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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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

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

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 Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

 

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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. 

Joining

 I Heart Cooking Clubs to Bevvies Week with Jamie Oliver!

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.
 

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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.

Joining

 I Heart Cooking Clubs to July's Potluck with Jamie Oliver!

AND

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

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 Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

 

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Barbecued Thai Chicken

They're Firing Up the Grill with Jamie Oliver over at I Heart Cooking Clubs!

So I while I was looking for recipes I found more than a few that I couldn't resist. For starters, Caprese Salad with Grilled Peppers, Jamie's very nice twist on the classic. Simple enough with a nice grilled flavor from the peppers. Loved it! And Barbecued Thai Chicken. Fresh lemongrass is not the easiest to find here, sometimes I manage, and when I do find it, I freeze a few stalks so I'll have it. And this recipe seemed like the perfect one to go with to use up those last few precious stalks from the freezer. Now the hunt begins again for more.

Barbecued Thai Chicken
Source: original recipe can be found at JamieOliver.com
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

8 chicken legs (I removed the skin. You can use other parts as well)
a bunch of fresh cilantro (save some on the side for garnish)
2 sticks of lemon grass
zest and juice of 2 limes
1 jalapeno
2 tablespoons olive oil
a thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
3 cloves of garlic, peeled

Add the lemongrass stalks to a food processor all of the ingredients and whizz to make a paste.

Rub the paste all over the chicken pieces. Place in a ziploc bag or a bowl to marinate for about an hour. Pre-cook the chicken in a baking dish on 350°F for about an hour, then remove from oven to finish on the grill.

Grill until cooked through, crispy and brown on the outside. Sprinkle the reserved cilantro leaves over and serve.

Caprese Salad with Grilled Peppers
Source:  Original recipe at JamieOliver.com
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

2 red peppers
2 balls of good-quality mozzarella cheese, size of a small fist
400g ripe cherry tomatoes, halved (about 14 ounces)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
a bunch of fresh basil leaves

Place the peppers directly onto the gas flame of your stove or under a very hot grill and let them blacken and blister. Turn now and then with kitchen tongs. When blackened all over, pop them into a bowl and cover with cling film. Or in a brown paper bag and fold the top so the steam doesn't escape.

Leave the peppers to steam for about 10 minutes, then remove the cling film (or from the bag and leave them to cool. When they are cool enough to handle, rub off the blackened skin and brush away the seeds from the inside.

Tear the mozzarella balls into chunks and divide between four plates. Then tear the peppers into strips and divide over the plates of mozzarella. Scatter the tomato halves over the top.

Season well with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Tear the basil leaves up and sprinkle them over the salad before serving.

Joining

  The Little Red House for Mosaic Monday with some fresh basil from my garden!

and joining

 I Heart Cooking Clubs to Fire Up the Grill with Jamie Oliver!

and

the fun of Weekend Cooking at Beth Fish Reads. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share!

 

and

Souper Sundays (and salads and sandwiches) @ Kahakai Kitchen

with the

 Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

 

 

and

be sure to check out Margot at Joyfully Retired for the July edition of "Whip Up Something New!"

 

 

and Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter 

 

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Fresh with Jamie Oliver

It's strawberry season! And over at I Heart Cooking Clubs they are getting fresh with Jamie Oliver this week. Not just berries, anything that is summer fresh! Except my berries weren't exactly fresh but they were perfect for joining in. It was buy one get one at the grocery store, and these were sitting in the frig a little too long. I looked for something I could use with the berries and found Jamie Oliver's Creamiest Rice Pudding with the Quickest Strawberry Jam. That was be perfect. I had everything the recipe need. Almost. I guess that's why it's called adapted!

Yeah, well, the recipe said meringue cookies. Since I wasn't running to the store on a Saturday morning with the other hundreds of people who forget one thing, I made do with amaretti cookies leftover from the Tortoni's!  It was actually a great sub, and to keep it going with the almond flavor, I used almond extract instead of the vanilla sugar and topped it with slivered almonds.

To hull the berries I used a very cute, very cool gadget!  And even better, it really works. The claw scoops out the leaf and the hull of the berry with just a twist and a pull. Reminds me of a B movie. THE CLAW! And to think I was skeptical. Love this gadget. Says it will core tomatoes, too! I'll let ya know.

Creamy Rice Pudding with Quick Strawberry Jam
Source: original recipe from “Jamie at Home” by Jamie Oliver and the Food Network
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

For the jam:
2 pounds strawberries, hulled, washed and drained
1/2 cup sugar

For the rice pudding:
5 cups whole milk (I used 4 cups 1% and 1 cup heavy cream)
7 ounces medium-grain rice (I used carnaroli rice)
3 tablespoons sugar, more or less depends on your taste
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 ounces amaretti cookies, crumbled
a few wild strawberries and some slivered almonds, to garnish (optional)

Place the strawberries in a wide, stainless steel pan and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Scrunch the strawberries up with your hands or a masher. You want all the sugar to dissolve in the strawberry juice before you put the pan on the heat and bring it to the boil. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes on a medium heat, and every 5 minutes or so come back to your jam to skim off the foam. It should be thickened, but don't worry if it's still a bit liquid. Remove the pan from the heat and put aside.

Meanwhile, place the milk, rice, sugar and almond extract in a deep saucepan. Bring to a medium simmer and put on the lid. Cook for half an hour, stirring occasionally, until the rice pudding is thick and creamy. If it ends up being a bit too thick, you can thin it down by adding a little more milk.

To serve, divide the rice pudding between your bowls. Spoon over a big dollop of the strawberry jam, then slowly swirl it in so it ripples through the rice pudding. Sprinkle over the amaretti pieces and scatter with a few strawberries and some almonds, if you like.

Joining

 I Heart Cooking Clubs to celebrate Getting Fresh with Jamie Oliver!

and

  The Little Red House for Mosaic Monday! 

and I am usually off season, but finally I have something seasonal, so I am joining The Tablescaper with Seasonal Sundays!

and
  Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter

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