FINE AS HELL BELL PEPPER SOUP

With this soup, you'll always say, "Check mate!"

You are looking oh so fine!
I’ll warm you up and make you mine,
Ignore these less than stellar rhymes,
Just say yes to a little wine and dine!

Your creamy texture makes me yell,
I get all bent for your spicy smell,
Orgasms peak at the dinner bell,
Making the pious say, “What the hell?”

You make a player from a leper
A cocky bastard from a half-stepper
I collect coin with every endeavor
Cause you’re my little bell pepper.

Total time: approximately 80 minutes
Projected cost: $7
Drinking Buddy: LEPRACHAUN

Ingredients (serves 2):
1. ½ tsp of CAYENNE
2. ½ tsp of cumin
3. 1 can of chicken stock (veg for vegan)
4. 1 tbsp olive oil
5. ½ can of coconut milk
6. Black pepper to taste
7. ½ tsp of garlic salt
8. 3 red bell peppers
9. 1 onion chopped coarsely

Step 1
Roast the bell peppers in the oven at 400 degrees F until the skin blackens (approx 45 min). Remove from oven and throw them in a sealed bag. Refrigerate until they cool (approx 15 min), remove the skin and chop coarsely.

Step 2
While awaiting the peppers to cool, sauté the onions with the olive oil on medium heat. Add the garlic salt, cayenne pepper and cumin and cook in the flavor (approx 5 min). Add the red bell peppers and the black pepper and let them soak up some taste (approx 2 min).

Step 3
Pour in the stock, bring to a roaring boil, and then simmer closed until the veggies soften (approx 15 min). Puree the madness and then add the coconut milk and stir thoroughly.

Spicy Thai Tofu with Red Bell Peppers and Peanuts

Sometimes I’m at a loss for words. Maybe that’s why all my other attempts at blogging quickly fall into a pattern (or lack thereof) of a post a month. This blog, however, is immune from writers block – as we have to eat every night, and even if it wasn’t very good or I don’t have any quip or anecdote to say about that particular meal, as long as I’ve got a picture and a recipe, I’ve got a post.

So hear you go. A picture and a recipe. And actually something worth trying, it was pretty good and a quick meal. Surprisingly (since we rarely repeat things), we’ll probably make this one again.

We don’t have a wok, and actually baked this tofu rather than frying it, which we’ve recently discovered gives it a very nice color without the need for oil. Simply drain your tofu, marinate it in some soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, and hot sauce (the longer the better), then pop it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until it’s nice and golden.

Hey look, my lack of words has suddenly turned into 3 surprisingly thoughtful paragraphs!

Spicy Thai Tofu with Red Bell Peppers and Peanuts

Recipe from Bon Appetit. Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup olive oil
2 large red bell peppers, seeded, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 14-to 16-ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained well, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup lightly salted roasted peanuts

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in wok over high heat. Add bell peppers, ginger, and garlic; sauté until peppers just begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add tofu and green onions; toss 2 minutes. Add next 3 ingredients. Toss to blend, about 1 minute. Add spinach in 3 additions, tossing until beginning to wilt, about 1 minute for each addition. Mix in basil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle peanuts over.

Bell Pepper Red Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

Pizza again! We’ve definitely been exploring the nearly-cheeseless pizzas lately, as they satisfy both of our constant cravings for pizza. My cravings because pizza is something I can’t have unless it has very little or no cheese (rare), and Taylor craves it because I can’t have it he doesn’t get it often and goes through withdrawal. Poor guy. All he wants is his pizza. Lucky for him, I found this recipe, which is mozzarella free, only boasting a sprinkling of my favorite, goat cheese. And while there are no eggs on this one, it’s still a feast for the eyes and the stomach.

My favorite pizza of all time just might be Pizza Bianca from this recipe. Seriously, the best pizza ever. But it has slightly too much cheese for me, the mozzarella really puts it over my cheese tolerance level. But, I did steal one thing from that recipe and have adapted and claimed it as my own: the crust. It’s perfect. Delicious. Crisp. And with the addition of some fennel and thyme, this is not your plain old pizza crust. If you’ve got the time, definitely give the from-scratch crust a go. It’s well worth the extra effort.

Bell Pepper, Red Onion, and Goat Cheese Pizza

Makes 2-4 servings (depending on how hungry you are and how big you roll it). Recipe adapted from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS
Crust:
3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (from 1 envelope)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups (about) unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Topping:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves (1 1/2 to 2 ounces)
1 1/2 cups thickly sliced mushrooms (5 to 6 ounces)
1/2 cup drained roasted red peppers from jar, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup paper-thin red onion slices
8 large fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
5-ounce package soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

DIRECTIONS
For crust:
Pour 3/4 cup water into large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over; stir to blend. Let stand 10 minutes to dissolve yeast. Add oil, salt, and herbs, then 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir until well blended (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto generously floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding just enough flour to prevent dough from sticking, about 5 minutes (dough will be soft). Shape dough into ball; place in large oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with kitchen towel. Let dough rise at cool room temperature until almost doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough down; form into ball. Return to bowl; cover with towel and let rise until doubled, about 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Punch down dough. Form into ball; place on floured work surface. Cover with kitchen towel; let rest 30 minutes. Sprinkle rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. Roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to baking sheet.

Mix olive oil, red pepper flakes, and minced garlic in small bowl, and set aside.

Bake crust for 5-7 minutes or until just set. Remove from oven and brush 2 tablespoons garlic oil evenly over crust. Top with spinach leaves, then sprinkle with sliced mushrooms, roasted red peppers, red onion slices, fresh basil, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle pizza evenly with remaining garlic oil.

Bake pizza until crust is crisp and cheese begins to brown, 15-18 minutes. Transfer pizza to board. Cut into wedges and serve warm.