I used unbleached white)

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbl sugar or other sweetener

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 c sliced almonds

For topping
1 Tbl flour, 1/4 c brown sugar, dash of salt, 1-2 Tbl water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Combine wet ingredients (first five listed) in medium sized bowl and dry ingredients (the four following) in a small bowl. Add dry to wet, combine well and stir in almonds. Grease or oil the muffin pan (I used paper cups in the picture but the muffins stick to the paper so I think analternative method would work better). Fill each muffin slot 2/3 full. Combine the topping ingredients (until crumbly) and sprinkle evenly on muffin tops. Bake for 30 minutes.

These muffins are very versatile I used almond extract, almonds, and a banana but I'm sure it would work fine if you wanted to use another fruit, essence or nut or omit them entirely.

If you're feeling adventurous, might I suggest apple pecan with vanilla bean.

"Chips and Cheese" with Daiya

A sampling from my Daiya adventures. This was the first time I got to taste Daiya vegan cheese and I have to say I am quite impressed. There are so many vegan cheeses available now but I don't really desire cheese too frequently. However I was craving grilled cheese, which turned out amazingly with Daiya and was eaten too quickly to take a picture. Here's to the makers Daiya and my 100th blog post!