Comfort Food with intense flavors and intense color for this intense winter
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Soups
Having Sophie around is the best ingredient to a wonderful summer! First we laugh so much more when she is around. It is insane sometimes we cannot stop until we cry! Second I have a kindred spirit when it comes to healthy food ... well, at least until there is a good and heart warming dessert involved. Last Saturday we were invited for dinner and it was a hot and busy day full of adventure, my first workshop for food photography with ezgipolat here in Vienna. Organized by ladyvenom for igersvienna and the viennatouristboard, we met at the Hotel am Brillantengrund and had the chance to shoot food arranged and styled by Ezgi, then we ventured in smaller groups through the 7th district and Sophie and Julian joined us later that afternoon at Neni's where Nuriel spoiled us with the best Mediterranean food in town.
We were exhausted when we finally came back home just to realize that we were 1 hour late for dinner at our new friends' home!!! How embarrassing! We just texted : we'll be there in 20 ... and frantically threw clothes on, I grabbed some high heels and we hopped into the car armed with a bottle of champagne and an extra large bag of my Marions Granola! Half way there, I realized that I had two left shoes with me both black but unfortunately together useless. We didn't turn around ... of course not! I said we can only tell the truth and hope they will forgive us! And as it seems we didn't loose our new friends right away we had a fun and relaxed evening, laughed about my outfit, and we stayed until I almost fell asleep! Have you ever done something so embarrassing ? please share you story and make me feel better! Our friends have great taste in interiors and she sent me to a store nearby that carries unusual products. I bought this pretty green bowl by Rina Menardi and ordered some more plates and bowls in different colors you will soon see on my food photography!
No summer without chilled soup! I am a huge fan of soups anyways, because they make great comfort food and they can be prepared ahead of time. This one is in particularly easy and light and keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days becoming even better! No cooking required - only a blender and fresh herbs.
Preparation time: 15 min
Chilling time: over night or a couple of hours
You Need
450 g Greek yoghurt
1 large cucumber, peeled and deseeded
2 fresh celery stalks
sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of garlic paste (optional)
1/2 cup water
For decoration:
1 sprig if mint leaves
1 sprig of dill
1 chicory
4 small white mushrooms
handful of baby spinach
1/2 cup of cottage cheese, drained and rinsed
black sea salt and olive oil
Cut the cucumber and the celery stalks in bite sizes, fill your blender with it and add the Greek yoghurt. Blend for 4 minutes until all is smooth and chill before you serve it. Chill your bowls as well that will keep the soup cold on really hot days.
To assemble the soup share evenly among four bowls, add the herbs, spinach, chicory and mushroom slices, sprinkle with some of the cottage cheese and drizzle the olive oil artfully over the soup. Finally add some of the black sea salt, mine is from Iceland but you can buy back salt from Hawaii as well. If you do not fancy dill use basil, cilantro or chervil. Whatever suits your taste best. I don't think this recipe will ruin your diet or fill you with unnecessary calories, but it will definitely make you and your loved ones happy!
Right now when I am looking outside I kind of feel like cheating on you since the photos really look like summer and warm weather and all I could hear for a day was rain outside my window. Tiny drops and heavy ones and the background constant sound the water from heaven makes all aroud me. But the summer months are ahead as I said I will for sure keep the closet free from coats and knits ... maybe not today but one doesn't want to catch a cold either?
I am trying to think positive and with this recipe you might want to join me in thinking of lazy evenings, friends around and a light meal to give plenty of room for a good conscience about what we ate and lots of energy for a good dance later on. Leave away heavy make up that belongs to the past months, now we want to feel good about the sunshiny days ahead and feel healthy. This recipe again is very healthy and the easiest to make, no cooking no washing up, the best to prepare for guests in advance or keep in the fridge for everyone in the family to grab as a healthy snack any time of day. The best way to start a meal is with something fruity and fresh. Your stomach will say Thank You and you are prepared for an easy transition between no food and dinner. This is a way of helping your skin glow and you will feel much better if you make the most of all the fresh produce there is to buy now on the markets. Now is the time for great fruit and vegetables and the time for pre-packaged stuff is gone.
This is Edamame, our favorite for snacks. Simple soybeans in a shell cooked and sprinkled with sea salt and grated horse radish. It is easily prepared and makes the best pre dinner munch.
I found my new favorite flower shop! I am so excited, it has been there for a while but I kind of never realized how awesome it is. I will have to show you pretty soon some pics and you will for sure fall in love it. It is so close to my home and they have the most beautiful flowers and make fabulous arrangements! These peonies are from the shop, parents they gorgeous? Come and check out Unverblümt! I know you agree! I am so lucky to live in such a great neighborhood!
Preparation time 15 min
Chilling time 3 hours
You Need
1 melon, I use a cantaloupe or a honeydew melon
1 organic lime, grated peel and juice
½ tablespoon curry powder or paste
200ml | 2/3 cup sparkling water
salt
When you read the recipe you could probably make that soup with out any help but here is what I did.
The lime must be washed and dried prior using, then you can first grate the green peel and the press the juices from it. We need the entire flesh from the melon so you can either cut the melon lengthwise or in half, scrape the seeds out and cut the remove the peel. If you have a ripe fruit then this is really easy, you could scrape the flesh out with a spoon, this way you don’t even need a knife. Put this in a blender, I used my brand new Kenwood kMix, add the lime juice and peel, curry, sparkling water and season to taste with salt. Done. Now transfer the soup to your fridge for at least 3 hours.
I decorated my glasses with tiny basil cress.
Very decorative can be a fresh slice of lemon, herbs or even a small stalk of celery. This way the whole thing stays vegan, without anyone missing flavor or you can add a piece of crisp Serrano ham. That would make my son truly happy.
Now this herb has its season, pretty as a flower and so essentially beneficial for our health
For 4 portions you need:
¾ l chicken stock homemade ( if this is a challenge, use the store-bought powder
but it might not be as fine in the end)
300 grams watercress blanched ( cooked for 2 min in boiling water then transferred to ice water - this helps keep the color bright green)
2 tbsp rapeseed /canola oil, best quality
½ stalk of leek chopped in strips
½ small onion finely chopped
1 tbsp of butter
125ml / ½ cup heavy cream
Amaranth pops and some fresh leaves of watercress for decoration
Watercress contains significant amounts of iron, calcium, iodine, and folic acid, in addition to vitamins A and C. Because it is relatively rich in Vitamin C.
It acts as a stimulant, a source of phyto-chemicals and antioxidants a diuretic, an expectorant and a digestive aid.
And it is so delicate and beautiful!
The onions and the leeks are sautéed in butter, the warm soup added, simmer on medium heat until all the leeks are tender, 12 min appr. Take the soup off the heat. Blend on high speed, leave no clumps!
The blanched Watercress goes into the blender and with the help of the rapeseed oil mixed into a bright green paste!
This paste is added to the creamy soup (NO more cooking from now on, only gently heating) and once again blended, add the cream, mix again, salt and chili and garnish shortly before eating with the Amaranth Pops and the fresh sprig of watercress.
