Yemenite Soup!!!

My Friday Fun project this week was ... YEMENITE SOUP. My lovely roommate and I co-hosted a friday night dinner, which was Yemenite themed. She made kubaneh - a special yemenite bread that cooks on a low heat for 12 hours. It is made in a special pot, with a lid. We put it in the oven at 7AM on Friday, and it cooked all day at 225. It was crusty and great.

The soup was delicious. I used 3 pounds of flanken, and it was so soft - it all fell off the bones. Basically, everyone got a bowl with a chunk of meat and a big potato for dinner. We also had awesome Iranian rice to sop up the broth, and beautiful multicolored cabbage salad (purple cabbage, green cilantro, and orange peppers with sesame oil, lemon, salt, and pepper).

Other news in my food life: my other roommate bought fresh mozzarella from fairway, so obviously, we had no choice but to make Saturday night pizza:

Yemenite Soup: (serves 7)
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds flanken, cut into chunks
- 16 cups vegetable broth (I used Imagine - not low sodium)
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons hawaiij
- 3/4 teaspoons curry powder
- 3/4 teaspoons ground coriander
- 3/4 teaspoons cumin
- a sprinkle of chili powder
- a few cranks of pepper from a pepper mill
- salt to taste
- 3 very big beefsteak tomatoes
- 6 onions, peeled
- 3/4 cups cilantro (not the stalks), finely chopped
- 15 - 20 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 6 idaho potatoes, peeled and cut in half

Directions:
1. Place flanken in a VERY large pot. Add stock and water. Bring to a boil, and allow to boil for 20 minutes. Skim foam from the top.
2. Add spices (not the salt).
3. Cut an X in the bottom of the tomatoes (not the side with the stem), and add to the pot.
4. Add the onion, cilantro, garlic, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 2 hours. I did this with the pot uncovered, because I ran out of room in the pot.
6. Add the potatoes and simmer for another hour.

Thanksgiving Preview

Today I made the pumpkin pie from My Most Favorite Dessert - it always reminds me of the first time I made thanksgiving dinner for my family. I think I was in 10th grade, and I got really into it - planning for weeks, picking out recipes, and figuring out a schedule of when I would make what, like the OCD person that I am. Of course, that week I had the nastiest flu ever - I remember having such a high fever and not being able to move my head. I sat in the corner of the kitchen and my wonderful sister made everything and let me tell her what to do. 

I'm not actually sure if this is the real, original recipe - I just googled "Most Favorite Dessert Pumpkin Pie" Either way, it's gonna be good. Also - this is the lazy version, I did not make my own pie crust. I used rice milk instead of soy milk, because that is what they had at the grocery store across the street (where I went in my slippers this morning :) ).


The recipe said to bake at 350 for 45 minutes, but it was completely raw, so I left in for an hour. I hope it is cooked now... it's hard to tell. 

Pumpkin Pie
3 extra large eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vanilla soy milk (or rice milk)
1 pie crust ( I used frozen - or make your own)

Preheat oven to 350. Put the pie crust in a pan, on top of a cookie sheet for easy transferring. 

Combine eggs and sugars. Beat with a mixer, or by hand until blended.
Add pumpkin, spices, and salt - beat until incorporated.
Add soy milk and mix until completely combined.
Pour filling into crust. Carefully, without spilling, carry to oven (the cookie sheet is very helpful for the not-spilling part). 
Bake for 1 hour (original recipe said 45 minutes), or until filling is set and the crust is golden brown. 
Let cool completely before serving. Don't try to touch the top to see if it is set - VERY STICKY!
Store leftovers, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for no more than 2 days.