During my work holiday party, a colleague and I were discussing how we planned to change our diets with the new year. She's going vegan and I reported my husband and I are going vegetarian but eating eggs, dairy and fish. Both knowing there is a moniker for such eating, but both unable to remember the name, I did a google search when I got home. "What is a vegetarian that eats fish?" Yahoo Answers gave me many options but the funniest was "A liar." We are, it turns out, becoming Ovo-Lacto Pescatarians or vegetarians that eat eggs, dairy and fish.
Basically, we're eating everything but not poultry, pork, beef or other animal meat. We have agreed to try it for 30 days and see if it's manageable with our house and lives. If so, we'll continue. If not, we won't die trying. The kids will remain omnivores (with an accent on the carnivore) but will increase their fish and reduce their overall sugar and wheat intake.
Our new menu is 4 days Ovo-Lacto Vegetarain with 3 days Ovo-Lacto Pescatarian. I love my new vocab words.
Seven "essential", "ultimate" and "complete" vegetarian cookbooks are on my shelf. All the authors agree that the best vegetarian diet is a balanced diet that provides enough protein. So how much protein do we need? I found a great protein calculator at http://www.healthcalculators.org/ which, based on our age, height and activity level, said I need 72 g of protein and my husband needs 92 g of protein. How many beans am I going to have to eat? Maybe I should retitle this post "Beans Beans the Magical Fruit..."
Typically when I plan a menu, I focus on dinner only. Since eating ovo-lacto-vegetarian/pescatarian requires paying attention to a balanced menu, I have to raise the bar. I can no loger worry what's on my hot buttered toast or slap some turkey on bread and call it lunch. So I've planned 93 meals for the month, and it wasn't easy. Plus some desserts with reduced sugar and fat. I was on a roll. I have no idea what the kids are eating for half the month, but I have pinto beans soaking and plan to make 30 bean and cheese burritos on New Years Day. They won't starve. I don't think we will either.
We are being more conscientious eaters. Call me vegetarian or pescatarian or ovo-lacto whatever, just don't call me a liar.
To your health! Happy New Year!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
C is for Christmas Cookie, Candy and Clementines
The letter of the season is C.
C is for Christmas, Cookie, Candy and Clementines.
Yes, Clementines. As in tangerines...that start with a C. I could have gone with Citrus or Cutie.
I give gifts of food at Christmas. I'm a better Cooker than a shopper by far.
With Citrus in season, I am adding Tangerine Marmalade to my gift giving and personal stash. My family LOVES tangerines. We easily go through 15-20 lbs a month. As I type this and think about the math do I realize I need to add 'plant a tangerine tree' to my to do list!
Giving marmalade is new for Christmas. Our tradition is to give cookie plates with a variety of cookies and candies. Typically we make 12 different types of cookies. This year, I can't seem to shorten the list lower than 14. To be fair, 12 cookies, 2 candies. We give around 20 plates of cookies every year.
I'm going to use this recipe for my marmalade, looks good, sounds easy:
http://dorisandjillycook.com/2009/12/16/tangerine-marmalade/
The cookie list is made. The shopping list is ready to go. I need to get busy.
The cookie list:
Chocolate Marshmallow Clouds (Mrs. Fields recipe, the boys love these)
Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread (Martha Stewart recipe, my favorite)
Sugar Cookies (Martha Stewart recipe, the best sugar cookie recipe, hands down)
Anise Almond Biscotti (Martha again)
Cinnamon Maple Rings (Mrs. Fields cookbook recipe, my daughter's favorite)
Peppermint Meringues (12/2011 cover of Bon Appetit recipe, my 7 year old loves meringues, when he saw the cover, we had to add these to the list)
Slice and Bake Lemon Cookies (another 12/11 Bon Appetit recipe, this looks easy - replacing the tried and true lemon bar)
Baklava (http://www.grouprecipes.com/2307/best-baklava.html but I remove the lemon and add rose water)
Cranberry Noels (Martha again, a new addition)
Gingerbread men (Martha again, I love gingerbread. I decorate with lemon frosting....yummy)
Almond Crescents (Martha again, another newbie)
Hrostule - Croatian cookie - tastes like funnel cake - (Around our World, Around our Town San Pedro Cookbook, this is my husband's traditional holiday cookie. Its tricky but worth it.)
Fudge (I'm an Alton Brown fan - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-fudge-recipe/index.html)
Buckeyes - I'm from Ohio, hello. My cousin Heather's recipe.
Here's the thing. My mom sends us a box of cookies that she's baking so I can't make the same ones. Luckily for my decision making process, she has made the same ones for years. I like to change up my list. We both make the sugar cut outs, we love to decorate them with sanding sugars.
My cookie list isn't randomly selected. There is a balanced plan. Fruit (cranberry and lemon), spice (2 gingerbread, cinnamon), chocolate (clouds, fudge, gingerbread, buckeyes), nuts (baklava, crescents), anise (biscotti), peppermint (meringues) and sugar (hrostule and cut outs). A little heavy on the chocolate, I realize. No complaints here.
Can you tell I'm a Martha Stewart fan? Her recipes, though labor intensive sometimes, are consistently great. My kids love the Mrs. Fields cookbook that I have. A picture for every recipe. They want them all.
For a cookie to make the list is one thing, to remain on the list year after year, it has to be one special cookie.
I love giving and recieving food as gifts. In my cul de sac, we receive homemade tamales, home grown oranges and lemons and hand rolled sushi from our neighbors! The first year we recieved the sushi plate, the look on my boys faces was priceless! You could read their minds - wait, I just gave up my cookies for fish and seaweed? To their credit, they ate it and loved it! Now the challenge is to make sure we all get our fair share!
Let the baking and gift giving begin! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my kitchen to yours.
C is for Christmas, Cookie, Candy and Clementines.
Yes, Clementines. As in tangerines...that start with a C. I could have gone with Citrus or Cutie.
I give gifts of food at Christmas. I'm a better Cooker than a shopper by far.
With Citrus in season, I am adding Tangerine Marmalade to my gift giving and personal stash. My family LOVES tangerines. We easily go through 15-20 lbs a month. As I type this and think about the math do I realize I need to add 'plant a tangerine tree' to my to do list!
Giving marmalade is new for Christmas. Our tradition is to give cookie plates with a variety of cookies and candies. Typically we make 12 different types of cookies. This year, I can't seem to shorten the list lower than 14. To be fair, 12 cookies, 2 candies. We give around 20 plates of cookies every year.
I'm going to use this recipe for my marmalade, looks good, sounds easy:
http://dorisandjillycook.com/2009/12/16/tangerine-marmalade/
The cookie list is made. The shopping list is ready to go. I need to get busy.
The cookie list:
Chocolate Marshmallow Clouds (Mrs. Fields recipe, the boys love these)
Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread (Martha Stewart recipe, my favorite)
Sugar Cookies (Martha Stewart recipe, the best sugar cookie recipe, hands down)
Anise Almond Biscotti (Martha again)
Cinnamon Maple Rings (Mrs. Fields cookbook recipe, my daughter's favorite)
Peppermint Meringues (12/2011 cover of Bon Appetit recipe, my 7 year old loves meringues, when he saw the cover, we had to add these to the list)
Slice and Bake Lemon Cookies (another 12/11 Bon Appetit recipe, this looks easy - replacing the tried and true lemon bar)
Baklava (http://www.grouprecipes.com/2307/best-baklava.html but I remove the lemon and add rose water)
Cranberry Noels (Martha again, a new addition)
Gingerbread men (Martha again, I love gingerbread. I decorate with lemon frosting....yummy)
Almond Crescents (Martha again, another newbie)
Hrostule - Croatian cookie - tastes like funnel cake - (Around our World, Around our Town San Pedro Cookbook, this is my husband's traditional holiday cookie. Its tricky but worth it.)
Fudge (I'm an Alton Brown fan - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-fudge-recipe/index.html)
Buckeyes - I'm from Ohio, hello. My cousin Heather's recipe.
Here's the thing. My mom sends us a box of cookies that she's baking so I can't make the same ones. Luckily for my decision making process, she has made the same ones for years. I like to change up my list. We both make the sugar cut outs, we love to decorate them with sanding sugars.
My cookie list isn't randomly selected. There is a balanced plan. Fruit (cranberry and lemon), spice (2 gingerbread, cinnamon), chocolate (clouds, fudge, gingerbread, buckeyes), nuts (baklava, crescents), anise (biscotti), peppermint (meringues) and sugar (hrostule and cut outs). A little heavy on the chocolate, I realize. No complaints here.
Can you tell I'm a Martha Stewart fan? Her recipes, though labor intensive sometimes, are consistently great. My kids love the Mrs. Fields cookbook that I have. A picture for every recipe. They want them all.
For a cookie to make the list is one thing, to remain on the list year after year, it has to be one special cookie.
I love giving and recieving food as gifts. In my cul de sac, we receive homemade tamales, home grown oranges and lemons and hand rolled sushi from our neighbors! The first year we recieved the sushi plate, the look on my boys faces was priceless! You could read their minds - wait, I just gave up my cookies for fish and seaweed? To their credit, they ate it and loved it! Now the challenge is to make sure we all get our fair share!
Let the baking and gift giving begin! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my kitchen to yours.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Humble Times
Since my daughter got her driver's license, I no longer omit ingredients from recipes or don't make a recipe because I don't have all the ingredients. My daughter is my errand runner and shopper. It's a win-win, she gets out of the house and gets to drive with her radio blasting and I accomplish tasks without leaving the house.
This all sounds awesome and great until I realized the importance of explicit communication. Remember that game we played when we were young - a sentence is told to the first person who has to memorize it and whisper it to the next person and so on until the final person repeats what they heard - which is never exactly what was said in the beginning.
Here's our mother-teenage daughter version of the game. I needed cilantro. (I usually have it in my garden but it wasn't doing well, so I pulled it and hadn't planted any new seeds.) I sent my daughter to the store. I wrote cilantro on the list along with a couple of other basic items. From the store, my daughter texts me "cilantro leaves"? Yes, I reply, thinking the grocer got fancy with his signage.
When she got home, she handed me the receipt and started putting the groceries away. I noticed on the receipt that she paid $7.19 for cilantro. WHAT?!?! How much cilantro did she buy (typically it's $.39 a bunch)? She hands me the glass jar of "dried cilantro leaves".
I didn't say Fresh Cilantro. I didn't say Cilantro in the Produce section. I said Cilantro and she went to the baking aisle and grabbed the spice jar. Who would havwe thought?
The cilantro story happened a few months ago. Two weeks ago I had foot surgery that has limited me drastically - no driving, no walking any great distance, only being up in 15 minute increments. I'm down. I thought of this incident as I was making my Thanksgiving shopping list, realizing that I couldn't be that specific on that many items and have my daughter or (sigh) my husband, do the shopping for me. I had to go. But how?
The answer: use the motorized cart.
My daughter drove me to the store and dutifully pushed the cart behind me as I sunk into the seat and motored ever so slowly through the store. We made it through and bought everything we needed for our fest. I didn't run anyone over, people were courteous and lots of people had "I know the feeling" stories to share. Yet the more time we spent in the market, my head was down, I was slightly embarrassed and humbled by this experience, I won't be riding in the motorized cart anytime soon.
Slowing down, paying attention, being organized and being specific has it's rewards - our groceries subtotal was $197.81 - by slowing down, paying attention, being organized and being specific - I reduced by bill by $79.67 with card, coupons and bonus coupons! Whoop!
The motorized cart helped me with the shopping, but it isn't going to get the feast on the table in my limited condition. I need to come up with that plan...but that is for the next posting.
This all sounds awesome and great until I realized the importance of explicit communication. Remember that game we played when we were young - a sentence is told to the first person who has to memorize it and whisper it to the next person and so on until the final person repeats what they heard - which is never exactly what was said in the beginning.
Here's our mother-teenage daughter version of the game. I needed cilantro. (I usually have it in my garden but it wasn't doing well, so I pulled it and hadn't planted any new seeds.) I sent my daughter to the store. I wrote cilantro on the list along with a couple of other basic items. From the store, my daughter texts me "cilantro leaves"? Yes, I reply, thinking the grocer got fancy with his signage.
When she got home, she handed me the receipt and started putting the groceries away. I noticed on the receipt that she paid $7.19 for cilantro. WHAT?!?! How much cilantro did she buy (typically it's $.39 a bunch)? She hands me the glass jar of "dried cilantro leaves".
I didn't say Fresh Cilantro. I didn't say Cilantro in the Produce section. I said Cilantro and she went to the baking aisle and grabbed the spice jar. Who would havwe thought?
The cilantro story happened a few months ago. Two weeks ago I had foot surgery that has limited me drastically - no driving, no walking any great distance, only being up in 15 minute increments. I'm down. I thought of this incident as I was making my Thanksgiving shopping list, realizing that I couldn't be that specific on that many items and have my daughter or (sigh) my husband, do the shopping for me. I had to go. But how?
The answer: use the motorized cart.
My daughter drove me to the store and dutifully pushed the cart behind me as I sunk into the seat and motored ever so slowly through the store. We made it through and bought everything we needed for our fest. I didn't run anyone over, people were courteous and lots of people had "I know the feeling" stories to share. Yet the more time we spent in the market, my head was down, I was slightly embarrassed and humbled by this experience, I won't be riding in the motorized cart anytime soon.
Slowing down, paying attention, being organized and being specific has it's rewards - our groceries subtotal was $197.81 - by slowing down, paying attention, being organized and being specific - I reduced by bill by $79.67 with card, coupons and bonus coupons! Whoop!
The motorized cart helped me with the shopping, but it isn't going to get the feast on the table in my limited condition. I need to come up with that plan...but that is for the next posting.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Homage to Potage: The end is closer than you thought
Our youngest, age 6, asked when soup was once again was served for dinner, "are you trying to kill us?" With soup. Yes. Call CPS now, this is my weapon of choice. Sign that boy up with a theater troupe. Sheesh.
Day 9: Lentil Vegetable Soup. Another Spot vegetarian restaurant recipe that has graced our table many many times. Lentils are fast cooking beans, no need to soak, just through them in a pot of water and shazam, soup. The veggie combination varies but typically has onion, carrot, celery, yam, potatoes, broccoli and zucchini. Sometimes I puree the soup, sometimes not. The kids prefer it pureed. Me, not so much. I always serve cornbread with lentil soup.
A word on cornbread. The best cornbread recipe is on the side of the box of Albers cornmeal - not their cornbread recipe on the back of the box but the sweet corn muffin recipe on the side of the box. I modify the recipe to reduce the sugar the recipe calls for and I add a can of corn. I never make corn muffins. I bake the entire recipe in a cast iron skillet or 9 x 13 pan.
That's it. No more soup. Not entirely. I've had foot surgery and stocked my fridge and freezer with my favorites, chicken vegetable soup and vegetarian split pea. I also stocked the fridge and freezer with family friendly easy to re-heat meals while I'm laid up for a few weeks.
My 30 day soup plan didn't work out but it was fun while it lasted.
The best part - hearing from you that my silly homage inspired you to make soup.
Thanks for reading my blog and enjoying soup!
Day 9: Lentil Vegetable Soup. Another Spot vegetarian restaurant recipe that has graced our table many many times. Lentils are fast cooking beans, no need to soak, just through them in a pot of water and shazam, soup. The veggie combination varies but typically has onion, carrot, celery, yam, potatoes, broccoli and zucchini. Sometimes I puree the soup, sometimes not. The kids prefer it pureed. Me, not so much. I always serve cornbread with lentil soup.
A word on cornbread. The best cornbread recipe is on the side of the box of Albers cornmeal - not their cornbread recipe on the back of the box but the sweet corn muffin recipe on the side of the box. I modify the recipe to reduce the sugar the recipe calls for and I add a can of corn. I never make corn muffins. I bake the entire recipe in a cast iron skillet or 9 x 13 pan.
That's it. No more soup. Not entirely. I've had foot surgery and stocked my fridge and freezer with my favorites, chicken vegetable soup and vegetarian split pea. I also stocked the fridge and freezer with family friendly easy to re-heat meals while I'm laid up for a few weeks.
My 30 day soup plan didn't work out but it was fun while it lasted.
The best part - hearing from you that my silly homage inspired you to make soup.
Thanks for reading my blog and enjoying soup!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Homage to Potage: A Month of Soup: Days 4 - 8
Beautiful soup, so rich and green.
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful soup!
Lewis Carroll
Alice in Wonderland
We're still eating soup! We had a couple of detours but we're back on track with 30 days of soup.
Day 4: Spicy Black Bean
Chipotles in adobo sauce is one of my favorite canned goods. Chipotles are smoked red jalapeno peppers in a sauce of ancho chiles, tomato sauce, spices and vinegar. This very basic and delicious Spicy Black Bean soup recipe came from The Whole Foods Market Cookbook. Along with chipotles in adobo sauce, the recipe also includes cocoa powder and orange juice. We topped the soup with avocado and fresh cilantro. Quesadillas on the side. In a word, yum.
Day 5: Tortellini Soup
Tortellini soup is an old standby - super fast and easy and everyone loves it. I freeze my chicken broth in ziploc bags with 4 or 8 cups of broth, labelled and dated of course. For this soup, I use 8 cups of broth, a package of tortellini (I usually keep a package in the freezer for just such emergency meals) and either arugula or spinach - I used arugula since my garden apparently loves to grow arugula. Heat it all up, add some freshly shredded parmesan and call it a meal.
Day 6: Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Soup.
This turned out to be Roasted Ratatouille Soup. See my earlier post on ratatouille. My husband declared he was done with vegetable soups and we had to move on. I love ratatouille and loved this soup. I was alone. Frozen pizza saved the lot of them. The next morning I strained the broth and ate it in an omelette! Fabulous.
Stop. Detour. I had to sew Halloween costumes. Burgers out and a trip to the movies for the rest of them! I think I had wine for dinner. Is there a wine soup? Does wine count? Worked Saturday night for me!
Day 7: Chicken Pot Pie Soup
This is really Chicken Chowder but the kids think it tastes like Pot Pie so that's what I call it. I made a roux instead of using milk or cream as you normally would in a chowder. Nobody noticed. They ate it and liked it. What more could a momma want?
Stop. Detour. Halloween. We picked up Flame Broiler.
Day 8: Vegetarian Split Pea.
I do not eat ham in soup. Bacon, yes. Ham, no. The smell of a ham bone boiling in a pot is enough to make me gag. Eat it, no. My split pea soup recipe comes from The Spot Vegetarian Restaurant in Hermosa Beach. I love The Spot and this soup is my all time favorite. Onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, broccoli, yam, soy sauce, Braggs aminos and split peas. Simple, easy and delicious. I wished I had made some good brown bread (or even bought some). After all the candy I ate today, it's best we had no bread. The kids are completely over soup. Even my 17 year old groaned when I told her it was split pea night. They had sloppy joe's straight from the land of Manwich. From The Spot to Manwich all in one night, for shame.
Interesting facts:
My family isn't complaining about the random meals I'm serving. Interesting. I'm realizing it really doesn't matter what I serve for dinner as long as they like it. They don't care if it's healthy or thought out or made with love. I may trade in the dining table for a trough.
Soup is good for you. Shhhh, don't tell anyone. Really, it is. All of my soups have at least 6 vegetables. Soup hides vegetables so easy, especially if you blend the soup. Poof, like magic, you can't see the vegetables, the soup tastes delicious and my kids eat it. I eat it too. The best part for me, I've lost 4 lbs. Woo! Very exciting. For the most part I'm only eating soup, not the random meals I'm making for the kids. Simple diet solutions. Eat healthy, small portions, staying on track. I'm not doing this all day, just at dinner. Who am I to question the who, the how, the whats and the whys....soup works!
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful soup!
Lewis Carroll
Alice in Wonderland
We're still eating soup! We had a couple of detours but we're back on track with 30 days of soup.
Day 4: Spicy Black Bean
Chipotles in adobo sauce is one of my favorite canned goods. Chipotles are smoked red jalapeno peppers in a sauce of ancho chiles, tomato sauce, spices and vinegar. This very basic and delicious Spicy Black Bean soup recipe came from The Whole Foods Market Cookbook. Along with chipotles in adobo sauce, the recipe also includes cocoa powder and orange juice. We topped the soup with avocado and fresh cilantro. Quesadillas on the side. In a word, yum.
Day 5: Tortellini Soup
Tortellini soup is an old standby - super fast and easy and everyone loves it. I freeze my chicken broth in ziploc bags with 4 or 8 cups of broth, labelled and dated of course. For this soup, I use 8 cups of broth, a package of tortellini (I usually keep a package in the freezer for just such emergency meals) and either arugula or spinach - I used arugula since my garden apparently loves to grow arugula. Heat it all up, add some freshly shredded parmesan and call it a meal.
Day 6: Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Soup.
This turned out to be Roasted Ratatouille Soup. See my earlier post on ratatouille. My husband declared he was done with vegetable soups and we had to move on. I love ratatouille and loved this soup. I was alone. Frozen pizza saved the lot of them. The next morning I strained the broth and ate it in an omelette! Fabulous.
Stop. Detour. I had to sew Halloween costumes. Burgers out and a trip to the movies for the rest of them! I think I had wine for dinner. Is there a wine soup? Does wine count? Worked Saturday night for me!
Day 7: Chicken Pot Pie Soup
This is really Chicken Chowder but the kids think it tastes like Pot Pie so that's what I call it. I made a roux instead of using milk or cream as you normally would in a chowder. Nobody noticed. They ate it and liked it. What more could a momma want?
Stop. Detour. Halloween. We picked up Flame Broiler.
Day 8: Vegetarian Split Pea.
I do not eat ham in soup. Bacon, yes. Ham, no. The smell of a ham bone boiling in a pot is enough to make me gag. Eat it, no. My split pea soup recipe comes from The Spot Vegetarian Restaurant in Hermosa Beach. I love The Spot and this soup is my all time favorite. Onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, broccoli, yam, soy sauce, Braggs aminos and split peas. Simple, easy and delicious. I wished I had made some good brown bread (or even bought some). After all the candy I ate today, it's best we had no bread. The kids are completely over soup. Even my 17 year old groaned when I told her it was split pea night. They had sloppy joe's straight from the land of Manwich. From The Spot to Manwich all in one night, for shame.
Interesting facts:
My family isn't complaining about the random meals I'm serving. Interesting. I'm realizing it really doesn't matter what I serve for dinner as long as they like it. They don't care if it's healthy or thought out or made with love. I may trade in the dining table for a trough.
Soup is good for you. Shhhh, don't tell anyone. Really, it is. All of my soups have at least 6 vegetables. Soup hides vegetables so easy, especially if you blend the soup. Poof, like magic, you can't see the vegetables, the soup tastes delicious and my kids eat it. I eat it too. The best part for me, I've lost 4 lbs. Woo! Very exciting. For the most part I'm only eating soup, not the random meals I'm making for the kids. Simple diet solutions. Eat healthy, small portions, staying on track. I'm not doing this all day, just at dinner. Who am I to question the who, the how, the whats and the whys....soup works!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Homage to Potage: Soup's On!
Soup is delicious
Soup is nutritious
Soup can light the inner fire
Soup can be hot or cold,
thick or thin.
Soup is healthy,
light and stimulating -
agreeing with almost everyone."
Bernard Clayton, Jr.
The Complete Book of Soups and Stews
Soup. I love soup. I love soup more since reading somewhere that if you eat soup you consume less calories than you would eating a full meal, yet walk away fully satisfied. Make sense, sounds good. I want soup!
My family eats soup every week as part of our normal routine. Cold soups in the summer and hearty stews in the winter. Spring and Fall bring out the best soups. Squashes and root vegetables are a welcome comfort in the fall. Asparagus and peas breathe life into spring. Ah, soup!
My husband and I are constantly trying crazy eating plans at dinner - not diets, eating plans - to shed unwanted lbs (pronounced el-bees) and to be more contientious of what we're eating, not just strapping on the feed bag. Our new idea is to eat soup every night for dinner for a month. Not the same soup, not diet soup, just soup. The only rule, no cream based soups. Maybe the unknown article was right and we'll consume less calories and be thin and young and fabulous (I think the article claimed this would happen). Or maybe we'll end up just sick of soup.
Our quest, 30 Days of Soup.
Day 1: Vegetable with Bulghur and Herbs.
A tomato based soup with onions, garlic, acorn squash, zucchini, peas, arugula, parsley, oregano, basil and bulghur. Added bonus - the onion, arugula and herbs were from my garden!
What in the heck is bulghur and why is it in my pantry? Bulghur is a whole grain wheat commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking. Wikipedia couldn't tell me why it was in my pantry and I can't remember when I bought it. The bulghur sauteed with onions and butter, brings out a delicious nutty aroma.
My son's friend smells his food to see if it's too healthy. If it's too healthy, he won't eat it. (It has been months since I've seen him do this, but I loved it so much I'll never forget it, Mom of Son who is reading this post). This soup would not have passed his sniff test. Good and healthy! Pass the bean and cheese burritos for the boys, they weren't having healthy!
Day 2: Vegetable Beef
Early on, I knew I had to make a soup the kids would eat. Who can resist vegetable beef, especially with a side of rosemary bread? Not my family. I started early with grass fed beef roast - which I just noticed is no longer local but shipped in from Uruguay!! Uruguay! My carbon footprint has been compromised! I'll have to find a new resource for beef. Until then, I started early on the Uruguaian grass fed beef and let the soup cook all day. This is veggie first, vegetable beef soup, with lots of veggies chopped small - tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, green beans, peas and cabbage. With the bread baking, the house smelled great. Wait - did you think I made the bread too? I do work for a living. I bought some par-baked rosemary loaves and popped them in the oven just before dinner.
Chow down is what we did to that pot of soup....and the pumpkin pie (yes, I made it) for dessert.
The soup may make us thin, but the desserts will keep us sane. These are the kind of mottos I live by.
Day 3: Mushroom
Earthy, warm, and comforting, just what this momma needed on a busy cold day. Chicken stock, mire poix, white wine, mushrooms and parsley. No going wrong with that combination. It may have been too good. I ate two bowls of soup! My first double dip of the week! Delicious.
The kids are over our soup plan already. Soup? Again? They want chicken and potatoes. Fine! You're still eating a vegetable!
We are still game, happy with soup. We are eating less. Soup may be the answer.
Cooking notes:
I typically only buy whole chickens. Using my super heavy duty kitchen scissors, I cut the chicken into parts or remove the bones entirely depending on what's for dinner. The back and wing tips (and bones) go into a pot with onion, carrot, celery, parsley, bay leaf, salt and pepper and I make chicken stock while I make dinner. The stock is then strained, cooled, bagged and frozen for future use. Handy when you get a whim to have soup for 30 days.
Mirepoix. How fast can you say "celery, carrots and onions in butter"? Why bother when you can say mirepoix? Aromatics. The flavor base of so many fabulous dishes.
Soffritto - celery, carrots and onions in olive oil. Love.
Holy Trinity - bell pepper, onion and celery. I'm working on loving peppers.
What soup will tomorrow bring?
Soup is nutritious
Soup can light the inner fire
Soup can be hot or cold,
thick or thin.
Soup is healthy,
light and stimulating -
agreeing with almost everyone."
Bernard Clayton, Jr.
The Complete Book of Soups and Stews
Soup. I love soup. I love soup more since reading somewhere that if you eat soup you consume less calories than you would eating a full meal, yet walk away fully satisfied. Make sense, sounds good. I want soup!
My family eats soup every week as part of our normal routine. Cold soups in the summer and hearty stews in the winter. Spring and Fall bring out the best soups. Squashes and root vegetables are a welcome comfort in the fall. Asparagus and peas breathe life into spring. Ah, soup!
My husband and I are constantly trying crazy eating plans at dinner - not diets, eating plans - to shed unwanted lbs (pronounced el-bees) and to be more contientious of what we're eating, not just strapping on the feed bag. Our new idea is to eat soup every night for dinner for a month. Not the same soup, not diet soup, just soup. The only rule, no cream based soups. Maybe the unknown article was right and we'll consume less calories and be thin and young and fabulous (I think the article claimed this would happen). Or maybe we'll end up just sick of soup.
Our quest, 30 Days of Soup.
Day 1: Vegetable with Bulghur and Herbs.
A tomato based soup with onions, garlic, acorn squash, zucchini, peas, arugula, parsley, oregano, basil and bulghur. Added bonus - the onion, arugula and herbs were from my garden!
What in the heck is bulghur and why is it in my pantry? Bulghur is a whole grain wheat commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking. Wikipedia couldn't tell me why it was in my pantry and I can't remember when I bought it. The bulghur sauteed with onions and butter, brings out a delicious nutty aroma.
My son's friend smells his food to see if it's too healthy. If it's too healthy, he won't eat it. (It has been months since I've seen him do this, but I loved it so much I'll never forget it, Mom of Son who is reading this post). This soup would not have passed his sniff test. Good and healthy! Pass the bean and cheese burritos for the boys, they weren't having healthy!
Day 2: Vegetable Beef
Early on, I knew I had to make a soup the kids would eat. Who can resist vegetable beef, especially with a side of rosemary bread? Not my family. I started early with grass fed beef roast - which I just noticed is no longer local but shipped in from Uruguay!! Uruguay! My carbon footprint has been compromised! I'll have to find a new resource for beef. Until then, I started early on the Uruguaian grass fed beef and let the soup cook all day. This is veggie first, vegetable beef soup, with lots of veggies chopped small - tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, green beans, peas and cabbage. With the bread baking, the house smelled great. Wait - did you think I made the bread too? I do work for a living. I bought some par-baked rosemary loaves and popped them in the oven just before dinner.
Chow down is what we did to that pot of soup....and the pumpkin pie (yes, I made it) for dessert.
The soup may make us thin, but the desserts will keep us sane. These are the kind of mottos I live by.
Day 3: Mushroom
Earthy, warm, and comforting, just what this momma needed on a busy cold day. Chicken stock, mire poix, white wine, mushrooms and parsley. No going wrong with that combination. It may have been too good. I ate two bowls of soup! My first double dip of the week! Delicious.
The kids are over our soup plan already. Soup? Again? They want chicken and potatoes. Fine! You're still eating a vegetable!
We are still game, happy with soup. We are eating less. Soup may be the answer.
Cooking notes:
I typically only buy whole chickens. Using my super heavy duty kitchen scissors, I cut the chicken into parts or remove the bones entirely depending on what's for dinner. The back and wing tips (and bones) go into a pot with onion, carrot, celery, parsley, bay leaf, salt and pepper and I make chicken stock while I make dinner. The stock is then strained, cooled, bagged and frozen for future use. Handy when you get a whim to have soup for 30 days.
Mirepoix. How fast can you say "celery, carrots and onions in butter"? Why bother when you can say mirepoix? Aromatics. The flavor base of so many fabulous dishes.
Soffritto - celery, carrots and onions in olive oil. Love.
Holy Trinity - bell pepper, onion and celery. I'm working on loving peppers.
What soup will tomorrow bring?
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