To Try Tuesday - Cream of Broccoli Soup

It was a little bit of a surprise to find out it was Tuesday today.  It is always like this on a long weekend.  I think that the holiday Monday is Sunday, Tuesday is Monday, and so on.  It usually takes me a week to catch up with the right day.  However, I already had my To Try Tuesday made and ready to be blogged about.



This week's recipe comes from Deb at Kahakai Kitchen.  Deb also lives in Hawaii and we met up recently for coffee.  She is a great person and so easy to talk to.  If you haven't been over to visit her blog I strongly urge you to do so.  It is full of wonderful recipes, including the broccoli soup that I made for this post and her split pea soup that recently made the Foodbuzz Top 9.

This soup is souper-easy easy to make and so tasty.  To make it even easier I purchase a bag of broccoli from Costco that is already cut up.  Basically there is a little sautéing of the onions, celery, and garlic and then everything else goes in the pot until tender.  I used my immersion blender rather than transferring everything to a regular blender to purée it. I didn't have any thyme so I omitted it, but I will definitely add it next time.  I also added some cream and a little grated Parmesan cheese to finish the soup.  It was delicious!   We easily served 6 with left-overs.  I am sure it is going to be even better tomorrow.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 8 cups chopped broccoli
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (optional)
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Heat butter and oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until the butter melts.
2. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes.
3. Add garlic and thyme; cook for about 10 seconds.
4. Stir in the broccoli.
5. Add broth and water; bring to a lively simmer over high heat.
6. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook until very tender, about 8 minutes.
7. Puree the soup in batches in a blender (I used my immersion blender).
8. Stir in cream (if using), and season with salt and pepper.
9. This recipe can be made ahead - cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe adapted from Eating Well Magazine, February 2011
 

Fantastic Fruit and Nut Bars

I don't know about everyone else but I have bookmarked over 50 recipes that I want to try since the beginning of the year.  There are so many talented cooks and bakers out there that make everything they make look so good.  One recipe that caught my eye was by Kate at Diethood.com for Fruit and Nut Bars.  As soon as I saw them I knew exactly what I was going to make for my husbands triathlon training group this weekend.  His group really pushes their bike rides on Saturdays and they need to refuel when they get back, so the least I can do is to have something tasty waiting for them to enjoy.

These bars had exactly the mix I was looking for - great taste and relatively healthy.  Since I am trying to use up ingredients I already had I did make a few substitutions to the recipe.  I used pecans rather than walnuts, and I added dried blueberries to the other dried fruits already listed, while reducing the amount of dates to compensate for this addition.  I think it would be great with all kinds of dried fruits.  My mix also seemed a little wet after I added the egg so I added more flour.

Make sure that you watch them towards the end of their baking time.  Some ovens run a little hot so they may not need the full 40 minutes, and can easily burn if you don't keep an eye on them.  I was conscious of this because I baked them in a 11 inch x 7 inch pan.  I think next time I might double the recipe so that I get bigger bars, mine seemed a little flat but I am sure this is because of the pan size.



Considering that the container that they were in came back empty, except for a few crumbs, I would say these were a resounding success. I think next time I might try the substitution of a banana for the egg.

Fantastic Fruit and Nut Bars

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cups dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup dates, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into pieces
• 1 large egg OR substitute with 1 (one) mashed banana
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Line an entire 8 x 8 inch baking pan with aluminum foil.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. Stir in the brown sugar, pecans, and dried fruit. Use your fingers to make sure that all the fruit and nuts have been coated with the flour mixture.
5. If you are using the banana substitute, mash the banana with a fork real well then add in the vanilla extract. Blend it all together and mix it into the fruit and nut mixture, OR in a separate bowl, with a wire whisk beat the egg and vanilla until light colored and thick, add the egg mixture to the fruit and nut mixture and mix until all the fruit and nut pieces are coated with the batter.
6. Spread into the prepared pan, pressing to even it out.
7. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the batter has pulled away from the sides of the pan.
8. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
9. When cooled, lift the bars from the pan by the edges of the aluminum foil.

 Makes 16, 2-inch squares.