Ode on a Grecian Yogurt

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,--that is all 

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

 The title is admittedly a bad pun. In case you are unfamiliar with it, the title comes from John Keats classic poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn," and the final lines are what's quoted above. Keats is one of the poets I study and seeing as I'm waist deep in reading and writing despite it being my spring break, I thought I'd share it with you. He's not one of my personal favorites, nor is the poem one of my favorites to study of his poems. The poem's simple language and complex imagery makes it enjoyable to read and momentarily get lost in. The decades of people writing about it  make it a pain to write about though.

What inspired the post was not Keats though, so maybe I should keep on topic. Initially at least.What did inspire this post was a wonderful surprise comment from Stonyfield offering a few coupons to sample some of their Oikos Greek Yogurt. Now, dairy products in general are one of my weaknesses. I don't know what I would do if I suddenly awoke with a dairy allergy. Granted, I love scones and breakfast pastries, but more often than not I  prefer some greek yogurt and a little bit of fruit to go with my morning coffee. Peaches or blueberries when they're in season especially.

Anyway, the point being that I was quite ecstatic when the coupons to try them came in the mail. Not only was it the first free sample we received, but it was for something that I love on top of that. Almost like getting paid to sit around and read poetry. More like to try in whatever way possible to motivate students to do so, but whatever. Most of you are probably familiar with Stonyfield, and if you watched Food Inc., you may have seen that they are one of the larger companies that support farm's with better environmental and health practices.On top of that, they make some tasty greek yogurt. I wanted to try out a few different approaches as I didn't figure you would be all to excited to see my routine breakfast up for your perusal.

 One of the first things I thought about using the yogurt for though was in an ice cream. The weather has been nice here lately and I've had amazing success using greek yogurt for ice cream before in a Peach Ice Cream and a Bacon Ice Cream. The creaminess of the yogurt carries through to make an intensely smooth and rich frozen treat. So I pull the ice cream freezer out to get it ready and it is inoperable. Alas. "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter, therefore; ye soft pipes play on."

Still wanting to use it some sort of tangy dessert application, Daniel mentioned he was in the mood to make a carrot cake. PERFECT. "How about a carrot cake with a greek yogurt topping" I suggest. He grimaces, but concedes. The carrot cake recipe we used came from was adapted from Michael Richard's Happy in the Kitchen, and was originally designed to help compose a carrot-cake-orange-sauce-cocoa-puff-ice-cream concoction. Intense, I know, and maybe for another day when we aren't starting at 11:30. Perhaps because it was designed to be go into ice cream, or perhaps because of the late hour we initially made the cake, it was quite crumbly, but super moist and delicious nonetheless. The orange-carrot caramel sauce made for quite a sweet cake, and the thin layer of greek yogurt across the top offset sweetness perfectly and let you really enjoy the subtly of the carrot and burst of ginger and spices. As soon as our ice cream maker is repaired, there will be a round two in the immediate future for this concoction.

Tangy Carrot Cake with Greek Yogurt Topping 
Carrot Cake
1-1/2 cups almond flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup maple syrup
8 tbsp melted butter (unsalted)
2 large eggs
2 tsp grated ginger
2 cups finely grated peeled carrots
1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans
 1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9x13 cake pan. Line bottom with parchment paper. Butter paper and flour pan
2. Combine almond meal, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, mix maple syrup, butter, and eggs until well combined. Combine wet and dry ingredients, mix until combined. Add ginger and carrots. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Sprinkle the pecans on top. Bake approx 25 minutes until brown on top and cake tester comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely. Remove from pan and chill completely. 

Orange Carrot Caramel Sauce
 1 cup sugar
2 tbsp water
1 cup pureed carrots
1 cup fresh orange juice (strained)
1. Stir sugar and water in medium heavy saucepan to moisten. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer without stirring for about 10 minutes or until amber in color. Have pastry brush with water on hand to remove any sugar that crystallizes.
2.Meanwhile, combine carrot juice and orange juice in saucepan and heat until warm. When caramel is ready, remove from heat and stir in juice gradually. The caramel will bubble, so be careful Return to heat and simmer 20-30 minutes until reduced. Once done, refrigerate in a covered container. 
To assemble:
Remove cake and sauce from refrigerator. Place on serving plate. Carefully spread caramel mixture on top of cake. Allow to rest for a few moments. Spread about one cup Oikos Vanilla Greek Yogurt in a thin layer on top (we used one 5.3 oz container and one 4 oz container). Cut, serve, and enjoy!

For a slightly more savory option, I decided to make a chilled corn soup. In case I haven't mentioned it yet, I can't wait for the farmer's markets to get here and am trying to clean out the few frozen vegetables we have to fill the void while we wait. Although initially I planned to do a southwest option, during an episode of procrastination I came across a creamy lemon grass and corn soup in an old issue of one of our food magazines and opted for it instead. The recipe is quite simple with a delicate subtle sweet corn taste that will be infinitely improved with fresh ears of corn

Lemongrass & Corn Soup
3 cups frozen corn kernels
1 medium shallot, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup vegetable stock
1 small stalk lemon grass, root ends cleaned and outer leaves discarded
1/4 tsp ginger
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tbsp plain greek yogurt
1/2 tbsp lemon grass leaves chopped finely
fresh cilantro to garnish (optional)
1. Thaw corn in fridge. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and a dash each (1/8 tsp) salt and pepper. Heat heavy saucepan or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add corn, stirring quickly. 1-2 minutes. Add shallot and continue to saute until shallots are softened. Add vegetable stock, lemongrass and ginger. Simmer 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat. Discard lemon grass. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool slightly. Using blender, carefully puree soup to desired consistency. If desired, thin with water. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to chill for at least one hour.
2. Before serving, combine greek yogurt and lemongrass. Divide soup between cups or bowls and top with yogurt and cilantro (if desired).
The original recipe I looked at suggested that you press the purred liquid through a sieve to remove any solids from the corn. Daniel's not a big fan of purees that lack no texture for some reason, so I left them for the additional texture and the slightly more chowdery feel. The soup is everything a summer soup should be. Sweet, simple, and refreshing.


For a full version of the poem, please feel free to go here.
Enjoy!


On second thought, that's not all! After the response Daniel had for his sourdough on the last post, we've decided it's time to host OUR VERY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!!

Although the process of making a sourdough starter is extremely rewarding, it's rather time and space consuming. After the first few weeks of a mere bowl on the counter, the containers multiply and subdivide, taking up most of very sparse kitchen space. The particular recipe we used made several containers, and because you continually replenish it once you have some ready, there's little need (at least for us) to have more than one or two. Knowing that some of you may be in the same boat we are, we thought some of you may like the chance to win a container of sourdough starter (as well as instructions as to how to keep it alive of course). The rules will be pretty simple, just become a follower of the blog and/or leave a comment on the post saying you'd like to be entered to win. On Thursday, we'll close the contest, run the participants through a random generator, and pick a winner! Either Thursday night or Friday. We'll contact the winner ASAP and announce it on the blog. That's it! That's almost a month of labor handed over to you!


Good luck and hope you enjoy!

Congratulations to Christine at Fresh Local and Best!

Something to Warm the October Chill

This is the first official cold weather soup post. I thought it may be important to mark the occasion, as I'm quite sure there will be many many more to follow. I just hope that some of you enjoy soup as much as I do. Even Daniel gets pretty tired of my automatic response to "what would you like for dinner" when its cold, although he continues to kindly oblige with soups and stews to keep us warm. I'm not sure if I could tolerate somewhere much colder than it is hear, although I suppose once you adapt its not so bad.

So, the story of the soup. After trying a chicken and rutabaga concoction Daniel had made a few weeks ago, I'd decided that the smoky and spicy taste of chipotle peppers in adobo would make a delicious addition to a soup or stew in the not so distant future. Since it has been rather chilly the last week or so here (at least in my book, but take that for what you will), I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

I think besides the warming effect, one the things I love about making soup is the type of freedom you feel knowing that you can freely combine a few key ingredients and spices and end up with something warm and comforting. So, opening the fridge, I see that we have some Spanish chorizo Daniel picked up earlier in the week. Spanish chorizo can be less spicy than Mexican chorizo because its seasoned with paprika and dried peppers whereas Mexican chorizo typically uses more chili powder. I decided that the smokiness of the chorizo would work well with the chipotle peppers, so I combined the two, a little bit of tomato paste and some canned tomatoes. Once I finished, I decided that on its own the soup somewhat lacked an appropriate consistency, so I added a little bit of quinoa to obtain a nice stew-like texture.

Overall, the soup was perfect for the chilly evening, a little bit spicy but not overpowering thanks to the tomato base and the quinoa, and warmly satisfying for the beginning of what I'm sure will be a long and cold few months.

Chipotle Chorizo Tomato Soup with Quinoa

Approx 4 Ounces Spanish Chorizo, casings removed.

1/2 Small Onion

1 Garlic Clove

1/2 Tsp Paprika

Peppers from 1/2 Can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce; Diced

1 Small Can Tomato Paste

1 Large Can Whole Tomatoes

4 Cups Water

1/2 Cup Quinoa  

1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil (if needed)

Salt & Pepper to Taste

1. Cook chorizo in heavy saucepan over medium high hat, using oil to coat pan if needed, but be aware that chorizo can render a higher fat content than some sausage. Once sausage begins to cook and render some of its juices, add onions and garlic and saute together. Once cooked, carefully drain excess oil, leaving approximatley 1 tbsp (should be bright red/orange colored). 

2. Add tomato paste and paprika and stir evenly for approx one minute over medium heat. Add can of tomatoes including juice and chipotle peppers. Bring to a simmer and begin gently crushing tomatoes with back of spoon.

3. Begin adding water. Bring to a simmer and allow soup to reduce slightly for approximately ten minutes.

4. Rinse quinoa in warm water. Stir rinsed quinoa into simmering soup. Allow soup to simmer for 15-20 minutes until quinoa grains begin to separate.

5. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm with optional garnish of cojita crumbles.