IHCC: Green Gazpacho

This week the I Heart Cooking Clubs theme was "Loving the Leaf."  Participants had to cook an Ottolenghi recipe featuring or using a leafy green.  I again referred to his cookbook Plenty and found this recipe for Green Gazpacho.  This soup has many green veggies in it including baby spinach!  To be honest, I'm not a huge soup eater.  I don't mind a cup of soup, but something has to be served with it.  To me, soup is not a meal!  I also knew that my kids would most likely not enjoy this, so I had to have a back-up.  I ended up making Hawaiian Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches to go with this (see tomorrow's post!).  Yes, the two don't really compliment each other.  But I saw the sandwich recipe and knew it would be quick and easy to put together.  This recipe wasn't difficult to make, it just requires a lot of chopping.  I ended up adapting the recipe a bit, mainly in amounts of ingredients, substitutions (sherry and cider vinegar in place of sherry vinegar, and I didn't make the homemade croutons).  I probably should have used the immersion blender because I was really pushing the limits with my regular blender.  I had to spoon some of the soup out to add the rest of the ice and water!  I made the kids have 5 bites of the soup (to get in their veggies!) but they didn't like it.  Honestly, I have to admit that my husband and I weren't huge fans of this soup either.  He said it tasted more like a sauce than a soup.  I kind of felt like I was drinking a more liqueified pesto!  The original recipe called for 4 cloves of garlic!  I like garlic, but cut it down to two cloves.  Still, the garlic seemed to overwhelm the soup.  I should have used the whole jalapeno to add a little more heat and next time (although I won't be making this again!) I would use less walnuts.  I thought 1 1/2 cups was a bit much when I was pouring them into the blender!  They added a funny texture to the soup that I didn't enjoy.  Well, I can't expect all of Ottolenghi's recipes to be winners.  There's always next week!   

Green Gazpacho
recipe slightly adapted from Plenty:  Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi

Ingredients:
1 green pepper, deseeded
1 1/2 cucumbers, peeled
3 slices stale white bread, crusts removed
1/2 jalapeno pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups walnuts, lightly toasted
4 cups baby spinach
1 cup basil leaves
2 Tbsp parsley
2 Tbsp sherry
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp Greek yogurt
about 2 cups water
6 ice cubes
2 tsp salt
pepper

Directions:
Roughly chop up the pepper, cucumbers, bread, jalapeno, and garlic. Place in a blender and add the sugar, walnuts, spinach, basil, parsley, sherry, vinegar, oil, yogurt, most of the water, half the ice cubes, the salt and some white pepper. Blitz the soup until smooth. Add more water, if needed, to get your preferred consistency. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning.

Lastly, add the remaining ice and pulse once or twice, just to crush it a little.


Family Rating: So-so.

Tofu Ramen Soup with Spinach

This past month's supper club theme was "Asian."  We've previously done Korean and Thai themed dinners.  But "Asian" is so broad!  I wasn't sure what I was making until I saw this recipe in the latest edition of Every Day with Rachael Ray.  I thought an appetizer soup would fit nicely.  Ramen is definitely asian and I love tofu.  This dish was soooo easy to put together.  And cost-wise, this dish was super cheap to make as well.  This was a tasty soup but you MUST make and add the chili oil to really get a great depth of flavor!  This is super-easy to make a vegetarian soup by replacing the chicken broth with vegetable broth.  We all enjoyed this soup and it was a great start to a really tasty meal!

 BTW, the awesome picture shown below was photographed by fellow supper club member Ashley (I forgot my camera!).  She also writes a food blog Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen.  She has been writing her blog for years and has tasty recipes and beautiful photographs!  Definitely take a minute and check it out! 

Tofu Ramen Soup with Spinach
recipe from Every Day with Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic
6 cups sodium-free chicken broth
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems discarded and caps chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 ounce unpeeled fresh ginger, cut into 2 or 3 large slices
4 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 pound firm silken tofu, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
3 3 ounce packages instant ramen (noodles only)
Salt

Directions:
1.In a small saucepan, heat the oil, crushed red pepper and garlic over medium-high heat until the garlic sizzles. Lower the heat to low and cook, stirring, until the garlic turns golden, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes. Strain the chile oil into a bowl, discarding the solids.

2.Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. In another medium pot, mix the chicken broth, mushrooms, scallions, soy sauce, sugar and ginger. Cover and simmer over high heat for 8 minutes. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat; discard the ginger. Stir in the spinach, then the tofu. Cover to keep warm.

3.Add the ramen to the boiling water, breaking up the noodles. Cook until tender, 3 minutes. Drain, then stir the noodles into the soup. Season with salt.

4.Divide the soup among bowls. Drizzle each with some of the chili oil.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

This post is being shared at:
Foodtastic Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes
Tasty Thursdays @ The Mandatory Mooch
Showcase Your Talent Thursday @ What's Cooking Love?
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Fabulous Fridays @ Real Housemoms
Saturday Show and Tell @ Cheerios and Lattes
Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sisters' Stuff

Simple Clam Chowder

As I mentioned in my last post, I made Apple Cheese Beer Bread to go with this chowder.  Since to me, soup is not a meal, I need to serve it with either a sandwich, grilled cheese, or bread.  My parents have a house in Rhode Island.  Unfortunately, we usually just end up visiting over the summer, even though they live there on and off throughout the year.  Part of every visit to "the beach house" includes a lunch of New England Clam Chowder and an order of clam cakes (a.k.a. clam fritters).  Taking my first spoonful of this soup totally brought back memories of our summer lunches.  This soup was easy to put together and was super tasty!  I was kind of surprised with the recipe coming from Cooking Light. In the past I've tried to make other chowder type recipes from the magazine and have found them to be less creamy tasting to keep them "light."  This recipe totally did not feel like I was sacrificing taste for calories.  I posted the original recipe amounts.  However, I ended up halving everything since the recipe below yields approximately 12 servings.  Just a note that even halved, with 3 cans of chopped clams, resulted in this soup having LOTS of clams.  Not that we were complaining, but it might be a little over-whelming for some people!  This will definitely be a go-to recipe whenever I'm feeling a little nostalgic for Rhode Island!

Simple Clam Chowder
recipe from Cooking Light, January 2008

Yield:  12 (1 cup) servings

Ingredients:
2 bacon slices
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 (6 1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, undrained
5 cups diced peeled baking potato (about 1 pound)
4 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice
1 bay leaf
3 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)

Directions:
Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion, celery, salt, thyme, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Drain clams, reserving liquid. Add clam liquid, potato, clam juice, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Discard bay leaf.

Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 12 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add clams; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

This post is shared at:
Manic Monday Party @ Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
Tasty Tuesdays @ 33 Shades of Green
Tempt My Tummyy Tuesdays @ Blessed with Grace

The Weekend Chef: Mini Chicken Meatball , Pasta, and Vegetable Soup

We spent last Sunday visiting my in-laws and going to the town's St. Patrick's Day parade.  The weather was gorgeous - it was a perfect day for a parade!  We ended up eating lunch around 3 pm after the parade.  By the time we got home after that we weren't very hungry.  This recipe was one of the "I pick it you can make it" for The Weekend Chef.  I was exhausted from being out in the sun all day.  So while I vegged on the couch with the kids he made this.  I thought it was pretty tasty.  I don't think we've ever made chicken meatballs before.  It was chock full of veggies and the soup had a nice flavor.  Normally I'm not a soup as the meal type of person, but because we had such a late lunch it was a perfect light dinner.  It made enough that we ended up freezing a bunch so we can enjoy it another time.  Unfortunately, I think it was just too much veggies for the kids who weren't digging it at all!
 

Mini Chicken Meatball, Pasta, and Vegetable Soup
Recipe slightly adapted from For the Love of Cooking

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45-50 minutes

Ingredients:


Meatballs:
1 lb of ground chicken
1 egg
2-3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1/4 cup of plain bread crumbs
1 tbsp canola oil

Soup:
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 15 0z can of diced tomatoes
8 cups of chicken broth
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 cup of ditalini pasta
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained

Parmesan cheese topping (optional)

Directions:
Combine the ground chicken, egg, Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste, and bread crumbs together in a bowl until just combined. Roll into mini meatballs and place onto a plate (I filled up two plates full). Place the meatballs into the refrigerator for 10 minutes so they are easier to work with.

Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the meatballs, in batches, and cook for 4-5 minutes, carefully turning halfway through to cook on the other side, or until golden brown but not cooked all the way through (they will finish cooking in the soup). Remove the cooked meatballs from the Dutch oven and place on a clean plate. Finish cooking the remaining meatballs.

Add the remaining tablespoon of canola oil to the same Dutch oven and add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes then add the minced garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute then add the diced tomatoes and chicken broth, season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Cover and cook on low for 30-40 minutes. Remove the lid and add the pasta and meatballs. Cover and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the pasta is tender and the meatballs are cooked through. Add the spinach, stir until combined and slightly wilted, taste and re-season if needed, then ladle into bowls. Top with Parmesan cheese or feta cheese if desired. Enjoy.

Family Rating:  1 thumb up.

Meatless Monday: Curried Squash-Apple Soup

I woke up yesterday feeling the start of a cold and by last night I was a mess!  Sore throat, runny nose, cough, head congestion....I had it all!  So, when planning the menu for the week yesterday I thought soup would be a good meal.  Now, I'm not normally a soup person.  Soup is nice as an appetizer but I'm not big on soup as a meal.  It's usually not filling enough to satisfy me. I thought that this soup with some biscuits or muffins would make a nice meal though since I wasn't feeling well.  Most of the time spent on this recipe was the chopping of the vegetables. By pre-chopping the squash, onions, and celery the night before I think that this could easily be made for a weeknight meal.  The apples will turn brown if prechopped, so I'd probably hold off on pre-chopping those.  You can even buy pre-packaged chopped butternut squash at the store, if you're willing to pay almost double the price of regular squash (which I wasn't willing to do.....although I HATE chopping butternut squash for fear one of my fingers will be chopped with it!). I only used 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper and it definitely added a little kick to the soup.  Too much that I knew the kids wouldn't eat it, so they got chicken noodle soup. While the veggies simmered on the stove, I made the biscuits shown in the next post.  Even with me not feeling well, this was a pretty easy meal to make. 

Curried Squash-Apple Soup
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light, September 2001

Ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 3/4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
3 3/4 cups chopped Golden Delicious apple (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 3/4 cups water
1/4 cup coarsely chopped celery
2 1/4 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 chicken-flavored bouillon cube

Directions:
1.  Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onion, cook 5 minutes or until soft.  Add squash and remaining ingredients; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until squash is tender.
2. Place half of squash mixture in a blender, and process until smooth.  Pour pureed soup into a large bowl; repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture.

Mommy & Daddy rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Supper Club: Roasted Parsnip and Vanilla Chocolate Soup

So I was perusing the Foodnetwork website and this soup recipe looked interesting.  I've never tried any of Robert Irvine's recipes, although I've seen him cook on Dinner Impossible numerous times.  Overall, it was a little too sweet for me.  I had made the french bread on Friday night for the croutons for this soup.  I used vanilla extract instead of the vanilla bean. I couldn't make myself spend $17 for a tiny bit of vanilla bean. The one plus of making this recipe was that my daughter was helping me take the roasted parsnips off the pan and she tried them for the first time and liked them! 

Roasted Parsnip and Vanilla Chocolate Soup
foodnetwork.com - Dinner: Impossible  Episode:  Robert & the Chocolate Factory

Total Time: 1 hr 40 min.

Prep:35 min.
Cook:1 hr 5 min.
Yield:6 to 8 servings
Level:Intermediate

Ingredients:

2 pounds parsnips (about 4 or 5 large parsnips)
1/4 cup canola oil (2 tablespoons to brush on parsnips and 2 tablespoons to brush on bread for croutons)
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick or 1/2 cup)
1 large white onion, chopped
2 quarts chicken stock
1 whole vanilla bean, preferably Tahitian (sold 1 or two to a jar in the spice section of the store) or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (preferably from real vanilla bean as opposed to artificial flavoring)
Salt and pepper
1 epee loaf French bread
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 cup vanilla white chocolate chips (recommended: Hershey's Premier White Chips)
1 cup heavy cream
1 fresh lemon or lime, halved crosswise (1/2 to squeeze into batch of soup and 1/2 to cut into wedges to serve to guests)
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill leaves


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel parsnips, and cut into 1-inch chunks, brush lightly with oil and place on a baking sheet lined with heavy duty aluminum foil (for easy cleanup). Roast until the parsnips begin to soften (as tested with a knife blade) and until the tips begin to turn golden brown. This takes about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes while you start the other ingredients in the stockpot. (Leave oven on for toasting of croutons.)

Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a large stockpot and gently saute the onion until translucent. (This takes about 10 minutes, but the more important thing is that they look translucent.) Add the chicken stock, slice open the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the pot and add along with the vanilla pod itself. Increase heat to medium, add the roasted parsnips, and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, cover and let cook until the parsnips are completely tender, about 20 minutes.

Once you have the soup underway, toast the croutons in the oven which is already preheated to 400 degrees F. Cut the epee loaf into 3/4-inch thick slices. Brush the bread with oil and place on a foil lined baking sheet (important for cleanup purposes). Sift dark cocoa over the bread and toast briefly in the oven, just to make crispy. Remove and set aside.

Stir the white chocolate chips into the soup and cook for a further 5 minutes, to allow them to melt and to integrate flavors.


Remove soup from heat, discard vanilla pod, and stir in heavy cream. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. (Remember, when using an immersion blender, the blade end has to be immersed, or it will make a big mess.) Squeeze fresh lemon or lime juice into the pot and stir to combine. (Note: If you hold the sliced end of the fresh lemon or lime against your palm while you squeeze in the juice, the seeds are likely to stay in the rind.)

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh dill. Serve with lemon wedges and dark chocolate dusted croutons.


Family Rating: so-so.  A lot of work for just okay.