it's cold outside

It's supposed to freezing rain all night.  All day tomorrow.  All through Wednesday.

And it's weather like this that calls for a good, warm soup.  I was inspired by Throw Down with Bobby Flay where they had a salmon chowder throw down (in the Pacific Northwest, yeah!) and this food blog that I LOVE.  I had salmon in the freezer and a bunch of beautiful root vegetables in my vegetable basket, so I thought I'd make my own version ... and yes, fresh salmon is better, but we're in the Midwest here.  Definitely miss the Northwest when it comes to seafood.  Particularly the salmon.

Anyway, this soup was perfect for a cold, wintry day.  I kept it pretty brothy, but still creamy.  I love a good, thick clam chowder.  But once in a while, I like a cleaner taste and texture.  So there you go.  My attempt at salmon chowder.

Creamy Salmon soup with root vegetables

1 rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1.5 lbs fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped fine
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
6 C stock (if you have seafood stock, use it.  If not, do what I did.  Whatever is in your freezer/pantry--other than beef.  This is not the time for beef stock)
1 C cream
salt and pepper to taste
3 large salmon fillets, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
minced parsley, for garnish

1. In a large dutch oven, cook the bacon until crisp.  Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat, add the onions and cook until softened.  Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add all of the rutabaga, turnip, potatoes, stock, and salt and pepper to taste.  Throw in the thyme and rosemary whole and put the lid on top.  Turn the heat to medium-low and let simmer until vegetables are tender.
2. Remove thyme and rosemary (most of the leaves should have fallen off in the soup) and discard.  Add the salmon and cream.  Let gently simmer until Salmon is just cooked through.  Remove from heat and serve.  Garnish with parsley, if you want.  (obviously, I didn't have any fresh parsley in my fridge ... so sad!)

quick lunch

This is one of my new favorite soups. I got the idea watching Everyday Food last weekend, and loved the recipe when I followed it exactly, but I decided it needed a little more heft, so I added a few of my favorite things and used cannellini beans instead of chickpeas. I liked the texture a little better for soup. And last night, I poached a chicken and made homemade chicken broth, so it was perfect timing to have this for lunch today. Making your own broth is so easy, and it will last pretty much indefinitely in your freezer, so it's really worth it. But of course, if you don't have homemade broth or stock, use the packaged stuff. My favorite brand is Pacific. And use the low-sodium stuff. If you love soup, you're going to love this one. It's super simple and fast, and tastes like you've been cooking all day.

Hearty Cannelini Bean and Pasta Soup

Serves 4~6

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or you could use chickpeas if you like)

1 C elbow macaroni or other small shaped pasta

1 C cooked shredded or chopped chicken, white or dark meat

3 small or 1 large yukon gold potato, peeled and diced small

4 C chicken broth or stock

2 C water

salt and pepper to taste

To serve:

finely grated parmesan cheese (I used Pecorino Romano in the picture)

chopped fresh parsley

1. In a large pot, bring the chicken broth and water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 2~3 minutes, until slightly cooked through. Add the pasta and cook for another 5 minutes, until slightly firm.
2. Add the chicken and beans and let simmer for another minute until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Serve with cheese and parsley.

This recipe freezes really well, but because the pasta will just keep absorbing the liquid it doesn't refrigerate really well. So if you have leftovers, place individual portions in freezer-safe containers and place in the freezer.

Makeover

Tonight I was visiting a friend who just had a baby, and I had to leave to work with the Youth at church early this evening, so it was a night for a really quick meal. So I grabbed some leftover creamy tomato sauce and added some chicken broth for the best creamy tomato soup ever. Then, I made a few simple little crostini panini, and it was complete.

Creamy Tomato Soup and Mini Cheddar Panini
Serves 2

1 C creamy tomato sauce
1~2 C low-sodium chicken broth

12 thin slices of day-old baguette
thin sliced sharp cheddar

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the chicken broth and creamy tomato soup over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until warmed through. Add a couple tablespoons of heavy cream if needed.
2. Sandwich the cheese in between the bread slices (don't worry about the holes, it makes for great crusty burnt cheese) and drizzle outsides of sandwiches with olive oil. Grill on a panini press or in a skillet until cheese is melted and bread is nicely browned.
3. Serve soup with mini cheese panini on the side while hot.
   

perfect for a cold day like today

It has been snowing like CRAZY today ...
So I decided to pull out our leftovers, and I was sure glad I made pasta e fagioli soup last night. It was the perfect meal for sitting in a warm house and watching the gorgeous white snow falling outside. I'm glad it's Saturday and Blake doesn't have to drive to work in this ...

I baked some wheat bread in my bread machine and it was really good, too. (Lisa, I just made the "honey white" bread recipe in the firm bread section of the book, and substituted 1 C of wheat flour for the bread flour and used extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. It was really moist, I think you'll love it.) I toasted it so it would soak up the bread better, and it was great.

If you want to make this soup and can't find Ditalini pasta, you can subtitute with stellini (little star shaped), orzo (rice shaped), or tubetti (little tubes). You definitely want to stick with a really small pasta for this recipe, though. The pasta expands so much that it wouldn't be very enjoyable with a big pasta.

Pasta e Fagioli
serves 6~8
3~4 slices of bacon, chopped medium
1 onion, chopped fine
4 garlic clvoes, minced
1 t dried oregano
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28 ounce) can diced/petite diced tomatoes
2 (15.5 ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3-1/2 C low-sodium chicken broth
2-1/2 C water
salt
8 oz Ditalini pasta (1-3/4 C)
1/4 C minced fresh parsley
pepper
2 ounces Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (1 C)
extra virgin olive oil for serving

1. Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Stin in the onion, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, beans, broth, water and 1 t salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the pasta and cook until just slightly underdone. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle individual bowls with grated Parmesan and drizzle with olive oil before serving.
   

This one's for Marie

... if you still like Thai food.

Tonight I decided to make some coconut shrimp and chicken soup. I got the recipe in my Everyday Food cookbook again, but I added chicken and fish sauce and used chicken broth instead of water. I also would add cilantro next time I make this. Of course, if you would rather, use a full pound and a half of chicken or shrimp instead of combining the 2. I just liked the combination. (Plus, chicken is cheaper than shrimp, but I definitely still wanted the shrimp in there) It was a really easy and tasty soup. Perfect for a freezing cold night like tonight.

Coconut Shrimp and Chicken Soup
serves 4 1 T vegetable oil
1 T grated peeled ginger
2 cloves garlic cloves, minced or grated
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
3 carrots, peeled, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
1 can coconut milk
1 T cornstarch
4~6 oz rice noodles
3/4 lb large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
3/4 lb chicken breast, sliced
2 C low-sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 C water
1 T fish sauce
juice of 1 lime
salt
4 scallions, thinly sliced
cilantro, finely chopped

1. Fill a large bowl with hot water and add the noodles. Let sit until softened (about 10~15 minutes), drain, and set aside.
   
2. In a 3.5 quart or larger saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken on both sides until almost cooked through and lightly browned. Add carrots and cook until they start to wilt. Add ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add coconut milk, chicken broth, fish sauce, and water. In a small bowl combine corn starch and 2 T water; add to the pot, and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium, add shrimp; stir until shrimp is opaque, about 1 minutes. Add noodles, remove from heat and add lime juice; season with salt. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with scallions and cilantro. Serve immediately.
   

Light Lunches

This week my friend Lori had all her last big final projects for school, and she was crazy busy. I thought I would help out a bit and bring her a nice brain food lunch. She loves feta cheese and Greek food in general, and I had just bought some feta at the Amish grocery store (and Blake won't eat it with me so I needed someone to share it with:)), so I took her a little Mediterranean platter for lunch. I made a simple tomato and cucumber salad, some home made hummus, and bought some kalamata olives, and fresh pita bread. Later that day I wanted a snack so I made a leftover pita with some tuna, and it was a great protein packed snack. I was in heaven.

Mediterranean Platter
1/2 block of feta cheese
kalamata olives, drained and pitted
pita bread

tomato & cucumber salad:
3~4 Roma tomatoes
1 seedless or English cucumber
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 T fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped fine

1. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and then cut them again into quarters lengthwise and cutting them into 1/2 inch pieces. Then take 3-4 roma tomatoes, scoop out the seeds and cut them into similar sized pieces. Toss together with some finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, juice of 1/2 a lemon, and a little salt and pepper.

hummus:
1/4 C tahini (which I made with some sesame seeds, water, salt, and sesame oil)
1 clove garlic
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed (with 1/4 C liquid reserved)
1/4 t ground cumin
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil for serving

1. Combine ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
   

On Sundays I always have a hard time thinking up something for lunch that's quick enough but satisfying. But today was definitely and exception. We had bought a day-old baguette at the grocery store for $0.95, so I thought I would make good use of it. I took a third of the baguette, sliced it in half (to seperate top and bottom), put some mayo and coarse dijon mustard (only on mine, not Blake's), ham, arugula, and some yogurt and butter cheeses from the Amish store and had the best Sunday lunch ever. I had some left over curried carrot soup that I had left in the freezer from a few days ago to complete my comfort food.

Curried Carrot Soup
makes 6-8 servings
2 T butter
1 medlium onion, chopped
2 t curry powder
1/8 t cinnamon
1/4 t cumin
1 garlic clove, grated
1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
3-1/2 C low-sodium chicken broth
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks (or just buy baby carrots if they're on sale and don't worry about cutting them)
1~2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T coarsely shopped fresh cilantro, for serving

1. Heat the butter in a deep pot over medium heat. Add the onion, curry powder, cinnamon, cumin, 2 t salt, 1/4 t pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant, aout 30 seconds.
2. Add the brother, carrots, and 3 C water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover; and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Either use an immersion blender and blend until smooth or use a standing blender and blend the soup in small batches until smooth.
4. To serve, stir in lemon juice and sprinkle with cilantro.
   

Winter Feast

I think during the cold Winter months, there is nothing more comforting than a hot bowl of hearty soup. I found this recipe for Lentil Soup and have been meaning to learn how to use lentils in my cooking, so I thought I'd give it a try. I was expecting a simple, decent soup, but I was so pleasantly surprised with how yummy it was! And it was even better on day 2, so it's the perfect meal for us since I always make double for dinner so we can have lunches. I made a batch of my Aunt Carolyn's famous dinner rolls, and it was the perfect Sunday dinner/leftovers.

Lentil Soup
serves 4~5
3 strips bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/4 inch half moons
3 garlic cloves, grated
2 T tomato paste
1-1/2 C lentils, picked over and rinsed
2~3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 t dried
3-1/2 C low-sodium chicken broth (or 2 14.5 oz cans)
2 T red-wine vinegar
salt and fresh ground pepper

parmesan cheese to serve.

1. In a large pot with a tight fitting lid or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-low heat until browned and crisp, 8~10 minutes. Pour off all but 1 T fat.
2. Add the onion and carrots; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste, and cook for 1 minutes.
3. Add the lentils, thyme, broth, and 2 C water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover; cook until the lentils are tender, 30~45 minutes. If the soup becomes too thick during cooking, add up to 1 cup more water.
4. Stir in the vinegar, 1-1/2 t salt, and 1/2 t pepper, or to taste. Serve soup with some freshly grated parmesan cheese.