Blue Cayenne

Spicy Fresh Corn and Coconut Soup

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Ingredients

• 5 Ears yellow corn (or 5 cups of frozen corn kernels)
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 shallots (thinly sliced into rings)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 (1-inch) piece ginger (peeled and minced)
• 1 jalapeno or red chile pepper (minced)
• 4-6 red potatoes (cut into 1-inch cubes or larger)
• 2 1/2 C. vegetable broth
• 1 15-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
• 2 T. fresh lime juice
• Kosher salt
• Cilantro leaves, sliced pepper, corn kernels to garnish

Instructions

1. Prepare corn. If you are using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cobs and put the kernels in a bowl. If you are using frozen corn, defrost.
2. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and add sliced shallots, garlic, ginger, and chile and saute. Stir the mixture and saute until the vegetables are fragrant. This will take about 3 to 5 minutes. Add corn kernels to the mixture and continue cooking for about 3 more minutes. You want the corn to begin to soften and to brighten in color.
3. Add potato chunks and stir. Cook for 1 to 2 more minutes.
4. Add the vegetable broth and the coconut milk and bring soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the soup pot and continue to cook for 8 to 10 minutes until the potatoes are tender all the way through.
5. Ladle about half of the soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Return the blended soup to the soup pot. Thin with additional vegetable broth if necessary.
6. Add lime juice and salt to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish.

Nutrition

Calories

397 cal

Fat

28 g

Carbs

37 g

Protein

2 g

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Gazpacho

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Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds ripe red tomatoes (chopped into 1 inch pieces)
• 1 small sweet onion (peeled and chopped)
• 2-3 small Persian cucumbers (chopped)
• 1 medium red bell pepper (cored and seeded)
• 1/4 C. fresh basil leaves
• 1 large garlic clove (peeled)
• 2 T. sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• 3/4 t. fine sea salt (to your taste)
• Freshly-ground black pepper
• 2 large slices sourdough bread (cut into 1 inch chunks, crusts removed)
• 3/4 C. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 can (6 oz.) V8 juice or tomato juice or water to thin soup to your taste (optional)

Instructions

1. Clean and prepare vegetables. When you chop the tomatoes, reserve approximately 1/4 cup of the juice and seeds and set them aside in a small bowl. Finely chop one of the small Persian cucumbers and put the chopped cucumber into the bowl with the reserved tomato juice and seeds. Set aside.
2. Put the tomato chunks in the bowl of your food processor along with all of the chopped onion. Chop the rest of the cucumbers into rough chunks and add them to the processor bowl. Chop the red bell pepper into chunks and add it to the processor bowl. Add the basil, garlic, vinegar, salt, bread chunks, and a generous pinch of freshly-ground black pepper to the processor bowl. Blend until your gazpacho is smooth; this will take a few minutes depending upon whether you want a coarsely-ground gazpacho or a smooth one. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and continue processing until the soup is emulsified. Your gazpacho will be pretty thick at this point. Use V8 or tomato juice (or water) to thin the soup to the consistency you will enjoy.
3. Chill the gazpacho for several hours before serving. Serve cool but not cold. Garnish with the cucumbers (marinated in the tomato juice/seeds) you reserved as you were prepping the soup. Serve with fresh basil leaves and additional salt and pepper to your taste. A drizzle of quality olive oil over the gazpacho is also a nice touch.

Nutrition

Calories

1878 cal

Fat

172 g

Carbs

71 g

Protein

13 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Almond-Apricot Cake With Creme Fraiche

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Ingredients

• 1 C. cake flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 1/4 C. granulated sugar
• 1 C. almond paste (9 ounces)
• 6 T. unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 6 eggs (at room temperature)
• 1 t. pure vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste--it includes vanilla seeds)
• 4 large apricots (halved, pitted and cut into 1/2 inch wedges) (I also used a few slices of yellow nectarines. You could substitute in any stone fruit.)
• Creme fraiche for serving
• Sliced almonds for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. and prepare a 9-inch springform pan by greasing it thoroughly and flouring it.
2. Mix cake flour (I used King Arthur Flour cake flour) with baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Set up your standing mixer with the paddle attachment. Add sugar and almond paste to the mixer bowl and beat the ingredients until they are combined and the texture is "crumbly." (This is a sweet cake. You could reduce the sugar to your taste.) Add the room-temperature butter and beat at a high speed until the mixture turns light in color and a little fluffy. This will take about two minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Beat after the addition of each egg and scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Add vanilla extract (or vanilla paste). Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, gently folding the flour into the sugar mixture until it is fully incorporated.
4. Spoon the batter into your prepared springform pan. Add sliced apricots (and optional nectarines) by placing them on top of the batter in the pan. They will sink into the cake as it bakes. Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
5. Remove baked cake from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Loosen the cake from the pan by running a knife around the edge of the pan and remove it from the springform pan. Let the cake cool for another 30 minutes on a rack.
6. Serve this cake either warm or at room temperature. Top it with creme fraiche, slices of fresh apricots and sliced almonds.