Tomato Peanut Curry Soup aka How NOT to Use Your Blender

Anyone who has a Vitamix, or other blender that they use regularly, knows that you don't blend hot soup or liquid. Why you ask? Because explosions occur. Cooling off the substance to be blended is key. Leaving the lid partially off the blender and covering that bit with a tea towel would work but did I listen to my own advice? No, of course not. Due to this, I created a curry covered cupboard. Lovely. Luckily, it cleaned up quickly. I also managed to cover myself in it. Thankfully, it wasn't so hot it burned. Whoops.

Anywho, this is delicious. I had a Tomato Peanut Curry Soup at a restaurant in Lincoln called Bread and Cup just before we moved. My mom watched the boys for a couple of hours and Patrick and I went on a lunch date for our anniversary! It was lovely, and so was the soup. I wanted to recreate something like it. Their version was definitely better but maybe it was just because I didn't end up wearing that particular meal... question mark? I highly recommend that you visit that restaurant if you are in the area. It is owned by a local couple who lived down the street from us and they source everything they can at the Farmer's Markets. The menu changes with the season and it was quite good. They didn't have many vegan options. Everything was very meat and egg heavy but vegan isn't their goal and with a little scouring of the menu I was able to find a plantcentric meal.

Yes that is a plastic spoon. Don't judge. The moving truck with the other half of our belongings has not yet arrived.

Tomato Peanut Curry Soup

(Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (or garlic powder)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt

1 15 -ounce can fire roasted tomatoes

3 T tomato paste
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter (I used my homemade variety because it was what I had)
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh cilantro and chopped peanuts, for topping

Directions

Chop veggies into similar size pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery; cook, stirring, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, spices and 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste) and cook, stirring, 3 more minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable broth, brown sugar and 1 cup water to the pot, then stir in peanut butter. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer on med low. Stir occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly, about 20-30 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender (ideally) or in a regular blender in batches. If using a regular blender make sure that the soup is very cool. Trust me on this one. Season with salt and black pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls; top with cilantro and peanuts. 

Can I just say....

"Yay for soup!"?

And...

Thank you to Betsy and Pam for the use of some odds and ends kitchen equipment while I await the arrival of my own. The cutting board, knife, and pot/lid were integral in this meal. :)

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars

Yep, another granola bar recipe. I've been trying to find a long run food. I don't need to eat anything under 3 hours but after that I need to start taking in some calories. I don't do gels, or blocks, or processed bars (unless it's a dire bonking emergency). I am not interested in the extra ingredients, the GMOs, or the sugar. My body just isn't used to it and if I started in on sugar, I would have to keep putting it in to keep from crashing. In the past I have used the small packages of Justin's Nut Butters which work pretty well so long as they are washed down but I also need some quick burning carbs. I am looking forward to freezing these and them pulling them out as my runs get longer and the mornings get warmer.

Another perk is that the rest of my family likes them too. Win/Win.

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars
Ingredients:
½ c. chopped walnuts
2 c. rolled oats
3/4 c. raisins
½ c. homemade peanut butter (or store bought variety of your choice)
2/3 c. honey (could substitute brown sugar or agave if you don't use honey)
¼ c. coconut oil (measured in liquid form)
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spread oats on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 5-7 minutes until fragrant.
3. Transfer toasted oats to a bowl and mix in the walnuts and raisins.  Set aside.
4. In saucepan combine honey, peanut butter, coconut oil, spices and salt over medium heat until thoroughly mixed.
5. Pour hot mixture over the oats, walnuts and raisins until evenly mixed.
6. Immediately pour into a glass baking dish to set up.
7. Allow to cool at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a quicker setup.
8. When cool, cut into bars.

 

I considered adding some flax seeds to these but didn't want the extra fiber during my workouts. Ha. I think next time I may consider some hemp seeds for extra protein though. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Easter Eggs

These little beauties are based off of the earlier recipe for Homemade Peanut Butter. Find it here. I gave my mom a jar of the first batch of peanut butter and her response was "man, this would be good covered in chocolate." Ok, maybe she didn't say it quite like that but that is what I heard. Ha. And so, I did what she suggested, I coated the peanut butter in chocolate, because how can that ever be bad?!

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate "Easter Eggs"

Ingredients
1 small jar homemade peanut butter  -or- any vegan creamy store bought variety
2 cups vegan chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life Dark or semisweet varieties)
1 tsp refined Coconut Oil
Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Directions
1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Using a spoon place dollops of peanut butter on the lined cookie sheet. We like to make ours a bit smaller so I used about 1/2 of a Tablespoon for each. Don't worry about their shape now, this will be addressed later.
3. Place in freezer for 20-30  minutes or until at least slightly firm.
4. While peanut butter is firming up, melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave. If using microwave melt in 30 second increments and stir well in between.
5. When melted, stir in coconut oil until melted and incorporated. This will help to make more of a candy style coating on your "eggs".
6. Remove peanut butter dollops from freezer and, one at a time, form into balls and dip in melted chocolate.
7. Shake off excess chocolate and place on parchment.
8. Immediately sprinkle a tiny amount of Himalayan Sea Salt on the wet chocolate. (The chocolate dries quickly so you must do this after you place each egg on the the parchment. If you wait to do them all until the end, the chocolate has hardened and the salt will just bounce right off. Trust me on this.)
9. Store in freezer or fridge. Delicious.

Peanut Butter

My Ninja and I have been fighting with almonds. Or maybe I have been fighting with the Ninja. I'm not really sure. All I know is that I am losing. Repeatedly. Almond butter and I are not friends at the moment but I will be having another go at it in the near future. I needed some nut butter success and so I took the boys to the bulk bins and bought some peanuts (for now) and almonds (for later). This is the most pitiful recipe post because there really is no recipe. It was that easy and oh, so
rewarding.

Homemade Peanut Butter

Ingredients
- 3 cups of roasted unsalted peanuts (or as many as you choose to use, I just poured what I had into my food processor)
- 1 tablespoon of honey (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

Directions
-Pour peanuts into food processor and blend for 2-3 minutes scraping down the sides as needed.
-Add honey and salt once the butter consistency begins to form.
-Continue to process until creamy, approximately 3 more minutes or to taste.