Things Made This Weekend (So Far)

I have made a lot of stuff this weekend, but none of it has been particularly time consuming. All of it has been very tasty. Per usual, it is from the two cookbooks I own (I am planning on buying more!): Simple Suppers and Vegetarian Planet.
On Friday night Mike and I were feeling sick, so I made Mushroom Tortellini Soup from Simple Suppers. It was pretty damn good, but I would have liked it if the soup was a little thicker. We ate it with good Peasant Bread from Trader Joe's. Ryan ate some and he really liked it too.

Mushroom Tortellini Soup
1/2 ounce dried porcini or portabella mushrooms [I used a whole package, 3/4 oz]
2 cups boiling waiter
2 cups diced onions
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 quart mushroom or vegetable broth
1 9-ounce package of fresh or frozen tortellini of your choice [I used portobello mushroom ones]
salt and peper
1) Place the dried mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Set aside until the mushrooms soften, about 15 minutes.
2) While the dried mushrooms are soaking, in a soup pot on medium-hight heat, cook the onions in the olive oil, stirring frequently, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the thyme and add the broth.
3) Remove the mushrooms from the soaking liquid, rinse if needed to remove grit, chop, and add to the soup. Pour the soaking liquid through a coffee filter or paper towel if it is gritty and add it to the soup. Bring it to a boil.
4) Add the tortellini to the boiling soup and cook until al dente: for fresh tortellini, 3 to 4 minutes; for frozen tortellini, 8 to 9 minutes. Add salt and peper to taste.
Serves about 4.

Last night Mike decided he wanted to eat falafel, so I made Falafel Burgers from Vegetarian Planet. I had also promised to make the Carrot Coffeecake with Poppyseed Streusel from the same cookbook. Both of these recipes were very tasty. I will definitely make the falafel burgers again, and I prefer them to the Southwestern Falafel that I made before. The coffeecake is delicious, but not as sweet as a lot of coffeecakes are, so some people might not like it.

Falafel Burgers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups minced onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 3/4 cups (1 15-ounce can) cooked and drained garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) or peanut butter
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/3 cup chickpea flour or unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 lemon (optional)
1) In a skillet, combine 1 tablespoon of the olive oil with the onions over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and carrot, and cook 2 minutes more. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
2) Add the drained chickpeas, and mash them wiht a potato masher or chop them in a food processor until they are broken down and unidentifiable. Add the tahini or peanut butter and the parsley. In a smaller bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the mixture to the large bowl, and stir well.
3) With floured hands, form four patties from the chickpea mixture, then lightly dust the burgers with flour. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Turn hte heat to medium-low, and add the patties. After about 1 minute, or when they have just begun to brown, flip them. Cook them about 2 minutes more on the other side. Then flip them back onto the first side, and cook another minute. They should be a deep golden brown on both sides. (They burn easily, so wath them well.) Remove the burgers from the skillet, and squeeze a bit of lemon juice onto each. Serve immediately.
Makes 4 large burgers.
I served these on kaiser rolls with a little tomato and mustard.

Carrot Coffeecake with Poppyseed Streusel
3 large carrots (about 3/4 pounds), peeled and chopped
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons unbleached white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup canola or corn oil
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/4 cup sour cream [I used the fat free kind]

Streusel:
1/2 cup poppy seeds
2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus a bit for greasing the pan
1 1/3 cup walnutes
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons unbleached white flour

1) Preheat the over to 350. Grease a tube or Bundt pan.
2) In a food processor, grind the carrots for 1 to 2 minutes, almost to a puree. Transfer them into a small bowl, and set it aside.
3) Grind the streusel ingredients in the food processor for 1 minute.
4) In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom (if you like), baking powder and soda, and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, ground carrots, poppy seeds, and sour cream. Add the liquid mixture to the dry, stirring with a wooden spoon. Transfer half the batter to the cake pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel onto the batter, then pour the remaining half of the batter over the streusel. Top with the remaining streusel.
5) Bake the cake for 1 hour or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in its pan for 30 minutes before inverting it onto a serving dish. Serve at room temperature.