Creamy Carrot-Sumac Soup with Crispy Chickpeas and Shallots

sprung?

Creamy Carrot-Sumac Soup 

with Crispy Chickpeas + Shallots

warm enough to thaw my cold winter heart.

It's snowing as I type this. 

It has been spring for 19 days now and it's snowing. 

Half an hour ago I was wearing my heaviest winter coat. And a hat. And gloves.

Yesterday was 65 degrees. Tomorrow will probably feel like summer. 

Ugh.

Little known fact about me-- I will fall down in a spectacularly cartoonish manner at least once a winter. Taking a header on a patch of ice and pitching ass-backwards into a giant snow drift, or an equivalently embarrassing series of events.

But this year was different. 

Not because I spent the previous 11 months mastering my coordination skills, but because there was just too much damn snow.

Feet upon feet upon feet upon feet of snow. 

The sheer volume of which made falling down next to impossible.

Instead I spent two month rattling around endless ice and snow mazes (that used to be sidewalks) like a human pinball. 

Not necessarily better, but much less bruise-inducing.

Then the first day of "spring" came...

I accidentally wandered onto a continent-sized sheet of ice, slipped-- nearly dislocating both knees in the process, and dumped half a bag of groceries directly into the filthiest, deepest puddle of all time. 

And, just to add insult to literal injury, I tried to brace myself on a nearby snow pile but my arm went straight through to the still-frozen ground.

There I was, laying on the sidewalk with one arm stuck up to the shoulder in a pile of slush, one leg bent behind me, on the verge of tears, and wondering how bad it would be if I just slept there that night.

This is what spring in New England does to you.

It leaves you banged up (both in the head and on the body), pushing the borders of unhinged, and in need of some serious comforting.

It's the the soup-iest of soup weather.

bowl therapy.

crispy bits.

Soup:

1lb carrots (about 5-6), coarsely chopped

2 shallots, sliced into very thin rings

2 1/2c cooked chickpeas

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

2Tbsp olive oil

2tsp sea salt

1Tbsp sumac

2Tbsp ground cumin

3Tbsp fresh lemon juice

5-6c water

Toppers:

1c cooked chickpeas

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1Tbsp olive oil

2tsp sumac

2tsp cumin

1Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1-2tsp lemon zest

1/4tsp sea salt

Sugar-Crusted Turmeric Chili Stoneground Cornmeal Donuts

never not donuting.
Sugar-Crusted Turmeric Chili

Stoneground Cornmeal Donuts.

oh, the things you can donut (verb).

This may be hard to believe, but up until fairly recently, donuts didn't interest me much. It was an ill-conceived donut birthday cake project that first stirred something deep inside. The cake was an unmitigated disaster, but it's construction did require the purchase of a certain specialty kitchen item. I expected to use it only once, maybe twice, and then leave it to collect dust on a high shelf somewhere.

Best laid plans...

Not to get all swept up in pastry-based hyperbole, but owning a donut pan has 

CHANGED MY LIFE. 

It was a seismic shift with a hole smack dab in the center.

A new mission, clear as day-- everything in donut form, 

whenever and wherever possible.

seismic.

baking weather.

Sugar-Crusted Turmeric Chili

Stoneground Cornmeal Donuts

(makes one dozen)

Adapted from my Turmeric-Chili Stoneground Corn Muffins recipe. 

Because DONUTS.

dry:

1c all purpose flour

1c stoneground cornmeal

1/3c unrefined sugar

1Tbsp baking powder

1tsp finely ground sea salt

2tsp chili powder

1tsp turmeric

wet:

2Tbsp ground flax seeds

6Tbsp boiling water

1c non dairy milk

1/4c melted unrefined coconut oil + a little extra for greasing the donut pan

1tsp apple cider vinegar

topping:

3-4Tbsp extra sugar

1Tbsp crushed red pepper

Roasted Carrot-Cabbage Slaw with Lemony Ras el Hanout Dressing.

corrected brassica misconception.

Roasted Carrot-Cabbage Slaw with

Lemony Ras el Hanout Dressing and 

Pomegranate Seeds. 

learn to love. and roast EVERYTHING.

An open letter. 

Dear cabbage, I was wrong about you.
So very wrong and for that I apologize.
It was pop culture that clouded my judgment, like always.
Years of "comedic" bullying jokes made at your expense seeped into my subconscious.
I developed a reflexively negative reaction to the mere mention of you.
My mind clouded with images of old kerchief-ed ladies in slouching knee-highs serving you up, boiled and vaguely stinky.
Or of you drowning in big tupperware bowls full of mayo, warming on picnic tables in the summer sun.
I couldn't see beyond the limitations others imposed on you.
I was weak.
You are so much more than a sad lifeless shell or a vehicle for mayonnaise,
I see that now.
I am awake.
I've been thinking a lot about you lately, about us.
About being open and receptive and allowing the "new" in.
And about my place in your beautiful world.
I see you, cabbage. All of you, the REAL you.
Now let's get dressed up (in our best spice blends) and ride off into the sunset together.

Yours always.

Many thanks to the lovely Christine Dionese of Garden Eats for inviting me to participate in this Our Growing Edge monthly blogger event.
The theme of which is "new kitchen experiences,"
NOT "longwinded love letters to much maligned produce".

cabbage. forever and ever.

Roasted Carrot-Cabbage Slaw 

with Lemony Ras El Hanout Dressing 
and.Pomegranate.

(serves 4-6)

1 lb carrots, halved and cut into 1/4" thick sticks

1 very small head of cabbage (I used purple-tipped savoy, but any variety will do),

quartered de-stemmed and cut into 1/4" thick pieces

1 large shallot, very thinly sliced

1/3c extra virgin olive oil

1 large lemon, zested and juiced

1Tbsp ras el hanout*  

1Tbsp pomegranate molasses

1/4tsp ground sea salt

1/4tsp cracked black pepper

1c fresh pomegranate seeds

quick pickled watermelon radishes and fennel

pretty pink picklemania.

Quick-Pickled 

Watermelon Radishes & Fennel.

anxiety-inducing seasonality be (ever so slightly) damned.

Sometimes spring and summer produce gives me anxiety. Truthfully, sometimes most things give me anxiety, but we're here to talk about vegetables. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE summer (and all of the radishes, cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, etc. that come with it) but sometimes that "love with a capitol L" leads to irrational excitement which leads to overbuying and that overbuying leads to panic.

Or the excitement leads to panic and that panic leads to overbuying....

How on earth am I going to eat all of these ______ 

*fill in the blank with seasonally appropriate produce* before they go bad? 

How can I keep eating said seasonally appropriate produce 

even when it is no longer seasonally appropriate???

I CAN'T/ WON'T GO BACK TO A LIFE WITHOUT RADISHES.

Quick pickles are the answer.

A little vinegar, a little spice.

Seasonality temporarily upended,

(vegetable-based) anxiety alleviated.

And the picklemania? Totally manageable.

pretty pickle therapy.

bounty.

Quick Pickled Watermelon Radishes 

& Fennel.

(will fill one quart jar)

1 bunch watermelon radishes (about 3-4)

1 large fennel bulb with stalks and fronds attached

1/2c unseasoned rice vinegar

1Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2tsp sea salt

2tsp organic sugar

2tsp freshly ground coriander seeds

2 star anise pods

2Tbsp toasted sesame oil

Homemade Curry Powder

a well stocked spice rack is a magical thing.

DIY Spice Mixes: Homemade Curry Powder

Coriander in the mortar and pestle, turmeric and whole cardamom pods. 

So... store bought curry blends are ok, if you splurge for the fancy-pants kind they can even be pretty tasty. But having a well stocked spice rack and the ability to throw together a complex, from scratch, homemade curry at the drop of a hat?That's something special. As a bonus, every individual spice required for this curry powder has endless other applications. Why limit yourself to a pre-blended curry powder when you can stock up on gorgeous fresh spices that can be used in a million other recipes? Turmeric, for example, has an indescribably earthy flavor and is a know anti-inflamatory, a flavorful addition to soups, stews, rice dishes and can even be made into tea. Cumin is a heavily used spice in Latin American dishes. Cardamom can be used in a variety of Indian dishes, is a key ingredient in Chai and is also wonderful paired with many different fruits. With the exception of the turmeric and chili powder, which are infinitely easier to find ground, I highly recommend splurging for whole spices. While a bit more expensive than ground, they stay fresh significantly longer and absolutely nothing compares to the taste/aroma of freshly ground spices. Bulk whole spices are sometimes available at food co-ops and are a great value. Indian/Asian markets are also a reliable spot to seek out less expensive spices. Whole spices can be easily ground by hand with a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder, blender or even electric coffee grinder. When using fresh cardamom, pinch the pod until it splits and peel away the exterior green shell, using only the interior seeds. The shell can be reserved and used to make cardamom sugar. Simply bundle the shells in a bit of cheesecloth, tie closed and toss into a small jar of sugar.
 Let sit for a week or so and you'll have fragrant cardamom scented sugar,
a lovely addition to baked goods, tea, coffee or even mixed drinks.


Homemade Curry Powder

4 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cardamom, exterior pods removed
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Place all spices in a mortar and pestle
or spice grinder.
Grind into a fine powder.
Store in an airtight container.
Keep in a cool dry place.