EatSavvy Blog

Soup’s On

September 14, 2009
Denise Smith

Currently in season, widely available and inexpensive, carrots are one of my family’s favourite vegetables. They are very high in vitamins and minerals, most importantly antioxidants such as beta carotene.

Last weekend I couldn’t resist picking up one of the overflowing baskets of fresh, local carrots at a roadside market. My kids grabbed one each to munch on the way home, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the other 30 or so…raw with dips, boiled, steamed or roasted? I already had the oven on, so I decided to toss in a bunch and roast them. They turned out so well I decided to make soup with them. A quick and easy mid-week meal. Here’s what I did:

Roasted Carrot & Ginger Soup
You’ll need

• 10 carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
• 3 garlic cloves, halved
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 4 cups (1 litre) vegetable/chicken stock
• Salt & pepper to taste

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Toss carrots and garlic with 1 Tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper on baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes.
• Remove carrots from the oven and let cool.
• In a large soup pot, sauté onion and ginger in 1 Tbsp olive oil until soft.
• Chop carrots and add them, plus stock, to the pot.
• Simmer for 20 minutes or until carrots are soft.
• Remove from heat, cool slightly and, using a blender or food processor, puree until smooth.
• Return soup to soup to pot, reheat and serve with a fresh baguette.

What are you doing with the over abundance of seasonal vegetables?

Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater

October 23, 2009
Denise Smith

Now that soup season is upon us I can’t help but look at the seasonal vegetables in the market without thinking about roasting, pureeing, and turning them into some kind of soup. The cooler temperatures, gorgeous fall colours, and the need for a sweater all make me long for comfort food—specifically soup.

This is the first year that I have done more than just admire the piles of brightly coloured pumpkins at my local market. In the past I have purchased pure canned pumpkin to make pumpkin pies and roasted pumpkin seeds from our Jack-o-lantern, but that’s as close as I’ve come to cooking with this versatile, low fat, high fibre vegetable.

One of the recipes we chose to include in this month’s EatSavvy edition was Pumpkin Apple Soup. Little did I know how simple it was to cut, roast and puree this delicious winter squash. Not as rich in flavour as butternut squash, nor as deep in colour as acorn squash, but delicious and simple to use nonetheless.

I freeze leftover soup in two cup serving containers or freezer bags, remove one from the freezer before I go to bed, and it is thawed by morning. I add a whole grain pita with cream cheese or hummus to my lunch bag and I’ve got a hot, nutritious lunch to look forward to at the office.

What are you making for lunch?

Family-Friendly Recipes

November 12, 2009
Denise Smith

No matter how busy our family schedule gets, I make it my mission to ensure that we eat as many home-cooked meals during the week as possible. As we move into cold and flu season, I’m also looking for ways to boost the children’s immunity and ward off seasonal viruses. Vitamin supplements and flu shots are fine, but I think one of the easiest and most practical solutions is eating homemade soup. Canned soup is quick and inexpensive, but it can be high in sodium and fat and quite modest in nutritional value. A steaming bowl of homemade soup, when you can control the sodium, fat, and nutritional value, is an ideal food for any healthy family eating plan.

While on a recent media tour of Williams-Sonoma on Bloor Street, we received a copy of Maria Helm Sinskey’s Williams-Sonoma Family Meals – Creating Traditions in the Kitchen cookbook. Always searching for new family-friendly recipes, I was excited to give it a try. Family Meals is full of delicious, easy-to-prepare recipes, and is organized by ingredients. Each chapter begins with a fun cooking project that teaches you and your children about ingredients, seasonal availability, and nutrition. Based on what I had in the crisper and the number of sick children in our school, I chose to make the Veggie Minestrone. This soup features a variety of seasonal, vitamin and nutrient-enriched vegetables. I was a little apprehensive about including the “green bits”, otherwise known as kale, but thought I should stick to the recipe the first time. Kale is low in saturated fat and a very good source of fibre and Vitamins A and C. Much to my surprise and delight both of my children devoured their first bowl and asked for a second. The leftovers got packed into their thermos’ for school the next day. With this soup, you can substitute with other favourite vegetables or throw in whatever is left in your crisper—a different soup every time. Create your own family-favourite version.

Veggie Minestrone
Serves 8 – 10
You’ll Need

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup (6 oz/185 g) diced fresh or canned tomatoes with their juice
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 large fresh sage leaves
• 2 cups (15 oz/425 g) drained canned or cooked cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
• 2 cups (6 0z/185 g) packed shredded kale or chard
• 1 cup (4 oz/125 g) tubettini or other small dried pasta shape
• Grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Preparation

• Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
• Add 1 Tbsp oil and the garlic and sauté until the garlic is toasted and the oil is fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add the carrot, onion, and celery and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables start to soften and brown, 3-4 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the tomatoes, bay, sage, a 2-inch (5 cm) Parmesan cheese rind (optional), and enough water (or vegetable broth) to cover the vegetables by 2-inches (5 cm) and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Add the beans and kale and continue to simmer for 20–30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Just before the soup is ready, bring a saucepan ¾ full of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, stir well, and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Drain well and divide among warmed soup bowls. Ladle the soup over the pasta, drizzle with oil, sprinkle generously with the grated cheese, and serve.

What is your favourite soup recipe?

Ham (Boning) It Up

January 07, 2010
Denise Smith

It was Boxing Day, the table was cleared, the leftovers were refrigerated, and the dishes were done. It was then that my mother started taking bids for the ham bone. I was the top bidder (only fair, considering my sister got the turkey carcass) and brought home a juicy, smoked ham bone to make a pot of soup.

I usually make green pea soup with the ham bone, but this year I came across a delicious mixed bean soup mix and decided to use it in place of split green peas. I was familiar with a number of Bob’s Red Mill products—pancake mix, flour, and hot cereals, but the 13 Bean Soup Mix is by far my new favourite.

Simple to make, delicious, and high in fibre and protein, 13 Bean Soup Mix was a huge hit. Monday is hockey night, so I figured soup would be the perfect meal to help keep us warm at the rink. After two bowls of soup, a crusty whole wheat dinner roll, and a glass of milk, we were ready to face the elements. I modified the recipe on the package to include a couple of additional ingredients.

Hearty Bean & Ham Soup

You’ll Need

• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill 13 Bean Soup Mix
• 2.5 L water
• 1 ham bone
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 15oz can tomatoes, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 cup leftover ham, chopped

Prep and Cook

• Wash soup mix and soak overnight.
• In the morning, drain and rinse bean mix.
• Bring water, beans and ham bone to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer 3-3 ½ hrs.
• Add onions, tomatoes, garlic, carrots and ham and simmer an additional 20 minutes.
• Serve with a crusty loaf of bread or dinner rolls warmed in the oven.

What’s your family’s favourite soup recipe?

Chow Down on Chowder

September 17, 2010
Denise Smith

Nothing looks nicer or smells better than a basket of fresh, local tomatoes. I can’t seem to make it down the produce aisle of the grocery store or through the farmer’s market without stopping to pick up a few (dozen) heirloom, field, roma, grape, cherry tomatoes…they’re all delicious. Fortunately, everyone in our family loves tomatoes and we go through a large number of them—sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes or served on a veggie platter as a snack.

This week, I had more tomatoes than I knew what to do with, so I pulled out a recipe I had been given to by one of my colleagues at Savvy HQ. (Yes, we really do swap recipes in our office—we’re moms after all.) The chowder reference comes from the chunks of potato and celery, but you can make this soup as thin or chunky as you wish. It doesn’t look very pretty in the pot, but the smell and the taste make up for it. All three kids loved the yummy flavour and asked for a second helping. That’s a pretty good endorsement. Guess what I am packing for lunches tomorrow?

Chunky Tomato Chowder

Recipe courtesy of Leslie McCormick

You’ll Need

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 3 cups diced tomatoes (approx 3-4 tomatoes)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2½ cups water or stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups potatoes, chopped

For white sauce:

• 3 Tbsp butter
• ¼ tsp dry mustard
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1½ tsp salt
2 cups milk
• 1½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Prep and Cook

1. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add onion and celery, stirring frequently, until tender (about 10 minutes).
3. Stir in tomatoes, salt, oregano, pepper, water, bay leaf and potatoes and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and continue cooking until potatoes are cooked, about 30 minutes.
5. Using a hand blender in the pot or in a food processor, puree soup until smooth (or desired consistency) and return to the soup pot.
6. Create a white sauce with the ingredients above. Whisk sauce until thickened (without the cheese).
Once thickened, add cheese.
7. Mix cheese sauce into the tomato base and simmer for 15 minutes (do not boil).
8. Serve soup for lunch or dinner with whole wheat dinner rolls.

What is your family’s favourite soup recipe?

Thai It All Together

February 03, 2011
Denise Smith

Thai cuisine is one that I profess to not having had a great deal of cooking experience with. I love Thai food and trying new Thai restaurants, but most of my favourite Thai dishes include ingredients that I don’t have in my pantry and that would require a great deal of prep and cooking time (neither of which I have the time for).

During the cold winter months I like to make homemade soup as much as possible, so when I found this simple Thai soup recipe, I thought I would give it a go.

I made this soup for my family last night and the comments from the peanut gallery speak for themselves:
“That smells awesome, Mommy.”
What are the square pieces (bamboo shoots)?”
“Can I please have some more noodle soup?”
“What are the crunchy things (lemongrass)?”
“I love this soup! I love the broth and I love the chicken and the shrimp.”

My kids aren’t big fans of mushrooms, so next time I think I would decrease the quantity. Mix up your weekly meal plan by adding this simple, Thai-inspired dish to your recipe book. For the grown-ups, I can tell you that soothing aroma of lemon and the creamy texture of coconut milk marry nicely with chicken and shrimp in this delicious, one-pot meal.

Thai Shrimp & Chicken Soup
Serves 6

You’ll Need

• 1 900ml carton low-sodium chicken broth
• 14oz can unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 0.5oz pkg dried shitake mushrooms
• 2 stalks lemongrass (white & light green part), chopped into 5 cm lengths
• 199ml can bamboo shoots, drained (optional)
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 limes
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• ½ lb frozen cooked shrimp
• ½  red pepper, chopped
• 8 oz pkg. rice noodles, cooked
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Prep and Cook

1. Stir together broth and coconut milk in a large pot over medium heat. Add fresh and dried mushrooms, lemongrass, bamboo shoots, fish sauce and garlic.
2. Remove the rind from both limes and the juice from one lime and add it to the soup.
3. Bring soup to a boil.
4. Stir chicken and carrots into the soup and reduce heat to low.
5. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, approximately 8 minutes.
6. Add shrimp to the pot and continue cooking for another few minutes (or until shrimp are pink).
7. Toss in red pepper and cilantro and stir.
8. Taste and add more lime if necessary.
9. Pile a ladleful of noodles in the bottom of the soup bowls.
10. Remove lemongrass from the pot and discard.
11. Pour soup on top of the noodles and serve.

Good to know: For busy weeknights, this soup can be made ahead of time (omitting the shrimp), covered and refrigerated. When you are ready to eat, add the shrimp to the pot, reheat until shrimp are pink, top with fresh cilantro and serve.

What are your fave Thai dishes?