The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "1,001 Ways to Be Creative" by Barbara Ann Kipfer, with a Recipe for Berries & Cream Crispy Rice Treats

Who doesn't need a little more creativity in their lives?! I am really excited to be today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for 1,001 Ways to Be Creative: A Little Book of Everyday Inspiration by Barbara Ann Kipfer. Accompanying my review are some creative and scrumptious Berries & Cream Crispy Rice Treats, inspired by my reading.

Publisher's Blurb: 

Best-selling author Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer is back with a new, beautifully illustrated book that will help you break free from to-do lists and find time to think and live more creatively. The third entry in Kipfer’s successful 1,001 Ways series, this interactive list book will inspire anyone looking to unleash their creative genius.
In today’s overscheduled world, there is often little room for creativity in our daily lives. 

1,001 Ways to Be Creative shows you how to set your brain free, and will help you find the time and energy to play, dream, imagine, breathe, and explore. This inspirational book of lists offers a treasure trove of ways to bring a little creativity into your life, including ideas for innovative things to do, practical tips, and thought-provoking quotes. Interactive prompts inspire art projects, storytelling, innovative thinking, seeing like an artist, and more. With this energizing book by your side, your next Big Idea could be just around the corner!

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: National Geographic (March 27, 2018)

My Review:

I started this blog ten years-ago in April of 2008 (yikes!) as a creative outlet. I felt that my job didn't offer much creative inspiration most days, but coming up with recipes to make, or trying recipes and adapting them to my dietary preferences, then plating the food to look pretty and taking pictures gave me a chance to express myself. Besides food & blogging and the occasional paper craft, I dabble in writing and often find myself stuck looking for new ideas. 1,001 Ways to Be Creative is an anecdote for when you feel your creativity is blocked and you need a bit of inspiration. It's gorgeous--colorful and fun--and, more importantly, it actually has some really great and usable ideas mixed in with inspirational quotes and lists of inspirations for journal and writing prompts. 

Sometimes these little "idea" books are just bookshelf filler, but this one is worthy of keeping out--in your office, on your coffee table, or on your nightstand and actually use. There are simple things to think about, thought-provoking questions to ask yourself, and activities both big and small to try. (As you can see in the photo below) I used my (colorful) tape flags to tab a few dozen tips that I especially liked or wanted to try--as well as identifying the food-related ones to come up with my usual book-inspired dish. 

Here are just a few of my favorites:

•  #4   Find an intriguing item in an antique store and seek out its history.
•  #6   For one day, bestow a unique and truthful compliment on each person you see.
•  #55  Paint something in your house that could use a face-lift. 
• #147 Draw happiness.
• #182 Adopt a shelf at the library and read everything on it.
• # 322 Stroll along a street that you have never seen before.
• #477 In a word, sentence, or drawing, recreate a memory from each year you have been alive, as far back as you can remember. 
• #544 Try taking photographs from unusual angles. 
• #839 Use paint swatches as inspiration.
• #859 Open this book to a random page and perform one of the entries.   

With its bright colors and colorful illustrations and page borders (by Francesca Springolo), 1,001 Ways to Be Creative would be a fun gift (maybe with a journal or sketch pad, and/or a set of colored pencils or paint) for a friend or family member in need of a little colorful creativity in their lives. I know that I will be keeping and using my copy. In fact I am headed off to eat a Berries & Cream Crispy Rice Treat while I try #534--Create a new Pinterest Board. ;-)

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Author Notes: Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer is the author of 14,000 Things to Be Happy About and the Page-a-Day calendars based on it. She has written more than 60 books, including 1,001 Ways to Live Wild, The Order of Things, Self-Meditation, Instant Karma, 8,789 Words of Wisdom, The Wish List, and 4,000 Questions for Getting to Know Anyone and Everyone,and she edited Roget’s International Thesaurus. She holds PhDs in linguistics, archeology, and Buddhist studies. Dr. Kipfer is the Chief Lexicographer of Temnos and has worked for such companies as Answers.com, Ask Jeeves, and Dictionary.com.

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Food Inspiration:

Some of my favorite food-related ideas:

• #23 Eat ice cream for breakfast. Small pleasures spark joy and creativity.
• #28 Carve a watermelon into an edible sculpture. 
• #30 Plate your dinner with flair using colorful foods and a whimsical swizzle of sauce. 
• #63 Churn your own butter. 
• #82 Create a Mr. Potato Head out of real vegetables.
• #115 Create your own trail mix.
• #194 Develop your own recipe for barbecue sauce. 
• #399 Compile a book of unique recipes.
• #507 Make colorful ice pops.
• 740 Create a new breakfast cereal.

I found my self most inspired by #134 Make a big batch of Rice Krispies Treats with creative fillings. Although I typically don't eat Rice Krispies Treats often or get cravings for them, thinking about how to be creative with them made me want some. I decided that for Spring, a Berries & Cream version would be fun.

In my pantry I had a box of brown rice crispy cereal that I needed to use, as well as part of a package of freeze-dried strawberries from Target, dried blueberries from the bulk bin, and a bag of white chocolate chips--so all I needed was marshmallows and something to mix in to give it more strawberry flavor. I looked on line and saw where a couple of people used the powdered flavored jello to add flavor but since I was making a small batch, I thought of the powdered Crystal Light On-the-Go drink packets that are .11 of an ounces of a sugar-free powder. (A more natural version would be grinding up the freeze-dried strawberries into a powder but I only had one bag and didn't have time for a Target run.)  

Let's face it, even with a less-sugary brown rice crisp cereal and natural dried fruit, these are not healthy (although with fruit and cereal I should be able to count them as a breakfast bar!) ;-) But sometimes life just needs a crispy rice treat to make it better and these are easy and delicious to make for an occasional indulgence. Although I wanted to make a small batch with my small jellyroll pan, I am giving the recipe for a full on 9x13-inch pan full.

Berries & Cream Crispy Rice Treats
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes 12 to 16 Servings)

3 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 1/2 to 2 packets strawberry drink mix (I used Crystal Light Wild Strawberry)
4 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups crispy rice cereal
1/2 cup dried blueberries
3/4 cup freeze-dried strawberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Prepare a 13"x 9" pan by spraying it with cooking spray and lining it with parchment paper or waxed paper.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stirring constantly, cook until marshmallows are completely melted. Stir in drink mix until blended completely. 

Remove pan from heat and add cereal, mixing well. Sprinkle in the dried blueberries, freeze-dried strawberries, and white chocolate chips and stir until thoroughly mixed into the cereal.  

Press cereal mixture evenly into pan. Cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Notes/Results: These are really good! The strawberry flavor is present and the more tart bites of dried blueberry and freeze-dried strawberry keep the white chocolate from being too sweet. I like that the blueberries are chewy, while the strawberries are more crisp, then you get a little chunk of white chocolate and all is right with the world. I just used one packet of the strawberry drink mix for my 2/3 batch and wouldn't have minded a bit more so I suggest two packets for a full batch. Because I used brown crisp rice, you can't see the pink from the drink mix but if you use plain Rice Krispies or crisp rice cereal from white rice, I think it would be a pale pink color. Just a fun way to jazz up Rice Krispie Treats, I am already planning on trying a blueberry-lemon one with lemon drink mix and dried (or maybe even yogurt-covered) dried blueberries.

I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.

Note: A review copy of "1,001 Ways to Be Creative" was provided to me by the author and the publisher, via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.

You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.

 
 

Chocolate-Orange Mousse for Cook the Books February/March Pick: "The Discovery of Chocolate" by James Runcie

It's Cook the Books time and our February/March food-filled pick is The Discovery of Chocolate, a novel by James Runcie, selected and hosted by Simona of briciole. As usual, I am sneaking in close to the wire for the deadline. It was worth the procrastination though because it helped me discover a fabulous Ina Garten recipe for Chocolate-Orange Mousse, both as my book-inspired dish and as a proper send-off to Ina as the featured chef for another blogging group, I Heart Cooking Clubs.

The Discovery of Chocolate is part history lesson in the origins of chocolate, part time-travel story, and part romance novel. It's quite a fantastical story following Diego De Godoy, a young notary to Emperor Charles V of Spain, who is sent to The New World in 1518 to return with a fortune and a unique and precious gift for his betrothed. It covers many centuries, countries and places that chocolate traveled to and evolved from as Diego looks for love and meaning in life. 

It took me a while to get into the book. I wasn't particularly fond of Diego from the start as he is young, selfish, and not that appealing. In fact, my favorite character turned out to be Pedro, his loyal greyhound. (I will never look at Hershey's kisses without thinking of Pedro). I do like time travel and I adore chocolate and learning about food history, so eventually the story kicked in more for me as Pedro finds himself living a very long life and wandering with Pedro from Mexico to Paris and then on to Vienna, England and America. While on his travels, Diego has brushes with many diverse historical figures such as Montezuma, the Marquis de Sade, Sigmund Freud, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, and Milton Hershey--which was entertaining and fun--although at times maybe a bit too much. Diego does grow some during his journey, but he never quite won me over completely. Besides Pedro, ;-) the food descriptions were my favorite part and the book is filled with them (see my Food Inspiration notes below). Overall, although I didn't love this book, I think if you are a foodie and a chocolate fan and don't mind a lot of fantasy in your historical fiction, it is an interesting and enjoyable read that will have you reaching for the nearest chocolate bar.

My molinillo [moh-lee-NEE-yoh] -- Mexican chocolate whisk/stirrer

Food inspiration:

As I am sure you can imagine, The Discovery of Chocolate is full of mentions of chocolate and dishes that include it as an ingredient like the chocolate drink chocolatl, hot chocolate, turkey with a mole sauce, chocolate mousse, Hershey's kisses, and wild hare in chocolate sauce. It is also chock full of other food inspiration including spices like pepper, nutmeg, cloves, sage, black pepper, aniseed, and cinnamon, as well as fish--dorado (aka mahi-mahi), tamarind and hibiscus, turkey, maize cakes, cherries, oranges, mango, pineapple, peppers, melons, tomatoes, avocado, papaya and passion fruit, figs, vanilla, chillies, rabbit, tortillas, tamales, lemon, honey, watermelons, menudo, empanadas, shrimp ceviche, chicken, guinea fowl, partridge, prickly pears, apricots, apricot preserves, brandy and other apricot delicacies--including Sacher-Torte. There is Chantilly Soup, braised oxtail, galantine of capon, miniature mushroom tartlets, herrings in oatmeal, caviar blinis, hard-boiled eggs with whipped cream, truffles and Madeira wine, chicken liver omelettes with six eggs and cognac, wood pigeon with chestnuts and cabbage, rabbit pie, lobster with beurre blanc, lemonade, red sorrel flower tea, lime marinated red snapper with coriander, vermicelli soup and gazpacho, seared cod with caramelized shallots, grilled calamari, steamed scallops with ginger, quail marinated with rosemary, bay leaves and garlic, guacamole between paprika toasted potato skins, stuffed green peppers with a walnut sauce, pumpkin-blossom quesadillas, and chorizo stew. 

I took my inspiration from the "excellent chocolate mousse" that Diego is offered after dinner on a ship with Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein. According to Gertrude, "Alice makes a very good whip, with eggs, butter, chocolate, icing sugar, cream and Cointreau..." Although the mousse the waiter offers is made with coffee and adorned with rosettes of whipped cream and chocolate leaves and Alice's favorite mousse is "a chocolate mousse with passion fruit sauce and raspberry cream," I decided to go with a chocolate-orange mousse as a nod to a childhood memory that Diego relates about sitting in an orange grove looking down on the city of Seville. 

It also didn't hurt that I found a recipe for Chocolate-Orange Mousse from Ina Garten that sounded delicious and that I needed to make a Goodbye Ina! dish for I Heart Cooking Clubs as this week we end our six months of cooking a weekly recipe from her. I made a few changes to the recipe that I note in red below--mainly simplifying it and I switched out Ina's recommended Grand Marnier for the less expensive Patron as Deb's budget isn't as big as Ina's and this orange liqueur was about half the price and from Mexico--which fits in nicely with the story. Also, this recipe uses raw eggs--so do make sure that you can get eggs from a source you trust before you make it. I buy local eggs from my health store/co-op for anything where the eggs remain uncooked. 

Chocolate-Orange Mousse
Slightly Adapted from Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten & at FoodNetwork.com
(Serves 6-8)

6 oz good semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz good bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier) (I used Patrón Citrónge Orange)
1/4 cup water
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp grated orange zest
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature  
8 extra-large eggs, at room temperature, separated
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar 
pinch kosher salt
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
Whipped Cream, recipe follows, for decoration 
Mandarin oranges, drained, for decoration
(I used orange jellie candy from Spain and cacao nibs to decorate)

Whipped Cream:
2 cups (1 pint) cold heavy cream 
2 Tbsp sugar  
dash pure vanilla extract

Combine the 2 chocolates, orange liqueur, 1/4 cup water, and the vanilla in a heat-proof bowl. Set it over a pan of simmering water just until the chocolate melts. Cool completely to room temperature. Whisk in the orange zest and butter until combined.

Place the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed for 4 minutes, or until very thick and pale yellow. With the mixer on low speed, add the chocolate mixture. Transfer to a large bowl.

Place 1 cup of egg whites (save or discard the rest), the salt, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

Beat on high speed until firm but not dry. Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then fold the rest in carefully with a rubber spatula.

Without cleaning the bowl or whisk, whip the heavy cream and the remaining tablespoon of sugar until firm. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Pour the mousse into individual dishes or an 8-cup serving bowl. Chill and decorate with whipped cream and oranges. Serve with extra whipped cream on the side.

Whipped Cream:

Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla and continue to whip until the cream forms stiff peaks. Don't over-beat, or you'll end up with butter!

 

Deb's Notes: I halved the recipe because I did not need that much chocolate mousse and its respective calories--although I still ended up with 4 coffee cups worth of mousse, plus enough for an espresso cup. I am also a bit (OK, a lot!) lazy so I shortened/combined a couple of steps like melting my chocolate mixture in the microwave and making up all of my whipped cream at once, then folding part of it into the mousse and putting the rest into a pastry bag for piping onto the mousse--seems unnecessary to whip twice. ;-) I also used my hand mixer for everything. When my old stand mixer gave out years ago, I never replaced it. I have a tiny kitchen and limited counter and storage space and don't bake a lot, so my hand mixer gets me through pretty well. I still ended up with fluffy, airy mousse and whipped cream. Finally, Ina garnished with canned Mandarin slices and whipped cream and I found an orange jellie candy from Spain that I sliced into triangles to top my mousse, along with a sprinkle of cacao nibs.  

Notes/Results: As a rule, I like my chocolate mousse to be pure chocolate, maybe with a little espresso mixed in to add to the richness of flavor, but I really enjoyed the orange in this one--it is present but doesn't overpower the chocolate.The mousse is rich and decadent but light and silky smooth. I ended up with more mousse than I need but I am sure I'll have no problem in eating it. An excellent Ina Garten dish to go out with, I'd happily make it again.

Speaking of Ina recipes, it's customary for me to post my favorite recipes from the outgoing IHCC chef. We start cooking with Chef Eric Ripert next week, but I had lots of wins with Ina these past six months. These five (in no particular order) were my favorites:

• Crunchy Iceberg Salad with Creamy Blue Cheese
• Peanut Rocky Road Chocolate Bark
• Salmon Nicoise Platter 
• Pan-Seared Salmon Tacos with Cabbage Cucumber Slaw & Mashed Avocado
• Herb-Grilled Prawns with Green Goddess Dressing

This post is linking up several different places:

First to I Heart Cooking Clubs where it's our March Potluck and Goodbye to Ina Garten as we move on to Chef Eric Ripert.

 
The Discovery of Chocolate is my third foodie book entry for the Foodies Read 2018 event. You can check out the March 2018 Foodies Read linkup, hosted by Heather at Based on a True Story, to see what everyone is reading this month.   

I'm also sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.

 
The deadline for this round is on Saturday, March 31, and Simona will be rounding up the entries on the CTB site soon after. If you missed this round and love food, books, and foodie books, join us for April/May when we will be reading Shark's Fin and Sichaun Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China, hosted by yours truly here at Kahakai Kitchen. 

 

(Vegan) Southwestern Vegetable, Bean and Corn Chowder for Souper (Soup, Salad, & Sammie) Sundays

Today we have sunshine...finally, but this chowder with its bright colors entered my mind during a week with lots of gray and rain. I wanted something bright, healthy but hearty and contained lots of beans and veggies. I was craving something slightly creamy rather than a stew or chili so I settled on a chowder, made vegan but bulked up with plenty of tasty ingredients and of course, fun toppings.

I almost put shrimp in this but decided to keep it vegan. If the beans and hominy aren't enough to satisfy you, you could certainly add them or even some cooked chicken. You could also add rice, change up the milk, and exchange any veggies you want. I kept mine on the medium-mild side of things--more warm-spiced than hot--but there is a definite kick on the end of the bite. Poblanos are generally on the milder side of chili peppers and I used mild green chiles too, but added spice with a chipotle-garlic spice blend, as well as some Aleppo pepper. Just change up your chili peppers to add more heat or serve it with your favorite hot sauce. 

 
Southwestern Vegetable, Bean and Corn Chowder
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Serves 8) 

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped, white & green parts separated
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 large Poblano chili peppers, seeded and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons chili pepper blend of choice (I used this one)
1 tsp, or to taste Aleppo pepper, or chili pepper of choice
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt = more to taste
4 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed (about 2 heaping cups)
1 (29 oz) can hominy, rinsed & drained (if you can't find add 2 more cans beans of choice)
1 (15 oz) can low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can low-sodium pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4.5) can diced mild green chiles
2 cups frozen corn, defrosted
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 (15 oz) can lite coconut milk

To garnish:
sliced avocado
fried tortilla strips or tortilla chips
green onions--green top only, sliced thinly
fresh cilantro leaves

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, white part of green onions, red pepper, poblanos and saute until softened--about ten minutes. Add garlic and all spices and saute another 2 minutes. 

Add potatoes, hominy, beans, green chiles, corn and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stir in coconut milk and simmer, partially covered until potatoes and other vegetables are softened, about 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add as needed.

Ladle into bowls and serve hot with sliced avocado, fried tortilla strips, sliced green onions and cilantro as desired. Serve with hot sauce if desired.

Notes/Results: I am a bit in love (or at least serious like) with this bean and vegetable chowder. It has a savory, slightly smoky broth with a warm, but not to spicy heat from the chili peppers. The corn adds bursts of sweetness and the hominy a pleasant chewiness, while the creamy avocado and crisp fried tortilla strips on top add their own welcome variations to the texture. The beans add fiber and protein and keep it satisfying--although not too heavy, making it great for whatever season or weather you might be having. I'll be happily enjoying this all week and would make it again.

We have some tasty dishes waiting in the Souper Sundays kitchen, let's have a look!

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared a tasty sandwich, this Grilled Chicken Gyro and said, "This is the sandwich I was attempting to linkup with Deb's Souper Sunday for last week. Seriously delicious is grilled chicken with tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and onions.  Flatbread is sturdy enough to hold all this without having too much breading. Bring it on."

Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen made Black Beans and Tempeh Chile and said, "The tempeh in this Black Turtle Beans Chili made for a pleasant change. Neither of us are that keen on tempeh, but we enjoyed the texture it added. We not only enjoyed it over white Basmati rice, but also as Enchiladas and also straight out of a bowl with a spoon."

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog brought an Open-Faced Sandwich with Roasted Veggies and said, "Looking for a quick but healthy lunch idea? Open faced sandwiches hit the spot! I had some leftover roasted vegetables from the roasted vegetable tray I made for company last night, so I decided to make myself a treat for lunch."

Kim of Stirring the Pot made Giada's Burrata and Kale Salsa Verde Bruschetta and said, "Not only is this a gorgeous bruschetta, with colors resembling the Italian flag, but it's also bursting with flavor and texture. I loved biting into the crunchy ciabatta bread and tasting all the elements: the hint of char on the bread, the bright fresh flavor from kale salsa verde, the sweet chewy sun-dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, and decadently creamy and luscious burrata cheese. I want another piece just thinking about it!"

Thanks to everyone who joined me this week at Souper Sundays!

About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on the post you link up to be included.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!
 

Ina Garten's Parmesan & Pea Risotto

I adore risotto--it's creamy, comforting, and there is something about standing at the stove stirring it, ladling in broth and watching it transform from the hard grains of rice to something delicious. some people find the stirring tedious but I like to take the time to think, or listen to music or an audio book and just wind down and wait for the deliciousness to happen.

I was looking for an Ina Garten risotto to make (I've made her Butternut Squash Risotto and her Chive Risotto Cakes and enjoyed both recipes) and wanted something simple so when I saw "Easy Parmesan Risotto" I was all in. It was only later as I was headed to make it when I saw that the 'easy' part was that it bakes in the oven. That's just not risotto to me, so I used the same basic ingredients but made it on my stove top, audiobook on, wooden stirring spoon in hand. My changes are in red below.

Easy Parmesan Risotto
Adapted from How Easy Is That? by Ina Garten via BarefootContessa.com 
(Serves 4 to 6)

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
5 cups simmering chicken stock, preferably homemade (I used vegan chicken  stock)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, diced (I used 2 Tbsp)

(I added 1 Tbsp dried parsley)
2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste (I used a scant 1 tsp sea salt)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted

(I garnished with chopped fresh chives)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the rice and 4 cups of the chicken stock in a Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente. Remove from the oven, add the remaining cup of chicken stock, the Parmesan, wine, butter, salt, and pepper, and stir vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes, until the rice is thick and creamy. Add the peas and stir until heated through. Serve hot.

Stove top: Heat the stock in a small saucepan. Leave it on low heat to simmer. In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the white wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of stock to the rice  Stir, and simmer until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. 

Continue to add the stock, a ladle at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total. Remove risotto from the heat and stir in the peas, Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve hot, garnished with fresh chives and more freshly ground black pepper.

Notes/Results: Sometimes simple is best and in this case, the Parmesan and peas are perfect in the creamy rice for a simple weeknight comfort food dinner. I think you get a superior texture in stove top risotto but if you don't like the stirring, I am sure than Ina's oven version has it own merits. Do watch the salt--since you are using broth that may be salted and Parmesan that it salty. I cut it back by half--an that was using a low-sodium mock chicken stock. I enjoyed this with a glass of the white wine that I used in it and would happily make it again.

Linking up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week's theme is "Ina in Italy"--where we are cooking up Ina's many tasty Italian recipes. 

Also linking up at the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.

 

White Cheddar and Chive Potato Soup: Creamy Comfort for Souper (Soup, Salad, & Sammie) Sundays

Before I had my little medical adventure and was out most of the month of January, I received a couple of cookbooks to review. I feel bad that I am just getting around to them  now. One is Everyday Vegetarian: A Delicious Guide to Creating More Than 150 Meatless Dishes by The Editors of Cooking Light. I love Cooking Light recipes as they are generally healthier eating choices, but they have great flavor and I tagged quite a few recipes from the book to make including; Indian Chopped Salad, Fried Egg and Crunchy Breadcrumb Salad, Nor-Cal Veggie Sandwiches with Hazelnut Butter, Avocado-Egg Salad Sandwiches with Pickled Celery, One-Pot Green Curry Stew with Potatoes and Cauliflower, Stir-Fried Chinese Egg Noodles, Mock Cham Noodle Bowl, Brown Rice Bowl with Miso, Poached Egg, and Kale-Radish Slaw, Bulgur-Pepper Patties, Peppered White Bean, Kale, and Egg Stack, Vegetarian Benedicts with Thyme Sabayon, and Super Savory Wild Rice Pilaf.

This week though, I felt in need of soupy comfort and was drawn to the White Cheddar and Chive Potato Soup. Potato Soup is a favorite of mine and they one sounded creamy and delicious. I didn't make a lot of changes to the recipe, just doubling up on the broth for a looser soup and upping the garlic a bit by using my homemade garlic broth.

Cooking Light says, "This luscious creamy potato soup uses just one pan, making it ideal for fast weeknight comfort food and even faster cleanup. We love the look and tang of sharp white cheddar in this soup."

White Cheddar and Chive Potato Soup
Everyday Vegetarian by The Editors of Cooking Light
(Serves 4)

1 Tbsp canola oil
1/3 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups chopped Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 lb)
1 3/4 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 1/2 cups organic, low-sodium vegetable broth (I used 3 cups homemade garlic stock)
3/8 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper, or to taste
2 oz sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup fat-free sour cream
freshly ground black pepper
minced fresh chives

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oil to the pan, swirl to coat. Add the shallots and garlic; saute 1 1/2 minutes or until tender. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk.

Add the potatoes, milk, broth, salt, and pepper to the pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Remove the pan from the heat. Mash the potato mixture with a potato masher to the desired consistency. Stir in the cheese until melted. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the sour cream.

Ladle the soup into each of 4 bowls. Top with the remaining sour cream, the freshly ground black pepper, and the minced chives. 

Nutritional Details: (Serving size; 1 cup of soup, 1 Tbsp sour cream, 1 1/2 tsp chives): Calories 263, Fat 9.6 g, (sat 4.2g, mono 2.5g, poly 1.1g), Protein 11g, Carb 34g, Fiber 3g, Sugars 9g 9est. added sugars 0g), Cholesterol 20mg, Iron 1mg, Sodium 562 mg, Calcium 286 mg

Notes/Results: Oh yeah, this is a yummy soup--just like a soup version of good, slightly cheesy mashed potatoes--the ultimate comfort food. The soup in the cookbook's picture looked quite a bit thicker but I like the creamy, yet still brothy texture I got by adding extra liquid. The white cheddar cheese was present without being too gooey-cheesy and the soup is satisfying and tastes decadent without being too rich. I like the one pan factor and it is pretty quick and easy to make. You could make this into a vegan soup by swapping in non-dairy milk, cheese, and sour cream. I would happily make this soup again and I look forward to trying more recipes from the book.
 

Note: A review copy of Everyday Vegetarian was provided to me by the author and the publisher, Time Inc. Books. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.

 
We have two tasty dishes waiting in the Souper Sundays kitchen, let's have a look!

Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen shared Iranian Pearl Barley Soup (Ashe-Jo Jow) and said, "It looks deceptively plain, but it has so much depth and flavour mostly from the fresh herbs.  As well as barley and chickpeas which are visible, there are lots of greens in it such as spinach, dill and coriander and a homegrown leek which came from my own allotment garden plot.  We both loved  this Iranian Pearl Barley Soup that I will definitely make it again."

 
Here at Kahakai Kitchen I tried Giada's Kale Salsa Verde Bruschetta with Fresh Mozzarella. I made a couple of adjustments to cut some of the oil and sodium and really enjoyed this little open-faced sandwich bites with their colorful appearance and delicious taste. I think even kale-haters would enjoy this one.

 
Thanks to Shaheen for joining me this week at Souper Sundays!

About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on the post you link up to be included.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!