"Sri Lankan" Lime Pie ;)

I've started subscribing to all things food recently, be it bite-sized (pun intended) recipe how-to videos on FB and foodie channels on Instagram and on and on. This makes me super hangry most of the time BUT also inspires me to get into the kitchen to try my hand at a few of them. One such recipe is the "Key Lime Pie"; made originally using key limes (Floridian) and pastry for the base. I picked an easier recipe which called for;

a) Graham cracker crust - crackers were easier to find/ prepare than pastry, and I was stuck for time... boo!
b) I used Sri Lankan lime which gave a really nice tartness to the pie as a whole. No lemon either :( Darn you Keells.

The important part of baking in general is getting all the stuff ready and to be at hand; makes life MUCH easier. (Laptop with loaded recipe :D). Pictured below is the Munchee version of digestive biscuits, quite sweet but very economical. I adjusted the sugar because of this.

The base is just the Munchee graham cracker with unsalted butter, sugar and salt. It disintegrates really easily and doesn't need any fancy food processes as such. I also added some flaked coconut for added flavour. 

Base patted down and baked to perfection below! The coconut gave it a yummylicious smell once baked too. *thumb up*

Separating the egg yolks "Masterchef style" (with a judgey judge watching my every move... eeks!)

I can has whatever you're making?

Whip up condensed milk, egg yolks and lime juice and add on top of the baked crust. The lime juice thickens up the yolks and milk into a pudding texture naturally, which was a real surprise to me :D SCI-E-NCE! (I made a smaller dish of the pie as a sample for myself...nom!)

Apparently the original pie was eaten without any baking but modern recipes call for 20min or so of baking since eating uncooked eggs may not be the healthiest thing to do these days.

And, TA-DA! Pretty easy huh? It came out exactly like the stuff you get in coffee shops. I also made a passion fruit coulis (fancy talk for syrup) to go with it. I covered the pie with the foil top and wrapped in a bag before keeping it in the fridge for later. I read that it gets better with time since the flavours have time to mingle.

Full recipe over here.

Happy baking ya'll!

xo
Dee

Hooked on a Veggie Feeling

After two glorious days at Cinnamon Habarana with my in-laws, we are BACK with a vengeance to lose the extra pounds (yet again). Of course going to a hotel on full board means some amazing food and variety that you just can't say NO to (like blue cheese!) - and Cinnamon is by far NO exception. The continental food was tops and so was the Sri Lankan food. Habarana itself had a beautiful weather, a lot of rain and everything was so green, fresh and lush. Loved it.

So being back and not really in a mood to eat meat (since I binged on so much at the hotel) - I just pottered around and made this...

I used a whole-wheat Prima flat bread (available at Keels/ Cargills), slathered some french onion cheese spread (from USA but you get versions here.. mad expensive though) and topped it up with a salad of cucumbers, red cabbage, tomatoes and a dash of Italian salad dressing (not creamy, just olive oil, herbs, vinegar). In hindsight, onions and a little balsamic vinegar would have been an added yum - but what the hey.

I've been thinking of ways to "sexy"-up vegetables... it seems that chicken has been a staple for us and you tend to eat so much of it in many forms - like fresh chicken/ meatballs/ sausages/ kieves etc. So I've been trying to stop the Hub's liking for it. I personally think its the most unhealthy meat (if you must eat meat) anyone can have - only because broiler chicken is just so unnatural and full of hormones and things. Oh check out my internet-learned Pothola-dhaal curry I made for tomorrow's lunch.

Anyway, its a quiet Sunday evening with Hub at an office seminar. Snack done - off to do some work!

Ta!

Kaema Sutra (Everybody calm the F down)

So Jacqueline Fernandez (I'm a fan) has opened a new restaurant Kaema Sutra at the Independence Square arcade with the overseeing of Dharshan Munidasa of the Nihonbashi and Ministry of Crab fame. When I initially heard of it, the name stuck and I thought, hmm pretty clever and cute actually. I was also pretty excited about a restaurant which claimed to serve high-end Sri Lankan food. If you really look at it, Colombo (I'm only taking Colombo here) has a few good restaurant serving local food, namely Green Cabin (Great hoppers, very small curry dishes), Akasa Kade and Raja Bojun which serve an OK but extensive buffet. Better places would be Ape Gama (authentic villagey experience, pricey but great food as always- thanks Cinnamon!) and perhaps Semondu (I love!), which serves up Asian Fusion cuisine with a lot of local ingredients. I also found HVN (Casa Colombo) to have interesting dishes using local fare for a very decent price.

So where does Kaema Sutra fit in? Perhaps its a place I would take my business partner from abroad, or a very good friend, whome I'd like to have a taste of Sri Lankan food with an interesting experience thrown in. This is why I don't get the negative hype people are stirring up about the place.

Firstly, my MIL was tut-tutting the name (Kaema means food in Sinhala, its a play on Kama Sutra, the ancient sexy book) saying "Kaema Sutra... wena namak aththema nadda? Hamuduruwanta liyumak liwwoth mona wei da danne na"... I actually have no idea which 'hamuduruwo' she was talking about but I really wanted to let her know that HEY, you know what...I've been the temples in NEPAL (Where Lumbini, Buddha's birthplace is BTW) where there are ancient and intricate carvings of the Kama Sutra all around it. (HERE) So really, the Sutra has been around for centuries in this region and its really nothing to be too ashamed or all OMG about right? -.- In fact, I applaud our ancestors from India who wrote about the great and fun ways of doing it. Clap clap clap. Thank you for that.

Plus, again... I have no idea why Sri Lankans are so frigid about sex man. I mean, its not like babies are born by thinking about them, and its the FIRST things people ask about AFTER the wedding so SUCK IT. (No pun intended.)

And then, I get an email listing out the prices of the hoppers (apparently Rs. 200 each?) and thambili (Rs. 200) and a few derogatory sentences saying "Oh, so THIS is Jacky's new "place" where rich people eat Rs. 200 hoppers and feel good about themselves)... You know, maybe this is why Sri Lanka will probably take decades to reach the level of economic success as Singapore. Its the blatant NEGATIVITY. Yeah, so maybe Rs. 200 is a little pricey for a rice flour based dish that you can find for 1% of the cost a a smaller kadei by the side of the road. But then again, you ARE paying for overheads/ labour cost (is that a kadei man you see behind the kitchen? No.) and ambiance. And you really don't need to step into the place if you don't think you can afford it right?(For example, I still haven't gone to Ministry of Crab but I'm hoping to! I suppose its like an aspiration, and I don't really want to put down the place saying Oh, the ever so rich Mahela and Sanga are serving roast paan and crabs for prices that are sky high. Instead, why can't we just appreciate the hard work the two have done (on the field and off) and be happy that our little city has a few good restaurants which have even been ranked in the Miele Guide (giving this dumb country better hype than what our politicians ever create in the long run)?

I also think Jacky has worked her @ss off in the Bollywood industry (NOT an easy shell to crack)...she's a household name in India and its an honour that she should invest her hard-earned money in creating a restaurant that serves local delicacies to those who can afford it. We should be happy. Anyway that's what I think. Haters gonna hate Jackie, but seriously... I know this is the last thing people in this country should be worried about [lack of water in the dry zone/ BBS & ethnic tension/ Malaka in politics (say what)] but really, such negativity. People should seriously calm the fuck down and chill the fuck out.

Good Times at Dilmah t-Lounge

Time spent at the Dilmah t-Lounge (DTL) is just pure pleasure. No this isn't some sort of paid post (though Good Times would LOVE to get into that! Teehee)... I just really love the place.

Starting off with the little things...it's Valentines weekend apparently and the place was already decked up with little classy touches of rose, red and pink. I anyway love the interior of the place to begin with, and the promotional themes stick to being creative and classy at the same time.

The food! The last time we went, Hubs tried the chocolate crepe which was much better than the Pani Pol crepe I had sometime back. Really crunchy and chocolatey and great.

. . . did I mention that the service rocks? No? Well, the service rocks. I love the ladies who serve the customers and they are so friendly and good to go with anything really. We also got really good, soft, almond sponge cake on the house. Yay!

. . . and my favorite favorite FAVORITE drink at DTL would currently be (I say currently because I used to consume insane amounts of Green Sencha with Lemongrass and Mint till recently) the TKT or the TinKiri Tea. OMG. That's all I can say. O - M - G. It's like frothy heaven in a cup. Sure, you can make perfectly good TKT at home but NOT how Dilmah makes it!! Plus, it comes in the cutest double layer glass...super classy looking and doesn't heat up the glass at all.

and you know the best thing ever?

I managed to convert hub into a TKT fan! Whoohoo... bwahaha....look at the face of appreciation!

DTL is a refreshing change to the many coffee shops popping up everywhere (Gloria Jeans, Cocoon, Hansa, Coffee Bean and the many Baristas)... and I hope they will continue their superb work.

There's a great article on the crisis in the tea industry in this month's Echelon (again, not paid advertising lol!)...which talks about the high costs of maintaining plantations and the dearth of workers. The industry will definitely have to look into innovative ways to keep it going... would be such a waste otherwise. We definitely DO have the best tea ever and it's so great to take a box to friends abroad and see their faces light up... I guess that's what Dilmah does right...bringing a centuries old quality product into the 21st century and making it super hip.

BEST RED VELVET CUPCAKES!!! EVER!!!!

I was always intimidated by cream cheese frosting so I never got around to making anything which I could use it on... but then A super close friends birthday came along and I decided to try something special... (also because I had cream cheese at home :) )

So here's my recipe with a few tweaks (from lanka)



Best Red Velvet Cupcakes
This recipe for originally adapted from Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, which is pretty neat… (however I stole it from the internet) J
This recipe makes one dozen cupcakes.  Double the recipe and you’ll have either two dozen cupcakes, or enough batter to make 2 9-inch layer cakes.  Which is quite awesome?

• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used motha cocoa powder)  
• 2  Tablespoons red food coloring (unless you want to buy wilton gel paste which is awesome, I used starbrand food colouring)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk OR 1 cup Yogurt
• 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda OR 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes on a low speed. Turn mixer to high and add  the egg.  Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl mix together cocoa, vanilla and red food coloring to make a thick paste.  Add to the batter, mixing thoroughly until completely combined.  You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

Turn mixer to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk.  Add half of the flour and salt and mix until combined.  Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour.  Beat on high until smooth.

Turn mixer to low and add baking soda and white vinegar.  Turn to high and beat a few more minutes.
Spoon batter into a paper lined cupcake baking pan and bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center cupcake comes out clean.

Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then place them of a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting (My version of it)

The original recipe calls for ground cinnamon powder but since I'm not a big fan I used my own recipe.

double the recipe to frost a 2 layer 9-inch cake

• 1 3/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 ounces cream cheese, cold 
• dash of Milk 
• Pinch of salt

Beat the sugar and butter together in the bowl .  Mix on medium-slow speed until it comes together and is well mixed.
Add the cream cheese all at once and beat on medium to medium-high until incorporated.
Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes, or until the frosting becomes light and fluffy.
Do not over-beat as the frosting can quickly become runny.

The Ombré Project!!!

So my friend is heavily pregnant, and her sister and I decided to throw a baby shower...

I've been wanting to try out this amazing cake that I keep seeing on blogs, the Ombré cake... What is Ombré you ask... well that was my question too... Basically, it is just a fancy name (french of course) for faded.... I made a pink Ombré cake, and I am proud as punch that it came out oh so awesome as it did....  After searching HIGH and low for a good/easy/practical recipe I came across Tummy Train This site is amazing and includes step by step pictures too!! (HURRAH!!!) Which the author got off  Le Cordon Bleu

The cake is super soft and moist.... and salted icing is amazing and the fact that the layers are sandwiched with jam makes it nicer to eat, not as sweet as it would be....

For the cake

1. 355 grams (about 2 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour*
2. 1 tablespoon baking powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 225 millilitres (less than 1 cup) milk
5. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6. 400 grams (about 1 3/4 cups) caster sugar
7. 225g (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
8. 4 medium eggs
9. Pink food colour
10. Strawberry Jam, to spread between layers

For the icing

1. 400 grams (about 3 1/2 cups) confectioner's sugar, sifted
2. 200 grams (about 2 sticks) salted butter, chopped into cubes and softened to room temperature
3. Extra table salt to taste
4. Sprinkles, to decorate (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease whatever 7 or 8-inch round cake tins you have. You may or may not line the base of your tins with baking paper, but make sure to properly grease and dust the tins (and paper, if using) with flour. Tap out the excess flour.

Make the cake

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. In a measuring glass, mix milk and vanilla together until vanilla is fully incorporated.
3. Using electric mixer on low speed, beat sugar and butter in a large bowl until blended. Increase speed to high and beat for 2 mins or until pale and creamy.
4. Reduce speed to medium low. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add a third of the flour mixture into the bowl, alternating with half the milk mixture. Add half of the flour mixture again, then pour in the last of the milk mixture. Scrape the bowl before adding the last of the flour mixture, beating until smooth. Make sure to begin and end with the flour mixture.
6. Divide mixture evenly into 5 medium bowls. Leave one bowl of batter white, then very gradually add colouring to each bowl and gently fold it into the mixture, adding slightly more colouring as you do each bowl so that the 5 bowls give you a even gradient of colour.
7. Pour batter into prepared tins and bake each layer for about 15-20 minutes***, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean and the outside is golden. The sides of the cake would have begun to pull away from the tin as well.
8. Cool cakes in the tin for 5 minutes and then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Prepare the icing

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter on high until smooth and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium-low to prevent the sugar from flying everywhere, and gradually add the confectioner's sugar until combined.
2. Increase speed to high and beat until icing is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes or so. Gradually add any extra table salt to taste if needed.

Prepare cake for icing

1. Depending on the size and shape of the tray you use, you may want to trim the tops of your cake layers a bit to make sure they are level, but it's all right if you don't. Layer cakes with jam (or more icing), using a spatula to gently even out the filling. 
2. You may stack the cakes according to your preference, either from the dark colour up or starting from the light colour.

Quick Tips/ Things to remember

• Before you start >>> 1 stick of butter = 100g
• Remember to dust your cake trays with flour 
• Break egg in to a separate cup and then add to the batter. (to avoid any unwanted bits going in to the cake batter)

I cane bake one for you!!!

Just let me know!!

xoxo
 D

lazy sundays...

Lazy sundays bring Lazy moments. however  while at ammas lazily I might add I watched 5 ingredient fix The recipes are super easy to make... Yet as Claire Robinson went on convincing me that I HAD TO BAKE THIS MUFFIN, I was thinking BARF! I.HATE.BANANAS!!! BLEURGHHH!!! so what goes well with bananas >>> YAY CHOCOLATE!!! Everything chocolate is a WIN in my book!

Ingredients

• 4 ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups self-rising flour (incase you don't have this, use same quantity of flour + 1tsp baking powder + 1 tsp salt)
• Milk Chocolate - I used ritzbury chocolate and cut it up in to chunks
• 1 tsp vanilla 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper muffin liners.

Peel the bananas and add to a large bowl. Add the honey and mash the bananas with a fork until very liquefied but still a little lumpy.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk solids have turned a nutty golden brown.

To the brown butter, add about 1 cup of the mashed banana mixture and whisk to combine. Cook for a few more minutes until a darker golden color is achieved. Add to the remaining mashed banana mixture and whisk to combine, then whisk in the egg, add the chocolate and vanilla. Fold in the flour, in 2 batches, with a rubber spatula, until just combined; do not over mix. With an ice cream scoop, evenly divide the batter among the muffin tin cups.

Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown and the tops spring back when pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TADAAAA!!! the muffins are done!

 

 

What were you up to this weekend?

 

xoxo

D

nomnomnomnom the husband has already requested for it... which is a first because he's super health conscious and would die before munching away on something unhealthy/carby/sweet/ etc!

Pavlova you say?!

Hello world... :D 

Sorry we've both been quiet for the past few days... (MONTHS) its been a busy couple of weeks (months).... 

But I've been baking and cooking and freezing and frying and icing :D 

so I was bored one day... what do I do when I get bored and fidgety ?! I bake!!! Made a pavlova. Came out quite well I must say (at least since it was my first time eva)

The recipe was adopted from Donna Hay. Quite easy really!!!

Pavlova

• eggwhite (approximately 4 eggs)
• 1 cup (220g) caster (superfine) sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch), sifted
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• I used a small pack of anchor whipping cream.. which works fine.. you can even use the kothmale heavy/double cream.  
•  You can use any fruit you want. I used mango and passion fruit ( added a wee bit of sugar to cut the tartness)

 How to Make... in a few easy peasy steps!

• Place the eggwhite in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. 
• Gradually add the sugar, whisking well, until the mixture is stiff and glossy.
• Add the cornflour and vinegar and whisk until just combined. 
• Shape the mixture into an 18cm round on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.

 

•  Reduce oven to 120°C (250°F) and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes.
• Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool completely in the oven.

•  Whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Spread over the pavlova with fruits you pick.

Serves 8–10.* You’ll know when the meringue is stiff and glossy because the mixture will have tripled in volume and stands up when the beaters are lifted.* The low heat puffs up the meringue while the long cooking time dries it out to give you a lovely crisp shell.* Store your pavlova, undressed, in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Quick tips for the meringue

●Make sure the eggs are room temperature before you start whisking.
●Make sure there is no water in the bowl you use to make the meringue.
●only top the pav with fruits and cream just before serving.
●If its left over, don't worry just keep it in the fridge. Will stay unspoilt for 2-3 days (with fruit topping)


Let me know how it comes out!!

xoxo
D 

Going Vegan....

Is it doable? Well since of late (say around 6 months to a year) I've been juicing, green juice to be exact. Morning and night, It actually helps with weight loss, gives you clear skin, great bowel movement =D, you actually start to glow a little, You feel light, active, and the list goes on and on...

I've considered going vegan/veg a few times and I was a vegetarian when I was 15 to about my early 20's till I got chicken pox and then my mother insisted I took some protein i.e MEAT! for some people giving up meat is unheard of, like my husband. He would NEVER in a million years do so.

So i'm going to try to give up. again! TRY to convince the husband to do so too! Reasons to give up!!!lets see how it goes!!!


Vegan recipes for wanna be vege fooodies!

Disclaimer: Foodie post ahead!

So, Beet get his British-food cravings once in a way. Last time it was chips and gravy. He set out to replicate the same in our kitchen. He fried the chips (nothing close to the wedge-chips you get there apparently), made a gravy (no idea how he did it) and then mixed the lot with onions and lots of cheese. Not bad...It could even be a hit in pubs I reckon...and call it Beet's Binge or something...

Jagro's new outlet is AMAZING. Each thing I've ever ordered never fails to disappoint. The latest was their "Vanilla sandwich" which had a moist, light sponge cake which wasn't overly sweet, sandwiched with strawberry jam, cream and their gorgeous strawberries on top! Yum! The pic below of their strawberry tart was taken when we met CJ at his office. MAN. Strawgasmn is not the word. I could eat the little things by the handful.

Suro had been bugging me to go for this wine and tapas Happy Hour at Sugar Bistro for weeks and I finally had the time to do just that. We were there by about 5.30pm (bebaddo!?) and ordered the rose wine which came nice and chilled at 50% off (yay!)
We left around 8pm but were little annoyed because the tapas were not 50% like their advertising claimed. A little misleading but what the hey, it was good fun and good food - so can't complain really. 

Dilgirl and I met up randomly as I was picking up a gift for a friend from Paradise Road on Alfred House Garden. We ho-hummed at going to cricket club (bit dull - they really need to update their menus)...and Paradise Road Cafe (lil' expensive for a small meet up)...and I suddenly remembered The Boulevard opposite to Cricket Club. Now I'm a firm believer of the Tasty Caterers, I mean look at La Rambla and Crossroads... really good food at good prices! And Boulevard didn't disappoint either.

We ordered a appetizer, which was battered prawns with an awesome mango sauce and really great chicken skewers with a peanut sauce. They had a nice salad to go with it with raw papaya cut like a lattice. Nice touch. 

And we shared a quesadilla from the main menu... so good :D Their juices are super as well...and large potions. 

 

Anyone tried the new McDonald's "Hot Cakes"? I had to whine my way to buying it, with a super "let's eat healthy" hubby around. Bah. Basically it's 3 fluffy American pancakes, butter and maple syrup. We had it for tea at home and it's really great. Not too great for calorie counters but a nice treat to share for sure...

Happy day foodies! :*
Dee

Paan Paan's Dark Rye

I made my first visit to Paan Paan the other day. A little late, I know. Paan Paan is a small place with lots of attitude, and awesome customer service (seriously, how many people greet a customer genuinely these days...) and smells delicious the moment you step in.

Their sliced brown bread is awesome and so is the loaf. I bought their Dark Rye Bread (Rs. 350) to try and DARK and RYE it was!! :/

It had the consistency of a chocolate cake gone wrong (Like, "Honey I forgot the baking powder" kind of wrong) and frankly tasted a little shitty. I gave half away to Mom (gah! regretting now)...and took the rest home to have it in the night.

But let me say, it is absolutely BRILLIANT toasted. Just slice it, TOAST it and slather some butter while hot. (Diet, fail) Mustard paste, Marmite and butter tasted better.

On another note, Beet had also brought some pork sausages from a Pusellawa Farm Shop, and even though it looked like something out of Ankh-Morpork, it so well seasoned, so meaty (doesn't feel processed, just meaty-meat O.o) and SO good.

 
I think so... :D

A bowl of Yum

Recipe for a bowl of Yum 

Italian tortellini stuffed with prosciutto
Seasoned chicken from Pussellawa Farm shop
Local mozzarella cheese
Herbs


Boil tortellini for 15min or so, drain. Devil the bejesus out of the chicken. Serve together in a bowl. Top with grated mozzarella mixed with herbs.

EAT!

Pink soup

Hello there!!!

So post-marraige has been blissful. The first few weeks saw me calling Mom and Doodle for the simplest recipies such as Onion Sambol because truthfully, I have been pampered all my life and never had to cook for myself or anyone ever. The funniest thing is, after the question "How's married life?", the next thing any Sri Lankan newlywed would be asked is, "Sooo....are you cooking?"... This irked me after a few months because its as if the man would die of hunger just because his mother's cooking wasn't at hand.

Geez. Give me a break.

Anyway, I digress. I am a happy recipe-book-buyer, and happened to come across a book called "Mmm...soups" at Arpico. After browsing through it, I was seriously face-palming myself at how frikking EASY making soups were. Seriously..if I had known this before...I'd be making soups all my life!!!

Anyway...so I made a few soups for a few months, inventive as I went along. One evening, I realized we had a whole beetroot left behind in the fridge and decided to make it into soup without telling Beetroot (Husband now affectionately called Beetroot from here onwards)...because he HATES beetroot for some odd reason.

Luckily, as Beet hungout in his man-cave (his TV/ surround sound/ Xbox room), I quickly whipped up the beet soup and added some leftover fish to make it a little more nuitrious.

NOTE TO SELF: NEVER add the fish with skin ON, into soup. Results may vary but my wonderful beet soup definitely had a weird fishy aftertaste.

Let me quickly share the recipie -

Take the beet, wash and cut into smallish square. Potatoes/ celery/ carrots can also be added as wished. Add some olive oil into a deep pan, add onions, garlic and let it sweat on low heat. Must sweat, not go brown. Add beet and other veggies, stir it a bit and let it be. Add stock. (I used diluted Ma's chicken stock power - but I fancy real stock must be much better)... Add the fish and let it boil, them simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the soup is amulgamated, sieve it, take off any fish bones, puree the vegetables and add back into the soup, add some milk or cream and serve.

For Dee's sexy croutons

Add olive oil into a flat pan, brown some squares of bread on it.

Serve soup into a bowl, add bread and top with a little grated cheese.

Serve to unsuspecting beet-hating Beet and watch in glee.

Beet liked the soup quite a bit and was pleasantly amused at the colour too. I must say this is one of my favorite soups to make and the colour is pretty rad too.

 
Happy cooking!