Year: 2021

A sweet potato soup is the perfect balance of sweet and savory with onions, garlic, and leeks along with nutmeg and cinnamon. It’s creamy and satisfying. If you’d like to skip on the dairy, feel free to substitute it with soy or coconut milk. You can serve this soup with crusty bread to dip or along with beef, pork or chicken. Due to its creaminess, the soup goes well with a side salad of fresh lettuce greens. Prep time: 15 minsCook time: 50 minsTotal time: 65 minsServings: 6 to 8 servings Note: If you want to make this soup without dairy, feel free to substitute either additional stock, which will result in a thinner soup, or soy milk or coconut milk for the cream and milk in this recipe. Omit the sour cream or yogurt topping, and use olive oil instead of butter. Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 2 celery ribs, chopped 1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, sliced 1 clove garlic, chopped (1 teaspoon) 1 1/2 pounds (about 2 large) orange-flesh sweet potatoes (a.k.a. yams), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups) 4 cups chicken stock (use vegetable broth for vegetarian option) 1 cinnamon stick 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 cup heavy cream 3/4 cup milk Salt Pepper 1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt Directions: Cook the onions, celery, leeks, and garlic: Melt the butter in a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the celery and leeks and sauté for 5 more minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Make and simmer the soup: Add the sweet potatoes, chicken stock, cinnamon stick, and nutmeg. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and simmer uncovered until the sweet potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Blend the soup: Remove the cinnamon stick. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup or work in batches and purée the soup in a standing blender. Finish the soup: Add the cream and milk to the soup. Heat on medium until the soup is heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste.Sprinkle with more black pepper and swirl some water-thinned sour cream or plain yogurt over the soup to serve. Source: Simply Recipes

Madeleines are little French butter cakes with classic lemon scents. They can be a bit tricky and need a fair amount of confidence to turn out just right. Madeleines come in many different flavors such as chocolate, rose and vanilla. Some people even add mini chocolate chips or a glaze. This recipe is fairly straightforward for the classic lemon taste. Ingredients: 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of salt 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon zest Powdered sugar (optional) Equipment: Small saucepan Small bowl 2 medium mixing bowls Measuring cups and spoons Whisk Spatula 2 madeleine pans Pastry brush Small sieve for dusting with powdered sugar (optional) Directions: Melt the butter. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. If you feel you can get it slightly toasty brown, go right ahead and do so by leaving it to bubble in the pan until it smells toasty and starts to color. Just remember that the butter will turn very quickly from toasty to burnt and that it will continue to color after it is off the heat unless you pour it into a new container. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the butter into a small bowl or cup and set aside. Let the rest of the butter cool slightly. Prepare the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients in separate bowls. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the flour and the sugar, and set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk the 2 eggs with the vanilla, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest until the eggs are frothy. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Add the eggs to the flour. Using a spatula, stir until just combined. Add the remaining 1 stick melted butter and continue to stir. It may take a minute for the butter to blend into the mixture but do not over mix. Rest the batter. Cover the bowl with a plate (or plastic wrap) and place in the refrigerator to rest at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Prepare the pans. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon flour to the 3 tablespoons reserved butter and stir to combine. Using a pastry brush, brush the interiors of the shells with the butter-flour mixture so that they are well coated. Place the pans in the freezer for at least an hour. Preheat the oven and fill pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the batter from the refrigerator and one pan from the freezer. Fill each well in the madeleine pan with 1 tablespoon of the batter. Remove the other pan and fill in the same way. Bake the madeleines. Place both pans on a baking sheet for easy handling and place in the oven. Check after 8 minutes and rotate plans. Check again 5 minutes later. The madeleines should be browning around the edges and puffed up a little in the middle. Using your forefinger, press lightly on the center hump — when the madeleines are finished baking, it should spring back at your touch. Cool and dust with sugar. Remove the madeleines from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Using a fork, gently loosen the madeleines from their molds and then tip the whole pan out onto a cooling rack or tea towel. Once cool, dust lightly with powdered sugar and serve. If you are freezing or storing the madeleines, do not dust with the sugar until you are about to serve. To store. Store cooled madeleines in an airtight container for a few days or freeze them in a double wrapping of plastic wrap for several months. Let the cakes defrost before dusting with sugar. Source: the Kitchn

A fresh and easy asparagus soup is the perfect meal when spring arrives. Make use of delicious seasonal asparagus with a base of onions, garlic and lots of chopped asparagus. This recipe calls for cream, but you can skip it if you’re looking for a lighter meal. The secret ingredient here is a little bit of vermouth at the end. Read how to prepare this dish below. Prep time: 15 minsCook time: 30 minsTotal time: 45 mins Ingredients: 2 lbs asparagus, trimmed of woody stem bottoms 1 large yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped) 1 teaspoon minced garlic, or 1 Tbsp minced green garlic 3 Tbsp butter 4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth (vegetarian option) 1 cup water 2 sprigs of fresh thyme 1 bay leaf 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 1/4 cup heavy cream or full-fat sour cream 1 Tbsp dry vermouth 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (more to taste) 1 teaspoon salt (more to taste) Directions: Cut asparagus tips and reserve, cut the rest of asparagus into 1/4-inch rounds. Cut tips from the asparagus 1 1/2 inches from top and reserve. Chop the rest of the asparagus stalks into 1/4-inch rounds. Sauté onions, garlic. Melt the butter in a 4 to 5 quart pot on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic (or green garlic) and cook a minute more. Add the chopped asparagus (not the spear tips) to the onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 5 minutes. Add the broth, water, thyme sprigs and bay leaf to the pot. Increase the heat to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, until the asparagus are tender, about 10 minutes. At the end of cooking, stir in the chopped parsley Blanch asparagus tips. While the soup is cooking, blanch the asparagus tips in a small pot of boiling, salted water, until the tips are just tender, about 2-4 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus. Drain. Rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Set aside. Purée the soup. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Use either an immersion blender or an upright blender (working in batches) to purée the soup. If you use an upright blender, work in small batches, fill no more than a third the blender bowl at a time, and hold down the lid while blending. For a creamy texture, if you want, press the puréed soup through a sieve or food mill. Stir in the cream (or full-fat sour cream). Stir in the vermouth and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with asparagus tips. Source: Simply Recipes

If you’re looking for the quickest side dish, look no further than air fryer asparagus. Your air fryer can cook much more than just doughnuts and french fries. Cook delicious and tender asparagus in under 10 minutes. When picking your asparagus, look for plump, straight and green spears. You’ll find the best results with medium to thick spears. Yield: Serves 4Prep time: 5 minutesCook time: 7 to 9 minutes Ingredients: 1 pound medium to thick asparagus 1 teaspoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Directions: Heat an air fryer to 400°F or 425°F (choose the higher temperature if available). Meanwhile, trim the woody ends from 1 pound asparagus. Transfer to a medium bowl, add 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and toss to coat. Add the asparagus to the air fryer and spread into a single layer. Air fry until the asparagus is tender and slightly crispy on the ends, stopping to shake the basket (or rotate the pans in larger air fryers) about halfway through, 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon black pepper evenly over the top. Source: the Kitchn