GREEN PEA AND ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH MINT

I know, it is a bit boring to post another recipe with asparagus straight after having posted one but at least it's a soup and at least half of it contains sweet green peas, or should I say English peas maybe. Although I like peas a lot, I never really liked green pea soup for some reason and I have been thinking about ways to make a pea soup that I like for quite a while now. I think I have found it with this one but I still have a few ideas that I would like to try out too. Asparagus and peas are a great combination for several reasons, one is the visual one, the both have more or less the same shade of green that makes a very pretty soup indeed.

And then the flavours quite complement one another I find and that is an obvious advantage when you cook something that you intend to eat with pleasure. I added fresh mint leaves because I happen to like it but you can try some other herb that you like if the mint isn't your thing. I used a very weak light stock, 50/50 stock and water because the flavours of the soup are so subtle that too strong a stock overwhelms it, you need to leave some space for the sweetness of the vegetables. This soup can be served warm or cold.

GREEN PEA AND ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH MINT
4-5 servings

200 g/ 7 oz green peas
200 g/ 7 oz trimmed asparagus stalks, i.e. with the woody part removed, cut into pieces
500 ml/ 2,1 cup light stock
500 ml/ 2,1 cup water
8-10 mint leaves
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Put a little olive oil in a pan and gently cook peas and asparagus for 3-4 minutes.
- Add water and stock and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Add the mint and then blend the soup until smooth. I kept a couple of spoonfuls of peas and asparagus which I added afterwards to make the soup more interesting texture wise.
- Check if salt is needed and then serve it.

PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS AND TOASTED SESAME SEEDS

One of my food revelations when I moved here was to be able to get fresh asparagus without paying a fortune and getting healthy, vigorous ones as well instead of the scrawny ones I would find in Sweden in those days. I'm sure things have changed since then but when I lived there, either you bought canned asparagus or you bought not that great fresh ones, what a lousy choice. So you can imagine how I felt here, an ardent asparagus lover when the first Spring came and I saw all this wonderful asparagus on sale, I went mad. Nowadays I'm a bit blasé but I still can't resist their allure when spring comes. I think my favourite way of serving them is with really creamy scrambled eggs but you cannot live on that alone so I do serve it in other ways and this is one of them.





PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS AND TOASTED SESAME SEEDS
4 servings

400-500 g/0,88-1,1 lb pasta
1 bunch of asparagus, they usually weigh around 500 g/ 1,1 lb
2 small fresh onions
3-4 tblsp sesame seeds
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Start cooking the pasta.
- Clean the asparagus and break or cut off the woody arts of the stalks before cutting them into pieces. If you want to speed up the cooking, you can chop them now instead of later.
- Chop the onions finely and start frying gently them and the asparagus in a skillet in some olive oil. Add salt and cook until the asparagus is soft but still got a bite to them, we don't want mushy asparagus. Unless you like that of course.
- Toast the sesame seeds in a hot skillet.
- When the asparagus is ready, chop them roughly and taste for salt.
- When the pasta is ready, mix it with the asparagus and sprinkle the sesame seeds over before serving. Or why not let people sprinkle for themselves?

CHOCOLATE AND COCONUT CUPCAKES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING

This morning I started out with a optimistic view of myself, I would do this blog post the first thing and then I would pass on to some job related things and then finish the morning off with a quick cleaning of the house or at least parts of it. But here I am, no blog post written and half of the morning is gone and to at least get started on it I need to whine like this. I wonder what it is that make you come back time and time again, it surely can't be for the texts like the one of today. And the sad thing is that I feel really good, air is warm, sun is shining and it's is perfectly fine day and then I have to disappoint myself like this... I blame it on all this social networking I keep on doing. No, I blame it on myself, my incapacity to just do things when they are supposed to be done.



Well after this public self-flagellation, I think I owe you something sweet and as it happens, I have just the perfect thing for you, chocolate and coconut cupcakes, with or without frosting. Personally I go for the plain ones because a) it gets too sweet for me and b) I don't like white chocolate but several elements in the family took care of the cupcakes with frosting and rather quickly too.





CHOCOLATE AND COCONUT CUPCAKES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING
quite a few

cupcakes:
4 eggs
250 g/ 8,8 oz sugar
200 g/ 7 oz dark chocolate
100 g/ 3,5 oz unsalted butter
165 ml/0,7 cup coconut milk
50 g/ 1,7 oz coconut flakes
300 g/ 10,6 oz flour
1 heaped tsp baking powder
1 small pinch salt

frosting:
200 g/ 7 oz white chocolate
200 g/ 7 oz sour cream

- Melt the butter and chocolate, I usually do it together but you have to be careful so that the chocolate not get burnt.
- Whisk eggs and sugar fluffy and white in a bowl.
- Add chocolate, butter, coconut milk and flakes and stir well.
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and stir until you have a smooth batter.
- Spoon into cupcake forms and bake in a pre-heated oven (200°C/390°F) for 10-12 minutes but you better check with a toothpick to see if they are ready.
- Leave to cool down and while they do that, melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie. Or you just eat them as they are.
- When they are cool, put the sour cream in a bowl and whisk it while you pour the white chocolate into it.
- Mix well and spread the frosting over the cupcakes. If you want a frosting that is.

Bread Baking Babes-Potato Bread with Chives

I just took out this month's Bread Baking Babes bread out of the oven because I had completely forgotten that I was going to bake it this week. It was wiped out of my mind by a couple of fantastic job offers and all the things that followed those so this morning I communicated to my fellow Babes that I was going to be a Bad Babe again. But I changed my mind, I decided to go for it anyway, partly because I felt a bit guilty and partly because the other Babes were raving about how good this bread is and I can tell that they were right. It is a delicious, soft bread that is easy to make and if you follow the original recipe it is even vegan! But I didn't follow because of my Bad Babe genes forced me to tweak the recipe a bit. No not really, Sara of I Like to Cook who made this excellent choice for April's BBB challenge explicitly stated that we could do what we wanted so I did.

But the chives that aren't there is not my fault, the thing is that I always get my chives from the walls next to the road outside our house but all things green and growing has exploded into a sort of 'I'm the tallest' competition so when I went out to pick my chives, I couldn't find any among all that wild greenery. Not my fault I didn't do the bread earlier when I was supposed to do it and you could still see where the chives were growing. No no no no.
But I am very happy I changed my mind and baked it because it is a great bread, Sara, you couldn't have made a better choice- thank you!





Potato Bread with Chives
from Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson

2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast, I used 25 g/0,88 oz fresh yeast
240 ml/1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar or pure maple syrup
2 Tb corn oil, I used olive oil
2 tsp salt
240 ml/1 cup cold mashed potatoes
240 ml/1 cup soy milk or other dairy free milk, I used full fat milk
1200 ml/5 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for kneading, I substituted 1 cup with wholemeal flour
2 Tb minced fresh chives

- In a large bowl, combine the yeast and 1/4 cup of the water. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, then stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of water, the corn oil and the salt. Mix in the potatoes, then stir in the soy milk. Add about half the flour, stirring to combine, then work in the remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Transfer to a lightly floured board.
- Lightly flour your hands and work surface. Knead the dough well until it is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes, using more flour as necessary so the dough does not stick. Place in a large lightly oiled bowl and turn over once to coat with oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, lightly oil a large baking sheet and set aside. Punch the dough down and knead lightly. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, sprinkle with the chives, and knead until the dough is elastic and the chives are well distributed, 3 to 5 minutes. Shape the dough into one large or two small round loaves and place on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly and cover with a clean damp towel or lightly oiled plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400'F. Use a sharp knife to cut an X into the top of the loaf or loaves. Bake on the center oven rack until golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes, depending on size. Tap on the bottom of the loaf or loaves - if they sound hollow, the bread is done. Remove from the sheet and let cool slightly on a wire rack before slicing.



I know you all want to be a Bread Baking Buddy so this is what you have to do, just click over to Sara's blog and read the instructions, simpler than simple! And please take the time to see my fellow Bread Baking Babes breads, click here for the complete list!

WHITE BEAN SALAD WITH GRILLED ZUCCHINI AND FOUR HERBS

Beans, we can't just leave them behind just because Spring is here. I am a bean lover, preferably white ones and as there are so many varieties of white beans, I never tire of eating them. And the fact that they are good for you doesn't diminsh their attraction. But when it gets warmer, I tend to serve them in a different way, lighter and without meat, like this one here, by adding some grilled zucchini slices and lots of herbs, you get a lovely white bean salad that just screams summer.





WHITE BEAN SALAD WITH GRILLED ZUCCHINI AND FOUR HERBS

cooked white beans, cannellini ones are always good
zucchini
fresh herbs, I used rosemary, sage, thyme and mint, finely chopped
lemon or lime juice
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Mix herbs with 2-4 tablespoons of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon of lime and salt.
- Slice the zucchini length wise and either cook them in a grid pan or on a grill just the way they are. Cut the slices into strips and add to the herb and oil condiment.
- Let the zucchini strips marinate for about 10 minutes or longer before adding the cooked beans.
- Mix well and serve.

STRAWBERRIES AND WALNUTS ON MAPLE SYRUP CARAMELIZED TOAST

Ages ago, when I still was Swedish and not living in this expat limbo, I used to think that there were nothing more iconic of Swedish summer than strawberries and that Sweden had a special claim on them in some strange way. How ignorant I was, how limited was my mind. Now, when I have got rid of at least a part of those nationalistic notions that I think limits us so much to see and embrace the rest of the world (I'm sure I still have a lot of them down somewhere in the recesses of my mind but at least I feel a bit freer now), I see the strawberry as a food that unites many cultures in their love and appreciation of it. (I'm sorry my language is so contorted but it is complicated to write about these kind of things in the morning). Not everyone but almost everyone likes strawberries (I know this for a fact, that not everyone likes them I mean because 2 out 3 of my children are not crazy about them which leaves the total family score 3-2 to the strawberries).

Right now I indulge in strawberries, I buy them and we eat and eat. Mostly me I suspect but I can't help that they leave them around and I have to finish them before they go bad, don't I? But it can be a bit boring to just eat them the way they are so sometimes I actually make something with them. Here I used maple syrup which was a great choice because it has this slightly burnt flavour that is so subtle but still there and that goes very well with the fresh strawberries.

STRAWBERRIES AND WALNUTS ON MAPLE SYRUP CARAMELIZED TOAST

500 g/1,1 lb strawberries
a handful of walnuts
slices of white bread
maple syrup
lime or lemon
butter, slightly salted

- Clean and cut the strawberries into pieces, chop the walnuts and add to the strawberries.
- Add a couple of table spoons of maple syrup and a squeeze of lime to the strawberries and leave to marinate while you proceed with the recipe.
- Cut the bread slices into smaller pieces if they are large, well you can make them as small or big as you like, I made small ones because I just wanted the bread to accompany the strawberries.
- Heat up 1 tablespoon of butter in a non-stick pan and then add 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup and let it cook until it has become sticky, it takes only a few minutes, and then 'fry' the bread in it on both sides.
- Put the toast on a plate and then spoon on a good amount of the strawberry-walnut mix. Serve.

FALSE TRIPE OR OMELETTE STRIPS IN TOMATO AND THYME SAUCE

Isn't it strange that the world is full of great male chefs who dictate the dogma but when you start asking around "who has inspired your cooking?", it is mostly women who are mentioned. And I am the same, I have a row of women who have influenced and inspired me throughout my life when it comes to food. One of them is Edda, the mother of a former Italian boyfriend. I spoke very little Italian in those days but she had an infinite patience (like most Italians when it comes someone to trying to speak their language) and we did communicate very well anyway.

I used to hang out in her kitchen and ask her lots of questions and she was happy to answer, I think she liked it because she had three sons and none of them cared about cooking whereas to her it was almost like ritual I think; she had a way of almost caressing things and that applied to food as well. And I sat there with my notebook and wrote down recipes and ideas that I took back with me to Sweden and my student corridor where my co-habitants happily received the new ways to prepare pasta or vegetables. In those days I was a vegetarian so Edda often prepared special dishes for me at dinner and lunch, one of them was this, trippa falsa or false tripe.

The thin egg strips actually look like tripe but don't let that scare you, there's not a trace of it in the dish. I still haven't managed to learn to eat tripe but I do cook it for Marco nowadays, this 'tripe' I do eat though and I know we are many who loves the combination egg and tomatoes so this is just another variation to the theme. The only change I have made to Edda's recipe is to use cherry tomatoes and adding thyme.

FALSE TRIPE OR OMELETTE STRIPS IN TOMATO AND THYME SAUCE

1 egg/person
10-15 cherry tomatoes/person
fresh thyme
1 small pinch cayenne pepper, optional
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Start cooking the tomatoes in a small pan over low heat, when they have softened a little, press them down with a spatula so they release some of their juices, add salt, cayenne pepper and thyme and go on cooking until you have a nice tomato sauce.
- While the sauce-to-be simmers, whisk eggs in a small bowl, add a little salt and then pour it all into a small non-stick pan and swirl it until you have a thin omelette.
- Fry it on both sides and then cut the omelette into this trips that you add to the tomato sauce before serving.

LIME, STRAWBERRY AND MINT SQUASH

I'm a bit annoyed with myself at the moment because I can't get things done or I just plain forget, Show Us Your Most Treasured Cookbook is on of them. How can I expect that people remember events they might want to participate in if I never remind them? But who reminds me I wonder? Anyway, some of you might recollect that I started this event thread back in January, with a roundup in February and I enjoyed all the stories you told us so much that I asked for more. The problem is that I just let it glide into the background and though I have two entries I think and hope that there are more of you out there who would like to share memories (and maybe a recipe) from your most treasured cookbook so here I am again, prolonging the deadline to the 15th of May and hoping that you will respond to my wishes to get to read more about your cookbooks and why it is so dear or mean so much to you. If you didn't read the stories in the roundup, I suggest you to do it if you have the time. Send the link to your blog post or if you don't have a blog, send the text and eventual photo before midnight on May 15 to luculliandelights AT gmail DOT com (please write Show Us Your Most Treasured Cookbook in the subject line) and I will include you in the roundup!

I have another treasured cookbook that I want to share with you and this too is from my childhood. When I was 8 my mother and father gave me a cookbook for children called Per och Pia på hushållskurs, (printed quite a few years, 1951, before I got it) in which you find a mix between how to do things in a household (making your bed, washing the dishes, arranging flowers) and recipes of basic cooking (meatballs, sponge cake, salads). I loved it and was completely fascinated by it, especially because it described a world so far from mine, a strictly ordered universe that didn't correspond to the one I lived in; my family was a free space, slightly in disorder and definitely not militant and parsimonious like the life you see in that book. If you are familiar with Pippi Långstrump/Pippi Longstocking you understand what I mean when I say that this is the book that Tommy and Annika had to study. Every day. And to me this was as exotic as living in a hut in deepest Brazil. I remember making some food out of it and that I often just drooled over what I saw, one of my favourites and don't ask me why was a lemon squash recipe (the authors even provided help to pronounce the word squash: "skoåsch") so I decided to make it here but then I obviously changed one thing and then another so now it is completely different but still, it does follow the measures loosely.

LIME, STRAWBERRY AND MINT SQUASH

3-4 limes
6-8 tblsp sugar
15 mint leaves
1000 ml/ 4,2 cups fresh cold water
4-6 strawberries, sliced

- Squeeze the limes.
- Pestle the mint leaves with the sugar or run in a blender.
- Mix lime juice and mint-sugar and stir.
- Add fresh water and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Serve with strawberry slices and lots of ice.

GLUTEN-FREE LEMON AND POPPY SEED COOKIES

I haven’t been doing any gluten-free baking for a while so I felt that it was about time, how could I stop doing something that I have been doing for so long here on Lucullian I asked myself? Not that there are any musts, I’m among the lucky ones who don’t have to worry about whether I or my children are eating something with gluten in by mistake but I just happen to like gluten-free cakes and cookies, I enjoy the challenge of baking good ones that keep together and I like the different textures you have to work with when you use non-wheat flours. I do think we all gain from eating baked goods that are gluten-free, not because I think wheat is bad but because we can discover new and interesting flavours and textures if we go beyond what we usually eat and do.



And that applies for about everything in life, let’s dare a little bit more. I’m not talking about being transgressive (but if that is what you feel that you need to dare, do it) but just doing things that scares you or make you feel uncomfortable. I used to be scared of a lot of things and I still am but I do dare a bit more nowadays since a very wise friend of mine told me: “Listen Ilva, just do it, life is hardly going to come back like a show on repeat”.



But to get back to the cookies, they have a nice zesty tang and that was exactly what I wanted. And they are light and keep well so what more can I ask for? Yes, that you like them too!





GLUTEN-FREE LEMON AND POPPY SEED COOKIES
at least 30

150 g/ 5,3 oz soft unsalted butter
200 g/ 7 oz sugar
190 g/ 6,7 oz corn starch
100 g/ 3,5 oz rice flour
2 heaped tblsp poppy seeds
the grated zest and the juice of 1/2 lemon

- Stir butter and sugar until smooth in a bowl.
- Add poppy seeds, lemon zest and juice and stir well.
- Sift the flours into the bowl and mix until it all has come together.
- form small balls that you place on a greased baking sheet. Press each ball lightly with a fork.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven (175°C/350°F) for 10-15 minutes, keep your eye on them.
- Take them out and let them cool down before moving them.

ASPARAGUS AND PESTO FILLED CHICKEN FILLETS

One thing that I just can't help liking about young Italian contemporary art and design magazines is that they seem to like me and that they obviously like going cross borders and feature food photography as a sort of contemporary art/design form. This is the second time I have been asked to 'participate' in an issue, a little more that a year ago it was ACTIVA, which is an international magazine about design, fashion, art, new technologies and new trends (and that I forgot to tell you about), and now it is Bang Art!, a really creative magazine that deals with hyper contemporary art and design and a lot of what you find in-between those two. The latest issue is dedicated to food and I was very happy and honoured to be one of the people featured in it. You can take a look at a part of the issue here, I promise you won't regret it!



But all is not food for thought and eye, I also have something you can put into your mouth without too much effort. Easy to make, tastes a lot and looks as if you worked more than you did. And yes, here I go again, I'm still surfing on that pesto wave and I don't seem to know how to get off it!






ASPARAGUS AND PESTO FILLED CHICKEN SLICES
4 servings

8 thin slices of chicken breast, you can use turkey too
20-25 thin asparagus spears
pesto, bought or made by you
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Break off the wooden part of the asparagus spears and cut them into small pieces.
- Fry the asparagus slices in a pan in olive oil until they have softened.
- While the asparagus cook, pair the chicken slices so that they fit in size.
- Mix the asparagus with the pesto and spoon the mix along the middle of four of the slices, not too much so that you can't seal the slices, and then press down the meat round the edges.
- Fry the meat in the same olive oil that you used for the asparagus. Turn the slices over carefully, finish the cooking and serve with a salad or any thing you think is suitable.