Carrot and Coriander Soup

This soup is one my ultimate comfort foods. I grew up on this soup in England and was heartbroken to discover that no one has heard of it in America! Coriander = cilantro, and for whatever reason, this gorgeous soup never took off stateside. Don’t let cilantro put you off, this soup is a must try.

*Warning: this isn’t super broke student friendly, it requires either a food processor or an immersion blender. If you’re interested in foraying into the world of making cheaper and healthier meals for yourself though, something like a food processor can be a really good investment.

Ingredients:

1 glug of oil

450 g of carrots

1 potato

1 onion

1 tsp cilantro/coriander

1.2L broth (chicken or veg)

Directions:

1. Chop up the onion into small pieces, and try not to weep.

2. Toss the onions into a big pan simmering with some oil, and let them fry for 5 minutes, or until they start to soften

3. Wash and chop up your potato and carrots. If you bought big carrots, you should probably peel them, but I bought a bag of mini carrots and I was not dealing with that shit, so I left them. They were probably already skinned and processed, lets be real.

4. Throw the potato and coriander in with the onion.

5. Add chicken broth, carrots, and bring to boil.

6. Once it’s started boiling turn down the heat just a little, and let it cook covered (I like to tilt the top so it doesn’t bubble over) in that mildly bubbly phase for about 20 minutes. The way to tell when they’re done is to take out a carrot, let it cool a little and bite into it. If there’s no crunch, it’s ready.

7. Now for the fun part. If you have a food processor, just chuck it all in and whizz it in pulses until it’s essentially mush. With an immersion blender, maybe let it cool a little but leave it in the pot and just whizz right in there. My blender is kinda cranky so it took some time, but I could’ve stopped a while before and just left some chunks of carrots. Not a big deal really. Just make sure it’s soup-like and you’re good to go. Maybe add salt and pepper to taste if you’re like my roommate and like flavoring things.

This makes at least 4 solid servings. You could probably stretch it out more than we did, but it’s been cold as fuck here and it didn’t seem like the time to skimp on our soup servings.

I’d just like to reiterate how much I fucking love this soup. I grew up on it, and this recipe did not disappoint. Those were some high standards too, let me tell you. I honestly hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Take 2

I recently saw bloggers complain about people claiming how easy it is to be healthy, and then listing recipes that have 10000000 ingredients you would never normally buy or use more than once. It’s a valid argument, and one that reminded me why I started this blog. It’s one thing to understand nutrition and to want to make an effort to eat better, but it is 100% different to have the financial resources and access to stock your fridge with vegetables and your cupboards with almond milk and flax seeds. Seriously, there has to be another way to maintain good nutrition on a college budget and a college skill set.  And that’s why I’m going to try my best to revive this blod. I know I’ve been M.I.A, and I am truly sorry. My best explanation is that I started this during my easiest semester in college, and I came back to my hardest semester of college. I gave up everything that wasn’t school and dance to make sure I didn’t crash and burn, which was the right plan. Now I have a slightly easier schedule, and a date with the North American Irish Dance Championships in Montreal this summer, and I decided it’s time to start making an effort to cook more, and buy Wendy’s on campus less. 

I will try and make sure everything on here is still “culinary impaired” friendly, because believe me, I’m still very much a mess in the kitchen. But I will also make an effort to make sure I’m offering options for healthy meals that are cheap and affordable. I can’t promise it’ll be regular but I’ll do my best! My roommate and I want to try a new recipe every week, and then build up a few favorite to make in bulk and freeze. I’ll keep you updated on that. 

Anyways, I just wanted to check in and say that I haven’t forgotten about this blog! 

P.S. Hope my fellow east coasters are enjoying snowpocalypse part 2. 4 day weekend for us at UNC! 

Tuna Hash… Minus the Tuna

You guys, today was a struggle. I was all excited to cook this tuna hash, because it sounded sooo good, it was easy, and I’m a huge fan of everything in it so what could go wrong, right?

Well, I could be physically incapable of opening the can of tuna. That could happen. Fun fact, that did happen. To be fair, can openers are funky little objects and the one in my apartment belongs to the other girl I live with and I could not for the life of me figure out how to use it. I clamped every part of it I could think of to the can, turned the wheel, but nothing. Alas, this was tuna-less tuna hash.

EVEN SO, this was delicious and a great vegetarian meal if you supplement it with an extra source of protein.

Ingredients:

2 medium sized potatoes

185g can of tuna (If you can open it, that is)

Bit of butter

1/2 340 g can of sweet corn (I just guesstimated 1/4 of my 432 g can but really it doesn’t matter)

Glug of oil

Instructions:

1. Cut your potato into little cubes and throw in a pot with some water.

2. Boil potatoes until they’re tender, can take around 10 minutes or maybe more, depending on how high heat you use.

3. Drain the liquid from the pan and stir in your butter with the potatoes.

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium and throw in your potatoes, sweet corn, and tuna. Stir gently.

5. Allow the potatoes to brown and stop stirring before tuna goes mushy.

6. Serve and enjoy- tuna or no tuna 🙂

This is a really really easy meal that makes a can of tuna go a long way… if you get to the tuna at all!

Fall Flavored Breakfast

Disclaimer: Fall is my all time favorite season. Chapel Hill is truly stunning this time of year- it just doesn’t get better than bright clear blue skies above you and every color imaginable in the trees around you. We have so many trees here it’s like an explosion of color when they change. Right now it’s still mostly greens but I’m seeing some yellows and getting excited!

Anywayyys, my flat mate is a pretty big fan of fall and all its accompanying benefits, like fall flavored food! The pumpkin spice latte is back at Starbucks and now at every other place that serves coffee. I have discovered the caramel apple spice drink at Starbucks which, for the record, is apple pie in a cup. We have a large tin of pumpkin spice tea in our apartment. A couple of weeks ago we had a large amount of pumpkin bread in the apartment. I’d been looking up recipes for other fall themed food, and it was all either desserts involving pumpkin or large dinners.

Well, yesterday I was having my daily struggle to NOT go buy biscuits for breakfast, when my flat mate suggested I eat the sweet potato I’ve done nothing with for 3 weeks for breakfast. I gave her a look saying “sweet potato for breakfast…what…” but I let her explain because she definitely knows more about cooking then I do. She went on to say if I just mashed up the sweet potato, spread butter and sprinkled brown sugar/cinnamon it would be really good and a perfect brunch dish since it was about 11 am. It was REALLY good.

My only issue is that it requires using a proper knife. Which clearly I can’t handle that early in the morning because I managed to slice my finger cooking breakfast. I think midterms drain my ability to do anything other than school work.

Nevertheless, without further ado, my fall flavored breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato

Small amount of butter

Sprinkling of brown sugar and whatever flavor you want

(I actually used apple spice which had cinnamon in it so I didn’t add more but you can use whatever flavor your heart desires)

Instructions:

Pro tip 1: Check what side of the knife you’re holding. Don’t press down if your finger is on the sharp side of the blade.

1. Cut the sweet potato up. Or not actually. It probably cooks and mashes quicker if you cut it up into chunks but I gave up cutting the potato when I couldn’t even cut the whole way around, so I microwaved that baby whole and it was just fine.

2. Microwave for 5 minutes on high. (Really just until it’s soft enough to mash)

3. Mash.

4. Throw into a bowl, add your butter, sugar, spices or whatever you want, toss, and enjoy!

I’ll admit I was a little skeptical about having it for breakfast, and I think I’d still prefer my oatmeal with a sprinkle of brown sugar if I wanted something sweet, but if you’re craving something fall flavored, try this out for any meal or snack and let me know how it goes! I’m curious as to what other flavors people put in.

That time I set my oven on fire

What’s up y’all! I’m back! It’s been an amazing summer, but school is finally back in swing and I’m settled into my apartment nicely. I actually used the oven for the first time today, and what better way to start off the school year than by…. setting the oven on fire the first time you use it. Yes, that happened.

Funnily enough, this post was originally going to be called “The lasagna that wasn’t”. You see, I promised my lovely house mate I’d make her lasagna for her birthday, and we invited our neighbor over to share and get to know each other. It was all set to be a respectable evenings, with just a couple major flaws.

1. I’ve never cooked lasagna before

2. I mix and matched my recipes and pretty much just put in whatever I had of things (aka I was unwilling to spend too much money in the grocery store)

3. I’m apparently not good at following directions

So, from these fatal flaws, here’s what went wrong with the lasagna.

– Housemate requested ricotta cheese in place of cottage cheese, so I only used ricotta, not thinking I might need other cheese too.

– I only bought a small thing of ricotta and sauce so I halved half of the recipe, while keeping the other parts at full measurements

– I used way too big of a pan for the amount I had

– I used uncooked lasagna sheets that I’m pretty sure you had to cook first

So, the lasagna was flat and crispy around the edges, but otherwise it actually tasted really good. (At least I thought so). It wasn’t the disaster I expected. No. The garlic bread was the disaster I did not expect.

I had thrown some garlic bread into the oven as we were waiting for the lasagna to cool just in case the lasagna was inedible. As I was taking the garlic bread out, whatever way I grabbed the pan, it wasn’t flat and the piece of bread towards the back must’ve rolled off the back and down onto the hot bars on the bottom of the oven. Needless to say, the bread went up in flames, smoke started pouring out of the oven, and our smoke detector promptly went off.

Luckily, our neighbor handled the smoke detectors while we opened doors and windows to try and get the smoke out. The fire was contained in the oven so we figured we’d just let it burn out and leave the bread till it was cool.

After that things pretty much went according to plan. We ate, and it was edible! But man, I was not expecting the bread to be the eventful part of dinner. Oh well, it was funny as hell!

It isn’t goodbye, just see you later

So, mixed feelings about todays post. This past week has been a roller coaster, and I won’t go into details because who wants to hear about my problems, but long story short, my house flooded and my kitchen is currently MIA among the displaced contents of my basement. Now, we’re working to clear it and get back to eating more than toast and apple cider for dinner (I feel like I’m back in the dorms), but I’m actually not going to be around to see it cleared out. At the end of the week I’m headed out of the country (again) for 5 weeks! I’m going to China, and while I will have a kitchen from time to time, my access to internet is more the question. I am not sure if wordpress is blocked by the Great Firewall of China, but even if it isn’t, my internet connection may not be fantastic enough for me to get on frequently. 

So where does that leave us? Well, I decided I’m just going to take a hiatus from now until I return in August. I will keep track of anything I cook (don’t worry, no dog, I promise), so expect some cool stuff in August when I return, and details of my trip! In the mean time, I will be rambling on over on Tumblr about anything and everything, so come visit me there at http://katedoestheworld.tumblr.com 

Until then, 

 

P.S. If y’all haven’t been watching the tennis at Wimbledon, get on that! This tournament is insane, with half of the top 4 going out in the first round in both ladies and mens. The ladies is anybody’s tournament as they go into semi’s tomorrow, and Andy Murray might finally get his Wimbledon slam in the mens. Seriously, get your butts online and find a stream of Wimbledon if you like tennis. You won’t regret it. K I’m done. Peace out y’all. ❤ 

I got a tumblr.

So guys and gals, I gave in. I’ve held out for a long time because heaven knows I already have enough places on the internet to procrastinate, but today, I made a tumblr. It kind of started out as my outlet to post all the funny (read: stupid) pictures I find that I’d feel bad about spamming you all with. 

That being said, you’re not getting away that easily.

 

It’s actually marginally relevant too. I cooked asparagus the other day and it’s AMAZING. I don’t think I’ve ever had it before, but it’s not one of those foods I refused to eat out of principle of having decided to not like it. Anyways, it was absurdly easy to cook and a healthy (more importantly, yummy) addition to any meal. You can cook it any number of ways but the easiest is just boil it for 3-5 mins and then sprinkle seasoning on if you wanted… but it’s so not necessary.

Anyways. If you fancy seeing more stupidly funny pictures relating to food and anything else I come up with, go check out my tumblr at http://katedoestheworld.tumblr.com/ (the gifs actually work on tumblr!)  (Why am I so wordpress-tech challenged?) (Help!)

 

Comfort cooking for that SUPER healthy friend

Ever had a friend who follows strict nutritional guidelines, eg. eating certain grams of protein and carbs and certain times of the day and what not? Well, my best friend (also a dancer) has been out of commission with injury for almost a year now, and in order to stay in shape and healthy came up with a diet plan with a nutrition specialist that worked for her. I’m so proud of her, she looks amazing and is healthier than I’ve ever seen her, but my god, it makes it hard to cook for her! I try to be healthy but I a lot that she normally wouldn’t. Now to be fair, she’s normally good about eating what she’s given but I feel bad serving something I know she doesn’t really want to eat. At the same time, I can’t serve just salad for dinner, and I’m not great at fancy meats. I’m also a comfort food craver (if you haven’t noticed). It’s basically all I eat. Yesterday though, I found the answer.

Sweet potato fries.

They are possibly the greatest thing ever. They’re like regular fries. But better. SO MUCH BETTER. They have more flavor. More nutritional benefits. I’ve never been more excited about a food. How excited, you ask? This excited.

Click the picture for the pure joy that is Karen Gillan and Matt Smith doing a happy dance. Do it.

I barely have anything to write.

Ingredients: (this is enough for about 2 people, sweet potatoes are huge so 1 potato per person probably measures out pretty well, but can you believe a serving of 2 sweet potatoes is only 89 calories! awesome.)

2 sweet potatoes

1 glug of oil

Sprinkling of garlic salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven at 220 degrees Celsius.

2. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes but don’t peel them.

3. Cut them into about 1/2 in circles and then slice them into fingers.

Pro tip 1: So I have no upper body strength (the ultimate irish dancer problem) and thus struggled to cut a sweet potato in the aforementioned fashion… don’t judge me. Anyways, for those of you who know how real the struggle is, it might be easier to cut lengthwise down the potato and create slices from there. They might look a little less fry like but who actually cares?

4. Throw the slices into a zip lock bag, drizzles in the oil and sprinkle the garlic salt. Shake well until all the fries are covered in a good coating. If it’s not enough just add more.

5. Spread the fries out on a pan and place in oven, cooking for 30-35 minutes. Check once around 20 minutes to flip the fries.

It’s that easy. We made these with BBQ chicken and coleslaw, all absurdly easy and yummy. I strongly recommend.

Meanwhile in Ireland…

The internet is a weird and wonderful place, and most people online have just way too much time on their hands, or are busy not working. Sometimes, this results in unproductivity. Others, it results in this:

This might just be the most accurate representation of Irish cuisine, ever. Thank you random stranger, for making my day.

“You must forgive me if I’m up and goin’ to Carolina in my mind”

“In my mind I’m goin’ to Carolina
Can’t you see the sunshine
Can’t you just feel the moonshine
Ain’t it just like a friend of mine
To hit me from behind
And I’m goin’ to Carolina in my mind”

– James Taylor

You guys, I’m home. Well, one of my homes. I have many, but right now, Chapel Hill feels a lot like home and man have I missed this place. It is SO good to be back in this beautiful town. I had an amazing 5 months abroad that I wouldn’t trade for the world, and all you college students thinking about studying abroad: DO IT DO IT DO IT. I had an amazing time and have made best friends I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Sunset on the river Lee near my *former* apartment in Cork. I will always love this beautiful place.

Nevertheless, I am loving the heat, the blue skies, the scorching sun, the endless tree cover, the ridiculous thunderstorms, driving my bug again, living in a proper house with a real kitchen and no flat mate, and did I mention the fact that it actually feels like summer? I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited for warm weather.

I actually go here. And yes, it’s actually this beautiful. (Not my picture)

Alright, enough gushing about how Chapel Hill leaves a stamp on your heart. You guys get the picture. I’ve actually been back for a solid 2 weeks if not more but it’s been a crazy time involving dance competitions, catching up with friends and family, birthday parties and readjusting to American life. This week is finally looking like it’s settling into normal life, so I figured I’d kick it off by getting back to blogging!

I’ve not really cooked much since getting home since my mother dearest is home and she is an amazing cook (thanks for nothing on those genes, mum) so she kind of just does everything for me food wise because she assumes my state of uselessness in the kitchen. I’m trying to do more, but it won’t be as frequent as when I was in Ireland. That being said, as a result of the various parties, I’ve done a fair amount of baking, which I happen to be really good at, so don’t be surprised to see some yummy baked goods in the next few recipes. I can’t promise they’re healthy but they’re really quite easy, and everything in moderation, right? 🙂

Alright, no recipes today because I’m still recovering from a tummy bug and don’t even want to think about food right now, so instead, I’ll leave you with picture highlights of my month abroad, and a little note that while I will try to post consistently over the summer, I’m actually leaving the country (again) for 6 weeks at the beginning of July! This time I’m off to Asia… but more on that later!

Cork at christmas!

St. Finbarre’s Cathedral in the winter

London in January snow

London from the top of The Shard over Easter, equally as cold as when I was there in the snow in January!!!

Heineken Cup quarterfinals at Twickenham!

Buckingham Palace, half mast for Margaret Thatcher

more London ( I could’ve gone on forever with my pictures from London, really, it’s probably my favorite city ever)

BEACH!!

Streets of Malaga

Streets of Malaga

Panorama Malaga from the Alcazaba- Moorish fortress

View of Puento Neuvo from El Tajo Gorge in Ronda. Prettiest place ever.

View of Granada from the Alhambra

St. Finbarre’s Cathedral in the Spring (this was actually late May so almost summer but it was the first time it felt like spring in Ireland!!!)

Celebratory post-finals drink at the college bar. Woo!