Leek and Chickpea Curry

I have never had leeks before. I bought them just for that fact. 

If YOU have never had leeks before, then I think you will be pleasantly surprised at their taste and, in this curry. You never can go wrong making a curry out of the vegetables you have on hand.

The flavors meld. They compliment.

If you are thinking 'curry,' that must be spicy! It's only as spicy as you want it to be. I like things with a good kick, but also have deep flavors that keep your tongue busy with each bite as it recognizes all the spices you add. A curry combines these two food loves in one.

Curry doesn't mean just spicy. It means a lot of things. But, as it was explained to me, curry usually is defined as anything cooked with water. Read this interesting wiki definition if you want to get some more ideas. Think about it this way. If you like to curl up with a warm bowl of soup on a chilly day, a curry gives you just that.

This will be my first of many curries I hope to post on this blog. I won't post about regular curries; that you can Google, but the ones I put my own spin on.

Leek and Chickpea Curry                                        serves 4

2 tbl vegetable oil or ghee
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 in ginger, peeled and chopped
2 leeks, trimmed. Here is a helpful video how to prepare leeks for us beginners
2 c cooked chickpeas, 1 can
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
1 tsp EACH ground cumin, ground coriander, salt, garam masala, tumeric
1 tbl EACH chili powder, Kitchen King (available in Indian, Punjabi, Pakistani stores)- KK is optional
1/2 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 can coconut milk
water 
coriander/cilantro, fresh, chopped

1. In a saute pan, heat the oil and on low saute onion, garlic, ginger and leeks for 5 minutes, letting leeks and onions sweat.
2. When leeks and onions are tender, add all the spices listed, mix well and let cook another 5 minutes.
3. Add chopped potato, tomatoes, coconut milk and one cup of water. Mix well. Bring to a boil and let simmer on low for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary.
4. Garnish with fresh coriander, serve with wheat tortillas, wheat pita bread or rice.

Calories calculated with Sparkrecipes calculator: 241 calories per serving. *Does not include calories of anything served alongside (tortilla/rice)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

So in my annual hunt to find new recipes for one of my favorite flavors: pumpkin, I came across the simple idea of Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls at Taste of Home.

It wasn't a new idea, but it just hit me, that I REALLY needed to make these. Have you ever had a recipe haunt you? Well this was mine.

I took my favorite cinnamon roll recipe, added a dash of pumpkin flavors to it and topped it off with a vanilla bean glaze....ooooh.

These are seriously dangerous. I won't make these unless it's for a crowd because these can VERY easily be gobbled up by one person. And if you are inviting me over, that one person will be me. ;)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls          Makes 15-20 rolls

Rolls

3/4 cup milk

2 1/2 teaspoon yeast

1/3 cup  sugar

1 cup pumpkin

1/3 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

4- 5 cups all purpose flour

Filling

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup natural sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg, fresh grated or ground

1/2 tsp cloves, ground

1/2 tsp ginger, ground

Pumpkin Glaze

2 cups confectioner's sugar

1/4-1/2 cup milk
1/2 vanilla bean
4 oz cream cheese

Instructions

1. Heat milk (either in a sauce pan or microwave) until milk begins to simmer- add butter. Let cool until a warm temperature (about 120˚).

2. In a deep bowl, add milk mixture, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for five minutes. Add 3 1/2 cups of flour, salt, pumpkin, eggs and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough forms a nice ball and pulls away from the bowl. Turn out the dough onto a clean surface and knead the dough until smooth and elastic- at least eight minutes.

3. Grab a clean separate bowl, lightly spray the dough with cooking oil and place in a warm draft free spot until dough has doubled in size (around an hour and a half.)

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out into a 10 by 14 rectangle.

Rub room temperature butter over entire surface and cover with sugar and spice mixture (if it has the words sugar and spice in it, you know it's going to be good!). Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 12-16 1 inch thick pieces. Place in a sprayed pan. I would suggest a 9x13 pan. I myself don't have a pan that big, so I used an 8x8 and a 7x11 pan for 15 rolls.

5. To cook for breakfast the next morning: Cover pans with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight. If you want to continue on, cover and let rise in a warm place for another hour and follow with remaining instructions.

6. The next morning, preheat the oven to 350˚ and remove cinnamon rolls from the fridge and let sit on top of the warm oven to warm and rise to the size you'd like. Mine took longer then I thought, about an hour.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cinnamon rolls are a nice golden brown color. Let cool slightly.

8. While cinnamon rolls bake, take out a small sauce pan and pour in milk. Scrap seeds out of vanilla bean and add to the milk, add vanilla stem too. Cook on low, being careful not to let the milk steam or boil. When the milk begins to smell aromatic, like vanilla turn off the heat. Meanwhile, whip cream cheese until soft and creamy. Mix in sugar slowly until combined. Remove vanilla stem, throw away. Slowly add milk mixture to sugar and cream cheese.

9. Once rolls are out of the oven and while cinnamon rolls are still warm, spoon icing over the rolls. Enjoy while warm (as if there is such a thing as cold cinnamon rolls!)

Calories calculated using Sparkrecipes Calculator: 266.7 calories per roll, with two tablespoons of glaze on top

Cream of Potato and Bacon Soup

As the chill sets in this November, you see people starting to gather towards those warming foods. Potatoes, beef, stews, casseroles...

Foods you can hold under your nose and they immediately warm your face, hands, and once eaten, your whole body. Nothing takes the chill off then a good, warm, bowl of soup. That is exactly what I needed today. I was outside most of the morning picking lemons and almonds off my trees and when I came inside, my hands were freezing and I was hungry.

This is a classic recipe for creamed veggie soup, substitute any vegetable for this recipe and it will still be good. Just vary it a bit according to needs.


I tweaked mine a bit by adding a bit of salty crunch; bacon (and I am Oh So Glad I Did!). Potato and bacon already go great together, but in this soup it's just divine.

The chunks of potato are so nice and tender to bite into

I LOVED the creaminess of the potato soup and the bursts of bacon flavor fill your mouth. I enjoyed every bite of this soup that left me very full afterwards.

But, I still found myself sneaking spoonfuls of the soup a few hours later, Yum!

Cream of Potato and Bacon                Serves 4

6 medium potatoes (or a mix of small and large to fit 6 med potatoes worth)
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped roughly
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tbl butter
1 cup milk or half and half
4 strips of bacon

1. Fill a medium sized pot full of water and set on stove top on high. While water is heating up, peel and cube potatoes, add to water. Once water boils, set the timer for 7 mins.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan, cook your bacon until crispy, drain on paper towels and set aside. Drain almost all bacon fat from pan, sautee onions until aromatic. Remove from heat.

3. Potatoes should be tender after 7 mins, drain water, reserve 1 1/2 cups of cubed potatoes. Take out your food processor or a good quality blender (I have the Jack LeLane one); add remaining potatoes, onions, and vegetable broth. Cover; process about a minute or until smooth.

4. In your sauce pan, wipe out any remaining bacon grease. Add butter and melt. Stir in flour, a good amount of salt and pepper, and stir until combined. Be careful not to burn the butter or flour. Add milk all at once.  Cook and stir until slightly thick and bubbly.

5. Add potato-onion puree and reserved potatoes to sauce. Crumble cooked bacon into the soup and mix gently. Cook until heated through. If necessary add additional milk to reach the consistency you prefer. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.

6. Garnish with, what else? More Bacon! Enjoy!

Calories calculated using SparkRecipes Calculator: 195 calories per 1 cup serving

Spice Shortbread Sticks (try saying that 5x fast!)

I found the recipe for these cookies in an old Pillsbury Cookies and Bars book I found at my moms. I thought I would try them out, I haven't made these before and look yummy. I was in an Autumn type of mood and wanted something warm and "dunkable" for my morning coffee or apple cider.

I don't post everything I make, especially if I didn't make it up, but these were so darn good and easy I had to share. They are really like a comfort food to me, I eat one bite and I feel all warm and cozy.

These are great mailed Christmas cookies

Sugar and Spice Shortbread Sticks

This recipe has been modified to suit my baking process

Cookies
3/4c brown sugar
1 c unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 3/4 c all purpose flour
3/4 tsp apple pie spice (OR 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/8 tsp each of ground cloves and nutmeg)

Haha, looks professional and wasn't even staged!

1. In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter, cream. Add vanilla and the egg, mix until light and fluffy. Add flour and spices, mix until a dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about an hour.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Take a piece of wax paper and lay on a flat surface, lightly flour. Cut dough in half and roll out on half to a 12x6- inch rectangle. Use a 1-inch ruler, and rock slightly to the right to make impressions in the dough all the way across. Cut the dough down the impression lines with the back of a knife. (Cut the cookies in half lengthwise to get 3-inch cookies instead of 6-inches if you'd like) 
3. For a well shaped stick, use the flat side of the ruler to straighten the sides of the dough. Use it as a guide to cut the rectangle neatly, in half, or to make sharp edges. Dip a spatula in flour and carefully place sticks 1/2 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 12-15 mins or until edges or slightly light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire racks completely. 

Glaze
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/16 both cloves and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp chai vanilla spice (optional)
3 tbl apple juice or water

1. When cookies are completely cooled. Blend all glaze ingredients together until smooth and you reach a desired glaze consistency (runny, think like molasses). Spread glaze on tops of cookies. Let glaze stand and set before storing.

This is cleaned out candle jar