Well, in the end, my previous soup experiment had plenty of flavor, just not the right kind. :-} Daikon turns out to have a rather distinct and strong flavor which neither M nor I were too fond of, at least in this preparation. Without the daikon, the soup was just ok. M didn't really care for it either way. So.....chalk that one up to a vote in the "No" column.
But fear not!!!! I am back at it, this time following recipes again. :-) This time, partially inspired by an excellent lunch at Boudin Bakery in Santa Ana on Sunday, I decided to try making asparagus soup using a recipe from M's new cookbook. It's really very simple, and I admit I was a little dubious for a while. You chop up asparagus (1 lbs) and onion (1/2 c) and heat them in a pan with some chicken broth (1 c). Then, once the asparagus is tender, you puree at least part of the asparagus/onion mixture. With that on hold, you make a roux (2 T butter + 2 T flour) in a sauce pan and add more chicken broth (1 c), salt (2 t) and pepper (dash), stirring constantly until it just begins to boil (that's about the time it starts getting thick). Then, the asparagus puree and whatever asparagus you had not pureed, plus some milk (1 c), some sour cream or yoghurt, (1/2 c - I used sour cream) and some lemon juice (2 t). Voila! Both the prep time and the cooking time are pretty short, and the soup is good! In the end, I think I put a little too much sour cream in, and a few pieces of asparagus were a tad bit crunchy (I prefer it to be completely soft). Next time I might try the yoghurt substitute for sour cream, just because.
It doesn't make the biggest quantity of soup out there, but the whole thing probably cost less than $2.50, with enough for three or maybe four bowls. And did I mention it tastes really good?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
My Latest Soup Invention
Ok, so M and I went shopping about a week ago and got some fennel and daikon to try out in our cooking. We also got some carrots and onions, some of which were used in my attempt to repeat the Stoup (not to great success), but some of which still needed to be used. Also left-over from the last soup, some celery. So, we had a fairly large supply of veggies that needed to be used. Thus was born my latest soup invention:
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot.
- Add 1 and a half chopped medium onions, three chopped medium/large carrots, 1 chopped fennel bulb (plus the stems), and 1 chopped medium daikon.
- Add the following spices:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon comino cumin seed
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- a pinch of crushed bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic cubes
- fresh ground pepper to taste
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- Cook on high heat for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon sticks.
- Add 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth), 28 oz diced tomatoes, 1 small can tomato paste, ~3 tablespoons ketchup, 1 and a half cups of dried lentils, and 1 cup of fusilli pasta.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until daikon is tender.
That's the soup, it's cooling a little now, we'll see how it turns out.........
:-)
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot.
- Add 1 and a half chopped medium onions, three chopped medium/large carrots, 1 chopped fennel bulb (plus the stems), and 1 chopped medium daikon.
- Add the following spices:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon comino cumin seed
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- a pinch of crushed bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic cubes
- fresh ground pepper to taste
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- Cook on high heat for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon sticks.
- Add 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth), 28 oz diced tomatoes, 1 small can tomato paste, ~3 tablespoons ketchup, 1 and a half cups of dried lentils, and 1 cup of fusilli pasta.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until daikon is tender.
That's the soup, it's cooling a little now, we'll see how it turns out.........
:-)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Stoup
I decided to take another cue from the Mennonite girls who can cook... This time, a lentil and sweet potato chili. ...And we have another winner! :-)
It's a very colorful dish, visually, and it has a lot of flavor. We decided that it's really more like a soup or a stew than a chili, however (although you can taste the chili element, too), so we decided to compromise and call it "stoup". We would have called it "stewp", but that already exists in the Lulich family.
Basically, you start with oil in a large pot - then add chopped up onions, celery, and carrots (a "mirepoix") with a bunch of spices (cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder, red crushed peppers, salt & pepper). Then add the chopped up sweet potatoes, lentils, diced tomatoes and tomato paste, black beans, and broth (we used chicken broth). Bring to a boil, then let it simmer about half an hour until the potatoes are nice and soft. Voila! Guten Appetit! We think it will make 6 or more bowls-full.
It's a very colorful dish, visually, and it has a lot of flavor. We decided that it's really more like a soup or a stew than a chili, however (although you can taste the chili element, too), so we decided to compromise and call it "stoup". We would have called it "stewp", but that already exists in the Lulich family.
Basically, you start with oil in a large pot - then add chopped up onions, celery, and carrots (a "mirepoix") with a bunch of spices (cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder, red crushed peppers, salt & pepper). Then add the chopped up sweet potatoes, lentils, diced tomatoes and tomato paste, black beans, and broth (we used chicken broth). Bring to a boil, then let it simmer about half an hour until the potatoes are nice and soft. Voila! Guten Appetit! We think it will make 6 or more bowls-full.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Soup!
Chef Steven back at it again! This evening I found a recipe for "creamy potato leek soup" that sounded good, and since we had most of the ingredients already I decided to try it. I had to get some leek and onion at the store, but that's pretty inexpensive.
So.... First, I melted butter in a large pot, then added two cinnamon sticks (yes, cinnamon sticks), a whole chopped leek and a medium chopped onion. Let those cook together a little bit. Meanwhile I cut up most of our remaining potatoes (which were growing sprouts and needed to be used), then added those to the pot, along with two cans of chicken broth. Let that boil, then remove the cinnamon sticks and let the soup simmer and cook down a while. When the potato pieces were getting pretty soft, I used a mashed potato masher to mash them a make the soup more creamy. I was surprised at how much effect this had on the soup's thickness - it was rather thin to begin with but then seemed thicker after the potatoes were mashed. I added some sour cream to help the creaminess, plus a pinch of marjoram, basil, and rosemary. Plus salt and pepper of course. In the end I decided I needed to add a little more dairy, but since I was out of sour cream I used milk - about a quarter cup, I think.
The result was a very tasty creamy soup. I was afraid I had gone overboard with the rosemary/basil/marjoram, but M liked the spiciness of the soup. :-) And it made quite a bit. We each had one and a half rather large bowls, and I think there are another 3 or 4 large bowls left. I'm not that good at estimating such things, however....so there might be even more! :-9
Our garden is starting to grow! We planted some serrano chili plants in a pot on the windowsill, and about 7 or 8 of those have sprouted. We also planted 5 kinds of herbs in two pots on the window sill - one of the herbs is sprouted and doing really well - we don't remember which one it is, though! :-} When it grows up I think it will become clear. I think this was the herb that was planted at half the depth of the others, so perhaps we'll start getting some other herbs in the next few days. :-) Looking forward to using them in our cooking! It will especially be fun when B & R come out in June and we can use the herbs in our Iron Chef competition.... :-)
Anyway - creamy potato leek soup. Good stuff.
p.s. I got the recipe (and then tweaked it) from a blog that I found when googling things to cook - it's called "Mennonite girls can cook".
So.... First, I melted butter in a large pot, then added two cinnamon sticks (yes, cinnamon sticks), a whole chopped leek and a medium chopped onion. Let those cook together a little bit. Meanwhile I cut up most of our remaining potatoes (which were growing sprouts and needed to be used), then added those to the pot, along with two cans of chicken broth. Let that boil, then remove the cinnamon sticks and let the soup simmer and cook down a while. When the potato pieces were getting pretty soft, I used a mashed potato masher to mash them a make the soup more creamy. I was surprised at how much effect this had on the soup's thickness - it was rather thin to begin with but then seemed thicker after the potatoes were mashed. I added some sour cream to help the creaminess, plus a pinch of marjoram, basil, and rosemary. Plus salt and pepper of course. In the end I decided I needed to add a little more dairy, but since I was out of sour cream I used milk - about a quarter cup, I think.
The result was a very tasty creamy soup. I was afraid I had gone overboard with the rosemary/basil/marjoram, but M liked the spiciness of the soup. :-) And it made quite a bit. We each had one and a half rather large bowls, and I think there are another 3 or 4 large bowls left. I'm not that good at estimating such things, however....so there might be even more! :-9
Our garden is starting to grow! We planted some serrano chili plants in a pot on the windowsill, and about 7 or 8 of those have sprouted. We also planted 5 kinds of herbs in two pots on the window sill - one of the herbs is sprouted and doing really well - we don't remember which one it is, though! :-} When it grows up I think it will become clear. I think this was the herb that was planted at half the depth of the others, so perhaps we'll start getting some other herbs in the next few days. :-) Looking forward to using them in our cooking! It will especially be fun when B & R come out in June and we can use the herbs in our Iron Chef competition.... :-)
Anyway - creamy potato leek soup. Good stuff.
p.s. I got the recipe (and then tweaked it) from a blog that I found when googling things to cook - it's called "Mennonite girls can cook".
Monday, March 23, 2009
Houston, We Have a Winner...
And the verdict is in.... This coconut milk white sauce over homemade pasta and spiced chicken is really good. :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)