Tag: cumin

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Lazy ‘South of the Border’ Soup

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You’re wondering on the lazy part here? Well it all started out with me not feeling like doing much but having to eat like everybody else. So from what I had on hand, I concocted a soup, and here is the real lazy part about it: using up half a jar of tomato sauce that was leftover from a ‘quick-take-to-a-friends-house-Lasagna’. Even I, who make most everything from scratch, (often including tomato sauce) do have some jars of good store bought sauce on hand. A word of caution here: Read the labels, I never buy any jarred sauces with sugar or cornstarch or vegetable protein or really anything other than what you would put in it at home. Lets face it, when is the last time you reached for that soy isolate or sprinkled some monosodium glutamate on your food? Alright then, you might not want to eat that I am guessing. I am even weary of ‘spices’ as they can legally stick all kinds of stuff in there under that label, but I am getting off the subject here.

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Where were we? Lazy, oh yes, so I made a soup for a cold winter day when the soul is longing for some sunshine but you really don’t want to put a lot of thought or energy into the food making process…

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I added spices and peppers, eggplant and cumin, and I had a name picked out and everything! Life was great. Until I bit myself eating the soup three (yes, 3) times!!?  Montezuma apparently misunderstood the title, I mean it was in English and all…          ‘Lazy Mexican-soup‘ there, happy?

Well I do have to say, I ate all the rest of the soup and no more biting myself…

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Ingredients

  • 1 medium red onion, diced
  • 4 ribs celery
  • 1/2 medium eggplant, cut into cubes
  • 1 lb campari tomatoes (they are about ping-pong ball sized), quartered
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced (optional: roasted)
  • 1/2  a jar Marinara (Spaghetti) Sauce (about 12oz)
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds, whole
  • 1 tsp marjoram, dried
  • 1 tsp oregano, dried
  • 1 tsp chili powder, medium or hot, depending on taste
  • 2 tsp chipotle powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 qts plain beef stock (for vegetarian option, use vegetable broth)

Directions

  1. If you are roasting the red pepper: Spread the peppers on a line baking sheet and roast in a 400°F oven until blackened in spots. (You can do this alongside other vegetables, like while making the cumin roasted carrots) or alternately, place under the broiler with the door ajar until some brown spots appear.
  2. Add some oil to a large stockpot, add the diced onion, stir and then cook until softened and browned in parts.
  3. Add the celery, eggplant and cumin to the pot. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes, pepper and all the spices. Stir and wait about 1 minute until adding the broth so the spices have toast a bit and time to release their flavor.
  4. Add the Marinara Sauce and bring to a boil.
  5. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Enjoy!
See? It doesn’t get much easier, lazier or cheaper than that!

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Copyright © 2012 Simple Healthy Homemade. All rights reserved

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Cumin Roasted Carrots

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I have to admit I was addicted to this recipe for a while last year. Yep, ‘Addictive veggies’, who would have thought? Somehow the way the coarse salt flakes make the cumin taste on those carrots is just beyond description. You have to try it to believe it, but around here, I always make extra so I have leftovers.

And it’s so easy, in fact it only takes 4 ingredients, including the carrots!

I love to bake and roasting is, uhm, almost like baking. Riiight, you’re saying. Well maybe it’s a bit wishful thinking. I have been going sugar and grain free for a while, that sorta limits the baking. One thing you start noticing is your taste buds rejuvenate and become more sensitive. You will be able to taste the natural sweetness in carrots or beets for example, or even milk. It’s quite astonishing how dulled our senses have become to sugar, (read a 1996 study on sugar preference and consumption  between rural and urban population groups in Iraq) apparently the more sugar you eat, the duller your senses become to it and the more you need over time. Works kinda like drugs that way, a  bit scary, ain’t it? But I digress. The roasted carrots are a must try, even if you’re not a big carrot fan, roasting them caramelizes the sugars and renders them sweeter. Part of why roasted carrots have a higher glycemic index than raw or even steamed carrots.

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Ingredients

  • 1 lb Carrots (about), cut into pieces
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp coarse flake salt (such as french grey sea salt, or fleur du sel)
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 380°F
  2. In a bowl, drizzle the carrot pieces with the 2 tbsp olive oil, and toss to coat. (Trust me, you don’t want to skip this step and just drizzle them on the baking sheet, won’t work, I tried, take it from a cumin roasted carrot addict), then add the cumin seeds.
  3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (easy clean up makes me happy)
  4. Transfer the carrots to the baking sheet, making sure you scrape out all the cumin seeds. Sprinkle with the salt and place in the preheated oven
  5. Bake for 35-45 minutes, depending on the size of your carrots and the desired softness. (Mine usually are perfect after 40)
What’s your favorite vegetable to roast?

Copyright © 2012 Simple Healthy Homemade. All rights reserved