I haven't posted in quite a while! I'm not abandoning the blog, but if the next 6 months are anything like the last one (and they probably will be), posting frequency will probably be somewhat similar as well. My master plan is to finish up my PhD work by mid-May; this is commanding most of my attention right now. That and pregnancy! To make up for the lack of well though out recipes and nice pictures, I think I'm gonna try to post a weekly pregnancy (a.k.a. non-alcoholic) drink recipe because I've been getting pretty creative in that arena lately. These aren't necessarily cocktail type drinks, but a variety of warm, cold, blended or whatever beverages.
But I did make a nice soup a few days ago - it disappeared before I could take a picture, but I wanted to share it anyway cause I think barley and edamame go great together. Really the rest of the ingredients are optional, just use what you have. Sauteeing them might bring out some more flavors, but this is so easy as is, it's really great as is. The water used to cook the barley has a nice barley taste, so I just supplement that with some broth.
I made about 1.5 c. worth of dry barley (half a bag), and have been enjoying the leftovers for breakfast like oatmeal. I've been mixing in (not necessarily all in one bowl) toasted pecans, maple syrup, chopped stewed prunes, craisins, diced apples, cinnamon, milk, All-bran cereal (bran buds)... yummy. If you do this, you'll need to pour all the barley into a strainer and catch the barley water (you'll also need more water than I call for in the recipe); add about a cup of cooked barley and 1 - 1.5 c. barley water, then proceed with the recipe.
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
1/3 c. dry pearled barley
water to cover by about 2 inches
1 can chicken (or veggie) stock
1/2 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 c. frozen edamame (pre-shelled)
1/2 c. frozen spinach
1-2 t. soy sauce (to taste)
2 T. grated parmesan cheese
fresh ground black pepper
1. Cover barley with water and bring to a boil. Cook for about 35 minutes, or still al dente (should be edible, but it's going to cook a bit longer so doesn't need to be super soft. Chop veggies while barley is cooking.
2. Add in the stock, bring to a boil.
3. Add in the carrots and onion. Cook for 5 minutes, then add in the celery. Cook for another 5 minutes (or more) till the veggies are tender.
4. Add in the edamame and spinach, bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes.
5. Season with soy sauce, cheese, and pepper and serve.
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Friday, September 24, 2010
Split pea soup with potatoes and dill
Wow! This might be one of my favorite recipes that I've posted yet. As I started describing in the last post, this soup was born because I just wanted to cook all the veggies in my fridge at the same time and couldn't focus on one thing. The potatoes and dill were just begging to be cooked, and with the first chill of fall, they ended up in soup. I didn't know exactly where it was going while I was making it (so unfortunately, the amount on the liquids and potatoes might be a little off, cause I didn't measure, but they're close. You'll notice copious tilde use in the ingredient list.) The flavors are really great, so I encourage you to make this one, especially if you have good potatoes, dill, and parsley hanging around. It works best if you are completely distracted by cooking other things.
Makes about 1 gallon of soup (8 big servings)
1 T. olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
~3 qts. water
1 lb. of yellow split peas (green would be okay too)
~2 bay leaves
~1 T. Better than Bouillon veggie base
~1/2 lb. small Yukon gold potatoes, cut up in bite sized pieces (other kinds would be okay, but I LOVED the creamy sweetness of the Yukes)
~1/2 bunch parsley
~4-5 T. fresh dill
~1 c. buttermilk
Salt to taste
optional: chopped chives or green onion to garnish and for extra flavors
1. Heat olive oil over medium, add in the onion and sautee till soft and just starting to brown (6-8 minutes or so).
2. Add water, split peas, bay leaves, BTB. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook for ~15 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes. Continue to simmer for about another 30 minutes. Check occasionally towards the end. You don't want to cook it for so long that the potatoes start to disintegrate.
4. While simmering, chop up the parsley and dill; I used the food processor to get it quite small, but process the two separately so you can add the right amount of dill for your liking.
5. When the soup is done, stir in the parsley, dill, and buttermilk. Go easy on these and taste as you go. You don't want the dill to be overpowering (and I think people have pretty different levels of dill tolerance, I tend to prefer it on the light side), but you definitely want to taste it. For the buttermilk, I would suggest that you don't even want to really be able to identify it. Using just a small amount - a cup or so (compared to the 3 qts water) - gives the soup a creamy body and a very slight tang, but I wouldn't describe it as sour or acidic at all. 6. Add some salt if necessary (for once, I think I didn't add any extra at all!). Serve with chives or green onions if desired.
Makes about 1 gallon of soup (8 big servings)
1 T. olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
~3 qts. water
1 lb. of yellow split peas (green would be okay too)
~2 bay leaves
~1 T. Better than Bouillon veggie base
~1/2 lb. small Yukon gold potatoes, cut up in bite sized pieces (other kinds would be okay, but I LOVED the creamy sweetness of the Yukes)
~1/2 bunch parsley
~4-5 T. fresh dill
~1 c. buttermilk
Salt to taste
optional: chopped chives or green onion to garnish and for extra flavors
1. Heat olive oil over medium, add in the onion and sautee till soft and just starting to brown (6-8 minutes or so).
2. Add water, split peas, bay leaves, BTB. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook for ~15 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes. Continue to simmer for about another 30 minutes. Check occasionally towards the end. You don't want to cook it for so long that the potatoes start to disintegrate.
4. While simmering, chop up the parsley and dill; I used the food processor to get it quite small, but process the two separately so you can add the right amount of dill for your liking.
5. When the soup is done, stir in the parsley, dill, and buttermilk. Go easy on these and taste as you go. You don't want the dill to be overpowering (and I think people have pretty different levels of dill tolerance, I tend to prefer it on the light side), but you definitely want to taste it. For the buttermilk, I would suggest that you don't even want to really be able to identify it. Using just a small amount - a cup or so (compared to the 3 qts water) - gives the soup a creamy body and a very slight tang, but I wouldn't describe it as sour or acidic at all. 6. Add some salt if necessary (for once, I think I didn't add any extra at all!). Serve with chives or green onions if desired.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Coconut carrot soup
A quick and easy soup that - just needs some bread and salad on the side, maybe a dollop of yogurt on top.
oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
5-6 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 t. salt
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped
2 t. garam masala or curry powder
1 t. turmeric
1 pinch cinnamon
1 qt. water
1 can coconut milk
2 handfuls of lettuce
1 handful cilantro
freshly ground black pepper
optional: cayenne pepper
1. Heat oil over medium-high
2. Add the onions, carrots, and salt. Cook until onions are soft and everything is browning a little (8-10 min.).
3. Add the spices and stir for another 2 min.
4. Add the water and coconut milk, bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5-10 min.
5. Add the lettuce, simmer for another 5 minutes.
6. Add the cilantro, blend with an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender. You can also leave it somewhat chunky, but I would suggest making the initial pieces smaller in that case.
7. Season to taste with more salt, black pepper, cayenne.
oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
5-6 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 t. salt
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped
2 t. garam masala or curry powder
1 t. turmeric
1 pinch cinnamon
1 qt. water
1 can coconut milk
2 handfuls of lettuce
1 handful cilantro
freshly ground black pepper
optional: cayenne pepper
1. Heat oil over medium-high
2. Add the onions, carrots, and salt. Cook until onions are soft and everything is browning a little (8-10 min.).
3. Add the spices and stir for another 2 min.
4. Add the water and coconut milk, bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5-10 min.
5. Add the lettuce, simmer for another 5 minutes.
6. Add the cilantro, blend with an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender. You can also leave it somewhat chunky, but I would suggest making the initial pieces smaller in that case.
7. Season to taste with more salt, black pepper, cayenne.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Bean and chile posole
Posole is Southwestern regional dish - usually, it's a stew with pork, chiles, and the posole itself. Posole is whole, dried corn kernels that have been soaked in lye (calcium hydroxide, so the solution has a high pH). It is the same stuff that is coarsely ground to make typical southern grits, or finely ground to make masa, the basis for corn tortillas. It's also called hominy, but seems to be labeled posole around here. I was looking for a picture to put up here, and in my googling and wikipedia-ing adventures, I learned that hominy is the Powhatan word for corn... the same word that is in Chickahominy, the river and Indian tribe near Williamsburg where Andy grew up. Chickahominy means "the people of coarse ground corn." I hadn't put the two together until just now - learning while blogging!
But anyway, this is a not exactly vegetarian version of the dish. No pork, but I used chicken stock because I like the depth and body stock imparts to simple soups. The roasted chiles came from our farmers market (roasted on site in a giant propane powered rotating drum). I really liked the texture of the posole; they're chewy and hearty. I'll definitely be trying it in the future in other less traditional dishes. I haven't tried canned hominy, but I bet it would be good too.
1 c. dried posole, available in the Mexican section of grocery stores in Colorado, also called hominy
1 c. dried pinto beans (kidneys, black eyed peas, or black turtles would all work, canned would be just as good too)
1 T. oil
1 large onion
4-5 medium carrots
a pinch salt
1 t. ground cumin
8-10 cloves garlic
32 oz. no salt added chicken stock (I use Kitchen Basics brand)
10-14 roasted green chile peppers, peeled and chopped to some degree
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/3 c. lime juice
cilantro, chopped, to put on top
hot sauce
1. Soak the posole and beans overnight - fill water to about 2" over level. I put them in different pots, cause I wasn't sure if they would take the same amount of time to cook or not. I think this is a good idea cause although they took almost the same amount of time, I used the cooking liquid from the posole in the soup.
2. The next day, bring the posole and bean to a simmer and cook till tender and appealing - this took about an hour 45 for me, but beans can be very fickle. You could also use the 90 minute method on the beans - wonder if it would work on the posole??
3. In the meantime, heat the oil over medium and sautee the onions, carrots, salt, and cumin till they are lightly browned (6-8 min). Add in the garlic, stir for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Add in the stock and stir to release all the stuff on the bottom of the pot. Add the chiles, tomatoes, beans (drained and rinsed), and posole (with cooking liquid). Bring to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes, till the tomatoes are cooked and it tastes good.
5. Add lime juice, and then add water, salt, pepper, hot sauce to taste. Put some fresh chopped cilantro on top.
But anyway, this is a not exactly vegetarian version of the dish. No pork, but I used chicken stock because I like the depth and body stock imparts to simple soups. The roasted chiles came from our farmers market (roasted on site in a giant propane powered rotating drum). I really liked the texture of the posole; they're chewy and hearty. I'll definitely be trying it in the future in other less traditional dishes. I haven't tried canned hominy, but I bet it would be good too.
1 c. dried posole, available in the Mexican section of grocery stores in Colorado, also called hominy
1 c. dried pinto beans (kidneys, black eyed peas, or black turtles would all work, canned would be just as good too)
1 T. oil
1 large onion
4-5 medium carrots
a pinch salt
1 t. ground cumin
8-10 cloves garlic
32 oz. no salt added chicken stock (I use Kitchen Basics brand)
10-14 roasted green chile peppers, peeled and chopped to some degree
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/3 c. lime juice
cilantro, chopped, to put on top
hot sauce
1. Soak the posole and beans overnight - fill water to about 2" over level. I put them in different pots, cause I wasn't sure if they would take the same amount of time to cook or not. I think this is a good idea cause although they took almost the same amount of time, I used the cooking liquid from the posole in the soup.
2. The next day, bring the posole and bean to a simmer and cook till tender and appealing - this took about an hour 45 for me, but beans can be very fickle. You could also use the 90 minute method on the beans - wonder if it would work on the posole??
3. In the meantime, heat the oil over medium and sautee the onions, carrots, salt, and cumin till they are lightly browned (6-8 min). Add in the garlic, stir for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Add in the stock and stir to release all the stuff on the bottom of the pot. Add the chiles, tomatoes, beans (drained and rinsed), and posole (with cooking liquid). Bring to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes, till the tomatoes are cooked and it tastes good.
5. Add lime juice, and then add water, salt, pepper, hot sauce to taste. Put some fresh chopped cilantro on top.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
A peanut soup (made mostly of pantry items)
Andy and I were out of town for a week earlier this month. We got back, exhausted, late on a Sunday night. I started off Monday with an early meeting and was busy all day catching up. Luckily, a well stocked pantry yields soup that doesn’t require an immediate trip to the grocery store upon returning from a trip. The ingredients include pantry items, and a few veggies that keep for weeks in the fridge. Well, the tomatoes were very sad looking, but that means soup is the perfect destination for them. And while I would not have called cilantro something that keeps for a long time a few months ago, I now store it in an Herb Saver (thanks Mom!) and it keeps for at least 2 weeks!
A few notes on the ingredients
Squash - really, any winter squash would work. Since this is the end of winter squash season, stock up now! Cause they really do keep a long time in the fridge.
Better Than Boullion (BTB) – I’ve spoken highly of this product before, if you still don’t have some in your fridge go get it. It makes soup so easy and tastes really good.
Peanut butter – most recipes call for creamy PB, but I kinda like crunchy. First, cause that’s what I usually have at home and second, why not have little peanut fragments in your soup? They’re good.
Bulgar – I was going to use some wild rice but was hungry and bulgar cooks very quickly. Lots of grains would be good (rice, quinoa) as well.
Chile peppers – I used a whole jar of MMLocal’s mild high desert peppers. They were great. This is not something I usually have in my pantry, but I might start cause the soup really came together when I added them. However, I think if you had some fresh chiles or dried or canned or pretty much anything would taste good.
1 t. of peanut or veggie oil
1 acorn squash, cubed
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped or pressed
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. smoked paprika
1/4 t. cinnamon
4 pints water (preferably measured from your empty beer glass)
1/2 c. bulgar wheat
2 T. Better than bouillion
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped (I used small plum tomatoes here)
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/3 c. yogurt
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 7.5 oz. jar of mild preserved chile peppers, chopped
Sriracha (for serving)
1. Heat the oil over medium. Add in the squash, onion, and half the chopped garlic and sautee, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes while you get the other ingredients together and chopped.
2. Add in the rest of the garlic, red pepper, paprika, and the cinnamon and stir another 30 seconds.
3. Pour in the water and the bulgar.
4. When the water is getting close to boiling, add in the BTB, tomatoes, and peanut butter.. Stir for a while to get the PB dissolved and dispersed. If it’s taking a while, let it heat some more and come back to it. Then stir in the garbanzo beans. Cook for about 15-20 minutes.
5. Just before serving, stir in yogurt, cilantro, and peppers.
6. Serve with Sriracha or spicy chile sauce of your choice!
And lastly, a note on a previous recipe. If you read about avocado ice cream in my last post, you saw that I lost my notes and didn't have an exact recipe. Well, I found them and updated the post. Yay :)
A few notes on the ingredients
Squash - really, any winter squash would work. Since this is the end of winter squash season, stock up now! Cause they really do keep a long time in the fridge.
Better Than Boullion (BTB) – I’ve spoken highly of this product before, if you still don’t have some in your fridge go get it. It makes soup so easy and tastes really good.
Peanut butter – most recipes call for creamy PB, but I kinda like crunchy. First, cause that’s what I usually have at home and second, why not have little peanut fragments in your soup? They’re good.
Bulgar – I was going to use some wild rice but was hungry and bulgar cooks very quickly. Lots of grains would be good (rice, quinoa) as well.
Chile peppers – I used a whole jar of MMLocal’s mild high desert peppers. They were great. This is not something I usually have in my pantry, but I might start cause the soup really came together when I added them. However, I think if you had some fresh chiles or dried or canned or pretty much anything would taste good.
1 t. of peanut or veggie oil
1 acorn squash, cubed
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped or pressed
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. smoked paprika
1/4 t. cinnamon
4 pints water (preferably measured from your empty beer glass)
1/2 c. bulgar wheat
2 T. Better than bouillion
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped (I used small plum tomatoes here)
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/3 c. yogurt
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 7.5 oz. jar of mild preserved chile peppers, chopped
Sriracha (for serving)
1. Heat the oil over medium. Add in the squash, onion, and half the chopped garlic and sautee, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes while you get the other ingredients together and chopped.
2. Add in the rest of the garlic, red pepper, paprika, and the cinnamon and stir another 30 seconds.
3. Pour in the water and the bulgar.
4. When the water is getting close to boiling, add in the BTB, tomatoes, and peanut butter.. Stir for a while to get the PB dissolved and dispersed. If it’s taking a while, let it heat some more and come back to it. Then stir in the garbanzo beans. Cook for about 15-20 minutes.
5. Just before serving, stir in yogurt, cilantro, and peppers.
6. Serve with Sriracha or spicy chile sauce of your choice!
And lastly, a note on a previous recipe. If you read about avocado ice cream in my last post, you saw that I lost my notes and didn't have an exact recipe. Well, I found them and updated the post. Yay :)
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