Spinach Hummus: Application II

Today, I'm trying the hummus on a flat bread with lots of lettuce, alfalfa sprouts and apple slices.

The kids are having alphabet soup.

Roasted Tomato Meatball Soup

Every Wednesday I make soup.

We have soup because Wednesday nights are busy, soup is fast and it having a 'soup night' takes some of the guess work out of what to make for dinner.

This past Wednesday's soup was particularly good.
It is an oven roasted tomato and red pepper puree with tons of mini meatballs thrown in.

Pretty simple but really different than most of the other soups I make.

I added about a cup of cooked rice and balsamic vinegar right at the end.

It's a most filling soup. I served it with naan and some of Shaida's delicious yogurt.

Roasted Tomato Meatball Soup 
(Eat Shrink and Be Merry Cookbook)

2 Cans San Marzano Tomatoes, drained (I kept the juice and cooked it down for tomato paste) or 8 roma tomatoes chopped
2 large red bell peppers, coarsely chopped
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme

 2 cups beef broth
1 can V8 juice
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped or (2 tsp dried)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 C cooked rice, optional
salt, pepper- to taste

 Meatballs:

1lb extra-lean ground beef
1 chopped green onion
1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp each thyme and oregano
salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper and, on it, toss together tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, oil and herbs.
Roast in a single layer for 15 minutes. 
Stir and turn oven onto broiler. Broil veggies for another 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, prepare the meatballs. Combine all meatball ingredients and mix well. Form 48 mini meatballs. 
Remove veg from oven. Transfer the veg to a soup pot, add stock and blend with an immersion blender until well pureed. (or puree in a blender half at a time with 1 C stock each time) Add the rest of the soup ingredients.

Bring soup to a boil. Add meatballs. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through - from 5 to 10 minutes.

Best Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

I go through seasons of making certain things.

This soup is going to be my go-to soup for this winter.

Since I failed to make food for the company I had coming for Sunday lunch in advance, I ended up making this soup in the morning before church.

It came together so quickly.

A filling lunch, full of vegetables, thats tasty, and enough for a crowd equals a keeper for me.


Vegetable Beef Barley Soup 
(based on a recipe I saw on epicurious.com)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb ground meat (I used beef)
1 C finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
1 14 1/2 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
4 white potatoes, small dice
1 C chopped celery
1 C chopped carrot
1 chopped bell pepper
1/2 C barley
2 bay leaves
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
6 C beef broth
1 1/2 C frozen peas
1/4 C chopped parsley

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over med-high heat. Add beef, season with salt and pepper and cook until brown, stirring a few times.
Add onion and garlic, saute until tender.
Stir in tomatoes and all other ingredients except peas and parsley.
Simmer covered 20 minutes. Add peas and parsley.
Serve.

Alphabet Soup

Seeing letters floating around in their food gives my kids so much joy.

They love alphabet soup.

This is one of my favourite soups because of the simplicity of its method.

You will hardly need to think about it.

Cut up a whole bunch of veg, whatever you like, and throw it into some stock, boil, season and simmer.

Done.

Which is perfect on a day like today because who wants to be inside when it's warm and sunny outside.

We did everything outside today.

We raked, shoveled dirt, swept, read and did some bike riding.

Spring is very near.

Alphabet Soup

(Not Your Mother's Weeknight Cooking: by Beth Hensperger)

**I like to freeze this soup in small lunch size portions enough for the kids and I. That way, we can pull one out for lunch on a whim- instead of opening a can.

One 28 oz can of diced tomatoes

6-8 cups stock

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 potatoes, diced

1 C diced green beans

1 C frozen corn

1 C frozen petite peas

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

black pepper

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 C alphabet pasta or any other mini pasta shape

In a large stock pot over med-high heat, combine tomatoes, in their juice and stock; bring to a boil. Add all vegetables and seasonings.

Boil again.

Reduce heat and simmer 40 mins.

Add pasta and cook about 5 mins.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

February Soup

My treatment for feeling cold and a little couped-up in mid-February.

A. Spend time with these people.

B. Eat this soup.

I love this lentil soup.

It's loaded with vegetables, brown rice, lentils and just enough bacon to give it deep, rich flavour.

Simple ingredients, simple to prepare and can stand on it's own feet as a meal. Perfect.

Serve it with some rye bread or a simple spinach salad.

February Lentil Soup

(adapted from Saveur.com)

1/4 lb bacon cut in to 1 inch slices

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp fragrant curry powder

1⁄2 tsp. dried thyme

8 cups chicken broth

1 cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed

3⁄4 cup brown lentils, rinsed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

chopped kale or spinach (optional)

1. Cook bacon in a large soup pot, stirring until crispy and cooked. Drain fat.

2. Add carrots, celery, and onions, along with cumin, thyme and curry. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 10–15 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, rice, and lentils and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until rice and lentils are soft, about 45 minutes. Stir in greens, if using.

What we ate for : Dinner

Jibs says, "These are mighty tasty biscuits, I think I'll eat 2."

Moosewood Herbed Carrot Soup

2lbs Carrot, peeled and chopped

3 small potatoes, peeled and chopped

4 C Chicken or Veg stock

1 Tbsp Olive oil or butter

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tsp herb de provence or (1/2tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp margoram or oregano, 1 tsp basil)

1-2 Tbsp lemon juice (I forgot to add this and it was still really good)

Add carrots, potatoes and stock to a large saucepan and bring to a boil, simmer 15-20 mins.

Meanwhile in a frying pan simmer oil, onions, garlic and spices over med-low heat until soft but not brown.

Add onion to carrot mixture and puree either with a submersion blender or pour into an upright blender. Add lemon juice.

Cheddar Paprika Drop Biscuits

(Martha Stewart)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika, plus more for dusting

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

1 C cheddar, finely grated

1 1/2 cups heavy cream ( I used 1 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup plain yogurt)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and paprika. Using a pastry blender, or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal with a few larger clumps remaining. Stir in the cheese with a fork.

Add the cream (or milk and yogurt); using a rubber spatula, stir until the dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky; don't over mix. Scoop dough onto baking sheet using a 1/4 C measuring cup. Lightly dust with paprika.

Bake until brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm. We dipped ours in the soup.

Jibs couldn't wait and ate his before dinner.

Oh Lovely Butternut..

This is not my first nor will not be my last post about the butternut. I love the dear squash. So versatile, it can be put in just about any course, sweet or savory. Jamie Oliver's cookbook, Jamie at Home, has lots of uses for squash. (He also gives lots of tips on planting and growing squash and other gardeny things.)

Janis makes the gorgeous frosted squash cupcakes from time to time and they never disappoint in all their sweet fallish goodness.

With the cold rain outside my kitchen window, last night, I started into making Jamie's 'Superb squash soup with the best Parmesan croûtons'. Jamie is pretty much the king of long, adjective packed recipe titles. Yum though. It was thick and rich and hot and easy to keep warm if you're not sure when your husband will get home for dinner. We all ate way too many of the Parm-y croutons...jibs looked like a glazed doughnut by the time dinner was over, all buttery and happy.

Do this soup and don't forget the croutons.

Superb Squash Soup with the Best Parmesan Croutons

Olive Oil

2 small red onions, roughly chopped

2 celery sticks, roughly chopped

2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

2 sprigs of rosemary leaves picked

(I added a few sprigs of thyme too because my garden offered them.)

1/2-1 chili, seeded and chopped

sea salt and pepper

1 Large Butternut squash, unpeeled, chopped in chunks, seeds removed

6C good chicken stock (I put in 3/4C Sauvignon blanc as well)

Extra Virgin Olive oil

16 (or however many you want) slices of ciabatta bread (we used Caldense buns)

A block of Parmesan Cheese for grating

In a very large sauce pan, heat up the olive oil and add the chopped veg and herbs and chilis, except the squash. Stir and cook a few minutes until they soften up a bit.

Add the squash, stock and S.B. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer an hour or so.

While the soup is cooking, drizzle olive oil over both sides of bread and grate the cheese over both sides as well, packing the cheese on firmly with your hands.

Place in a clean fry pan and cook until brown on each side.

Back to the soup, I used an immersion blender to puree the soup but you could do it in batches in a blender or food processor too.

Divide into bowls and pass around the croûtons.

Jibs says, "Please remember to dip your croutons!"