Creamy Potato Dill Soup

If you love your soups thick and creamy, then this is a recipe you have got to try.  The potato pairs perfectly with the buttery dill flavor, and to drive it two degrees north of amazing, I've added cheese and bacon.  You're welcome.

 

Ingredients:

• 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• dash black pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 1 sprig of fresh dill
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

Directions:
 Cook the potatoes and onion in a large saucepan with enough boiling water to cover the vegetables for about 15 minutes or until tender.  Drain the water out and reserve 1 cup of the potato/onion mixture.  Dump the rest of the vegetables and the chicken broth in a blender or food processor and blend for about 1 minute or until smooth.  Set aside.  In the same saucepan, melt the butter.  Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper.  Add in the milk and whisk the ingredients until it is thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir for 1 minute more.  Stir in the reserved 1 cup of reserved potato/onion and the blended vegetable mixture.  Cook and stir until heated through.  Snip the sprig of fresh dill into the soup using scissors, stir to combine.  You can add more salt and pepper to taste.  Serve the soup in bowls and top each serving with cheese and bacon.  I also served mine with slices of homemade sourdough bread and it was a hit with my family.  Enjoy!

Rainbow Pasta

After making a blueberry dessert pasta I couldn't stop and made several other types of pasta that are beautiful in color inspired by a website called Spoon Fork Bacon.  In addition to blueberry pasta made in a previous post I made tomato, spinach, saffron, and beet pasta.

I hung the pasta to dry on clothes hangers and stored them in large Ziploc bags. 

Ingredients:
basic pasta dough:
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup semolina flour
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablespoons water, if needed
for spinach:
1/2 cup canned spinach, purred until smooth
for saffron:
1 pinch of saffron (soaked in 1/3 cup warm water for about 30 minutes)
for beet:
1 small roasted red beet, pureed until smooth
for tomato:
1 8oz canned tomato paste
for blueberry:
1/2 cup tundra blueberries (store bought blueberries will not give you a vibrant purple color)


Directions: 

1. For dough: In a food processor combine flours, eggs, spinach, saffron, beet, tomato, or blueberry, followed by oil. 
2. Knead dough on a floured surface to form a ball that is no longer sticky to touch.  If dough is dry add water, 1 teaspoon at a time. Knead dough for 8-10 minutes (dough should feel very tight and should bounce back when gently pressed), wrap in plastic and let sit for about 20 minutes before using. Follow pasta machine instructions for rolling out the dough and cutting into desired pasta type (or roll pasta dough by hand with a rolling pin until very thin and cut into desired pasta type, using a clean ruler for even noodles). 
3. To dry: Line freshly cut pasta dough onto a pasta dry rack (or onto clean clothes hangers), in a single layer and allow pasta to dry in a cool, dry place for 24 hours. Carefully remove pasta from drying rack and store in an airtight container or Ziploc bags until ready to use. Dry pasta will hold for up to 1 month if stored in a cool, dry place.

Blueberry Pasta... say wha?!?

Last Christmas I received a pasta attachment for my KitchenAid.  I've been making all sorts of pasta egg pasta, beet pasta, spinach pasta, etc.  I wanted to make a pasta that could somehow incorporate Alaska, therefore tundra blueberry pasta.

To get this vibrant purple color you have to use tundra blueberries also called bilberries similar to huckleberries.  Blueberries from the grocery store just won't cut it.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup semolina flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 cup tundra blueberry puree
• 2 tbs. sugar
• 1 tbs. lemon juice
• dash cinnamon

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a your Kitchen aid mixer and finish off with your dough hook or used a food processor to blend all ingredients so that it forms into a solid ball.  
2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface.
3. Roll out dough or wind through your pasta machine.
4. Cut into strips or wind through your pasta machine.
5. Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente…it will only take 3-4 minutes if the pasta is fresh.

You can use your blueberry pasta in just about any recipe that you would use any other type of pasta.

Here I've made a dessert pasta using my blueberry pie filling recipe.

You will need cooked blueberry pasta, topped with blueberry pie filling and almond flavored whipped cream.  I finished it off by sprinkling some ground cinnamon on top.  I will admit texture was a little weird at first because I was expecting pie crust but it was yummilicious.  The kids scarfed it up.
 
For Pie Filling

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tbs. corn starch
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cup tundra blueberries
• 1/2 teas. ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, mix together the water, cornstarch, and sugar.  Add in blueberries and bring to a boil at medium heat, stirring constantly for about two minutes or until mixture is thick.  Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon.  Pour into a pint size jar and set aside.

For Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbs. sugar
1/2 teas. almond extract

Directions:

Chill a medium mixing bowl and the beaters from your electric mixer.  Combine all the ingredients into your chilled mixing bowl, and use chilled beaters to beat the mixture till soft peaks form.


I had so much fun making this blueberry pasta that I even threw it in with some left over garlic shrimp.  All I did was saute some peeled an deveined shrimp with butter, minced garlic,  Johnny's garlic seasoning, dash of salt, and tossed in the pasta.  The blueberry flavor in the pasta is a bit mild so that this pasta could go with just about any pasta dish.  

Enjoy.