Creamy Carrot and Coconut Milk Soup

This is a truly delicious soup, amazingly thick and creamy with whole range of wonderful aromas and flavors; the recipe for the soup comes from a Polish cookbook Smak życia (Taste of Life) written by a model, Agnieszka Maciąg. The book is a wonderful collection of delicious and healthy recipes from all over the world. There’s Japanese miso soup recipe, as well as Thai salad with crab, herring cooked Swedish way, and recipe for cookies from a Polish magazine, issue 1937. The recipes are accompanied with beautiful pictures of food and places from which the recipes come from. Looking at all those wonderful photographs you can almost smell and taste all the delicious meals as well as feel the atmosphere of all the wonderful places shown in the pictures. Agnieszka talks about food with passion and curiosity. For her cooking is pleasure and trying new dishes an adventure.

“In Brazil women laugh while cooking, so that there’s joy and love in their food. Cooking is a creative process. In the kitchen we become artists of life. We experience the sacred in ordinary things. For me cooking is not chemistry, it’s magic.’’

says Agnieszka, and I fully agree with that ;)

Creamy Carrot and Coconut Soup
(adapted from Smak życia by Agnieszka Maciąg)

serves 2

½ kg carrots, diced

1 tbsp butter

0,5 inch (1-2 cm) fresh ginger root, peeled and grated

375 ml (1 ½ cup) vegetable stock

1 cup (250 ml) canned coconut milk

½ lemon, juice of

salt

¼ tea spoon nutmeg

1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

1. Heat the butter in a large heavy bottomed pan, add the carrots and pepper. Sauté for a few minutes stirring occasionally.
2. Add the ginger, a pinch of salt and nutmeg.
3. Pour in warm vegetable stock, cover with a lid and simmer until the carrots are soft. If there's not enough stock to cover the carrots, add some water.
4. Stir in coconut milk, cook for 3 minutes more.
5. Add the lemon juice.
6. In blender or food processor, puree soup until smooth.
7. Sprinkle with coriander leaves.

Przepis po polsku:
Krem z marchewki z mlekiem kokosowym

Easter Braided Bread

This bread is something my family is always looking forward most on our Easter table. I made it first a few years ago using a recipe from a magazine – I can’t remember now what exactly was the magazine. The bread is truly wonderful, tender and fluffy; filled with a whole range of grains it’s just a wonderful combination of textures and flavors.


Easter Braided Bread

600 g flour
20 g fresh yeast (also known as compressed yeast or cake yeast)
2 tbsp sugar
1- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
375 ml (1 ½ cup) slightly warm water

100 g carrots, grated
2 tbsp pistachios, chopped
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp sunflower seeds

3 tbsp finely ground almonds
1 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Crumble the yeast in a large bowl. Add 100 g of flour, 1 teaspoon of sugar and all the water. Stir to combine. Cover with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and set aside for 30 min.
2. In a big bowl combine the remaining flour, sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Fold in the yeast mixture; knead to form dense, smooth dough. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for another 30 min.
3. When the dough’s doubled in size, knead for 1-2 minutes, then divide into three equal parts.
4. Preheat the oven to 200 C (390 F).
5. Combine the grated carrots, pistachios, lemon juice, and ginger together. Add to one part of the dough, knead until the carrots are incorporated. Add more flour if sticky.
6. Knead the second part of the dough with poppy seeds and sunflower seeds and the third part with ground almonds and sesame seeds.
7. Roll each piece into a long strand. Lay the strands side by side and gently braid them.
8. Place the woven dough in a wreath shape on a greased cookie sheet, tucking the ends under. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
9. Brush with water. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Przepis po polsku:
Wielkanocny warkocz

Corn Soup

I had never been a fan of corn. So, when my friend, M. had given me a recipe for corn soup, I put it away with no intention of using it. A few years later, at a fair in Quebec city, it happen to me to order a spinach tart with which I was served cream corn soup. The soup really surprised me. It had beautiful pale yellow color and tasted much much better than any other corn dish I’ve ever tried. In fact it was one of the best cream soups, I’ve ever eaten. Back in Poland I looked for the recipe my friend had given to me, and decided to make corn soup myself. The soup came out mild and creamy, very similar to the one I had eaten in Quebec. The only difference is that the soup I had in Canada was served plain, while my friend’s soup is served with leeks and carrots, which makes it even more delicious :)

When I found out that Zorra from 1 x umrühren bitte blog has asked food bloggers for cooking yellow dishes for International Women's Day, I thought right away about making the corn soup. Zorra has chosen yellow as it’s the color of Mimosa, a flower which is given to women on their day in some countries. Also in Poland women receive flowers, chocolates and other gifts on their day (the flowers don’t really have to be yellow though). I’ve already received 4 boxes of chocolate today, a bottle of wine and, even thought there’s no tradition of giving yellow flowers in Poland, I've got a beautiful yellow tulip from my husband:)

Corn Soup

1 can (400 g ) corn
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced
½ cup heavy cream
½ l vegetable stock
1 tbsp butter
½ leek, sliced
salt
white pepper
paprika

1. Boil sliced carrots in lightly salted water until desired tenderness. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes, just until the onion starts to soften.
3. Add corn and vegetable stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the corn is tender.
4. Remove from the heat and puree using a hand blender until smooth.
5. Return the soup to the pan; add cream, leek and carrots. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes or until the leek is tender.
6. Season with salt, white pepper, and paprika.

Przepis po polsku:
Zupa kukurydziana

Carrot Soup

I’ve wanted to try a carrot soup for a quite long time, but I just didn’t have any nice recipe. Luckily, a few days ago I came across Stevi’s Bread and Butter blog and found a lovely carrot soup recipe there. I cooked the soup for supper yesterday. I changed a little the proportions to make the recipe smaller and I spiced it up a little with white pepper and ginger. The result was really tasty - very creamy and warming, thus perfect for cold autumn days. The orange juice adds a nice fruity flavor to it, but be careful not to add too much as it tastes stronger than you might expect.

Carrot Soup
(based on a recipe from Stevi’s Bread and Butter blog)

1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
½ kg carrots, peeled and chopped
750 ml vegetable stock
rind and juice of half an orange
salt
white pepper
ginger

Heat the butter in a large pan, add the onions, leave them for 2 - 3 minutes.

Add carrots and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Remove the carrots and onions, but do not throw the stock away.

Liquidise all the ingredients using blender or food processor and add the puree in the stock.

Reheat gently for a couple of minutes. Season to taste.

Before you serve, add the orange juice. Grate the orange rind and garnish the individual bowls.

Przepis po polsku:
Zupa krem z marchwi