Daring Cooks’ Challenge: Cooking with Tea!

Sarah from Simply Cooked was our November Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to create something truly unique in both taste and technique!  We learned how to cook using tea with recipes from Tea Cookbook by Tonia George and The New Tea Book by Sara Perry.

Cooking with tea?  Interesting…though I almost didn’t do this challenge.  The vegetarian recipe provided sounded good, but potentially bland.  I did it though, and my instincts were correct, to me at least.

Roasted Broccoflower and Cheese Soup

Okay, okay…let me start off by saying that I didn’t actually use broccoflower, though I’ve had it before and enjoyed it.  This has broccoli and cauliflower in it, and I just have an inexplicable fondness for portmanteau.  (You could totally use actual broccoflower.)

In the wee hours this morning, San Antonio got a tiny dusting of snow and ice, which shut down major highways and all school districts, of course.  As you can imagine, it was pretty much all gone by late morning, but it was probably best to keep people off the streets.  Folks here don’t know how to drive in it, plus the city doesn’t have the equipment to deal with it.  To give you an idea, the last time I saw snow here was a couple weeks before my 3rd birthday.  Yep.  But don’t worry.  I got plennnty of it while living in Baltimore and Cleveland.

Creamy Vegan Potato Corn Chowder

Okay, so you know the show Iron Chef?  I know, who doesn’t… Pretend this is an episode and that I am about to reveal The Secret Ingredient.  You can imagine me as the Chairman and then maybe Alton Brown (yeah, we’re playing the American one).

Sidenote:  If you were a challenger, which Iron Chef would you choose to go up against?  I’d pick Michael Symon because he’s from Cleveland!  Well, no…I couldn’t choose any because that would be laughable!  Anyway, I totally watched his winning episode of the Next Iron Chef at a swanky Cleveland restaurant/bar, and EVERYONE shouted when he won!  That city really needed that win. /sidenote

Okay! Let’s do this.

Today’s secret ingredient is……

[over-the-top dramatic music]

Veggies ‘n Dumplings

I’ve pretty much been a vegetarian for a year now (I think the anniversary of the last day I had meat was literally a few days ago!).  It really wasn’t a difficult change for me as I didn’t eat very much meat anyway, and I was never a fan of cooking with it due to the whole raw thing.  One major difference I’ve noticed is that I eat out WAY less than I used to and therefore end up cooking quite a bit more.

There are so many yummy non-meat things to eat that I rarely miss it.  When I do, it’s usually chicken that I crave most.  Despite how bad it is for you, I occasionally find myself with a crazy craving for Chick Fil-A.  Ugh…SO good, yet so bad.  It’s like everyday is Sunday.

Most of all, I miss my grandma’s chicken ‘n dumplings.  I grew up with them, and no other versions have compared.  Most dumplings are usually biscuits thrown on top of the soup, but my grandma’s are actually strips of dough cooked in the soup.  The result is this dense, almost chewy texture that I love.  

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Two posts in a row of no recipes?  Don’t be fooled, I’m doing lots in the kitchen, as I’m sure most of you are!

This is my first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian!  My also-veg sister and I are making everything but the meaty essentials, and as you can imagine, I’m in charge of all of the baking.  As usual, I’m making things I’ve never made before: dinner rolls, pumpkin cream pie, and a caramel apple cranberry tart. None of them will be finished until tomorrow though, so I’ll be sharing them later!

As if anyone needs any more ideas the day before T-Day when the last place you want to be is the grocery store, here’s a round-up of my pumpkin binge:

Thai Red Curry Squash Soup

You know when you’re looking through a bunch of recipes, and you find one that sounds really good, but the main ingredient won’t be in season for at least another 6+ months?

That’s what happened when I ran into this soup.  I was perusing the the archives of the great 101 Cookbooks when Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup caught my eye.  It was March.  However, with Thai curries being among my absolute favorite dishes, this one did not slip my mind, even three seasons later.

Recently while looking for Thanksgiving recipe ideas on The Bitten Word, I ran across a similar recipe from Food & Wine.  It was a bit more fussy, but I liked the sound of some of the additional ingredients.  What I ended up doing was sort of combining the two, and I was happy with the results!

Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Soup

You know what I find most challenging about blogging?  It’s not coming up with ideas of what to make.  My mind is swimming with them, so it’s just a matter of making a decision (says the girl who is notoriously indecisive).  Uploading pictures is a bit time consuming, but with that, it’s picking which ones to use (more decisions…).  Still, I don’t stress so much about that.

What I do struggle with is the words.  What the heck do you say about food that hasn’t already been said?  With all the blogs I read daily, I’m amazed with how many just seem to have a gift and love for writing.  I am not one of those people.  In school, I absolutely loathed writing papers, and they would literally paralyze me with fear and stress.   We’re talking massive procrastinating, all-nighters, and sobbing fits…yes, tears, people!  So why in the world have I made this a hobby?  I mean, writing and making decisions??  Answer: I’m possibly a little bit crazy.

Writing for this is entirely different, though.  I assure you that I am not shedding tears over composing blog posts!