Sheila’s Tomato Soup Minestrone

Yesterday, I met with the wife of a Medical Device manager I know. He suggested we get together because she is starting a corporate wellness consulting company.  I met with her and we had a nice conversation.

She is getting certified by an organization called Integrative Medicine. They support the idea of eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains and non Genetically Modified foods.

I had planned to stop at Central Market for some vegetables to make a Minestrone soup.  I was even more motivated after our discussion.  I made the soup and I really like it.

The recipe was a combination of a recipe for tomato soup I have been making for years. It came from The Frugal Gourmet cookbook by Jeff Smith.

The Frugal Gourmet is no longer on TV. Jeff Smith died many years ago and his reputation died as well. He had been accused of being a pedophile!

Still I love the soup. It is simple and uses fresh tomatoes. I never liked canned tomato soup but I love this one.  I decided to use that as a base for my minestrone. To it I added fresh veggies and beans.  I threw in sprigs of oregano, thyme and rosemary from my patio garden. This one is  a keeper!

The stock base I used is from a company called “Better Than Bouillon”.  I can find it in most groceries. The one I used is called “No Chicken Base”.  When I am looking for a more beefy stock, I use their “Mushroom base”.

 Since these can add a lot of sodium, I only use enough to flavor the stock to my taste. The label says to use ½ tablespoon per quart or 1 teaspoon per 8 oz. If you can use less, great because there is 670mg of sodium per teaspoon. If you want less sodium there are low sodium stocks you can buy or make your own!

I used roasted garlic and some of the oil from roasting it but fresh minced garlic is just as good. I hope you try this and enjoy getting your veggies!

Sheila’s Tomato Soup Minestrone

6 ripe roma tomatoes, chopped (skin, seeds and all!)

11/2 tbl olive oil and 1 tsp butter plus just enough olive oil to sauté the vegetables

3 cups chicken or chicken like stock or vegetable stock

I use 3 cups water and 2 tsp “no chicken” “Better than Bouillon” to make the stock 

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 medium zucchini chopped into cubes

1 medium carrot chopped into cubes

1 handful of green beans cleaned, tips removed and cut in half

5 large leaves of red Swiss chard, cleaned and red stalks cut off (greens only) chopped coarsely

½ potato chopped into cubes

½ can red kidney beans drained and rinsed

Sprigs of rosemary, thyme and fresh oregano

Salt and Fresh Ground pepper to taste

Saute the tomatoes in oil/butter mixture until they are tender. Add the soup stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. In the meantime, saute the garlic in a little olive oil (I used roasted garlic and the oil I roasted it in). Add carrot, zucchini, green beans and cook until zucchini starts to get soft.

Blend the tomato mixture (a hand blender is fantastic for this) in batches being careful not to overfill and burn yourself. Return to the pan and to the heat. Add the sautéed vegetables, the potato, the herbs and the chard. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add beans and cook covered 5 more minutes.  Season, remove herb sprigs and serve.

Eat your beans, help each other

I haven’t posted anything lately because I am busy organizing my temporary move to S. Florida from Plano. The whole idea of moving away has been pretty overwhelming and I have been going back and forth trying to decide what to bring with me and what to store for my return.

For a foodie, the idea of leaving behind “ my kitchen” is the hardest. I have a lot more than the normal apartment dweller. Should I take the pasta maker which I haven’t used in 18 years?  What about the multiple crock pots? They are super when used at my annual tree trimming party.  Do I take the blender or will the stick blender suffice?

These are difficult decisions and I have realized how much I depend on the “extras” that make my time in the kitchen easier and more enjoyable.

I thought I would try out living with just “the basics” for awhile before deciding. I have done pretty well but only because I haven’t cooked anything of substance but a piece of salmon. I have given up smoothies. The stick blender just didn’t sound right for that.

No more pitting olives or cherries, not that I did that much anyway. How do I French cut green beans without my green bean frencher? You might ask if I really use these devices and the answer is, yes, I do.  I love these little extras.

So cooking with “the basics” is…well…basic. My diet has gone to heck. Toast with peanut butter for breakfast, lunch is leftovers from last night’s dinner out, who knows what for dinner….cereal maybe?

What I have made that is not only healthy but benefits a great cause, is black bean soup. My friend Nancy gave me some soup mixes from the “Women’s Bean Project” in Denver. The non profit organization has been helping women gain self sufficiency and employment since its inception. http://www.womensbeanproject.com/whatwedo.html

I normally make my soups from scratch, so I wondered how this would turn out.  I must admit it was really easy to make and the soup is wonderful. I did find it needed a little umph…so I added some Picante sauce (I used Pace) to each serving, some shredded low fat cheddar and chopped avocado. That is all it needed.

So, I have been eating the soup for dinner and feel I have improved my “basics” diet considerably this way.

I would highly recommend you try the soups from the Women’s Bean Project. They make great hostess or holiday gifts too. 

You can “eat you beans” and help those women who have been chronically unemployed or living at the poverty level, to develop the skills and training to support themselves and their families. That should taste pretty good going down!

When things don’t go as planned, charity and a healthy fast food alternative

Image via Wikipedia

Have you ever had a day where you thought you must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed? Well today was that day for me. I was up late last night but in spite of that I woke up early this morning. I was actually quite pleased about it because I had a lot to do before I headed over to West Palm Beach this afternoon. I had offered to volunteer for the United Cerebral Palsy, 21st Annual Great Chefs Tasting Party charity event.

I thought I was one step ahead of things but that wasn’t the way it worked out. The dress for the event was Palm Beach Business Casual so I pulled out a pair of slacks and went about finding a top to go with it. The first top I found was perfect. Well it would have been until I noticed it had some spots on it. After a futile attempt to take them out, I went hunting for another choice. Ah, the silk sweater set. That was always a great choice. I pulled that out ….spots again. What’s with these spots? Where are they coming from anyway? I haven’t worn either of these tops since they were at the cleaners. Did they do that or just fail to clean them properly? Top number 3 was ready to go, ironed and I put it together with a linen blouse. I was ready.

Off to the gym, now a little late. I figured I could still get a good ½ hour of spin in and an arms workout. I arrived at the gym and found a class in process in the spin room. No problem. I could do arms first then spin. I headed for the locker room and before I could make my way out, the electricity went off. Have you ever been in a locker room with no lights? It’s “very” dark. I managed to find my way out and did most of my arm workout in the semi-dark (they turned some lights on with a generator).

Actually it was kind of nice for a change to work out in a silent gym with soft lighting. People usually talk more to each other when there has been an event, so I tried to strike up a conversation with the guy working out next to me. That was probably a bad idea. He spoke very broken English and although he tried 3 times, I didn’t have a clue what his response was. Finally I just smiled, shook my head and made a bee line for the spin bikes. The electricity went on and off about 5 times during my workout. Of course along with the lights, the air also is off. I lost a pound or two of water weight on the spin bike!

I arrived home, showered, grabbed a quick lunch then dressed for the event only to realize top number 3 had a spot on it too and in a very prominent place, ahhhh! Luckily I was able to fix it and running late now, headed to West Palm Beach. When I was about a quarter of the way there, my gas light came on. I was now running out of gas. No problem I had just passed a station less than a mile behind me. I wouldn’t be that much later. I made an illegal U-turn (don’t tell anyone) and headed to it. Go figure. It was closed, under some kind of construction. I did manage to find a station a half mile of so after that.

The UCP event was very nice. I and another girl sold the raffle tickets and did pretty well raising money for them. I bought some tickets myself, hoping to win the Premier Wine tasting for ten in your home, but someone trumped me on that one!

It was a long day and although there was some great food at the event, when you are working you don’t eat much. I was hungry when I headed home. Most people I know wouldn’t have thought twice about stopping at a fast food joint, but I am not a fast food joint girl. Since I don’t eat meat, it further limits my choices. I decided to come up with something at home (yes, you can exist on this planet without ever eating at a fast food restaurant! It’s a choice.)

I fell back on one of my favorite home “fast food” dinner. I filled a saucepan with 2 cups of water and brought that to a boil. Then I threw in some vegetables. This time I chose some carrots that I grated and fresh baby spinach. I will give you the recipe sometime later, but I had previously made a bunch of vegetarian pot stickers with tofu and had frozen them. I took a few out of the freezer and threw them in the water (you could used store bought dumplings. I know you can get them at Whole Foods, Central Market or Trader Joes) and let them cook a bit. I had gotten some Kikkoman Instant Miso Soup with Tofu at World Market (http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kikkoman+miso+soup&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=1104165341&ref=pd_sl_18k8zzw9ru_b), so I took 2 packets out, turned down the heat (Miso shouldn’t be boiled) and added the contents to the pan. After heating a few minutes and opening up a package of Nut Thins…Voila, dinner!!!

Ok maybe that doesn’t seem like enough food for you. Steam up some edamame. Munch on them while you heat up the soup. That should do it.

So that’s my recipe for the day…Sheila’s easy Instant Tofu Mushroom Soup with Vegetables ( a long story for a short recipe!). I have also tried the Red Miso instant soup. It is good, but I prefer the White Miso and Tofu. I have also used Chinese cabbage in place of the Spinach and I prefer it. It is more authentic and has some crunch to it. In a pinch, I have also used Romaine strips.

I like the Pot stickers because I get a little bit of protein from the Tofu in them. With the ginger in the dumplings you add additional flavor to the soup. Alternately you could use Soba (Buckwheat) noodles. I have also thrown in some chunks of fresh salmon and cooked till done, then added the soup mix. That is very good and you get those important Omega 3's.

There are many variations, so use your imagination but don’t make it too complicated or you won’t be able to compete with the fast food joints!

One last thing, and I know I have said this before, but it is especially important now. The non-profits have been hit pretty hard by the down turn in the economy. If you can help out, please do, whether in donations or volunteering your time. Either way, it is very rewarding to know that you may have helped some people that may not be as healthy or well off as you are. It may also help you appreciate your health and the things you have you may take for granted.

Have a healthy, happy and joyous week and be grateful for the gifts you have been given.

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Exploding soup and stuffed potatoes

Image by Tracy27 via Flickr

I was asking my mother, “When will fall start in Florida?” It will take me some time to get used to what they call “the seasons” here. I am starting to get bored with the same temperate days. People here think it’s hot. Obviously they haven’t lived in Dallas or Phoenix!

We are supposed to have a cool front tonight. At least that is what I heard. The 60’s!! That sounds terrific. It also sounds like great running weather. Unfortunately, I just found out I have a torn meniscus and had my joint injected with cortisone. No running for at least a week! I am bummed but hopeful the injection will “fix” the problem. If not, its arthroscopy for me!

There is always a silver lining I guess. I will make soup! I love making soup. I like baking bread too, but I don’t manage that as easily.

I am not sure how I came to enjoy making soup. My mother was a great soup maker, but some of her adventures in soup making were enough to scare me away from soup for life. Remember the old pressure cookers? You know the kinds where the valve often got clogged and the steam had no way of releasing. Yes, those were my mother’s adventures in soup making. Memorable was the time she was unable to free the valve, realizing she was hitting the danger zone; she called out a warning to protect the family. If I recall it was something like “It’s going to blow!” Yes, it did explode. I think it was beef vegetable soup. It was everywhere, counters, floor and ceiling. Hot soup.

Still we all survived without a trip to the hospital burn unit. I don’t make soups in pressure cookers. Never have, probably never will.

I do love soup making though. In fact, I worked at a Health Food Café in the 90’s. My title became “The Soup Lady”. I was in charge of creating 2 Soups of the Day for the Café. I took requests too. There was a gym above the store. I met my first personal training clients by fulfilling their soup of the day requests.

So the silver lining is that if we do get cooler weather, this would be a great week for soup. Enough about soup. Let’s talk about potatoes. Baked stuffed potatoes that is.

My mother used to make potatoes stuffed with sour cream and chives. They are pretty tasty, but my favorites are Monterey Stuffed Potatoes with Salsa. The recipe came from a Food Processor cookbook that was written by Abby Mandel (Meyer). Abby was a La Varenne trained cook that trained in some of the best restaurants in Europe.

When she returned to America, she wrote articles for the Chicago Tribune Home and Garden Section and eventually became a writer for Bon Appétit Magazine.

When Food Processors were first introduced, Abby wrote a Food Processor Column for Bon Appétit. That was my first introduction to her recipes. Subsequently, Cuisinart hired her and she wrote a number of cookbooks for them. This recipe comes from one of those books, “Fast and Flavorful”.

Mandel was the former President of the Chicago Chapter of “Les Dames d’Escoffier” and served as the President of “Les Dames D’Escoffier” International for several years. Les Dames is a professional organization for women in the culinary profession. I was a supporter of the Dallas Chapter for several years. She died last year at 75. (Am I getting old when my favorite cookbook authors are dying?)

Using a Food Processor makes this recipe a synch, but even if you don’t have one, you can make this by hand easily. You will just have to do more chopping and grating. I like to make a batch and freeze them individually, taking them out for a lunch or dinner side dish.

Truth be told you can make as many or as few as you want and just use the recipe as a template, adjusting the amounts to your needs. . You can substitute low fat dairy products for the full fat versions. I do and it is just as good but lighter.

Obviously, the recipe suits my Tex-Mex cravings I hope you will try them.

Monterey Stuffed Potatoes with Salsa

6 medium Idaho potatoes (3lb total)
¾ teaspoon safflower oil
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, chilled
1/3 cup cilantro leaves
1 medium garlic clove, peeled
1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper, halved
2 large scallions (1 ½ oz total) including green tops, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
Salsa
Fifteen minutes before baking, place rack in cento of oven and preheat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Brush potatoes with oil and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Remove them and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Slit tops of potatoes and carefully spoon out pulp (I hold the potato with a pot holder. They are hot!), leaving shells intact; reserve pulp and shells.

Medium Shredding Disc: Use light pressure to shred half of the cheese; remove and reserve

Metal Blade: Put cilantro in work bowl. Turn on machine, drop garlic and hot pepper through feed tube and process until minced. Add scallions and remaining cheese, cut into quarters. Process until minced.

Mash potato pulp with mixer or potato masher. Add sour cream or yogurt, milk and salt and mix until smooth. Add contents of work bowl and stir to combine. Fill potato shells with mixture, mounding slightly in center and sprinkle with reserved shredded cheese.

You can make this a day ahead and store in fridge, covered airtight. Bring to room temperature, place on baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until heated through, about 23-25 minutes. Serve immediately with Salsa.

These can also be grilled over very hot coals. They will take about 20-23 minutes to heat through.
6 servings