Fall Harvest Sweet Potato Soup

Such a delicious, nutritious and comforting soup on a cool fall day to chase the blues away. Having been under the weather for a week, my first positive activity was to get back in the kitchen and make up a large batch of soup with the ingredients I had on hand, thanks to my daughter having gifted me an extra large sweet potato from a local farm. It took no time at all to prep and cook this soup garnished with tasty croutons on my stovetop. Quick and easy for an Instant Pot recipe too. Enjoy!

Soup Ingredients

1 lb. Sweet Potatoes (extra large or 2 medium), peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes

1 lb. Carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2" slices

1 large Onion, diced

1 large clove Garlic (2 medium), finely chopped

2 Tbsps Olive Oil

2 Tbsps Chicken Stock Base ("Better than Bouillon" brand)

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1 pinch Nutmeg

2 Bay Leaves

6 cups Water

Crouton Ingredients

2 slices Bread, crust removed and cut into 1/2" cubes

2 Tbsps Olive Oil

1 Tbsps pure Maple Syrup

Soup Directions

1. On medium heat sauté carrots, onion, and garlic in 2 Tbsps olive oil for about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in spices, cooking another minute or so.
3.  Add sweet potato, chicken base, bay leaves, and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, until sweet potatoes are tender.
5. Remove bay leaves and puree soup with an immersion blender, if you have one. If not use a counter top blender. Be careful not to splash boiling soup on yourself.

Crouton Directions

1. Heat 2 Tbsps olive oil in frying pan on medium heat. Add cubed bread and toss until golden brown.
2. Remove from heat and drizzle bread cubes with 1 Tbsp maple syrup.

Serve the Sweet Potato Soup in small bowls topped with maple syrup drizzled toasted bread cubes. 

Moving Day Soup

Taking a break to tell you about my day, then back to it....

Packing to move, boxes of all sizes stacked everywhere... and I'm getting hungry. I have some food in the refrigerator from which I could rustle us up some homemade soup in a hurry, but I have no idea which box has our cooking utensils. Husband saves the day calling to say he's going to stop by and pick up a gluten-free pizza. He calls back and says they're closed for the day. Our kitchen counter is cluttered with everything I pulled out of the cupboards, boxes and bubble wrap, along with today's mail. So, I push what I can aside and work quickly to be able to say "Soup's on!" thirty minutes later when DZ walks through the door with my empty suitcase to fill with clothes that are folded neatly in the landlord's dresser drawer.

I love soup and figure that we must have enough produce to make a Moving Day vegetable soup using whatever hasn't been packed up. So let's take a quick look and get busy... for ingredients, we have:

fresh picked, local assortment of green beans

several vine ripened tomatoes

a couple of large white potatoes

yellow and green bell peppers

a couple of yellow crooked-neck squash

a bunch of celery and part of a zucchini

a part of an onion sliced and half of another onion

a couple of fresh mushrooms and a can of sliced mushrooms

a can of corn and a part of a jar of vegetable stock base

I found my soup pot, but I can't find my knives. The landlord's collection, which I just unpacked and put back in the drawer...all as dull as butter knives. This is the time to  be very, very careful not to cut myself. Dull is dangerous. I hack at the vegetables more than cut them, then furiously tossed them into the pot filled part way with water, two tablespoons of vegetable stock base and two large pinches of sea salt.  

My nifty, red rubber tube to remove garlic skin is lost to a box somewhere, so I use my hand towel to loosen the peel, rolling it around four plump cloves of garlic and rolling furiously back and forth with the palms of my hands. My garlic press is probably buried with the roller, so I slivered the garlic rather than attempt to mince them with a dull blade and blended them into the mix of fresh ingredients with one of three wooden spoons that will remain in our loft apartment kitchen. I could have mashed them, I suppose.

I pinched in some cayenne and tossed a liberal amount of the Italian herb blend sitting on the counter by the sea salt. All the other spices were... of course... packed.

Having replaced our personal dishes, bowls, glasses and flatware with that of the landlord's assortment, we enjoyed a fine lunch on the deck with the simplicity of a bowl, a soup spoon and a glass of water... all because DZ scrounged around until he found the soup ladle!

I don't know when I will have to pack and move again. I hope not any time soon. But when I do, I need to remind myself to withhold just a few more basic items and provisions during the exodus with which we can cook and feed ourselves with for a few days.

Despite the lack of kitchen equipment, gadgets, cookware, food and spice selection, the soup turned out great - though simple, has wonderful flavor... proving yet again that more doesn't necessarily mean better. And we have enough soup left in the pot to last us for the next couple of lunches during our move.

Now back to packing.

Bon Appetit!

Failed Vegan Experiment - "Chowders On!"

Well, it was nearly a year ago that we took the challenge to go vegan, and failed I might add. Now that we live on the Olympic Peninsula, we are able to enjoy the bounty of the Puget Sound, simply by walking onto nearby beaches to harvest oysters and clams, go crabbing with friends and enjoy fresh-caught fish anytime we want when they are in season. 

We have easily given up everything else that is animal protein-based, except for the occasional grating or slice of cheese. Our dairy substitutes are coconut, almond and rice milk products. We get our fats primarily from olive oil, nuts and seeds and their butters.

Back in 2009, I posted two crab recipes with links to other variations. I recommend you try them. Tonight, we are cooking up a batch of crab chowder from DZ's catch the other day. 

If you have a shellfish license in the State of Washington, you are able harvest five regulation-size crabs a day during crabbing season.

I'm hearing "Chowder's on!" coming from the kitchen... be back shortly to post our recipe.

 Absolutely fabulous! Could be served in the finest seafood restaurant anywhere in the world.

Manhattan Crab Chowder - Gluten-Free

Manhattan Crab Chowder

Total Time: 40 minutes

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Water to cover Potatoes
3 cups precooked diced Potatoes

1 pint of Water

2 tablespoons "Organic Better Than Bouillon" Vegetable Base (paste)

2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning Blend

1 heaping teaspoon Fennel Seed
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper or 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground Black Pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup chopped Onion
4 cloves chopped Garlic
2 large fresh Tomatoes, chopped
3/4 pound Crabmeat (and/or cubed, bite-size pieces of white Fish, Clams...)


Directions

1. Diced potatoes and cover with water in a 3-quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, and boil for 15 minutes.
3. In a 1-quart saucepan, add a pint of water, 2 heaping tablespoons of the vegetable base. Add fennel seed, Italian seasoning, salt and the optional pepper.
4. Boil for a couple of minutes.
5. In a 4-5 quart stockpot, add the olive oil, diced onion, chopped garlic and tomatoes.
6. Pour the cooked potatoes along with the potato water over all. 
7. Next, pour the ingredients from the small sauce pan into the stock pot. 
8. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then stir in the crab meat (and/or other seafood). 
9. Simmer for another 5 minutes and serve hot.

Turn this into a fabulous seafood stew/cioppino by adding to the crab a combination of clams, mussels, shrimp, white fish....

My All-Time Favorite Minestrone Soup

Yesterday, my girlfriend Loma mentioned that she wanted to get back in the kitchen and cook up some healthy meals following the holidays. Sounds good to me! The topic of homemade soups came up and I offered to share my all-time family favorite minestrone soup recipe with her. I started making homemade minestrone back in 1978 using the recipe on page 109 in the Spices of the World Cookbook by McCormick. I hope you are fortunate enough to find a copy of this out-of-print cookbook. I guarantee you’ll be glad you have it on your culinary book shelf!

Photo from "Everything Minestrone Soup"

Ingredients:

1 cup dried marrow beans or garbanzo beans or lima beans

7 cups water

1/cup chopped instant onion

1 tablespoon Parsley Flakes

3 tablespoons Celery Flakes

1/8 teaspoon Instant Minced Garlic

2 tablespoons Bell Pepper Flakes

¼ cup olive oil

¼ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper

½ pound fresh spinach

2 teaspoons Beef Flavor Base, or vegetable base

1/8 teaspoon Rubbed Sage

¼ teaspoon Italian Seasoning, or make your own blend

1 teaspoon Ground Thyme

2 teaspoons Salt

¼ teaspoon Course Ground Pepper

1 cup diced potatoes

2 cups tomatoes

1 cup chopped cabbage

1 small zucchini, thinly sliced

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. Soak beans overnight in water to cover. Drain.
2. Add the 7 cups of water. Cover and simmer for 3 hours or until tender.
3. Sauté the onions, garlic, parsley, celery and pepper flakes in oil until well-coated and hot, but don’t allow them to brown.
4. Add mixture to the beans with the remaining seasonings, fresh vegetables and uncooked macaroni.
5. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes or longer.
6. If the soup is too thick for your liking, add water to thin to the consistency you prefer.
7. Top the minestrone soup with grated Parmesan cheese.

Makes about 3 quarts.

Notes:

• This cookbook was designed to promote the sales of McCormick spices, so if you decide to use all fresh ingredients including the beans, onions and herbs, as I typically do, you will want to decrease the amount of water.
• To make this a gluten-free soup, simple add gluten-free macaroni (quinoa or brown rice).
  
• If you want to learn more about minestrone and try other variations, click here.

Female Nomad and Friends, a Travel Adventure Anthology and Cookbook

Four years ago, my husband and I were operating a rural, homestay bed and breakfast in the heart of the wine region of Lane County, Oregon. While we thoroughly enjoyed hosting guests and cooking for them as well as listening to their travel adventures, our travels had come to a screeching halt. It was during this season of our lives that our daughter introduced me to Rita Golden Gelman’s first book, Tales of a Female Nomad – Living at Large in the World.

When ever I could find a little personal down-time between biding farewell to current guests and greeting our next guests, from my cushy armchair with feet propped up on the ottoman in our “Gathering Room”, I vicariously traveled with Rita on her journey around the world, depending on her intuition, trust and serendipity... experiencing adventure after adventure as she connected with people in faraway places I’ve never been. It took me a month, but eventually I finished the book, only wishing there were more stories to read to satiate my hunger for travel.

Our Gathering Room at Le Roost Lorane B&B

"Timing is everything", so the saying goes. Now, in the midst of selling our home along with nearly all our personal possessions and plans to live aboard a sailboat, Rita has published a new anthology/cookbook Female Nomad and Friends, Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World. Between showing our home and working on projects, once again I sat in that same chair and immersed myself in Female Nomad and Friends. This time reading aloud to my husband, both of us laughing and crying and celebrating as we read the eclectic mix of travel adventures and recipes shared by Rita and forty other contributing authors from around the world... with our future travel adventures now within reach.

Here is an excerpt from How Female Nomad & Friends Came to Be and What It's All About by Rita Golden Gelman, Female Nomad and Friends.

"It was not planned; it kind of snuck up on me when I wasn't looking. E-mail was the vehicle.

Let me back up a little. Well, maybe a lot, because this book actually started in 1987, when I was divorced, gave everything away (no storage), and took off with a backpack to start a new life...." [Come back here to Read more of the excerpt after you've finished reading this post.]

Rita's universal truths about connecting with others, besides being friendly and smiling a lot, includes “food is the universal connector”, which is the reason she invited submissions for her new anthology/cookbook. Her invitation evolved into an amazing collection of fifty-nine fascinating and entertaining travel adventures from forty-one authors and thirty-three taste-tested and author-approved international recipes.

Some of the common threads, besides friendship and food, which seem to travel in some form from story to story in Female Nomad and Friends is that in order to experience life at its fullest, we will find new and exciting experiences and adventure when we stray from the well-traveled path, learn to overcome our fear of the unknown and take risks, trusting that new acquaintances, even complete strangers, will help us, feed us, teach us and receive from us whatever we have to give. Also, great things can come from what initially appears to be far less-than-desirable circumstances.

For twenty-three years, Rita has lived a nomadic life with no permanent address. Over the years she has made friends wherever she has wandered as well as with those who read her books and connect with her via email and website found on page 303 of Tales of a Female Nomad (which was contrary to the publisher's advice). I am one such reader. Rita and I communicated back and forth a few times, and most recently, due to our connection, I have become one of her friends who volunteer to assist her with miscellaneous tasks involving her non-profit Let's Get Global promoting the "gap year movement" in America, and her Female Nomad and Friends Global Dinner Party. The global dinner party is happening this week – “Connecting Through Food” - on Friday, June 18^th anytime between 4:00pm and 11:00pm. You're all invited! All you have to do to participate is to host a dinner party at your home and invite family and friends, while others are doing the same thing, the same night, all over the world. Your guests' ticket to the party is to order or bring a copy of the book (all royalties go to send kids living in the slums of New Delhi to vocational school) and to bring a dish using one of the recipes from Female Nomad and Friends, or a personal favorite. For more information, go to Rita's Facebook fan page "Female Nomad" or her Rita Golden Gelman - Female Nomad website.

Rita Golden Gelman with Female Nomad and Friends authors Bonnie Betts and Sally Brown met for the first time at the launch party.

Female Nomad & Friends, Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World was launched June 1^st and celebrated with Rita and some of the contributing authors and friends in Seattle at her daughter's home, Jan Gelman (also a contributing author), followed by an authors' reading and book signing at Ravenna Third Place books later that evening.

Rita Golden Gelman with Jan Gelman, Sally Brown, Bonnie Betts, Asa Marie Bradley, Tim Amsden

and Patricia Lundquist posing with a copy of Female Nomad and Friends.

Although friends communicating by phone and email, I had the great pleasure of finally meeting Rita in person and connecting with her and others through food as we celebrated the launch of Female Nomad and Friends.

Rita and friends take turns making toasts. Rita toasts to the scholarship funds raised by 100% of the royalties from the sale of Female Nomad and Friends

We toasted to the book sales' royalties that will continue to provide scholarships for high school graduates growing up in the slums of New Delhi to receive further education and learn a trade at the vocational school. Already more than $40,000 has been sent to the New Delhi Rotary Club, who is vetting and mentoring the scholarship recipients!

Jan, Pat (hidden behind bouquet), Tim (back of head), Rita and Sally signing each other's books.

Female Nomad and Friends by Rita Golden Gelman with Maria Altobelli and iIlustrated by Jean Allen, copyright © 2010. Published by Three Rivers Press/Crown Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. BUY IT HERE.

Arriving in Seattle a day before the launch party, Rita invited me to go shopping with her at the Vietnamese market, located in Seattle's Chinatown International District, for a variety of Asian ingredients, introducing me to various basils, produce and condiments that were unfamiliar to me... like Bumbu Pecel, a peanut instant salad dressing that comes in a block that you shave and add water to thin. I bought some of their sweet, floral tasting mangosteen and lychee for the party.

Fruits include mangosteen and lychee

By the time we had checked off everything from the shopping list, we were both quite hungry. Rita introduced me to her favorite Vietnamese restaurant nearby. I took her travel advice to heart about food - "eat everything you are offered." Although I am a pescetarian (seafood-vegetarian), I wanted Rita to freely introduce me to some of her favorite Vietnamese dishes at the Tamarind Tree, without any of my dietary restrictions. What an amazing menu! We shared a savory, crispy Vietnamese crepe filled with prawns and squid and beansprouts, squid stuffed with ground pork, and eggplant satay. This was definitely the best Vietnamese food I have ever eaten. Thanks again, Rita!

Back at Jan's we prepped and cooked food for the following day, as we continued talking. Sally Brown, one of the contributing authors (Connecting to Raymond on page 41), who drove four days (all the way from Minnesota) to attend the gathering, arrived just in time to help with preparations. We washed, sliced, squeezed, chopped and cooked as we chatted and told stories. Rita's Larb Gai (ground chicken) is really, really good! See page 71 of Female Nomads and Friends.

Here is a delicious Curried Carrot Soup recipe from Female Nomad and Friends (page 109), shared with permission by Rita Golden Gelman (more recipes posted for the Female Nomad and Friends Global Dinner Party on the Facebook Female Nomad fan page: 5 Female Nomad Friends Recipes.

CURRIED CARROT SOUP
Adapted from a recipe sent by Adrienne Jury
Serves six to eight

1 tablespoon butter
2 medium onions, sliced
10 carrots, cut into ½ inch slices (about 6 cups sliced carrots)
1 to 2 tablespoons curry powder, to taste
2 tablespoons powdered chicken stock
3 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons applesauce (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh dill, snipped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream

Sauté onion in butter for five minutes.
Add carrot slices, curry powder, chicken stock, and water.
Simmer until carrots are soft.
Add more water if necessary in ½ cup increments. (Generally, you will need 3 cups more)
Add salt and pepper and adjust for taste.

Blend.

Serve with fresh dill, mint, and sour cream.

I’m always sorry I didn’t make more. There’s never enough left over. Next time I’m going to double the recipe. I pass the herbs and sour cream at the table in separate little dishes.

Some powdered chicken stock is quite salty. Check ahead of time. The caldo de pollo I use in Mexico often substitutes for salt. I use less than 2 tablespoons powder and add no additional salt. At one of the tastings, Jean (our illustrator) made a batch of applesauce and set it out with the herbs and sour cream. People put big dollops of the applesauce in the soup. The curry and the applesauce provide a very different but wonderful taste.

Do I have favorite Female Nomad and Friend stories? I love them one and all for different reasons. But, yes, I do have more than a few that readily come to mind, probably because I've already reread them a couple of times - Chapati Love Remembered, Train to Tithorea, Riding Out the Storm, The Perfect Seatmate, Connecting to Raymond, A Boat Ride... and then there's... oh, I do love them all!

Rita Golden Gelman at the Female Nomad and Friends Author Event at Ravenna Third Place Books in Seattle, Washington - June 1, 2010

We invite you to join us on the Female Nomad and Friends Virtual Tour. From June 7 through July 2 you can return daily to click on the link to other scheduled Female Nomad and Friends book reviews throughout the month, to read what others are saying about Rita and friends' new anthology! You can learn much more about Rita and how you can host a Global Dinner Party at your home via her Female Nomad website.

Home Body Fat Test, True Confessions and more....

In order to track my health and fitness progress, I am logging my body measurements and percentage of body fat. I wasn't sure how to estimate my own body fat, until I discovered a slick online body fat calculator at Health Central. According to Fit or Fat guru Covert Bailey, the American male has 22% body fat, while the average American woman's has 32% body fat. Mine is lower than the average American woman, but higher than the average Caucasian woman. Okay, if you really want to know, my body fat is 28%. I can't believe I'm sharing that tidbit with you! So, I hope by being perfectly open and honest I will encourage someone to take this health and fitness challenge with me. We can do this!

Before you go to Health Central to plug in your measurements, take the following measurements with a cloth tape measure: waist, the widest part of your hips (with your feet 4-inches apart), calf (place your weight on your dominant leg and measure your calf at its widest part - about half way between your knee and ankle), thigh (stand with your feet about 12 inches apart. Measure your upper thigh at the widest part) and wrist (measure in the dip between the bony part of your wrist and the start of your hand).

I also measured my neck, chest and arms. I've created a chart to track my weight, body measurements and body fat throughout the year. I'ts my intention to reach my health and fitness goals within 5 months, before my 60th birthday coming up on July 22nd. Yikes, I can't believe I just told you that, too! Crazy! Where did the time go?

Besides including more raw foods in my diet, keeping my body hydrated and getting regular exercise and quality sleep, eating optimally nutritious foods regularly will as help to stimulate my metabolism. If I eat right and burn calories, I will reduce my body fat. Common sense and consistency is the key. That's my plan in a nutshell.

Back in the '80's, I went on the Cabbage Soup Diet and lost 14 pounds in 14 days. Fad diets come and go - weight loss is inevitable, but often the weight packs back on. Anyway, my weight always did. because fad diets are not sustainable. The most sensible approach is to eat clean and eat three meals a day, following the one o'clock rule, occasionally cleanse our system by fasting and burning more calories than we take in. What I did take away from the Cabbage Soup Diet was the soup recipe. It's a nutritious, tasty soup and you can change the ingredients and seasonings for variety. I enjoy this soup cold.

I made up a batch of this soup last night to have on hand throughout the week to ease my way back into adding food back into my diet after a 6 day fast. Tonight, I start adding more raw foods to my diet.

Cabbage Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

6 large green onions (I also add one yellow onion)
2 green bell peppers
1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole) (or 4 whole fresh tomatoes, chopped)
3 carrots
10-ounces mushrooms
1/2 head cabbage
1 package Lipton soup mix (I use 2 vegetable bouillon cubes)
1 48-ounce can V8 juice
Flavor with any of these seasonings: cayenne pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, cilantro, mint, etc.

Directions:

1. Slice green onions, chop onion and saute in a pot with a splash of olive oil.
2. Cut, stem, de-seed and chop the peppers and add to pot.
3. Take the outer leaves of the cabbage and chop into bite-size pieces and add to the pot.
4. Slice the carrots in rounds or chop and add to the pot.
5. Slice the mushroom and add to the pot.
6. For variety, you can add 1/2 pound of green beans, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
   
7. If you like your soup spicy, now is the time to add seasonings to the pot.
8. Add about 12 cups of water or 8 cups of V8 juice, cover and cook on low heat.
9. When the vegetables are tender, season to taste with salt and pepper (I've never had to).

To add protein to your diet, you can add cooked beans and rice, crispy tofu or tempeh or prawns during the last minutes of cooking. Add more water, as needed. Eat this soup for lunch or dinner or in-between meals instead of snacking when you are feeling a bit famished.

Interested in transitioning to a raw foods lifestyle? Read the Boutenko Family, also known as the Raw Family, story and visit the All Raw Directory website for a plethora or raw food resources.

P.S. One way you can challenge yourself to shoot for your personal goals is to take a contract out on yourself with StickK.com. Last year, I completed a 12-week commitment to exercise a minimum of 3 days per week, and at the beginning of January I took out an identical 12-week contract. The incentive is that if you don't meet your weekly goal, it costs you. An incentive that works for me is to donate to an anti-charity, if I fail. So far, it hasn't cost me a penny.

Healthy, Hearty, Homemade Lentil Soup

Feeling kind of funky like me or want something nutritious waiting for you at home to eat following a long walk? Make yourself a pot of this hearty lentil soup - rich in proteins, plus a good source for B-vitamins. Here's my recipe. Delicious!

Ingredients:

2 cups lentils (I use a mix of regular red lentil and french lentils)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large potato, diced

1 large onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 15-ounce can stewed tomatoes

2 quarts organic vegetable broth

1 teaspoon thyme

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

2 cups water

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Sort lentils looking for debris, bad lentils and rocks

2. Place in strainer rinsing them thoroughly

3. Place lentils in a large soup pot, add water and

tomato sauce cooking on medium-high heat.

4. Peel potato and carrot and dice. Dice the tomato,

onion, and mince the garlic.

5. Add everything to the pot, except the salt, pepper and lemon juice. Let it cook for 45-50 minutes on medium-low heat (simmering); check your water adding more, as needed. Sample the lentils. If they’re soft the soup is ready. If not, cook until tender.

6. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon and 1 teaspoon sea salt or salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and corn tortilla chips, optional.

Adapted from Ero Fit & Associates' recipe. Thanks to Wonders of Walking for sharing the link.

Red Curry-Spiced Pumpkin Soup

A couple days ago, our neighbor invited me over to share some of the last pumpkin from their garden with us. When I arrived, Kyle met me outside with an axe. She wanted to know how much of the 100 pound pumpkin I wanted. She hacked off a couple large chunks, which I brought home, cut into 8 thick slabs and roasted on two racks in my oven at 375-degrees for nearly two hours.

Some of them I vacuum sealed and froze; the rest I put in the refrigerator for making pumpkin soup this evening for our Christmas Eve lunch tomorrow with family.

I pureed two quarts of cubed roasted pumpkin in my food processor in two batches.

Ingredients:

2 quarts of pureed pumpkin
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1-6 teaspoons red curry powder (or paste; add more or less to taste)
2 teaspoons sea salt, finely ground

Directions:

1. Pour the pureed pumpkin into your soup pot and begin cooking on medium-high heat.
   
2. Add the coconut milk, butter and curry powder, and bring to a simmer.
3. If you desire a thinner consistency, add water or vegetable stock.
   
4. Add salt and adjust the curry according to your taste.

Serves 8-10

Meatless Monday Campaign

After a busy weekend of preparing food and entertaining guests, I wanted something on this cold and frosty day that was warm, nourishing and easy to fix for dinner tonight. One of the benefits of be a member of Linkedin.com is that you can join groups, and groups email digests, and group members share a plethora of information. The downside, of belonging to any online community or surfing anywhere on the Internet is that you can be inundated and overwhelmed with solicited content. I recently had to change a bunch of email preferences to curb the quantity of emails I am receiving daily and weekly. That said, from time to time I find a tidbit of info that has meaning or benefit to me. This is how I found out about the Meatless Monday Campaign and this delicious morsel shared by Tracy Ritson of the Green Publishing Group on Linkedin.

The following recipe "Meatless Monday Winter Warm-Up - Hearty Lentil Soup" comes from Angela on Sustainable Scribe by PLANET FORWARD.

"Monday! As you may or may not know, Planet Forward supports the Meatless Monday campaign – a non-profit initiative in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. It’s part of an eco-friendly worldwide movement to reduce consumption of animal products in favour of more plant-based meals to fight global warming and improve our personal health. This week we bring another vegetarian recipe for you to try.

Beans are a staple for vegetarians as they are a healthy (and fat-free) source of protein and carbohydrates. Plus they are more familiar to flexitarians and other non-full-time vegetarians than tofu, tempeh and seitan. Our hearty lentil soup recipe can be made ahead of time and you can even freeze it (in an air-tight container) if you make too much. I am a huge soup fan especially during the long-cold Canadian winter and this is one of my favourites.

Hearty Lentil Soup - serves 4 people as a main course with a salad and bread (gluten-free ideally but whole-wheat/grain is good too)

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot sliced
• 2 stalks of celery diced
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup dry lentils
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt/pepper to taste (if needed)
• Tabasco Hot sauce (optional and to taste)

Note: To the above, I added green onions, corn, peas and fresh tomatoes quartered, and a half tablespoon of Mountain Rose Herbs All Purpose Seasoning.

Preparation:
In a large pot, saute onions, celery and carrot in the vegetable oil for 3-5 minutes until onions are transparent. Add the vegetable broth, lentils, bay leaves and salt/pepper (if needed).

Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until lentils are soft, about 45 minutes. Remove bay leaves and stir in hot sauce (if desired) and that’s it. Easy-peasy. Serve with a side salad and fresh bread to round off a great and satisfying meal.

Don’t forget - to join the movement, sign up online by going to your local Meatless Monday site or you can go here http://www.meatlessmonday.com/ to learn more. If this Monday passed you by, next week is another chance to go meatless – it’s only one day for an eco-friendly cause. Join us.

Bon (vegetarian) Appetit!" - Angela

Ribollita - Tuscan Soup

Delicious! This twice-cooked Tuscan soup recipe can be made with leftovers. The name Ribollita is Italian for "reboiled".

Ingredients:

2 cups cannellini (white beans (or any white bean, for that matter), cooked, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon each of fresh, chopped garlic and fresh chopped rosemary
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled (or not, my preference) and chopped
1 large Yukon Gold potato, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 bunch kale, coarsely chopped
1 cup canned or fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 slices day-old crusty white country-style bread (or gluten-free), broken into chunks
Salt & Pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:

1. Mash half (1 cup) of the white beans with the back of a fork in a bowl until smooth, then set aside.
2. In a soup pot, gently cook the garlic, rosemary, onion, celery, carrot and kale in the olive oil for 20 minutes.
3. Add both the whole and mashed beans, stock, potato and tomato.
4. Simmer gently for about an hour or so, then add the bread and continue to cook until the bread completely dissolved into the soup.
5. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
6. Drizzle olive oil over the soup and top with the grated cheese.
7. Tastes best the next day, so a great meal to make ahead!

Makes four large servings.

I came across this recipe in a runner's magazine. Marathoner, Matt Conors enjoys this nutrient-rich soup as a pre-race meal.

Vegetarian Borscht

I love beets, but this borscht recipe is adapted for those who don't particularly care for beets. Make ahead the day of your gathering. The longer it sits the thicker it gets. It also freezes well.

Use as many fresh, local and organic ingredients as you can. Directions are for preparing vegetables with a food processor. If you like beets, you can add them too (peeled and shredded). Other options: tomatoes, red wine vinegar, bay leaf, garlic, chopped parsley, a pinch of sugar, cinnamon, allspice etc. You can also use vegetable broth and water to cover the vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 1/4-1 pound beets (optional, peeled an shredded)
• 2 medium onions, peeled
• 3 ribs celery, with tops
• 1 leek, white part only
• 6 to 8 carrots, peeled
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 3 large potatoes, peeled
• 2 medium turnips, peeled
• 3 medium parsnips, peeled
• 1 pound green beans
• 1 bunch watercress, stems removed
• 1 small head cabbage, cored and cut into 4 wedges
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Directions:

1. Place the slicing disk into the bowl of the food processor. Cut the onions, celery, leek, and carrots to fit feed tube. With light pressure, push the vegetables through the feed tube using the pusher.

2. Over medium heat, melt the margarine in a large stockpot. Add the onions, celery, leeks, and carrots and saute until the onion is soft and limp, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.

3. Insert the French-fry blade into the food processor. Cut the potatoes, turnips, and parsnips to fit the feed tube. Chop, using the pusher with firm pressure. Add these vegetables to the stockpot.

4. Insert the metal blade into the food processor bowl. Add the green beans and watercress. Pulse several times to chop, then add to the stockpot.

5. Place 2 wedges of the cabbage into the processor bowl. Chop with several pulses. Add to the stockpot. Repeat with the remaining cabbage and add to the stockpot. Add the tomato paste, salt, and white pepper to the stockpot.

6. Add enough cold water to cover the vegetables, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream, garnished with dill.

Makes 5 Quarts

Fall Harvest Cream of Chanterelle Soup

This is not your conventional cream of mushroom soup. Made with chanterelles picked in the wild, sautéed with lemon and thyme, slow-cooked in vegetable broth and cream, this soup is rich and unique in flavor and texture.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of chanterelle mushrooms or a mix of wild mushrooms
• 3 medium-sized shallots – finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 5-6 thyme sprigs or a tablespoon of dried
• 2 bay leaves
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2-3 cups vegetable broth (depends on how thick you want your soup)
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups cream (light or heavy or both)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Salt and pepper (black or cayenne)
• Parsley, chopped for garnish (optional)

Preparing the Chanterelles:

If your chanterelles are not clean. Sweep away any debris and dirt with a soft-bristled basting brush; use a small paring knife to cut away any unwanted portion; if necessary very lightly rinse and gently pat dry. Finely chop the chanterelles either with a knife or dice with a food processor (avoid over-processing).

Directions:

In a soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat; adding in the shallots, cook for 4-5 minutes or until translucent.  Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaves and chanterelle mushrooms and continue to cook over medium-low heat.  Salt the ingredients to help release the moisture.  Continue to cook them until all of this moisture has cooked off; perhaps another 10-15 minutes.  When the moisture is gone, add in the vegetable stock, cream, lemon zest, pepper and a pinch more salt.  Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for another 15-20 minutes.  Add in the remaining lemon juice and stir.  Taste the soup and adjust the salt levels as needed for your tastes.  If the soup is too thin, continue to cook and if it is too thick, add a little more vegetable stock. Top with chopped parsley. I garnished our servings with shelled hemp seeds by Nutiva.

Serves 4

My All-Time Favorite Cream of Zucchini Soup

As soon as you harvest zucchini from your garden patch, make up a batch of this soup.  It has great flavor and is a wonderful soup to enjoy year-round!

Ingredients:

3 cups sliced Zucchini (4 small OR 1 lb.)
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Instant Minced Onion (or fresh onion very finely minced)
1 teaspoon Season-All (McCormicks)
1/2 teaspoon Parsley Flakes or finely minced Fresh Parsley
2 teaspoons Chicken or Vegetable Stock Base
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Flour (for gluten-free, use rice flour or potato starch to thicken)
1/8 teaspoon White Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Bon Appetit (McCormicks)
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Light Cream
Sour Cream, to top
Paprika, to garnish

If you have fresh onion and parsley on hand, use it rather than the dried.

Directions:

1. In a medium-size pot, combine zucchini, water, onion, Season-All, parsley flakes and 1 teaspoon of the stock base.
2. Cook until zucchini is tender and very little water is left.
3. Put the zucchini mixture in a sieve to mash, or puree in a blender (my preference).
4. In a medium-size sauce pan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour, remaining stock base, pepper, MSG and Bon Appetit; blend well.
5. Stir in the milk and light cream. Simmer, stirring until it thickens.
6. Stir in the zucchini mixture and thoroughly blend. If the soup is thicker than you prefer, add more milk until it is the consistency you like.
7. Serve the cream of zucchini soup with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with paprika.

Makes 4 Cups

Recipe from McCormick's 1978 Spices of the World Cookbook.

Cooking with Shrooms

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

My friend Jacqueline recently shared this Allrecipes.com recipe with me, which turns out to be the same Hungarian Mushroom Soup recipe I have from Rain Forest Mushroom Company, except theirs calls for a mix of wild mushrooms.  I've needed to get over my discomfort with the notion that cooking with mushrooms picked in the wild is "a dangerous fare". This past weekend was the perfect opportunity to take the wild mushroom challenge. I'm hooked.

Homemade Mushroom Soup 101 Wonderful!

While I took a break from cooking Friday evening, my husband spent 40 minutes in the kitchen making us this absolutely delicious creamy mushroom soup; vegetarian and gluten-free. He served it up in deep bowls with slices of fresh-baked bread for himself and gluten-free bread for me to sop up the rich and flavorful broth. Here's Cliff's version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  
  
• 2 cups chopped onions
  
  
• 1 pound fresh white cap mushrooms, sliced (or mix: shiitake, maitake, oyster...)
  
  
• 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
  
  
• 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
  
  
• 1 tablespoon wheat-free soy sauce (or regular)
  
  
• 2 cups vegetable broth (or chicken stock)
  
  
• 1 cup milk
  
  
• 3 tablespoons almond flour (or all-purpose flour)
  
  
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
  
  
• cayenne pepper, to taste (or ground black pepper)
  
  
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream
  

Directions:

1. Melt the unsalted butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onions in the butter for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for another 5 minutes. Stir in the dill, paprika, soy sauce and broth. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
   
   
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk and flour together. Pour the mixture into the soup and stir until it's well-blended. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
   
   
3. Finally, stir in the sea salt, pepper, lemon juice, parsley and sour cream. Mix together and allow the soup to heat through over low heat for 3-5 minutes. Do not boil. Serve while hot. 
4. Option: garnish with a dollop of sour cream and paprika. Serves 6 or 2-4 very hungry people.

Then on Sunday afternoon, we attended the Mushroom Festival and Plant Sale sponsored by the Cascade Mycological Society and Lane Community College at the Mount Pisgah Arboretum in Eugene.

Human Shroom ticket-takers at the footbridge. 

First things first, cast our vote in the Scarecrow Contest.

Kimby and Jade Maxson pose with their Spider entry,

which won "Best Overall" in the Scarecrow Contest.

Field to Table sauteed mushrooms (sans the penne pasta) and LCC Culinary School mushroom stroganoff in phyllo bowl.

We bought several bags of wild mushrooms, including

chantrelles, shiitake, maitake and oyster; 3 for $10.

We also came away with some excellent mushroom recipes.

More Mushroom Recipes on the Cascade Mycological Society website.

Last night, I used two bags of the mixed wild mushrooms I bought at the mushroom festival for a saute that will serve 2-4. This recipe really brings out the flavor of the mushrooms. Delish!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound of shiitake, oyster and maitake mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter (1/4 stick)
• Sea salt and cayenne (or black pepper) to taste
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Light sprinkling of garlic salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Clean mushrooms by gently brushing away any residue with a damp paper towel.
2. Cut of any tough stems and discard. If mushrooms are large, cut into bite-size pieces, following the shape of the mushroom.
3. Heat oil and butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, salt, pepper and saute for about 3 minutes. 
4. When liquid is released, raise heat to high and saute, tossing often for another 2 minutes.
5. When liquid is nearly evaporated, add shallots and saute for another 1 to 2 minutes or until mushrooms are lightly browned and tender. Add parsley and tarragon or chives. 
6. Taste. Adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve hot.
   

 

 Cooking from Raman Prasad's Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet on page133, I made Nafisa's Spicy Fried Fish with halibut and served it with red Himalayan rice and the sauteed mushrooms. Magnifique!

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 pound firm fish fillets, such as sole, halibut or bass
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Lime wedges, for garnish

Directions:

1. Combine lime juice, chili powder, turmeric and salt in bowl large enough to hold fish fillets.
2. Coat the fish on all sides and marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Place fish in skillet and cook until the bottom is done; about 4-5 minutes.
5. Turn the fish over and cook for another 3 minutes or so, until the fillets reach a crisp consistency and the fish is firm.
6. Garnish with wedge of lime. Serves 3-4.

Get yourself some wild mushrooms, invite some friends over and have your own Mushroom Fest!