A Failed Soup Experiment...or was it?

I'll be the first to admit that not everything I cook is a winning dish. But 9 out of 10 times, I think I do pretty damn well. But what constitutes a failed dish? In baking, it's pretty easy to determine. The bread doesn't rise properly or perhaps the brownies sink in the middle of the pan (true story.) With cooking, it's a bit more complicated. Yes, you can burn a dish, or over salt, but what happens when you just don't like it?

This was the case when I tried to make a healthy soup for myself using a few ingredients I had on hand that individually, I enjoy. And this is not to say that they wouldn't work together in other dishes, hell, maybe even in this soup. But for whatever reason, I just hated this soup. Maybe my taste buds were off. Maybe the butternut squash had started to go bad. It could just be that what I was craving was something unhealthy, but I made this and couldn't stomach eating the rest. I share this recipe to show that I am human when it comes to cooking and who knows, maybe this will fit your taste buds just fine.

Butternut Squash, Kale and Pasta Stew (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 3/4 cup tiny pasta, like macaroni
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Peel butternut squash and then dice it into 1/4 inch cubes. Or you can be lazy like me and buy the pre-cut squash, and cook it into smaller pieces.

Cook pasta according to directions.

Add oil to a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add onions and cook for a few minutes until they are soft. Add garlic, rosemary, and squash. Continue to cook until squash starts to soften.

For kale, cut out any large stems and roughly chop. Add kale to pot, cover, and let steam for a minute.

Add vegetable stock to pot and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for a few minutes. Then, add cooked, drained pasta. Season with salt and pepper.

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup

It started with a sniffle, and then manifested into something far worse...a complete loss of voice. This is what I experienced over the holidays and I'm just now starting to feel more like myself.

From what I hear in the hallways  at work and amongst others in the area, this nasty bug has been hitting everybody. When you're sick, you often crave comfort food. For some people, that is the types of foods mom would make you when you were sick as a child. Peanut butter toast or grilled cheese were my go-tos. Nowadays, I tend to gravitate more to the exotic and I like to think that spicy food will cure what ails me most of the time. Unfortunately, when I was told I had a mild form of laryngitis, I was advised to avoid spicy foods and to focus on hot liquids and soups to nurse my way back to health.

When I'm not feeling well, the desire to cook anything that takes longer than 30 minutes is completely lost on me and when you don't have your mom around to make you that toast or soup, you have to cook through your Sudafed haze. So quick and easy is the way to go.

So I made the simplest, quickest soup I could come up with that included protein and vegetables: chicken noodle soup. Like most soups, this freezes well so I will continue to experience this soup's healing powers throughout this winter. But let's hope I don't need it!

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken thighs, diced 
• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
• Salt and pepper
• 6 cups chicken stock 
• 1/2 lb. wide egg noodles

Directions:

Place a large pot over moderate heat and add olive oil. Add diced chicken thighs and cook for 5-6 minutes until the pink is gone. Remove from pot and set aside.

Add stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add bay leaves to the pot. Then add carrots, onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Add diced chicken, return soup to a boil, and reduce heat back to moderate. Add the noodles and cook soup an additional 6 minutes or until noodles are tender and remove soup from the heat.

Remove bay leaves and serve with saltines, if you desire.

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

We have officially reached soup season. There is a chill in the air, great root vegetables at the farmers' markets, and I'm looking to do some advanced winter food prep. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy soups in the moment, but I like them even better the next day once all the flavors have had a chance to blend together. And I also like to freeze at least half of each batch of soup. This makes for great lunches far superior to any jarred variety.

I've made Thai soup before, but this was my first one to feature lemongrass and bok choy. I wasn't able to find fresh egg noodles, so I opted to use rice noodles. I think any type of thin noodle will work well in this soup.

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 12-16 oz. fresh egg noodles (or enough fresh or dried noodles for 2-3 portions)
• 6 cups good-quality chicken stock
• 1-2 stalks fresh lemongrass, minced
• 1/4 to 1/2 lb. chicken breast or thigh, chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 3-4 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal or ginger, shredded
• 1 red chili, sliced, or substitute 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili or cayenne pepper
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 TB. oyster sauce
• 1/2 TB brown sugar
• 2 TB fish sauce
• 2-3 cups bok choy, chopped
• Coriander to season 
• Optional: 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Directions:

Prepare the noodles according to instructions on package. Drain and rinse through with cold water to keep from sticking. Set aside.

Bring stock to a boil in a large soup pot. Add the prepared lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and the chicken. Boil over medium-high heat 3-4 minutes.

Reduce to medium heat and add the garlic, galangal/ginger, chili, and carrot. Simmer 2-3 more minutes.

While soup is simmering, add the oyster sauce and fish sauce as well as 1/2 TB sugar.

If your bok choy is the large variety, add only the thick white stalk pieces now (the green leaves take only seconds to cook, so reserve those for later). Continue simmering the soup 2-3 more minutes.

Lastly, add the leafy greens of the bok choy. Stir and simmer 30 seconds.

Reduce heat to low. Add the coconut milk, stirring well to incorporate.

To ensure a good balance, taste test for saltiness. Add more fish sauce if not salty enough. If too salty or sweet for your taste, add 1 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice. If too spicy, add more coconut milk. If too sour, add another 1/2 TB sugar.

To put the soup together, mound a generous amount of the cooked noodles in each bowl. Ladle over the hot soup and top with fresh coriander.

Last Call for Soup!

The first day of Spring has come and passed. Yet the DC area is calling for yet another snowstorm next week. Hopefully it will be relatively quick and harmless and this whole "in like a lion, out like a lamb" thing can happen already. Because I'm over the off and on snow. And the sniffly cold I've developed as a result is over it as well.

So for this post, I want to offer those of you who are still experiencing the chill of winter, a few of my favorite soup recipes to try before soup season is over. Which I hope is any day now. I'll actually be posting one last soup recipe of my own next week, but here are some favorites to whet your appetite. Two vegetarian options (though one is so rich you don't miss the meat!) and one chicken option. Something for everybody.

And I go more the Oprah route when it comes to soup. You get a soup! And you get a soup! No Soup Nazi here!

Senegalese Peanut Butter Stew: Still hands down, one of my favorite soups to make.

Moroccan Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup: I made this twice this winter and just enjoyed my last frozen coup. Savory with a hint of sweet, this gets better every day it sits and the flavors get a chance to meld.

Tortellini Tomato Spinach Soup: Seriously easy, and seriously good for a more delicate palate.

Moroccan Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup

So it's been cold. Really cold. And what's the best thing to make for this type of weather? Soup. This flavorful soup is very simple to make and features a lot of great cold weather vegetables, like butternut squash. I actually made this soup in December, but froze a good portion of it for January. Perhaps I saw this winter vortex coming.

Moroccan Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• 2 TB no-salt-added tomato paste
• 4 cups chicken stock 
• 1/3 cup uncooked couscous
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 2 tsp grated orange rind

Directions:

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add chicken; cook for 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Add cumin, cinnamon, and pepper to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add butternut squash and tomato paste; cook 1 minute.

Stir in Chicken Stock, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes.

Stir in couscous, salt, and zucchini; cook 5 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove pan from heat. Stir in chopped basil and orange rind.

Revisiting a Cold Weather Favorite...Senegalese Peanut Butter Stew

For today's post, I'm revisiting a favorite from last winter...Senegalese Peanut Butter Stew. But first, I feel it is only fitting to recap on a great Thanksgiving.

We were 13 people deep, with homemade turkey sausage on top of a turkey, green beans-3 ways, potatoes that rivaled all other mashed potatoes I've eaten before (sorry, Mom) and three awesome pies. At the beginning, I kind of felt like our smallest Thanksgiving guest, in awe of this pumpkin chiffon pie. By the end I was pleasantly plumptified (I am now coining that as a new word), but so happy to celebrate another DC Thanksgiving with friends.

Today, I enjoyed a bit more of the stuffing (thanks Ian!) and tried to hammer through a workday, making the most of the quiet. I'll no doubt be detoxing on food for the next few days and I imagine many of you all are in the same boat. 

But if you're feeling like you want to cook, and perhaps make a little something out of the ordinary, consider making this Senegalese peanut butter stew. It tastes rich and comforting, but it's surprisingly healthy. The only true fat comes from the peanut butter, and the combination with sweet potatoes and other vegetables make this a satisfying detox meal.  Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Soup

In the second post in this week's "I make mushy baby foods," I made a creamy sweet potato soup. This recipe appealed to me for several reasons, but mainly because it seemed simple, included bacon, and was prominently featured in all its orange glory on the cover of the holiday cooking issue of Cooking Light.

I'm going to post the recipe as written, but I'll let you know why this didn't work out so well for me.

While it was great to do a shortcut by cooking the sweet potatoes in the microwave, I underestimated the power of my microwave so the potatoes became overdone, which made them difficult to peel, and just tough in texture. It's possible that the potatoes weren't the best to begin with as well, but the end result, while tasting fine, had a bizarre consistency. So I encourage you to try this out because the flavors are great, my execution was just poor. See? I'm not the perfect chef. :)

Sweet Potato Soup (serves 6)

Ingredients:

2 lbs sweet potatoes, halved lengthwise (about 2 large)

1/4 cup water

2 tsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

4 cups unsalted chicken stock

1/4 tsp salt

6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1 oz fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved (about 1/4 cup)

2 TB flat-leaf parsley leaves 

Directions:

Place potatoes, cut sides down, in an 11 x 7-inch microwave-safe baking dish. Add 1/4 cup water; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Cool slightly; discard potato skins.

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 1 minute or until translucent. Stir in cumin and red pepper. Add stock to pan; bring to a boil.

Place half of sweet potato and half of stock mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender.

Pour pureed soup into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining sweet potato and stock mixture. Stir in salt. Divide soup evenly among 6 bowls; sprinkle cooked bacon and Parmesan cheese evenly over top. Garnish with parsley.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I recently acquired my first crockpot. You would think that someone who cooks as much as I do would have bought one ages ago, but I was a hold out. And until last year when I borrowed one to make chili, and found it to be the best chili I'd ever made, I was convinced it was time to add one to my kitchen gadgets. My parents happened to have an extra one so I inherited a lovely model, circa 1985. With cold weather (fingers crossed!) on the way out, I thought I should make one more soup for the season.

Chicken Tortilla Soup (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Serrano pepper, diced (with seeds)
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 chipotle pepper, minced
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 pound chicken breasts
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cups chicken stock
• A few sprigs cilantro
• 3 corn tortillas, diced
• 1 cup corn
• Salt and pepper

Garnish:

• Corn tortilla strips
• Avocados
• Limes
• Cotija cheese
• Sour cream 

Directions:

 

Finely dice the onion, garlic, peppers, and celery and add them to a crockpot. Add the chicken breast, canned tomatoes, bay leaves, cumin seeds, chili powder, and chicken stock. The stock should just cover all the ingredients.

Cover and set the crockpot on low. Cook for 6-8 hours.

Remove bay leaves. Remove chicken breasts, shred with a fork into small pieces, and return to crockpot.

Add in cilantro sprigs, corn, and a few corn tortillas cut into bits. Let the crockpot simmer for another 30-60 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper.

To make tortilla strips, dice corn tortillas into strips and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned and crispy.

Serve soup piled high with tortilla strips, diced avocado, lime wedges, crumbled cotija cheese, and sour cream.

Tortellini Tomato Spinach Soup

As part of the post-holiday detox, I wanted to make a simple soup that I could easily whip up in an hour or less and that wouldn't require too much prep work. You can't get much easier than this recipe, which calls for pre-made tortellini and a few simple ingredients.

Tortellini Tomato Spinach Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 TB olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced onion (about 1/2 small onion)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 to 6 cups broth, chicken or vegetable
• 1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed through your fingers or coarsely chopped
• 1 (9-ounce) package fresh tortellini
• Coarse grained salt and cracked black pepper
• 10 oz fresh or frozen spinach, defrosted and chopped
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, very loosely packed

Instructions:

 

In a 3-quart soup pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Saute the onion and garlic, stirring often until onions are translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add broth and tomatoes, turn heat up to high, and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to package instructions.

 

When tortellini is almost done, add spinach and taste, adjusting seasonings with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Garnish each serving with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Potato and Corn Chowder

I've been on a bit of a soup kick lately. Perhaps it's the cooling weather, making an extra layer of warmth not only necessary, but comforting. I anticipate that I will be experimenting with a lot of stews and soups this winter, and this week's contribution is a Cooking Light recipe for a lighter chowder. I will say the soup is definitely better the following day, once all the spices have had time to blend and sink in to the vegetables. I added a bit more spice than the recipe called for, but by all means, adjust to your taste buds.

Potato and Corn Chowder (serves 4)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups prechopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped green onions, divided (about 1 bunch)
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 tsp seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay)
• 3/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 pound baking potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add bell pepper and 3/4 cup green onions, and sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned.

Increase heat to high; add corn, water, seafood seasoning, thyme, red pepper, and potatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Remove from heat, and stir in half-and-half, chopped parsley, and salt. Place about 1 1/2 cups soup in each of 4 bowls; sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons cheese and 1 tablespoon green onions.

Living Social Pumpkin event

To get in the Thanksgiving spirit, I went to my first Living Social event at their headquarters on F Street. The event, called "Drunken Pumpkin," was hosted by the owners of Smoke and Barrel, a great BBQ place in Adams Morgan. The event was part education on the pumpkin in the culinary world, and tasting, where we got to try out three pumpkin-based dishes: a chipotle pumpkin soup, a roast pork with pumpkin risotto, and a maple pumpkin creme brule. All of this came with a pairing of a Pumpkin Spice Manhattan cocktail and a pumpkin beer.

So if you're looking for a pumpkin-based appetizer this Thanksgiving, try out this pumpkin soup recipe. And if you're just looking for an awesome meal, visit Smoke and Barrel. You will not be disappointed.

Chipotle Pumpkin Soup Recipe (Makes 2-2 1/2 quarts)

Ingredients

• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1-2 chipotle peppers, chopped.  If canned in adobo, 1 for mild flavor, and 2 for spicy)
• 8 cups chopped, cooked pumpkin or a three 15-oz cans of canned pumpkin
• 4-6 cups chicken stock, amount used will vary depending on how thick the pumpkin puree is
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp salt, more to taste
• 2 TB lime juice

Garnishes

• Toasted, shelled pumpkin seeds
• Cilantro
• Creme fresca

Instructions

Heat oil in large pot on medium  high heat. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, cumin, and chipotle, cook for 1 minute more.

Add the pumpkin, chicken stock, oregano, and salt. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, partially covered.

Remove the soup from heat. Working in beatches of 2 cups each, puree the soup in batches, holding down the lid of your blender tightly while pureeing, and starting on a slow speed. Return the pureed soup to the pot.

Add lime juice. Adjust seasonings to taste, adding more salt, cumin, oregano, or chipotle to taste. If the soup is too thick, add more stock or water until you hit your desired consistency.

Serve with pumpkin seeds, crema fresca, and chopped cilantro.

Tom Yum Goong (Hot and sour prawn soup)

One of the highlights of the Thai cooking class was making this soup and seeing just how spicy each chef would make their version. We learned how to make two versions of this soup, one of which was a creamy version which uses a few additional ingredients to give it a creamy, cooler taste.

The way to increase the heat in this soup is to add one chili at a time. For those who just like spicy food (and I'll put the clarifier here of 'white people spicy') then just one chili pepper is plenty to give it a nice kick. However, if you like spicier foods, you can add additional chili peppers to increase the heat. I made mine with 2, but I think I could have brought it up to 3. Two of our chefs opted to go the three-chili route and their soup was right up my spice level alley. You be the judge on what kind of heat you want to bring.

Tom Yum Goong (serves 2)

Ingredients for making prawn stock

• 7 oz raw prawns
• 4 cups of water or vegetable stock (cabbage, carrot, and coriander)

Directions for making prawn stock

Remove the prawn heads. Peel the prawns' shells, leaving the tails intact. Using a sharp knife, slit each prawn down the back and devein. Keep heads and shells, set the prawns aside.

Make stock by putting the heads and the shells of the prawns in boiling water with vegetable stock and braing back to boil for 5-10 minutes until they are deep orange.

Ingredients for making soup

• 1 TB of Galangal or Thai ginger (skin removed/cut into thick slices)
• 2 kaffir lime leaves (rip off stem and torn into pieces)
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, sliced into 1 inch long
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 shallots, peeled and sliced
• 1 lime, cut into 3 wedges
• 1 1/2 oz mushrooms
• 1 tomato, cut into 8 pieces
• 1-5 small green chillies, finely chopped (depending on how spicy you want it)
• 2 TB fish sauce

Directions for making soup

Remove the prawn peelings and bring the stock back to a boil.

Add all vegetables into the pot, except the lime, then boil them for 2 minutes and follow with the prawns and fish sauce.

Cook for 10-20 seconds until the prawns are completely cooked through then turn the heat off and add lime juice.

Stir well and serve, can sprinkle with coriander for garnish.

****To make a creamy version, add 2 tsp of Tom Yum paste or Thai chili paste and half a cup of coconut cream or plain condensed milk.

 

Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

I have been blessed (and cursed) to live a block away from a Thai food restaurant. I have them plugged into my phone and I've been known to call on my way home from a late night at the office so that the order is ready to pick up by the time I reach my condo. I have visions of me being like Cynthia Nixon's character on Sex in the City who orders Asian food and is on a first name basis with the person answering the phone.

Thai food is a cuisine I really enjoy and haven't really explored cooking until recently. Fortunately I had all the spices readily available in my pantry for this recipe and since it involved a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, this was a pretty simple dish to make. And my condo smelled like I was moonlighting for the Thai restaurant for a good day or two afterward. This makes a lot of soup but unlike a lot of recipes, not one that is easily cut in half. I opted to freeze a bunch of it, something I'm hoping was a good idea.

Coconut Curry Chicken Soup (serves 7)

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 3 cups fresh spinach leaves 
• 1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
• 1 (5 3/4-ounce) package pad thai noodles (wide rice stick noodles)
• 1 TB canola oil 
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 2 tsp red curry paste
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 
• 1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound) 
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 2 TB sugar
• 2 TB fish sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 
• 4 small hot red chiles, seeded and chopped, or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions

Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add spinach and peas to pan; cook for 30 seconds. Remove vegetables from pan with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add noodles to pan; cook 3 minutes. Drain; add noodles to spinach mixture in bowl.

Heat canola oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and the next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth to pan, and bring to a boil. Add coconut milk to pan; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken, onions, sugar, and fish sauce to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Pour chicken mixture over noodle mixture in bowl. Stir in cilantro and chiles.

My only improvement to this would be a little more spice, perhaps more red pepper flake towards the end. Otherwise, extremely flavorful and pretty healthy to boot!