Meatless Mondays: Thai Coconut Mushroom Soup

I haven't posted a soup in a few weeks, even though I eat soup often.  Today, I wanted to share this delicious soup with you. It took me some time to figure out how to describe it. It is a very flavorful soup, with hints of ginger, citrus, mushroom, and coconut, but it is not assertive. There's no "kick in the mouth" about this soup - it's gently delicious.  Of course, you can make it quite spicy if you like, but I kept mine mild.

This soup starts with a simple lemongrass stock. It can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen. The soup is quite simple, and takes less than 10 minutes to put together (once the stock is made). It would take less than an hour to make both the stock and the soup. If you want to make this on a weeknight, but are usually pressed for time, make the stock on the weekend and you'll have a very quick dinner later in the week.

This soup photographed really well, I think. But here's a secret: in person, it's a lot more...neon. Blame the turmeric combined with the slightly green stock, but it's an almost hilariously day-glow bright soup. Somehow, that just didn't translate to the photos (not that I mind!).

The soup and stock are both vegan.

Lemongrass Stock
Yield: about 1 quart of stock

INGREDIENTS
3 fresh lemongrass stalks,  roughly chopped
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2-inch piece of ginger root, peeled and sliced
1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp salt
6 cups water

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all ingredients in a stock pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 35 minutes.
2. Place a strainer over a large bowl, and strain out the vegetables. Use immediately, or refrigerate or freeze the stock for later use.

Thai Coconut Mushroom Soup
Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 recipe Lemongrass Stock (about 4 cups)
Juice of one lime
1 14.5 oz can coconut milk (light or regular)
pinch cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp coriander
1/2 block of tofu, about 6 oz, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs - cilantro, thai basil, or parsley work well
1 tsp salt, or to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine stock, lime juice, and coconut milk in a pot over high heat. Stir in cayenne, turmeric, and coriander. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and add tofu and mushrooms.
2. Simmer 5 minutes or so, then stir in fresh herbs and salt. Taste and adjust salt and heat to your preference.

We enjoyed this soup with some quick naan for dipping. This simple soup is one we'll be making again - I've been contemplating a chicken version too.

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Meatless Mondays: Simple Carrot Soup

Today's post isn't my own recipe, but it is one that I make over and over, and I wanted to share it with you. Although I try to give you plenty of original content, sometimes a recipe is great just how it is, so I link to it instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. This simple carrot soup is one of those great recipes. And it takes about 30 minutes to make, so it works even on a weeknight.

This is a recipe I turn to every time I have more carrots than I know what to do with. We can buy a pound of organic carrots for less than a dollar, so we usually buy at least one pound a week. They don’t spoil fast, and so sometimes we build up a bit of a backlog of carrots. Not that I mind, not at all! The carrots just find their way into soup. (OK, maybe I help them into the stockpot. Still.)

The best thing about this soup recipe is that the leftovers are endlessly customizable. A few things we like to stir in (in various combinations):

Toasted sesame oil
Extra virgin olive oil
Cumin
Curry powder
Ground ginger
Fresh ginger
Fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Sesame seeds

 A few notes on the recipe: First, you don't need to peel the carrots, just trim off the tops. I've made the soup with peeled carrots and unpeeled carrots, and I don't notice any difference, so save yourself the work. Second, I cook the onion until it starts to smell a bit sweet, then add the garlic and cook for a minute longer. I don't toss garlic in with onions to cook, because the garlic usually starts to burn by the time the onion is done, so I cook the onions, then add the garlic. Finally, I always make this with water, not veggie stock, because I don't want the stock to interfere with the flavor. I add between 1 and 2 tsp of salt to the final soup, and it usually takes several tastings to get the salt level just right.

We eat this as a side-dish more often than as a main meal. Because it is mostly vegetables, with a bit of oil, it's usually not substantial enough on its own (although it is filling). Pair it with some kind of protein, and perhaps some bread for dunking to create a complete meal.

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Weekend review

It was a busy weekend, but here are some of the things we've been up to lately.

I made this dill potato salad at the end of last week, and we both loved it. Super simple, no mayo/etc., perfect flavor. I made a few substitutions to the original recipe, based entirely on what we had on hand. Russet potatos instead of red skinned, red kidney beans instead of cannelini beans (aka white kidney beans), extra virgin olive oil for walnut oil, and white wine vinegar instead of white vinegar.  It tasted great hot or cold.

Our church had a soup and salad potluck on Saturday night, and our contribution was winter corn chowder with skillet cornbread. The soup recipe is from Desperation Dinners, and is one of my favorite winter soups.

Cooper and I enjoyed a run on what turned out to be a sunny, pleasant Sunday. The weatherman said it would be freezing rain and/or snow all day long, but he was oh so wrong, and I was oh so glad.

Post-run, I enjoyed some home-made bubble tea:

And I harvested the first edibles from our windowsill garden: a handful of mung bean sprouts!

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Weekend Review

A handful of fun dishes came out of our kitchen this weekend! Of course there was pizza, but also:

Pesto French Toast:

Pesto in your french toast is a different flavor, but very delicious. I highly recommend it. I made some home-made pesto that we used in this; here's my basic pesto recipe.

Basic Basil Pesto Sauce
Yield: about 1/2 cup

INGREDIENTS
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp chopped toasted walnuts
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor (you can try a blender, but it will be more difficult).  Pulse until desired pesto consistency is achieved.
2. Refrigerate in an air-tight container.

We had this Pasta e Fagioli soup last night, with homemade rosemary and garlic focaccia.

I also made a tasty and healthy dessert - poached pears! Recipe for this coming later in the week.

Here's hoping the weatherman is right, and I'll have fifty-degree temps for my run this afternoon! Today marks the first day of a new training plan, designed to build strength and speed, so I'll be ready to really tackle some serious distance training when the weather warms up. 

Curried Peanut Soup and Quick Naan

We had a great holiday, filled with family time and lots of food! Now that the new year has started, it's back to a more normal routine. The new year also means a re-commitment to healthy habits for a lot of people, or at least a recovery from some serious indulging. For me, that means meals filled with veggies - and soup is a great way to pack the nutrition in.

This soup recipe has long been one of my favorites; it's spicy and nutty and slightly sweet - very satisfying! It comes together, start to finish, in thirty minutes or less.  I've included a quick whole-grain naan recipe that you can make in just a few minutes, because soup always needs bread for dunking.

Curried Peanut Soup
This recipe uses chickpeas to extend the flavor of the peanut butter, giving lots of taste without tons of calories. Adjust the spiciness to your preference - I make it pretty mild.
Yield: 4 servings, about 2 cups each.

INGREDIENTS
1 tsp sesame oil
2 onions, chopped
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, NOT drained
3 cups veggie broth, divided
1 14 1/2 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 1 1/2 cups cooked)
3 tbsp natural peanut butter
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat a 3 quart or larger pot over medium heat. Add the sesame oil, onion, and ginger, and sautee for about 5 minutes. Let the onion start to brown a little bit - this will bring out its natural sweetness. Stir occassionally.
2. In a blender, combine the chickpeas, peanut butter, and about 1/2 cup of broth. Blend until smooth, adding however much broth is needed to blend.
3. Add the curry powder and cumin to the onion mix, and cook stirring for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, remaining broth, and chickpea puree to the pot. Increase the heat to bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper.
5. Remove the soup from the heat and let cool slightly. Using an immersion blender, or working carefully in batches, blend the soup until it is smooth. Serve with bread for dunking.

Quick Whole Grain Naan
Although this recipe isn't traditional, relying on baking powder rather than yeast to give the naan its characteristic bubbles, it produces a soft and tasty bread in only a few minutes. 
Yield: 4 large naan

INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole-grain spelt flour, or white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp honey
pinch salt
1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat a skillet over medium high heat.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir until the dough comes together.  If needed, add more water a teaspoon at a time. Knead the dough until you have a smooth ball.
3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out a piece of the dough to 1/8 inch thickness.
4. Spray the pan with a bit of olive oil, then add the rolled dough.  Cook for a minute or so, until bubbles form on the surface and brown spots develop on the underside. Flip, and cook for an additional minute or so. Repeat with remaining dough.
5. Slice the breads into wedges, 6 or so per bread, using a sharp knife. Enjoy!

We started our windowsill garden yesterday - more on that later!

Simple Avocado Soup

 

With the rush of the holiday season, cooking at home may seem out of reach. But with this simple cold soup, all you need to do is dump everything in a blender, and a few minutes later dinner is served. The soup is very filling, despite not being hot.

Simple Avocado Soup
We made this curried, but try substituting lemon for the lime, basil for the cilantro, and a clove of garlic for the curry powder for a lighter flavor. The curry powder we used has a bit of heat to it; if yours is completely mild, you might want to add a pinch (or more) of cayenne.
Serves 2-3.

INGREDIENTS
1 avocado, pit removed and scooped from skin
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 handful cilantro
1 tbsp curry powder
1 cup light coconut milk
1 cup veggie broth
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all ingredients except lime zest in a blender. Blend for a minute or two, until the soup is smooth. Taste, and add salt as needed.
2. If you have time, stick it in the fridge for a few minutes to get colder.
3. Serve, topped with lime zest (and a little more cilantro if you like) and with bread for dunking on the side.

We ate this with a failed attempt at naan - the bread tasted great, but the texture was totally wrong - naan should be soft, with crisp spots where the bubbles darken, and these were crispy all over. I'm still trying to find a simple naan recipe that works.

Soup and Beans

I love soups in the winter. Truthfully, I love soups all the time, but especially in the coldest months of the year. And it has been COLD here lately - as in single-digit cold. So I've been on a soup kick these past few weeks, in some kind of effort to stay warm. This soup is mostly veggies, but thanks to the addition of a little bread and milk, it is quite hearty.

 

Creamy Veggie Bisque
For broth, I used 1 tsp of this home-made bouillon per cup of water - it works great here and in the bean recipe below. 

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
5 carrots, diced
5 ribs of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
2 14.5 oz cans tomatoes (diced, whole, or whatever you have)
2 tsp dried Italian herb seasoning, or 1 tsp each dried basil and oregano
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1/2-1 tsp salt, to taste
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 cup milk (almond milk or cow's milk)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat, and add the onions. Sautee for about 3 minutes, until the onions are soft.
2. Add celery and carrots, and saute 5 to 10 minutes more, until the veggies begin to brown the bottom of the pot. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Add broth, tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper, and stir well (scraping the bottom of the pot).
4. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Puree the soup. Use an imersion blender if you have one, or let the soup cool slightly and blend in batches.
6. Stir in the bread crumbs and milk. Bring back to a simmer, and simmer for a few minutes while the bread crumbs thicken the soup.

We enjoyed this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches (naturally). For a side dish, I tossed this kidney bean recipe in the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Kidney Beans
Did you know the slow cooker was initially invented to be a bean pot? It works super-well for cooking beans - you don't have to worry about boiling over, and I find the beans come out much more evenly cooked than on the stove top.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup kidney beans, soaked over night, drained, and rinsed
3-4 cups water
3-4 cups veggie broth
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed (but still whole)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp dried italian herbs
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander

DIRECTIONS
1. Spray a 3.5 quart crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Add all ingredients, using enough liquid to cover the beans by 2-3 inches.
2. Cook for 3 hours on high.
3. Drain beans, and discard bay leaf and garlic cloves.

I suggest re-heating these in a non-stick skillet sprayed with a little olive oil - let the beans and onion brown a bit.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...which has me in the baking mood! Recipe for iced cutouts is coming later this week.