Soup is the quintessential food of January. Salads would be the obvious choice given the upswing in dieting and healthy eating which occurs at the beginning of each new year. However when it is snowing and the air is chilled to sub-zero temperatures a cold salad is about as appealing as a cold shower. Luckily soup fits the bill nicely, providing warmth, comfort, and a healthy dose of vegetables- without the well traveled lettuce and sad winter tomatoes. (more…)
This soup is one of those happy accidents that occurs when you have a random assortment of ingredients and a wicked craving for warm soup. It started with artichokes of course. Mr. B’s fondness for the large green thistles is well documented. Four large specimens called to us from the fridge and we proceeded to have artichokes two nights in a row. The first night we went the standard route of steaming the chokes. Sadly, the results were just okay, lacking flavor and tenderness. It was the fault of the chokes and not the method, but with two remaining we decided to try a different way of cooking. We brought out the big gun- the pressure cooker. (more…)
I know what you are saying. Eggplant bacon? Seriously? My thoughts exactly.
The world of vegetarian and vegan cuisine can have a lot of strange faux meat products. Everything from mock chicken nuggets to frozen veggie burgers with a disturbing brown color and ‘grill marks’. I have largely avoided these products since: 1.) most contain gluten to hold the veggie ingredients together 2.) processed food just really isn’t our thing and 3.) I’ve found the best way to enjoy a vegan diet is to stop focusing on meat replacement. However when I saw recipes for eggplant bacon on respected vegan food blogs curiosity got the better of me. (more…)
Spring in the Midwest is a fickle beast. At one moment the weather is warm and soft drawing you outside with enthusiasm. Things can even heat up with 90 degree temperatures causing you to unearth your flip flops and clean off the grill. Then the next day Spring will turn a cold shoulder with biting wind and temperatures that come dangerously close to allowing the rain to freeze on your windshield. This yo-yo behavior can make meal planning a real challenge. Soup either sounds like a crazy idea when the air conditioning threatens to kick on or like a brilliant idea when you are reaching for another sweater. (more…)
I am taking a bit of time to recover and spend time with the best thing we’ve cooked up yet. Please enjoy posts prepared ahead of time over the next few weeks. I will be back in the kitchen again soon!
Every year around Christmas, Mr. B brings home a grenade shaped boneless ham- a gift from our insurance agent. It never fails to make me chuckle. I mean really, a ham? Yet, I have learned that a ham is the gift that keeps on giving. There is no way that the two of us could work through an entire ham within a week, so instead I cut it into thick slices and freeze 1 lb increments. These smaller quantities of ham prove invaluable over the winter months, ready to liven up any bean soup or chowder. (more…)
Are you ready to talk about Thanksgiving? Now that November has arrived it seems that everywhere I look there are images, recipes, and ideas for the upcoming holiday. Usually I’m not one to jump on the bandwagon, but Thanksgiving just happens to be my #1 favorite day of the year. Why, you ask? Because it is all about the food, of course! No gifts to give, no fireworks to dodge, and no romantic moods to create- simply a giant feast where everyone can eat, drink, and be merry. This year, for the first time, I managed to get ahead of the game and pull together an entire menu of Thanksgiving classics for you to enjoy. (more…)
One of the benefits of living in the Midwest is that from July through September you can find corn on almost every street corner. Pickup trucks pulled along the side of the road advertise “1 Dozen Ears – $5″. If you stop you will surely be offered a taste of the sweetest corn summer has to offer. Each year we look forward to eating our weight in gold kernels, enjoying corn simply steamed, grilled with lime juice, and even putting some up for the winter in the form of maque choux. (more…)
As I write this the sky is grey and half the cottonwood leaves have given up, leaving their limbed perch and floating downward to rest on the ground. Yet the garden has not quite relinquished summer to the cooler nights and northern winds. A last round of tomatoes and peppers are hanging on the vines, soaking up scattered sunshine and the final warm days of the year. While the sweaters are calling from the back of my closet I’m not quite ready to trade my flip flops for fuzzy slippers. In a last hurrah of summer I am taking the tomatoes and peppers and turning them into the quintessential summer soup- gazpacho. (more…)
If you have been reading along for some time then you are fully aware of my long standing love affair with soup. If you are new here, well, consider yourself warned. The soup never stops! Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer- every season is good season for soup. Now admittedly, Summer brings on a few challenges for even the most stalwart soup lover. When the mercury rises and humidity wilts your hair into limp submission the last thing anyone wants is a hot bowl of soup. But wait! How about a bowl of cold soup?
For some reason you can’t take just any warm soup and serve it cold with much success. Cold minestrone? Cold pho? Cold crab bisque? Um yeah, no thanks. But if you break out a chilled gazpacho, a frigid melon puree, or an icy borscht, then you might get a few takers. This recipe for a chilled white bean soup with pesto, uses the best of a hearty winter soup (beans and potatoes) and swaps a sweater for a sun dress by adding a swirl of fresh pesto on top. The use of an easy homemade vegetable stock enhances the overall soup lending a subtle vegetable flavor to every bite. By keeping the potatoes in small chunks the soup maintains a substantial texture and will feel like a meal despite the fact that it only has 125 calories per half-cup serving. If the heat has you looking for relief and your soup pot is feeling neglected, then a chilled white bean soup topped with vibrant pesto may be just what you need.
Chilled White Bean Soup with Pesto (Printable Recipe)
Adapted from: Canyon Ranch Cooking, Bringing the Spa Home by Jeanne Jones
(If you are looking for a healthy and inspiring cookbook this one is my favorite!)
Serves 8 (With 1/2 cup servings)
Ingredients:
Soup
3/4 cup dried white beans, soaked overnight in water, rinsed, and drained
2 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
3 Tablespoons chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small leek, white part only, chopped
7 cups vegetable stock (homemade recipe here)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (about two cups)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon sodium-reduced soy sauce
pinch freshly ground black pepper
Pesto
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves (plus a few more for garnish)
2 garlic cloves
2 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped shallot
1 1/2 Tablespoons water
Directions:
Make the Soup
Place a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the oil, onion, garlic, and leek. Cook stirring frequently until the onion is soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Do not burn or brown the onions. Add the beans and the vegetable stock to the pot and bring the liquid to a simmer. Cook, maintaining a gentle simmer, until the beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Once the beans are tender, add the potatoes, thyme, soy sauce, and pepper to the pot. Continue to cook the soup for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
When the potatoes are cooked through, transfer 3/4 cup of the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Add the puree back into the soup pot and stir to combine. Remove the pot from the heat, and let the soup come to room temperature before placing it in the fridge to chill, covered.
Make the Pesto
Place all of the pesto ingredients into a food processor and blend until the pesto is smooth. Transfer the pesto to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and keep in the fridge until ready to use
Assemble the Soup
Once the soup is cold, ladle 1/2 cup of soup in to a bowl and top with 2 teaspoons of pesto. Garnish with a basil leaf.
