Corn Chowder

Now for the soup on the right. My roommate made this delicious summer corn chowder, but I wanted to find a way to make it allergy-free.

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice (1 c.)

2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2 inch dice (3/4 c.)

8 sprigs thyme (FYI 1 sprig is not a leaf but an entire stem)

Salt and Pepper

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups frozen corn 

5 small fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2 in. thick slices

1/2 poblano chile, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 can coconut milk

Directions: 

• Add oil, onions, celery, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste to stockpot. Cook over medium-low heat until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes.
• Add corn, potatoes, and chile; cook until potatoes are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and discard thyme. Add coconut milk and simmer until soup is hot.

The recipe calls for crumbled bacon as a garnish, but I left it out because the soup was already so hearty.

Hydrangea Cupcakes

I found the idea for these cupcakes here. However, I found that her recipe was too soft and the frosting couldn't hold it's shape. Next time around I'll try this with standard butter cream frosting. 

Spicy Thai Soup

I stumbled upon this recipe on the Thai Cooking channel on my Roku. I made 2 soups at the same time, this is for the soup on the left. The recipe calls for chicken, but I used potatoes instead of chicken. 

Ingredients: 

3 lemongrass stalks, bottom two-thirds of tender inner bulbs only, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (4 inch) piece fresh ginger root, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

7 baby red potatoes quartered

12 ounces fresh white mushrooms, quartered

2 teaspoons red curry paste

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 lime, juiced

2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk

1 red onion, sliced

1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

1 fresh jalapeno pepper, sliced into rings

Directions:

• Stir lemon grass, garlic, and ginger together in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Strain chicken broth and set aside. Discard lemon grass, garlic, and ginger.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large soup pot over medium heat; Stir in chicken; cook and stir for 5 minutes.
• Stir in mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes.
• Stir in red curry paste, fish sauce, and lime juice until combined. Stir in chicken broth and coconut milk; return to a simmer and cook on low for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Skim off any excess oil and fat that rises to the top and discard.
• Stir red onion into the chicken mixture; cook and stir until onion softens, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add about 1/2 the cilantro.
• Serve with plates of cilantro, lime wedges, and fresh sliced jalapenos.

This can easily be made vegan with the following substitutions: 

• potatoes for chicken
• vegetable broth for chicken broth
• soy sauce for fish sauce

Easy Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter

16oz powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon milk

blend it all together and walla!

Spicy Spinach Risotto

The original recipe called for chicken, but I skipped the chicken and used this as a side dish instead.

Modified from this recipe 

Ingredients

Rice: 

2 cups Arborio rice

1 tablespoon oil

4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth

Seasoning: 

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more to make it spicier)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

grated Parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

Directions

1. Place oil in large glass bowl and microwave for 15 seconds. Pour rice into bowl and stir, coating rice with oil. Heat rice for 90 seconds. Pour 4 cups of chicken stock into bowl. Microwave rice for 9 minutes (on high). Stir rice. Microwave for 9 more minutes. 

2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the garlic and red pepper 1 minute, until garlic is golden brown. Mix in the parsley and cooked rice. Place spinach in the skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Fruit Tart

Recipe found here 

Before I put the filling on the crust, I used a pastry brush and brushed melted semi-sweet chocolate chips on the crust so it wouldn't get soggy.

Cakes

It's been quite some time since I posted anything, but that doesn't mean I haven't been baking. Here's what I've been up to: 

I got the idea for a chocolate ombre cake here

Polar bear cupcakes (I think the little ones could pass for puppies though). I got the recipe here, be warned, this is not a work/nap friendly site - they play video ads, very loudly, automatically.