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soup

pumpkin, green lentil & parsnip soup

February 22, 2012
lunch, mains, soup
3 Comments

Wow, what a disaster I had in the kitchen last night! It was just ‘one of those days’, where things didn’t come together too easily. I took ages to actually prepare any food, burnt myself a few times, broke my most valuable/expensive piece of cookware, then forgot to put the blender on while puréeing the soup and made a mess. I finally sat down to dinner at 11 and although the soup was lovely, I was glad the whole cooking ordeal was over! Does anyone ever have days like that in the kitchen? I tend to every now and then and it feels like such a relief to get it over and done with! Either way, this gorgeous soup was worth the fuss and mess and the toasted pumpkin cumin seeds were a good treat. I also loved the colour of it.

Today was a good day. I worked at the farmer’s markets selling organic produce (dips and muesli) and then spent my sunny afternoon studying with friends. I got a lot of reading done, although I worry about my ability to absorb information sometimes. I can spend 20 minutes or more reading one page over and over, simply because it’s not processing. I seem to eventually get it, though I wonder how much I’ve actually learned because sometimes when I reread things, I can’t remember the words! Right now, the thought of taking on 4 subjects for my first experience of university gives me butterflies. I really hope I can pull it off! 2 weeks until I find out, I guess.

One batch of this soup will feed 6 people.

 

INGREDIENTS

1.5kg of pumpkin, diced into 1cm cubes

2 large parsnips, diced

1 cup french green lentils

saffron strands (optional)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 litre salt-reduced chicken stock

1 cup boiling water

1 litre water (to add later)

pepper

pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin

1 tbs cumin

olive oil

 

METHOD

Pumpkin Seeds

Place seeds under the grill. Coat with cumin. Grill for a couple of minutes or until you hear a bit of pre popping noises.

Soup

Preheat oven to 180.

Put the pumpkin, parsnip, garlic, saffron, stock and water into a heavy baking dish.

Cook in the oven for 40 minutes, ensuring the stock doesn’t get all soaked up and dry.

Remove and put in a stockpot with the extra litre of water and lentils. Reboil.

Cook on a simmer for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. Season well.

Place in a blender for a short while to get a soup that is a nice mushy texture.

Serve and garnish with roast cumin pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of olive oil.

(Adapted from Low GI Cooking)

chicken noodle soup (gf)

February 9, 2012
lunch, mains, pasta, soup
2 Comments

I love chicken noodle soup. If I’m feeling at all under the weather, it always picks me up! This is a pretty easy recipe to get together. You can use whatever noodles you wish – I used tini amaranth and rice penne, which I thought was a perfect addition to the meal. If you feel like a bit of extra kick, add some crushed chilli. Enjoy!

Serves 2

 

INGREDIENTS

olive oil

2 small stalks celery, chopped

2 small carrots, diced

6 cups of chicken stock

300g noodles of your choice, cooked and drained

1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded

two large handfuls of parsley

1 tsp crushed chilli (optional)

 

METHOD

Heat  oil over medium heat, adding the celery and carrot. Season well and cook,  stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to get soft.

Pop in your stock and bring to a boil. Throw in the noodles, chicken and parsley and once heated through, serve!

 

 

miso noodle & vegetable soup

January 17, 2012
light meals, lunch, mains, soup
4 Comments

I was in need of something nourishing and found a great noodle soup to play with on Green Kitchen Stories. If you’ve not yet stumbled across this beautiful blog, please head over and say hello. I have tried many recipes from there at this point and I am always impressed with how great I feel after I eat the end result!

This particular soup is packed full of vegetables and all sorts of goodness – I added some tofu and it was perfect. I’ve posted the original recipe below, with some slight editing to accommodate for my ingredients.

Enjoy!

 

INGREDIENTS

1/2 fresh chilli

2 cloves garlic

2-inches (5 cm) fresh ginger

1 stalk fresh lemongrass

1/2 leek

4 small carrots

1/2 cup broccoli

6 shiitake mushrooms

1/2 cup  fennel bulb

1/2 cup green beans

8 cups water, boiled

6 tbsp miso paste

1 tbsp tamari

100g tofu

270g soba noodles

1 handful coriander

mixed sesame seeds

1 lime

 

METHOD

Preparing the vegetables: Finely slice the chili, mince garlic and ginger, cut the lemongrass in half and “bruise” it with the bottom of your chef’s knife. Finely slice leek, carrots (use a peeler) and divide the Romanesco into small pieces. Cut the brown mushroom into quarters, slice the fennel bulb and chop the fennel greens. Trim the green beans by removing the top stems.

Preparing the miso: Pour 4 cups boiling water in a pot, add miso paste and whisk. Add soy sauce, chili, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and set a side for a couple of minutes.

Preparing the noodles: Meantime, pour the remaining water (4 cups) in a new pot. Place it on the stow on medium heat, add a pinch of salt and the noodles, cook them according to the package.

Assembling the soup: When the noodles are done, place them and all the vegetables in the miso soup and reheat it with the tofu, making sure it doesn’t boil. Pour in 4 bowls and top with freshly chopped cilantro, lime juice and sesame seeds.

‘lively up yourself’ lentil soup

January 15, 2012
light meals, lunch, mains, soup
1 Comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a big week at work and I was glad to see the end of the Friday working day. I spent my evening with family, helping look after one special little girl with some others, while her baby brother was being welcomed into the world and settling in with his parents at hospital. On Saturday I got to meet the new little family member and it was just about one of the most exciting things I’ve experienced in my life.

I have never held a one day old baby before and I was a little nervous. It was a lovely experience either way though. I felt a little teary for some reason and it was a lovely moment – everyone in the room sharing such an important occasion. I came home and had a big sleep, as I was knackered out.

Today we went back for another little visit and this gorgeous little boy fell asleep on me for some time. I could feel his chest rising ever so quickly with each of his precious breaths. His facial expression changed almost constantly for a while, then he fell into a deep sleep with his hands and face scrunched against my chest, occasionally making small noises. I felt so calm around this little guy. It made me think of the importance of being there for others – helping them grow, being there for a cuddle and all the rest. I also had a bit of a think this afternoon about what it means to be a good person and decided that I’d create an ongoing life time goal for myself: being the best person I can be. I want to be consistently kind to people and make others happy. To not judge people and to have a better understanding of where people are coming from. I feel as though I can be such a socially awkward person sometimes and I want to put in a bit more effort to change this. So I have a bit to think through!

Anyhow, to the food. I needed something nourishing and remembered this gorgeous recipe from Heidi’s wonderful blog, that I tried last year. It is oh so tasty and so very nourishing. Also very easy. This recipe serves 6 people. I have added/changed a few things according to what I had but it’s essentially the same as the original.

 

INGREDIENTS

2 cups French lentils, picked over and rinsed

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 large brown onion, chopped

1 700g jar crushed tomatoes (100% with no additives)

1 large roma tomato, chopped into large chunks

2 cups water

3 cups of a big leafy silverbeet/chard, rinsed well, deveined, finely chopped

Saffron Yogurt

a pinch of saffron (30-40 threads)

1 tablespoon boiling water

1/2 cup low fat Greek Yogurt

 

METHOD

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the lentils, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.

While the lentils are cooking, make the saffron yogurt by combining the saffron threads and boiling water in a tiny cup. Let the saffron steep for a few minutes. Now stir the saffron along with the liquid into the yogurt. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and saute for a couple of minutes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, lentils, and water and continue cooking for a few more minutes, letting the soup come back up to a simmer. Stir in the chopped greens, and wait another minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning if need be. Ladle into bowls, and serve with a dollop of the saffron yogurt.

 

(Source)

split pea & olive soup (with tzatziki)

November 24, 2011
mains, soup
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It hasn’t felt much like Spring lately. We’re getting a lot of rain and I’ve been shuffling about the house in my track pants and ugg-boots. I’m really happy about it. The mosquitoes have gone back into hiding and I have an excuse to try some new soup out. This is a winner. The olive gives it a really nice flavour and the mint yoghurt pushes it to perfection. It makes an excessive amount of tzatziki but I’m happy to have it sitting on the fridge for when I pick up some corn chips.

Serves 4.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups dried split yellow peas, rinsed
6 cups water

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
3 cups water

500ml greek yoghurt
1/2 cup shredded unpeeled cucumber
1 clove garlic, mashed and minced
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

chopped black olives olives
more olive oil to drizzle

METHOD

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the yellow split peas, and cook for 30 minutes, or until tender. Drain, salt to taste and set aside.

Add olive oil to a big pot over med-high heat. Stir in onions and salt and cook until the onions soften. Add the cooked split peas and water. Bring to a simmer and let cook for a few minutes. Now remove from the heat. Using a large cup or mug ladle half of the soup into a bowl and set aside.

Using a hand blender (or regular blender) puree the soup that is still remaining in the pot. Stir the reserved (still chunky) soup back into the puree – you should have a soup that is nicely textured. Give the soup a taste by adding salt and pepper if you wish.

In the meantime make the yogurt topping by mixing together the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, mint, and salt. Set aside.

Ladle soup into bowls or cups, and serve each with a generous dollop of the yogurt, a drizzle of olive oil, a touch of chopped mint and a sprinkling of black olives.

(Source)

Mediterranean style salmon soup

August 4, 2011
mains, seafood, soup
4 Comments

Wow.

Work has been really challenging for me lately (well, pretty much since I started). When I get home of an evening, I struggle to do much at all, including study. Today I got some park time in with a friend which was much needed and very relaxing. The weather has been consistently perfect and it feels like Summer tonight.

I cooked a few new meals over the past 3 days, so I’ll be posting a couple of recipes tonight. I have a lot to say but I’m pretty tired, so I’ll just go right ahead with the recipes. This one was a successful experiment. Serves 2.

INGREDIENTS

300g of boneless/skinless salmon, chopped into large pieces (any fish would work)

small brown onion, chopped

2 small cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbs capers

1 tsp dried oregano

400g can crushed tomatoes

1 1/4 cup salt-reduced cup chicken stock

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp crushed chilli

2 large handfuls baby spinach

freshly grated pecorino, to serve

2 tbs chopped parsley, to serve

METHOD

Heat olive oil in a pan, add onion, garlic and chilli and cook for a few minutes on medium high heat.

Add the capers, stock, tomatoes and oregano – simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir your fish through and cook for 5-10 minutes. Break the fish up as it is cooking and add spinach in the last minute of cooking.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley and pecorino.

chicken & spinach pho

August 1, 2011
mains, soup
2 Comments

I have been enjoying Monday & Tuesday nights a whole lot this year. In February, I started a university preparation course. It has been a steep learning curve for me, having left school prematurely, but I am always up for a challenge and this has been an enjoyable one (even if I have cried on occasion because it all felt too much to keep up with).

To gain university entrance as a mature age student, I am required to complete two courses. I chose Psychology and English Literature. I have to admit that I am struggling a little with so much going on but the support is fantastic and the lectures remain interesting for me. It feels great to be learning again and to be thinking critically, amongst other things. More importantly, I have a goal. I’m starting more and more to recognise the importance of setting goals and in working hard to achieve them. I’m not even sure if I will continue on to a degree after this course but just doing this alone has been a great experience for me so far. I feel proud of myself – it’s a great thing.

But I digress. I am not home early enough to cook dinner on these evenings, so Pete has been cooking on the nights that I’m not able to. He is quite the cook, always preparing things carefully and putting a whole lot of effort into whatever it is he makes. It inspires me. There is something truly special about a meal that has been cooked by someone who puts a lot of love into what they do. Anyhow, tonight he made chicken pho and here it is. Serves 2 hungry people or 20 starving models.

INGREDIENTS

2 tbs coriander seeds

4 whole cloves

4 whole star anise

800ml chicken stock

1 bunch green onions (green top parts only) chopped

1 3-inch chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife

1 tbs fish sauce

1 large bunch spinach, chopped

1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded

100g rice noodles

1/2 lime, cut into wedges

METHOD

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant.  Immediately spoon out the spices into a bowl and set aside.

In a soup pot, add the spices and all ingredients from stock through fish sauce and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Strain the broth and discard the solids. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Remove from heat.

Add the chicken and noodles. Let it stand for a couple of minutes.

Ladle the broth into bowls. Divide the spinach, chicken and the noodles evenly into each bowl.

(Adapted from Healthy Green Kitchen)

brown lentil and vegetable soup

July 28, 2011
mains, soup
2 Comments

I’m in a great mood tonight. I think it started with yesterday afternoon. I was feeling pretty flat and decided to book myself into a bathhouse for a hot spa and time in a steam room. I’ve never been too into baths and I think it might be because I’m always on the go, so when I actually have a chance to sit in silence and just relax I get a little anxious about it and feel like I have somewhere else to be. Anyhow, I really enjoyed myself. I came home, made a simple dinner and listened to a whole lot of jazz until I finally settled and went to sleep.

This morning I raged into work and had a really productive day. The meeting at the end of the day was a little tiring and I didn’t get home until late but I was so relieved to get everything that I’ve been unable to out of the way. Now I have to work on my essays – I have three needing my attention at the moment. Getting into a zone is tough though with so much going on at the moment! I have a couple of months until exams and then I’m done with the course. Which means I should probably consider what I am doing next in terms of whether I will study or continue with full time work. Decisions, decisions.

It was definitely a soup night tonight. This is my favourite soup recipe. It’s friendly on the budget, wholesome and super tasty. Also easy to use as a base and change up a bit. I don’t often peel my vegetables, I just make sure I give them a good wash. This makes 2 serves.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbs olive oil

2 small carrots, diced

1 zucchini, chopped into large pieces

1 parsnip, diced

3 sticks celery, diced

1 small brown onion, chopped

2 cups cooked brown lentils

400g can diced tomatoes

2 small potatoes, diced

big handful of green beans

1 tsp crushed chilli

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup vegetable stock (low salt)

fresh parsley, to garnish

Macadamia dukkah (you can buy it or make it yourself)

METHOD

Heat up a bit of olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Pop all of your chopped vegetables in there and cook, stirring until they soften a little.

Add your tomatoes, chilli, stock and garlic to the pan. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to heat to a medium low. Simmer, partially covered, for around 15 minutes.

Add your lentils and cook until heated through. Season well and serve with dukkah and parsley.

curried lentil and potato soup

July 21, 2011
mains, soup
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Tonight started off pretty well. I guess it also finished off well but not without a bit of drama. After work, I met with a couple of friends at a lovely pub with a fireplace for a quiet drink. I had a hot black tea with a shot of baileys. Perfection. The best bit about it was that the bartender flipped a coin before I paid for my drink and because I guessed what side it fell on, got it for free. Not too bad at all….

When I got home, I decided a soup was in order. It’s been pretty miserable outside all day and I was freezing. I put a playlist together of all of my favourite sing-a-long songs and away I went. I ended up using a recipe I found on Green Kitchen Stories for an Indian curried lentil soup.  I followed the recipe as it was posted and it looked amazing cooking in the pot. The smell filling the house was perfect too.

I pottered off into the lounge room just before I served up and there sitting with a giant dead rat was my murderous cat, Rupert. It has been some time since he has made any deliveries of this kind (I put a number of bells on his collar a while back). I guess he finally got lucky tonight. There are two things I don’t deal well with and get very silly about :

1. Dead animals in the house or anywhere near me

2. Spiders

Whenever I am faced with anything from these two categories, I get irrational and very loud. I won’t go into detail but I spent a large amount of time this evening frozen and unable to move until my house mate got home and removed the dead creature from the house.  Whilst waiting, I also rang my partner who was pretty unimpressed about the huge fuss I made. I know it’s all rather silly but it is what it is and I don’t like dead rodents in my living space. Before my house mate removed it, he carried it near me by its tail. I screamed so loud I gave myself a headache. Glad that it was all finally over, I grabbed my soup and came upstairs. Although it took me a while to develop the desire to eat again (I was disgusted), I finally got into it. It’s probably terrible that I’ve included the words ‘dead rat’ in a post about food but I had to vent. Either way, this soup is delicious.

This makes 4 serves and I served it garnished with roasted seeds, nuts and some parsley.

INGREDIENTS

olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
3 potatoes, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
200 grams red  lentils
1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock
1 handful of fresh cherry tomatoes

Spices 
1 tbsp curry
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp crushed chilli

METHOD
Heat the olive oil in a big soup pot. Add onion, garlic, ginger and all the spices. After about a minute add the potatoes, carrots and the lentils, stir it around another minute before adding the vegetable stock. Let it boil on medium heat for 30 minutes, stir occasionally, taste the soup and add more salt and spices if needed. Add the tomatoes and let it boil for 5-10 more minutes. The soup is done when the lentils are dissolved.

(very slightly adapted From Green Kitchen Stories)

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