This marks the return of Thursday soup nights. For awhile last Winter, I was coming home from work on Thursday nights and making a big pot of interesting soup. I decided to start up the tradition again this year and the first experiment was this cumin-y, black bean soup. I thought it had great flavor and while I didn’t include all the seeds from the jalapeño, it was spicy enough for me. jwa, of course, opted for a little hot sauce.

The original instructions said to not drain the beans, but I wanted to rinse a little of the salt/liquid off, so I split the difference and drained one can/used the other without draining. Seemed like a good compromise and I probably added about 1/2 tsp of kosher salt at the end.

Black Bean Soup with Cumin and Jalapeño Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appétit 2 tbsp olive . . . → Read More: Black Bean Soup with Cumin and Jalapeño]]>

This marks the return of Thursday soup nights. For awhile last Winter, I was coming home from work on Thursday nights and making a big pot of interesting soup. I decided to start up the tradition again this year and the first experiment was this cumin-y, black bean soup. I thought it had great flavor and while I didn’t include all the seeds from the jalapeño, it was spicy enough for me. jwa, of course, opted for a little hot sauce.

The original instructions said to not drain the beans, but I wanted to rinse a little of the salt/liquid off, so I split the difference and drained one can/used the other without draining. Seemed like a good compromise and I probably added about 1/2 tsp of kosher salt at the end.

Black Bean Soup with Cumin and Jalapeño
Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appétit
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 jalapeño chile with seeds, finely diced
2 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans, 1 can undrained, the other drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice (instead of canned tomatoes, I used 15 oz from a package of Pomi tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups low-salt (or homemade) chicken broth
Garnishes:
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped green onions
Crumbled feta cheese
Hot sauce

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat.

Add onion, carrot, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Mix in cumin and about half the diced jalapeño.

Add beans, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes.

Transfer 3 cups of soup to blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to pot. Or, use a stick blender and break up some of the beans/veggies that way (what I did).

Simmer soup until slightly thickened, about 10-15 more minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining jalapeño, if desired.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro, green onions, and feta cheese.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, if that is the holiday you celebrate this time of year. If not, happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Festivus, what have you. Maybe you just like to sit around in December eating a lot of appetizers and cookies for no real holiday-affiliated reason. If so, hope you had a nice time doing that!

This was our dinner on December 26th, a day known far and wide for its sensible eating. Because of this, I chose to bake the shrimp toasts in the oven (originally, they were deep fried). This is actually a very nice change from the creamy-cheesey-red-meat-dips-crackers type of eating a person might tend to do around this time of year. This soup is light and full of spinach and mushrooms. It’s also vinegary and a little spicy.

Sure, the shrimp toast isn’t entirely necessarily, but it’s . . . → Read More: Thai Hot & Sour Soup with Shrimp Toast]]>

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, if that is the holiday you celebrate this time of year. If not, happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Festivus, what have you. Maybe you just like to sit around in December eating a lot of appetizers and cookies for no real holiday-affiliated reason. If so, hope you had a nice time doing that!

This was our dinner on December 26th, a day known far and wide for its sensible eating. Because of this, I chose to bake the shrimp toasts in the oven (originally, they were deep fried). This is actually a very nice change from the creamy-cheesey-red-meat-dips-crackers type of eating a person might tend to do around this time of year. This soup is light and full of spinach and mushrooms. It’s also vinegary and a little spicy.

Sure, the shrimp toast isn’t entirely necessarily, but it’s pretty good. It did seem a little bland at first but I think that’s just because the flavors in the soup are so strong. But then, I dipped the shrimp toast into the soup and really liked it! So, why not give the shrimp toast a try too? You know, because it’s sensible.

Thai Hot & Sour Soup with Shrimp Toast
Adapted from a recipe by Ming Tsai
1 tsp canola oil
1/4 cup peeled ginger julienned
1 sliced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-4 dried Thai chiles
3 stalks lemon grass, sliced
1/4 cup fish sauce
6 cups chicken stock
6 kaffir lime leaves (I subbed a long strip of lime zest and about 1 tsp lime juice)
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup Thai basil leaves
1 tsp ground pepper
2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms, sauteed
1/2 cup spinach leaves, chopped
1/4 cup sliced scallion
Optional: 1 egg, beaten

Before you start the soup (or while it is reducing) saute up the shiitakes in about a tsp of canola oil. When they’re done, just set aside until it’s time to add them to the soup.

Saute ginger, onion, garlic, chiles and lemon grass in the canola oil until soft. Deglaze pan with fish sauce.

Add chicken stock and lime leaves. Simmer and reduce for about 15-20 minutes over low heat. Add vinegar, basil and pepper.

Check for seasoning. If it is too vinegar-y, you can always add a little more stock. Strain the soup and either return it to the pot or absentmindedly put it in a new pot, like I did. Return to a low simmer.

Add sauteed shiitakes and spinach. If you have a few extra Thai basil leaves, you can tear them up and add them to the soup along with the spinach. If you are using the egg, stir it into the soup now.

Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with scallions.

Shrimp Toast
Adapted from a recipe by Ming Tsai
1 cup shrimp, chopped
1/2 cup napa cabbage
1/2 tbsp minced ginger
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 egg white
2 tbsp chopped scallions
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper
3 slices of dried bread with the crust removed, cut diagonally
1/4 cup sesame seeds
Canola oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a food processor, puree first 5 ingredients. Fold in the scallions and cilantro and give it a little salt and pepper.

Spread the mixture on the bread halves and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, turn on the broiler and toast the tops (careful! the tips of the toasts may burn, if they do, just cut them off). Serve with soup.

You can see above where I clipped off the toast ends. I think next time, I’m going to add a little garlic and maybe a dash of soy sauce to the shrimp mixture.

Here’s our Christmas tree this year. It is delightfully spindly! Yes, that is the Sriracha Cookbook on the ottoman…

This was one of the first food images that I came across on pinterest.com (follow me here!) that I pinned and yes, it’s now the first recipe I’ve made from my Savory Snacks board. Not a bad choice. I changed it up a bit and made it a spinach lasagna soup and also decreased the meat a bit (using chicken sausage for the regular pork).

Cooking the noodles separately will let you easily save some of it for lunch the next day (I hate it when pasta sits in soup overnight and soaks up all the liquid).

As a funny anecdote, this recipe is originally (I think) from a Disney site at go.com which is the name of the web property that Disney turned infoseek.com into, which is my old company. I actually worked there when Disney bought us. By the way, I think . . . → Read More: Cooking with Pinterest: Spinach Lasagna Soup]]>

This was one of the first food images that I came across on pinterest.com (follow me here!) that I pinned and yes, it’s now the first recipe I’ve made from my Savory Snacks board. Not a bad choice. I changed it up a bit and made it a spinach lasagna soup and also decreased the meat a bit (using chicken sausage for the regular pork).

Cooking the noodles separately will let you easily save some of it for lunch the next day (I hate it when pasta sits in soup overnight and soaks up all the liquid).

As a funny anecdote, this recipe is originally (I think) from a Disney site at go.com which is the name of the web property that Disney turned infoseek.com into, which is my old company. I actually worked there when Disney bought us. By the way, I think Go.com is a dumb name, I’m really surprised they kept it all these years. No, I’m not bitter (yes I am!). Kidding! Um , not really…

Anyway. No matter what the source is, this soup is pretty good and a perfect Fall/Winter meal. Leftovers are great for lunch the next day, just keep the noodles and soup separate until you’re ready to reheat, so you don’t loose all the broth to the noodles.

Lasagna Soup
Adapted from Disney’s Family Fun at go.com..(hahahahahaha)
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 pounds uncooked Italian (pork or chicken) sausage (bulk or with casings removed)
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen spinach, defrosted and then squeezed of excess liquid
3-4 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
4 lasagna noodles, broken into pieces (or 4 oz fusilli pasta)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
4 ounces ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (or a couple of slices fresh mozzarella)

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and sauté, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon (or use a potato masher — wow, that works great!, until the sausage is no longer pink, about 5 to 7 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, the Parmesan, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.

Drain any excess fat from the pot. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and sauté until the paste turns a rusty brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, the broth, and the bay leaves and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes. The soup will reduce a little as it simmers and get all rich and tasty.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a separate pot of salted, boiling water, until tender. Drain. Season with soup salt and black pepper to taste.

To serve divide the cooked lasagna noodles (or fusili) between 4 bowls and ladle the soup over the pasta.

Top with a heaping tablespoon of the ricotta-Parmesan mixture and sprinkle with a little mozzarella cheese.

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie features a Corn Soup and that’s about as seasonal as it can be, right now. I really had planned to make the recipe as written, but then…I changed a few things.

1. I had an avocado I needed to use, so I did a Mexican theme with the soup. To this end, I added a little chili powder and excluded the thyme. My garnishes were chopped avocado, cilantro and a little shredded cheese. Also, the soup was served with some Tabasco sauce on the side; the vinegar in that really worked with the rich, creaminess of the soup.

2. I used half milk and half low-sodium chicken stock. This was because I realized that if I didn’t use most of the quart of whole milk I had bought in the soup, I could use that milk making Malted Chocolate Ice . . . → Read More: FFwD: Corn Soup]]>

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie features a Corn Soup and that’s about as seasonal as it can be, right now. I really had planned to make the recipe as written, but then…I changed a few things.

1. I had an avocado I needed to use, so I did a Mexican theme with the soup. To this end, I added a little chili powder and excluded the thyme. My garnishes were chopped avocado, cilantro and a little shredded cheese. Also, the soup was served with some Tabasco sauce on the side; the vinegar in that really worked with the rich, creaminess of the soup.

2. I used half milk and half low-sodium chicken stock. This was because I realized that if I didn’t use most of the quart of whole milk I had bought in the soup, I could use that milk making Malted Chocolate Ice Cream this weekend. So, yeah, that won.

3. I made a half recipe (so it was 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup stock + 1 cup of stock later in the recipe).

I think that’s mostly it. We both enjoyed the soup a lot! It was a great Summer dinner. And of course, I’m really looking forward to the ice cream this weekend. Oh, and here’s a link to everyone’s Corn Soup posts.

Super messy corn in a bowl.

Corn cobs steeping in the hot milk and stock. Ha! Everyone has this picture this week.

Just about 1/4 tsp of chili powder. I added about 1/2 tsp more while the soup was simmering.

Getting ready to blend. Since it was just a half recipe it all fit in one blender batch.

Back on the stove top to rewarm just a bit.

The finished soup — Tillamook cheddar, avocado and cilantro. Delicious!

Scary Corn Story from Way Back
Okay, you made it all the way to the end? Great. Want to hear my corn story? So, maybe 10 years ago I bought some ears of corn and I was pulling the husk down to get to the kernels and there’s this huge, worm-like thing on the corn kernels. I scream and throw the corn up in the air and run away. A few minutes later, feeling a bit foolish, I start making my way back to the kitchen to pick up the corn and try figure out how to approach this corn husking task when I look down and the worm-thing is on my sock.

IT’S. ON. MY. SOCK. OH MY GOD! IT’S ON MY SOCK! WAIT?? IT FOLLOWED ME?! Okay, in retrospect, I’m pretty sure it flew off the corn when I threw it in the air and it landed on my foot. At the time though, this was seriously perplexing. Anyway, I screamed again, tore off my sock, threw that in the air and ran into the bedroom. And closed the door. Because you can never be too sure and the worm-thing was apparently all sneaky and stuff. And was after me.

I think a few minutes later I went back out, threw my sock in the garbage and (if I remember correctly), ordered a pizza for dinner.

This French Fridays with Dorie meal was delicious (of course they are all delicious)! But for this one, I opted to make my own vegetable stock with the recipe for the best vegetable stock ever, which you can find at epicurious.com. I pretty much did exactly that, except I omitted the canned tomatoes (I tossed in a small handful of sundried tomatoes instead) and I think I used less mushrooms (a few shiitakes). Oh and I used 5 cups water instead of a quart.

Things I learned/notes: 1. It is not warm weather here (in Portland). We are still 50-ish. Therefore, a nice hot bowl of soup was just the thing. 2. I made the herb coulis with basil. 3. I was surprised how much I liked the poached egg on this, the yolk added to the broth nicely. 4. I used kale from the garden instead . . . → Read More: FFwD: Warm Weather Vegetable Pot au Feu]]>

This French Fridays with Dorie meal was delicious (of course they are all delicious)! But for this one, I opted to make my own vegetable stock with the recipe for the best vegetable stock ever, which you can find at epicurious.com. I pretty much did exactly that, except I omitted the canned tomatoes (I tossed in a small handful of sundried tomatoes instead) and I think I used less mushrooms (a few shiitakes). Oh and I used 5 cups water instead of a quart.

Things I learned/notes:
1. It is not warm weather here (in Portland). We are still 50-ish. Therefore, a nice hot bowl of soup was just the thing.
2. I made the herb coulis with basil.
3. I was surprised how much I liked the poached egg on this, the yolk added to the broth nicely.
4. I used kale from the garden instead of spinach.
5. Other vegetables I used: shiitakes, green beans, asparagus, leeks and onion. I thought I had a couple of potatoes but then I realized I didn’t. I was sad. Then I tried the soup and I was happy.

Okay, on the with photos! And everyone’s posts can be found here.

Vegetables ready to be roasted.

Simmering and becoming stock.

Basil coulis — I added a little lemon juice to mine. I’ve found that in basil pesto too, that a little lemon juice will help keep the color nice and green.

Kale freshly picked from the garden.

Beginnings of the pot au feu – vegetable stock, onion, garlic, leeks and an orange zest strip.

The rest of the veggies added.

Poaching my egg — I add a little vinegar to the water and because I poach in shallow water usually, I flip it gently a minute or two in.

Ready for the egg and the coulis!