Blenders and Blunders

Not only did my fleecy parents come visit for a fun filled weekend, but they brought presents in tow!

First up was a real camera! Up until recently, my iPhone camera was more than sufficient... but after quite a few dimly-lit dinners, I realized I needed to up my game. Thankfully, my dad had a little Canon PowerShot s95 that he had moved on from. So far, I love it! I'm still trying to get to know all the different settings... I mostly just use Auto but there's a setting for low-lighting which will be perfection for all the gourmet meals I'm dying to capture!

These days, some of my most favorite gifts (besides ones I can eat, drink, burn, or rub) are those that I can put towards culinary use...! So you can imagine my excitement when my mom whipped her fancy Cuisinart Immersion Blender out of her big Louis duffle. I mean, just look at this thing...

It looks like it can do some serious cooking business, am I right?!

I couldn't wait to put it to use so I promptly began a search for some sort of pureeing situation... and was happily pleased with this Roasted Carrot Red Curry Soup recipe on Big Girls Small Kitchen. It's completely Detox Diet friendly (except for the small amount of sugar, which I just left out) and SO GOOD. I'm not even the hugest fan of carrots, but I had a feeling that all the Thai ingredients would make it so yummy and I was right!

The recipe said "cilantro optional" - We laughed at that and threw in fistfulls #CilantroIsLife

If you make it, which you really should, learn from my mistakes...

1. I was impatient and didn't let the veggies roast for long enough in the oven, so they weren't very tender when I went to blend them... Not ideal when you're going for a smooth and creamy consistency.

2. I didn't charge the Immersion Blender!! Oyyy, what a major fail! About a minute into blending, the whirring came to a complete and total halt... Ian looked at me with a face that just said "I-am-so-effing-hungry-When-the-heck-are-we-going-to-eat-Why-the-heck-isn't-this-fancy-stick-thing-working?!?!" I had to think quick and whipped out the trusty Magic Bullet (we don't have a regular blender). It took about three turns in that teeny little bullet, but in the end, everything got pureed, Ian had two bowls, and everyone was happy :)

 
And the next day, I had a little soup left over, so I whipped up a few quinoa cakes to go with it since I was craving that bread/soup combo. I added paprika to my standard quinoa cake recipe... I don't think I've ever used it before, but I saw it in the pantry and I thought "What the heck?" and tossed it in... OMG so good! I was not expecting such a drastic change, but I think it really takes the little cakes to the next level. So word to the wise - dig in to the depths of your pantry for paprika, because it's totes worth it!

xo