Bowl me over

Seriously, the plates in this house are starting to feel left out. When it is rainy and windy outside, all the food I want to eat comes in a bowl, preferably a steaming bowl, with a spoon, and a big hunk of bread for dipping (yeah, Atkins never worked for me...). And, fanfare please, we have been sampling so many fabulous new bowl-shaped recipes in this house, that today's post is a twofer.

What will be immediately evident from the first of these two delightful bowls, is that the animals of the world are no longer safe, as youngest son, after a month of testing out the meat-free life, has opted not to be a complete vegetarian, but rather a flexitarian. This, predictably enough, was a huge relief to his dad, whose obviously extensive knowledge of nutrition and health was leading him to fear that he would, quite frankly waste away, if no longer served meat for dinner. If his son's trial vegetarianism had gone on much longer, he would probably have been found nibbling on pockets full of beef jerky and compulsively gnawing on bacon rashers at work. Fortunately world order has been restored, and his carnivorous tendencies can now be satisfied, at least once a week or thereabouts. As for youngest son, he had his first post-vegetarian burger experience, and he is a happy boy indeed. No regrets there, and apologies to all the cows.

The second recipe below is completely devoid of meat content, however, and nonetheless satisfying and deliciously warming. What's more, it is one of those "how can this possibly be this simple, and end up so tasty" recipes. I am always suspicious of short lists of ingredients, but I like nothing more to have my suspicions erased by some delicious results. So get spooning (minds out of the gutter people, it isn't Valentine's Day yet...)

Beef, Root Vegetable and Stout Stew with Farro
Serves 6

canola oil
1.5 lbs lean beef stew meat in 1" cubes
salt and pepper
2 onions, chopped
1 TBSP tomato paste
4 cups beef broth
1 12oz bottle of stout (I used Lagunitas Imperial - yum!)
1 TBSP raisins
1 1/2 cups rutabaga, peeled and chopped in 3/4" cubes
1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped into 3/4" pieces
1 1/2 cups parsnips, peeled and chopped into 3/4" pieces
cornstarch to thicken
2 cups cooked farro to serve
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley to serve

1. Heat some canola oil in a large frying pan, season the beef and saute the meat until browned over medium/high heat. Transfer to the slow cooker.
2. Add the onions to the pan, with some more oil, if necessary, and turn the heat down to medium to ensure they don't burn. Once they are tender, stir in the tomato paste, then the broth and stout. Bring the mixture to the boil, scraping all the lovely beefy bits off the bottom of the pan.
3. Pour the mixture over the beef in the slow cooker and stir in the chopped vegetables. Stir in the raisins, and around 1/2 tsp of salt and the same of ground black pepper.
4. Cook on LOW for 8 hours, or HIGH for 4 hours, by which time the vegetables should be tender.
5. Remove some of the liquid from the slow cooker and mix in about 3 TBSP of cornstarch to make a
runny paste. Stir this back into the slow cooker. Taste the broth at this point, and if it needs more salt and pepper, add it now.
6. Cook for a further 15 minutes or so until the liquid has thickened to a nice soupy consistency.
7. Serve by the ladleful in bowls, over a mound of cooked farro (or pearled barley would also be nice here), with parsley sprinkled on top.

Delicata Squash Soup
Serves 4
Adapted from carolinescooking.com

3 delicata squash, halved, seeds removed (skin left on)
2-3 cups vegetable stock/broth
canola oil
1/2 can chick peas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C).
2. Spray a large roasting tin with canola oil spray and place the delicata squash halves, skin-side up on the tray.
3. Roast the squash in the oven for 30 minutes, by which point they should be tender. You can test the flesh at this point, and if it isn't soft, then roast it for another 5 minutes. It is very hard to overcook them :-)
4. Put the squash, skin and all, into a food processor and add 2 cups of vegetable stock, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper. You may need to do this in two stages, depending on the size of your processor. Process for a long time, until the mixture is completely smooth. If the mixture is thicker than you want for your soup, simply add a bit more stock.
5. Put the completed soup in a saucepan, ready to heat up when you are ready to serve. Check the seasoning, and add more salt and pepper if needed.
6. In the meantime, heat some canola oil in a saute pan and saute the onions for at least 10 minutes, until they are soft, and starting to caramelize. Add the chick peas/garbanzo beans and warm them through. Stir in the curry powder.
7. Serve the steaming hot soup in bowls, topped with a mound of the chick pea/onion mixture.

Fit to be Thai'd

There has been a lot of anger and stress in my life recently. I have, in other words, often found myself, 'fit to be tied'. My refuge, in such times, is always my kitchen. I am a stress-baker, and there have been many sugary treats on offer recently, the countertops often lightly dusted with a coating of powdered sugar. My beloved KitchenAid mixer has been doing overtime (and has, as a result, developed an annoying squeak, which may, or may not, now be contributing adversely to the sense of irritation I was trying to address in the first place).

Not all my solace comes from sugar, which is fortunate, since otherwise my arteries would be furring up at a rate unusual enough to warrant comment in medical journals. There is, it must be said, little more comforting than a bowl of steaming soup, with something suitably carbohydrate-based to dip therein. On the comfort rating (usually reserved for mattresses, but I have legitimately borrowed it here, I believe), this soup rates as a pillow-top. And yet, remembering all the woes we try to assuage with food, underneath that soft goodness, is a supportive base, in this case, made up not of springs or memory foam, but vegetables and a hint of spice, which will warm rather than burn, and deliver a sense of satisfaction without adding any more calories to those you already consumed in the form of comfort-donuts earlier on :-)

Thai-Spiced Vegetable and Rice Soup
Serves 4
Adapted from cookieandkate.com

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2" piece of root ginger, grated
2 TBSP Thai red curry paste
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
4 cups vegetable broth
1 14oz can coconut milk
1 green bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can cut baby corn, drained
4 cups baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (coriander leaves)
Naan bread to serve (I know it isn't Thai but it works, and doesn't fall apart when you dip it!)

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for about 30 seconds until it is fragrant but not catching on the pan.
2. Add the curry paste, soy sauce, peanut butter, broth, coconut milk, bell peppers and baby corn and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the chopped spinach, and check the spice and seasoning level, adding more curry paste if you want it spicier, and salt and pepper if desired (more soy sauce will also add to the saltiness level).
4. To serve, put 1/2-1 cup of cooked rice in a bowl and top with the broth, sprinkling the cilantro on top of the bowl. Dip naan bread and dribble broth soup down chin for ultimate comfort experience.

"Please Mum! Can I have some more?"

Yep, it was like a scene from Oliver Twist in the house the other night, except with a much happier ending, since I'm a lot nicer than that bloke that ran the orphanage, and there was enough for seconds. Thirds however, was not available, as the two of us polished off the whole dish of this comfort food gem before I could even remember to snap a picture of the completed dish, which is why you have the photo below as (faint) proof that it once existed.

I have to say, this was comfort food extraordinaire, and my son's response to the empty dish, and the sorry lack of 'thirds" (and probably 'fourths', given the chance) was "Can you make it again tomorrow?". Rarely are we treated to such enthusiasm, so this will definitely feature on the Farrar table again, even if not tomorrow.

Contrary to the name, it isn't a very spicy dish - but it really all depends on what salsa you use, and what kind of cheese, so it is easy to adapt to all tastes. The recipe below is already an adaptation from the original recipe (on the fabulously named website ibreatheimhungry.com - I mean, how fabulous is that?!) since there the author uses chipotle chiles in adobo sauce mixed into the cauliflower. Our namely-pamby palates baulk at those, I'm afraid.

Chile-Spiked Cauliflower Bake
Adapted from ibreatheimhungry.com
Serves 3 maximum (or two greedy people!)

1 bag riced cauliflower, around 3 cups total (or one head of cauliflower, broken down)
1 TBSP milk
1 TBSP butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup Pepper Jack cheese (or whatever cheese you prefer - if you want a kick but can't get Pepper Jack, go for a mild cheddar and add a few red chile flakes)
1 bunch greens (I used Scotch Kale)
olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup mild salsa verde
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup of mild pickled peppers from a jar (or pickled jalapeños if you like more heat)
1/2 cup Pepper Jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C).
2.Follow the instructions on the riced cauliflower to steam in the microwave until tender.
3. Put the cauliflower, milk, butter garlic, and 1/3 cup cheese in a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Prepare the greens/kale buy discarding the thick end of the stems and then chopped the remaining leaves and thinner stems finely. Then saute in a pan over a low heat with some olive oil for a few minutes until tender (time will depend on type of greens, but you want to cook long enough for the stems to be tender too - if the pan dries out and the greens start to stick, then add a slug of vegetable broth).
5. Once the greens are fully cooked, drain off any excess liquid and then stir into the cauliflower mixture (a couple of pulses in the food processor should do it, but not too much, as you don't want the greens pureed).
6. Put the cauliflower mixture into an 8" diameter, ovenproof, deep dish (or equivalent). Top with the salsa, then the chopped tomatoes, then the sour cream. Finish with the peppers and the remaining 1.2 cup of cheese.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until the cheese is starting to turn golden.
8. Serve with a simple green salad and await copious compliments and Oliver Twist moments :-)