A Fabulous Sounding Soup

This one's for you, Lost in Translation!

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

2 cans (15 oz ea) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

2 med onions, finely chopped

1 t. olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 t. cumin

3 c. vegetable broth

1 can (15 oz) solid pack pumpkin

2 T. cider vinegar

1/2 t. pepper

2 T. bourbon, optional

Optional Garnishes:

sour cream

sliced green onions

roasted salted pumpkin seeds

shredded cheese

Place beans and tomatoes in a food processor/blender and blend to desired consistency. Set aside.

In a Dutch oven/soup pot, saute onions in oil until tender. Add garlic and cumin; saute 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, pumpkin, vinegar, pepper, and bean mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir in bourbon if desired. Garnish each serving with whatever you think sounds tasty.

Notes: I did not use bourbon. I never do. And it was delectable.

Oh, and there are a lot of recipes online for a black bean pumpkin soup, but the main one in circulation for some reason has ham in it. And beef broth. Ick. That just does not sound appetizing to me AT ALL. This recipe is from my Taste of Home: Healthy Cooking magazine, is meatless, and is also ridiculously good. The ingredients are ones I think I pretty much always have on hand, too. I highly recommend garnishing it with at least the green onions and cheese, and if you have some, the sour cream. I ate the last of it for lunch today by scooping it up in tortilla chips. Mmm!

101 posts and a seriously life changing soup

I just noticed that the last post was the 100th! How great is that? I love this blog. Keep sharing the recipe love, everyone!

And on that note, the following recipe has some serious love to give if you are a fan of Thai food. A spinoff of the popular and delicious tom kha gai, this soup is to die for. If I could make all my favorite Thai dishes as easily as this one, and have them all turn out this yummy, I'd never have to venture to a Thai restaurant again. And I'm saying that after I didn't even succeed in my quest for lemongrass. Darn you, Asian market, for only selling a weird package of freeze dried lemongrass. (Well, darn myself, really, for waiting until the last minute to try to find some.)

Here it is.

8 c. stock (chicken or vegetable-- I used organic chicken stock)

2 shallots, peeled and halved

6 one-inch pieces of unpeeled fresh ginger

1 stalk lemongrass, bruised and cut into chunks (as noted, this soup will still be delicious sans lemongrass)

2 kaffir lime leaves, or 1 t. lime zest (I used lime zest)

1/2 t. sea salt

1 15 oz. can coconut milk (I used reduced fat coconut milk with great results)

3.5 oz. rice noodles, broken into 2" pieces

1 c. peeled and finely diced carrots

pinch of cayenne (or to taste)

1-2 chicken breasts, cut into 1/8" thick diagonal slices

2 T. freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

2 T. sliced scallions, for garnish (didn't have these)

Combine the broth, shallots, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves, and 1/4 t. salt in a soup pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, scoop out all of the solids and discard. Stir in the coconut milk and continue to simmer, being careful not to boil, for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the rice noodles into a bowl of hot water and soak until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Stir the carrots and cayenne into the soup, simmer for 3 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer for 7 minutes, until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Stir in the noodles, lime juice, and the remaining 1/4 t. salt. Do a taste test now and, if necessary, add a bit more salt. You may want to add a small amount of sugar-- I added 1/4 t.

Finish it off by serving it in bowls with the garnishes, if desired.

Variations: for an extra immune booster, add 1 c. of stemmed and sliced shiitake mushrooms when you add the chicken. Tofu can also be used in place of the chicken for an awesome vegetarian version.

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 45-55 minutes.

Storage: refrigerator for 3-5 days, freezer up to 2 months.

Per serving: 290 calories; 15.5 g fat (13.5 saturated), 35 g carbs, 6 g protein, 4 g fiber

Onion Soup of Dubious Nationality

It's not technically French because if it were, it would be much more fussy.

1 Large yellow onion
2 TBS of butter
1 TBS olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/4 C sherry
3 quarts of beef broth
kosher salt to taste

Crusty bread
Snooty cheese of your choosing (Munster is actually amazing on this)

Slice the onion into strips. Sautee over medium heat with butter and olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add garlic and thyme and sautee for a minute before adding the broth and sherry. Simmer for 15 minutes until onions are tender. Season with salt and more garlic if necessary.

Unless you have 12 oz. oven proof straight-sided bowls hanging around don't attempt to serve this the French way (with cheese dripping down the side of your bowl, fresh out of the broiler). Cool. It's much easier to serve like so: Cover your bread slices with shredded cheese, throw 'em on a cookie sheet, and broil for 5 minutes until crusty and browned. Plop atop your soup and enjoy.

Smoky Tomato Soup with Maple Candied Bacon

Sometimes, normal tomato basil soup can get a little boring.

And kids, this tomato soup recipe is anything but boring.

The recipe is from Naomi Pomeroy, award-winning chef and proprietor of Beast in Portland, Oregon. She prepared the hands-down best piece of lamb I've ever eaten, with a polenta pudding on the side, in a savory plum and balsamic vinegar sauce. I feel like Homer Simpson when I describe this dish. Cue uncouth drooling here.

The soup has bright citrus notes from freshly-squeezed orange juice, smokiness from the smoked paprika, and a spicy kick from the pimente d'Espelette (available at some speciality grocers . . . if not available, I would substitute cayenne, but less if you are squeamish about spice). I have made the soup both with and without the maple candied bacon if I'm trying to avoid killing myself with saturated fat. We had a bit of trouble with the bacon last time as our oven just doesn't seem to get hot enough for it to cook in any reasonable timeframe.

Just make it and enjoy.

So good. I can't even tell you how good.

I love a good soup. Like, a lot. And this one, my friends, is gooooooooooooood.

I got this recipe when reading an article about this Utah woman who did a crock pot recipe every day for a year-- you know, one of the many cooking bloggers-- and ended up making a cookbook and all that jazz.

So yeah, this is a crock pot recipe. And I happen to love crock pot meals. They are so easy to make and your house smells all good and stuff. If you don't have a crock pot or you don't like that style, I'm certain this would work just as well on the stove top if you just simmer it at the end until the vegetables are tender to your liking.

Here we go:

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Combine in crock pot:

2 cans (14 oz ea) diced tomatoes

1 c. diced celery

1 c. diced carrots

1 c. diced onions

4 c. chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 t. dried oregano

1 T. dried basil

Set on low heat, timer for 5-7 hours, depending on how tender you want your veggies to be.

One hour before finish, prepare a roux in a saucepan with 1/2 c. butter and 1/2 c. flour. Stir with a whisk for a few minutes over low-med heat.

Take 1 c. of soup out of the crock pot and slowly stir it into the (still heating) roux until smooth. Add another 1-2 c. of soup and stir to combine. You should get a fairly thick pasty mixture.

Add this roux mixture into the crock pot, stirring to combine.

Then, add 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese, 2 c. half and half, 1 t. salt, and 1/4 t. pepper. Stir to combine.

Let it cook for the remaining hour.

Enjoy with crusty French bread. DELICIOUS, I tell you! (I'm going to go get another bowl of it right now...)

Beef Stew

So, to christen our Le Creuset newly acquired this week, Mr. Lost in Translation whipped up this gorgeous beef stew. It's nearly fool-proof and has such a rich, earthy taste to it. We used homemade stock I made and froze a few weeks ago, and I think it does make a difference but canned will do of course, too. Yukon golds are creamier and seem to make for a nicer texture (I'm not a huge Russets fan, though). Please please please use fresh green beans.

Mmmmmm . . .

Ingredients
2 pounds beef chuck for stew, cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
4 medium carrots, peeled, halved and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 small onions, diced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans reduced-sodium beef or chicken broth
2 cups dry red wine
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 medium russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 handfuls green beans, ends trimmed
Directions
Season the beef cubes lightly with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy 6-quart pot over medium heat. As soon as the butter starts to turn brown, add half the beef and raise the heat to high. At first, the beef will give off some liquid, but once that evaporates, the beef will start to brown. Cook, turning the beef cubes on all sides until the pieces are as evenly browned as possible, about 5 or 6 minutes after the water has boiled off. If the pan starts to get too brown at any point, just turn down the heat a little. Scoop the beef into a bowl and brown the rest of the beef the same way using the remaining butter.

Scoop out the second batch of beef, then add the carrots and onions and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook until the onion starts to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour until it has been worked into the veggies and you can’t see it any more. Pour in the chicken broth, wine, and crushed tomatoes, and toss in the rosemary. Slide the beef back into the pot and bring the liquid to a boil.

Turn down the heat so the liquid is just breaking a gentle simmer. Partially cover the pot and cook 50 minutes. Stir the stew several times while simmering so it cooks evenly and nothing sticks to the bottom.

Stir the potatoes into the stew, cover the pot completely, and cook until the potatoes and beef are tender, stirring occasionally, about another 45 minutes. Add the beans and cook for another 5 minutes until the green beans turn bright green and are cooked through but still have a nice snap to them.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

For some reason I went nuts last week and bought three 8-ounce packages of Baby Bella mushrooms. This is why I'm often banned from the grocery store--to me, it's like Disneyland and I tend to overdo it. Anyhow, I needed to use my shrooms and came up with this recipe, simplified from a few online. It's a one-pot soup, which is nice, and it's so, so creamy and delicious.

Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
2 sprigs of fresh thyme, stripped from stem
8 oz package of Baby Bella Mushrooms (by all means, substitute better shrooms if you have them, but the Baby Bellas worked just fine)
1 C White wine
1 package Pacific Organic Mushroom Broth (1 Quart)
Parmesan rind (optional)
1 C Cream
1/4 C milk
2 more TBS flour
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1. Coarsely chop onion and mince garlic. Clean mushrooms by rubbing with a lightly damp paper towel. Cut off bad spots and remove stems. Coarsely chop the stems, and thinly slice the tops.

2. Set mushrooms aside. Add onion and garlic to your soup pot with about half of the butter and cook 5 minutes, or until onion is starting to get tender.

3. Strip the thyme leaves from their stem. Add thyme and mushrooms and cook until they begin to release their juices, about 3-4 mins. Do not salt yet, as it dries out the shrooms.

4. Add the rest of the butter in the middle of the pan with the mushrooms and onions on the side. As it melts, make a quick roux with the 2 TBS flour, then mix in with the mushrooms and onions. Cook for another 2 minutes or so.

5. Measure 1 C of white wine (cheap stuff from the liquor store is way better AND less expensive than "cooking" wine). Add to pot, cooking for 1 minute.

6. Add Parmesan rind and 1 quart of mushroom broth, heat through. The high-quality broth here makes up for the fact that I didn't have wild mushrooms on hand. The rind deepens the flavors and adds that extra je ne sais quoi.

7. Mix the 1/4 C of milk and the remaining 2 TBS butter to make a thickener. Yeah, you could have used more butter and made it part of the roux in the beginning, but I thought I'd save you a few hundred calories.

8. Add the thickener and the 1 C cream and bring the mix just barely to a boil before lowering the heat and letting it thicken for a few minutes.

9. Remove Parmesan rind. Season generously with salt and fresh ground pepper and serve.

TIPS:

* Parmesan rind. It is the best secret ingredient a girl could ask for. I always buy huge bricks of Parmesano Reggiano from Costco and cut them into big chunks for easier use. I cut off the rind in big chunks and save it in a separate bag to add to soups and sauces that are simmered for a long time. It goes in just about everything and makes you feel cool that you are using the entire cheese. Parm without a rind is packaged lies.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Bisque

I'm Motion de Smiths and I feel weird introducing myself to people. Nevertheless, I love to cook basically anything. I'm a fan of quick meals that come together easily, but I'm not afraid of spending 5 hours on hazelnut gelato when I have a free Sunday.

I think restrictive diets are stupid. Eat what you want, when you want, just maybe not in the vast quantities you want. To clarify, I also like Megan's ideas on eating better. I don't consider eating more good stuff a stupid diet at all. EAT!



This is an EASY and fabulous recipe adapted from one I found on epicurious.com

Ingredients:
• 5 large red bell peppers
• 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup grated hard cheese of your choice (I used Gouda and Parmesan)
• 3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

1. Roast red peppers under broiler on a lipped cookie sheet, rotating every 3-4 minutes until parts of the skin are charred. Put hot roasted peppers in a paper bag for 5 minutes to allow the moisture to redistribute and make seeding a snap. Seed peppers and place them in a blender with your chicken stock until pureed. Depending on the size of your blender, this may be done in batches.

2. Bring red pepper mix to a low boil adding paprika and sugar, and any other seasonings you may want.

3. Reduce heat, add cream and cheese, simmer for 5-10 minutes until somewhat thickened (though it's not a thick soup, it shouldn't be watery).

4. Add kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Serve with paninis or crusty bread with sauteed mushrooms.

NOTE: Though I love jarred roasted red peppers for many recipes, this is NOT, I repeat NOT one of them. The flavor just does not work--it's pickled and harsh instead of sweet and mellow.