White bean and chard soup

Perhaps this is not the most summery dish, but an excellent way to use up a head of beautiful red chard, nonetheless. (Plus a lot of homemade broth.)

1 bag white beans, pre-soaked and drained
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
olive oil
1 head of chard (or other leafy green), destemmed and chopped
Seasonings: salt, pepper, red chili flakes, cumin, parsley, Italian seasoning
broth

Saute the onion, carrots and celery in olive oil until soft. Add the beans and enough broth to float it all; simmer covered on low until the beans are tender. Add chard and seasonings to taste. Simmer another five minutes and serve, possibly with parmesan sprinkled on top.

Egg drop soup

I love fast, easy, three-ingredient things.

Since we're going on a ten-day road trip next week, I haven't been buying a lot of groceries. The fridge will be empty when we leave, but until, it's slim pickings. I still have quite a lot of eggs, though, and egg drop soup is faster and easier than a souffle.

Basically all you need is good broth, eggs, and cornstarch. You can fancy it up with soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, scallions, all kinds of stuff as laid out in this article in The Kitchn, reprinted below:

(I used only homemade broth, eggs, cornstarch, and a little soy and fish sauce. And it only took like four minutes from start to finish.)

4 cups (32 oz) chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 to 4 large eggs
Salt or soy sauce

Flavoring Extras - Use one or all
1/2" fresh ginger, peeled and cut into rounds
1 stem lemongrass, bruised
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
2 star anise
6-8 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons miso

Soup Extras - Use one or all
1/2 block (7-8 oz) extra-firm tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces
8 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bunch baby bok choy, thinly sliced
4 spring onions, thinly sliced

Pour the stock into a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Put the smaller flavoring extras you're using into a tea ball or spice bag. Add all your flavoring extras to the saucepan with the stock. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Scoop out all the flavoring extras with a slotted spoon. Taste and add salt or soy sauce as needed.

Add any soup extras to the stock and simmer for five minutes. Save some scallions for sprinkling on top of the soup at the end.

Scoop out 1/4 cup or so of the stock and whisk it with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl. Whisk this back into the stock and let it simmer for a minute or two until the broth no longer tastes starchy.

Whisk together the eggs in a small bowl with the remaining teaspoon of cornstarch. Make sure your soup is at a bare simmer. Holding a fork over the bowl (see photo), pour the eggs slowly through the tines. Whisk the broth gently with your other hand as you pour. Let the soup stand for a few seconds to finish cooking the eggs.

Serve immediately, topped with thinly sliced scallions.

Frozen vegetable soup

When my husband threatened to get sick, too, I decided to make a batch of chicken noodle soup for him.

Then I realized I didn't have any chicken.

So I decided on vegetable soup instead.

However, my vegetable supplies were a little puny. I had to supplement with frozen veggies.

Fortunately, that's not a problem. Vegetable soup is more a guideline than a recipe. I ended up adding an onion, several carrots, one old zucchini, a can of whole tomatoes, a bag of frozen green beans, a bag of frozen corn, and two bunches of radish greens, along with a handful of dried macaroni. Oh, and I got to use up a bunch of homemade broth. With seasonings, it was a very delicious soup.

It's similar to refrigerator soup, except without meat, and with frozen veggies.

Black bean and andouille sausage soup

Since I'm now working four doubles in a row each week (16-hour days Tuesday through Friday), naturally it's become imperative to do a bunch of cooking on my two days off. I started this week's lineup with an easy soup, using up a bag of dried beans and some leftover sausage.

1 bag of dried black beans, soaked overnight and pre-cooked in a CrockPot
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 red pepper (or green), chopped
1 package andouille sausage, sliced
2 cups tomato sauce, or one can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 quarts broth
Seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne

In a big soup pot, add some olive oil (or bacon fat) over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, carrot, and celery until the onion is soft. Add the pepper and the sausage and saute for another couple of minutes. Add the beans, the tomatoes, and enough broth to float everything. Let cook down on medium-low heat, covered, until everything is cooked through. (If the beans are pre-cooked, 20-30 minutes; if not, 1-2 hours.) Season to taste and allow to simmer another five minutes or so.

Note: it would be very easy to add, say, a bag of frozen corn into this soup.

Thai coconut-peanut sweet potato soup

I got a 10-lb bag of sweet potatoes from Costco, so you might be seeing quite a few sweet potato recipes shortly. I made a sweet potato risotto (with crumbled pecans on top and three different kinds of cheese, yum), and this soup from foodess.com. I really like the combination of peanut butter, coconut milk and cilantro.

Reprinted below:

1 tbsp oil
1 cup chopped onion (from 1 medium-large onion)
1 jalapeno, chopped (seeds removed, if less heat is preferred)
1 large clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1½” pieces
1 can (400 mL/14 oz) coconut milk
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
⅓ cup natural peanut butter
3 tbsp minced fresh cilantro, plus additional for garnish
salt, to taste
⅛ tsp cayenne (optional)
1 lime, cut in wedges (optional)

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until just softened. Add jalapeno and garlic; saute 1 minute. Stir in curry paste. Add chopped sweet potato, coconut milk and broth. Cover and cook until sweet potato is very soft, about 20 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender, or do it in batches in a regular blender.

Stir in peanut butter, cilantro, and a generous pinch of salt. Stir, and adjust salt to taste. Add cayenne if additional heat is desired. Serve with more minced cilantro and lime wedges on the side.

Veal and potato soup

Occasionally, the restaurant where I work will make veal for two. A big double veal chop, plus sweetbreads. The double veal chop is truly a joy to behold: brontosaurus-sized, glistening with butter and fat, enough to make any vegetarian reconsider (IMHO). But it's a lot of meat, and sometimes, people don't take the leftovers home.

The other night, two tables forgot to take the rest of their boxed-up veal leftovers with them--a few slices of the chop, plus the bones. I salvaged the two boxes, took them home, and threw them into the fridge, thinking to use the bones for veal stock.

Today, when I opened the boxes, I realized there were some good slices of veal meat in there, too. So I'm using them in a veal and potato soup.

Since the veal is already cooked, I'm just making a plain potato soup, without the cheese, with the veal bones added in while the potatoes are cooking. Once the potatoes are cooked through, I'll add the chopped-up veal, plus some herbs and salt, and finish with a little milk or cream. I'll garnish with some fresh carrot greens.

Doesn't that sound awesome? I'll drink my favorite tequila with it.

"Soup greens"

I went to the grocery store yesterday to pick up a couple of things and discovered a new grocery store creation: "soup greens."

This is a store-made package of various (old) produce that could go into a pot of soup, all of which I'm assuming are too old/blemished to sell individually. Because I went in for a couple of things to throw into a pot of soup, I grabbed one.

For $2.99, I got two carrots, half a stalk of celery, one-quarter of a leek, a turnip, an onion, most of a big parsnip, and some parsley and dill.

Not the greatest quality, but perfectly acceptable for a pot of soup. I added a can of red beans, a handful of wheatberries, half a bag of frozen spinach, and broth.

Then I made a big batch of garlic bread with a free loaf of ciabatta from work.

Roasted eggplant and white bean soup with gruyere sausage

Not much left in the ol' cabinets. But I do have some nice sausages, bought on sale. I'm making a roasted eggplant and white bean soup, with some gruyere and roasted garlic chicken sausage added in.

I used this recipe as a starting point, without the fresh herbs or the onion, and all broth instead of broth and water. I'm out of onions, so I'll use half a head of garlic instead (at which point I'll be out of garlic, too). I'm also adding in a red pepper, and of course the package of sausage. I also won't blend it, since my blending equipment is all packed.

Chicken and lentils

This is a great one-pot dish, somewhere between a stew and a big messy pile of goodness. If you want something closer to a stew, add more liquid; if you want something closer to chicken with juicy lentils, add a little less.

Bonus: I've almost used up all the lentils!

1/2 cup olive oil
1 whole chicken, cut up (I used a package of eight boneless chicken thighs)
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon coriander
1 bunch each cilantro and parsley, chopped
4 1/2 cups water or chicken broth
2 3-inch cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 cups brown or green lentils

In a Dutch oven, brown the chicken in the olive oil. Remove from the pan once browned on all sides, and add the onion, garlic, ginger, tomato sauce, coriander, cilantro and parsley. Salt and pepper. Add the broth (or water) along with the cinnamon sticks and lentils.

Cook on low, covered, for about 30 minutes or until lentils are almost tender. Remove the cinnamon sticks. Add the chicken back in and cook for another 10-20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Black bean soup with sausage and chard

It's that time of year again: the leaves are changing color, it's cold outside, and I just want to eat soup all the time. Are you like that, too? This is today's concoction: black beans, Italian sausage, and chard.

1 bag of dried black beans, soaked and pre-cooked
1 large onion, diced
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
4 links sweet Italian sausage
1 head Swiss chard, stems removed, chopped
Broth
Seasonings: cumin, chili powder, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper
Optional: 1 jalapeno

Squeeze the sausage meat out of the casings into a large stockpot with some olive oil. Brown gently, then add the onion and garlic (and jalapeno, if using). Saute until softened. Add the beans and enough broth to float the mixture.

Cook on low for an hour or so, or until the beans are cooked through. Add the seasonings and chard, and cook until the chard is just wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.

Green tomato soup

It's that time of year again: green tomato season. I ripped all my dead tomato plants up, and saved the unripened green tomatoes. They were cherry tomatoes, so I couldn't make fried green tomatoes: I made soup instead.

2 tablespoons butter
4 to 6 ounces country ham or bacon, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
8 medium green tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 medium red tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and stem removed, minced
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
dash Tabasco sauce, optional
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat; add ham or bacon, onion, and garlic. Sauté, stirring, until onion is tender. Add chicken broth, chopped green and red tomatoes, and minced jalapeno pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Working in batches, pulse in a blender or food processor until almost smooth. Pour back into the saucepan and add celery salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper and Tabasco sauce, as desired. Serves 4 to 6.

Corn chowder with jalapeno and cilantro puree

It's essentially this corn and bacon chowder, with no potatoes, and no whole bacon (I did use saved bacon grease). At the end, I stirred in some frozen jalapeno pesto and some cilantro pesto (which was more cilantro puree than pesto).

Even though it's soup, it still tastes nice and summery: corn, cilantro, hot peppers.

Beef broth from marrow bones

My parents are visiting this weekend, and to celebrate, I took them out to dinner at my restaurant Friday night. We got burgers, duck fat-roasted fiddlehead ferns, and bone marrow. It was all delicious; there were plenty of leftovers, as those are filling burgers, so we all took doggie bags home.

I also brought home the cleaned-out marrow bones, to use for broth. Three big marrow bones, plus assorted vegetable scrap, plus a little salt, plus water. I let it simmer on low all day, and was rewarded with a deep, rich broth, the color of French onion soup. And man, the house smelled good.

I'll freeze that broth and use it for soups and the like. Close to a gallon of beef broth, for the cost of just taking the bones home.

Crockpot French onion soup

I just realized that French onion soup is another great use for stale bread.

Slice those stale restaurant rolls in half, cover them with gruyere cheese, and set them afloat on top of a bowl of French onion soup.

Even better, a bowl of crockpot French onion soup, which required exactly three minutes of effort on my part (largely to slice the onions).

4 thinly sliced onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
Enough broth to float it all (beef broth would be best; but I used vegetable and it was fine)
Thyme
Salt and pepper
Stale bread and gruyere (or swiss) cheese

Set the crockpot on high, then add the onions, garlic, butter, vinegar, sugar and some salt. Stir together, cover and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add the flour, stir thoroughly and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the broth, thyme and pepper, turn heat to low, cover and cook for 6-8 hours.

Cover the stale bread with cheese and pop into the toaster oven until it's all gooey. Float a piece of cheese bread on each bowl of soup.

Crockpot spicy bean and corn soup with dumplings

(Insert ode to crockpot here.)

I'll be working for the next few days, with no time to cook--but I've got a fridge full of soup, pasta and salad ready to go. Leading up to Saturday, which will be my first Saturday night off in six months. It seems like such an impossible luxury, I hardly know how to process it. Stay tuned for a dinner party!

2 cans (or the equivalent) red beans, drained
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes, with juice
1 10 oz pkg frozen corn
1 cup sliced carrots
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
Broth to float all

Combine everything in your crockpot, with enough broth to make it soupy, and cook on high for 5 hours or low for 10.

For the dumplings:
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
pepper
1 egg white
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another. Add the wet to the dry and stir until just blended. Drop into the soup, cover and cook on high for 20 minutes or low for 30 minutes. Do not lift the lid while cooking.

White bean soup with crispy proscuitto

The crispy proscuitto is definitely the winning part of this dish.

After all, bean soup is bean soup is bean soup. Right?

Confession: I made way too much crispy proscuitto for this recipe, accidentally-on-purpose, then ate the rest like they were potato chips.

I got the recipe from Shutterbean:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
4 large sage leaves, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken stock
2 15 oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and  rinsed
kosher salt
8 thin slices prosciutto (I used 7 big slices)
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more as needed

In a large (8 quart) pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until they turn translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add the celery and carrot and continue to cook until they soften slightly, 10 minutes. Add the sage, garlic, and bay leaf and continue to cook for 2 more minutes, until aromatic.

Add the stock and beans and 2 teaspoons of salt and fresh ground pepper. Increase heat to medium high and bring soup to a boil. Then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Continue to cook, uncovered until the vegetables are completely soft and have started to break down, 45 to 1 hour.

Meanwhile position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 350F.

Brush both sides of the prosciutto with olive oil and place each piece on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until they are slightly darker and wrinkly, 10 to 15 minutes. Let them cool and they will crisp even more while cooling. Break into shards and set aside.

Finish the soup by removing the bay leaf and puree the soup with an immersion blender (or a food processor/blender in various batches). Stir in the lemon juice and add more if needed. Salt and pepper to taste. To serve, divide soup among bowls and stop with the crisped prosciutto.

Crockpot minestrone

Can you tell I've been busy lately? I love my crockpot!

I also have a new job--one that will involve a hefty commute, and a lot of hard work and training, but I'm excited. It's the next step in this new restaurant career. But I'll be working more than usual in the coming weeks, so I suspect my crockpot will get even more use.

Crockpot minestrone is less an actual recipe than a repository of whatever you have on hand. Don't have green beans? Use peas or greens or frozen spinach instead. Don't have zucchini? Leave it out. And so on.

1 onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Two handfuls of frozen green beans
1 1/2 cups pre-cooked white beans (or 1 can)
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes, with juice (or the equivalent amount of spaghetti sauce)
1 zucchini, chopped
6 cups broth
Cooked pasta
Pesto

Put 1 tablespoon olive oil, along with the onion, celery, carrot and garlic, into the crockpot. Cover and set on High while prepping everything else. Add everything else (except the cooked pasta and pesto) and cook on Low for  7-8 hours.

Add in some cooked pasta, maybe a couple of handfuls, and swirl in a spoonful of pesto. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Crockpot red bean and sweet potato chili

I've been on a crockpot kick lately. (Can you tell?) I also paid off one of my student loans the other day. Which is awesome, but it means I have no cash to go grocery shopping with. That isn't really a problem--I have a fully stocked pantry, as you know--but I am completely out of green things, even frozen spinach, and I'm starting to run low on other basics.

In the meantime, I'm trying to get nutrients without greenery. This combination of red beans, sweet potatoes and tomatoes has lots of vitamins and such, and best of all, requires a bare minimum of effort to throw together. That's why I've been using my crockpot so much lately--been eating a lot of beans and lentils, because it's the end of the month, and because I'm lazy.

1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used 1 1/4 jarred roasted red peppers)
6 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups pre-cooked red beans
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes, with juice
Chili powder, cumin and cayenne to taste (I used 2 tablespoons, 1 tablespoon and a healthy sprinkle, respectively)
Broth

Saute the onion, pepper and garlic in olive oil in a skillet (on the stove) until soft. Add the seasonings and the sweet potatoes, and cook for another minute. Dump all this into the crockpot and add the beans, tomatoes, and enough broth to cover. Cook on Low for 6 hours. Salt and pepper to taste.

Crockpot potato soup with pesto

Another easy win for dinner.

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
5-6 medium Yukon Gold (or other) potatoes, peeled and diced
6 cups broth

Place the oil and garlic in the crockpot and turn to High and cover while prepping the potatoes. Add the potatoes and broth, stir, and cook on Low for 4-6 hours. Puree (in a food processor or with a stick blender). Serve with a spoonful of pesto swirled in, and salt and pepper to taste.

Crockpot black bean soup

The best part about this recipe is that you don't have to soak the beans first.

That's right, you can just throw dried beans into the crockpot, and end up with great soup 9 - 11 hours later.

Which means you can throw this together at night, and have great soup waiting for you at lunch. It also means, if you work like normal people, you can throw this together in the morning, and have it be ready at waiting for you for dinner when you get home at 7 pm.

Note: it's kinda bland, on its own. Feel free to spice it up with more chili powder, cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper.

3 onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
6 cups broth
1 pound dried black beans
4 – 5 celery ribs, chopped
3 - 4 carrots, chopped
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce (optional)

Mix together onion, garlic, olive oil, and chili powder in a medium bowl and microwave for 5 minutes. Then transfer to slow cooker. Add broth, water, celery, carrots, beans, and bay leaves to slow cooker and cook on low for 9-11 hours.

Remove 1 -2 cups of the soup and place in a medium to large bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork. Transfer back to soup and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a splash of hot sauce if desired.