Isn't it kind of fantastic that nourishing, healthy food can just happen to be satisfying comfort food at the same time? There's something about soup. You can pack the veggies and the grains in and end up with something that tastes like a warm hug. A spicy, warm hug.
This soup is delicious and satisfying, lightly spiced and oh-so comforting. It's so thick, it's probably actually a stew. But we'll call it soup anyway.
Spiced Lentil and Cauliflower Soup
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
oil for sauteeing
1 onion, diced
3 cups carrots, diced
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
3/4 cup brown rice
1 3/4 cups lentils
salt to taste
Heat the cumin, coriander, and turmeric in a large soup pot, without oil, at a medium heat. Once they start releasing their fragrances, add the oil and fry the onion and carrots until they begin to soften. Stir in the minced garlic and fry it for about half a minute before adding the cauliflower. Stir the vegetables together, so that the spices evenly coat them.
Now add the chicken stock, water, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and brown rice. Add salt as needed (this will depend on the saltiness of your stock and personal taste!)
Bring the soup to a boil and then turn down the heat and leave it to simmer, covered.
In a separate pot, bring about four cups of water to a boil and add the lentils. Turn the heat down and simmer the lentils, with the lid on, until they are soft but not mushy, about 25 minutes.
Once the lentils have cooked, drain them and add them to the soup. Cover the pot again and let it continue to simmer for another 20-25 minutes, or until the brown rice is thoroughly cooked.
Sometimes size matters. A lot.
Sometimes, a cupcake just won't cut it. Too much frosting heaped on a disappointing little nubbin of cake. No.
Then again, a full-sized cake can be a challenge. A cake that sits around, challenging everyone in the house to break the one-slice-a-day limit of the post-holiday season. A cake that gets a little bit more dry every day, pressuring you to eat more than you really want. And cake is a terrible thing to waste.
Never fear! The geniuses of bake ware design have actually thought of this problem. Hello, 7 inch cake pan. My ideal, not-too-big-not-too-small cake pan, perfect for the Goldilocks within.
So this carrot cake recipe is for a 7 inch pan (it's pretty much my--slightly adapted-- carrot cake muffin recipe, baked in a cake pan and slathered with cream cheese deliciousness. I might possibly have mentioned that carrot cake is my absolute favorite cake. Ever. And this one turned out pretty darn well. It's delicately spiced and filled with scrumptious raisins and slivers of carrots. The aromatic orange oil is delicious, cutting creaminess of the frosting but orange zest and a little juice will do just as well.
Recipe:
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
for a 7 inch cake pan
1 1/4 cups all purpose/plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon orange essence/oil
2 1/2 cups grated carrot
1/2 cup golden raisins
Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C).
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs thoroughly, until light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar and combine well. Add the oil, vanilla, and orange.
Now gradually fold in the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Finally, add the grated carrots and raisins.
Pour batter into a greased pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick, 113 grams) unsalted butter
4 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup superfine sugar
a couple drops of orange essence
a couple drops of vanilla extract
Cream the butter until it's light and fluffy. Add the sugar and thoroughly combine them before adding the cream cheese. Beat the mixture until it's all combined and has become smooth and then add the orange and vanilla.
When the cake has completely cooled, it can be iced. Store the iced cake in the fridge because the cream cheese in the frosting won't keep when at room temperature!
Carrot cake is, without a doubt, my favorite type of cake. The moistness. The delicate spicing. The subtle sweetness from the carrot. Mm! When I found a recipe for carrot cupcakes I might possibly have swooned a little bit inside (in the picture they even had little sugar carrot decorations, I'm only human!) The weather has finally mustered up some glorious sunny days (positively summery!) so I decided that the time had come for something suitably fresh-tasting and seasonal. Despite what the supermarkets would have us think, carrots are actually a spring/summer veg. Besides, they're bright orange and they make me think of little bunnies with their nibbling little teeth. What could be more spring-like?
Since I'm in the mood for sharing (and would rather not eat round after round of baked goods on my own...) I decided that little bite-sized portions is the best way to go. People can just grab one without going through the ritualistic hassle of cutting a slice of cake.
It was a wise decision. These are the most moist, scrumptious bites of carrot cake I've had in a while, chock-full of juicy raisins and ever-so-slightly chewy strands of carrot. A-plus, as far as I'm concerned! They came out so scrummy and dainty that I decided not to ice them as the recipe suggested (though that orange cream cheese butter-cream sounds mighty tasty!) Instead, I christened them "mini-muffins" and left them as is: adorable, dainty, and a teensy bit healthier!
Recipe:
Carrot Cake Muffins
adapted from a recipe on goodtoknow.co.uk
1 1/8 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
2 1/4 cups grated carrot
1/2 cup raisins
Preheat the oven to 180º C (350º F)
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt (or sift them if you have/want to use a sifter!) and set aside.
Crack the eggs into a large bowl and stir until they're creamy yellow and blended and then add the sugar, oil, vanilla and orange zest (I only had some tiny satsumas-- not the best zesting oranges-- so I used a couple and squeezed in a little bit of juice just for the heck of it). Blend thoroughly.
Now add the previously mixed dry ingredients, a little at a time, mixing thoroughly. The batter should be pretty stiff (good for the arm muscles!)
Add the grated carrot and raisins to the mix. The moisture in the carrots will loosen the batter up a bunch.
Spoon batter into cupcake-case lined muffin tins, about 2/3 full and pop into the preheated oven for about 25 minutes.
Sadly, this recipe doesn't make very many muffins (I only got 19) so I'll probably double it next time I make them (and yes, there will be a next time because they are yummy!) I also might try using light brown sugar instead of white, because it has a better flavor and the muffins came out looking pretty pale (not necessarily a bad thing, per se, but I think they could be cosmetically improved!)
