Carrot and Leek Soup + Lemon Tart

Two recipes, two different days, but both pretty perfect for the fall.

I made a leftover soup today with whatever I could find in my fridge. I hate wasting veggies but when they're not fresh there's nothing much you can do with them other than cook them with spices. I also eat a lot of beets. They're a super food I depend on a lot. Whenever I boil them I save the sweet broth to make a soup. I LOVE the purple color, I LOVE the taste, and I LOVE how it compliments other fall vegetables.

Carrot and Leek Fall soup

2 leeks cut the long way, wash and then chop
7 or 8 peeled and graded carrots
1 apple, peeled and sliced
4-5 cloves of garlic finely sliced
2 cups of beet broth
1 1/2 - 2 cups of water
1 cube of soup broth powder (I used chicken cause that's all I had)
1TSP of hazelnut oil, or another flavourful, rich oil
1 TBS of balsamic vinegar
cayenne pepper to taste
black pepper to taste
La Capitaine herbes and épices: or you could use any herb mix
Thyme to taste
sea salt to taste

Chop leeks and garlic. Throw half a leek and all the garlic into a pan with olive oil. Turn on medium heat. Once the leeks are soft, add balsamic vinegar and black pepper and leave on low heat until caramelized (browned).

Bring to boil beet broth, broth powder, and water. then add rest of leeks and boil until soft around 15 minutes. Lower heat to simmer and add graded carrots and sliced apple. When simmered for a few minutes, add all spices and oil and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.

Turn heat off, then take out your handy dandy hand chopper and cream the soup until leeks are no longer in chunks. Add the sauteed leeks and garlic to the creamed soup, let sit for 5 minutes then eat. Next time, I'll try sprinkling a bit of parmesan cheese on top, I think that will taste LOVELY!

Now for the tart. My brother celebrated his 32nd birthday last week and though he doesn't have a sweet tooth, he loves lemon in desserts as a compromise. My friend Krystal lent me our mutual friend Hazel's mom recipe. I love recipe chains. It was made with real lemon juice (ok... from concentrate) which amplifies the deliciousness and genuine taste of lemon.


Lemon tart in Graham cracker crust

Crust:

1 1/4 cups of graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cups of melted butter.

Add melted butter to crumbs, mix, then pat down into tart pan. I baked the crust alone in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes just to crisp it up.

Filling:

2 eggs
3/4 cup of white sugar
juice and zest of 1 medium lemon (I will try this next time) or 3 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS of flour
1/4 TSP baking powder

Beat eggs and sugar until smooth and slightly thick. Add other ingredients and stir until blended. Pour over baked crust and bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes.

Wait until completely cooled before cutting. Dust with icing sugar right before serving.
Store at room temperature.

I tried sprinkling a bit of lavender buds on top with the icing sugar and it was also LOVELY.

Enjoy.