Monthly Archives: January 2008

Miso Soup with Sweet Potato Dumplings

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Every New Year’s Day, I host a soup party. The only requirement is that the soup be homemade. I don’t normally do a soup since I’m hosting and doing the hot drinks, desserts, etc. My sis brought an amazing soup to my party and with her permission, I just have to blog about it. She pulled it off of Epicurious. “Miso Soup with Sweet Potato Dumplings“. I would love to make it again. It was wonderful!

Here is the picture from Epicurious. As you can see, the sweet potatoes are bright orange, making the dumplings more interesting to look at. For some reason, her sweet potatoes were a very light yellow color, so it didn’t pop as much, but it still tasted amazing.

Oh, and the best part about this recipe? It’s pretty good for you! Check out these nutritional values! 286 calories, 6 g fat (0.5 g saturated), 47.8 g carbs, 8.3 g fiber, 11.5 g protein


Miso Soup with Sweet Potato Dumplings

Ingredients:
1 pound sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups sliced bok choy
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup edamame, shelled
12 wonton wrappers
3 tablespoons white miso, plus more to taste
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:
Heat oven to 375°F. Prick holes in potatoes. Bake on a baking sheet until soft, turning once, about 1 hour. Cool, then peel and mash. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic and shallot, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add pepper flakes. Stir garlic mixture, salt and pepper into potatoes. Place bok choy, sprouts and edamame in a pot with 2 cups water and set aside. Lay 1 wonton wrapper in palm of hand. Drop a heaping tablespoon of potato mixture in the center and make a fist to gather edges. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Set dumplings on top of vegetables in pot. Bring to a boil. Cook, covered, until wrappers are translucent, 3 to 6 minutes. Divide veggies and dumplings among 4 bowls. Add 4 cups water to pot. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add miso, stirring until it dissolves. Divide among bowls; top with scallions.

Raspberry Creme Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Coconut Ganache Frosting

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A long name for a little cake, but that little cake has a ton of flavor!

My friend’s birthday was a couple of days ago, so I decided to make her a batch of cupcakes to celebrate. It was a last-minute decision and my creation was from whatever I had in the house.

Magnolia Vanilla Cupcake: (I cut all this in half)

  • 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

  3. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

  4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

  5. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Filling: (all of these are approximations)

  • 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 3-4 Tbsp Seedless Raspberry jam
  • 2-3 tsp. Grenadine (optional)
  1. Whip cream until soft peaks form.
  2. Add jam and grenadine.
  3. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
  4. Use a pastry decorator bag and tip to fill the cupcakes. (My preferred method, but it takes more time is to cut a cone shape out of the top of the cupcake, cut the tip of the cone off, fill and cover with the cupcake top. It gives you more filling that way, but takes more time which I didn’t have with this batch.)


Frosting: (again, approximations since I didn’t measure)

  • .5 cup Bittersweet chocolate chips, melted
  • 2 Tbsp. Creme of Coconut (optional)
  • 1/4 tea. Coconut Extract (optional)
  • .25 cup Powdered Sugar (or more)
  • 2-3 Tbsp. Whipping Cream (or more)
  1. Start blending chocolate chips with coconut.
  2. Add sugar and cream until consistency is soft and fluffy. Add more sugar or more cream depending on consistency.