Foodie Field Trip--Upcountry Maui

I should probably be posting about Christmas, or cookies or other holiday fare but instead of a recipe today, I bring you a recap of a recent day on Maui spent when my friend Yoko visited.  People always ask me what is my favorite Hawaiian Island, which is hard to answer because I like different things about each island.  Probably one of my favorite places on any of the islands is upcountry Maui, where cooler temperatures, rolling hills and cute little towns, shops and galleries abound.  My friend Natalie and I try to go over at least once a year for a day trip of shopping, eating, touring, eating, shopping and some more eating.  Since Yoko had only visited the Big Island and Oahu, it seemed like the perfect plan to take her for a visit.  There is enough to see and do there that a couple of days is really nice and there are some cute bed and breakfasts, but Nat and I have it down to a fine art and can get a lot done in a long day.

After arriving in Maui at about 8:00 in the morning, we got our rental car and headed out to get some breakfast in Pa'ia but had to make an unplanned stop when we passed by Krispy Kreme. Maui has the only Krispy Kreme in Hawaii and when the fresh donut sign is on you really do have to stop.  Watching those crisp, freshly made donuts fall off onto the conveyor belt,

and get drenched with glaze, 


and then biting into the hot, fresh, crisp yet melty treat is heaven.  


When the Krispy Kreme opened a few years ago, people brought boxes and boxes of them back to Oahu and the overhead bins were jammed with the boxes.  (On our flight home a golf-playing foursome of men each had a box or two with them on our flight).  We told Yoko that the donuts were our "amuse-bouche" before breakfast.

Slightly out of the way on our drive to Pa'ia, we detoured to Old Wailuku, Maui's county seat and a cute little old-style town and drove up to the 'Iao Valley. ('Iao means "cloud supreme" and is pronounced "ee-ow").  It is a lush, tropical valley, beautiful and home of the 'Iao Needle, a chunk of lava peak, rising up about 1.200 feet from the floor of the valley.  


Since it was a pretty gray sky day and we had much to do, we didn't take time for the trail walk up to the viewpoint but took a few pictures, enjoyed the scenery and continued on our journey. On the way back, we were seduced by some roadside coffee and lilikoi (passion fruit) trees and stopped and took some pictures and "borrowed" a few coffee beans and a couple lilikoi. 

My apologies to the unknown owners but we couldn't resist.  If you have never sucked the fruit around a fresh coffee "cherry" and get a chance to, I highly encourage it!  I kept my beans and will try to grow a little coffee plant. I grew one once in Seattle but it didn't make the move to Hawaii with me.

Next stop, Pa'ia, a historic little plantation town that owes it start to the sugarcane plantations.  It's cute wooden buildings now house little shops, galleries and great places to eat. We stopped first at Anthony's Coffee Shop, a great little coffee roaster and retailer and place to get a little breakfast or nosh. Nat ended up with a cappuccino and a toasted bagel, Yoko a cup of their coffee and a mango scone, and I had some delicious "Snow Monkey Plum" tea and a bagel with lox.

And then we were ready to shop, visiting some of our favorite boutiques (Biasa Rose, Holiday and Co., Lilikoi Beauty, Nuage Bleu). They find it funny that we come to Maui to shop when people go from the neighbor islands to Oahu normally to do their shopping.  But they have many more original items that we want and don't see on Oahu and Oahu has the malls and bigger brand name selections that are not on other islands.  I bought a few things.  My favorite being these TOM's shoes, comfortable as slippers, patterned with one of my favorite quotes; "Be the change you wish to see in the world"  by Mahatma Gandhi, and best of all, when you buy a pair the company donates a pair of shoes to a child in need.  (Way to make me feeling good about shopping!)  


I also bought some of my favorite stretchy hair bands,& pony-tail wraps, and some cute patterned fold- up shopping bags for gifts, and a few other little "gifty" things that aren't pictured.

Since it had been almost a year since Nat and I were last in Pa'ia, a few new places had opened, the most exciting being Ono Gelato Company, with fresh, beautiful, organic gelato.


We stopped in to check it out and the cases piled with fluffy, creamy gelato were impossible to resist. The pictures just don't do it justice.  


The great thing about this place is that in addition to your normal gelato flavors, they use a lot of local fruits and Hawaiian flavors in their gelatos and it is delicious.  We split two small combo cups between the 3 of us--Yoko chose the Lilikoi and the Apple Banana--both delicious and made with local fruit.  I chose the Lilikoi-Goat's Milk Quark and the Sea Mist. The lilikoi-quark, combines local passion fruit with a goat's milk quark, a kind of curd cheese (see explanation here) from a local dairy/cheese maker.  Sounds strange, but the sweet tang of the lilikoi combined with the rich, creamy, slightly tangy goat's milk quark was incredible. The sea mist features the Sea Mist tea they sell, lemongrass and lime and was also delicious. I ended up buying some of the Sea Mist tea and a couple other teas and may try to make some ice cream or gelato at home with it.  


We chatted with one of the owners, Stefano, who is a third-generation gelato maker and he and the other owners had a European style bakery in Vancouver before moving to Maui.  As good as their product is, I think my waistline is lucky they are a plane ride away on Maui!

Leaving Pa'ia, our next stop was Makawao, a paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) town a few miles from Pa'ia.  This used to one of our favorite shopping spots with fun boutiques and shops, but lately it has changed from "Maka-WOW!" to only "Maka-OK", as we just haven't been finding things there the last few times we have visited.  Nothing purchased or consumed here and no pictures taken, so we headed up country to Kula to visit the Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm and the Maui's Winery.  

We had our only low moment of the day on the way up to Kula. Stopped for a least a minute, in a line of cars at a stoplight, and suddenly "BAM!", a young girl in a 4Runner, slammed into the back of our rental car.  Luckily no one was hurt, except our car and its license plate but the hour+ that it took to wait for the police, get the report filed, etc. cut our time down. The girl said she "only looked away for a second and didn't realize we stopped!" Hmm...

So now, on double-time, we headed to one of our favorite stops the Ali'i Kula Lavendar Farm. Located at 4000 feet elevation on the slopes of Maui's Haleakala Crater, it is cool (sometimes cold) and gorgeous and as the owner, Ali'i Chang, discovered, it's the perfect place to grow lavender. They have over 10 hillside acres with 45 different types of lavender growing there.  

There are incredible views, (Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy, gray and drizzly when we were there) of the island, all the way to the ocean.  


It has been so exciting to see this company grow over the past few years.  They do a wonderful job of developing and collaborating with other local businesses to create wonderful lavender based products. Soaps, lotions, cooking products, even chocolate.  We didn't have time to take a tour this time but we made a little time to visit the gift shop and eat a lavender scone with lavender jam and tea (I tried the Lavender Earl Grey and my companions had the Lavender Herbal Tea) and relax and enjoy the scenery for a few minutes before heading off for a quick wine tasting.


I just grabbed a couple things there as I was pretty stocked up already--some lavender sugar, lavender poha (a tart Maui berry) jam and a lavender brownie.  

We had been eating little meals all day but were still a bit hungry but being a hour behind and feeling like we needed to get to the rental car return early to deal with any accident issues, we stopped on the way to the winery and grabbed a couple sandwiches to share at Grandma's Coffee House, thinking we would eat them on the grounds.  I forgot to get pictures but Grandma's is a great little place, they roast coffee there too.

Apparently they are calling Tedeschi Vineyards, "Maui's Winery" now, (maybe so people relate it to Maui more?)  In up county's Upupalakua Ranch, it is a beautiful property at about 2,000 feet elevation. Again, beautiful views, all though pouring rain when we got there, (so no pictures again!) and most importantly, a tasting room with four free pours!  Maui wine is not going to be the best wine ever but their fruity white, Maui Blanc and Maui Splash are nice, crisp, fruity wines that would be perfect for a warm afternoon or evening on the lanai. Their Framboise de Maui Raspberry Wine, their first specialty wine, was delicious as well.  I wish I had bought a bottle but should be able to find it on Oahu somewhere.  Yoko bought some wine to take back to France and I bought some vanilla beans and some locally made Thai-Basil salt (I am a sucker for salts!) in the tasting room gift shop.  


The rain finally stopped and we ate our sandwiches on a table under a tree where we fed some little birds our crusts.  (My one and only picture from the winery!)

Alas, it was getting close to 5:00, and we needed to get back to the airport, return our scrunched car and make our 6:45 flight so we had to leave.  We would have liked a little more time to enjoy tour last two stops and maybe spend some time at the Surfing Goat Dairy to taste and buy goat cheese, but we had a full and very fun foodie day on Maui.  Yoko enjoyed her first visit and it was fun for Natalie and I to experience it through new eyes.  I think that is what I enjoy most about having visitors, it causes you to re-expereince things in your own backyard as well as try new things.  Thanks to Nat (our excellent driver!) and Yoko for a fun foodie day! 

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Feeling soupy? (or noodle-y, or stew-y) and want to drop by and share your comforting creation? Join me for Souper Sundays! All you need to do is make a soup, stew, chili, slow cooker dish, etc. (Really almost anything that is served in a bowl will work!) Send me an email or leave a comment before Sunday and let me know you'll be stopping by and I'll add you to that week's round up so you can share your souper creation. You can make and post the soup any time, I just round them up on Sundays.

Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana for Tyler Florence Fridays

I am on a roll with Tyler Florence's Eat This Book; my last two Tyler Florence Friday picks came from it and now this week's pick as well. This one happened by fate. I noticed Whole Foods had some beautiful looking, free-raised veal cutlets, haven't eaten any veal in ages and figured Tyler would have a good recipe to use them in.  I originally was going to do a picatta, but this recipe for Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana caught my eye.  

Tyler says:  "This is a dish made famous in the small trattorias of Rome. It's classic, impressive, and incredibly easy."

Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana
Eat This Book, Tyler Florence

Serves 4

4 (5-ounce) thinly sliced veal cutlets (scallopini)
4 slices thinly sliced prosciutto
8 fresh sage leaves, plus more for garnish
All-purpose flour, for dredging
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken broth
Lemon wedges, for serving

Put the veal cutlets side by side on a sheet of plastic wrap. Lay a piece of prosciutto on top of each piece of veal and cover with another piece of plastic. Gently flatten the cutlets with a rolling pin or meat mallet, until the pieces are about 1/4-inch thick and the prosciutto has adhered to the veal. Remove the plastic wrap and lay a couple of sage leaves in the center of each cutlet. Weave a toothpick in and out of the veal to secure the prosciutto and sage.


Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to combine. Dredge the veal in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter and in a large skillet over medium flame. Put the veal in the pan, prosciutto-side down first. Cook for 3 minutes to crisp it up and then flip the veal over and saute the other side for 2 minutes, until golden. Transfer the saltimbocca to a serving platter, remove the toothpicks, and keep warm.

Add the wine to the pan, stirring to bring up all the delicious flavor in the bottom; let the wine cook down for a minute to burn off some of the alcohol. Add the chicken broth and remaining tablespoon of butter, swirl the pan around. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the saltimbocca, garnish with sage leaves and lemon wedges; serve immediately.

Notes/Results:  It's everything Tyler says it is and more; fast, easy and incredibly delicious.  It takes under 30 minutes to prepare and the flavors of the sage, prosciutto and the sauce make the tender veal sing.  I learned (from Natashya) that Saltimbocca means "jumps in in mouth" and this dish really does.  I actually made it last Saturday, coming home from a chocolate cooking class (more on that and a Salted Caramel Tart recipe to be posted soon), drenched and cold from the dash to my car in the pouring down rain.  I wasn't really in the mood to cook but needed something warming and fast and I had this dish to the table in under 25 minutes. Tyler recommends serving it with the Baked Polenta with Brown Butter and Pine Nuts (I may have to try that one next) and Braised Escarole with Garlic and Lemon, also from Eat This Book.  I really wanted pasta so I did a fresh angel hair in a little butter, parsley, lemon and a touch of chopped sage.  I halved the recipe and made two cutlets and was a very happy camper that night and then next day at lunch.  I was so hungry and it smelled so good, that I didn't have patience for taking many good pictures--but you get the idea from these.  Although I rarely eat veal, I will make this recipe again.  

Do you love Tyler as much as we do?  If so, consider joining us for Tyler Florence Fridays (TFF).  You have the flexibility to choose which Tyler  recipe you want to make each week, based on your needs.  You can get the details at the TFF site here and also check out the weekly round up  to see what the other TFF bloggers made this week and get their  expert feedback on their picks.

 

Feeling soupy? (or noodle-y, or stew-y) and want to drop by and share your comforting creation? Join me for Souper Sundays! All you need to do is make a soup, stew, chili, slow cooker dish, etc. (Really almost anything that is served in a bowl will work!) Send me an email or leave a comment before Sunday and let me know you'll be stopping by and I'll add you to that week's round up so you can share your souper creation. You can make and post the soup any time, I just round them up on Sundays.

Savory Palmiers--Barefoot Blogger's Bonus Recipe

This month's Barefoot Blogger's Bonus Recipe was selected by Becky of Random Musings of a Deco Lady, as she referred the most people to the Barefoot Blogger's site in November.  She picked a quick and easy but still elegant appetizer, Ina's Savory Palmiers.  This recipe appears in the Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics, Ina's newest Cookbook on page 43.  

I am going to admit it--if you haven't figured it out already, I am basically a pretty lazy person!  I will do things that take some time but in an appetizer or pupu, I want it fast and I want it good and I think Ina does both in this recipe. But having been so busy lately, I wanted it even faster so when I saw these little packets of pre-made pesto and a sun-dried tomato version at Whole Foods, I decided to try them.  


Yes it isn't hard to make pesto, I have done it plenty of times.  Nor is it hard to chop sun-dried tomatoes but it was so much more tempting to squeeze it out of the pack!  (I did toast my own pine-nuts though!)  They are actually pretty good, they taste fresh and have good flavor.  I plan to use the remainder in pasta. (You have 21 days to use after opening)

Savory Palmiers
Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics, Ina Garten

1 package frozen Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, defrosted
1/4 cup prepared pesto, store-bought or homemade (recipe follows)
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese, such as Montrachet
1/4 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Kosher salt

Lightly flour a board and carefully unfold one sheet of puff pastry. Roll the pastry lightly with a rolling pin until it’s 9 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches. Spread the sheet of puff pastry with half the pesto.



Then sprinkle with half the goat cheese, half the sun-dried tomatoes, and half the pine nuts. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. 


Working from the short ends, fold each end halfway to the center. Then fold each side again toward the center until the folded edges almost touch. Fold one side over the other and press lightly. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat for the second sheet of puff pastry using the remaining ingredients. Cover both rolls with plastic wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the prepared rolls of puff pastry into 1/4-inch-thick slices and place them face up 2 inches apart on sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Bake for 14 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

Homemade Pesto
Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics, Ina Garten
makes 4 cups

1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 pine nuts
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely puréed. Add the Parmesan cheese and purée for a minute. Serve, or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Notes/Results:  These went together pretty easily, I spread the pesto, then the sun-dried tomatoes , then the cheese and nuts. I felt like my pestos were salty enough that I didn't add more and that was a good call.  I just made a half batch of this recipe. I forgot to take pictures of the folding and since I didn't roll my puff pastry, just unfolded it, I got about 20 instead of the 30 I should have by Ina's recipe.  Overall I liked the flavor, I may have lost a bit of texture because I used the sun-dried tomato pesto instead of the chopped sun-dried tomatoes but I don't think it was noticeable.  Personally I remain a sweet fan when it comes to palmiers--I like the cinnamon and sugar, but these were good.   If you are looking for an easy appetizer that looks impressive to your guests and tastes good, these are a good choice.

Great pick Becky!  Since this is an optional recipe, not all the Barefoot Bloggers may post it but you can check out who did here.  

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If you are a Tyler Florence fan(atic) and want to join us on Fridays, by choosing a Tyler recipe you want to make, come visit the TFF site here. The round up will be posted there each Friday so come see what recipes the TFF members made and how they liked them.

Feeling soupy? (or noodle-y, or stew-y) and want to drop by and share your comforting creation? Join me for Souper Sundays! All you need to do is make a soup, stew, chili, slow cooker dish, etc. (Really almost anything that is served in a bowl will work!) Send me an email or leave a comment before Sunday and let me know you'll be stopping by and I'll add you to that week's round up so you can share your souper creation. You can make and post the soup any time, I just round them up on Sundays.

Announcements! Announcements! for Cook The Books.  Find out who won the first recipe post for La Cucina and learn about the next book we'll be reading here.  Come join in the fun! (I am the host for this round!)  

Blog Party #41--Tradition!: "Debbie's Bean Dip" + a Bonus: "I'll Show You Mine..." (Cookbooks People! What Kind of Blog Do You Think This Is?!?)

Long time no post!  I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to get things ready to leave for Portland tomorrow.  Snowstorms and such there and another lovely case of bronchitis here, helped me make the decision to postpone my flight until Monday and take a couple of days to recover. Hopefully on that end the snow, icy rain and below freezing temperatures will subside a bit while I am downing liquids and popping prescriptions.  It is true that the blood does thin--almost 8 years in Hawaii has made me a weenie where cold weather is concerned.

To make up for my lack of time to post, I am going to cover two things today: Blog Party, because I haven't missed one since I started blogging and "I'll Show You Mine"...showing cookbook collections because I told my friend Natashya at Living In the Kitchen With Puppies that it was a great idea and I would join her.  Note to self: watch out! This girl has amazingly fast reactions. When I think of something and decide its a good idea, it can take months for it to actually happen. She works at warp speed!  (Its OK--she knows I love her!). Now however, I am left with self-esteem issues over my addiction to cookbooks which you will see below after Blog Party.

The theme Stephanie from Dispensing Happiness chose for Blog Party #41  is "Tradition!"  I struggled a bit with this one because our Christmas Day tradition when it comes to food and meals is really no tradition.  For as long as I can remember, Thanksgiving Day was traditional but on Christmas Day the tradition became to pick a different theme every year. Over the years we have had themes such as Mexican Night, Baked Potato Bar (my Mom enjoyed how the foil-baked potatoes steamed up her entire kitchen), and the oft repeated (and my personal favorite!) the "All-Appetizers" dinner (not a healthy choice but unending choices of little bites of food make me happy).  This year it is actually going to be more of a traditional dinner--go figure!  I also thought about posting a traditional food thing we do every year; bake and decorate Christmas cookies.  In our family it was a full-scale productions with tables lined up with family, friends who wanted to tag along, bowls and pastry bags of frosting and usually about 100 dozen cookies. Several years ago it got scaled back considerably and this year I think they clocked in about 50 dozen. The cookies then went on plates for relatives and friends.  It was tiring and it made me ultimately dislike eating frosted cookies but it was fun and a great tradition.  Since I usually arrive for Christmas now, well after the decorating is done, it didn't seem fair to do that one. 

So, we move to New Year's Eve.  Today, it is probably one of my least favorite holidays but when I was a child, I thought it was the coolest.  Being from a large family, you don't always get to choose things and New Year's Eve was all about choosing.  We got to pick our favorite soda / beverage, favorite bag of chips or crackers and favorite flavor of dip.  (OK, I was easily entertained as a child!).  We kids watched TV, movies, played games, whatever.  My Aunt and Uncle would come up for a visit and my Aunt Ginny would usually make my favorite bean dip. The dip was so much my favorite that it became named "Debbie's Bean Dip" and it is very popular in my family.  A couple years ago I was in charge of appetizers and got a request for "Debbie's Bean Dip", I made it and a lovely, high quality, not cheap, delicious Smoked Salmon Dip; guess what got eaten... the bean dip!"  (Yes, we are a simple family of simple tastes!)

So here in all it's Internet glory is my Aunt Ginny's "Debbie's Bean Dip", simple yes, but it is addicting!  My family will tell you it goes best with Frito's, my choice used to be Doritos but since it's blog party, I am jazzing it up and serving it with Sesame-Blues, blue corn tortillas.

Debbie's Bean Dip

by Deb's Aunt Ginny

1 (15 oz) can of re-fried beans

3 oz cream cheese, room temp

2 Tbsp onions, finely minced

To taste:

garlic powder

cayenne pepper

Tabasco 

salt & pepper

Blend beans, cream cheese and onions together well.  Add spices to taste and mix well. Refrigerate at least two hours and serve with your favorite chip.

Notes/Results:  Aunt Ginny never really specified the amount of spices and you just put them in how you like them--it always turns out.  You can substitute low fat beans and cream cheese if you want but simpler is best with this dip.  I don't think I have made this recipe without doubling it and it always gets eaten.  Yes, it is glorified re-fried beans but it is really good and I have made it for parties and even caught "foodie snobs" enjoying it. Besides it's tradition!

To drink?!  Well, going back to tradition, my beverage of choice was usually orange or strawberry soda, from Safeway (Cragmont--do they even still make it?).  The other day I found this O-Organics Blood Orange Soda at Safeway. Much classier I think.  ;-)


Because, (and this may be Un-American of me), I hate root beer, I used to get orange floats whenever we had root beer floats. So that is how I am serving my blood orange soda, with a nice scoop of vanilla ice-cream--a yummy creamsicle.  

There may be more elegant fair at the Blog Party but come visit with me and I will style you out with some homey goodness!  And a few of my favorite childhood (and even now) movies that I might have been watching on New Years Eve. Thanks Stephanie for being as usual, "the hostest with the mostest!"  Check out the other party attendees at the round up here, after Saturday!

OK, on to my self esteem issues.  Apparently I don't just find love in food, I find it in buying cookbooks.  I don't have an actual count but the shelf count average I did put me at well over 300.  When Natashya mentioned sharing pictures I thought it would be fun until I started taking the pictures.  Nothing like in-your-face evidence that you have an addiction!  Well, I do love them, and slowly but surely, through my Cook From Each Book initiative, I plan to eventually cook from all of them!

My cookbooks are in three places:

In the dinning room I have closets--two half and two full.  The half cabinets/shelves have my wine racks in one and bar stuff in the other.  One full closet contains my glassware (also an addiction) and the other holds the bulk of my collection on 6 shelves.  I love my blue and white as you can see in the collection above.  Sorry the pictures aren't the best and really I should have straightened up more--but you are getting reality here!

The view inside:

There is some order to these books.  The top two shelves hold my vegetarian, vegan, raw, organic and healthy cookbooks along with several soup cookbooks at the end.

Next we have favorite/famous chefs.  That's all Donna Hay at the end. Nigella, Ina, Tom Douglas (fav Seattle Chef), Jamie, etc. are all here.  The shelf below that is more general cookbooks, Better Homes and Gardens, Silver Palate and then moves into the beginning of my International section--the Indian section mostly.

More international here, Hawaii Regional, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc. and the bottom shelf has Italian, French, Mexican and then moves into some how-tos, spices, sauces, etc.

In the spare bedroom, I have a folding 3-shelf bookcase in the walk in closet that holds another group.  Unfortunately there are now books stacked on top. This bookcase is overflow (some need to be worked into the closet) and baking/desserts.  Although NOT A BAKER, a girl can dream and drool!  About 15 of the baking/desserts books normally in here are on loan to a friend with a bakery looking for some new ideas.  

The top is mostly overflow (too many used bookstore/book sale purchases).  Some need to be rotated into the main closet.  The first shelf is a bit random, some baking and some health/diet. Some vintage which need to have their own section/special place at some point.

Next we have entertaining, baking and desserts, lots of chocolate cookbooks of course. Then the bottom shelf is pretty random, ones I use less often I guess.

Finally, I have a low bench with two stacks of cookbooks, and a few other things on it in the living room/hall.  This is for larger books, more reference books or ones I just bought or I am currently cooking out of/looking at.  (Some just need to be put away!)  Notice the tape flags on top--I do a lot of perusing and tabbing when I buy them. 

So other than a random one or two books that end up by the bedside for reading that is it. Maybe later on, I 'll use the photos to count them but then I may get really depressed.  Isn't it amazing how you always seem to want/need more! If you had another hour I would show you the other two bookcases of non-cook books as well as the stacks all over.  I am addicted to reading! Thanks Natashya for coming up with the idea to expose our ugly little secrets!  ;-) (Check out her collection here). If you would like to share your cookbook or other food related collection, feel free to join us!  

Whew--that was one long rambling post!  Hope you all are having a good week before Christmas!

Tangy Spinach-Yogurt Soup for "Souper Sundays"

It's time for "Souper Sunday" and perfect weather for it--looks of pouring down rain this weekend and cooler than usual here.  Today's soup is from a book I found at a used bookstore last weekend: Almost Vegetarian by Diana Shaw. The book's cover calls it "A Primer for Cooks Who Are Eating Vegetarian Most of the Time, Chicken & Fish Some of the Time & Altogether Well All of the Time."  I tagged several recipes to try and this soup was one of them:

Tangy Spinach-Yogurt Soup 

Almost Vegetarian, Diana Shaw

Serves 4 to 6

1 Tbsp unsalted butter or canola oil

2 large white onions, thinly sliced

1 tsp coarse salt

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 cup minced fresh chives

1/4 cup minced fresh dill, or 1 1/2 Tbsp crumbled dried dill

1 1 /2 Tbsp crumbled, dried oregano

1/2 cup green lentils, rinsed

1 1/2 cups water

4 cups plain low-fat or non-fat yogurt

4 cups torn, washed spinach leaves

dash paprika

In a large, deep saucepan, melt the butter or heat the oil.  Add the onions, salt, parsley, chives, dill, and oregano, and saute' over low heat until the onion is limp, about 20 minutes.


Add the lentils and stir well to blend.  Stir in the water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover, and simmer over low heat until the lentils are cooked, about 20 minutes.  The lentils are done when they're tender all the way through, yet retain their shape.  


Turn off the heat. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yogurt until it's smooth and creamy. Whisk in about a tablespoon of the hot broth. Gradually add more broth, whisking after each addition, until half the broth in is the yogurt. Whisk the yogurt mixture back into the saucepan.  Add the spinach and stir constantly over low heat until the spinach has turned bright green and the soup has warmed through, 8 to 12 minutes.  Be careful not to bring the soup to the boiling point or the yogurt will separate.  Ladle the soup into serving bowls, and sprinkle each serving with a dash of paprika.  Or chill right away, covered, and serve cold.  

Diana Shaw notes that: "This soup tastes better after a day or two. If you'll be serving it cold, you can make it up to 3 days in advance. If you are serving it hot, don't add the spinach until 30 minutes before serving. At that point, reheat the soup very slowly, preferably in a double boiler, so it won't separate. Once it's heated through, stir in the spinach, and serve the soup the moment the spinach turns bright green, after about 3 minutes."

Notes/Results:  I made the soup sticking close to the recipe with the exception of replacing the water with a low-sodium vegetable stock I needed to use up and adding some ground black pepper.   The soup is flavorful and tangy and the lentils add a nice texture to it.  I tried it both hot when I made it and cold the next day.  I think I actually prefer it cold, as it pulls more of the tanginess out of the soup.  It was good, not necessarily my favorite soup ever but good--especially if you love spinach and yogurt.  It is nourishing and full of vitamins, iron and magnesium, fiber as well as pretty low calorie--one serving is about 159.  I served it with a wrap made from a 1/2 a whole-wheat lavosh with a little whipped cream cheese, some taro dill mustard, spinach and avocado.  

A couple of friends stopped by the Souper Sunday Kitchen with some exotic and spectacular looking soups:

First up is Christine from Kit's Chow with a delicious looking Khao tom Congee.  Congee is a rice soup or gruel and Christine's version is flavored with fish sauce and black pepper and garnished with garlic, onion, cilantro and chilies.  It looks like the perfect soup to comfort and take the chill out of a cold day!

Natashya of Living In the Kitchen With Puppies takes us to Morocco for her colorful Festive Tajine, full of delicious spices, vegetables and fruit.  So many bright flavors and colors from the sweet potato, carrots, clementines, spinach and pomegranate seeds and nicely spiced with Harissa, this is a beautiful dish!

Thanks to Christine and Natashya for stopping by.  If you have a soup, stew or anything related (chili, slow cooker dish, stroup, etc.) that you want to share, leave a comment or send me an email and I'll add your creation to next Sunday's line up.  (You don't have to make your soup on Sunday, just let me know you'll be participating by then).

On another foodie note--if you have been reading La Cucina for our virtual book club, Cook The Books, tomorrow, December 15th is the deadline to get your recipe post in.  We are fortunate to have Lily Prior, the author of La Cucina picking her favorite entry so look for the round up of recipes and the winner at the Cook The Books site (here) after the 15th.  We will also be announcing the next book.   

Have a great week everyone!