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How to Make the Best SOup
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How to Make the Best Soups

written by Daniela Klein

Soups are a wonderful way to incorporate healthy foods into your meals. Vegetables, pulses, grains like barley, split peas…. Soups are easy vehicles for just about any healthy food you can think of. They can also allow you to include a variety of different things into one meal, without the hassle of cooking each thing as a separate dish.

There a millions of tasty soup recipes out there, but sometimes you might find yourself not wanting to follow a recipe – because you are trying to use what you’ve got, and not have to run out to the store for a set of called-for ingredients.

Also, even if you are following a recipe, it is a great to be able to know how to adjust the seasoning to make the soup the tastiest version of itself! : )

How to Make Tasty Soups Everytime

The secret to making amazingly tasty soups is to create what hot shot chefs call a ‘flavor balance’. The main way to do this is to play with the quantities of these below tastes / ingredients which determine the balance of flavor:

  • Salt
  • Sweet
  • Acid (usually vinegar or wine)
  • Fat (cream, butter, olive oil etc)

Besides these basic four, there are also two other flavors which can lift your soup to even tastier heights:

  • Umani
  • Heat

Note: I have not included herbs here, because they are usually part of the more ‘core’ ingredients to a soup. However if you want me to add in a section on herbs – let me know!

 

Step 1: Adding the right amount of salt!

The first thing I do when beginning to flavor, is to incorporate the salt. Adding the right amount is very important. Too much, and the soup will taste terrible. because of this it is tempting to just put in a little salt, and allow everyone to add their own if they want more. This does not always work, because many people might not even realise that the soup needs salt – and not add any. Also, remember that some people are scared to add salt to food someone else has cooked for them, because it can be thought of as rude. Like, ‘this is so blandddd, please pass me the salt’!

The way to get the salt amount right is to add a little, and taste. Keep adding and tasting until you reach a point where the soup tastes more flavorful than before, but not yet to where one can actually taste ‘in your face’ saltiness.

Tip: If you do accidentally over salt your soup, the way to fix this is to add more liquid. This might mean that you also have to add something to re-thicken your soup, like some cornstarch mixed in a bit of cold water to form a slurry. 

Step 2: Add an acid (vinegar, wine, lemon juice etc.)

This is one of my favorites way to make a soup taste delicious. You have to add an acid! Most soups do not contain any acidic tasting ingredients. Adding something like apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, or a red or white wine itself, will usually do wonders for the flavor of your soup.

How much to add? Usually more than your think. Of course do not go crazy, simply add a little vinegar or other acid a little at a time, tasting along the way until it you think it tastes good.

Of course there are some soups, like a tomato soup which can be pretty acidic already. In this case, do not add more acid! Rather, focus on step 3 below.

Step 3: Do you need extra sweet?

Most soups get enough sweetness from their vegetable components. Carrots, onions, peas, cabbage, are all slightly sweet in taste – and provide the perfect hint of sweet that a soup needs. So usually you do not have to add any sweetening. However there are certain soups which do need it on occasion. Examples of these are some tomato soups, or soups which do not contain many vegetables.




Step 4: Do you need extra fat?

Fats in soups can take the form of things like cream, sour cream, oils, butter etc. Cream is one of the most popular fats for soups, and is usually added towards the end, at the flavoring stage of a soup. The amount of extra fat which you add to your soup at the end, is also something which should be done so that it is in balance with the soup. Too little fat and the soup will taste like boiled up stuff. Too much, and it will be overly oily / rich and not yummy.

So taste your soup, and add a little cream / sour cream oil etc. Taste again, add more if desired, until the soup is perfectly creamy! : )

Step 5: Adding Sources of Umami

Something that all soups should have is an umami flavor. Umami refers to what we term ‘savory’. If you have used a stock in your soup, you might not need to extra things for umami, especially if it is a meat based stock.

However, if you have not used stock, or have used a vegetable stock which is not very savory in taste, then you might want to add something to up the umami factor of your soup.

These are some things which you can use to add umami flavor to soups:

  • Fish oil (just a drop or two!)
  • Nutritional yeast (you can be generous)
  • Dried and powdered mushrooms
  • Miso paste
  • Parmesan
  • Soya sauce

My personal favorite out of these is the nutritional yeast. Its full of B vitamins which is really great if you do not eat meat.

The last two options, parmesan and soya sauce I would use discerningly. This is because while they are both full of umami, they are also full of their own signature flavor. The parmesan of course has strong cheese tones, and the soy sauce’s flavor is associated with eastern food. Of course if you want a cheesy flavor, like in a potato, onion, cauliflower soup, or tomato soup, then parmesan is a great choice. And if you are making a eastern style broth, then soya sauce is definitely a must.

 

How to Make the Best SOup

Step: 6 Adding Heat

Adding heat (in the form of spice / pepper) to your soups is a great way to make them even more mouth watering. I usually use black pepper, white pepper, or chilli pepper like dried cayenne.

The Trick: Do not add too much heat – unless you specifically want a very hot / spicy soup. Soups are a great conductor of heat from peppers / spices. A little goes a long way. I find that for most soups, the best is to use a small amount of pepper, most often freshly ground black pepper.

And that’s my list of tips for how to make the tastiest soups! Don’t hesitate to comment if you have any question. I also want to do a post on the different ways to construct a soup – is this something which would be useful to you my reader?

In the meantime – enjoy the soups! : )

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

November 17, 2017 0 comment
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Cooking HacksFast Healthy MealsSoupsVegetarian

Easy Leek & Onion Soup

written by Daniela Klein

Soups are one of the best ways to eat extra vegetables – or to eat a totally vegetable based meal. Soups are also a dish to make if you want to cook a low carb meal for yourself, while still providing carbs for your partner / family / kids etc. Simply serve up some whole grain toast or soft bread, you can have as much soup as you like – and they can have as much bread or toast as they like.

This leek and onion soup is one of my favorite current soups. There is a school of thought that the fewer ingredients one incorporates into a dish, the more impact it will have because one’s taste buds can zone in and concentrate on the star ingredients.

I think this is why this soup is so nice – the leek and onions are both alliums, so they are inherently similar to the taste buds. But also different enough to add complexity. There is also a generous amount of garlic. Because of these three antiviral powerhouses, this soup is a great one for winter months when you want make sure that viruses will have a hard time taking hold.

Before I give you the recipe, I just want to touch on an important topic. I want to write a proper post on this, so that if you find it useful you can share these tips with a friend, but for now bear with me. : )

How to Create a Perfect Balance of Flavor in Soups

When making a soup, one of the most important stages is flavoring the liquid well. There will be some flavor from the big ingredients that you are using, in this case alliums which have a fair amount of their own flavor.

However, the key to making a soup which is hearty and full of flavor lies in balancing a couple other flavors.

The Four Flavors / Ingredients to Tweak in Your Soups

The four ingredients which make up the flavor balance of a soup are as follows.

  • Salt
  • Acid (usually vinegar or wine)
  • Sweet
  • Fat (cream, butter, olive oil etc)

If you strike a perfect balance of these four, you will probably have the perfect soup. Let’s take a look at each of these elements and how much or how little to use of them roughly.

Salt

Salt is a key component to most food, especially things like soup and stews. If you oversalt a soup, it will be awful. Every spoonful with be unpleasant. However if you under salt a soup, the person you are serving it to might not think to add salt of their own accord.

They simply think, oh, quite a nice soup, and eat it. Not knowing how dynamic the soup would have been if a tiny bit more salt were added. So it is very much up to you as the cook to gauge this.  Remember, some people are also shy to add salt to food that someone else has cooked, because it could be seen as an insult ‘Oh this food is flavorless, where is the salt shaker’.

So, when you are adding salt to your soups, do it in small increments, tasting along the way. In my recipes, I always put ‘salt and pepper to taste’. Firstly I cannot dictate to you how much salt and pepper you like. Personally I am heavy handed on the pepper because I love it, and very picky about how much salt to add. This could be slightly too much for some, or not enough for others. Secondly, ‘to taste’ is the actionable bit. You must taste! If you do not taste your soup as your are making it – it would be like painting a picture blind!

Ok, that sounds a bit over the top. But I am sure a real chef would agree ; P.

Acid

Acids in cooking are all the things which are acidic in ph, and in soups this would usually be things like vinegar, lemon juice, red or white wine, and tomato.

It might seem strange to put vinegar into a soup, but trust me, it makes all of the difference.

The aim of the game is not to make the soup sour, but simply to lift it. For some reason adding an acid to a dish usually makes it taste more savory.

Again, the key to getting the amount right is to add in increments and taste in between. I usually put the exact amount of acid ingredient in the ingredients section for my recipes, but if say your vegetables are slightly more than mine, then this amount will be thrown out. So always taste.

Hint: You usually need a little more acid than you think.

Sweet

Although part of The Four I very rarely add sweetening to a soup. Usually the vegetables are enough, and all sweetening can come from them. There is one exception, and that is in a tomato soup. You might find that in tomato soup you need a little sugar, because the acidity of the tomatoes is overly high and the soup tastes too tart.

Fat

A form of fat in soups is very important. Of course there is a limit, but generally a fat free soup will lack complexity and wow factor. Even a small amount of a fat will elevate a soup. If you are vegan, and prefer to boycott dairy, simply use extra olive oil, or other oil of your choice. I always specify the amount of oil, butter or cream in my recipes, but again it is always good to do a taste check.

When your soup is finished cooking, give it a last taste, and if it needs extra richness and body, simply add a little fat of your choice.

Phew! For an easy soup I have really bombarded you with the info! But this flavor balancing is actually simple, and it is indeed the easiest and most sure fire way to consistently make killer soups.

 

 




Easy Leek & Onion Soup

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Serves: 4 Prep Time: Cooking Time:

Ingredients

  • 600 grams baby onions - you can also use regular onions
  • 500 grams leeks - tops and stems
  • 50 grams butter - substitute for olive oil for vegan options
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 5 - 6 cups stock or water
  • 5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3 large cloves garlic
  • 4 teaspoons dried basil
  • 2 sprigs fresh marjoram - or 3 teaspoons dried

Instructions

  1. Start off by peeling the onions and garlic. Crush the garlic and set it aside. Chop the onions and leeks up finely. The finer the better, within reason.
  2. Now heat up the 50 grams butter and the 1/2 cup olive oil in a large pot.
  3. Add the onions and toss a few times. Add the leeks.
  4. Keep on tossing this for a about 1/2 minute.
  5. Now add the 1/3 cup flour and toss until the flour has browned a tiny bit.
  6. Add the 5 -6 cups water or stock and stir.
  7. Add the remaining ingredients – 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 3 teaspoons dried basil, 2 sprigs fresh marjoram, crushed garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste – and remember to taste to adjust your flavor balance.
  8. Allow to simmer on low until the leeks have softened – about 15 – 20 minutes.
  9. Serve and enjoy.

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Easy Leek & Onion Soup Recipe

November 17, 2017 0 comment
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Sundried Tomato & Creamed Cauliflower Soup Recipe
Sides & VegetablesSneaking in the VeggiesSoupsVegetarian

Sundried Tomato & Creamed Cauliflower Soup

written by Daniela Klein

I love tomato soup, but struggle sometimes to make one which is not overly acidic.

Which is why I came up with the idea of sundried tomatoe soup: D! Ok, and then I looked online and realized half the world is making it. 

The final soup which you have here is a low carb team up of creamed cauliflower paired  with strident sun dried tomatoes. The reason for this is…. While low carb creamed cauliflower soup may be all the rage and look just like potato soup to trick us – I often finds it  tastes a little bit like… ass.

Sundried tomatoes on the other hand do not taste like ass at all, and are quite a domineering ingredient. They interrupt the cauliflower stinkyness beautifully.

To get the most out of my sundried tomatoes, I used the ones which are soaked in olive oil. I then used the olive oil in the soup to richen it up.

How to Make Sundried Tomato Soup

When making tomato soup with sundried tomatoes, it is important to simmer the dried tomatoes until they are soft before blending them. You could do this with all of the other soup ingredients or separately. I prefer to do this separately, as it gives more control over the cooking time of each part of the soup, and give one a chance to make a roux.

This is the method I use to make sundried tomato soup:

  1. Steam the sun dried tomatoes until soft.
  2. Add the cauliflower and steam. Blend.
  3. Make a roux.
  4. Combine the two pots and allow to simmer briefly.

Its pretty simple, but I thought I would just outline it here quickly because the recipe instructions can make this seem more complicated than it is.

Sundried Tomato & Creamed Cauliflower Soup RecipeSundried Tomato & Creamed Cauliflower Soup Recipe

 

Sundried Tomato & Creamed Cauliflower Soup Recipe

 




 

 

Sundried Tomato & Creamed Cauliflower Soup

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Serves: 4 Prep Time: Cooking Time:

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sundried tomatoes
  • 8-9 cups water or vegetable stock
  • 600 grams cauliflower
  • 1-2 large tomatoes
  • 200 grams chopped onions
  • 50 grams butter
  • 1/3 - 1/2 cup sun dried tomato oil
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1/4 cup red wine
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup milk
  • 5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoons dried ground rosemary
  • 4 teaspoons dried basil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. First off place your sundried tomatoes into a large pot with 3 cups of water. Simmer them until they have softened.
  2. While the tomatoes are simmering and softening, chop the cauliflower up roughly and dice the onions, tomato and garlic.
  3. Once the sun dried tomatoes are soft, add the chopped cauliflower to this pot and allow them to steam up until soft. Do not overcook them, as then you can get that stinky ‘overcooked cauliflower’ aroma setting in.
  4. In a separate large pot, heat the butter and tomato oil. To this add the diced onions and fry on high. Add the diced tomatoes and continue to fry. After a few moments add the flour. Stir this through, allowing the flour to brown slightly.
  5. Now add 3 cups of water and stir while this thickens.
  6. Take the cauliflower pot off of the stove and blend this together with the remaining 3 cups of water.
  7. Add the blended cauliflower and sundried tomatoes to your roux pot.
  8. Add all other ingredients including salt and pepper to taste and allow to simmer together for 1 minute. If you think that the soup should be a little richer, you can also add a little extra olive oil.

 

 

Sundried Tomato & Creamed Cauliflower Soup Recipe

Notes

For vegan options: Replace the butter with a generous slug of olive oil. Replace the 1 cup milk with stock or water, or a nut milk. For gluten free options: Replace the flour for thickening with cornstarch by combining 2 tablespoons cornstarch in a small cup with enough cold / room temp water to make a paste. Stir this slurry until all lumps are out with a fork and add this to the soup. You will not add flour to the onions, simply fry them - add water and then add the cornstarch mix and continue with recipe.

November 8, 2017 0 comment
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Chickweed Chowder Recipe
Fast Healthy MealsSoups

Chickweed Chowder

written by Daniela Klein

Chickweed Chowder. I know. But this is not a joke. This is a real recipe for some real good (and cheesy) chickweed chowder.

It is spring time here in the southern hemisphere and the garden is just rocking and popping with chickweed and all the other edible spring time weeds. Somehow I got a little obsessed this winter / spring, with EATING these weeds.

Recently I found out that chickweed and nettle contain massive big time amounts of iron, are generally super nutrient dense, and are both potent detoxifiers! For this reason I decided to create two soups, this Chickweed Chowder and the Nettle Detox Soup.

If you are interested in the properties of nettles – have a look at that recipe. Otherwise, let’s go on to the exciting benefits of chickweed.

 

How High is the High Iron Content in Chickweed

It’s easy to say this food is high in x mineral, but how much iron does chickweed contain? It turns out, that chickweed contains over than 20 times more iron than steak. What?

This blew my mind, because I am always on the lookout to get some extra iron in. I never knew that chickweed was such a potent source!

From time to time I get a horrible drained feeling. I tracked this depleted feeling down to an iron deficiency – which I have been boosting with  Hemp Water  Drinks and Red Hot Spinach Juice to get the levels up. Now that I have found out how much iron is in chickweed, I think I must make more recipes with it. Chickweed pesto anybody? : P

Devil of Detox

Like nettle, chickweed is also supposed to be a super cell purifier, to the point where it dissolves plaque buildup in cells. Wow.

Which leads us to this next exciting point.

Chickweed: the old time Skinny Plant
(Fat Buster Alert)

Historically, chickweed was known as the ideal plant to ingest if looking to lose weight. The scientific basis behind this lies in the detox power of chickweed.

Part of chickweed’s detoxing effect is that it helps the body dissolve and rid itself of excess fat cells. This combined with the cleansing of the remaining cells and purifying of the digestive tract can result in induced weight loss.

Chickweed Contains High Levels of Protein

In addition chickweed contains 20% protein! This is an exceptionally high percentage for a plant food, particularly a green.

 

Chickweed Chowder Recipe

 




Chickweed Chowder

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Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

  • 500 grams potatoes
  • 75 grams butter
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1 half onion finely chopped
  • 50 grams raw rinsed and chopped chickweed
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 cup milk
  • 100 grams grated cheddar cheese
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Put the potatoes on to steam in a small pot until fully cooked.
  2. Heat the butter in a separate and larger pot. Add the chopped onion and simmer at a medium heat until the onion is softened.
  3. Add the chickweed and toss until slightly tendered.
  4. Add the flour and toss.
  5. Add the water and garlic and simmer for 4 minutes.
  6. Add the simmered potato and milk, and blend. An immersion blender works well for this. You can add extra water or milk if the soup is too thick.
  7. Place the pot back onto a low heat and stir in the grated cheese.
  8. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

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September 22, 2017 0 comment
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Nettle Detox Soup
Fast Healthy MealsSoupsVegan

Nettle & Avocado Detox Soup

written by Daniela Klein

I have been getting a little obsessed with the weeds on the farm lately. Specifically with eating them. Funilly there is a book on the farm mantel piece entitled ‘Eat Your Weeds.

Which we have never opened. Maybe it has been subliminally brainwashing me all the years?

Anyway, my poor family have been guinea pigs for a series of nutrient dense, very green, soups, made out of weeds. And now I proudly bring to you my first in this series – Nettle Detox Soup. My mom and I really like this soup because it is savory and amazingly tasty.

The guys on the other hand – my Dad and my mountain Troll – they prefer the Chickweed Chowder…. Probably because it is a less verdant green, and because it has cheeeeeese in it. : P

Before we get into the recipe, I just want to talk a little about the health benefits and detox power of nettles, where to find them, and give some tips on how to process them without being stung!

Health Benefits of Nettles

Super high iron content

Nettle has one of highest iron contents of plants. Surpassed only by parsley and chickweed. For this reason is said to be an excellent blood builder and energiser. Naturopaths often prescribe it for underactive thyroids or adrenal fatigue.

High iron content always gets me excited. Awhile ago I suffered from some serious energy drops, where I felt super depleted of physical force. I realised that it was probably from having low iron levels (a common thing for women!) and started making things like Hemp Water  Drinks and Red Hot Spinach Juice to get the levels up. Now I found out about the high iron contents of nettles and chickweed, which is why I also worked out the Chickweed Chowder recipe.

Extreme Nutrient Density

Besides being high in iron, nettles have been described as one of the most nutrient dense plants in the world! This is because they contain rich levels of protein, selenium, magnesium, potassium, calcium, vitamins A, C, D, K, and most Bs.

Big Time Detoxifier

And last but not least, nettle is a big time detoxifier! It acts as a gentle laxative effect, and actively assists the body to rid itself of stored up waste in the blood, cells and organs, especially the kidneys. I generally do not make an effort to detox as I live relatively clean (I think!), but recently I started doing TRE! This kickstarted an unusual detox in my body and I was keen to support the process with my nettle soups : ). If you want to know more about TRE (it’s amazing!) I describe what I experienced after in session in this post.

Why We Need to Help Our Bodies to Detox

Also, I realised that while I might be practicing a generally clean lifestyle – there are so many sneaky pollutants (of air and body) hidden around us. Stuff like pesticides and herbicides can build up in your body from store bought veg, and even things like wearing deodorant can land you with some stored up heavy metals.

No man is an island, and unless one lives in a bubble there is no way to avoid all of the environmental toxins out there. In fact wait – the bubble would probably be plastic and therefore poison you slowly with BPAs!

Heavy metals and toxins can lead to general crappy feeling less, weight gain, and some very serious illnesses.

So, helping the body to detox is always a good idea.

Where to Get Nettles

So, where can one get some nettles??

Nettles unfortunately are not popular or shelf stable enough to grace our store shelves! So you have to go looking for them. They usually start popping up towards the end of winter and grow on into early spring. If you do not have any growing in your garden, take a walk in some fields, woods or trails.

Just make sure that the nettles you pick are not growing right next to a highway or main road. This might have a residue of exhaust fumes on them!

 

Nettle Detox Soup Recipe

How to Process Nettles Without Getting Stung

And of course, when dealing with stinging nettles there is that, well, sting.

The best way to avoid being stung is to wear rubber gloves while picking and chopping up the nettles. What I like to do is to use scissors to cut them up into a bowl. This way you can easily snip the leaves and any juicy stalk tips off. However you can just as easily chop them up on a board. Whichever you prefer.

Also, keep in mind that the sting of the nettle is not harmful. In fact it is supposed to be therapeutic! So don’t stress if you do get a stray sting.

 

A note on the lentils.

I incorporated lentils into this soup to make it an all round meal that has some extra protein and complex carbs in it. They also add an extra savoriness to the soup.

If you are going to be using dried lentils for this soup – try to soak them well beforehand. You can then steam them up while the other parts of the soup are cooking.

If you do not have the time or the patience for soaking lentils, then you can also use canned lentils, or red lentils. Red lentils are much quicker to cook than their more earthy colored cousins, the brown and green lentils. You can simply cook them up while doing the rest of the soup and they will be ready to incorporate at the end.




Nettle & Avocado Detox Soup

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Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

  • 500 grams of potatoes
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 4 heaped tablespoons of flour (for gluten free substitute with 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with enough water to make a slurry + add to soup during step 4)
  • 200 grams of chopped raw nettles
  • 5 cups water (you can also use stock if you like)
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • pinch of dried rosemary
  • 1/2 cup parsley
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked / soaked or canned lentils

Instructions

  1. Chop up the potatoes and put them onto steam with 1/2 cup of water in a small pot. If you need to cook already soaked lentils as well, put them into a separate pot to simmer with enough water to cover.
  2. Pour the olive oil into a large pot. Put on the heat and add the chopped nettles. Toss in the hot olive oil for half a minute.
  3. Add the flour and toss for another half minute.
  4. Add water, bring to a simmer, then turn down the heat and allow the nettles to simmer for 5-10 minutes. While this is happening you can chop up and add the garlic and parsley
  5. Now combine the cooked potato and the avocado to the nettles and blend on high until the soup reaches a smooth consistency. An immersion blender works well for this. You can add additional water or stock if the soup is too thick
  6. Lastly, add the salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar and lentils. Stir and taste, adjusting the salt and pepper quantities if neccesary.
  7. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

I purposely made this soup dairy free for those who like to eradicate dairy when they do a detox. However, feel free to substitute in cream, milk, cream cheese etc for a richer version.

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September 21, 2017 0 comment
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Stir Fry Leftovers Asian Noodle Soup Recipe
Fast Healthy MealsSoups

Quick Stir Fry Leftovers Chinese Noodle Soup

written by Daniela Klein

This is a follow up recipe to Long Chive Asian Noodles, but you can use it for basically any stir fry leftovers.

While stir fries are so so so good, the leftovers aren’t usually as appealing. Even when reheated, I find that they have just lost their zing. For awhile I have been interested in learning how to make some of those beautiful brothy Asian soups. I don’t have all of the traditional ingredients to make a proper Chinese noodle soup – but then lack is the mother of invention right! Or something like that…

Stir Fry Leftovers Asian Noodle Soup Recipe

If there are leftovers in the refrigerator from supper I often turn them into a sop for lunch. I love soups, they are so satisfying!

I have never thought of doing this with stir fries until I got to grips with how to make a basic chinese noodle soup. And it works! And it is delicious!

Note: A chinese person would probably be horrified at what I constitute as a Chinese soup. Did any of you see that movie where a girl moves to the East with her philandering idiot of a boyfriend and then starts working at a noodle shop? And how all of her food makes everybody cry? And the elderly man explains that to master the cooking she must heal her heart and then her food will make everybody happy? I always try to think of that when I am cooking. Making food is one of the basic acts of care and love. And people put it into their bodies, so if you make food with love in one’s heart, then your loved ones get to literally ingest your care for them.

Stir Fry Leftovers Asian Noodle Soup Recipe

Sorry, things got a bit woo woo there! hehe. But that is really how I think of it. : )

Should have called this soup Woo Woo Soup!

Stir Fry Leftovers Asian Noodle Soup Recipe




Quick Stir Fry Leftovers Chinese Noodle Soup

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Ingredients

  • Chicken or vegetable broth to cover veggies and noodles (if you do not have any stock - you can use water. The flavoring ingredients should still make it tasty)
  • 1-2 cloves crushed garlic
  • 1-2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
  • 3-5 tablespoons soya sauce
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 3 teaspoons gelatin

Instructions

  1. In a pot, heat all ingredients together. If you have a large amount of stir fry leftovers, use the higher quantity of ingredients listed. If you have a small amount – say 2 to 3 cups of leftovers – then go with the smaller quantities.
  2. Once the pot is simmering and the smells of the flavors start to develop, add in the left overs.
  3. Allow this to reach heat, and then taste. If you feel that more flavor is needed, increase one or more of the ingredients.
  4. Serve!

 

 

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May 25, 2017 0 comment
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Chayote Soup Recipe
Fast Healthy MealsSoupsVegan

Creamy Chayote Soup

written by Daniela Klein

In the southern hemisphere, chayotes have just come into season! On the farm, we are starting to have them coming out of our ears. Well, out of the garden to be more specific – but in such quantities that it is definitely time to make chayote soup. And more chayote soups… and maybe some chayote stir fries… and salads… you get the idea.

What Are Chayotes?

Chayotes are a fruit type vegetable which grow on a climbing vine. Chayotes, also know as Shu Shu’s and christophines, are indigenous to Mesoamerica. Commonly occurring in South American dishes, it is squash like in taste.

How are Chayotes Used?

Chayotes are commonly steamed, sauteed, and even used raw in the place of cucumber. The young ones are the most suited to raw use. Young chayotes can be used whole – skins and all. More mature fruit should be peeled, as they can start to develop small, soft spines on the skin.

Chayote Soup RecipeChayote Soup Recipe

 

What are Chayotes Like in Soup?

Chayotes make for a really great soup base. Their flavor is mild, and can carry the taste of spices and other ingredients well without overpowering the dish.

Is Chayote Soup Complicated?

No. Don’t be fooled by the exotic name. The chayote soup recipe I developed (you can hardly call it developed it so simple to make) is roughly as follows:

Steam potato and chayote pieces. Blend.

Add flavorings. Return onto stove top, add one whole chilli and raise temperature to serving heat – or until the desired amount of chilli flavor has permeated the soup. Serve.

I made this a vegan recipe, with olive oil to add the richness – but you can go crazy and add butter, cream or cheese if you are a non vegan.

Adding the Chilli

As mentioned above, once I return the soup to the heat after blending, I add a whole green chilli to the pot. This is a carribean method of flavoring pots with chilli….. And one of my favorite ways to extract the delicious umami flavor of green chillies – without bringing along too much of their burn!

The way it works is like this: as some of your are probably more than aware, the heat of chillies lies in their seeds. Phewww!!! The flavor mostly resides in the outer flesh. By inserting them whole into a dish, the heat of the simmering pot pulls forth the flavor, while the super intense burn of the chillies remains locked inside them. If anyone out there has ever put too much white or black pepper in a soup – you will know how thoroughly a soup can spread and amplify the HEAT of pepper. Which makes this strategy perfect for flavoring soup with chilli, without burning the heck out of your family/guests.

Chayote Soup Recipe

Personally I am one of those crazy people who enjoy having beads of sweat rolling down my forehead when dining. So, in order to have my guests survive and still get my chilli fix, what I do is I dish up the soup (mildly flavored with green chilli) and then I offer (to general dissent) extra chilli. Once that formality is over with, I dish the green chilli up into my bowl, and play cat and mouse with it throughout my meal.

So, what I mean is that you can basically scale the level of spiciness up and down with this dish. What the caribbean people do, is they dish up the whole chilli onto a side plate. This is then passed around, and anyone who likes go bright red at table and take sucking breaths, is able to take extra chilli.

So, now that the important chilli ramble is over, I present you with…

Creamy Chayote Soup!

\Chayote Soup Recipe

Creamy Chayote Soup

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Serves: 2-3 Prep Time: Cooking Time:

Ingredients

  • 2 large potatoes
  • 2 large chayotes
  • 1 green chilli
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 4-6 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander seed powder
  • 3 1/2 + teaspoons of salt
  • Black pepper
  • 3 + tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Instructions

  1. Chop up the chayote and potato.
  2. Combine the potato and 5 cups of water in a medium to large sized pot.
  3. Cook until the potato is almost tender. Add the Chayote pieces.
  4. Continue to cook until all is tender
  5. Remove from the flame and blend. I use a stick blender, but a regular blender or food processor will do also get the job done.
  6. Add any further water if you wish the soup to be less thick.
  7. Return to the flame and add all  other flavorings.
  8. Lastly place the whole chilli in the center of the pot.
  9. Simmer until the pot has reached serving temperature, or until the desired amount of chilli flavor / heat has spread through the pot.

Notes

If your chayotes are young you can probably cook them with their skin. However if the chayotes are more mature, they might have developed tiny spines on their skin. If this is the case, it is best to peel them. If you feel that the soup is lacking zing, add a little extra apple cider vinegar for more contrast in the flavor profile. But go slowly! White wine can also be substituted in place of the vinegar if desired.

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Creamy Chayote Soup Recipe

April 17, 2017 0 comment
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Buttery Chicken & Pumpkin Soup Recipe
Fast Healthy MealsGluten FreeSoups

Buttery Chicken & Pumpkin Soup

written by Daniela Klein

Happy Valentines Day everyone :).

Our morning started off on the comical note. Which is inevitable if it is Valentine’s Day and you live with a Troll (I say again, that is his name for himself – I am a sweet natured person who wouldn’t dare such an endearment. I enjoy using it all the same…)

I’ll start right at the beginning. I opened my eyes, and immediately realised what day it was. Not so much because of large plans, but more because when you are an aspiring food blogger one tends to be super aware what big food days are coming up.

So I sprouted out and said – with only mild trepidation – ‘Happy Valentines Day!’

To my surprise the Troll, albeit after a grunt, made some sweet reply in Troll language. However as he became more alert, and his aquarius brain kicked into gear, he stated loudly ‘I actually boycott Valentine’s day’.

To which I loyally replied that I sort of do too.

The stars must be lined up for his enjoyment today, because the next person we saw was Ma Elizabeth and she was upset. While that of course would not be a source of pleasure for anybody, the information she had to impart was just the type of anti-establishment variety to make an aquarius heart sing.

She and Pa Russy have plans to go an afternoon movie today. It’s so cool that they are going on a Valentine’s date! But upon waking up, there was a message on one of their whatsapp groups, stating in detail how Valentine’s Day allegedly is based on a pagan/Roman holiday which celebrated all sorts of awful things – incest and other sexual topics I don’t want to type or think about.

So instead of offering comforting words, the Troll proceeded to inform Ma Elizabeth how this information could very probably be correct. Using his vast store of miscellaneous knowledge to see how likely the chances are of this controversial bit of info being based in truth.

Sigh. Needless to say Ma Elizabeth and I commiserated and cheered ourselves up, with the Troll slowly realising that not everyone shared his dispassionate interest in conspiracies.

So, hopefully if your Valentine’s day is not postcard style, you have had a giggle at a glimpse into ours. Life often has a way of diverging energetically away from postcard style – and isn’t that great actually!

Anyway, my point here is pumpkin soup.

Last week I did a fun recipe, which I called The Pumpkin Party Pot! It basically consists of stuffing a pumpkin with quick cooking ingredients, and baking it. I did a low energy twist on the recipe, and steamed the whole thing to make the oven roasting short and sweet. It is actually an easy recipe to put together, with very little hands on time. If you want something unusual for the next do, or feel like having some plant based cooking fun, go check it out.

This is what it looks like. : )

Pumpkin Pot Recipe

I realised that it is likely that one will have quite a lot of leftover pumpkin…. which is just a recipe for pumpkin soup waiting to happen. And I was right – after eating the stuffing along with some spooned out pumpkin, we had tons of leftover pumpkin!

And so I decided to try one another easy peasy thick soup recipe.

First I simmered two chicken breasts in water. Once this was done, I removed the breasts, added the pumpkin, creamed it with my stick blender, and added the chicken (shredded), milk, onions and spicing ingredients.

The chicken flavor really came through into the soup, even though it was enough to feed five people and I only used two breasts. I was also please with the onion texture. I always thought that one has to fry the onion before adding the other soup ingredients. I went out on a limb with this one, and I can now safely say that sometimes simply chucking in the onion to simmer is perfect.

Time Saving Hack: If you do not have any pumpkin leftovers, and are starting with raw pumpkin, then do the following. Chop the pumpkin into small-ish pieces. Set it to simmer until it begins to tender. Then add the chicken breasts to this. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pot and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Buttery Chicken & Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Thick and Buttery Chicken & Pumpkin Soup

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Serves: 4-5 Prep Time: Cooking Time:

Ingredients

  • 8 cups of cooked pumpkin
  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 2 onions (if you are not big on onions you can use 1)
  • 1/2 butter
  • 1/4 olive oil
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 cups water
  • Salt & pepper
  • Pinch of white pepper
  • 1/4 apple cider vinegar

Instructions

  1. Combine the water and the chicken breasts into a large pot.
  2. Set to simmer.
  3. Once the chicken is done (white right through) remove from the pot onto a plate to cool.
  4. Add your pumpkin.
    Note: If you do not have already cooked pumpkin leftovers, chop up your raw pumpkin and set it to simmer in the large pot before anything else. Once it starts to tender, add the chicken and cook until the chicken is white right through. Then remove the chicken and proceed to Step 5.
  5. Using a stick blender (you can also use an electric beater but the soup will be less smooth) blender up the pumpkin.
  6. Chop the onions and add them to the pot.
  7. Shred the chicken by hand into stringy strips and add these to the pot as well.
  8. Then add the milk, butter, olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper. Be easy on the white pepper – it can be very spicy!
  9. Stir until all is combined.
  10. Have taste and decided if it needs any more salt. Add if neccesary.
  11. You might want to put the pot briefly onto the flame once more the regain any heat that was lost while prepping.

Notes

If you find that the flavor is lacking, you can try adding in a little more vinegar. I am always amazed a how much vinegar I can put into a soup - with the flavor just going up and no 'oh this tastes like vinegar' thoughts appearing. From what I have gathered reading about vinegar, it was used in pre-artificial flavoring times to add the umami flavor to dishes. This seems to be true, because illogically I find that vinegar makes savory things taste more savory. : )

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Buttery Chicken and Pumpkin Soup Recipe

February 14, 2017 1 comment
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How to Make Vegan Vichyssoise
Fast Healthy MealsSoups

Vegan Vichyssoise

written by Daniela Klein

If you are busy asking ‘What the heck is Vichyssoise?’ it is actually a pompous way to say potato soup.

Traditionally Vichyssoise is made with potatoes, leeks and chicken stock. Usually served cold it can also be eaten hot. If any of you have seen Batman Returns, there is a scene where the Butler brings in a bowl of Vichyssoise. Upon Bruce Wayne’s complaints about it being cold, Alfred patiently explains that “it is supposed to be cold sir.”

There is some uncertainty as to whether vichyssoise originally comes from America or France. One of the more recent and trackable variations come from a famous chef who used to cook for the Ritz. He apparently rendered it into the menu of the Ritz Hotel from a memory of eating it as a child at his Mother’s and Grandmother’s tables.

So now that we have been suitably impressed with the antiquity of good old potato soup. Let me explain myself. Because I have some explaining to do. In my variation of vegan style vichyssoise, I discarded the leeks… Chucked out the stock completely, and replaced those ‘elements’ with cucumber!

But hold on, I am not a loony: ). I did some RESEARCH and it turns out that other people more qualified than I have done the same. I am not surprised, because this variation of vichyssoise is damn good.

The day I stumbled upon my rebel vichyssoise recipe, it was scorching hot and I was cleaning out the fridge. To my dismay I found that somehow between my mother’s garden and the store, I had accumulated about 4 large cucumbers. Now if my companion had been a raw veg crunching girl determined to lose 20 pounds in two weeks, there would have been no problem in consuming them. But I had a troll on my hands to feed. And personally, as much as I like a good bit of cucumber, I could not see myself eating all four.

The solution? This recipe. Or the original prototype. We ate it cold, seeing as there was no way we could face hot soup. Only later did I find out that was the way we were supposed to be having our vichyssoise hehe. Guidance comes in the strangest forms.

Vegan Vichyssoise Soup With Potato and Cucumber Recipe

Before we get into the recipe let me run you through the steps quickly, just so you can see how quick and easy this soup is!

Firstly, chop up a few potatoes. If you have some leftover potatoes from another meal you can use those, but if not you will need to simmer up a couple. I stick a bay leaf into the water with the potatoes while they are cooking.

Once the potatoes are cooked, remove the bay leaf, chop up a decent sized cucumber. Put it into the pot with some olive oil or some coconut oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and herbs.

Whizz this up with a stick blender (gosh, I should become an affiliate for some high end blender stick company the amount of times I mention mine) or food processor. And Voilà! Vichyssoise a la concombre. (That means cucumber in french according to Google).

Update: I did it! Rebel’s Kitchen now has affiliate links to Amazon! : D If you click on the highlights, it will take you to Amazon’s stick blender page. Enjoy!

Vegan Vichyssoise Soup With Potato and Cucumber Recipe

Vegan Vichyssoise Soup With Potato and Cucumber Recipe

Vegan Vichyssoise

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Serves: 2-3 Prep Time: Cooking Time:

Ingredients

  • 3 medium to large potatoes
  • 1 large cucumber or 2 smaller ones
  • 1/3 cup olive oil or coconut oil or avocado oil (you can also use coconut milk if you want the white creamy look)
  • Sprig fresh basil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon dried coriander
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Lemon juice from 1 lemon, or 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Instructions

  1. Chop up the potatoes. I do them pretty fine because then they cook extra fast.
  2. Place in a pot with 1 cup of water and set to simmer.
  3. While you wait for the potatoes you can dice up the cucumber. Cucumber blends very easily, so you can cut big rounds.
  4. Once the potatoes are done turn off the heat and remove the bay leaf.
  5. Add in all the other ingredients; cucumber rounds, garlic, herbs, olive oil or coconut cream, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Just reserve a couple basil leaves for garnish.
  6. Blend the whole lot together. If you wish to have the basil bits visible in the soup, add them into the blending at the end.
  7. Chill, garnish and serve! Remember you can also eat this soup hot, it does not HAVE to be cold.

Notes

If you are on a low carb kick, then you can adjust the potato to cucumber ratio. Once when I was making this soup for just myself, no Troll, I did mostly cucumber and it was great! If your eating partner is not interested in a 70% cucumber soup you can do two different batches, one potato heavy and one cucumber heavy.

Vegan Vichyssoise Soup With Potato and Cucumber Recipe

January 17, 2017 0 comment
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Carrot Soup Recipe
Fast Healthy MealsSoupsVegan

Carrot & Coriander Soup

written by Daniela Klein

Carrot Soup! I proudly declare this carrotty recipe entirely my own idea. I am sure that there are lots of carrot soup recipes on our physical plane, but I thought of this one all by my self. : P

I have a sort of unsure relationship with carrots. I like raw carrots, and I like cooked rounds of carrots in stews, but I do not really like plain cooked carrots. There, I said it.

However, I want to cook with them! There is something so classic and earthy about the humble carrot. In addition, my mom’s garden seems to yield an unending supply of the freshest most gorgeous carrots you can imagine. So, setting out with dreams of simmering up the perfect carrot honoring dish, I arrived at this soup.

At first my idea was to make a soup solely from carrots. But when I started to ponder the merits of its siblings, potato and onion, I decided to include these two vegetables in moderation as well. I had the feeling that if some potato did not go in, then the soup would lack thickness and creaminess. And then it seemed unfair to exclude the honourable onion.

To give this soup a good punch of flavor I planned to add in a hefty amount of fresh herbs, and a spray of dried coriander seeds.

How to Make Carrot Soup

To start off with I peeled the carrots. Unfortunately the day that I decided to do this recipe, was a non-carrot day on the farm, one where the last patch had just been harvested and the next one had a handful of days to go. Mom the carrot lover she is had used up her whole supply in the fridge and had bought a huge bag of what is termed on the farm as “animal carrots”. They are actually perfectly good for human consumption, but are store bought and “in-organic”.

So to avoid whatever I have been told hides in the skin of inorganic carrots, I dutifully peeled mine. Usually I would skip that step: P.

Then I peeled and chopped the onions and grated the potatoes. Potatoes have the annoying tendency to often just not cook properly, or if they do cook  then very retardedly, if combined with other things in the pot. Strange creatures. Anyway, grating can often help with this. I also peeled a astonishingly large clove of garlic to add in.

I then banged the vegetables into the pot with some water and set it to simmer along with my dried coriander and some thyme. Once all was nicely steamed I grabbed my ever faithful stick blender. Which by the way I inherited from my grandfather! If you want to know more about his cooking adventures, check out About.

Adding a generous dollop of coconut oil, and some additional water I blended away until all was smooth and creamy. I then put the parsley in and blended shortly until that was chopped into the soup. Salt, pepper and a dash of apple cider vinegar.. And done!

Usually I taste and tinker away throughout whatever I am making, trying to get to the mecca of flavor that all cooks covert. However in the case of my Carrot Soup, I was working under time constraints. So once all was done I grabbed a spoon expecting to discover the some serious tinkering still needed to be done – but it was great! Really delicious if I might say so myself. And I can’t really take much credit, as I did not do anything fancy. I think the simple process perhaps allowed the vegetables, in particular the carrots, to show off their unique flavors.

Troll’s Verdict: Very good. So if you do not trust me, that’s a troll review for backup. : )

How to Make Carrot Soup

 

Carrot & Coriander Soup

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Serves: 4 Prep Time: Cooking Time:

Ingredients

  • 8 large carrots
  • 1 onion
  • 2 medium sized potatoes
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 green pepper for garnishing
  • Dried thyme
  • Fresh Parsley
  • Dried coriander seeds 1 teaspoon if powdered, 2 teaspoons if whole
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • +- 1 teaspoon salt
  • Pepper to taste
  • 3 cups water
  • Dash of apple cider vinegar

Instructions

  1. Peel and chop up the carrots, onions and garlic.
  2. Grate the potato.
  3. Place all the vegetables in a fair sized pot with 2 cups water.
  4. Set to simmer until all the vegetables are lightly cooked. While you are waiting for the veggies to cook tender, you can julienne (cut very fine, or use a julienne peeler) the green pepper for garnishing.
  5. Remove the pot from the heat and add the coconut oil, coriander, apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper.
  6. Using a stick blender or food processor, blend the soup until it is smooth and creamy. You can add the other cup of water if you find it is too thick. If it is still too thick for your liking add a little more water.
  7. Add in the parsley and thyme, and give the soup a last quick blend to chop up the herbs into it.
  8. Reheat gently on the stove top if the soup has lost heat during processing.
  9. Dish, garnish and serve!

If you have leftovers you can either freeze them or keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

Notes

My leftovers were not quite enough for a whole meal, so I added some cooked lentils I had in the fridge - good combination and worked great to bulk up the soup.

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Carrot Soup Recipe

January 17, 2017 0 comment
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