Homemade Tomato Basil Soup

One of the best things about this time of year is the tomato harvest and all of the delicious things you can do with fresh tomatoes. Two of my favorites are homemade tomato sauce and homemade tomato basil soup. I've tried lots of recipes and I think I've finally fine-tuned the one I like the best. It's got the perfect balance of tomato and basil, with a hint of other veggies and spices that give it a great depth of flavor along with a bit of creaminess without the dairy. 

Here's what you'll need:

16 tomatoes

olive oil

salt

pepper

1 tsp. thyme

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 celery stalks, sliced 

1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced

1 cup vegetable broth

1 cup fresh basil

a little brown sugar

1 cup almond milk

Heat oven to 450 degrees and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise and place cut-side-up on cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and thyme. Roast in oven for 45 minutes. 

While tomatoes are roasting, saute onion in olive oil until translucent, add garlic and saute (do not let the garlic blacken). Add celery and carrots and saute saute until softened. Blend sauteed veggies with vegetable broth until smooth. Set aside.

When tomatoes are finished, let them cool slightly blend them with basil in the blender until smooth. Combined blended ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a slight boil. Add a little brown sugar to balance the tartness of the tomatoes and stir in the almond milk (or other milk of your choice). 

Garnish with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches.  

Corn on the Cob - Mexican Style

My college friend, Christine, introduced me to a lot of delicious Latin-American cuisine that has stuck with me over the years. Among them were pupusas from El Salvador and Mexican-style fruit with chile, lime and salt. She's a spontaneous person, always looking for a little adventure. One night, we decided we'd kidnap our roommates and take them on a camping trip with whatever they had on their person at the time. I'm not sure if my memory serves me correctly, but I'm pretty sure we didn't get enough blankets and all we had for breakfast were some cans of corn . . . and mayo, chile, lime, and salt. I had never been introduced to Mexican-style corn and this was my first experience . . . unheated canned corn (drained) with all of these ingredients dumped on top and eaten straight from the can. Honestly, I don't even think we had any utensils. That was my first experience with this style of corn. Some time later I had a more authentic version of this corn, this time on-the-cob and grilled. (Not that yours wasn't yummy, Christine) but the grilled on-the-cob version was awesome!

Ingredients:

Corn on the cob, grilled or steamed
Mayo (I've also experimented with butter or sour cream and they work great)
Fresh Lime
Chili Powder
Salt

Spread mayo or butter on the hot corn. Sprinkle with salt, chili powder and squeeze lime juice on top. I don't always have queso seco (dry cheese like queso cotija) on hand, but the Mexican-style crumbled and tossed on top adds an extra depth of flavor to this yummy side-dish.

You'll want to have several napkins on hand.

Kale Chips

Kale is one of the most nutritious foods available to us and I usually toss a leaf or two into my green smoothies (which is probably the best way to get all of the good nutrients out of it since it is blended and raw), but I thought this would be a fun and different way to prepare it and my girls agreed. They are always asking for these now.

You'll need:
1 bunch of Kale
1 tsp coconut oil
sea salt

Wash leaves and dry. Toss with oil, lemon juice and salt. Place in single layers on cookie sheet(s).

Bake at 300F for 20-30 minutes or until crispy and no moisture is left in the leaves. Watch closely toward the end of the baking time so as not to burn them. 



Ensalada Rusa (Russian Potato Salad)

I tried my first ensalada rusa at a cute little diner on the ruta 6ta in Capitan Miranda, Paraguay. Often served with carne asada or any grilled meat, this potato salad is the perfect side dish to a summer party and puts a little twist on a typical potato salad. Every time I taste this yummy rendition, it takes me back to my days in Paraguay.

Ingredients:
3 ½ lbs russet potatoes (about 4 large potatoes), peeled, boiled and diced
1 lb carrots (about 6-7 medium size carrots), peeled, boiled and diced
8 oz fresh peas (about 1 cup), boiled for less than 3 minutes
Lime juice from 1-2 limes
1 cup homemade mayonnaise (storebought will work too)
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Mix all of the ingredients together, chill until ready to serve.

Broccoli Soup - Honduran Style

One of my favorite comfort foods that Rina makes is her broccoli soup. And my girls love it too. There's nothing better than to know your kids are asking for second servings on their green veggies!

Ingredients

2 large slices of onion
1 stalk of celery
2 gloves of garlic, minced
2 heads of broccoli
1 large potato, with skin (or 2 medium potatoes)
water from potato
1/4 tsp cumin
butter
salt & pepper to taste

1. Wash and Dice potato (with skins) and place in water to boil (just enough to cover it).

2. Saute onion, celery, garlic, and broccoli until the onion is clear (broccoli may still be firm).

3. Place broccoli and other sauteed ingredients in a blender with a small portion of the water from the potato and blend until smooth.



4. Pour liquefied ingredients back into the soup pot and do the same with the potato - blend until smooth with remaining water.


5. Add potato liquid to the warming ingredients in the soup pot and bring to a boil on medium heat.
6. Add a tablespoon or two of butter, a 1/4 tsp (or more if you like it) of cumin. Salt and Pepper to taste. Mix final ingredients well.

Serve warm with bread, toast, or a tasty grilled cheese sandwich . . . or a black bean and cheese quesadilla, like I did here.

Salsa Mexicana con Aguacate: Mexican Hot Salsa with Avocado

I have always loved me a good batch of fresh salsa on . . . anything. And generally would make a "pico-de-gallo" mild version. But since we've moved west, I have made friends who would laugh at the thought of eating something like my "fresh salsa." They say "sin chiles, no tiene sabor!" (without hot peppers, there's no flavor!) I do still appreciate the flavor blends of pico de gallo, but I think I am finally beginning to understand that hot peppers really do give flavor . . . they're not just meant to burn your lips and throat.

A neighbor taught me how to make this delicious salsa a few days ago and Armando and I are both hooked. The first [huge] batch only lasted about 3 days and I've made about 3 batches since then.

So, this is what you'll need:

About 10 roma tomatoes
10 dried chile de arbol (you can find this in the Mexican spice section of your local grocery store)
a bunch of cilantro
1-3 cloves of garlic
a thick slice of onion
3-4 avocados
Salt (to taste)

Place about 10 Roma tomatoes in a large pot with water.


Remove the stems from the dried chiles de arbol (my neighbor explained that if you leave these on, they leave a bitter taste).


Drop the tomatoes and chiles into a pot of boiling water and leave them in just long enough so that the skins break on the tomatoes.

Put a little cold water in the blender (around a cup). Then add all of the ingredients and chop/blend until you don't see big chunks of the chile pepper.

(Note that my pictures are of me blending two tomatoes and 1 chile at first . . . I was so chicken . . . so I blended the chiles separately and added them little by little until I realized that the expert that was teaching, indeed was right. The more chile pepper, the better. We ended up putting the rest in! That's right . . . 10 peppers with 10 tomatoes!)


The consistency should be about like this...quite watery I think with just a little tomato that remains on the spoon.

Now for some flavor boost: Cilantro. My friend instructed me on choosing quality cilantro - she said "the smaller, the better!" You don't want the larger, overgrown leaves because they are so much more bitter.
Chop a bunch. Leave out the stems.

Dice the avocado to your liking. I like chunkier. Armando likes smaller. It's all up to you. The second time around, I didn't have avocados, but I still made the salsa and we ate it all up.

Dump it all in.

Stir slightly.

Serve on just about anything.

I made some for my mom and she said, she'd just like to eat it as a cold soup. I like it with chips, tostadas, jicama, tacos, enchiladas hondureñas, you name it. No matter what you eat it with, it's delicious!

Orange Avocado Salsa

I stumbled across this recipes a few years ago, made it in the same day and it has remained among our favorite to garnish fish tacos. The mix of flavors and the exploding citrus makes it perfect for fish.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tsp honey
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 large navel oranges
1 firm, ripe avocado, pitted and diced
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

In a medium bowl, whisk lime juice and honey until combined. Season with salt and pepper; set aside. Slice off both ends of each orange. Following the curve of the fruit, slice away peel and white pith. Cut oranges into quarters lengthwise; slice sections crosswise into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Transfer to bowl along with onion and avocado; toss gently to coat with dressing. (Make sure not to stir this up too much or the avocados will fall apart. The mix of the honey and lime with the pepper on the oranges is absolutely divine!) Set aside to serve.

Quinoa Vegetable Salad

What is Quinoa? It's a tiny grain cultivated from a tumbleweed type plant in South America. If you want to know more, read the Wiki details here.


It's very quick to cook and looks fluffy like this when it's all done - (just a quick 15 minutes).

So here's the recipe . . . with Emily's notes . . .

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa (rinse, boil in 1 cup water, reduce heat, cover, 15 minutes)
1/2 cup frozen petite peas
1 small carrot, shredded
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup (or less) chopped green onions

1 cup fresh spinach or lettuce (optional, to serve salad on)

Dressing:

1 Tbl. white balsamic vinegar (I used dark, I don't think it matters but maybe white looks nicer).
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 T. Dijon mustard
1/4 T. sugar
1 Tbl. minced fresh parsley (dried works but fresh tastes best)
1 Tbl. minced fresh thyme (I used dried)

Mix dressing and pour over salad.

Now, you'll notice that the veggies I put in this salad in the picture don't match the recipe. You can throw pretty much anything in there. I put in what I had on hand, but I must say the frozen peas are my favorite with the tomatoes and grain. It's the perfect mix of textures and flavors.

Also, on another side note, Quinoa is great as a healthy breakfast. Let me know if you try this or if you have any other Quinoa recipes that you like! I'd like to try more.

Summer Shrimp Salad

It's been awhile since I've posted. I decided that the "What's cooking at Daisy's" blog title had to go. My new and improved, "Daisy Cooks, [sometimes]" seems to fit better. I do cook. And a lot more often than you'll see proof of here. So when I actually take a sec to photograph the food and then have another minute to post, I will. For now, here's a little inspiration for a summer salad that I LOVE. If you don't like seafood, stop here.

Summer Shrimp Salad

1 pkg pasta (I usually use shell, but didn't have any this time)
1 lb salad shrimp, cooked and deveined, with tail off
1 cucumber
3-4 roma tomatoes
3/4 c mayonnaise (honestly I've never measured the mayo & ketchup)
1/3 c ketchup
salt & pepper to taste

Boil pasta 'til well done. Let cool. (When I'm in a hurry, I run cold water over it). Rinse shrimp. Cut cucumbers and tomatoes into slices and fourths. Mix with pasta and shrimp. In a separate bowl, mix mayo and ketchup with salt and pepper. Add to pasta, shrimp, and veggies. Add more salt and pepper if desired.

Crock Pot Black Beans

So here's my first tried & true Crock Pot recipe! (I know it's against my personal ethics to post a recipe without a picture so I'll add one, next time I make this recipe.)

Since I'm married to a Honduran and my daughter has gone to a Guatemalan babysitter since she was practically born, I live in a house where beans and rice to my husband and daughter are like creamy garlic mashed potatoes for me. They love them. They could eat them daily. They don't, but sometimes it's close. So here's what I have come up with for black beans. It's so easy. And they love it. And it makes me feel like I'm providing something healthy for my family.

Ingredients:
2 c dry black beans
water
a clove or three of garlic
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp cumin

Sort and rinse 2 cups (1 small bag) of black beans. Fill crock pot about half full (or a little more) with water. Add black beans, salt and cumin. Peel garlic and smash with hand. Add garlic to water. Stir. Cover. Cook for about 8 hours on high (Crock post temperatures vary).

*Note: When I'm in a big hurry, I don't even add any garlic or cumin - the water and salt are sufficient. These are delicious served with warm rice, vegetables and a meat dish. Armando likes them for breakfast with eggs. He'd eat them every meal if he could.

Mango Salsa

Just in case you're looking for a good compliment to any fish dish - try this mango salsa.

2 mangos, cut into small cubes

½ can pineapple chunks chopped *(I prefer fresh pineapple)

½ bunch of cilantro leaves chopped

½ red onion, chopped

juice of 1 lime

olive oil to taste

salt and freshly ground pepper

A little honey to drizzle on top.

Combine all ingredients and serve with fish or chicken and a side of rice.

Curtido - "Pickled Vegetables"

Again, another touch of my father-in-law's honduran hands in the kitchen - this time it's "Curtido" which according to Wikipedia is basically a relish and depending on the country, it can be very different. Honduran curtido (from what I found at Wikipedia) is very similar to Mexican Curtido and can be served with virtually every dish. (That's what I've found this week.) I didn't think it looked too appetizing, but now that I've tried it, I too am putting it on everything but dessert these days. (Shhhhhh....don't tell Armando - he is cherishing every last bite of it!)

No specific recipe - but here is the list of ingredients.

• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Sliced Carrots (Slanted)
• Large pieces of Onion
• Cauliflower
  
• Peppercorns
• Jalepeños Sliced (Don't include seeds)
  
• Garlic Cloves

Fill sealable container (preferably with a large opening with desired vegetables. Pour Apple Cider Vinegar over vegetables - covering them completely and close container. Let vegetables soak in vinegar for a couple or three days before using. This mixture lasts for several weeks. You can serve it basically with any meat or main dish. We had it with fish this week and also with some delicious tacos and fajitas. It was the perfect touch to every dish. Salvadorians make their own kind of curtido with lots of cabbage thinly sliced and garnish pupusas with it. Now, that dish is also delicious. We'll see if I ever get up the courage to make it.