carrot ginger parsnip soup with crispy shallots, bacon & goat cheese.

long title soup = extra flavor soup!

this recipe is sort of out of my comfort zone in a few ways...but i have enjoyed it so much! 

i never really fancy just a plain ol' bowl of liquidy soup. i always want some sort of texture or something to chew on. enter crispy shallots, bacon crumbles and chives. and goat cheese for extra creamy flavor.

part 2 of dancing a wee bit outside of my comfort zone is using yellow curry powder in this soup! i weirdly don't really enjoy the flavor or smell of indian curries. i can see why people think its warm and flavorful and delicious, but its just not my cup of tea somehow. i want to like it. in the same way i want to like seafood, but i just don't. wahh.

but! i had some sort of soup last fall with just a touch of curry powder in it, and i felt it made sense. it gave the soup a little something extra without being overpoweringly curry-like. and it worked fabulously in this carrot ginger soup. woo! baby steps, y'all.

um, also... i made this soup way back in octoberrrrrr. the original photos i took were in much bigger bowls and it just didn't make sense at all. you'd nevvver eat that amount of soup in one sitting. it just took me ages to get around to getting much shallower bowls. actually, these are plates, haha! but its the perfect serving size for a rich soup like this.

the good news about my procrastination here is that i know that this soup recipe freezes very well and you can thaw it out months later and jazz it up with all the toppings!

the toppings are really where its at for me. the crispy shallots not only make the kitchen smell AmAhhHhhZiNg, but they taste amahzing with the rich carrot parsnip ginger combo. bacon, because...bacon. chives because, greenery. & the goat cheese is definitely key.

so really...don't skip the goat cheese or the crispy shallots.

they're what make this soup worth soupin'!

how beautiful is the soup with the curry powder and cayenne! ooooh that colouuuuur. ^^^

right now i'm on the mend from my 2nd gum grafts surgery, cuz i'm a g-ma at heart and i prefer walnuts in my brownies and i've always truly loved werther's originals, raisins, and grape nuts. see also: genetics & having had braces a long time and stuff. anyhoo, dental surgeries ain't the most fun.

and this soup has really saved me the last couple days. i can only have verrrrry soft foods for a little while, and apple sauce gets old v v fast. i've been having some of this soup with my go-to goat cheese buy, the TJ's goat cheese trio! specifically, the garlic & herb goat cheese. i heat up some soup in a pan and melt some of the garlic herb goat cheese and stir it in.  i can't have any crunchy delicious toppings right now, but i've been seriously delighted in the deliciousness that is the garlic herb goat cheese + carrot ginger parsnip soup. i think its a lot of sage in the TJ's herby goat cheese, and it REEEEALLY hits the spot. so much flavor. i don't even know who i am getting so freaking excited about soup. 

Carrot, Ginger, & Parsnip Soup with Crispy Shallots, Bacon & Goat Cheese

Time: 45 minutes (Roasting can be done in advance to save time)

Yields about 6 cups of soup

Ingredients:

For the Soup-

• 1.5 pounds organic carrots, washed and peeled (about 8 medium/large carrots)
• 2 medium parsnips, washed and peeled
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 TB. olive oil
• 1 cup 2% milk, or plain milk alternative
• 4 cups water
• 1 TB. white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4" knob of ginger (about 1/3 cup chopped), peeled and chopped, + extra for zesting
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp. yellow curry powder
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• chopped chives, for topping

For Crispy Shallots:

• 1 shallot clove, sliced into rings
• 1 TB. olive oil
• 2 TB. flour + pinch of black pepper

Bacon!:

• 4-6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped into bits

Goat Cheese drizzle:

• 4 TB. goat cheese
• 2 TB. olive oil
• 4 TB. water
• OR: heat the amount of soup you want to serve and melt/stir in your desired amount of goat cheese

Instructions-

For Soup:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Wash, peel, and halve the carrots and parsnips. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and a drizzle of olive oil. Spread the carrots and parsnips around the pan. Add another light drizzle of olive oil over the top and season with salt.

Roast the carrots & parsnips for 30 minutes, removing from the oven and flipping them over half way through the roast.  Let them cool about 5 minutes before adding to the food processor.

***While veggies are roasting, cook & chop the bacon, and make the crispy shallots.

Place slightly cooled roasted carrots and parsnips in a large food processor. Add vegetable broth, olive oil, milk, and half the amount of water (2 cups). Run food processor on high speed until the veggies become smooth.

Add vinegar, salt, chopped ginger, garlic clove, curry powder, and cayenne. Run food processor until everything looks smooth and incorporated.

The food processor will be very full at this point. Transfer the soup to a large pan or stock pot on medium/low heat. Add the other 2 cups of water and stir well. 

***For Crispy Shallots:

Heat a small pan to medium/low heat with a TB of olive oil. Peel the exterior off the shallot and discard. Slice the shallot into 1/8 inch thick rings. Add 2 TB of flour and some cracked black pepper to a small bowl. While the shallots are still freshly chopped and wet, coat the rings in the flour/pepper mixture. Add the rings to the heated olive oil. Let them crisp on one side for about 2-3 minutes, then carefully flip to the other side to crisp. They are done when they are browned. Be careful to not let them blacken. Remove from the pan with a fork and let them drain on a paper towel. 

For best results, add a hearty drizzle of goat cheese to the bottom of the soup bowl. Spoon the desired amount of hot carrot soup into the bowl. Top with plenty of goat cheese drizzle, bacon crumbles, crispy shallot rings, and fresh chives. Enjoy!

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brown butter brownies.

hellooooo, lovvaaaah.

sometimes ya just need a damn brownie. ya feel me?

this recipe yields a pretty small amount of brownies, for when you "just need a damn brownie," but don't necessarily need/want to have like 30 brownies sitting around the kitchen taunting you for the next few days.

with browned buttah, too! mmmm. this extra fragrant butter smells like love or magic or holidays or all of the above.

pete got me two gorgeous copper pans for christmas. see below. prettiest ever.

you can see all the toasty brown butter flecks down in there preparing for a delicious (but short) life as an extra chocolatey brownieeeeeeee.

i pretty much made these babes as valentine's day gift to myself hahah. i think pete has had like half a bite of one...soo, good thing for small batch recipes.

we have a ton of various seattle chocolate bars leftover from christmas, and i'm finding the best uses for them besides just gobbling them up straight outta the wrapper.

and you can make these in one bowl! easy to make and to clean up. 

yum. just YUM!  ^^^ this brownie stack looks kinda like a lil robot, no?

it was reeeally hard for me to not add walnuts to these, because i just freaking love walnuts in brownies and extra texture in general. but i kept em pure & chocolatey for all ye walnut haters.

i used a mix of chopped dark chocolate with cocoa powder, for some extra deep chocolatey flavors, extra moisture (ew! - someone plz develop a new word to describe food with the same meaning..please oh pleease) and to avoid that bitter taste from using a lot of cocoa powder.

i also used quite a bit less sugar than most brownie recipes call for, and i did a combination of regular granulated sugar with coconut sugar. i just think coconut sugar yields a deeper different kind of sweetness than wHhhhite sug.

and here comes the powdered sug. totally optional, but desirable.

speaking of sug(e) & valentine's day things, we ended up getting thai food take-out and watching straight outta compton on valentine's day. i mean, soo romantiQ. i really enjoyed that movie. i found it super interesting & wanna watch it again.

and then i ate these brownies.

i just need you sometimes, brownies. fresh & warm or cooled. with a cold glass of milk. thanks a million.

Brown Butter Brownies

Makes a small batch of about 9-12 brownies

Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted & browned
• 1 TB vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped (I used Seattle Chocolates Extreme Dark Truffle Bar)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions-

To brown the butter, heat butter in a pan with light colored bottom on medium heat. Whisk constantly until butter is lightly bubbling and developing small brown flecks on the bottom of the pan. Once you have brown flecks and the butter is slightly foamy, remove from heat and pour into a small bowl. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl or stand mixer, mix the brown butter, oil, and sugars until combined and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk just until incorporated, but do not over-whisk.

Add the dry ingredients and mix gently just until everything is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate.

This recipe makes a very small batch of brownies; I used an 8x4 loaf pan sprayed and lined with parchment paper. If you double the recipe, you can use a standard 9x13 baking pan. You will need to adjust your bake time, too. Use the toothpick test and do not over-bake.

Spray and line the pan with parchment paper. Pour the brownie batter into the parchment, shaking the batter into the corners and spreading evenly with a spatula.

Place the pan onto a flat baking sheet (to prevent burnt bottoms) and bake the brownies in the oven for 20 minutes. After a toothpick test, there should still be a slight bit of brownie on the toothpick if you want them to be extra fudgy and moist in the center. Bake a few minutes longer if you like a crispier brownie.

Let cool at least 5 minutes before cutting into squares. I know that's the hard part, but you want them to be firm. Or you can just go at it while its still real hot with a fork. That happens sometimes, too.

{Recipe slightly adapted from Cafe Delites}

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