Instant Pot Spicy Cauliflower and Cheddar cream soup · Monday October 23, 2023 by colin newell
Winter time is the right time for soups — and our Cauliflower, Cheddar Cheese, Cream and Chili soup is delicious, satisfying and dreamy!
And while it is not yet winter, we can happily call this a harvest recipe – Andrea quipped that practically everything on the dinner table came with our hands and out of our garden — apart from the Cauliflower — I have yet to create the wonderful ones that I find at my local farmers market.
Stuff you are going to need!
• 1 medium head Cauliflower
• 1 tbsp Garlic
• 1 Sweet onion, small
• 1 fresh Jalapeño – chopped – seeds IN or OUT
Canned Goods
• 4 cups Chicken broth or vegetable broth
Spices
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper • 1/2 tsp Salt • 1/2 tsp Chili flakesOils
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
Dairy
• 3/4 cup Milk or Table Cream! (Use the cream, trust me!)
• 1/2 cup Smoked Cheddar cheese
• 2 cups White cheddar cheese, sharp
• 1/2 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
Here’s how you do it!
In the insert of the Instant Pot, add olive oil and diced onions.
Using the Saute function, cook the onions for a couple of minutes until they begin to turn translucent.
Add minced garlic and stir for about thirty seconds, until it becomes fragrant.
Turn off the Saute function by pressing Cancel.
Add chopped cauliflower, broth, salt and pepper.
Select a cook time of five minutes at high pressure.
When the cook time is complete, perform a quick release of pressure.
After the pressure has released and the valve has dropped, carefully remove the lid and press Cancel to turn off the pressure cooker.
Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your desired consistency.
Create a slurry by whisking together the cream.
Pour into the hot soup, stirring to combine. Allow this to thicken for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally (if needed, you can use the Saute function to simmer the soup).
Add the shredded cheese combo, stirring until melted.
Serve, topped with additional shredded cheese and chives, if desired.And now for your entertainment, some Hawaiian slack key guitar that I recorded after several trips to the Islands!
Comment [1]
Dark Rye Flour Sourdough Bread - double batch · Sunday September 11, 2022 by colin newell
Sourdough bread is, as history tells us, the World’s first bread.
Ingredients include water, salt, flour and natural yeast – and not the yeast that comes out of the jar – the stuff that is all around is at all times… in the air, on the ground, on our skin… yea, there too – everywhere. It is the natural leavening agent that has been with us forever.
It is also said that man cannot live on bread alone — while that is not entirely true, I think what they meant was that we need to mix it up a bit – as in adding darker flours, like rye and whole wheat! Now that is definitely better for you.
In this recipe we do not talk about sourdough starter, levain and such like… you need to research that in advance – this is a recipe for a moderately advanced baker. Need help – email me or get Googling!
Instructions
1.) Grab a bowl that will hold at least 1 kg of dough – that is 1000G – so something medium/large sized.
2.) Add 180g of your ready sourdough starter to the bowl. (It is ready when a spoonful floats in water…)
3.) Add 18g of kosher salt – great salt can effect the flavour so don’t cheap out on this critical ingredient.
4.) Add 585g of warm water (not hot water!) 35 to 45 degrees © or 110 degrees (F) is probably OK but definitely not hotter than that.
5.) Mix the water, salt and starter well. Add a tablespoon or two of blackstrap molasses for some sweetness and depth of colour. Option: Add 1-2 tablespoons of caraway seeds.
6.) Gradually add 375g of white flour, 375g of whole-wheat flour and 150g of rye flour.
You can use a mixer. I do this by hand or with a bread mixing hook.
Work/knead the dough to form a sticky ball.
Stretch and fold – To develop the gluten in the dough, it is important to stretch and fold the dough twice an hour for the first 2 hours and then once more before putting in the fridge to develop/ferment overnight.
There are many awesome YouTube tutorials on the “Stretch and Fold” so find one you like and develop your technique. Note video below!
7.) You can let this all rise overnight (6 to 12 hours) or slow it down by putting it in the fridge. Fermentation keeps moving along even when your dough is tucked away in a cool area – it changes the flavour some. For keeping the dough “feisty” I tend to keep it out in the kitchen and work around its schedule.
Rule: Higher room temperature, faster “development” and fermentation of the dough.
8.) Assuming you are doing this overnight, in the morning the dough should have doubles in size – or more. Pull out the dough and toss it onto a floured bread board or surface you are happy scattering flour on.
9.) Here is another learning moment – (find a suitable YouTube video…[example below]) This is where you work the dough a bit and pull, fold and shape into a “loaf” and drop into a floured or parchment papered loaf pan.
Do consult the internets on technique because it is extra difficult to describe in words alone.
10.) Let rise for 4 – 6 hours… even 8 hours… or overnight again… in the fridge.
12. ) Transfer the dough into the pan. Cover and “2nd rise” for 4 to 6 hours. Dress with additional caraway seed. Slash with a razor (see the video below!)
13.) Bake for 24-28 minutes at 475 degrees (F) or until delightfully brown on top. You are looking for a core temperature of at least 190 (F)
14.) If baking in a Dutch Oven, bake for the first 17-20 minutes with the cover on -
and then for another 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees — or until core TEMP of 190 (F)
Check out the video below for some valuable technique! Trust me – the more video you watch, the better you are going to be at making bread!
Comment [2]
Sourdough Rye Bread · Saturday May 21, 2022 by colin newell
Sourdough bread is, as history tells us, the World’s first bread.
Ingredients include water, salt, flour and natural yeast – and not the yeast that comes out of the jar – the stuff that is all around is at all times… in the air, on the ground, on our skin… yea, there too – everywhere. It is the natural leavening agent that has been with us forever.
It is also said that man cannot live on bread alone — while that is not entirely true, I think what they meant was that we need to mix it up a bit – as in adding darker flours, like rye and whole wheat! Now that is definitely better for you.
In this recipe we do not talk about sourdough starter, levain and such like… you need to research that in advance – this is a recipe for a moderately advanced baker. Need help – email me or get Googling!
Instructions
1.) Grab a bowl that will hold at least 1/2 kg of dough – that is 500G – so something medium sized.
2.) Add 100g of your ready sourdough starter to the bowl. (It is ready when a spoonful floats in water…)
3.) Add 10g of kosher salt – great salt can effect the flavour so don’t cheap out on this critical ingredient.
4.) Add 360g of warm water (not hot water!) 35 to 45 degrees © or 110 degrees (F) is probably OK but definitely not hotter than that.
5.) Mix the water, salt and starter well. Add a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses for some sweetness and depth of color. Add 1-2 tablespoons of caraway seeds.
6.) Gradually add 230g of white flour, 230g of whole-wheat flour and 52g of rye flour.
You can use a mixer. I do this by hand or with a bread mixing hook.
Work/knead the dough to form a sticky ball.
Stretch and fold – To develop the gluten in the dough, it is important to stretch and fold the dough twice an hour for the first 2 hours and then once more before putting in the fridge to develop/ferment overnight.
There are many awesome YouTube tutorials on the “Stretch and Fold” so find one you like and develop your technique. Note video below!
7.) You can let this all rise overnight (6 to 12 hours) or slow it down by putting it in the fridge. Fermentation keeps moving along even when your dough is tucked away in a cool area – it changes the flavour some. For keeping the dough “feisty” I tend to keep it out in the kitchen and work around its schedule.
Rule: Higher room temperature, faster “development” and fermentation of the dough.
8.) Assuming you are doing this overnight, in the morning the dough should have doubles in size – or more. Pull out the dough and toss it onto a floured bread board or surface you are happy scattering flour on.
9.) Here is another learning moment – (find a suitable YouTube video…[example below]) This is where you work the dough a bit and pull, fold and shape into a “loaf” and drop into a floured or parchment papered loaf pan.
Do consult the internets on technique because it is extra difficult to describe in words alone.
10.) Let rise for 4 – 6 hours… even 8 hours… or overnight again… in the fridge.
12. ) Transfer the dough into the pan. Cover and “2nd rise” for 4 to 6 hours. Dress with additional caraway seed. Slash with a razor (see the video below!)
13.) Bake for 24-28 minutes at 475 degrees (F) or until delightfully brown on top. You are looking for a core temperature of at least 190 (F)
14.) If baking in a Dutch Oven, bake for the first 17-20 minutes with the cover on -
and then for another 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees — or until core TEMP of 190 (F)
Colin Newell is a Victoria resident and pop culture writer – active on the internets since 1994! That is a long time. His features on pop culture, food and beverage things have been around here…. well… forever!
Peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies with Olive Oil · Monday May 16, 2022 by colin newell
There are few flavours more perfectly mated than peanut butter and chocolate. It could very well be the greatest taste accident of all time. In this recipe I riff on the previous Bon Appetit take on the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Take out the tahini, add in peanut butter and hope for the best. I am quite literally trying this for the first time. Fingers crossed!
Update: These cookies are amazing – I have tested them on colleagues and the eye rolls appeared to be pleasure based.
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups (222g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup (97g) extra-virgin olive oil
¾ cups (148g) brown sugar
½ cups (50g) white granulated sugar
1 tablespoon black strap molasses (optional)
2 chilled eggs (120 g)
½ cup (145g) creamy peanut butter – I use a dark roast peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ – ¾ cups of chopped dark chocolate chips OR light chocolate chips
Directions
Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 350°F.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, corn starch, baking soda, and salt.
Set aside
In a large mixing bowl combine olive oil, all of the sugars (including molasses) and eggs, and vanilla.
Electric blend until very creamy.
Add in peanut butter butter and mix until combined. (Actually, as creamy as possible…)
Using a rubber spatula, mix in the dry ingredients you set aside earlier. Mix until just combined.
Add the chopped chocolate and either mix in with a rubber spatula, or knead using your hands.
Chill the dough for 2 – 4 hours or (even better) overnight.
Scoop about 1-2 tablespoons of dough into your hands and roll into balls. Place on parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes (for smaller cookies) [16 minutes for bigger cookies…] or until the edges are golden brown.
Sprinkle Fleur de sel on top.
Let cookies rest on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool. Honestly, these are super tasty after they have cooled off – and even the day after.
Ideally, the dough can chill for several days (but be careful! Raw eggs after all…). The dough also freezes just fine.
Colin Newell is a Victoria resident, coffee and technology expert and often-times baker. He knows his way around a dough hook and has infested the internet with his zany ideas since 1995!
Penne Pasta with Bigeye tuna, anchovy and garlic · Tuesday April 26, 2022 by colin newell
Umami. You live for it. You love for it. This is the zest and flavour of life. This dish is packed with all those things you long for.
It’s yummy and nutritious with every bite.
Click on the photo for the big view
It pairs well with a blustery red wine – like a Malbec or Syrah… and you can even tease yourself with a Negroni beforehand.
The Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 4 Garlic cloves, minced or crushed in a garlic press
- 1 (6 oz) can imported Tuna in Olive oil (see footnotes)
- 2 ounces (or more) Anchovy fillets
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red Chili flakes, or to taste
- 1 (28 oz) can Whole Tomatoes, pureed (roasted for extra zest)
- 1/2-3/4 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Pasta preferably Penne to serve two
Let’s do this
Heat a splash of olive oil in a skillet or non-stick pan.
Saute the garlic cloves very briefly just until aromatic.
Add the tuna and a suitable serving of anchovies.
As indicated above, not all tinned tuna are created equal. We found an ocean wise, lightly smoked Portuguese Bigeye Tuna at a local organic market. Get the best. You’ll be glad you did.
Stir to break up the tuna and anchovy fillets. Anchovy requires very little effort to integrate into most dishes – they practically melt… and where Umami is your goal, these little salty fillets are your best friend!
Cook for a couple of minutes. Season with the dried herbs and add the chili flakes, if using.
Add the pureed Tomatoes and then simmer for 10 minutes (while the pasta cooks). Season with a little salt and pepper, to taste.
Pour in the heavy cream and cook until heated up. Add 3/4 of your Parm-Reg cheese and continue to cook until the sauce thickens.
When the pasta is cooked, mix with the sauce. Serve with more cheese on top, if desired. Garnish with flat leaf parsley for an extra zing of green flavour – and you can also add a twist of fresh lemon juice or a small palm full of capers – the acid from this addition will balance the big Umami experience here.
This serves up two large servings with enough left over for a next day lunch. Alternately, you can invite 2 more people over and celebrate life, the Universe and everything.
Closing thoughts
This dish is an example of cooking where small tweaks of the ingredients can make a big difference. There are lots of opportunities to use your imagination. Find your local gourmet markets and spin for quality components. Here in Victoria we have so many great little stores that carry hard to find ingredients. Yes, they might be a couple bucks more but the proof is in the eating. Put a smile on someones face – cook thoughtfully – drink heartily… and enjoy each day like there is no tomorrow.Victoria resident and guy with a shopping basket permanently attached to his right hand, Colin Newell, has been writing about food and drink for decades. He believes that a dish is only as good as the things that go into it and the wine you wash it down with…
