The Price of Tea

Recipe of the Week: Pumpkin (with other good stuff) Soup

One of the fun things about living abroad is learning about other cultures' culinary customs. I've discovered that pumpkin is a huge part of international diets. From South Africa, to the UK, to China, etc. Growing up, the only thing we used pumpkin for was pie and jack-o-lanterns...occasionally a gift of pumpkin bread would appear at our house during the holidays.

I have taken a British friend of mine's recipe for pumpkin soup and made it low fat by making it broth-based instead of cream-based.

2T olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 small pumpkin

2 sweet potatoes

1 white potato

2 carrots

1 bulb garlic

1 liter water (for thinner soup increase liquid to your liking)

2 veg or chix stock cubes (or 1 liter veg or chix broth)

salt and pepper to taste

Sautee onion in olive oil. Roast all other veggies for 1 hour at 350 (175 C). Mash all veggies except carrots together. I like to dice the carrots...gives the soup a little texture. Add broth and veggies to onion. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste and voila, yummy, healthy, homemade soup.

I made it last night and served it with roasted garlic beer bread.

Recipe of the Week: Beer Bread

A little late this week. Chinese New Year, sick kids and husband, and most importantly, no Ayi to help out around the house prevented me from doing anything productive.

I've always wanted to venture into the art of bread-making but it seemed a little daunting. I figured it was way out of my league if "they" invented a machine to help facilitate the process. However, recently a couple things prompted me to give it a try: a good loaf of bread - one made with whole grains and nuts -costs about $6-$10 here. A bad loaf of bread - one that tastes like cardboard and uses caramel coloring to make you think you're eating whole wheat - costs about $3-$5. Plus, I've increasingly been trying to control what I am putting in my (and my family's) bodies for preventive health reasons.

I found this awesome yeast-free bread recipe somewhere online...I can't remember so I can't link to it. It's awesome because sure it tastes good, but since it uses beer instead of yeast, I don't have to worry if the bread raises properly, etc. Now, is this the best bread I've ever had? No. But it is worth sharing becasue it is so easy, healthy, flexible (see options below) and it makes the house smell so good! Caveat, this recipe isn't so good for sandwiches because it's really crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside...perfect to serve with dinner, though.

Beer Bread: 3 c whole wheat flour (I've used Oat Bran, too)

3T sugar (I use about 2T honey instead)

1T baking powder

1t salt

1/2 t baking soda

1 12 oz beer

Options: fresh basil and roasted garlic (or garlic powder), cheddar/jalepeno, sunflower seeds/flax seeds, etc.

Pre-heat oven to 375 (175 C), grease loaf pan

Mix ingredients

Bake 45-50 minutes

If you make it, let me know what you think.

Recipe of the Week - Lentil Soup

I discovered this recipe for lentil soup a few years ago (when I was following the Perricone Promise) and have been tweaking it to our liking ever since. According to Dr. Perricone, Lentils are one of the 10 best foods you can eat. The others include:

Açaí

The Allium Family (garlic, shallots, onions, etc)

Barley (make barley instead of white or brown rice)

Beans and Lentils

Buckwheat

Green Foods

Hot Peppers

Nuts and Seeds

Sprouts

Yogurt and Kefir

I made lentil soup over the summer (while we were in the states) with a left over honey baked ham and something about the honey glaze made it really good. My recommended tweaks: Use a whole bulb of crushed garlic, omit vinegar, basil and oregano. I use white pepper, black pepper and salt to taste. And, instead of just 8 c water, I use either veg broth or chicken broth. You can also halve the liquid and serve it as a side dish (I like to add some yellow curry when I do this). Let me know if you try it...especially if you change the recipe, I'd love to hear your tweaks.

Not Your Mother's Brussel Sprouts

In an effort to keep up the blog, but not bore you solely with tales about our misadventures in China, I'm going to start blogging about some other things...like food and photography.

One of the unexpected and hidden blessings that has come from our expat experience is that I have learned how to cook. Since I don't have to work and I don't have to clean my house, I've spent a lot of time writing and a lot of time cooking. So now, I'll write about cooking.

My cooking interests lie mainly in 2 areas. 1. Health food/finding healthier alternatives to typically unhealthy foods. 2. Making things from scratch. Imported goods are extremely expensive here, so I have learned how to make a lot of things (readily available in the states) from scratch. At first it was a chore...but now it is a hobby...and it ties in with #1 because homemade is a lot healthier (and cheaper) than pre-made processed foods.

I also got my very first grown-up camera for Christmas. It was stuck in customs for a few weeks, but it has been freed and is in my possession. I've always been a big fan of photography but am the absolute worst photographer. Luckily, I have a few friends here in Beijing who are excellent amateur photogs...I'm hoping to go on a few walk-abouts with them to learn a thing or two...and post my experiences and pics here (and on FB, of course).

Now for the easiest recipe ever:

I don't know about you but the mere thought of eating brussel sprouts used to gag me. Boiled "baby cabbages." Even the cute little moniker didn't make them any better...especially since I didn't like cabbage either.When my father-in-law informed me that brussel sprouts are the 3rd best vegetable you can put in your body I decided to give them another try. (Kale and collard greens are #1 and 2).

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1 lb (500 g) brussel sprouts - quartered, 2T olive oil, garlic salt, pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375 (175C), lightly grease cookie sheet. In a bowl coat baby cabbages in olive oil. Spread evenly on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper(to taste). Bake 25-30 minutes or until the leaves are browned.

Voila! Delicious and nutritious side dish. All 4 of my kids clear their plates and ask for 2nds.

Let me know what you think.