Posts Tagged ‘soup’
Soup to the rescue
With winter weather still making itself known, this is a great time of year to indulge in delicious and healthy soups. But don’t rely on store-bought kinds to fulfill your cool weather cravings (too much sodium, additives to preserve the contents, etc.). Instead, make your own delicious soup. This easy-to-make recipe combines nutrient-rich vegetables with other flavors of the season for a hearty and satisfying taste of nature’s finest veggies. Plus, you can make lots of it, separate it and store it (even in the freezer) for future use. Convenient, easy and tasty, too? Sounds like a late winter winner! Here’s how it’s done:
Ingredients
5 medium carrots, chopped
3 medium celery stalks, chopped
3 large white onions, chopped
2 large green or red bell peppers, chopped
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 lg. can of low-sodium tomatoes (in its own juice)
12 oz. green beans, chopped
3 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 medium broccoli, chopped
1/2 pound fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp. red pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 fresh lemon or lime wedge (as garnish, optional)
Cilantro (as garnish, optional)
Directions
In a large nonstick pot, combine 3 tbsp. water, onions and garlic and allow heating for 5 minutes on low heat. Next, add carrots, celery and bell pepper. Cook while stirring for an additional 10 minutes on low heat. Next, stir in tomatoes (with liquid), then add green beans, zucchini, broccoli, spinach leaves, basil and spices. Add 1 cup of filtered water, then heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer (stirring occasionally) for 15-20 minutes – or until vegetables become tender.
Serving Size Information
Serve 1 cup as a snack
Serve 2 cups as part of meal (add a small green salad with Balsamic Vinegar and 1/2 cup cottage cheese or another protein source to create a complete meal).
Bonus Tip
This soup can be easily separated into portions and frozen.
Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup — Hawaiian-style
Guest Post By JoAnn Takasaki
For some reason, “comfort food” is something I associate with cold winters, cozy fires and flannel. It’s food you eat to warm you from the inside and that reminds you of all the best parts of being a kid. Living in Houston, even the idea of flannel is making me break out into a sweat! But it is October and, based on all the pictures of friends who live in more northerly climes, it’s cool somewhere. So for those of you who get to enjoy the cooler season, here’s a recipe for Chicken Long Rice, excerpted from my collection of family recipes published in Luau Like a Local: The Easy Way.
Wait…what?
I’m sure you’re confused by now. Why am I writing about a so-called “Hawaiian-style” soup, cold winters, and comfort food from Houston? Well, I actually grew up much like Gregg did. In fact, we went to the same high school in Wiesbaden, Germany. His family was military and mine was civil service. My father hails from Honolulu, HI. And though my mother (and co-author) was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, she learned how to cook from my dad’s mom, who was also born and raised in Hawai’i. So really, I did eat this as a kid in cold climes like Korea, Colorado, Germany. And even in Hawai’i. Because let’s face it: chicken noodle soup is wonderful no matter what time of year!
What started out as an ad hoc effort of collecting as many recipes as possible from my mom for my own use, resulted in me deciding to organize a few of them in some fashion. And I wasn’t sufficiently motivated by merely capturing the recipes, so I promised her that for all the work we were doing to actually measure her “put in some” or “just a skosh” or “to taste,” that I would publish the recipes. That was eight years ago. I finally made good on my promise in March when I self-published Luau Like a Local.
There is a native Hawaiian cuisine but really it has evolved to include the food of the various ethnic groups: Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, Spanish, and more. This particular dish is actually Chinese. And while I promise the easy way (you could really just use store bought chicken broth and pre-cooked chicken, shredded), this recipe is how mom makes it. It’s not particularly hard at all. And is perfect for whatever may ail you!
Chicken Long Rice
Chinese-style chicken noodle soup
This is not as soupy as a typical chicken soup. When served, the bowl should be bursting with noodles and chicken.
Prep time: 30 minutes (10 minutes before, 20 minutes during)
Cook time: 1½ hours
Servings: 8 as a side dish (or 2 for dinner, maybe with some leftover for lunch)
Ingredients
½ small chicken
4‒6 cups water or chicken broth
½-inch slice of ginger, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 bundle long rice (also know as bean thread or vermicelli), soaked in warm water to soften
4‒5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin
½ 8-ounce can bamboo shoots, julienned
½ small round onion, sliced thin
⅛ cup soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
2 stalks green onion, sliced 2‒3 inches long diagonally for garnish
Directions
1. Place chicken in large pot with enough water or chicken broth to cover.
2. Add ginger, bay leaves, and five spice.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer about 45 minutes to an hour, or until the meat falls away from the bones.
4. While chicken is cooking, put long rice in a large bowl with hot water to soften.
5. Prepare the shiitake, bamboo shoots, onion, and green onion for garnish.
6. Remove chicken from broth and pull meat from bones, returning meat to broth. Discard bones.
7. Add long rice noodles, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and onion.
8. Simmer until about half of the broth is absorbed. Season with soy sauce, salt, and pepper to taste.
9. Garnish with green onions.
Excerpted from “Luau Like a Local: The Easy Way” by JoAnn and Susanna Takasaki. Used with permission.
About Luau Like a Local: The Easy Way:
Within 24 hours, Luau Like a Local: The Easy Way went to #1 on Amazon in Hawaii cookbooks. The reviews have all been 5-stars with praise for the gorgeous photography (by Toman Imagery), humor, and the well thought-out planning guide and shopping lists. “I found the recipes to be very clear, with options for doing things the traditional way or the more practical way for those of us with small kitchens and no access to exotic food markets. The photos are gorgeous and the shopping list at the end was incredibly helpful!” wrote one Amazon reviewer.
About Guest Blogger JoAnn Takasaki:
JoAnn Takasaki (pictured here, right, with her mom) started writing about food with two columns in the new Midtown Paper back in 2003. She decided to make the jump to full time writing in 2004 in hopes of “being paid to eat and get massages around the world.” While she didn’t exactly realize that dream, she did end up writing the Houston destination guide in AirTran’s “Go!” magazine for three years and her restaurant and bar reviews were syndicated out to many hotel and travel sites including AOL and Yahoo! Travel. She gained enough notoriety to catch the eye of then Executive Producer Geoff Roth of FOX26 Houston News and was the first Houston Food Blogger to be featured on the evening news in the popular segment. In 2011, she decided to focus her efforts on growing her Houston-based copywriting and content development agency, GlobalWrites, but she still has a bit of a foodie following on Facebook and Twitter. You can keep up with the latest developments for “Luau Like a Local” on the Facebook page or by searching #LuauLikeALocal.
Recipe: Just Soup-er
With summer in our rearview mirror, autumn becomes a great time of year to indulge in delicious and healthy soups. But don’t rely on store-bought soups to fulfill your cooler weather cravings (too much sodium, etc.). Instead, make your own. This easy-to-make recipe combines nutrient-rich vegetables with other flavors of the season for a hearty and satisfying taste of fall. Plus, you can make lots of it, separate it and store it (even in the freezer) for future use. Convenience, ease and tasty, too? You bet! Here’s how it’s done:
Ingredients
5 medium carrots, chopped
3 medium celery stalks, chopped
3 large white onions, chopped
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 lg. can of Low-Sodium Tomatoes (in its own juice)
12 oz. green beans, chopped
3 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 medium broccoli, chopped
1 lg. package of baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp. red pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 fresh lime wedge (as garnish, optional)
Parsley (as garnish, optional)
Directions
In a large nonstick pot, combine 3 tbsp. water, onions and garlic and allow heating for 5 minutes on low heat. Next, add carrots and celery. Cook while stirring for an additional 10 minutes on low heat. Next, stir in tomatoes (with liquid), then add green beans, zucchini, broccoli, spinach leaves, basil and spices. Add 1 cup of filtered water, then heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer (stirring occasionally) for 15-20 minutes – or until vegetables become tender.
Serving Size Information
Serve 1 cup as a snack
Serve 2 cups as part of meal (add a small green salad with Balsamic Vinegar and 1/2 cup cottage cheese to create a complete meal).
Bonus Tip
Soup can be separated into portions and easily frozen.
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