Indian Spiced Lentil Soup

I recently bought a container of coconut oil at my local health food store. Originally I thought I would use it for baking only; cookies, cakes and the like, but as it turns out the coconut oil seems to have been used for everything but baking! I've used it to make hand cream after reading that it was very good for moisturizing the skin overnight. I've used it to make Thai curries and in hot chocolate. Yesterday I used the coconut oil to fry onions in for a lentil soup with a bit of an Indian twang. I love the very slight hint of coconut that this soup has, but if coconut isn't you thing or you can't find the oil, butter will work well too, and the spices are so strong that you won't miss the coconut.

Indian Spiced Lentil Soup
1 tablespoon coconut oil or butter
1 onion minced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup split red lentils
4 cups of water
1/3-1/2 yellow pepper minced

In a large pot heat the oil and saute the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the turmeric, cumin and chili powder to the mixture and stir until the spices are mixed into the oil. Add the lentils and water and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes. Add the pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Blend the soup well. If needed add more water to the soup to thin it.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Nutmeg and Chili Chocolate Souffle

In the spirit of Valentine's day I've decided to make something rather sinful, which apparently boasts aphrodisiac qualities.

This souffle has 3 distinct tastes. Nutmeg which is tasted first, has been though of as an aphrodisiac for centuries. It's believed in Eastern cultures that nutmeg increases both sex drive and fertility. Chocolate, the strongest flavor in this dessert, is a stimulant that mimics endorphins, giving an overall sense of well being and excitement. Chili, the last flavour undertone, is thought to release endorphins giving the body a natural high.

Nutmeg and Chili Chocolate Souffle
50 grams (half a regular sized chocolate bar) dark chocolate. Do not use bakers chocolate.
1/2 chili pepper
3 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
unsalted butter to coat ramekins

Preheat fan oven to 180 degrees C (200 degrees C if conventional oven.) Butter 2 large ramekins or 4 small ramekins. In a food processor pulse the dark chocolate and the chili until a course powder forms. Melt the chocolate mixture in a double boiler or in the microwave. Separate the eggs. Put the whites in a large bowl and the yolk of the egg back into the food processor. Whisk the egg whites until they form a soft peak (about 5 minutes using an electric egg beater) Add the sugar to the egg whites and whisk a further 2-3 minutes. Mix the melted chocolate with the egg yolks in the food processor. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg white. Add a pinch of nutmeg to the mixture and pour into the buttered ramekins. Bake for 15 minutes.


Serves 2
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Spicy Vegetable Soup

The holiday season is over, and I'm now feeling really guilty about all the excesses of the past few months. The problem is that after eating rich food for weeks my body just doesn't want to be healthy. The old standbys that were always my healthy options just aren't cutting it lately. My palate craves something with a kick, so I've had to find ways of tricking my tongue that what it's eating is rich and full of bad stuff when actually it's really quite healthy. This soup is completely healthy but added chilies give it heat and loads of flavor. This soup can any combination of vegetables as long as the main ingredients stay the same so be adventurous or use what every you have in the fridge. I tend to also add a starch like potatoes or buckwheat which reduces the heat a bit and makes it more filling.

Spicy Vegetable Soup

1 leek
1 portion of chili or capiscum pepper (start with about 1/4 of a pepper and add more if needed)
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups of chopped mixed vegetables (Carrots, celery, peas, beans, mushrooms, corn etc)
1/4 cup of buckwheat (or rice, pasta, chopped potatoes, chickpeas, etc)
1 vegetable stock cube
Water
1 can of artichokes in brine
1 can of chopped tomatoes


Roughly chop the leek, the pepper and any vegetables you are using. In a large pot saute the leek and pepper in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables, the stock cube, the buckwheat and enough water to cover everything in the pot and bring to a boil. Add the can of tomatoes and the brine (liquid) from the canned artichokes. Turn heat down and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Cut the artichokes into quarters. When the vegetables are cooked add the artichokes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Cooking time: 20 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes

Serves 6-8

African Tomato Soup

My friend Florence is from Uganda. When she moved to the states she brought with her some food combinations that my Italian-American family had never thought of. One of these is a peanut (ground nut) sauce made with tomatoes and onions. I've been planning to make her ground nut sauce for a few weeks now but since I don't tend to cook meat very often I decided that instead of making a sauce I would make a soup based on her original recipe. This soup is also a great way to use up my Tom Thumb tomatoes that are ripening now and producing far more tomatoes than I can eat in salads.

African Tomato Soup
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Onion Roughly Chopped
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Chili Powder (or to taste)
About 20 Cherry Tomatoes
Water
2 Heaping Tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) of Natural Peanut Butter (no salt, no sugar)
Salt
Juice of Half a Lime

In a heavy pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onions for 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile mix the spices in a mortar and pestle and grind roughly. Add the ground spices to the frying onions and fry for another 2 minutes. Chop each tomato in half and add to the pot. Add enough water to cover the tomatoes and onions, bring to a boil. When the soup is boiling add the peanut butter to the pot. Allow to cook for 10 minutes. Blend the soup (I use a stick blender and put it directly into the pot but you can also transfer the soup to a blender and blend at high speed.) Add salt and lime juice to taste. For a smoother soup strain the soup through a sieve or fine mesh colander before serving.

Serves 4-6 people
Prep Time: 2-3 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes