Back in Black…and a Cup of Soup

February 10, 2012 – 9:55 pm

So much for the signs of spring mentioned in my last post. Winter is truly upon us here in Denmark. I realised after I’d taken some of these photos how much black clothing predominated in them. At least that day. It did provide a nice contrast to the snow-dusted surroundings though and is quite in keeping with the recipe I was planning to post next – a creamy black bean soup. (I wonder would AC/DC approve…)

Big and small checking out the newly frozen lake

“Let me in”

Creamy black bean soup

There is nothing better than hot soup after being out and about in these chilly climes. I love soup and have been making lots of different ones recently. This one may not look particularly pretty, but what it lacks in good looks, it makes up for in taste. Rustle up some herby garlic bread and you’ve got yourself a hearty, winter-warming meal. This recipe is based on one by Claus Meyer, but tweaked a little by yours truly.

Ingredients
300g organic black beans, soaked overnight
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs rosemary
4 dessertspoons cold-pressed rapeseed oil
vegetable stock, preferably organic
4 dessertspoons apple cider
1 dessertspoon caramelised vinegar (optional)
sea salt and black pepper
flat-leaf parsley for garnish
cream, for drizzling (optional)

Directions
Drain and rinse the soaked beans. Leave them to drip in a colander.

Chop the onion and garlic. Remove the rosemary needles from the stalk and chop. Fry the onion, garlic, beans, and rosemary gently in some rapeseed oil for a couple of minutes. Add enough stock to reach 5cm above the top of the beans. Bring the soup to the boil, cover and leave to simmer gently for about 45 minutes.

Remove from the heat, take out a few spoonfuls of the beans and set aside. Pour the soup into a blender and blitz it until smooth. Add the vinegars and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Rinse, dry and finely chop the parsley. Serve the soup, adding some of the reserved beans, a drizzle of cream and rapeseed oil and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.

Serve with some homemade herby, garlic bread or other bread of your choice.

By foodytwoshoes | Posted in appetiser, soup, starter, starters, Uncategorized, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Baby it’s Cold Outside – Plants, Life and a Coleslaw

January 15, 2012 – 9:46 pm

I’m the first to admit that food-blogging in the winter hasn’t been my strong point. I’d much rather take photos in those bright Scandinavian days of spring and summer. I think it’s time for a new strategy in 2012 – to start with I’m trying to embrace winter and capture some of the atmosphere and charm that can be found in this season – making the most of it, you might call it. So, this blog post is not the usual type of recipe with food shot(s) that I would normally whack out here. I’m including a few snaps of this and that from around these parts.

First sign of spring – very cheering :)

Young Halley (5) letting off some steam in the park

Crab apples – jewels of the winter garden

Fairy lights add a little magic to the dark winter months – I love them

Seasonal Coleslaw

This recipe is for a ‘Roasted Sesame Winter Slaw’ that I found on this lovely blog My New Roots. I’ve pretty much followed the recipe except for using some different type of cabbage, because that’s what I happened to have in my fridge. This Coleslaw is great eaten on its own or with any kind of meat, if you are a meat-eater. Who said January had to be boring?

My Coleslaw is featured here on my treasured Bunbury Board – a gift from good friends Eddie and Tremayne in Ireland. Each board is hand-made from a tree sourced from sustainable Irish woodland and individually stamped with a code. By entering the code into the Bunbury Board website you can discover the story of the tree from which the board was made as well as see a picture of it. Very cool.

Makes a lot
Ingredients
3 cups each shredded red cabbage and sweetheart cabbage – any cabbage would work though
2 cups shredded carrots
2 scallions
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ cup sesame seeds

Tahini Cream Dressing with Orange
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon runny honey (or agave, maple syrup)
1/3 cup tahini
½ cup water
season to taste with salt & pepper
zest of 1 organic orange

Directions
1. Wash and shred the cabbage as finely as possible and place in a large bowl.
2. Shred the carrots, finely slice the scallions and chop the parsley.
3. Add to the cabbage.
4. Whisk the dressing ingredients together. Add water to thin to desired consistency.
5. Roast the sesame seeds on a dry pan until they begin to pop. Remove from the heat immediately. Sprinkle over the salad ingredients.
6. Toss everything together in the bowl and serve. Pour the dressing over only after the salad has been plated – this way you get some bites with lots of dressing and some without for the best balance. Garnish with extra sesame seeds.



Our resident bunnies love to munch on the vegetable trimmings

By foodytwoshoes | Posted in general interest, lunch, salad, side dishes, snack, Uncategorized, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (9)

Pear and Kale Salad with Blue Cheese and Walnuts

November 13, 2011 – 2:15 pm

Hello foody friends, life has somewhat been on the hectic side of late and although that never effects my interest in food, I’ve been a bit remiss in putting stuff on the blog. To add to this, a few weeks ago I came home from a trip to find that my enthusiastic, pre-teen, blogging daughters had done something to rub the camera up the wrong way and it went on strike. I seem to have now managed to put a work-around in place until I can bring myself to fork out for a new one – I’m told it’s not worth having the old one fixed.

Anyway, I digress. You may have noticed that I have a bit of a soft spot for kale – this is neither the first nor the last time it features on my blog. Kale is super healthy and makes a great alternative to lettuce. I think it’s great for making salads more hearty in the cold months of the year. This recipe is another from good ol’ Claus Meyer and goes well with most meat or simply as a meal in itself.

Salad
200g kale
5 ripe (but firm) pears
100g mild and creamy blue cheese
60g walnuts, roughly chopped
lemon juice
cider vinegar
sugar
sea salt
cold-pressed rapeseed oil

Dressing
50ml cold-pressed rapeseed oil
3 dessertspoons cider vinegar
1 dessertspoon honey
1 clove garlic, chopped
sea salt
black pepper

Place the kale leaves in cold water to freshen and crispen them up. Heat the oven to 180° C (350° F). Wash the pears, cut into quarters and remove the cores. Slice three of the pears into long, thin pieces and set aside. Cut the remaining two pears into ‘boats’ and toss them in a little cider vinegar, sugar, salt and oil. Spread them on a lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until they are soft and golden. Leave the pears to cool.

To make the dressing, blend the ingredients in a bowl.

Slice the kale thinly and cut the blue cheese into small cubes. Toss the kale with the dressing, blue cheese and both the raw and the cooked pears. Season with salt and pepper. Add a little sugar should you think the salad needs to be sweetened slightly. Sprinkle the walnuts over the top and serve.

By foodytwoshoes | Posted in salad, side dishes, starter, starters, Uncategorized, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (8)
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