As the cooler season approaches, matzo ball soup is always on order. But this time, I wanted to combine our heritages and our cultures into one deliciously comforting bowl of matzo ball soup. Tomatoes, peppers and carrots are all roasted together so they get soft, caramelized and sweet. After a quick blend together, stock is added to make a truly simple tomato soup. But the cheesy matzo balls are the BEST part. I mean honestly…cheese anything is the best part! And even though I will never turn down a simple classic, this Italian mash-up version gets me all kinds of excited. The ricotta makes the matzo balls light and pillowy and the freshly grated Parmesan gives them a wonderful savory flavor. Roasted Tomato Soup with Ricotta Matzah Balls Yields 2-4 servings Matzo ball soup with ricotta Tomato Soup Ingredients: 2 lbs. vine or roma tomatoes cut in half 2 red bell peppers (you can also use roasted jarred peppers) 2 large carrots, peeled and stems cut 2 garlic cloves, smashed ½ tsp. salt Olive oil 2-4 cups vegetable stock Ricotta Matzah Ball Ingredients: 4 eggs 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 cup matzo meal ¼ cup ricotta cheese ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese Fresh basil leaves, chopped Fresh parsley leaves, chopped 1 tsp. baking powder ¼ tsp. salt Ground pepper Garnish: ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, for Parmesan chips Fresh basil Olive oil Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with foil. Add tomatoes, peppers, carrots and garlic and toss with salt and olive oil. Roast vegetables until soft and tender, for about 30 minutes. Once done, remove from oven and allow cooling enough to handle. Then remove seeds from pepper and any charred thick skin and discard. 2. Once vegetables are cool enough, add everything to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You may want to add a bit of the stock to help thin it out, then transfer to a small pot with the rest of the stock and bring to a simmer. Taste for seasoning and adjust. 3. For the matzah balls, whisk all the ingredients together until well combined and form into medium sized balls. Add to boiling water and cook until matzah balls float to the top, about 30 minutes. 4. To make the parmesan chip, leave oven at 400° Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat. Place a heaping tablespoon or two of grated Parmesan cheese and lightly press down so it’s in a circle and replicate with remaining cheese. Bake for about five minutes until the cheese melts and edges are slightly crispy. Once done, remove from oven and allow to cool before removing. 5. Assemble soup by adding matzo balls to roasted tomato soup and garnish each bowl with a Parmesan chip, fresh basil and a good drizzle of olive oil. Buon appetite! Source: https://18doors.org/roasted-tomato-soup-with-ricotta-matzo-balls/
2017-12-01 12:23:11
Samantha Ferraro
Coffee is the most popular drink in the world. It is consumed by more than 1 billion people daily, and it has been around for centuries! In this brief article, we will explore the history of coffee, where does coffee originates from, and how it was invented -although the development of coffee drinks as we know them today was more a product of cultural achievement than individual invention. Kaldi: The legend The legend of Kaldi, a goatherd from Ethiopia, is the most widely shared story about coffee discovery. According to the legend, Kaldi discovered the stimulant properties of coffee when he observed his goats becoming frisky after eating the berries from a specific tree. After this finding, legend versions vary. Some claim that Kaldi sampled the fruit himself and found that it gave him energy and kept him alert. Others talk about a wise older priest who rejected an infusion of green beans and threw it to a nearby fire when they smelled the delicious aroma of roasted coffee for the first time. Although appealing, historians agree on its inaccuracy and the lack of evidence to support it. The discovery of coffee is more likely a result of the cross-cultural exchanges between the Muslim world and Abyssinia -today's Ethiopia- during the 15th century. Ethiopia: where does coffee originate from? Coffee plants are thought to have originated in the highlands of Ethiopia, where they grew wild. Experts claim that ancestors of today's Oromo people tried and tasted coffee for the first time. However, it's almost impossible to know exactly when was coffee discovered in Ethiopia. To this day, it's hard to know how long it took coffee to develop into a hot infusion of the roasted coffee seeds -that we call coffee beans. This brief reference is much more important than it seems at first glance. The first reliable evidence that the Arabs knew about coffee dates back to the 15th century when Sufi monks wrote about it. So, if someone asks when coffee was invented, we could say it was near the 15th century in Moka, Yemen. It's hard to be more precise than that. Source: https://www.eraofwe.com/coffee-lab/en/articles/brief-history-of-coffee
2025-12-08 10:24:17
Yker Valerio
Latte art is known today as the instantly instagrammable trend sweeping through cafes across the United States, including ours. However, that trend actually began decades ago when microfoam was developed. Latte art, built out of the combination of coffee oil and brewed coffee with milk foam, comes “directly out of the flavor of the espresso,” said U.S. latte art pioneer David Schommer in a 1994 edition of CoffeeTalk Magazine. Though latte art cropped up in different countries at different times, it was popularized in the United States in the 1980s by Schommer. He developed his latte art in Seattle, and credits Jack Kelly of Seattle’s Uptown Espresso for developing microfoam in the city in 1986. Schommer soon created the heart latte art design, which became a signature of his roastery and coffee shop, Espresso Vivace. Working off of a picture from Italy’s Cafe Mateki, he soon perfected the rosette (aka “rosetta”) pattern. Deconstructing the image, Schommer said “I knew when I saw it the petals must be formed by each swipe of the pitcher during shaking. Overcome with the beauty of these patterns, I became obsessed with getting them under control.” We are grateful for the creativity of latte artists and coffee connoisseurs throughout the world and share our love for latte art at our four San Diego cafes. Have you gotten the chance to enjoy a cup (or two) of WestBean coffee with a beautiful latte art design? Stop by and we’ll pour you a cup! Source: https://thewestbean.com/blogs/blog/the-brief-origins-of-latte-art-in-america?srsltid=AfmBOopAyCcRQUNZ15z-gxWVelzV-kw7qlhxciOeGLnPs9_6jlXO2VmK
2019-05-13 01:24:17
THE WESTBEAN COFFEE ROASTERS
For thousands of years humans have been nourished by the liquid food known as soup. A 20,000-year-old soup bowl was discovered in a cave in China. In Europe, Neanderthals boiled bones to render fats, creating a drinkable broth in the process. Today soup, in its many forms, is a menu staple. The word soup derives from the Latin word ”suppa”, which refers to bread soaked in broth. It was popularized in the 1600s by the French “soupe”. The word is also found in Proto-Germanic language as “sup” which means ‘to make liquid’. Soup makers in medieval Europe made soups based on a range of ingredients from meats to vegetables. They stuck to the tradition of pouring soups over toasted bread. In 18th century France, street vendors sold a restorative soup known as a “restoratif”. Soup had for a long time been known for its healing properties. When an enterprising man named Boulanger decided to open a quiet eatery featuring soups, eggs and other restoratifs, the first restaurant was born. In 1897, Dr John T. Dorrance, a chemist at the Campbell Soup Company invented its famous condensed soup. Condensing soup allows it to be packaged into a smaller can and sold at a lower price than other canned soups. To serve it, the soup is usually doubled in volume by adding a “can full” of water or milk. Soup has come a long way from its humble origins as a bone broth in a cave. Today, Campbell’s Tomato, Cream of Mushroom, and Chicken Noodle soups are the most popular. Each year Americans eat 2.5 billion bowls of these three soups alone. In the 1950s canned soup became very popular as either a standalone meal or an ingredient in other recipes. This is about the time we started to eat tuna-noodle casserole made with condensed soup, tinned tuna and crushed potato chips on top. But the history of cooking with canned soup goes back farther. “Helps for the Hostess”, the first cookbook using soup in recipes, was published by Campbell’s in 1916. Cooking tasty soup from scratch is the hallmark of a chef and the home cook, however condensed soup is so much more. Canned soup is so much a part of North American culture that artist Andy Warhol became famous for painting the image of a Campbell’s soup can, over and over again … much like our consumption of soup. (Most of the information in this column comes from the Campbell’s Soup website.) Source: https://paherald.sk.ca/a-condensed-history-of-soup/
2024-05-30 11:15:28
Ruth Griffiths
Drinking coffee is no longer just about boosting your energy. Researchers continue to uncover ways that coffee improves mental health, affects physical health and offers disease protection. Whether you drink coffee regularly or are thinking of starting, the benefits outweigh the risks. Here’s what you need to know: New research about coffee and liver disease A recent study of almost 500,000 people in the United Kingdom shows that drinking any type of coffee can reduce your risk of liver disease. Researchers found that both ground and instant coffee offer liver protection, but ground coffee provides the highest benefit. When compared to non-coffee drinkers, drinking four cups a day of ground coffee may provide: 21% reduced risk of chronic liver disease 20% reduced risk of chronic or fatty liver disease 49% reduced risk of death from chronic liver disease Other health benefits of coffee Coffee offers many health benefits, thanks to its complex mixture of compounds and the fact that it’s rich in vitamin B3, magnesium and potassium. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, aim to drink three to five, 8-ounce cups (400 milligrams) a day to get the most from your coffee. The benefits include: Better heart health According to the American Heart Association (AMA) drinking at least one cup of coffee each day may lower your long-term risk of heart failure. Studies show that when compared to people who drink no coffee, consuming caffeinated coffee reduces the risk of heart failure by about 12% per cup. The AMA notes that increasing coffee consumption should not replace long-proven methods of risk reduction, such as stopping smoking, losing weight and exercising. Decreased risk of some cancers Drinking coffee is not associated with an overall cancer risk reduction, but it may protect you from certain types of cancer. Studies suggest that consuming coffee daily may lower your risk of: Colorectal cancer Endometrial cancer Liver cancer Oral cancer Prostate cancer Lowered risk of Parkinson’s disease As early as 1968, researchers reported the caffeine in coffee may offer protection against Parkinson’s disease (PD), a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. According to the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee, numerous studies report that when compared to non-coffee drinkers, coffee drinkers may decrease the risk of developing PD by about 30% when consuming three cups a day. Protection against type 2 diabetes More than 30 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, a disease marked by blood glucose (sugar) levels that are too high. But according to a recent review of 30 studies, you can decrease your risk of type 2 diabetes by drinking coffee (caffeinated or decaffeinated) every day. The review found your risk decreases by 6% for each cup you consume with a maximum benefit of 30% reduced risk if you drink five or more cups a day. Reduced risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease Not all research draws a clear connection between caffeine consumption and the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (the most common type of dementia). But most studies suggest that regular consumption of caffeinated coffee over the course of a lifetime decreases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Health concerns associated with coffee While coffee offers many health benefits, the caffeine it contains can cause health concerns for some people. According to the National Institutes of Health, caffeine may affect your body by: Decreasing calcium absorption, which can be offset by adding a tablespoon or two of milk to your coffee Increasing your blood pressure, which can lead to a rapid or abnormal heart rhythm Serving as a diuretic, causing you to urinate more and dehydrate Stimulating your central nervous system, which may leave you restless, anxious, shaky or unable to sleep Triggering acid production in your stomach, often leading to increased heartburn, reflux or upset stomach To understand whether drinking coffee is a good choice for your personal health, reach out to your primary care provider. Source: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/pour-yourself-another-cup-health-benefits-of-drinking-coffee
2021-09-13 01:40:25
uclahealth