Curried Spinach Soup with Eggplant Cream

I had been too long without soup and my soul needed the particular warming one receives from consuming a bowl of nourishing sustenance created from humble and healthy ingredients. Plus I had been eating like I had to gain weight not lose it, so soup I craved.

Below is a recipe for Curried Spinach Soup served with Eggplant Cream. The recipes for both just kind of popped in my head and I don't think it was a coincidence that I was able to use my new immersion blender for both recipes. (I got a Cusinart 200 watt model and boy can that baby puree!)

The ingredients were pretty much what I had in hand in the pantry, fridge and freezer. The peanut butter adds a certain creaminess to the soup, but not a distinctive peanut flavor. I found I needed to use a lot of curry powder to pump up the spiciness. Feel free to use more or less to your taste.

The soup is pleasantly herbal with an earthy warmth. The eggplant cream adds a whole additional layer of flavor, smoothing out the spinach's grass notes and adding the deep intriguing smoky bite of the eggplant to the soup. I hope you'll try it with the soup. If you decide to skip it, try plopping a little plain yogurt or sour cream on top your soup bowl. I served my soup with some Indian flatbreads on the side.

Curried Spinach Soup with Eggplant Cream

For the Soup:

Olive oil or spray
1 small red onion or about half large, roughly diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2-3 tsp curry powder
Dash of cinnamon
2-3 carrots cut, roughly diced
6 or more cups of vegetable stock or water
4 tbs peanut butter
16 oz chopped frozen spinach
12 oz chopped frozen spinach
15 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
15 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Salt
Pepper
Hot sauce
One recipe Eggplant Cream (see below)

Spray the bottom of a large pot with the olive oil spray or use a tablespoon of olive oil and coat the bottom of the pot. Heat. Add onion and sauté until beginning to soften. Add garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Sauté until aromas are released. Add curry powder and cinnamon and stir until incorporated. Add carrots. Sauté until onions are golden and garlic has started to brown. Add 6 cups of stock or water. Stir up any bits stuck to bottom of the pot. Cook over medium heat until simmering. Add frozen spinach; cook stirring to break up, until defrosted. Add peanut butter. Cook, stirring occasionally until incorporated.

Using an immersion blender, puree soup to desired consistency. (Or cool, puree in batches in blender, return to pot and reheat.) Add the additional frozen spinach. Cook until defrosted. Add additional stock or water if soup is too thick. Add tomatoes and chickpeas and cook until heated through. Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste.

To serve, swirl in 1 Tbs of Eggplant Cream in each bowl.

Makes 6-8 servings

Eggplant Cream

1 eggplant (thin Italian, Chinese or Japanese preferred, but a small globe eggplant will also work, see note below.)
Crème fraiche, sour cream, Greek yogurt, plain yogurt oe non-dairy yogurt, drained
1 Tbs fresh lemon or lime juice
Salt
Pepper

Place whole, unpeeled eggplant over an open gas flame, under a broiler or on a grill. Using tongs, turn frequently as skin blisters and the flesh begins to soften. When the flesh is completely soft, remove from heat and set aside. When cool enough to handle, peel away as much of the eggplant skin as you can. Mash eggplant flesh and puree with an equal amount of crème fraiche, sour cream of yogurt. (If using regular, plain yogurt, drain it first in a colander for a few hours before using.) Add lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well and serve with soup.

Note: If using a globe eggplant (the type usually available in stores), look for as small a one as you can find. Cook the eggplant whole, but only use half of the cooked flesh in the eggplant cream. Reserve the rest for another use. (Try mixing it with a little hummus for a nice dip.)

Watch this space -- photo to come

My Evening with Clotilde -- Part Deux

It is Blog Appetit's particular brand of bait and switch to call the time I spent with Clotilde Dusoulier of Chocolate and Zucchini cookbook and website fame "my evening" unless your definition of a private tete a tete includes a packed room full of fans, a brief encounter involving signing a book and the opportunity to ask a few questions.

Clotilde was sweet, disarming and charming. Her English is mostly unaccented except when a little musical lilt slips out on a word or two that is similar in English and French. Dressed in a long polka-dotted tunic over pants and with her long hair swinging loose, she seemed too young to be allowed to handle hot pots unattended. She was as gracious to her fans, loyal to her vision and as appreciative of the twists and turns of life and her upbringing that brought her to C&Z and food as a career as she seems in her writings on the website and in her book: Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen.

Here are some highlights of her conversation with her fans at the booksigning.

She is working on her second book, also for Broadway Books, her cookbook publisher, on food resources and restaurants in Paris.

She spent summers in England living with families to perfect her English as a teen. As a young adult she worked in Silicon Valley as a software engineer, a career she doesn't regret pursuing but has left to work full time on food endeavors.

Her sojourn in California had awakened her appreciation of food and moving back to Paris was a revelation. She was inspired to start Chocolate and Zucchini after reading food blogs such as Derrick Schneider's Obsession with Food. There were only a handful of food blogs at the time and they were all in English, so she wrote in English because she wanted other food bloggers to be able to read about her experiences.

She took all the photos of Paris and recipes that are in the book, with the exception of one taken by her boyfriend, Maxence.

The cookbook is being translated into French, but since her audience is so English speaking she is not sure what it is reception will be in France. Clotilde translated everything but the recipes, which are being done by someone else because of time consideration. She wanted to translate the narrative personally since she wanted to adapt the text to a French audience that would presumably be more knowledgeable about things such as cheese courses. She also insisted that the publishers not use a photo of her on the cover of the French edition since that is not done as frequently in France as in the U.S.

She finds her inspiration in the green markets and other food shops in Paris and looks for interesting juxtapositions of taste, texture and color. She misses the larger markets in the U.S. where one can just browse instead of walking in and having to know what you want right away.

True Confession: I helped test recipes for the cookbook and merited a mention as a thank you in the book's acknowledgement.

Next: I read the cookbook, try a recipe and offer my impressions.
Prior: Part One of the book signing event

Clotilde at Cody's

Add to my long list of not-being-able-to-blog-right-now promises an account of My Evening with Clotilde of Chocolate and Zucchini. I had a chance to hear her speak last week at Cody's bookstore in Berkeley and got to introduce myself and discuss her book a bit.

Here's a quick pix of her at the book signing.

More later, including a bit on what she had to say, news about her second book, my impressions of her new cookbook and a photo and info on a recipe I made from her book.

Slow Food Makes the News with Ferry Plaza Snub

The Future Pastry Chef and I headed over to San Francisco's famed Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market on Saturday. It's always an enjoyable jaunt and I was excited because we had timed our visit to hear the founder of the slow food movement, Carlo Petrini, talk about his new book, Slow Food Nation.

The day was sunny and clear and the air was beginning to warm up but little did we know that the most heated thing about the day would be what was characterized to us as a "dispute" between Petrini and market organizers. We had poked around eating a breakfast at Lulu's Petit (the brioche filled with marscapone to be specific) and were looking for some sign of the event when we eventually found our way to the CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture) table and were told of the cancellation.

I thought I had a news scoop, but really was more focused on enjoying our morning at the Farmers' Market.

Today's San Francisco Chronicle had a report of the dust up. Evidently, Petrini, or at perhaps the translator of his book according to his book tour translator, had slammed the Ferry Plaza market for being elitist and pricey. (Although the comments quoted in the article are so specific I don't see how anything getting lost in translation would have softened them.)

Now, I grant you there are a lot of artisanal foods at the market and specialty produce that can be pricey but there are also lots of other alternatives. Much of the produce is grown for flavor and taste not economy of price so the complaint to me seems like a sucker punch to the gut of the very people who are trying to take the Slow Food Movement to heart and keep alive traditions of the family farms, heirloom produce varieties and bringing eaters in contact with growers.

Here's a link to the Chronicle piece on its SF Gate website.

Since I haven't read the Slow Food book (I planned to buy it at the event that wasn't) I can't really judge if the CUESA reaction was justified, but as presented I can certainly say it is unfortunate that two factions that should be working together are now estranged.

I have a few more random thoughts about the food movement and the farmer's market.

If you, like me, are only an occasional shopper at the vast Ferry Plaza market, it can be very intimidating. Search out the CUESA booth (in front of the Ferry Building) and pick up a map to the day's booths. It will help you plan out your shopping.

I am a big supporter of the Slow Food Movement as well as the drive to focus on locally produced foods, however I am also concerned that these two trends can be seen as only possible for those with lots of leisure time to cook and assemble meals and/or lots of money to pay the premium for non-processed, non-factory farmed food. I also worry about the loss of income and opportunity to fair trade and other agricultural workers overseas. I try to practice practical moderation and mindfulness in my choice. That attempt at balance is my compromise. I'd love to hear about how others support their local food economy, or how they have created or handle their own compromises.

For more information about the Ferry Plaza Farmer's market, please check out the CUESA site.
For more information about the Slow Food Movement, click here.
To read more about eating local, the Chronicle had an excellent series of articles a few weeks ago, which you can read here. I also recommend the wonderful blog Becks and Posh. Sam really puts her food where her mouth is.

Birthday Meal for Mr. Blog Appetit -- Indian Cauliflower with Tamarind Sauce

My husband had a birthday last week and of course I whipped him up a special meal to celebrate.

I grilled some lamb tenderloins (a cut I've never seen before until I spotted it a few months ago at Trader Joe's but one which my whole family loves) tandoori style, made some basamati rice and whipped out my supply of chutney and Indian relishes from the fridge. But what really made the meal special was the cauliflower. Now that sentence and sentiment are unusual, I know. Cauliflower doesn't inspire poetry, rapture or foodie odes like fava beans, artichokes or a slender spear of asparagus, but when fresh and cooked properly it provides a tender-crisp blank canvas to all manner of preparations and it adds its own earthy goodness to any dish.

My friend Mona, who is Indian and a wonderful cook, gave me the basic outline for a cauliflower dish known as "Gobi" which I then adapted to what I had in the house and to our taste, which for this recipe would be spicy, hot and sour. Her version would use dried mango powder or lemon juice. The tamarind sauce was my idea since tamarind is one of my husband's favorites. Here are some basic instructions. Feel free to put you own spin on your version.

Indian Cauliflower with Tamarind Sauce

Vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon or to taste red pepper flakes
3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate mixed with 1/4 cup hot water
Chopped cilantro for garnish, optional

Heat vegetable oil in large fry pan or wok. Add garlic, saute until just golden, add ginger and red pepper flakes, sauteing to release aroma. Add potato chunks and stir often. Cook until potatoes are starting to brown. Add cauliflower and salt, cumin, coriander and turmeric. Continue to saute or stir fry until cauliflower florets are beginning to blister and brown and are beginning to soften. Add tamarind mixture and continue to cook until cauliflower is desired softness. (Note: covering pan will speed this process but result in a softer-textured dish if done too early. Mona recommends only covering the pan toward the end.) If the pan becomes too dry, add water as needed. Serve garnished with cilantro if desired.

I also served garlic naan (bread) and we had individual chocolate lava cakes for dessert. There were no chocolate cakes or lamb left over, but the cauliflower made a fine lunch over leftover rice and with reheated naan.

A Mother's Day Tribute

My mother was funny, warm, attractive, an adventurous cook and skilled gardener who grew many of her own herbs and vegetables, an interested listener, a fine conversationalist and a caring person who set a good example for my sisters and me as a volunteer in our schools and later with mentally disabled youngsters. She was an artist who made sure we all had a visual vocabulary and understood the importance of art not only as decoration and expression but as a way to communicate and process the world. She was a young widow left with three children to raise and she went back to school and got not only a bachelor's degree but also a master's degree so she could support us.

She died in 2001 much too young after a decade-long decline due to Parkinson's Disease. The disease slowly robbed her of her mobility, her clarity and eventually even the ability to enjoy a good piece of apple pie or a whipped cream eclair, but it never robbed her of her dignity, her delight in her grandchildren's visits or her attempts to tease or bedevil my middle sister. There was no estate to speak of, but my mother left my sisters and I rich in other ways. I don't assume her legacy is the same for all three of us, but I do know how it has enriched me and I hope I can pass these treasures on to my two sons. So on this mother's day with an ache in my throat from missing her that is undiminished by time, I hope to pass on her joy of life to others.

As the disease progressed and the ability to do much of what she loved was cruelly taken away from her, she still found a way to find things to look forward to and enjoy. The visits of my young niece, a smuggled-in Italian pastry, the kindness of a health aide, these all helped made life worth living for her. I personally never heard her complain. Sometimes I wished she would fight harder or do things differently, but she had her own way about it all and it suited her. It was hard to be a continent away, but I am blessed with two sisters who lived near her and were able to facilitate her little enjoyments.

I can't really remember spending a mother's day with her once I was grown and out of the house. I'm sure I sent cards and gave presents, but I never gave her what she had given me for all the years we had together, sometimes gifts I didn't appreciate at the time.

I remember being 30ish and on line for tea at Harrod's in London and embarrassed by my mother striking conversations up with the strangers beside us. On the train ride to the channel that same trip she got the British railroad conductor to open up on his views of American politics. Now I am embarrassed of my reaction back then and wish I could would have joined in instead of looking at the floor and turning away red-faced.

Mom was always proud of me and my accomplishments. I just wish I had the insight and ability to tell her how proud I was of her and hers. Maybe her final gift to me was loving me even though I didn't get it and trusting that someday I would. If so, it's one of the best gifts I've ever received and its a gift I hope I can give to someone in return.

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About the photo: Mom in Convent Garden in London in 1985

Having a Heat Wave

It's never hot in the Bay area, or so the general wisdom goes. One quote attributed to Mark Twain but said to be apocryphal contends the coldest summer he ever spent was in San Francisco. But let me tell you that when our veil of fog fails us, the temperature here can really cook and some of us just can't cope.

Part of that is our housing and many public spaces are just not air conditioned. (After all, we have the fog, right?) Many of us more boho types don't have any clothes that aren't black and/ or are not comfortable showing our pale limbs in scanty summer clothes even if we have them left over from some previous residence elsewhere in the country or some tropical vacation.

All of these factors made me appreciate last night's book club dinner hosted by my friend Ruth. Feeling it was too hot to heat up the kitchen or the cook, she served an assortment of cheeses, spreads, vegetable salads, fruits, smoked salmon and artisan breads. One highlight was the rose wine from her family vineyard -- Rominger West. Served chilled it was better (well, almost better) than air conditioning. The meal was light but filling and cool in more ways than one.

A Mile High Experience

Just back from Denver, so add that to the list of updates I am over due writing about -- some things to wait for include:

Just what was in "my" Denver omlet, a heavenly tour of Celetesial Seasonings and maybe a picture of some elk (the animal not the meat) are all due to make their appearance at Blog Appetit.

But for now, alas, just a promise of an update. Thanks to a medical procedure I had yesterday one eye is swollen and hard to see out of, I'm still playing catch up at work and tomorrow one of my boys is having oral surgery.

Plus my computer is acting up and I'm holding my breath it doesn't crash.

Once again, watch this space.

Zagat Survey Wants You

The (in)famous Zagat Guides is soliciting the opinions of San Francisco-Bay Area restaurant goers about their favorite eateries. Participate in the survey and you receive a free copy of the 2008 San Francisco Restaurants guide when it is published. Deadline to participate is April 15th.

Zagat also has surveys posted for LA and SoCal restaurants (deadline 4/22), New York City restaurants (5/13), online gourmet food shops (4/19) and London nightlife and shopping (both 4/29)

Vote (Zagat's term, not mine) at their website here.

Chicago -- My Kind of Food Town

I've been away, this time to Chicago. It was my first trip and probably won't be my last. I went with Mr. Blog Appetit and the Future Pastry Chef (the college student had classes) and have a lot to report on must-eat food and must-see sights. Watch this blog for my reports, but not right away, for now I'm catching up on my "real" job.