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Monday

6

July 2015

0

COMMENTS

Spicy Summer Squash and Tomato Soup

Written by Rachel, Posted in Dairy-Free, Dinner, Fruit, Gluten Free, Herbs, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Sides, Soups, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Summer isn’t usually the time of year that people are busting out the soup recipes. I realize that. But, it is the time of year for squash and tomatoes, so let’s make an exception.

Tomato Soup is one of my favorite comfort foods. I have memories of being at camp as a kid on a rainy summer day, eating grilled cheese and tomato soup in the dining hall. (That’s one of the few good memories I have of camp… I wasn’t much of a camper.) It wasn’t just camp, or even just during childhood. This has always been one of my favorite meals. It brings with it a wave of nostalgia, but it’s also a quick and easy meal that packs in fruits, veggies, grains, and protein (if you add the grilled cheese).

I started it off with some summer squash and salt. Simple and easy. I added some hot peppers (I used half a jalapeño and a whole Hungarian hot pepper, both without their ribs and seeds) and garlic. Everyone cooks away for a little while.

If you have tons of tomatoes on hand, this would be a great time to use them. You’d want to cook for longer, but, it’d be great. I don’t yet have an abundance of tomatoes. My garden holds the promise of things to come with plenty of green tomatoes. But, they’re not ready quite yet. The tomatoes that we’ve gotten in our Abundant Harvest Organics box are precious and I like to use them raw, on sandwiches, to top potato salad, or as a simple side. So this time I’ve used canned tomatoes. I think both ways would be great. You could also roast the tomatoes like I did on the show a few years ago. Lots of options here.

Since basil and tomatoes are pretty much best friends, I added a ton. Doesn’t matter what color – purple, green, lemon basil… just as long as it’s fresh.

You could leave the soup chunky if you wish. But, I like my tomatoey soups to be smooth, so I blended it up. I learned the hard way that if you’re not using an immersion (or hand) blender (so a regular blender) that it’s imperative that you take the lid’s plug out and cover the hole with a clean tea towel. If you leave the plug in, it will most likely (at least in my experience) fall in and get blended up. This will mean not just ruined soup (sad), but a big mess (annoying), and soup splattering all over you (ouch). Learn from me, friends. Take out the plug. 😉

If you’re planning to enjoy the whole pot of soup the day of, you’re golden. If you end up with leftovers or just want to make it ahead of time and pop it in the freezer, you need to cool it down quickly before it goes into the fridge. So, here’s a trick: To cool the soup down quickly, add only 2 C stock when cooking. Then after it’s cooked, add 1 C frozen stock or ice and stir in to cool down. When it’s cooled down, put it in the fridge to cool completely before freezing.

I like to store things in the freezer in smaller containers so that I’m not defrosting a large container for just one or two portions. Each container gets a label with the name, date, and number of people it will serve. To defrost, pop it into the fridge overnight. Or, just add it frozen to a soup pot with a bit of water or stock in the bottom and reheat.

Happy Eating!

Spicy Summer Squash and Tomato Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 19 minutes

Total Time: 29 minutes

Yield: 4

Spicy Summer Squash and Tomato Soup

Ingredients

1 T olive oil
2 C summer squash, roughly chopped
to taste salt
1/2 to 1 1/2 hot peppers (depending on what type), ribs and seeds removed, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
to taste salt
to taste pepper
pinch ginger
2 C crushed tomatoes (or tomato puree)
3 C stock or water
1 T rice vinegar
1 T maple syrup
1/2 C fresh basil, chopped

Instructions

Heat a soup pot over medium-low. Add oil. Add squash and salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add hot pepper and cook for 2 minutes. add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add tomatoes through maple syrup. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, or until veggies are tender.
Remove from heat and add basil. Blend with a hand blender (or in batches in a regular blender, with the lid's plug removed and the hole covered with a clean tea towel) for 1 minute. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

http://www.de-ma-cuisine.com/spicy-summer-squash-and-tomato-soup/

Monday

23

February 2015

0

COMMENTS

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Beet and Carrot Soup

Written by Rachel, Posted in Dairy-Free, Dinner, Fruit, Gluten Free, Herbs, Lunch, Main Dishes, Roasting, Soups, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

If you are into time travel and happen to meet up with my younger self, please don’t tell her that she will grow to love beets. She will surely not believe you and may even laugh in your face.

I am not a believer in time travel, if you were wondering. But, we just watched the Back to the Future trilogy, and being married to Tim, we discuss time travel way more than I ever thought I would. So it’s on my mind more often than I would have ever thought it would be… But then again, I never thought I’d like beets, sooooooo…

If I could time travel, I think I’d go to a point in history when Julia Child was alive, so I could meet her, preferably in Paris, at a dinner party at her house, after we’d become best friends during one of her L’école des trois gourmandes classes. Maybe we’d even enjoy beets together, since I would be taking my love of beets with me wherever I time traveled to.

Yes, beets. I love them. I am sad when they’re gone. It’s a pretty good life lesson, if I stop and think about it. There are so many things that I think I don’t like. Maybe I really and truly don’t like them. But, with the right additions, with the right complimentary flavors, after trying and failing a few times, maybe they will become not just not as bad as I’d thought, but a favorite.

For this soup, beets are most certainly the star. They bring a sweet, earthy depth to it that’s like nothing else. Combined with (also sweet) carrots, it’s just a fabulous combination. They stained my hands red when I was peeling them (making me wonder how they’d do as an Easter egg dye) (if that would bother you, you could wear gloves), but it washed off with a good scrubbing.

The cauliflower in this dish adds a bit of crunch and, well technically a lack of color, that looks kinda awesome with the red soup. I cooked it separately and added it at the end so that it wouldn’t turn pink. If you don’t care as much, you can add it to the soup with the beets and carrots.

The base of the soup is basically (ha, no pun intended) olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and vegetable stock. There’s a bit of salt and pepper, and some heat from cayenne. That’s it. It’s a simple one.

The carrots and beets take a while longer to roast than the cauliflower, so they get a head start.

Don’t worry, the cauliflower will catch up.

Roasted cauliflower and broccoli are one of my favorite sides. Probably ever. I can’t get enough of how crispy and nutty they get in the oven.

The beets and carrots are added to the boiling stock. They’ll all simmer away for a few minutes. Then it’s ladled into a bowl, topped with some cauliflower, lemon juice, and dill. I haven’t decided if I like it better with or without the dill. I mean, I like it both ways, so I’d say add it if you want to.

I made a very different beet soup a few weeks ago that was not yummy. I added a few too many bitter root veggies that threw off the taste. So, my expectations for this soup were admittedly not very high. This soup pleasantly surprised me with how flavorful it was. I liked it so much that I put my spoon down and slurped the last of the broth out of the bowl.

The real test will be if Tim likes it. He doesn’t yet know that he loves beets like I do. 😉

Happy Eating!

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Beet and Carrot Soup

Ingredients

1 large beet (about 2 C), peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
3 t olive oil, divided
to taste salt
to taste pepper
3 carrots (about 1 1/2 C), cut into 1/2" chunks
1/4 head of cauliflower (about 2 C), cut into bite sized pieces
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 T balsamic vinegar
4 C vegetable stock
2 C water
to taste salt
to taste pepper
good sprinkle cayenne
lemon slices, for serving
1/2 t dill (optional), finely chopped, for topping

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.
Toss beets with 1 t olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake on the top rack for 15 minutes.
Toss carrots with 1 t olive oil, some salt and pepper. Stir beets and add carrots, cook for 15 minutes more.
Toss cauliflower with 1 t olive oil, place on a baking sheet. Stir beets and carrots and move to a rack in the lower portion of the oven. Place cauliflower on the upper rack. Roast for 10-15 minutes.
Remove beets and carrots from the oven. Flip cauliflower, and roast 10 minutes more.
Heat soup pot over medium-low. Add 1 T olive oil. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for 30 seconds more. Add stock through cayenne. Bring to a boil, add beets and carrots* and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Spoon into bowls, topping the soup with cauliflower, lemon, and a tiny bit of dill.

http://www.de-ma-cuisine.com/sweet-and-spicy-roasted-beet-and-carrot-soup/

Monday

9

February 2015

0

COMMENTS

Loaded Chicken and Rice Soup

Written by Rachel, Posted in Dinner, Fruit, Gluten Free, Herbs, Leftovers, Lunch, Main Dishes, Meat, One Dish Dinners, Poultry, Quick and Easy, Rice, Soups, Vegetables

I’m a sucker for a good bowl of soup. I think we’ve had three different kinds over the past four days. I love it. I can’t get enough of it. It can be hearty and filling, or a light start to a meal. It can be simple, like French Onion, or have a myriad of ingredients. Soups are a great way to get loads of veggies into a meal, and they’re a fabulous place to hide leftovers. Yes, soups are my favorite.

This one is no different. The goal was to make a veggie laden, leftover using, Chicken and Rice Soup.

It started with carrots and radishes. The carrots were fresh from this week’s box of produce. The radishes were extra from another meal, that I’d chopped and frozen so they wouldn’t go to waste.

We’re getting so many greens in our boxes that I’ve been making a lot of Stir Fry, like this Red Choi Stir Fry from the other week. I’d planned ahead and made double the rice, so there were leftovers for the soup.

Winner winner, chicken and rice soup for dinner.

After the initial veggies were fairly tender, everything else joined them in the soup pot. I made some Sliced Roasted Butternut Squash for dinner last night, to go along with some chicken thighs that I par-cooked on the stovetop, then finished in the oven. I used the leftovers from both in the soup.

Leftovers 0, Rach 3.

After everything bubbled around for a while (but not too long, since it was all cooked already), I added some milk. I used coconut milk, because I had some that I needed to use up. Use whatever kind you have on hand. The milk just needs to warm through for a minute or two. Don’t let it boil, or the soup may break.

And then, for the finishing touches, I stirred in some fresh parsley and a knob of butter.

This soup is best eaten with your favorite someone or alone standing at the kitchen island while you read a book. Fresh bread is essential for dipping and sopping up anything the spoon leaves behind. A slice of lemon is a perfect way to brighten a bit – just squeeze over top right before eating.

And, if it’s possible, this soup may be even better the next day (or a few days later – it freezes well).

Happy Eating!

Loaded Chicken and Rice Soup

Ingredients

1-2 T olive oil
1 C carrot (or parsnip), chopped
1 C radish (or cauliflower), chopped
to taste, salt
3 cloves garlic, diced
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t dried rosemary (or 1 t fresh), broken or chopped
1 t fresh thyme (or 1/2 t dried)
1/2 t paprika
1 C cooked chicken, chopped or shredded (I used leftovers)*
2 C rice, cooked (I used leftovers)***
2-3 C greens (like hon tsai tai, komatsuna, Tokyo bekana, chard, kale, collards, or spinach), chopped
1 1/2-2 C winter squash, chopped (I used leftovers)**
5-6 C chicken stock
1 C milk (any kind)
1-2 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 T unsalted butter (optional)
lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

(*If you're not using leftover chicken, cook it now, let it cool slightly, remove from bones and shred or chop.)
Heat a soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the oil and when it's hot, add the carrots through salt (**unless you're using uncooked winter squash - if you are, add it now). Cook for 7-9 minutes, or until veggies are relatively tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in balsamic vinegar, cook for 1 minute.
Add rosemary through stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 13 minutes, or until veggies are tender (***if you're not using leftover rice, also add 1/2 C raw brown rice now, along with an extra 1 C stock and cook until rice is tender). Add milk and cook for 2 minutes more (do not boil).
Remove from heat and stir in parsley and butter. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

http://www.de-ma-cuisine.com/loaded-chicken-and-rice-soup/

Monday

8

December 2014

0

COMMENTS

Cannellini and Beet Green Soup with Feta

Written by Rachel, Posted in Beans, Cheese, Dinner, Gluten Free, Herbs, Legumes, Lunch, Main Dishes, One Dish Dinners, Soups, Vegetarian

CannelliniBeetGreenSoup-12

Let me tell you how my day was. It was fine. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Nobody made me take a late lunch break. No one threw out the food I’d brought for lunch. I just waited too long to eat all on my own. When it came time to make the soup for this post, I was waaaaay too hungry to wait for it to finish cooking. So I ate a big pile of crackers with peanut butter and jam on them.

And then I made the soup.

CannelliniBeetGreenSoup-1

It’s a simple one, made with humble ingredients. Beginning with a mirepoix, which is just a fancy way of saying the traditional French flavor base for many dishes: carrot, celery, and onion. This soup included. Not because it’s a fussy soup. It’s just what I had on hand.

CannelliniBeetGreenSoup-2

Veggies sit for a bit in a hot pot (are you saying “hot pot hot pot hot pot hot pot” out loud now too? No? Ok.) with some salt and pepper. They are stirred occasionally. They get all tender and delicious. Garlic is added. Because it always should be. Then a bit of red wine vinegar is used to deglaze the pan.

CannelliniBeetGreenSoup-3

I made a zillion cups of veggie stock the other week. I wondered how I’d use it all before I had enough veggie scraps to make more. Then two of the jars cracked in the freezer (which I’d found as I prepared for this soup, oh yay) and I only had half a zillion to use.

I don’t know if the lesson is to not use glass containers for veggie stock in the freezer. It was cold, and I left plenty of room at the top, these ones just expanded sideways for some reason… Bummer.

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The stock was partially frozen still, even after defrosting in the fridge for a day. No big deal if it is. It’ll boil eventually.

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And the house will get all warm and cozy and soup smelling-y.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet, in this post, how much I love that it’s finally cold.

Cold being a relative term – I’m talking cold like it’s in the 50’s at night, not cold like my brother, Josh, is experiencing, where it’s -19C/-2F.

But, it still needs to be said.

I love this season.

CannelliniBeetGreenSoup-6

I love the root veggies that I’m totally craving. The warm comfort foods that don’t make me sweat while I’m eating. The oven that can be turned on without having the AC on ~~full blast~~ at all.

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This soup would actually work well in the summer months. It feels light, while being full of beany protein, subtle oregano, and bright beet greens. But, let’s forget about summer for now. I’m totally into this chilly, cloudy weather. It makes me want to skip with glee.

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The soup is finished off with a pat of butter. If you’re making this a vegan version, just drizzle some good quality olive oil onto each bowlful as you serve it (and skip the part later on where I talk about cheese… or use your favorite vegan cheeeeeese).

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Butter gives the soup a glossy, creamy feel.

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The last thing you must do before the soup can be eaten: top with a bit of feta. Trust me. This makes the soup. (Vegans, remember your instructions from before?)

CannelliniBeetGreenSoup-11

Of course, it might have also been great with a huge stack of crackers for dipping. But, I ate all the crackers at first lunch. It would be wonderful with a freshly made baguette, but we’re fresh out. So, it’s just good on its own, standing at the kitchen island, eating as if I hadn’t just eaten thirty five pb&j crackerwiches.

Happy Eating!

Cannellini and Beet Green Soup with Feta

Ingredients

2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, chopped (or mixture of carrot and radish)
to taste, salt
to taste, pepper
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 T red wine vinegar
4-5 C vegetable stock
1-15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 t dried oregano (or 1 T fresh), crushed (could substitute 1 T fresh dill, chopped)
1 C (1 bunch) beet greens (washed well, including stems, to save for stock), chopped (or kale, spinach, or chard)
1/2 T lemon juice
1 t unsalted butter
feta, crumbled, for topping

Instructions

Heat a soup pot. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onion through pepper. Cook over medium-low heat for about 9-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vinegar and cook for another minute.
Add the stock, beans, and oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the beet greens and cook for 10 minutes more.
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and then lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
Serve topped with feta.

http://www.de-ma-cuisine.com/cannellini-and-beet-green-soup-with-feta/

Monday

30

June 2014

4

COMMENTS

Half Birthday Fun – Beef Chili

Written by Rachel, Posted in Beef, Cheese, Dinner, Fruit, Gluten Free, Kid-Friendly, Lunch, Main Dishes, Meat, Potlucks, Sides, Soups, Thoughts, Vegetables

Tim’s birthday is on Christmas Eve. We always try to make it special. But, the day is usually a mixture of birthday and Christmas Eve celebrations.

He is always a good sport about it.

But, this year, I thought that a half birthday celebration would be nice. An entire day devoted to celebrating him.

The day was filled with things that he loves.

We started with doughnuts. We’ve discovered a place that’s close enough to walk to. Often on Saturday mornings we will take the dog for a walk and get ourselves a treat.

TimHalfBirthday-1

Then he went to a movie with a couple friends while I set up for later.

We invited a few friends to continue the celebration of things that Tim loves.

Things like candy, caramel corn, and Blue Moon.

Dinner was more of his favorites: hot dogs, beef chili, store bought potato salad, fruit salad, and chips.

He loves the things that I cook. He’s fine with our healthy lifestyle. So it’s fun to surprise him with things that aren’t so healthy once in a while (although I used organic hot dogs and organic grass fed beef for the chili, so I still felt good about eating it).

It was a fun treat. (I maaaay have felt a little bit sick afterwards, but it was worth it. ;))

There was laughter. Lots of laughter.

Another favorite is ice cream. It’s pretty much an entire food group for Tim.

A serving size for him is a third of a carton.

We’ve discovered a little ice cream shop called Quenelle (pronounced kuh-nell). They make all of their ice cream. It’s insanely good. An ice cream cake from Quenelle seemed like the perfect way to end our little dinner.

It was.

I don’t know that I’ve heard as many exclamations about how good a dessert was as I did that night.

The cake was a layer of nutella, a layer of cookies and crème fraiche, with a devil’s food cake layer at the bottom.

That expression “we all scream for ice cream” – yeah, we did.

I accidentally put trick candles on the cake. I didn’t know that we had them. It was a trick on everyone.

As the light faded, we lit candles and sat for hours around the table.

The evening was one of those times when, as I went inside to get something and looked out the window, I just kinda stopped, and almost got a little bit choked up, looking at some of our dear friends gathered around our table. We’re so thankful for the little community of loved ones we have here in L.A.

I figured I should feed people chili. It’s easy and most people like it. It’s perfect in a bowl, or to top hot dogs. I made it the day before, then re-heated it the day of and kept it hot in the crock pot. Finding as many things to do beforehand made half birthday day so much more relaxed. I don’t think I stressed out at all. We had fun the whole day long.

Tim loves chili with beans. He’s happy eating it when I add tons of veggies. But, since it was his day, I though I’d try something new, and just do it with beef.

It’s pretty simple. The beef is cooked for a little bit with some seasonings. Onions are added partway through.

Since bell peppers are one of his favorite veggies I added two. Plus one hot pepper for just a bit of heat.

I have a hard time cooking without loads of garlic. Whatev.

And then piles of canned diced tomatoes are added in to make it saucy. I cooked it for two hours the first day, then probably a good 4-5 on half birthday day. It doesn’t need the extra day of cooking, but it sure didn’t hurt.

What a fun way to celebrate. It was a good day.

Happy 31 and a Halfth Birthday, Tim!

Beef Chili

Recipe Type: Main, Side, Beef, Meat, Dinner, Soup, Chili, Bell Peppers, Easy, Potlucks

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 120 mins

Total time: 2 hours 10 mins

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

2 lb. ground beef
2 white onions, chopped
1 T chili powder
1/2 T sweet paprika
1 T smoked paprika
pinch cumin
pepper
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 hot pepper, leave seeds and ribs (optional), chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 T balsamic vinegar
2-28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 T lemon juice
1 t sriracha hot sauce
2-3 t salt
cheese, grated, for topping
onions, chopped, for topping

Instructions

Heat a large soup pot. When hot, add beef and seasonings through pepper. Break apart (or mash using a potato masher) and cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.
Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add peppers and cook for about 5 minutes more.
Add garlic and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add balsamic vinegar through salt. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 2 hours, stirring every once in a while.
Served topped with cheese and onions.

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Soup Archive

6

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Spicy Summer Squash and Tomato Soup

Happy Eating!

23

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Sweet and Spicy Roasted Beet and Carrot Soup

Happy Eating!

9

0

Loaded Chicken and Rice Soup

Happy Eating!

8

0

Cannellini and Beet Green Soup with Feta

Happy Eating!

30

4

Half Birthday Fun – Beef Chili

Happy 31 and a Halfth Birthday, Tim!

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