Spicy Curried Carrot Soup

I realized I had about 3 pounds of carrots in my fridge that I needed to start using up. Since the weather has been cold, a carrot soup seemed like the perfect plan. I found this recipe and was excited by the ingredients and flavor combinations. This soup is delicious, but you need to like curry. I love spicy soups, but feel free to remove or cut back on the chili.

This soup is really filling and is a meal in itself. Serve with some crusty bread and a small salad and you're set. This is only a soup of 2, so you most likely won't have leftovers, but the recipe can easily be doubled.

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Hoisin Chicken Stir Fry

The other day I realized I had 2 bell peppers sitting in the fridge next to a jar of hoisin sauce and realized it was time for a stir fry. This recipe is pretty easy and doesn't require too much effort. If you want more sauce, add a little bit of water towards the end of cooking, or proportionally increase the ingredients in the hoisin sauce mixture.

Serve this with plain rice and you have a complete meal. You can use different vegetables if desired or make this vegetarian as well. The recipe can be easily adjusted to your liking.

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Mushroom Risotto

Since recently realizing I can make good risotto at home, I have spent more than a few evening standing over my stove and stirring. Though the process of making risotto is a little time consuming, it is actually really easy to make.

This recipe is simple and doesn't require any particular kitchen skill except patience. You can use almost any kind of mushroom in the recipe such as shiitake, chanterelle, or even simple button mushrooms. The flavor will be more intense with a more flavorsome mushroom like shiitake, but button mushrooms will be tasty as well. Since you can never say exactly how much stock will be needed for making risotto, err on the side of caution and prepare 7 cups (though I only used 5).

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Homemade Spelt Pasta

I have recently discovered spelt flour and am a fan. The taste of spelt flour is not too different from wheat flour, so it's a pretty good substitute. After reading a traditional Italian pasta cookbook the other day, I really wanted to experiment with making fresh pasta, but wanted to try out my recently purchased spelt flour. I found this spelt pasta recipe and was really happy with the end result.

I made ravioli the first time I used this recipe. I don't have a pasta machine, so rolling and re-rolling the dough was the best way for me to get the dough thin enough. It would be a lot easier with a pasta machine, but it is doable by hand. The result is not as delicate, but I was happy with the end result. The one thing to look out for is to make sure the pasta does not dry out since it can become brittle, so work as quickly as you can. Use this pasta for any shape or form.

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