Carrot Ginger Soup

Sauté for 15-20 min:

-6 Tbsp non-salted butter (margarine for vegan)
-1 yellow onion, chopped
-1/4 c. ginger, peeled and chopped small
-3 cloves garlic, minced

Add:

-7 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
-1 cup white cooking wine (or try substituting diluted white wine vinegar or white grape juice, or ginger ale)
-1.5 lbs (approx. 5-7) carrots, chopped in 1/2" pieces

Bring to a boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

Purée either in batches in a blender (be careful because the hot liquid could cause a pressure build up and you could get scalded) or with a handheld blender (recommended).

Season with:

-2 Tbsp lemon juice
-dash curry
-Salt 'n' Peppa to taste

Garnish ideas:
-ye olde faithfulle sprig of parsley
-plain yogurt or sour cream "spiralled" in the middle

Pasta e lenticchie (Pasta and Lentils)

Lentils is the reason they call it "Lent."

Bring to a boil:

7 cups water
1 cup brown lentils
5 Tbspn vegetable stock powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can chunky tomatoes, with juice
1/2 onion, diced (I used dried onion flakes)
Italian seasoning, to taste

Simmer for 30 minutes

Add:
approx. 2 cups pasta

Simmer for 15 minutes.

Non-lenten: garnish with parmesan

Homemade Soy Hot Chocolate

Created during the desperate Need That Was yesterday.

Recipe #1: (makes 4-5 servings)

Mix:
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup water

Stir in:
4 cups soy beverage
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Heat 'n' eat!!

Recipe #2: (makes 1 serving)

Heat:
1 cup soy beverage

Add:
3 teaspoons chocolate syrup
1 Tablespoon peanut butter

Shrimp Burgers

The recipe:
1 lb shredded shrimp meat
1 heaping tablespoon of paprika
Salt and pepper to taste (perhaps half a teaspoon of each).
Two cloves of garlic, chopped finely.
1 Egg
A bit less than a complete loaf of sliced bread (minus the crusts)

Lemon juice
Buns
Lettuce
Tomatoes, sliced
Onions, sliced
Mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard

Mix the paprika and into the shredded shrimp meat, distributing evenly. Add salt and fresh ground pepper. Add the raw egg. Mix in the chopped garlic. Rip apart the loaf of bread. Mix, punch or do whatever it takes to intertwine the tiny bread pieces into the shredded shrimp meat (Make it look like hamburger meat as much as possible, except pink of course :) ).

Once the shredded shrimp meat has reached the perfect consistency, form out the burger patties. Rub some butter over the shrimp burgers. Place on a hot grill or grill pan. If you are indoors with a grill pan, be sure to use your stove fan. If on grill pan, lower the heat to medium high. Grill on one side until you can see the juice begin to run at the surface. Flip over and grill on the other side, again until you can see some juice coming through. Pour lemon juice over the burgers for taste.

If you like, grill the buns on remaining grill surface. Onions can be either served fresh with the shrimp burgers or sautéed a little in olive oil.

Serve shrimp burgers with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayo, ketchup, and or mustard.

Serves 3 to 4. Enjoy!

Gnocchi with pesto

Lenten eating with style.

Method:
1. Buy gnocchi.
2. Cook gnocchi.

3. Eat gnocchi

Pesto for one:

1. Crush handful of pine nuts
2. Add dollop of olive oil, fresh/dried basil and/or parsley, pinch salt, and crushed clove of garlic.

Note: For pesto for two, multiply ingredients by two. For pesto for x, divide ingredients by 1/x.

Andrew's Roman Bread

My pen-pal from Manchester, Andrew, sent me this great, quick, no-yeast bread recipe. It's slightly sweet, but not a "sweet-bread." Perfect hot out of the oven with butter or fully cool with sharp cheddar, soup... you name it. I now crave this bread while at work.

Dry Ingredients
-1 and 3/4 cups bread flour (can be plain, whole wheat, nutty, whatever you will);
-1 and 3/4 cups self-rising flour;
-2 teaspoons baking soda;
-1 teaspoon salt;

Liquids
- 1 cup plain yoghurt (the acidity of the yoghurt and the baking soda create a chemical reaction which is what makes this bread rise);
- 1 cup milk;
- 1 cup treacle (or golden syrup a la Rogers or whatever).

Directions
- preheat oven to 375 degrees;
-butter a loaf pan;
- in a mixing bowl, fully integrate all the dry ingredients;
- in a separate mixing bowl, mix the treacle or syrup into the yoghurt, then add and combine the milk;
- add the dry ingredients into the liquid;
- mix with a sturdy wooden spoon or kneed by hand until combined, ending up with a sticky dough;
- put the dough into the buttered pan, bake for about 40 minutes or so.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Camel

Believe it or not, this is found in the Operating Room Nurses Group Cook Book "Operation Cook II"

1 hard boiled egg
1 Cornish game hen
1 mallard duck
1 Canada goose
1 suckling pig
1 male deer
1 cow moose
1 camel
1 sockeye salmon

Pluck, clean, gut, scale, dehoof, dehorn and skin all ingredients. Stuff Cornish game hen with hard boiled egg. Place stuffed hen into mallard duck. Stuff salmon with mallard duck. Sew salmon closed with string. Place salmon into goose cavity; remove tail first. Place stuffed goose into pig. Grease pig and place into cavity of male deer. Deer should be inserted tail first into moose. Place moose into camel. If only a dromedary available, halve moose before placing in single hump. Insert 2 pounds of popcorn stuffing*. Place on a rotary spit over large fire. Observe from a safe distance. Feeds 400.

*Popcorn Stuffing

1 cup popcorn (not popped)
3 cups prepared stuffing
1/2 cup onion
1/4 cup melted butter
1 turkey

Add popcorn to stuffing, onion and butter. Mix well and stuff loosely into turkey. Preheat oven at 400 degrees F and place bird on lowest rack.

When the turkey pops, then you'll know that the bird is done.