Creamy Tomatoe and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Originally I recipe I ran across in Chatelaine, I found it needed more flavour and this is the result.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs veg oil
 1 large onion
2 garlic cloves

1 red pepper
1 large carrot
1 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs sugar
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cups chicken stock
796ml can of diced tomatoes (or an equivalent amount of fresh tomatoes diced by you)
2-4oz whipping cream
Directions:
Chop up the onion & red pepper.  Mix with the oil then place on a cooking sheet in the oven at 350F until well roasted.  I like to see some definite blackening before I pull mine out. Scrape everything on the sheet into a large saucepan.  Add the garlic (minced) and the carrot (peeled & chopped) to the saucepan.  Add the sugar. lime juice & cayenne pepper.  Cook on medium heat for five minutes.  Add the broth and diced tomatoes (with the juice).  Bring to a boil then let simmer for about 20min or until the carrots are very soft.  Purée in the pot with a hand blender or in two batches in an upright blender.  Stir in cream to taste.

The Twist:

The problem with tomatoes is acidity, with canned tomatoes the problem is even worse.  Luckily this is easily remedied by adding a bit more sugar  if you feel the need.  The cream also helps cut the acid and just gives it a fuller flavour.  The original recipe called for two celery stalks but I found the flavour a little dissonant with the rest of the dish.

If you happen to have it in the house I'd also recommend 1 tsp of smoked Paprika.  It really adds a nice touch.

One idea from the original recipe I did love was to make up a grill cheese then cut it into croutons to top your soup with.  The result is excellent.  The best grill cheese to make for this?  Smoked Cheddar on rye.

Brown Sugar Cake with Maple Icing

I found this recipe in some better living magazine a while back and  it has become one of my favourites.  The cake is a dense one and combined with this excellent icing makes a wonderful combination.

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup of milk

Icing:
1/2 package of cream cheese at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sifted icing sugar
1/4 cup butter at room temperature
3 Tbs maple syrup

Directions:

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9x9 pan. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl then set aside.  Beat butter in a large bowl until creamy, at least one minute.  Beat in sugar and vanilla, then add eggs one at a time.  Gradually add half the flour until just combined then add half the milk.  Repeat with the other half.  Pour  into the greased pan.  Bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean about 25 to 30min.  Let cool for at least 15 minutes before icing.

Icing:
Beat cream cheese with icing sugar, butter and maple syrup in a medium bowl until smooth.  Refrigerate icing until firm, about 30 minutes.

The Twist:

The first, and my favourite, to cook up three strips of bacon until crispy.  Chop them up and add most to the icing saving a little to garnish the top.  Maple-bacon icing, so good!

Actually the icing is an excellent base and the maple syrup can easily be substituted with vanilla, lemon extract, almond extract, etc.  When doing those substitutions start with 1 tsp, beat well and then taste.

When mixing the cake pay attention to the ingredients that need to be at room temperature.  You'll find it makes a big difference to the density of the cake.