ROASTED CARROT GINGER SOUP (a 2 banana difficulty level)

This probably should be called "Roasted Root Vegetable & Ginger Soup" since Carrots, Onions, Garlic, & Shallots are all roasted, but that just doesn't sound as appealing as "Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup"!

Even in Texas we have soup weather & we are definitely in soup weather!

Today, 'this monkey' will show you how to make "Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup"

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 lbs of Carrots (washed, dried, cut length-wise & chopped in 3-4” sections)

1 Yellow Onion (cut in 1” cubes)

4-6 Garlic Cloves (peeled)

1 Shallot (peeled & cut in 1" sections)

1 T Fresh Ginger (Grated)

2-3 T Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 c White Wine

6 c Chicken/Veggie Broth

½ c Whole Milk

¼ c OJ

Sirachi Sauce to taste (8-10 drops)

1 T Soy Sauce

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED:

Roasting Pan

Large Bowl

Chef’s knife

Cutting Board

6 qt Pot

Blender

WHAT YOU DO:

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 deg.

2. Add Carrots, Onions, Garlic, & Shallots to large bowl. Coat the veggies with Olive Oil & Sprinkle with Salt.

3. Place the veggies in the Roasting Pan & Roast 30-45 minutes. Be sure to stir every 8-10 minutes. 

I have a bit of an overcrowding issue when roasting veggies...

...it may take closer to 45 minutes, but I still get great roasted veggies!

4. Place the Roasted Vegetables & Grated Ginger in the 6 qt pot over Medium Low heat for 5 min.

5. Increase heat to Medium High & add wine. Cook until wine is reduced by half, about 5-7 minutes.

6. Add Broth & cook until just begins to boil. Reduce heat to medium low & cook for 5 minutes.

7. Puree the veggies either with an immersion blender or with a Regular Blender (Vita-Mix) working in batches. 

8. Return (if using a regular blender) the pureed veggies to the pot. Add Milk, OJ, Soy Sauce, & Sirachi Sauce. Cook until the desired temperature for soup, but do not return to a boil. 

9. Serve & Enjoy!

There you go...some "Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup." I chose NOT to peel the carrots, just wash & dry them. I felt the soup came out great, plus less work is less work!

I'm a big fan of soup add-ins, so I enjoy this soup with Triscuets, some Avocado, & grated cheese.

Merry Christmas & Until next time...your favorite neighbor-web, Monkey!

LEFTOVER TURKEY 'not chicken' SALAD (a 1 banana difficulty level)

Ah yes...it's that time of year again...Thanksgiving! Let the gluttony begin!

We did a pre-Thanksgiving meal this past weekend and now have a fair bit of leftover turkey. If you are still in the market for how to cook that Thanksgiving bird, may I suggest:

http://www.anymonkeycan.com/2011/11/braised-turkey-3-banana-level.html

It's made 3 straight Thanksgivings for me! Did I mention the Leftover Turkey soup that you can make?

http://www.anymonkeycan.com/2011/11/turkey-lentil-rice-soup-2-banana.html

Ok, enough with the self promotion. I recently saw a presentation about The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine (http://tmedweb.tulane.edu/mu/teachingkitchen/). Pretty cool stuff! The med school at Tulane offers this as an elective to med students. The med students end up teaching healthier cooking to the community. The concept is to see if making some minor modifications will improve health & decrease the impact of chronic diseases. Basically using food as medicine as opposed to lots of pills for medicine. Like I said, pretty cool stuff.

This "Leftover Turkey Salad" is based off of the Chicken Salad Recipe from the Goldring Center.

Today, 'this monkey' will show you what you can do with some of your leftover turkey & celery!

WHAT YOU NEED:
3 c. COOKED Leftover Turkey - diced
1 T Mayo (optional)
1/2 c Plain Yogurt (I used Greek)
1 T Dijon Mustard
2 T Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Celery Stalks - diced
1/2 c Pecans - chopped
1 Gala Apple - finely diced
4 T Craisins
Kosher Salt to Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper to Taste

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED:
Chef's Knife
Cutting Board
Medium Bowl
Mixing Spoon

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Mix the Mayo, Yogurt, Mustard, Apple Cider Vinegar, Salt & Pepper in the bowl until well blended.

2. Add the Diced Celery, Chopped Pecans, Diced Apple, & Craisins to #1 & stir until well incorporated.

3. Add the Diced Turkey to the above & stir well.

4. Make a sandwich & enjoy!

This was a breeze to make & is pretty good! Not quite as good as using mayo, but pretty close. I optioned out of the mayo, but will probably add just a bit next go 'round.

Here's hoping to a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Until next time...your favorite neighborweb monkey!

WALNUT ZUCCHINI BREAD (a 2 banana difficulty level)

This monkey likes his breakfast. 3 Egg Omelet (Spinach, Avocado, Chives, Cheese), 1 slice Walnut Zucchini Bread with Butter & 1 Black Plum with 1 cup of French Press Coffee

I was given this recipe over a year ago, maybe closer to 2 years. I've wanted to make it for quite awhile now. 3 times I've purchased Zucchinis & 3 times those Zucchinis have languished in my vegetable crisper until they were only fit for my compost bin.

Finally the stars aligned just enough that I had Zucchinis and the time to make Walnut Zucchini Bread and boy have I been missing out because it was delicious! Anymonkey likes more than just Banana Bread for his dessert breakfast breads!

My friend's recipe is from her grandmother. A good rule of thumb: recipes from grandmas = goodness!

Today, this Monkey will teach you how to make Walnut Zucchini Bread...let's get started!

Fun with Grated Zucchini!

WHAT YOU NEED:
GROUP 1:
3 Eggs
1 c Oil (I chose Olive Oil)
2 t Vanilla
2 c Sugar
2 c Grated, Peeled Zucchini (2 medium Zucchinis)


GROUP 2:
2 1/2 c Flour
1 1/2 t Baking Powder
2 t Cinnamon (I substituted Nutmeg)
1/2 t Salt
1 t Baking Soda
1 c Chopped Pecans (I substituted Walnuts)

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED:
Whisk
Large Spoon
Large Bowl
2 Loaf Pans

1. Pre-Heat oven to 350 deg.
2. In the Large Bowl, Beat together items in Group 1.

Pre mixing

Post mixing

3. In the Large Bowl, Add the dry ingredients of Group 2 into Group 1 ingredients. Combine thoroughly.

4. Pour Mixture into your loaf pans (or grandma's cast iron skillet...)

5. Bake at 350 deg for 50 minutes, rotate at 25 minute mark.

6. Serve Warm with a pat of Butter

Super easy to make & super delicious! Special thanks to Lacy & her grandma for their contribution...

Until next time (hopefully it will be sooner than later) your favorite neighborweb monkey!