Fighting the cold with soup and Spice: Spicy Sweet Potato Soup

The first snow this year

The weather forecast projected a rough drop in temperatures. The synoptics were right. The constant rain turned into snow last night and the trees are now bearing the heavy weight of 24 hours of snowfall. The lamp posts are wearing white chefs´ hats. I am not complaining at all. It is rare to have snow in town here, therefore I am happy for every moment when I see the snow falling.

The snow kept falling and falling...

This snow really came unexpected and like the cars I was still wearing "summer tyres" yesterday. Fortunately it only took me a few minutes to find my winter wear. What annoys me is if I am not dressed properly and feel the cold drilling its way into the bones.
In this situation the best is to rush to the grocery store, buy a chicken, some veggies and put the pot on to make chicken soup. Already the ancient Greeks considered that food was medicine and medicine was food.

Kaffir lime, I wish the photo could project the aroma

As a quick profylactic - while the chicken was simmering - I reached for ginger, chilli and lime (the green one). The cold is guaranteed to be replaced by a flame in the stomach and blush on the cheeks. If you can get hold of a kaffir lime, try this. Kaffir limes, like kaffir lime leaves, have a very specific aroma and taste.

Sweet potatoes

Spicy Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients for 2:

2 tbsp cooking oil (eg. rape seed)
1 medium-small onion, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, cut into 1cm cubes
1 carrot, cut into 1cm cubes
(0.5dl white wine, optional)
1 tsp of freshly grated ginger
0.5 kaffir lime (or 0.5 standard green lime and a kaffir lime leaf)
1 chilli pod or spicy peperoncino
0.5 l stock or water
1dl fresh cream (eg. 15% fat content)
salt to taste
fresh parsley or coriander, finely chopped

Cooked sweet potatoes and spices

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions for a few minutes, then add the sweet potatoes and the carrot cubes. Cook at medium heat for ca 5 minutes, stirring every now and then. If you have some white wine at hand splash ca 5dl and let it evaporate. Then add the grated ginger, juice of the kaffir lime, the chilli or peperoncino pod as well as the "empty" lime peel and the stock or water. Cook at medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Puree with the hand mixer, at low heat mix in the fresh cream and taste. Add salt if necessary.
Serve with chopped parsley or coriander.

Spicy sweet potato soup

Food waste statistics: reduce bread waste with Bread Pudding

Every year the 16th October is World Food Day.

In January 2012 shocking statistics were published by European Union about the millions of truck loads of food wasted every year. Foodwaste.ch statistics about Switzerland say that 2 million tons of food go to waste every year in Switzerland, a third of all food produced.

Statisctics about US: 33 million tons wasted in 2009. New York Yimes article  That Crooked Carrot is Also Food pointed out that the solution to cure the world hunger should be through reducing waste not (just) increasing agricultural yields per hectar.

In the UK 15 million tons are wasted every year according to Love food hate waste
The biggest loss happens in housholds and end consumer level - about 50% of all food waste.

Occasionally I have more bread at home than I can eat while it is still fresh. This is a sign that soon I will be eating my long time favourite bread pudding. I store the rests of old or surplus bread in the fridge to keep it from moulding.

Bread pudding with plum jam

Bread Pudding
I use this super easy recipe when I have a good handful of hard bread accumulated in my fridge.
It is difficult to give exact amounts of ingredients. The amounts depend on how much old bread you have.

Ingredients:
old bread (300g)
jam, any kind (150g)
egg(s) (2 whole eggs)
milk (1-2dl)
sugar (1 tbsp)
butter, optional (20g)

The basic instructions are:
Set the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Cut the old bread into ca. 1.5-2cm cubes
Choose a baking dish to allow 2 layers of the bread cubes. If you have a lot of bread you can layer as many as fits in the form. 
Cover the bottom of the baking dish with one layer of bread cubes.
Spread jam on the bread cubes to more or less cover the bottom layer. It is impossible to cover exactly all cubes and this is not necessary. Depending on the consistency of the jam just dollop a few tablespoons of jam and spread it around a bit. It does not have to be perfect.
Arrange the rest of the cubes into the baking form. If you like a sweeter dish, fill some empty spaces between the cubes with more jam.
Whisk the egg(s) with a fork to combine the egg white and yolk, add the sugar and milk, mix and melt the sugar. Pour the egg-milk mixture on the bread cubes and lightly press the bread to absorb the liquid. The bottom layer should be covered with the liquid.
For extra touch of luxury place 3-4 small knobs (2 cm) of butter on top of everything.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the bread on the top turns crisp and slightly browned.

We used to eat this dessert with milk. I would place a portion of the bread pudding into a bowl and pour milk over it and eat. I still eat it with milk when the pudding has turned cold. It is totally OK to eat it warm. Anyway I can´t wait until it turns cold and I enjoy the crusty cubes from the top layer and the soft jammy ones from the bottom straight hot from the oven. Pairs well with a cup of coffee too.

Bread and Jam Pudding

Who or what are toast soldiers?

English breakfast table, nice silverware, a cup of tea and toast soldiers

The modern technology makes it so easy to participate live in a feast with friends in another country or with a few minutes delay we see an exact snapshot of what´s on the plate of our foodie friends 1000km away.

This morning I had a "virtual" traditional breakfast in Durrants Hotel, in a 18th century building in central London. Old school. The toast was presented in the classic English way as toast "soldiers" for dipping in the soft boiled egg (4 to 5 minutes cooking).

My dear colleague and friend Mark who invited me to this breakfast said that as children they were encouraged to eat boiled eggs with toast soldiers - strips cut to fit an egg. They are sort of at attention like a guardsman.

Although children tend to eat like this - it is sweet to see that grown men are still served their toast soldiers, they never grow up! And that is brilliant!

Leek and potato soup with blue Stilton

Stilton is a town in Cambridgeshire in England. It is said that the travellers who were staying at the Bell Inn in Stilton made good word-to-mouth advertising to the cheese they were served at the inn on the Great Northern Road. But the Stilton is not from Stilton even though Stilton may have given the name to the famous Stilton.  It is said that in the early 18th century the owner of the Bell Inn "imported" it from a cheesemaker´s in a village in Leicestershire. Stilton cheese has the Protected Designation of Origin seal and it may only be produced in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and only local milk may be used.

Blue Stilton cheese

Blue Stilton is best made out of the summer milk, mature for 12 weeks and is said to reach the culinary climax in November. Blue Stilton is sometimes served with port. Cooking this soup with port instead of white wine gives the soup the sweet slightly noticeable taste of the port.

Blue Stilton sold in a lovely little container

Leek and Potato Soup with Blue Stilton

Ingredients for 2

2 tbsp rape seed oil
200g leek, the white part, halved and chopped
2 medium potatoes, cut in small cubes
0.5dl white portwine
0.7 l vegetable or chicken stock
0.5dl fresh cream
30g blue Stilton cheese

Leek and potato soup with blue Stilton

Heat the oil, add the leeks and cook until the leek turns soft. Splash in the white port wine and cook until the wine has almost evaporated. Then add the potatoes and stock and cook until the potatoes are soft. Puree with the handmixer. Add the cream. Taste for salt. Take off the heat and serve with crumbles of blue Stilton on top. The cheese will melt rather quickly and give the soup its final taste.

Blue Stilton cheese and port lift up the leek

Beetroot cinnamon rolls

The 4th of October is the national cinnamon roll day or "Kanelbullens Dag" in Sweden. I am a great fan of cinnamon rolls and all kinds of baking creations made with cinnamon. The Cinnamon Roll Day is celebrated every year at the Swedish Embassy in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Surely this builds great relations between the two countries.

I believe that all Estonians who have read Astrid Lindgren´s Karlsson stories remember how he wrote on the wall to the housekeeper Hildur Bock or Husbocken (Est. Majasokk, English translation Housegoat) "There should be more cinnamon in your damn expensive rolls " (Sinu neetult kallites saiades peaks olema rohkem kaneeli)! Quite right! I have never eaten a cinnamon roll with too much cinnamon in it.

The cinnamon rolls are very popular in the Northern countries of Europe, Estonia included. The memory of the warm buttery cinnamon rolls coming out of the oven is one that stays in the mind for ever and just a thought about these rolls makes people smile. It is difficult, I would say impossible, to eat just one of the freshly baked rolls.

Cinnamon rolls, a favourite of millions northerners

I thought to celebrate this year´s cinnamon roll day a little differently, with pink rolls.

Beetroot cinnamon rolls

Ingredients for the dough:
300g flour
70g sugar
20g fresh yeast
1dl warm milk
1 egg
75g soft butter
a pinch of salt
a pinch of ground cardamom
1 small raw beetroot, finely grated (ca 100-120g)

The filling:
70g soft butter
sugar
cinnamon

Mix the yeast with warm milk. Place the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the warm milk with yeast, the egg, soft butter, a pinch of salt and the other of cardamom. Add the grated beetroot. Mix the ingredients together until a homogeneous dough is formed.

Cover the bowl with a teatowel and keep it in a warm place (avoid draft!) for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in volume.

Be generous with the filling

Spread some flour on the working table and place the dough in the flour. Roll the dough so that it is covered loosely with flour to avoid sticking to the table. Spread the dough or use the rolling pin to form just about 1cm thick layer. Spread the soft butter more or less evenly on the dough, sprinkle with sugar and as much cinnamon as you like. It is better for the final outcome to be generous with the filling.

An way of non-sticky baking

Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

Leave rolls to raise a little more

Roll the dough lengthwise into a long roulade and cut ca 3cm pieces.
Please them on a baking tray covered with baking paper or use the muffin tray. I used small pieces of baking paper in the muffin tray to avoid sticking. Leave under a teatowel for 20 minutes to raise for the second time.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Cinnamon rolls with beetroot

Related posts:
Cinnamon loaf