Eat Your Vegetables!

I'm not trying to bring back memories of scenes at the dinner table during your childhood. However, some of us still aren't crazy about most vegetables, so we stick to our routine: potatoes, carrots, corn, and maybe peas. Well here's a quick recipe that's extremely versatile; you can throw in whatever veggies you need to get rid of. On top of that, it makes really good leftovers - perfect for taking to work for lunch. And the best part: Mama would be proud.

Ingredients:

-2 quarts chicken broth

-extra virgin olive oil

-1 quartered yellow onion

-1 quartered bell pepper (color doesn't matter)

-2 ribs of celery, sliced

-2 sliced carrots

-1 quartered and sliced yellow summer squash

-1 quartered and sliced baby eggplant

-1 quartered and sliced zucchini

-2 cans crushed tomatoes

-a handful of chopped basil

-a handful of chopped parsley

-3 sprigs of fresh thyme, tied together with string (or bouquet garni if you want to be snobby)

-a tsp. of dried oregano

-a can of beans (cannallini, chick peas, wax beans, anything that's not too hearty)

-ground pepper

-any kind of shape pasta

-salt

Directions:

-Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Put the carrots, onions and pepper in the oil and saute until slightly tender. Meanwhile, heat the broth in a soup pot and add the raw remaining veggies. Set the beans aside until later. Throw in the tomatoes and herbs and the sauteed veggies. Boil until all the vegetables are cooked through. Add the beans and stir. 

In another pot, boil a few quarts of water. When boiling, add some olive oil and salt. Pour in the pasta, and cook until tender.

Add the pasta to the soup bowls when serving. Do not cook the pasta in the soup because the pasta will get mushy. Be sure to take the thyme out when the soup is done so you don't ladel it into your bowls!

Like I said above, this soup is very versatile. I've had this soup with shredded red cabbage, mushrooms, baby corn, it's all delicious. I like to go with whatever is fresh at the farmer's market. Feel free to play around with this. Try a little grated parmasean cheese on top to make it extra hearty.

Make You Poop Soup

WAIT! Don't leave yet! 

In the past year, I experienced a bit of a health crisis. I began to really focus on eating right, exercising, and making my physical and mental health a top priority.

One of my problems was that my metabolism had slowed considerably, both from being immobile and also because I was not eating a balanced diet.

You always hear from nutritionists, "Don't skip breakfast!", but to be honest, who actually has time for breakfast? If you do, you end up eating McDonald's on your lunch break anyway.

Well, here's a way to get your breakfast, get your nutrients, fill you up, and cleanse your system. 

Note: When I say "cleanse your system", I do not mean you will be running to the bathroom like you just ate some bad Mexican food. This "soup", which can be served in a bowl, or in a cup like a smoothie, contains yogurt, which has yogurt cultures that regulate your digestive system and boost your immune system. Instead of spending more than $10/week on packaged yogurt like Activia, sorry to name names, you can make your own concoction that has great taste and full of vitamins.

So, try it. There's a lot of room for variation here. It worked for me, after losing a considerable amount of weight, I am in great health and feeling awesome. I will blog later with the nutrition facts for this recipe, but I promise there are less than half as many calories here than in pre-made smoothies, or anything served at Jamba Juice. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of fresh fruit or fresh frozen fruit (I like at least a bit of frozen because it makes this soup ice cold and refreshing--just DON'T USE CANNED FRUIT WITH SYRUP!)

1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt (probiotic yogurt is even better, but could be more expensive)

1 tbsp. honey

Optional: 2 tbsp. oatmeal or granola

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until all the big pieces of fruit are gone.

That's it!

You can add more milk and less yogurt, if you prefer it to be of thinner viscosity. 

Ham, Potato and Leek Soup

What to do with the leftovers of a delicious Easter dinner? Well, try making a Ham, Potato and Leek Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 2 cups ham, diced
• 1/4 cup cream or half and half (optional)
• Salt to taste
• 3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chives or dill, chopped

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks, cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth, potatoes and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
   
   
2. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 25 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Using a blender or food processor, working in batches, process until smooth.
   
   
3. Stir in diced ham and cream. Season to taste with salt. Garnish with parsley, chives or dill.

Variation on Japanese Clear Soup

If you ever go to a Japanese restaurant, you will see clear soup on the menu. Technically, it's just clear broth. But, there are some ingredients in the traditional recipe that are difficult to find in regular supermarkets. 

Additionally, there are some components in the traditional recipe made with seafood. Since I was making this soup for someone who is allergic to seafood, I made my own variation. Feel free to add other aromatics to this recipe. The onions provide most of the flavor here.

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion, in whole thin slices

2 cups of Panko breadcrumbs

2 eggs, beaten

1 quart of chicken stock

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

2 teaspoons of dried lemongrass (or fresh lemongrass, if you have it)

1 bunch of scallions, half chopped and half left whole

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (any type will do)

3 tbsp. Vegetable oil

2 teaspoons soy sauce

Preparation:

Start bring the stock to a boil in a soup pot. Add the ginger, lemongrass, soy sauce and scallions. Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium high. Dip each onion slice into the egg mixture, shake off excess egg, and coat in breadcrumbs. Then put the coated onions in the pan and lightly brown and flip to cook the other side.

This whole process takes only a minute, so DO NOT LEAVE THE AREA! If you burn any onions, throw them out because they will make your whole soup taste burnt. 

Once the onions are browned on both sides, take them out with tongs and dry them on a piece of paper or paper towels, to absorb any leftover grease. Set aside until serving.

Back to the soup...Ok, so the soup should be boiling now. Add salt and pepper if necessary. Pour mushrooms into the soup and stir. Reduce the heat to medium. Let mushrooms cook for 4-5 minutes. 

To serve, place a few onion slices in a soup bowl with chopped scallions. Ladle the soup on top of the onions and scallions and serve.

What happens in Cancun...

Years ago, I stayed at the Fiesta Americana resort in Cancun. I went to lunch at the restaurant there called La Palapa (The Thatched Roof, lol) and ordered some soup. I don't know what possessed me to order soup in 90 degree weather, but something about the description caught my eye 

"Lime Soup" chicken broth with a hint of lime, served with shredded chicken and crispy tortillas.

And that was the English version of the menu. 

Turns out, Sopa de Lima (Lime Soup) is a traditional Yucatan recipe. FYI- The Yucatan Peninsula is the coastal area in Southeast Mexico. "Mexican cuisine" is a rather general term, when in fact dishes vary depending on the geographical area, just like we have in the United States.

It's a very easy soup to make, and can be refreshing in any season. I've tried some variations involving cheese and other seasonings, but one caveat: If you don't like lime, skip this soup. You can control the amount of lime in the soup, but you can still taste it.

Sopa de Lima (Lime Soup)

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 diced yellow onion

2 chopped cloves garlic

1 diced green bell pepper

1 tbsp. sazon or achiote (optional)

1 seeded, diced jalapeño 

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes with juice, lightly crushed

2 qts. chicken broth

1/2 tsp. lime zest

the juice of 1 lime

freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Heat the olive oil in a pot. Add the sazon or achiote and stir to mix. When the oil is hot, add the onion, pepper, jalapeño, and garlic. Sautee until just soft. Add the tomatoes and juice. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium high, and add the stock. When the stock is heated, add the lime juice and zest. Serve as soon as it's hot enough. Garnish with black pepper and cilantro.

I like it served with cubed queso blanco (or any lightly flavored white cheese) and tortilla chips. Add more lime if you think it needs it.

Told you it was easy! 

Soup 102: Other Types of Stock

Alright, so you have already gotten chicken stock down to a science. What do you do when you want to make French Onion Soup, or Mushroom Barley Soup? Well, following the recipe and using chicken stock will work, but will not taste like you would expect. 

Changing a couple stock ingredients will completely enhance and change the flavor, get still retain all the richness.

It's as simple as this: For pork and beef stocks, simply exchange the whole chicken for pork and beef. With turkey or duck, same thing, and you only have to put in half of the bird.

For beef stock, the cut of meat you use depends on if you want any pieces of meat in the soup (like in a beef barley soup), or if you just want the beef flavor (like French Onion--which is sans pieces of meat). 

If you're making a soup where the actual meat isn't important, use the bones from leftover beef, shortrib bones, or a cheap roast with the bone in. It'll have to cook a lot longer than the chicken stock to absorb the flavor, so don't rush it.

If you want pieces of meat in your soup, use whole shortribs. They're very tender and can be broken up with your fork so the meat won't get tough. (Warning: Short ribs can be expensive. If you go to an "off the beaten path" grocery store, the price will probably be lower. In my area there are a number of hispanic food markets that have very affordable short ribs.)

Also, use 1 beef bouillon cube and about a cup of frozen chicken broth to enhance the flavor.

For pork stock, same thing. The best thing to use is a leftover ham bone. Around Easter, my family always goes crazy with cooking because we have ham for Easter dinner, and then use the leftovers for breakfast meat, and the bones for soup. It's a good time to be staying at Jamie's house. (Unless you're a vegatarian...then that would just suck. Don't worry I have a vegetarian blog coming)

For lamb stock, use lamb shanks. I also advise you put leeks in the broth with the rest of the stock veggies, it just adds so much depth to the flavor. You can actually use leeks in any of the stock recipes. Just be advised, it has an onion-like flavor, and it can sometimes overwhelm a more subtle flavor like chicken.

The only exception is seafood and veggie broths. I'll come back to that later.

Stay tuned for the next couple blogs where these stocks will all be transformed into creative and classic soups!

The Least Imaginative Soup Out There: Chicken Noodle

As mentioned in my last entry "The Soup Prerequisite: Stock", I said I would show you how the basic stock recipe can be modified. I also started to explain how stock is the foundation for more complicated soups. Well, this next soup isn't complicated at all. On the other hand, I've seen it messed up in all sorts of ways. Yet it remains probably the most popular soup out there, and different variations of this soup appear in cultures across the world. Likewise, it had to be my next recipe.

Ingredients:

1 quart of prepared homemade Chicken Stock

1 1/2 cups of cooked soup vegetables (see previous entry)

1/2 cup of cooked chicken (see previous entry)

1 quart water

salt

2 tsp. of vegetable oil

2 handfulls of dried egg noodles (or any leftover pasta)

fresh ground black pepper

2 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley, or dill

Start by bringing the water to a boil in a small pot. At the same time, begin heating the stock, whole vegetables and chicken in a small soup pot. When the water comes to a boil, add the salt, oil, and then the pasta. Stir often. (If using leftover pasta that's already cooked, skip this part and add the pasta when the soup is hot so the noodles get warm)

When the soup gets hot enough, add enough pepper to your liking. (I like it HOT, it makes my nose run) When the noodles are tender, drain them in a colander and rinse them lightly with warm water in the sink (you want to prevent them from sticking to each other). Cut the whole vegetables to a desired size, by just slicing real quick with a butter knife. Add a desired amount of noodles to each bowl, ladel the soup into the bowls, and top with a pinch of parsley. Dill is also an interesting flavor, but make sure that whatever you put on top is FRESH and not DRY. Dry herbs defeat the purpose and don't really brighten the flavors.

(serves 4)

*You can substitute pasta for rice. Just make the rice according to the directions on the package. 

The Soup Prerequisite: Stock

Every soup starts somewhere...

The following recipe is for chicken stock. This recipe makes a rich, hearty, flavorful broth that can be modified for beef, pork, turkey, lamb, or duck-based soups. You may eat it alone, with noodles, or use it as a base for other soups. See below for details.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cleaned (the smaller, the better. You want to be able to fit everything else in the pot.)

3 gallons of cold water 

6 whole peppercorns (or less if you don't like spice)

4 whole cloves of garlic, peeled

3 whole medium yellow onions (or 2 large ones)

3 whole celery ribs

2 large whole turnips

3 medium sized parsnips

4 whole potatoes, peeled

4 whole carrots, peeled

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 beef bouillon cube

Start to fill your 4 gallon stock pot with water. Add the peppercorns. When your pot is about 75% full, add the garlic, onions, celery, turnips, and parsnips. Leave the potatoes and carrots on the side--DO NOT PUT THEM IN THE POT! They will become mushy and fall apart!

Bring the stock to a rolling boil. Continue boiling for another 10 minutes. Do not stir the pot, the flavors circulate by themselves.

Now, add the chicken slowly. Watch the water level in the pot. This is not an exact science! If the water is getting close to the top, take the chicken out and use a measuring cup to take out some of the liquid. Leave the liquid (if any) on the side, because when the stock boils down later, you may want to add it.

After you add the chicken, this is when the magic starts to happen. After another 10 minutes,taste the broth (which will still be extremely watery), and add the bouillon cubes. If the broth is already salty enough to your liking, leave out the bouillon cubes. The chicken cube is to enhance the chicken flavors, and the beef adds richness, trust me it's my little secret. 

Note: If you are splitting the recipe to make a smaller pot of stock, split the bouillon cubes, otherwise your stock will taste like oodles of noodles!

You may now lower the heat to medium-high. Let the stock cook for 20 minutes at least, and taste. You may let the stock simmer for as long as you like at this point, the longer the better in my opinion, but some of us have things to do.

Lastly, add the potatoes and carrots. Let them cook until tender, about another 20 minutes, and turn off the heat. Once again, make sure you don't overcook the carrots and potatoes. 

Let the stock cool, take out the chicken, and refrigerate it overnight. Save the chicken in a container (or even a ziploc bag works) and put in the refrigerator. The next day, use a strainer to take off the layer of grease at the top (it's yellow and hard, kinda gross actually). Take out any other vegetables that you don't eat (like whole garlic) or onions. I actually take all of the vegetables out and put them in ziploc bags too. This way, I have a big pot of just stock to work with.

You may refrigerate this stock for up to 5 days, or freeze for a few weeks. 

For variations of this stock, see my next blog!