My Sweet Potato, Leek & Apple Soup

I haven't posted in a while, and I'm sorry. I have had a few challenging weeks and today was the straw that broke the camel's back. On my way home from my group counseling class I stopped at the store and bought a bunch of vegetables, despite my trip at the end of the week. After I bought all these great looking vegetables I realized that I had to use them in the next four days. I knew I was going to make a soup when I got home because I needed to cook something to just relax and be with myself for a little while. 

I just started to cut vegetables and throwing them in the pot. This turned into a great cozy soup, so I will describe this as cozy as cashmere on the first cold fall day. I refer to fall and not winter because I added an apple and cinnamon to the soup, and boy am I glad I did! I also just love fall and take every opportunity I can to talk about it! Sorry in advance for not having exact measurements for the spices. I wasn't planning on posting this so I wasn't measuring. Here is the rough recipe to this great soup:

Ingredients:

1 diced shallot
2 diced carrots
1 stalk of celery, diced
2 small baby leeks, diced
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced 
1 apple (I used Jazz) peeled and diced
1 cup of low sodium chicken sock (I used homemade, but you can use any kind of stock)
two shakes of thyme
a pinch of rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
a touch of cinnamon

In a hot pot heat up some olive oil, and saute all the vegetables, except sweet potato and apple. Let them vegetables sweat a little and then add lees and sweet potato and apple. Allow the apple to brown a little and then add the liquid. If the one cup of stock does not cover everything, add warm water till vegetables are covered. Add spices and mix all together. Cover and simmer vegetables for about 15 minutes or until sweet potato is tender. Then use an immersion blender to puree all vegetables. (If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a food processor or blender.) TASTE SOUP! This is important! You want to taste for saltiness, flavor etc. If it doesn't have flavor.. add some more of whichever spice you like best and let it simmer another minute. If soup seems too thick you can water it down with some warm water and cook it another minute or two. Serve with warm crusty bread on a cold day or when you just need some good healthy comfort food!

And what was Charlie doing during all this? He was walking around the apartment randomly barking once, as if he were complaining about this and that. Basically he was like, "WOMAN! it's 10pm and you're making soup. GET A GRIP and let's go to bed!" But hey! I'll have a great lunch tomorrow!

enjoy & remember to make it all with love.

Copycat Butternut Squash Salad

On Friday Adam and I went to celebrate at a restaurant in Arlington, called Rustico! It was our frist time there and we were pumped because 1. the menu prices were really reasonable 2. it looked like a cool place and 3. we were starving!

We started off with the most delicious salad ever. I obviously picked it out because it was very "fall-y" and figured Adam would have at least tried it.... although we pretty much split this down the middle!  I took a picture of the menu so I would remember what was in it. So for the salad it goes as follows:

Salad Ingredients:

Spinach or a mixed baby lettuce salad
Roasted butternut squash
Pumpkin seeds
Shaved parmesan
Pomegranate seeds
Cranberry vinaigrette

Now I won't put measurements because with a salad you can be as creative as you'd like!

So tonight I roasted a butternut squash with some olive oil and salt+pepper....

While the beautiful aroma of butternut squash filled the apartment I went to work on this cranberry vinaigrette!

I didn't have fresh cranberries or frozen ones but I had dried cranberries which I love to put on salads.
So in a food processor I combined the following.. (plus or minus)  I tried to measure it all out but of course ended up adding a few things here and there...

1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 Tbsp to 1/4 cup of cider vinegar (start off with 1T and add a bit more depending on your taste)
3 Tbsp of warm water
1 Tbsp of honey
Salt+Pepper to taste

I STRONGLY recommend you try your vinaigrette as you go along to check for taste! I stored it in a glass bottle that used to be salad dressing that I just washed out.

Toss the salad with the warm butternut squash, dressing, and rest of the ingredients and enjoy!

 

Sometimes you just need a cookie...

Sometimes you just need a cookie to make a day, like today, a little better. This morning I woke up thinking about the events of 9/11 and thought I would bring cookies to work, but in particularly to a coworker who survived the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon. He has a bit of a sweet tooth and figured it would be a nice gesture to say, "hey! I'm glad you're here and I care"

AND I always have the essentials at home: chocolate chips and butter.

The recipe I made came from a cookbook I just got from a little bakery in Brooklyn, NY named One Girl Cookies.

Adam and I went up to Brooklyn for the day to get my "foodie" tattoo touched up by Joy at Twelve 28 Tattoo Shop!

After we went to the infamous Grimaldi's for pizza and decided to go walk down by the water. On the way back we stumbled upon this little bakery with big windows and simple chic decor. We bought two pumpkin whoopie pies for the road, and boy were they good! I of course saw that they had a cookbook and after quickly glancing at it decided to buy it. It has some great recipes that I am excited to try! Here's the first that I tried!

Here is my TINY fork tattoo done by Joy Rumore











I made their Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies, which were promised to be, "cakey, bittersweet, small and thick"

Recipe:

Makes about 36 cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Step 1:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt







Step 2:
In a large bowl beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. If you're like me and in patient on letter butter sit at room temperature, store your butter in the freezer and then shred the butter. I promise it works! Then add the eggs and vanilla, and mix on medium speed for 1 minute.

Step 3:
Gradually add all of the flour mixture but stop mixing on low speed before it is completely incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and mix on low speed for 20 seconds! MOST IMPORTANT STEP: try to cookie dough... you know quality control ;)  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour, or  overnight.





Step 4:
Preheat oven to 350 F

Step 5:
 Remove the dough from the fridge. Using a small cookie scoop or a spoon scoop out small rounds about 1 1/2 tablespoons each, onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving 1 inch between cookies.

Step 6:
Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, for about 15 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

NOW for what actually happened....

Here I am thinking that these cookies are going to be small and round and cakey and this is what I got for batch #1:

WHAT?!

Now some of you must be thinking, "You just suck at baking" WELL actually I'm pretty good and I've made chocolate chip cookies PLENTY of times before, so I tried a different approach.. I scooped and rolled the dough first and this is what I got with Batch # 2:

BETTER....

Now these got better looking, BUT in the forward of the book (YES I am probably one of the only people that reads those in cookbooks!) it said that their cookies were all about being small... these cookies are normal sized! SO, I tried batch number three by using a measuring teaspoon to scoop... Batch #3:

So these were TOO brown...

So I decided to make something out of the BIG cookie I got from batch #1: 

                      

                                               ALWAYS try to make it better!

So the last batch (#4) I decided to use small scoops and lower the temperature and time... 325F for 10minutes and VOILA! Batch #4:

YAY 5 cookies.....

So here is the progress that was made with all the different batches...

What other blogs don't show you is what I just did... ALL THE MESS UPS! You just gotta make the best of it :) 

Now what was Charlie doing while I was baking this morning? Well, he wasn't really in the baking mood... He was out on the porch hanging with Pig.. 

Charlie loves his cookies too, so I gave him a little treat after this baking adventure was over

ENJOY!

Love,

Daisy and Charlie :) 

How to trick picky eaters: Roasted Pepper and Eggplant Marinara

Now I cannot take credit for this recipe because I actually saw it on the Rachael Ray talk show a while back. I love eggplant and my boyfriend hates it, but I am convinced that he would not even notice the taste or texture of eggplant in this sauce! It is also a fun recipe to try because you get to play with fire and cool kitchen appliances ;)
I live in a fancy establishment where my kitchen is all high tech and stuff....... and so because of that my stove will set off the smoke detector, which we believe to be heat censored because there won't be any smoke in the apartment. This causes for fun chaos with Charlie! Every time it goes off he takes off running to the censor and barking at it and jumping to get it, never a dull moment with a wiener running around!

I am no dietitian but I can say that fruits and vegetables are good for you! The end. Eat them.

 I don't think I should have to say anything else but try this recipe and let me know how it goes! It is so good! :)

Ingredients

• 2 large red bell peppers
• 1 large Fresno chile pepper or whatever chili pepper you'd like
• 1 large head garlic
•  fresh rosemary sprig, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 1 medium-large firm eggplant
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing eggplant
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 (28-ounce) can Italian tomatoes
• 2 fresh basil leaves, torn
•  fresh oregano sprig, leaves picked and finely chopped- If you only have dried oregano rub it in your hand before you put it in to release the flavor.
• 1 pound long fusilli pasta
• Grated Pecorino cheese
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped

-First things first char the skins of sweet and hot peppers to black under a broiler with oven door slightly ajar, to prevent steam build up or place directly over stove top flame. I used the stove top because that is what I saw on the show and it just seemed like a whole lot more fun, but a bit complicated! Be careful!

 

-Then you want to cover the charred peppers and let them cool, peel them, and seed them. To do this you I ran them under cold water to get the black skins off and I cored them and just let them rest in a little bowl.


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the head of the garlic (where it all bunches at the bottom) to expose the cloves, cover it in  some extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Press the garlic into the chopped rosemary and coat the cut cloves. Wrap the garlic up in foil and roast 40 to 45 minutes, until soft but still moist. -- You keep the dry outside part of the garlic on it... trust me!

Cut the eggplant lengthwise and brush the inside with extra-virgin olive oil. Season the cut sides of eggplant with salt and pepper and place cut-side down on baking sheet and roast to very tender, 30 to 40 minutes. When it is done it will look like a deflated pool toy. Cool the eggplant until easy to handle, then scoop the flesh away from skins and add to a food processor with roasted garlic and roasted sweet and hot peppers, then puree. When you take out the garlic you just squeeze it out of its "shell" into the food processor. If you don't have a food processor... its time to invest, just do it. You can use the food processor for almost anything! Look below for a cheesy picture of me getting my new food processor.. I was that excited!

In saucepan, heat the stock and tomatoes. If the tomatoes are whole, break them up with a wooden spoon so you don't scratch your pot! Stir in the eggplant-pepper mixture and add basil and oregano, salt, and pepper, to taste.Simmer sauce to combine flavors.

 I would use a curly pasta so that it "holds" on to that sauce, but you can use whatever pasta you'd like! Toss the cooked pasta with sauce and serve with cheese and if you're feeling extra fancy sprinkle fresh parsley on top.



You can also make this as a make-ahead meal. Reheat over medium heat.

 

Voilà!

 And as promised a cheesy picture showing just how much I love my food processor....

Comfort food doesn't have to be bad for you!

Sundays are usually lazy day filled with laundry and homework. This past Sunday my roommate and I had three of our friends over, one has four legs and played with Charlie and Ellie. While the puppies played around we had a cozy low-sodium "healthy" chicken parmigiana! Fair warning- I am not Italian so this may not be the "correct" way of making this dish, but this is just an easy way to make it!

I am not a huge fan of breaded anything so when I make chicken parmigiana I season the chicken breasts with Mrs. Dash garlic & herb seasoning and since I was making this meal low sodium, I didn't add salt to my seasoning. By adding lots of flavor with this seasoning you don't even miss the salt! I use my handy little misto olive oil sprayer to spray a small frying pan and saute the chicken briefly, just a minute or two on each side.

While the chicken is in the frying pan, I cover the bottom of a baking dish with whatever type of marinara sauce I have at home. I then place the "cooked" chicken in the baking dish and place it in a preheated oven at 350°F  for about 15 minutes, all ovens are different so just keep an eye on it and check the internal temperature of the chicken if you want to be sure its cooked all the way. You want to check the chicken towards the end of your time so you don't puncture your chicken multiple times and let all the juices flow out. For chicken you want an internal temperature of 165 °F. By sauteing the chicken before hand it takes some time away from cooking it in the oven!
When the chicken  is about half way done I add some more sauce to the top of it and allow it to cook all the way. Right before I take it to the table is when I sprinkle the cheese on top. I didn't have shredded parmigiana cheese at home so I cheated and used two slices of provolone for four chicken breasts.

To along with that I made some high fiber whole wheat spaghetti from Trader Joe's and tossed it off with some of the sauce I used on the chicken. I once heard that you should "salt the water like the Mediterranean" when you make pasta, so I usually do that, but since I was being sodium conscious I didn't salt the water as much as I usually do!

Overall we had a nice relaxing Sunday eating good food and watching the puppies play :)

I want to blog dammit.

For WEEKS now I have been telling my coworker and everybody around me how I want to blog. Well here goes. I'm blogging. I will warn you I am the kind of person who thinks she's funny, but really I'm not all that funny. OKAY! So where to begin my blogging journey..

Since this blog is called cooking with charlie I should explain that Charlie is actually my dog. He is chocolate and tan "miniature" dachshund.  I say "miniature" because lets face it what dachshund is truly miniature...He has a large personality and makes me laugh on a daily basis!  Some could say that I'm obsessed with him, and I would probably have to agree. It is crazy to think of how much I really love this dog! He's a wiener.So in January Charlie turned 1 years old! I like the good dog momma that  I am decided I needed to throw him a party! I made mini dog cupcakes for him, which he LOVED! Then we opened presents which is the funniest thing to see. I learned this about Charlie on Christmas, but he is like child when it comes to presents. It is like he knows they're coming and they're for him. Charlie's grandma sent him a package filled with gifts and goodies, and I got him a few little toys. Once he got a toy he just ran with it and started playing with it, then he'd come back for his next gift! Funniest thing ever!

Banana Peanut Butter Mini Cupcakes (yields 6) 

Ingredients:
Cupcake:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons peanut butter
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons honey
1/2 egg (whisk it and use half)
"Icing"
1 mashed banana 
1 Tablespoon of peanut butter
a little honey for consistency 

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Combine ingredients
- In a prepared mini muffin tin divide the batter
- Bake for about 10 minutes, or until firm
-Stir all the "icing" ingredients
-ice the cupcakes once cool and top with dried fruit! (I used dried apples)

Charlie thanking me for the AWESOME party and singing!

Charlie loved his cupcakes he didn't want to share with Amy ;)

Charlie is part of my family, and I treat him like he is!