Week 9 -- Walnut Soup with Broccoli

I use cashews when I want a creamy soup or sauce, but I have a big bag of walnuts that I love, and they're full of healthy fat, so I decided to experiment. 

This soup isn't spectacular, but it's nice for a winter evening.  It has a rustic old-world taste, but the broccoli brightens it up. 

I have two big glass "veggie bowls."  I like to fill the bowls to the brim with veggies to steam.

These steamed veggies have no idea they're about to become a lot more close...

I didn't use my immersion blender because I wanted the soup really smooth,

plus I needed to use my regular blender for the walnuts anyway.

Lots of herbs!  The more, the merrier.

There's my beautiful soup, ready to be dished up.  The steamed broccoli is so bright!

After I jarred up my soups for lunches, I didn't have a full serving left for dinner.

The potatoes there were about to become pizza potatoes.  They have nothing to do with the soup, 

but they were so cheerful and my soup cup was lonely, so I let them join the photo.

Walnut Soup with Broccoli

1 onion

4 cloves garlic

3 stalks celery

½ cup walnuts

3 cups water

2 crowns broccoli

1 tsp each thyme, sage, and savory

¼ tsp celery seed

black pepper

1. Chop the broccoli and set aside.  Ideally, you want to let it sit at least 30 minutes.  This gives the enzymes time to activate and you get more nutritional benefit.

2. Chop the onion, garlic, and celery.  Put them in a saucepan with a little water so they can steam over medium high heat.  Once tender, turn off and let veggies cool a little.

3. Blend the walnuts with 1 cup of water.  Once smooth, add the onions, garlic, and celery to the blender.  Blend again, adding more water as needed.

4. Return soup to saucepan.  Bring to a simmer.  Add seasonings.

5. Lightly steam broccoli.  Add to soup and let simmer a few more minutes so the flavors can meld.  Don't overcook or you'll get mushy broccoli.  It's nice when it's still a little crisp.   Add water to soup to get to desired thinness, if needed.

Makes about 4 servings.

Week 8 -- Lentil Soup #1

I love lentils.  I was raised on them, and the combination of nostalgia, cheap price, quick cooking time, and, of course, taste, means that I can't get enough of them.

This is the perfect time of year to eat lentils, too, because we've just entered the Catholic season of Lent.  In fact, the word "lentil" comes from the tradition of eating these pulses during the traditionally meatless season of Lent.

Okay, that was a lie.  "Lentil" actually comes from the Latin for "lens" because they're lens-shaped and "Lent" comes from Old English for "spring," but I think that's a pretty strong coincidence, don't you?  It's a sign from the universe that lentils should be enjoyed especially during spring.

I use lentils in many recipes, but this is one of my favorites.  It's very different from our family's traditional lentil soup.  The flavors in this soup were inspired by trying to recreate a restaurant lentil soup that I loved.  There will be other lentil soup recipes to come, because lentils are, dare I say, the most versatile pulse, despite their strong flavor.

By the way, what is a pulse, you may ask?  Well, lentils are a legume (but not a bean).  Pulses are the dried edible seeds of legume family plants including beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils.  Pulses are super healthy and are full of fiber, protein, and iron.

Look at that bag of green lentils!  So much potential!
You can use cheap brown or green lentils for this recipe.  

I bought the cheaper frozen spinach this week.  I always buy "cut leaf" but the "chopped" was half the price, so I gave it a try.  I know the difference now.  The chopped is great for dips, but I would rather have had the "cut leaf" in this recipe.

I may have burned my mouth a little because I couldn't wait to taste this deliciousness.

Lentil Soup #1

1 cup brown or green lentils, sorted through and rinsed

6 cups of water

1 red onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 stalk celery

1-2 carrots 

1-2 gold potatoes 

2 roma tomatoes

1 cup frozen spinach

2 Tbsp molasses

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1. Start the lentils simmering with about half the water.  Add more water as the soup cooks to keep all ingredients covered.

2. When lentils are just tender, add the vegetables as you chop them.  

3.   When all the vegetables are tender, add the molasses and ACV.

4. Let simmer as long as you can stand to wait.  I was in a hurry and only lasted 10 minutes.  

This soup works well in a crockpot, but don't add the molasses and ACV until just before eating.

(I've heard adding acid while pulses cook keeps them from getting tender, but this may be a myth.)

Makes about 4 servings.

Week 7 -- Butternut Spice

This soup was a delicious experiment, and it turned out even tastier than I'd hoped.  It was wonderful on a winter evening, and the flavors are different than I usually use in soups.

It was a little time consuming to prep all the vegetables.  If you want to splurge, pre-cut squash would make this soup cook up much more quickly.  Also, the corn-free oranges I currently have are seedy with tough membranes, so it took a while to pull off just the good stuff.  If you have better oranges or you want to use a high-speed blender to pulverize them, that will save time, too.

I will say, though, that the time was well worth it.  This soup is so flavorful you won't miss salt at all.

The raisins sweeten this soup, but there is a special "magic" that happens when grapes and onions are eaten together.  The synergy between the antioxidants in these foods doubles their cancer-fighting power when eaten together.  (Combined, they can suppress breast cancer growth 70%.)  More about this magic is at Nutritionfacts.org in this video. 

My one regret is that I used cannellini beans because I was hoarding my chickpeas for roasting.  I would definitely recommend chickpeas (garbanzo beans) instead, but it was still amazing with the cannellinis.

I peeled and diced my butternut squash the night before.  To make it easier to peel and dice, I steamed it in the microwave for 5 minutes, then let it sit for a while.  It was still a chore, but didn't require as much force with a knife.

I love collard greens, but my local grocery store hasn't had them in a while.  I celebrated their return by buying two bunches.  This recipe used half a bunch and the rest are becoming chips.

To make collard ribbons, first slice out the center stem.  Stack the de-stemmed leaves (as in the other photo above), then roll them into a log and slice across (as seen here).  Then make one more cut right down the middle of the rounds so the ribbons aren't too long for soup.

Look at it all simmering in the pot!  It's beautiful!

This bowlful isn't as pretty as the picture in the pot because I packaged up my mason jars full first, then gave myself the stuff at the very bottom to eat tonight.  

Butternut Spice Soup

1 medium-large butternut squash, peeled and diced

1 large red onion, diced

2 oranges, peeled and membranes removed, diced

1/2 bunch collard greens, about 6 leaves, de-stemmed and sliced into ribbons

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups (or 1 can) garbanzo beans (or other bean)

water

1. In a stockpot, saute the onion in a little water.

2. Add the squash, oranges, raisins, and collard ribbons.  Pour in enough water to cover the vegetables.  Let simmer until squash and collards are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

3.  Add the spices and beans.  Let beans heat up to soup temperature.

4. Enjoy!  Makes 6 servings.

Note:  I am severely allergic to cloves, but, if you are one of those lucky people who is not, feel free to add a little ground cloves. I think it would taste nice with this soup, if it wouldn't kill me.

Week 6 -- Flu Fighter Soup

It's that time of year when everyone has the sniffles, or worse.  I don't get sick often (one benefit of an immune disorder that basically means my system is always in overdrive), but when I do get sick, I make sure everyone knows it.  You know the jokes about "man colds"?  I'm not a man, but otherwise I fit the description.  I am miserable and whiny, even though my "cold" is rarely worse than sniffles, a headache, and an occasional sneeze. 

This is my ultimate feel-good soup.  Even when I'm not sick, just feeling run down, this soup makes me feel better.  It is one of my favorite meals any time, not only in flu season.

Shiitake mushrooms are especially great for supporting the immune system.  Garlic, onions, and ginger are all well known for helping fight infections.  Kale, like all cruciferous veggies, is high in vitamins and antioxidants.  Miso and tempeh both contain probiotics to help get you back on track if you've been on antibiotics (so I've heard -- I can't remember the last time I needed antibiotics).

Enjoy this soup whether you're healthy or under the weather.  I think you'll like it either way.

Look at those shiitake mushrooms!  They're hard to find in my area, but they're worth a splurge.

I wish you could smell a photograph.  My kitchen always smells amazing when this is cooking.

Flu Fighter Soup

1 large red onion

3 cloves of garlic

4-5 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed

1-2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 package tempeh

6 cups kale, torn into pieces

2-3 Tbsp miso

About 4-6 cups water

1. Chop the garlic and set aside for about 30 minutes to get the most benefit.

2. Slice the onion.  In a large skillet, saute onions in a small amount of water until soft.

3.  Add sliced garlic to the onions.  To mince the ginger, cut it into slices against the grain first, then stack slices and mince.  Add to the skillet.

4. Slice the mushrooms into thin strips.  Add to the skillet.

5. Add about 2 cups of water to the pan.  Cut the tempeh into squares and add to the pan.

6.  Tear up the kale and add it to the skillet.  Stir it in and lower the heat.  The kale will soften and turn brighter green.

7. Mix the miso with some water.  Add it to the pan.  Add enough water to make a nice soup (cover about 3/4 of the veggies).  Heat just until the soup is all hot, but don't boil.

Note:  Tempeh is a cake made of fermented soybeans and grains.  I've heard it's an acquired taste, but I personally can't get enough of it.  Look for it near the tofu in your grocery store.  If you need to avoid gluten, watch the ingredients carefully as some varieties contain barley and other glutinous grains.  If you aren't up to trying it or you can't find it, substitute one can of your favorite kind of bean.