Protein Packed Soup.

It's finals week.  YIKES.  I wasn't going to take to time to write this, but I had to.  I feel like I have abandoned my writing, my photography and this poor blog.  (Disclaimer: you may be frightened by the photos on this post...but my schedule with school does NOT really allow me to spend time taking blog-worthy pictures. This isn't permanent, promise!)

So, despite my crazy school schedule, I have been doing pretty intense workouts lately, including spinning class twice a week, lifting three days a week, running or swimming one day and going to Sunday afternoon yoga.  Whoa. I signed up for the West Salem Triathlon in June and this was just the kick I needed to start training more intensely.  As a result, I have been hungry 24/7 and have been eating like its my full time job.  Much of the food were things I knew wouldn't' fuel my body to perform well,, so I decided to do  a weeklong detox/raw food cleanse (more on this later).  After my week detox, I made it a priority to incorporate more protein into my diet. I promise...this is going somewhere.  When I was selecting my weekly soup to make this past weekend, I wanted to find a recipe that had a good amount of protein in it.  This can be somewhat challenging with soup, but I stumbled upon one in my Super Natural Foods cookbook that was perfect: Edamame Soup.  I had never heard of edamame until two years ago when I first had them at the Root Note in La Crosse.  Ever since, these little guys have been a favorite of mine.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with edamame, they are immature soy beans that are green in color.  Here, I took a picture of these little guys so you could see what they look like (they grow in pods, these are shelled edamame bean.)

Here is the best part...a serving size of a half cup has 12, yes, TWELVE grams of protein and only 120 calories!   Here is an excerpt about these wonders from edamame.com:

" Edamame is a green vegetable more commonly known as a soybean, harvested at the peak of ripening right before it reaches the "hardening" time. The word Edamame means "Beans on Branches," and it grows in clusters on bushy branches. To retain the freshness and its natural flavor, it is parboiled and quick-frozen. In East Asia, the soybean has been used for over two thousand years as a major source of protein. "

Okay, enough about these beans.  I could go on an on about my affection for them...but what you really want it the recipe for the soup I made.  Here it is:  

Edamame Soup (101cookbooks.com and Super Natural Cooking, Heidi Swanson)

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 potato, peeled and cut into small cubes,
750 g (1 1/2 lb) frozen edamame beans, defrosted
1 quart (1.2 litres or 2 pints) vegetable stock
2 tablespoons creme fraiche
salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

In a pan, saute the onion and potato in the oil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cover and allow it to soften for about 4 minutes, until they have both softened. Stir to prevent the mixture from sticking and burning. Add the beans and the vegetable stock. Put the lid on and simmer on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the beans are tender. Puree in a food processor or with a hand blender. Stir in the creme fraiche, reheat gently without boiling and serve.

**I didn't buy creme fraiche,  instead I used 4 tbs of plain greek yogurt.  I topped each bowl with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and freshly ground black pepper. My soup was rather thick, but I think this is because I don't always follow directions and used 2 lbs of edamame, rather than 1.5 lbs.  Woodman's only had 1 lb bags, so I bought 2 and used them both.  If you do this, add more vegetable stock to thin it out, mine was rather thick.

No time for good pictures, this will have to do!

Ohhh, one more thing...When I made the soup, I was able to use my new red soup pot, courtesy of my lovely mother.  Thanks Mom!

I'm heading home for Christmas break...which means I will spend countless hours in the kitchen with my Mama.  Stayed tuned for adventures in the kitchen at 4120!

Soup Season.

It is here. Finally! For some people, its football season. For others, its hunting season.  For me, it's soup season and it is lovely.  I have made it a personal goal to try as many new soups as I possibly can this fall/winter and I will try to write about them when time permits.  It works incredibly well to make a batch of soup on Sunday afternoon while I am studying and then have dinner all set to go during my busy week nights.  This weeks soup was especially wonderful because it was made in the company of a dear friend, Marie.  We both have a passion for cooking good, wholesome food and make a great combo in the kitchen.

Gingered Carrot Apple Soup (www.withstyle.com, a great gluten free website!)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 small apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced, about 4-5 cups
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
• salt + pepper, to taste

Directions
In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent.  Add ginger and garlic and cook for one minute.  Add sliced apples and diced carrots. Add vegetable broth and increase heat to medium-high, bringing to a boil.  Reduce to low and simmer, uncovered for about 30 minutes or  until the carrots and apples are softened. Remove from heat and let cool slightly before you puree. Add nutmeg and salt + pepper to taste

In batches, transfer soup to blender and puree. Careful to  fill blender half full or else you’ll end up with an orange mess – about 3-4 batches.

Serve immediate or store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Sea monsters and soup

The last few days have consisted of gray skies, drizzle and a chill in the air.  Perfect weather to spend an afternoon inside making soup from my new cookbooks. A month ago, I decided to purchase Heidi Swanson's new cookbook.  Heidi is the author of the blog 101cookbooks, which I read often.  She is a fantastic cook and photographer and even better resource on using all natural ingredients and incorporating whole grains into recipes.  When I went on Amazon to order her new book, I placed it in my shopping cart and was then offered free shipping if I ordered her first cookbook as well.  Being the sucker I am for a good cookbook and free shipping, I of course ordered not one, but TWO books.  And boy, am I glad I did.  I have spent many hours flipping through the pages, gazing at the beautiful pictures. More on these books later, back to this soup I made!  This cauliflower soup is a wonderful a blend of vegetables, complemented by the tang of Dijon mustard.  To make this soup, I had to cut up green and yellow onions, potatoes, and cauliflower.  To tell you the truth, I have never been compelled to examine vegetables as closely as I did last Thursday and was absolutely intrigued by the intricacy and uniqueness of each vegetable.  The perfect spirals of the green onions and then tree like shape of the cauliflower florets were so much fun to photograph, and I couldn't help but notice how the roots of the green onions resembled sea monsters.  Call me crazy-but I had a blast!  I wonder what my family thinks of me when they come home after work to find me blaring country music and having the time of my life with vegetables...oh, wait, they are used to it. Nothing new here.

In addition to having way more fun than the average person cutting up and photographing vegetables (I'm weird, I know) the soup turned out so well! and I felt compelled to share the recipe with you. It's very healthy and doesn't require too much hands on time.

Cauliflower Soup: from Super Natural Everyday  (I highly recommend buying this cookbook or Super Natural Cooking, OR BOTH)

croutons
A decent sized chunk of whole grain bread (6 oz), cut or torn into 1/2″ pieces
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
a few pinches of sea salt

soup
2 tbsp butter
2 shallots, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
one large potato, peeled and diced (1/4″ cubes)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
2/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese
2 tsp Dijon mustard
To make the croutons, toss all ingredients together in a large bowl, then spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until the croutons are crunchy
To make the soup, melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the shallots and onions and cook for a few minutes, stirring, until they soften. Sprinkle with a little salt, then add the potato, garlic, and vegetable broth.
Cover and bring to a low boil, cooking for about 8 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add the cauliflower and stir well. Cover and cook another 5 or 6 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. Add the cheese and mustard and stir well.
Puree with an immersion blender, and add salt to taste. Add a little more broth or water if the soup is too thick.
Serve topped with croutons and a sprinkling of grated cheese.

*You may notice that there are no croutons in the pictures...I skipped this step to keep the soup gluten free. I also added an extra tablespoon of mustard for additional flavor.

Sans Chocolate. I promise.

A few people have brought it to my attention that my last three posts were about chocolate.  I became slightly concerned, questioning if there was a problem with my level of chocolate consumption.  I was then told by a kind soul that I do not have a problem per-say, just a fond affection of chocolate.  Phew. Thank you. Thank you for making it all alright. I promise you that I DO bake/cook/eat things other than brownies, chocolate waffles, and chocolate cookies, although I did start drinking chocolate milk again this week as a post workout recovery drink.  My goal today is to provide you with a new recipe in the form of soup and it just happens to be chocolate free.  Imagine that!  I made this last Sunday and have enjoyed coming home from long days of work and class all week to an already prepared dinner. This soup is not bursting with a wide array of flavors or spices, it is more of a comforting soup. I don't know if that makes sense to you like it does for me, but what I'm trying to say is this warms you up from the inside and gives you a feeling of satisfaction.
I had one minor problem that could have turned into a real disaster while making this soup. I do not have an immersion blender so I used my regular blender; which just so happens to have a cover that does not seal tightly. I did not find this out until I was using it to make this soup.  As I was blending batches of the squash and potatoes that had been boiling in broth, hot liquid came spouting through the cover of the blender and all over my hand.  OUCH.  Thank goodness I was able to get the blender unplugged before I had hot soup all over the kitchen.  Lesson learned: be VERY, VERY careful when filling your blender with hot liquid and put a towel over the cover in case of a leak.  I made one change to the recipe, I used chicken broth instead of vegetable stock.  Heidi is a vegetarian, but I prefer the flavor of chicken broth.

 Buttermilk Squash Soup  (Heidi Swanson, www.101cookbooks.com)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 cup / 2 oz / 55g unsalted butter
fine grain sea salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves

1 pound / 16 oz / 450 g potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 1/2 pounds / 40 oz / 1+kg yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch slices
4 cups / 950 ml good tasting vegetable stock
1 cup / 240 ml buttermilk
1 bunch of chives, chopped

In a skillet, over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds until they are fragrant. Just a minute or two. Use a mortar and pestle to pound the seeds into a fine powder. Alternately, you can use an electric spice grinder. Set aside. In the same skillet, melt the butter and cook until it's brown and gives off a deliciously nutty aroma. Remove from heat, stir the cumin into the butter along with a generous couple pinches of salt, then set aside in a warm place. You want the butter to stay liquid until you're ready to use it.

To make the soup, heat the butter in your largest pot or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and a bit of salt. Saute for a few minutes, or until the onions start to get translucent. Stir in the potatoes and squash and cook for another 7-10 minutes, or until the squash starts to soften up. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of the stock (most of it) - the stock should just barely cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, roughly another 25 minutes. Remove the soup from heat, puree completely with a hand blender, then stir in the buttermilk. If you need to thin the soup out with a bit more stock, you can do so. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve each bowl topped with plenty of the cumin butter, and a sprinkling of chives.