Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Squash Soup

Does the thought of grilled cheese sandwiches get you salivating? I think they are the best and have been dying to make some fancy versions with up-scale ingredients.

When Malcolm and Christie came over for lunch this past weekend I just knew they would enjoy making gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches as much as I would. And they did.  There were many yummy noises as we tried each of the four grilled cheese sandwiches we made. Everyone voted on which was their favourite and the funny thing was we each selected a different sandwich as the best. So they're all winners!

We used two types of bread - multigrain walnut bread and challa bread.  And four kinds of cheese each paired with some delicious ingredients.

I made the caramelized onions the night before as they take a ridiculously long time to cook. Have you ever made them? They are really simple, but cooking them a long time at a low temp is the key.  I chopped four onions added two tablespoons butter and cooked on low for 50 minutes until they were mouth-wateringly caramelized.

I also roasted some red peppers to use and then we set to work making our gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. We buttered the outside of each slice of bread, added the ingredients, and broiled them in the oven.

We also had squash soup with them because grilled cheese and soup go together like a hug and a squeeze, like salt and pepper, like bread and butter ... well, you get the idea. 

I had some frozen squash on hand so used that to make the soup. I modified a recipe from Skinny Taste which tasted great. Here's my version of it:

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons curry powder

4 cups cooked squash

3 cups chicken bouillon

1 400 ml can light coconut milk

pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cook the onion, celery, and garlic in the olive oil until softened (about 10 minutes)

2. Add the spices and cook for a minute longer

3. Then add the bouillon and squash and bring to a boil.

4. Cook for about 15 minutes and then add the coconut milk.

5. Use an immersion blender and blend until smooth. 

6. Bring up to heat and serve.

When I looked at my photos that night after we had eaten our grilled cheese sandwhiches I realized about half way though a greasy finger (mine no doubt) had touched my camera lens and all the photos looked like the one below with the greasy smear on the top half of the photo. Thank heavens for Picmonkey so with careful cropping I was able to get some photos for this post.

Have you ever made gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches?  I thought they were so delicious that I had to have them again the next day for lunch. I would seriously eat them every day if I could.

Fiskesuppe - Norwegian Fish Soup

We are a soup-loving family and one of our favourites is fiskesuppe (fish soup).  I discovered the recipe when we were cooking our way around the world and got to Norway.  Fiskesuppe is a traditional Norwegian chowder made with an assortment of fish and root vegetables (the original recipe called for tilapia, salmon, cod, and shrimp, but I've streamlined the recipe to include one reasonably-priced fish).

I have made it many times so this recipe is definitely tried-and-true.  I posted about it when I first started my blog (here).  I didn't get a very good photo of the soup back then, so I'm re-posting the recipe with new photos.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups (1 litre) water with 4 teaspoons of chicken bouillon

2 bay leaves

2-3 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 celery root, peeled and chopped

1 parsley root, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon cider vinegar 

1 teaspoon sugar

200-300 gms (about 10 ozs) fish - I used rainbow trout, but any fish would work 

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons flour 

1 1/2 cups (1/3 litre) cream or milk

PREPARATION:

Bring water, bouillon, and bay leaves to boil in stock pot.

Add vegetables and cook for 15 minutes.

Cut fish into smaller pieces and add to pot.

Bring to a boil again and turn down heat to simmer for about 5 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

Add vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Stir flour into cream/milk and add mixture gradually while simmering.

Remove bay leaves and serve.

******************************

I actually spent some time analyzing soup photos from the blog Skinnytaste.com.  I love her photos - she always makes everything look so mouthwatering.  I took lots of photos - learning from her styling and trying different props - so I have a bit of a photo glut happening here.

Here are my takeaways:
1.  If you are taking the photos the day after you made the soup, you should re-heat your soup because otherwise you will be able to see the oil droplets on the surface.  Ooops!
2.  Using a mat with obvious horizontal and vertical lines can drive you crazy trying to get it straight and can't be fixed with photo-editing
3. I love how Skinnytaste styles her photos so I tried to do similar arrangements and for the first time was happy with them.   I especially like the one with the carrots.  I also finally found a good place to take photos in our kitchen which makes me happy because I'm trying to streamline my food photography.  It is hard to think clearly and be creative when everyone wants dinner and you are rushing to take photos.

What do you think?  Which ones are your favourites?

P.S.  I learned something else.  I wasn't able to find parsley roots at the grocery store this time, but saw parsnips and thought they were the same thing with different names so bought them to use for the soup.  However, when I googled parsnips and parsley root it turns out they just look the same, but taste different.  I put them in anyway and guess what?  The soup tasted the same as it always has.  So here is what I learned:  if two vegetables look the same, the difference in taste will not effect the outcome of the recipe (haha) ... or I got lucky!

Cream of Onion and Green Pea Soup

  

Last weekend I tried out our new stick blender that I got for Christmas from my Mom.  I've been keen to have one of these kitchen gadgets for ages so I could make cream soups, so naturally that was the first thing I made with it.

I found the recipe in my Canadian Living cookbook and then made many changes to it so I had my own unique soup recipe and boy was it good.  I loved it with the sour cream and chopped boiled egg garnish - prettiness and protein all in one.

Here's the recipe in case you want to give it a try (and so I can find it again):

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
3 onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
Oil for cooking
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups chicken stock (or 2 cups water with 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon)
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup skim milk
salt and pepper
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
3 chopped boiled eggs

METHOD
1. Cook onions for 15 minutes until translucent and soft.  Add garlic in last 2-3 minutes of cooking time.
2. Add frozen peas, stock, and lemon juice and cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Blend in batches until smooth and return to the saucepan.
5.  Add the milk and cook just until heated through. 
6.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7.  Garnish with sour cream and chopped eggs.

I've always liked soups, but now that I have a stick blender I'm excited to try even more recipes. Anyone have a creamed soup recipe they love?  What else do you use your stick blender for?

Burmese Soup

Well we've finally made it Burma (in a virtual sense that is ... in our round-the-world cooking adventure) and we decided to cook some Chickpea Soup. You can see the soup being cooked in the traditional way by the Shan people in this video (the video is so interesting and well worth the time to watch it - my favourite part is when the camera looks down and you can see the river and the boat through the floor boards).
Chickpea Soup is cooked in several different pots and then assembled at the last minute.  You can see all the parts ready to be ladled into bowls in the photo below.  It may look like a lot of pots to clean, but they mostly had vegetables or noodles so they cleaned up quickly.  The key to this soup is using enough of the spice mixture that goes on top as that is what makes the soup so interesting and flavourful.  
This was one of our favourite dishes from our world cooking adventure (do I say that every time?).  It was so delicious we've already made it a few times.  

Here's the recipe with the modifications we made:
BURMESE CHICKPEA SOUP
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 litre water
4 tbsp oil
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cm ginger, peeled, pounded (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
3 tomatoes, diced (or 1/2 can diced tomatoes)
1 tsp paprika powder
Pinch of salt
2 chicken skinless boneless chicken breasts
400g rice noodles, blanched
200g blanched baby bok choy
2 cups bean sprouts
4 teaspoon sesame seeds
4 teaspoon crushed roasted peanuts
2 teaspoon fried garlic
4 teaspoon light soy sauce
4 teaspoon sugar cane syrup
Sliced green onion, to garnish
Dried chilli flakes, to garnish
Lime wedges, to garnish (although we used lemon)

Method:
1.  We mashed the chickpeas using a mortar and pestle, but next time I would just boil them and then mash with a potato masher.
2. Combine the mashed chickpeas and water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Cook on low, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
3.  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the turmeric powder, onion, garlic and ginger, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
4. Add the tomatoes, paprika powder, salt and chicken. Stir-fry for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.
5.  Prepare the noodles according to package directions.
6.  Blanch the bok choy for 2 minutes in boiling water.
7.  Combine the sesame seeds, peanuts, fried garlic, soy sauce, and sugar cane syrup in a bowl to season the soup.
8. To serve, divide noodles among 4 soup bowls. Ladle the chickpea mixture over the noodles. Add some tomato-chicken mixture.  Add the baby bok choy and bean sprouts.  Top with the seasoning mixture made in step #7. Garnish with the spring onion, chilli flakes and lime. 

We have already cooked dishes from Thailand and Cambodia so I hope to have them posted soon too.  Have you ever cooked any South Asian food?  I'm really enjoying the food from this part of the world.

Peanut Soup

My brother sent me a recipe for African Peanut Soup about two weeks ago and I've already made it twice and am thinking about making it again.  It really is that good!

  

It is adapted from this recipe.
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, diced 1 red pepper, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 can (28 ozs) crushed tomatoes 4 cups vegetable broth 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/4 cup uncooked rice 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced 1/2 cup peanut butter
Method: 1. Heat oil in pan and cook onion and red peppers until softened.  Add the garlic for another minute of cooking. 2.  Stir in the tomatoes, vegetable broth, spices, rice, and sweet potato and cook for 30 minutes or until sweet potato is cooked through.  Mash with a potato masher, if desired. 3.  Add the peanut butter and stir until well blended.  Adjust seasoning and serve.

This soup has it all - vegetables, protein, creaminess, and a nice hit of spices (you can add more if you aren't a wimp like I am).  We had the soup with fresh bread which is great for wiping every last drop from your bowl.

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Squash Soup

On the weekend I made some squash soup.  It was so delicious that we had it for dinner with toast and cheese two nights in a row.  Here's the recipe in case you are in need of a little soul-warming tastiness.

INGREDIENTS 2 small onions, diced 1 Tbsp oil 1 squash, peeled, seeds removed, and chopped 2 small (or 1 large) apples, peeled, cored, and chopped 2 carrots, diced 6 cups chicken broth or bouillon 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 1/2 tsps curry powder 1/2 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste salt and pepper, to taste 2 tsps creamy peanut butter 1/2 cup low-fat evaporated milk
METHOD 1.  Cook onions in oil for about 5 minutes. 2.  Add squash, apples, carrots, chicken broth, and seasonings.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft. 3.  Remove from heat and add peanut butter.  4.  Puree until smooth (although I left mine lumpy) 5.  Add evaporated milk

I also took some photos of the soup to try out my new-found information about best backgrounds for food photos (see this post if you don't know what I'm talking about).  I used the raft of bed slats that I made as a backdrop before it got put on the mantel.  I can't say that the photos were a great success.  It's such hard work to make food look any good in photos (in my opinion, anyway) and I rarely get it right.  I'm going to keep trying though.

And Juno was my photography assistant for the photo shoot.

Or was she the security detail?

Or was she the wannabe tester?  Hard to tell.

Freezer Fairy Soup Revisited

My post about making freezer fairy soup has been posted over on Simply Frugal - you can find it here.  I wrote that post way back in my early days of blogging so if you recognize it then you have really stuck with me for thick and thin.  If you haven't read it then hop on over for some tips on how to use up all those leftover veggies and make healthy nutritious soup.

In other news - don't you love it when the very thing you need shows up unexpectedly.  For example, I was just thinking I needed a mini shovel when what should be sitting by my paints at art class, but a mini shovel.  I asked my friend if I could borrow the shovel and she agreed.  Perfect!

And if you are wondering why I wanted a mini shovel - stay tuned!!!

Three Sisters Soup

I have always liked the First Nations myth of the Three Sisters.  If you haven't read it before you really should skip to the end of the post and take a few minutes to read it as it is well worth it.  The three sisters are Corn, Bean, and Squash and the story tells how they worked together and used their individual strengths to help each other.   

I remember hearing it for the first time many years ago and thinking the story had such nice balance and symmetry.  Not only does it teach about the virtues of cooperation, but the story encourages companion planting, which scientists have now shown to be one of the most effective ways to grow healthy productive plants.

In addition, when corn and beans are eaten together they provide a complete protein.  So not only does the Three Sisters myth promote good village cooperation and advantageous agricultural practices, but it provides beneficial dietary information.  How many stories do you know that can do all that! 

I was reminded of the myth when we recently took our friend who was visiting from France to see Crawford Lake, a 15th Century reconstructed Huron village near where we live.  Crawford Lake has a couple of long houses, a fenced palisade around the village, small plots of land growing corn, beans, and squash, and signs explaining how people lived including the Three Sisters myth (please note that most of the crops are finished for the year so many of the photos I have put on this post were taken last summer).

I was inspired to see if I could make some Three Sisters Soup.  When I got home I Googled some recipes.  I found a lot of variety in the recipes.  The recipes called for anything from kidney beans, to black beans, to pinto beans, to green beans and from corn to hominy.  I chose a recipe that used black beans and corn niblets since those were the ingredients I had at home.

The recipe I chose (you can see the original here) was from the Moosewood Restaurant Soups and Stews Deck.  I adapted it to suit my taste and ingredients so I'll post the recipe below with the changes I made.  

THREE SISTERS SOUP
Ingredients:
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
2  onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oil
2 teaspoons dried sage
1 teaspoon thyme
1 winter squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (I used about 2/3 of a butternut squash)
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped 
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups corn
2 cups cooked black beans
1 teaspoon cider vinegar 
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon cornmeal

Method:
1.  In a soup pot on low heat, saute onions and garlic until translucent. Add mushrooms and saute until cooked.  Add sage and thyme and stir until fragrant.  
2.  Add squash, pepper, and stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until the squash is tender.
3.  Add corn and beans. Add vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste.
4.  Stir in cornmeal until broth thickens slightly.

Serve with some tea biscuits or crusty bread.

It was so yummy and seemed like it would keep you full and satisfied all winter long.  Have you ever made this soup?  


Here's the myth of the Three Sisters (with many thanks to the Crawford Lake Interpretive Centre).  It is written as if it is being told to a young child in the village.

THE THREE SISTERS
After the men clear the trees, the women spend much time planting corn, beans, and squash.  We call these plants the "Three Sisters" because they work together to help each other grow.  I remember when one of the village elders shared a legend to help me understand how the plants taught my people how to cooperate, be strong, and live in harmony.

Many moons ago, the people were very hungry.  The creator sent the Three Sisters to come and live in the fields around the village.   

The oldest sister, Corn, grew tall and straight in the field around the village, but the hot sun dried her feet and made her suffer.  In addition, the earth grew less nourishing each year that she stood there.  Here sister, Squash, laid herself at Corn's feet and protected her by keeping the soil moist and cool.  However, it was difficult for Squash to receive any moisture.  Corn's straight leaves caught the rain and funnelled the rainwater to the centre for her to drink.  To help her sister, Corn relaxed the ends of her leaves to allow some of the rain to fall to the ground and nourish her sister.  

The third sister, Bean, was so weak and thin that she could not support herself at all.  However, she could do something very special.  Bean could make her own nourishment in the soil, and this food became very valuable for all three of the sisters.  Corn grew tall and allowed Bean to grow up towards the sun.  Soon all three of the sisters were growing strong.  The people of the village saw how these three sisters worked together to live in harmony.

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Easy Dinner - Pea Soup and Scones

Years ago, shortly after we were married, my husband and I lived up in Northern Ontario for 4 months during the summer while we were at university.  Hubby worked on the pipeline and I was hired by a professor at the University of Toronto to collect tree specimens to build up a gene pool for reforestation.  We stayed in remote cabins, motels, or campsites.  To say it was a quiet summer would be an understatement - made worse by the fact that there was a postal strike.  I read 35 books that summer!

One of the places we visited while we were there was Fort William Historic Park, the world's largest fur trading post, near Thunder Bay, Ontario.  We had a wonderful time visiting the historic buildings and native encampment that day.
 

(We visited again 2 years ago on our epic western trip and these photos are from that visit with my daughter, Kate, and her French exchange student.)

I especially remember enjoying the pea soup and tea biscuits at Fort William.  The first time we visited, they were giving away recipe cards and that is still the pea soup recipe I use today. 

Photo of my recipe card from Fort William

 Back of recipe card with a little Trading Post info 

I recently made pea soup using the Fort William recipe.  I never use a meaty ham bone or  savoury when I'm making this recipe.  I actually tried to buy them this time but I couldn't find them at the store, so I didn't end up using them.  I have to confess that I have never used the salt pork before either, but for authenticity I thought I should make it as close to the recipe as possible.  After all these years of not using salt pork, I do admit that it adds a nice flavour.
 

I also made the currant scones.  I'm not that fond of currants, so I used raisins instead, and I always substitute margarine for shortening.  Oh, and I didn't have any buttermilk so I used one cup of milk with one tablespoon of lemon juice added to it.  Do I ever actually follow a recipe exactly as it is written?

If you are looking for a nice homey old-time recipe, the pea soup and scones are for you.