Red Pepper Summer Soup

They're chilling with Jamie Oliver over at I Heart Cooking Clubs and what better way to chill than with a cold soup. Have to say, we're kind of iffy with cold soup so I served it room temperature. We loved it. Definitely a keeper, and easy as can be. Didn't have to use the oven and heat up the kitchen, on top of the stove worked out really well. Love this recipe. Very quick and very easy. Had more than a few grape tomatoes that were a bit past their prime as far as serving in a salad but cooked down they added tremendous flavor. Tried it with a little drizzle of cream on mine and it was a very nice addition, not needed but nice. I used three red peppers and one yellow. And added some smoked paprika. I also used sherry vinegar instead of red wine vinegar and it gave it a nice flavor. So I didn't follow exactly, but it was a perfect soup for these very warm days.

So we're ended up lukewarm with Jamie Oliver this week instead of chilling, but hot, cold or warm, this is a really fantastic soup.

Red Pepper Summer Soup
Source: original recipe found in Jamie's America by Jamie Oliver
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

4 red bell peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
15-20 grape tomatoes (optional)
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 quart chicken stock
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 small red chile, chopped (or jalapeno)
olive oil, for the pan and for drizzling
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
small bunch of fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I used a sherry wine vinegar)
1/4 cucumber (seedless)
cayenne pepper or smoked paprika (if you like)
a touch of cream (optional)

Add a couple of dashes of olive oil to a large saucepan. On medium heat, gently fry the red peppers, onion, garlic and chile with the lid on for about 20 minutes. Stir every five minutes or so.

Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil then simmer the soup gently on medium heat with the lid on for about more 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.

Use an immersion blender to puree or you can very carefully pour the soup (it will be hot) into a blender (in 2 or 3 batches) and blend at high speed till smooth and silky. Add the vinegar and basil and whiz it again. Then strain through a strainer, if you like, and taste for seasoning.  Let it cool in the frig. Serve this soup cold with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, or even a drizzle of cream. Garnish with the diced cucumbers and celery, a little cayenne or smoked paprika.

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 I Heart Cooking Clubs to Chill with Jamie Oliver!

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Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

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Souper Sundays (soups, salads and sandwiches) @ Kahakai Kitchen

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 Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

 

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Wordless Wednesday: Purple Potatoes

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Steamed Artichokes

We love artichokes. And it's one of those things. My intent is good, but I buy a couple and never get to them. They sit and sit in the vegetable bin until it's too late to use them. What a big waste. This time I was determined not to let them go when I saw them. I tried steaming, thinking it would be easier to do than stuffing. Steaming was easy enough, and very good! So I know I can definitely stuff the next time. Or Roman Style. Got raves from Susan at Savoring Time in Kitchen and Cathy at Wives with Knives. These babies are no longer going to waste. I never should have waited so long.

Steamed Artichokes with Tarragon Mayonnaise
Source: artichokes.org and Whole Foods Market
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

Artichoke Preparation:
Wash artichokes under cold running water.

Pull off lower petals which are small or discolored.

Cut stems close to base, so they will stay put in the pot.

Cut off top quarter and tips of petals, if desired. It really isn't necessary to remove the tips. They soften with cooking and pose no threat to diners, but people like the look of a trimmed artichoke better.

Gently spread the center to get to the purplish, thorny center leaves. with a spoon, scrape out the purple, thorny fuzz!

Plunge into acidified water to preserve color. (A tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar per quart of water. )

Optional: The trimmed artichoke stems are edible. Cut brown end about ½-inch. Peel fibrous outer layer to reach tender green of stem. Stem may be steamed whole with the artichoke. Cut into rounds or julienne for salads or pastas.

Use this same technique for making stuffed artichokes, too!

Steaming:
Pour enough water into a large pot to reach a depth of 1 to 2 inches. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover pot and arrange trimmed artichokes, bottoms up, in the bottom in a single layer. Cover pot, reduce heat to medium and steam until tender, 20 to 40 minutes. Cooking time will depend on size of artichokes. When the leaves pull out easily and the base can be pierced with a knife, they're ready. Drain well and transfer to a large platter.

Meanwhile, make the dipping sauces.

For Tarragon Mayo, just mix some fresh tarragon with a cup of mayo, some chopped shallots, two teaspoons fresh lemon juice , and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Salt and pepper to taste. To make the lemon-butter,  whisk together melted butter,  a little lemon juice, salt and pepper, to taste; transfer to a bowl. Serve artichokes warm, with lemon-butter and tarragon mayo on the side for dipping.

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Cinnamon Horchata

There's a party going on at I Heart Cooking Clubs and this time they are bringing Jamie Oliver drinks. The problem for me was I couldn't find that many to choose from that I wanted to make. I know, I know, so I'm a little picky about my beverage of choice. I prefer vodka on the rocks. Not that I'd ever turn down a pina colada or some pretty, fruity drink, I just didn't feel like it. It's too hot. Actually I didn't feel like anything during this heat wave except a little air conditioning. Make that a lot of air conditioning.

But then I found it. Looking through the books, imagine rice pudding you can drink? It sounded pretty good, we love rice pudding so why not give it a try? Jamie calls it Orchata in the book, I always thought it was Horchata. But spell it any way you like, but spell it GOOD! If you like strawberries, omit the cinnamon and sub the berries.

Miss Picky and her friends thought it was ok. Interesting. But not bad. Different. But not bad. They each drank the whole glass. The Griller also thought it was different, but not bad. I thought it was ok, it was nice and refreshing on a really hot day. And it was interesting. And it did remind me of rice pudding flavor. Next time I'd try it with the berries. I like berries with my rice pudding.

So it is Horchata or Orchata? Jamie left out the H. I put it back in :)

 

Cinnamon Horchata

Source: original recipe from Jamie's America by Jamie Oliver

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

3/4 cup long-grain rice
1 quart whole milk (I used 1% low-fat milk)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup light brown sugar (more or less to taste!)
1 or 2 cinnamon sticks

Prepare the rice according to the package instructions, then strain and run under cold water so it cools down quickly. Put the cooled rice into a blender with the milk, ground cinnamon, and sugar. Blend until smooth, then taste and add more sugar, if it needs it.

Strain rice mixture into a pitcher with ice. Discard the rice from the sieve. Snap cinnamon sticks in half and place into pitcher with the horchata. Pour into glasses. Sprinkle over a little more ground cinnamon and serve. 

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Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

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Wordless Wednesday: Oh Fudge!

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Fizzies!

Have you ever heard of Fizzies?  They were a fad years ago and now they're back. So being somewhat of a kid at heart, when I saw them at Dylan's Candy Bar, I had to pick up a pack to try. For my kids. Yeah right. For them.

Just add a tablet to a small glass of water. Comes in a few flavors, I got orange. Sugar free, made with Splenda. Not bad actually. The Picky Kid at first thought it was candy and popped it in her mouth, minus the water and the glass. Her expression made laugh. Then we tried it the right way and they didn't love it, except for waiting and watching it fizz up. I thought it was good, would taste better with ice cold water. But it was fun. Once.

It would be nice if they brought back Marathon Bars or Willy Wonka's Oompa Loompah Candies, they were half chocolate half peanut butter in a candy shell, and nothing like M&M's peanut butter, which are also pretty good. What were your favorites from way back when?

The Fizzies were fun. Now on to the next fad...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joining Mary at The Little Red House for Mosaic Monday!  

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July Potluck with Jamie Oliver

Time for another Jamie Oliver potluck at I Heart Cooking Clubs and since dinner for us was grilled burgers I thought cole slaw would be perfect. So I made Jamie Oliver's Mexican Street Salad.  I loved it, it had a real tangy flavor from the lime. I should have let it sit a bit before I served it but as usual I was rushed. The kids didn't love it. I think next time I would mix the lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and jalapeno in a jar to combine it really well, rather than separately, I think the kids would have liked it better that way. I added avocado's because everything is better with avocado. At least we think so! I'd make this one again. Maybe add a little ancho chili powder or some cumin to the dressing, maybe even a little chipotle, too!

Mexican Street Salad (Cole Slaw)
Source: Original recipe can be found at JamieOliver.Com
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

1/2 small green cabbage, shredded
1/2 small red cabbage, shredded
8-10 radishes, trimmed and finely sliced
2 carrots, peeled and finely sliced
a large bunch of fresh cilantro, leaves and stems finely chopped (more or less to taste)
1 or 2 large jalapeño's, finely sliced (more or less to taste!)
1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced
extra virgin olive oil
juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper, to taste
diced avocado

Shred the green and red cabbage into two separate piles. Put just the white cabbage into a large bowl with the radishes, carrots and most of the cilantro. Mix everything together really well, then add almost all the chopped jalapeno, the red onion and red cabbage and pour on some extra virgin olive oil. Add most of the lime juice and a good pinch of salt and pepper, then toss together and taste. Just keep adjusting everything to your taste, if it needs more heat add some more jalapeno. When everything is just right, top with some diced avocado and a little swirl of olive oil and serve.

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The Annual Kitchen Bouquet Ice Cream Social

I wanted to join Suzy again this year for her annual Ice Cream Social over at Kitchen Bouquet but I'm not exactly prepared. Not that I ever am, so I fudged it. Literally.  I am joining in with a fantastic sundae I had to celebrate my 50th birthday last week and it really was the best sundae I ever had.  It was also my Wordless Wednesday this past week because when the waiter put it down, we were almost speechless.  If you've ever been to Peter Luger's, you'll agree. They call it the Holy Cow Sundae and that is exactly what you'll say when it arrives at the table! It's a simple sundae, and it doesn't get any better. Hot fudge, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, Luger's calls it Schlag, and a big dollop of Schlag in the coffee is good, too! You can never have enough fresh whipped cream. Top with a cherry and some chopped nuts and you have ice cream perfection.

HOLY COW!

Stop by Kitchen Bouquet for the 3rd annual Ice Cream Social to celebrate National Ice Cream Month! It's a great time to celebrate ice cream, it's been so hot lately! 

The party starts Saturday afternoon, July 16th! Any ice cream related posts are welcome. Click on the logo to see the past socials and this year's bash once its up!

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream!

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A Musing Potpourri
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Celebrity Cook-along: Bobby Flay

Joining Lynn @ Happier than a Pig in Mud for her Celebrity Cook-Along.

This time we're cooking with the Bobby Flay!

This is a repost of a delicious recipe I first made last year. And it's one I have made many more times since then. One of our favorites. Bobby Flay is occasionally on The Morning Show at CBS. Didn't always love Bobby Flay, but I do now. Especially considering the shows that the Food Network has on these days. I barely watch any more. I have quite a few of his books, his recipes have all turned out great for us. That time on The Morning Show he was making little bites of potatoes. And they looked so good so I looked the recipe up online to make it.

We loved this sauce! Spicy Tomato-Chipotle Aioli. I adapted it to my way of lazy cooking. I think it would be good on most anything! We were having steaks and somehow that sauce managed to get on the steak, too. So good. I think it would be nice with chicken and with shrimp as well. And definitely on a sandwich or a panini.

The recipe called for grilling the tomatoes, grilling the potatoes and there was no way the Griller would be fussing with that, not to mention I used some teeny potatoes. So I had that panini grill, I got my money's worth out of it already, and threw the parboiled potatoes on that! Squished them down pretty good, until they got good and somewhat crispy. The tomatoes I broiled with a little salt, pepper and about three cloves of garlic. I threw the garlic in towards the end so they didn't burn. Then I strained the tomatoes and whizzed everything in a food processor. Today's sauce will be on tomorrow's sandwich! Steak Panini with cheese and Tomato-Chipotle Aioli. It's not just for potatoes any more. Can't wait.

  Parboiled potatoes grilled and "smashed" on the panini grill

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Spicy Tomato-Chipotle Aioli

Grilled, Smashed Potatoes with Spicy Tomato-Chipotle Aioli

Grilled Potatoes with Spicy Tomato Aioli
Source: Bobby Flay - CBS The Early Show and also Food Network
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

1 1/4 pounds new potatoes (yellow and red) or baby Yukon Gold (You can use a large potatoes and slice them thick or small ones and cut in half, or leave the small ones whole and smash them)
Salt
2 plum tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons Spanish paprika
1-2 chipotle in adobo sauce (depends how hot you like it)
1 teaspoons Ancho chile powder, or more to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold water, add 2 tablespoons of salt and cook until potatoes are tender, but still firm, about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain, let cool and cut each potato into 3/4 -inch thick slices.  You can microwave until just tender as well.

Heat the grill to high.  Or you can use a panini grill.

Brush the tomatoes with the some of the oil and season with salt and pepper. While the potatoes are cooking, place the tomatoes on the grill and grill until charred on all sides and soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from the grill and coarsely chop. You can also just roast them at 350 for about an hour until they get soft and start to brown. Or broil for about 10-15 minutes. Turning them once.

You can strain the tomatoes to get rid of the seeds and the skins.

Place the tomatoes, mayonnaise, garlic, paprika, chipotles and chile powder in a food processor and process until smooth, season with salt and pepper. Can be made 1 day in advance and refrigerated.
Brush the potatoes slices on both sides with some of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the potatoes on the grill, close the cover and grill until lightly golden brown and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. I used a panini grill and made them "smashed" potatoes. Carefully transfer the potatoes to a platter and garnish with the parsley. Serve the aioli drizzled over the potatoes or on the side.

Also joining 

Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

and joining

Suzy's Kitchen Bouquet for Flashback Friday

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Wordless Wednesday: Cool off with a Hot Fudge Sundae!

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Avocado Gadget

This one gadget that is definitely not needed at all, but it really does work and Miss Picky liked using it!

The Big Kid prefers a knife, even though he's the one that picked up that gadget for me!

Would have worked much better if the avocado wasn't over ripe! But it did work. 

We like our avocado plain, just salt and pepper, a little squeeze of lime, and a sometimes a little sprinkle of cayenne.

but if we're having guacamole then we're adding stuff!

Stuff like white onions, chopped jalapeno, diced tomatoes, freshly squeezed lime juice, salt and pepper. Cilantro is iffy in our house. Not everyone likes it and Miss Picky can taste a quarter of a leaf that accidentally got into hers.

An easy after school snack for the Big Kid when he was in High School.

Guess who had to clean up?

Guacamole

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Printable Recipe

1/2 white onion, chopped
2 or 3 chopped serrano chiles (more or less to taste, you can also use jalapeno)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
salt and pepper, to taste
4 ripe avocados
1 lime, juiced
3 plum tomatoes, seeded, diced and drained

Depending on how chunky you like, use a food processor and pulse to combine onion, chiles, cilantro, salt and pepper, or a molcajete if you have one. Or just a knife!

Coarsely mash the avocados. Fold in reserved onion mixture, then tomato. Serve with tortilla chips.

Debbie at Confessions of A Plate Addict is having a wonderful giveaway, stop by and check it out, there are five ways to enter. Eight place settings of one of Pfaltzgraffs newest patterns, Lido Beach.

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Chickpea Salad

This is my son's all-time favorite side salad. He has it as a snack, with dinner, I can never make enough of it. I got the "recipe" from the lady who owns the deli where he works, she was nice enough to tell me what was in it as far as the dressing. It's just a simple salad, but so good. Orders were the next time please leave out the carrots.

Chickpea Salad
Source: T @ the Deli
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 hothouse cucumber, diced (washed and seeded, not peeled)
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
little bit chopped parsley

Dressing:
approximate, it's all to taste, more or less!

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil (more or less to taste, we like more vinegar than oil)
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix the dressing in a jar and shake to combine. Pour over the vegetables, mix well, and chill in the frig for a bit. Serve.

Joining 

Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

and Souper Sundays (soups, salads and sandwiches) @ Kahakai Kitchen

 

Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

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Wordless Wednesday: Weekly Menu

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