Tag Archives: soup

Follow that Recipe (or don’t)

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squash soupOur good friends, Maggie and Mike, spent the weekend with us recently. We had a great time, catching up on our lives and travels and enjoying conversation over good meals.

As I cooked, Maggie was quite intent on taking notes on the whole process. I caught myself on occasion saying, “This part is not rocket science. Just add SOME of this (or that).” As I reflected on that later, it occurred to me that cooking may not be rocket science, but for those who do not cook often or want to learn some new techniques, directions help.

Now, Maggie is a concert violinist. I am a musician, but violinists are a highly respected breed in my book, and Maggie has never said to me, “You could play the violin. After all, it’s not rocket science!” Thanks, Maggie. So…for all those people who have wanted to slap me for saying “this is not rocket science,” I now get it. On that note, for those who do not feel totally confident in the kitchen, follow the recipe. Follow lots of recipes. Get the feel for what spices go with what dishes. Pull out those cookbooks that look so impressive on the shelf. Try something new. You don’t have to be a gourmet chef, but eating healthy involves eating REAL food. Go for it. You can do it!

Spring is on the way, and I got an inspiration from Maggie and Mike. They moved to the country about 4 years ago and have an astounding garden. Mike said they still have an abundance of well-stored butternut squash and should turn it into something before the next crop arrives. Soup time! I promised them a recipe for squash soup, but as long as I’m at it, you might have some squash that needs to be used up, too. Soup is one of those wonderful creations that goes together rather quickly, simmers slowly and makes the house smell wonderful. You can make a little, just for a meal, but hey, as long as you are cutting up vegetables, you might as well make lots of soup and freeze some. This one’s for you, Maggie. Make that soup!

Roasted Squash Soup

Roasting vegetables brings out all their natural sugars and leads to intense flavors. By simmering all the ingredients together, you’ll get the best-tasting soup! This recipe makes LOTS of soup, but hey, if you’re going to the effort to make soup, make a big batch. Serve a crowd or freeze some in 2-serving sized containers to bring out as needed.

Equipment you will need
An oven
A large roaster pan with a lid (or aluminum foil to cover pan)
a good chef’s knife; 8-10 inch blade
a cutting board
a peeler
an immersion blender (stick blender) or a blender, or a food processor
a large soup pot (8 quarts or more)

4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks (about 3 medium squash)
6 stalks celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 pound carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise
2 large onions, cut into chunks
3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
6 Tablespoons margarine or butter, divided
3-4 quarts chicken or vegetable broth, (low sodium if available) more if needed (I use Swanson’s broth, plus some Watkins Creamy Soup Base)
Salt and white pepper to taste

As you cut up the squash, celery, carrots and onions, toss them into the roaster pan. Peel and seed the squash. Cut into chunks (about 2-3 inches). Cut celery, carrots and onion. Into the roaster they go. Mix them all up.
Peel and chop the ginger. Sprinkle over the veggies. Drizzle olive oil over the top and mix everything up (use a spatula or your hands).
Pour about 1 quart broth over veggies. Dot with 3 Tablespoons butter. Place in oven at 325º for about 2 hours, until vegetables are tender and beginning to brown slightly. If not to that point, let them roast longer but watch them every 30 minutes or so. You do not want burned vegetables.

When vegetables are done, remove from oven. Scoop entire contents of roaster pan into a large soup pot. Add 2 additional cups of broth and blend with immersion blender until smooth. NOTE: If you are using a regular blender or food processor, do not overload the blending container. These veggies are hot. Splattered hot veggies on your hands can burn you!

When blended, add more broth until the soup is the consistency you desire. Some people like really thick soup, others like it thinner. It will thicken as it cooks in the pot, too. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you are using regular broth, go easy on the salt. Stir in remaining butter and simmer soup for about 30 minutes. All done, get a bowl and enjoy !

Soup Day!

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Chicken SoupQuestion…When you think of soup, do you think of Winter? At the restaurant, we serve soup every day of the year, and it never seems to fall out of popularity. Soup fills us up, it is satisfying and many times is a lower calorie alternative to whatever it was that we considered eating in the first place.

Ahhh! Soup. I can smell it now. Soups can take on any personality you choose; bold and spicy like chili, beef vegetable with those wonderful textures and little bursts of flavor, creamy tomato or a spicy roasted vegetable concoction, blended to silk with an immersion blender. Soups can be hearty and overflowing with meat, vegetarian with lentils and other legumes, creamy, brothy, or made from leftovers that wait patiently in your refrigerator to come out and be useful. So let’s make some soup today!

Today, I’m making 2 gallons of soup for a church supper, so as long as I’m using a large pot, I might as well make more to freeze for our household. That’s what is great about soup, you can make as much as you want. If you are home for several hours you can make a chicken soup from scratch. Start with a nice, plump WHOLE chicken, some chunks of carrot, celery (use the tops and leaves of the stock) and chopped onion. OR, use that leftover chicken from Sunday and make a smaller batch.

Do you think you are a “non-cook?” Well, soup is not rocket science. Find a good basic recipe to follow the first time, and from there you can learn to be creative. Here’s a good way to make chicken noodle soup. Watch out for the salt. If anything, be a little stingy. You can always add more later. Are you ready to make your house smell wonderful? It might seem like it takes a lot of time to make soup. Well, it does, but you don’t have to stand in the kitchen while that chicken is cooking. Go read a book or take a nap. Here we go…

Chicken Noodle Soup
Makes about 2 gallons soup

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cups carrots, diced (wash, but no need to peel)
2 cups diced celery (use the tops and leaves, too)
salt and pepper
3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into quarters for easier handling
water to cover chicken

In a LARGE pot over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion, carrots, celery and salt and pepper. Saute until onions are tender (about 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute about 1 more minute. Add chicken. Add enough water to cover the chicken plus about 1 inch. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. When water begins to boil, reduce heat to maintain a simmer and continue cooking until chicken is “fall off the bone” tender, about 1 and a half hours. Turn off heat.

When chicken is done, set another large pot next to the first one. Place a large strainer over the clean pot. Using tongs, remove as many chicken pieces as you can and place in strainer. After chicken has drained, place the chicken in a large bowl to cool (it’s hard to handle chicken when it is burning your fingers). Now, using potholders, carefully pour the remaining liquid, veggies and chicken scraps into the strainer, letting all the broth pour into the pot. Pick through the veggies to find the chicken that’s hiding in there and put it in the bowl with the rest of the chicken. Throw out the veggies. Yup, toss ’em. They have done their job of flavoring that lovely stock, but they are full of chicken fat. Refrigerate the broth (stock) that you’ve just strained until it is chilled and the fat rises to the top (several hours). When the fat coats the top, skim it off and discard the fat. Now you have a beautiful stock for your soup.

Remove the cooled chicken from the bones. Discard the bones and skin. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Next step, assemble the soup: This sounds like we are starting over…
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 pound carrots, diced, peel this batch
2 cups diced celery
salt and pepper
3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped

You can cut up these vegetables while the chicken is cooking and set them aside until needed.
Just like when you were starting the chicken process, saute the above veggies, except for the garlic, in that large pot that you just cleaned out from cooking the chicken. When onions are tender, place garlic in and saute for another minute until fragrant. Add “defatted” stock to veggies. Add:
½ cup dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
(do not add any salt until later. The stock will be salty from cooking the chicken)
Add the chicken back into the stock. Add enough water to make about 1 ½ gallons broth. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes so all the flavors blend. Bring to a boil. When boiling, add one or two packages of noodles. Cook according to directions on noodle package, in the chicken soup stock,  until noodles are almost done. Turn off heat. Cover pot. Noodles will continue to cook as they sit in the soup. Allow all the ingredients to party until the flavors are blended. Add salt if necessary.

Eat some, freeze some. Enjoy!

 

Meatless Painless!

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Quinoa Harvest Chili

Lent is upon us, which immediately makes many “Lenten eaters” rush to that Friday night all-you-can-eat fish fry. We deserve better! How about sitting around the family table, enjoying conversation about the week-gone-by or the weekend plans, while enjoying a warm bowl of chili.

Not all chili is loaded with beef, and for non-vegetarians, meatless Mondays (as well as Lenten days) are becoming the healthy choice. The following recipe is one I found (and modified slightly) in a magazine and is from Brianne Jamerson of Indiana. Many vegetarian choices by non-vegetarians can be rather thin on protein, but this yummy chili is loaded! Black beans and quinoa pack a great punch of protein as well as fiber. Quinoa is an ancient grain that is high in protein, dietary fiber, several B vitamins and minerals and essential amino acids, AND you can now find quinoa is almost every grocery store!

Make it ahead, use a slow cooker, freeze some. Enjoy!

Quinoa Harvest Chili

1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tablespoons olive oil
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 15-ounce cans black beans, thoroughly drained and rinsed
1 sweet potato (about 8-9 ounces before peeling) peeled and cubed
1 large zucchini, chopped
5 cups water
2 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth, fat-free, reduced sodium
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Plain Greek yogurt and/or snipped cilantro (optional)

In a 5 to 6 quart Dutch oven, cook onions in olive oil over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the beans, sweet potato, zucchini, water, broth, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin and oregano. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.

Stir in the quinoa. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until quinoa and potatoes are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. If desired, top with yogurt and/or cilantro.

Freezes well!

Makes 10 servings (3 quarts)

Soup, Healthy and Easy

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Leek and potato soup

Autumn is upon us, and, I must confess, is my favorite time of year. Soft, cozy sweaters, wool blazers, scarves, trees that turn magnificent shades of reds and golds, and soup!

Ahhh! Soup. I can smell it now. Soups can take on any personality you choose; bold and spicy like chili, beef vegetable with those wonderful textures and little bursts of flavor, creamy tomato or a spicy roasted vegetable concoction, blended to silk with an immersion blender. Soups can be hearty and overflowing with meat, vegetarian with lentils and other legumes, creamy, brothy, or made from leftovers that wait patiently in your refrigerator to come out and be useful. So let’s make some soup today!

Here in the upper Midwest, farmers’ markets are at their best, and this week’s catch included beautiful, tender leeks. Potato Leek Soup! Julia Child, here we come!

Americans seem to have a love affair with anything buried in spices and sauces that scream “pour me over red meat!” But the French have a more subtle way of cooking. In the book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck, recipes are intended to be basic patterns for a cook’s creativity, with instructions on such simple subjects as how to construct a nice, basic soup. Julia Child, although thought of as the queen of butter and cream, tells us it is perfectly acceptable to make any recipe our own.

Potatoes and leeks are healthy. Julia’s  recipe calls for cream or butter, but using a fat source that is lighter than butter, mixed with a small amount of flour and then joined by some milk will give the soup a thicker, richer flavor than leaving all of that out completely. Feel free to add some vegetables that you have on hand; I finish the soup with a teaspoon of “herbs Parisien” and top a bowl with shaved Parmesan cheese.

So here’s my take on Potage Parmentier, or “Leek and Potato Soup.”

Creamy Potato and Leek Soup

1 lb. Potatoes, peeled and diced

1 lb. Thinly sliced leeks, including tender green parts ( or use yellow onions)

32 ounces low sodium, fat-free chicken broth

1 quart water

1 tsp salt

1 cup carrots, diced

1 cup celery, diced, about 2 stalks

Place all ingredients in a soup pot. Bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all vegetables are tender (40-50 minutes).

Mash all vegetables with a fork or run through a food mill. Do not use a food processor or a blender.

2 Tbs Smart Balance margarine (not light)

2 Tbs flour

¼ cup whole milk

In a cup, mix together 2 TBS softened Smart Balance (not light) and 2 TBS flour. Add ¼ cup whole milk. Stir flour, milk, margarine mixture into cooked vegetable, broth mixture and heat until slightly thickened and creamy.

Note: The vegetables should be visible and distinct in the creamy base.

Soups always taste better after they simmer for awhile, so give this yummy concoction time to develop some personality. In fact, making soup one day, letting it chill out overnight in the refrigerator and warming it up the next day always works at our house. I top mine with some fresh chives and shaved Parmesan cheese. Be creative. Add a salad and some crusty bread. Enjoy!