carrot gazpacho with lemongrass / March 30, 2016 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

carrot gazpacho with lemongrass | dolly and oatmeal

i know last week i talked about the spring cookbook season, but we're getting into the thick of here! love & lemons is one of the first internet food spaces i visited and became a fan of before i even had a blog of my own. i always admired jeanine's simple, easily prepared but flavorful dishes, and her husband's light, bright, and airy photography. their book, the love & lemons cookbook, is the best kind of extension from their blog that they create together - thoughtful, charming design, and heavy on beautiful food photos. my favorite part (which gave me actual goosebumps!) is where jeanine lays out recipe diagrams in the back of the book. among others, there's one for pesto with variations including: traditional, pepita, zucchini, and mint. it's quite possibly the most fun and inventive thing i've seen in a cookbook in a long while!

truth be told i've never made a gazpacho. i've surely eaten my fair share, but making a cold soup never appealed to me for some reason. perhaps i never came across the right recipe, or maybe i have too much nostalgia for simmering veggies over a hot stove. but you can totally count me as a gazpacho convert now. first of all, it's super easy on the prep, "cook", and cleanup - which are waaaay important for us all, i'm sure. secondly, i thought that the raw-ness of the soup wouldn't make for that soup-y aroma i know and love, the one that fills your house with cozy scents. so i was pleasantly surprised when i left my kitchen and came back in to a waft of fragrant sweet carrots, a hint of aromatic lemongrass, and punchy curry paste. i cannot wait to dig in to more of this book and explore more of what i've been missing these years!

xo's!

*ps there's still time to enter last week's giveaway of autumn giles book, beyond canning. the giveaway ends this friday at 5pm.

carrot gazpacho with lemongrass | v + gf

since i never made a gazpacho before, i followed jeanine's recipe exactly. the only addition i did make was adding some crushed red pepper to the garnish just for a little extra heat.

| serves 4 |

1 stalk lemongrass
16 ounces (450 g) peak-season carrots, peeled and slices, about 2 bunches
1 (14-ounce/414-mL) can light or full-fat coconut milk; reserve 1/4 cup for garnish
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons (30 mL) sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon (5 mL) red curry paste
1/2 cup (125 mL) filtered water
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

optional garnishes

hemp seeds
pepitas
microgreens
drizzles of coconut milk

method

prepare the lemongrass by cutting off the root end and the tough upper stem of the stalk. remove the one or two layers of outer leaves and finely chop the tender, aromatic part of the lemongrass.
using a high-speed blender, combine the lemongrass, carrots, coconut milk, garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar, red curry paste, water, and a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. blend until smooth. if you're not using a high-speed blender like a vitamix, strain the soup and blend again until completely smooth.
chill for at least 4 hours. if the soups thickens in the fridge, stir in a little more cold water. add more salt and pepper, to taste.
drizzle with olive oil and serve with desired garnishes.

enjoy!

more spring soup recipes:

apple cider + honeycrisp puffed pancake / October 9, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

apple cider and honeycrisp dutch baby - dolly and oatmeal

i never realized that so much of what i do each day and night relies on my ability to smell and taste. i was forced to come to this realization last week when i down and out with a wicked cold. perhaps i was (and still am) a big baby about it, but i haven't been sick in quite some time. i suppose not being able to breath, the coughing, congestion, sneezing, and sleepless nights will do that to you, yeah? it's been super frustrating to cook and want to get all experimental in the kitchen only to have an end product that is only distinguishable by the contents of it's sugar, salt, or acid (i.e. the only things halfway distinguishable). i guess my point is that until one of these senses is temporarily not working, it's not entirely clear how important a purpose they serve. because of my limited ability to smell and taste, i have commissioned my unofficial taste-tester: my husband. he has been happily testing my puffy pancakes in my attempt to get them just right. he doubted his palette and his ability to distinguish flavors, but i found his feedback quite helpful these past few days. i have come to rely on him in yet another way i never imagined i would have to. so, here's to my husband, who brings you these fun, puffy pancakes.

i was gifted a bottle of boiled cider by my mother. when i asked her what to do with it, she said something along the lines of "i don't know, play with it." the teacher in me decided to go with an apple theme with this recipe and i took to replacing some of the pancake's liquid with cider. the cider is not sweetened and therefore lends a tanginess to the pancake much similar to baked goods with sour cream or buttermilk - yes! frank and i love honeycrisp apples, and they're at their absolute finest this time of year, so in they went. (i hear honeycrisps are not so easy to come by outside new york state, i would say that gala apples or pink lady apples would make great substitutes.) dutch baby pancakes or puffed pancakes seem to really be making the rounds on the interwebs since autumn has come to. so, i wanted to make a version that i could enjoy and eat, and of course also share with you all. i had had my eye on a beautiful recipe from a publication i received last year, and it took me awhile, but i managed to swap most of the flour and dairy products with ingredients that i normally bake with to make a light and puffy pancake that's crisp in all the right places!

apple cider and honeycrisp dutch baby - dolly and oatmea

apple cider + honeycrisp puffed pancake | GF + V

the flour and arrowroot powder can be substituted with any other flour with the same amount. i use coconut palm sugar because of its low glycemic index, but it can similarly be replaced by any other sugar - i'm not sure how liquid sweetener would be since the batter is essentially liquid to begin with

adapted from Fig & Fauna for Pure Green Magazine, Volume 4

| serves 2-3 |

ingredients

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons almond flour (i prefer Honeyville brand)
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder/flour
1 1/2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon coconut palm sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (plus a pinch for the apples)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (plus a pinch for the apples)
3 large organic eggs
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons boiled cider or unsweetened apple cider
1/2 cup honeycrisp apples, sliced about an 1/8" thick
2 teaspoons coconut oil
powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

directions

preheat the oven to 425°
heat your cast iron pan to medium-low on the stovetop. when hot, add the coconut oil. using a silicone pastry brush, brush up the sides and all around the pan to coat evenly with the oil (if you don't have a pastry brush, using a paper towel will work as well). add the apples, stir in a 1/2 teaspoon of the coconut palm sugar and sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon to taste - stir. cook the apples about 2-3 minutes on each side until they're lightly browned and soft. arrange them to cover the bottom of the pan. turn off the heat and set aside
in a blender or food processor, add the almond flour, arrowroot, salt, sugar and spices; pulse to combine. then add the eggs, coconut milk, and cider. blend for approximately 1 minute
pour the batter (it will be quite thin) into the pan to cover the apples. very carefully, place the pan into the middle of the oven - bake for 15-20 minutes until pancake puffs up and lightly browned on top and around the edges

dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately - enjoy!