To Taste: Curried Chicken Wrap + Cumin-Mint Cauliflower Soup

Now that I’m armed with an immersion mixer and a bountiful harvest from my farm share, I’ve been a soup-making maniac. From a lower-carb version of 101Cookbook’s ribollita to 2 rounds of butternut squash + leek, my favorite creation of the fall was a bowlful of cumin-mint cauliflower soup. It was a one pot, minimal ingredient, flavorful blend of cheddar cauliflower via Greensgrow, toasted cumin powder, onion, chicken stock, fresh mint from my herb garden, and S&P.

What’s soup for dinner without a sandwich? My sister, Kerry, gave me a fragrant curry powder that had been taunting me from the spice cabinet and seemed like a curry chicken wrap was the right match. As the weather cools, this meal definitely warmed my belly.


Cumin-Mint Cauliflower Soup

Serves (6). Makes approx. 1.5 quarts.

  • cheddar or standard cauliflower – one head, chopped into florets
  • chicken stock – 3 cups, about 1.5 small cans
  • yellow onion – medium, chopped
  • butter or olive oil
  • ground cumin – 1tsp or to taste
  • fresh mint – 2T, chopped
  • S&P
  1. Bring chicken stock to a boil in a heavy stock pot. Add chopped cauliflower, cover, and bring back to a boil. Simmer for about 10 min or until cauliflower is fork tender.
  2. While cauliflower is cooking, heat a deep saute pan on medium. Add butter/olive oil, chopped onion, & cumin. Sweat for approx 8 min. until tender & translucent, making sure to turn lower heat if they begin to brown.
  3. Add onion & cumin mixture to the pot of cauliflower & stock. Combine and simmer for 10 min on medium heat.
  4. Turn off heat and stir in mint and S&P to taste.
  5. Blend mixture in the stock pot with an immersion blender or in batches in a standard blender. Thin as needed with water or additional chicken stock.
  6. Serve with shredded cheese, fresh mint garnish, and your favorite sandwich.


Chicken Curry Wrap

Serves 2.

  • boneless, skinless chicken breast – 2 breasts, trimmed & cut into strips
  • yellow onion – 2 medium, sliced
  • dry wine – 1/2 cup
  • yellow curry powder – 2 tsp
  • sour cream – 3/4 cups
  • lettuce – chopped or shredded, your preference
  • tomato – chopped or sliced, your preference
  • tortillas – 2 burrito-sized flour wraps
  • S&P
  1. Heat olive oil in a saute pan on medium heat. Season chicken breast with 1 tsp of the curry powder and S&P. Add to hot pan and toss regularly, until browned & cooked through, approx. 10min. Remove from pan and set aside.
  2. Keep pan on medium and add 1/2 cup of white wine to deglaze. Scrape brown bits from bottled to pan with a spatula. Allow to evaporate until minimal amount of liquid remains in pan.
  3. Heat 2 T of olive oil in the same pan over medium until shimmering. Add onions and saute for about 5 min.
  4. Add remaining 1 tsp of curry powder and sweat for approx 4 min longer until tender and browned.
  5. Return chicken to pan and add sour cream. Combine ingredients and warm over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes.
  6. Lay out tortillas. Add chicken, lettuce, & tomato. Wrap like a burrito and enjoy with a toasty bowl of cumin-mint cauliflower soup.

To Taste: Grilled Snow Crab Legs

Wasn’t too long ago that I was just sayin’ that you shouldn’t grill in the dark… especially crab legs. So I took another stab at grilled snow crab legs for a Sunday late-lunch/early-dinner with Dre. I decided to get all the sides started before I threw the crabbiness on the grill, so I could give it my undivided attention.

Earlier that week, I bought 2 large bunches of Collard Greens from the Italian Market. It was alot of greens for only $2! I rinsed & chopped them before sauteing in garlic, shallots, EVOO, & butter and simmering in chicken stock. I didn’t have any turkey bacon on hand as a usual ingredient in my greens, so just settled for some Sriracha & Worcestshire to jazz it up. I STILL had Grape Tomatoes from my Spicy Fish Tacos & Avocado-Salad and Sweet Peppers from my Mexi-Risotto, so I tossed them into a Rice-a-Roni Spanish Rice Mix.

Dre whipped up a batch of Cornbread using trusty ol’ Jiffy mix. We tossed in some sliced jalapenos & the leftover sweet peppers, and sprinkled with shredded sharp cheddar halfway thru the baking process. With the greens sauteing, rice simmering, & cornbread baking, it was time for crab!

After a few knife pokes, a brush of butter, & 5 minutes on each side, we had ourselves a summer afternoon feast. Oh, and MOJITOS! After some experimenting, Dre mixed up a perfectly refreshing batch using Apple Mint from my garden.

Grilled Crab Legs, Spanish Rice, Collard Greens, Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread, & an Apple Mint Mojito

Grilled Crab Legs, Spanish Rice, Collard Greens, Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread, & an Apple Mint Mojito

Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread

Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread - Photo: Dre

Grape Tomatoes

Grape Tomatoes

Fresh Collard Greens from the Italian Market

Fresh Collard Greens from the Italian Market

Summer Grilled Crab Feast:

Grilled Snow Crab Legs – Brushed in butter before grilling, dipped in Butter after

Sauteed Collard Greens – Wilted w/ Shallots, Garlic, & Olive Oil, simmered in Chicken Stock w/ S&P, Worcestershire, Dried Herbs, & Sriracha

Spanish Rice – Sauteed Garlic, Sweet Peppers, & Grape Tomatoes added to Rice-a-Roni Spanish Rice

Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread – Sauteed Sweet Peppers & Jalapeno added to Jiffy mix, topped w/ Shredded Sharp Cheddar

Classic Mojito w/ Apple Mint from my Garden

Family-Style: Summer Feast

Here in Philly, it’s been raining almost daily for I dunno, 5+ weeks now!! So it was a nice treat to grill a summer dinner on a clear night with my girls. The real anecdote of the evening is strictly girl talk, but we had nothing to hide when it came to our appetites.

Herbed Zucchini Ribbons & Red Curry Chicken Skewers

Herbed Zucchini Ribbons & Red Curry Chicken Skewers

Our feast included:

Curried Chicken Kebobs ~ marinated overnight in red curry paste & Greek yogurt, skewered, & grilled

Herbed Zucchini Ribbons ~ sliced lengthwise with a mandolin, S&P, fresh herbs (basil, mint, & thyme from my garden), olive oil, & grilled in a pan

Sunshine’s Tangerine Cabbage & Bleu Salad

Sunshine’s Wheat Pellet Puffy Wheels ~ deep-fried in olive oil

Cucumber Mint Yogurt Sauce ~ Greek yogurt mixed with cubed cukes, fresh mint, minced garlic, & salt

Fresh Chopped Tomatoes

Pocketless Pita

Ariel’s Oatmeal Cookies ~ soft & delicious

Sunshine’s Sangria ~ lemon, orange, lime, peach, & plum

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First & FAIL: Pesto

It took 24 hours to ponder my first blog post before I realized it shouldn’t take so much thought… I just needed to start cooking for it to come to me & it did!

Monday night I dove into my first experience making homemade pesto; seemed easy enough. I’ve been so excited to start an herb garden to kick off the first summer with our big patio & my Siam Queen Thai Basil went wild! Well, I went a bit wild too… with the garlic. You’ll find in my food ventures that I’m not big on following recipes (will explain my philosophy in its own post soon enough!) & for once, my absentmindedness paired with a disregard for proportions turned into an initial flop.

from my garden
Siam Queen Thai Basil from my garden

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