Broccoli Soup

Warming Winter Foods is the title of a class I am teaching at Gilda’s Club in White Plains today. This class is based on the third pillar of my House of Health philosophy: seasonality.

In the winter, we eat and live differently than we do in spring, summer and fall.  Life is at a slower pace.  If we don’t pay attention to Mother Nature’s advice to slow down, we can get sick or be involved in a fender bender on the road. When it comes to food, warming is best this time of year.  Soups and stews instead of salads and smoothies.

I discovered this simple sweet recipe for Broccoli Soup on the Bon Appetit website and will be making this one in class.

Snow forces us to go slow

Here in the northeast, a blizzard is just starting to arrive. Its a great reminder from Mother Nature that this is the time of year to do less.

Of course, as soon as a snowstorm is announced on the news, everyone floods the stores to stock up on food. I’m betting that most of those people already have plenty in their house without a stressful last minute run to the crowded stores.

Here at the Rubin Rodeo, we’re going to make a pot of black bean soup. Not the quick, Easy Black Bean Soup that I blogged about last month, this time, I’ll be cooking the long and slow version from Bean Cuisine.

Make a point to do less today. Slow down. Put your legs up the wall and relax. Its the best way to restore your energy and boost your immunity.

Sumo wrestlers eat big dinners

Want to avoid holiday weight gain?  If you are one of those of you who continue to count calories, I have news for you. We don’t burn calories at the same rate throughout the day. This reality check puts a real wrench in calorie counting. Here’s a better strategy and far more simple:

Eat Breakfast like a King,

Lunch like a Prince

Dinner like a Pauper

When the sun is highest in the sky, noon that is, our bodies burn food at the highest rate. Throughout history, the main meal of the day was at midday, not at night.  Makes sense, right? As a matter of fact, Sumo wrestlers build bulk by  skipping breakfast and eating big dinners. Learn more about this and other useful strategies for letting go of excess weight in my Dump Your Diet eBook.

What to have for dinner? How about a bowl of soup?

Added bonus: Eating lighter at night will enable you to sleep deeper and wake up hungry. Just in time for a big, hearty breakfast.

Refrigerator Soup

Last night, after a long weekend of travel and way too much food, I peered into my refrigerator wondering what to do. I didn’t want to go to the store to buy food for dinner. It was time to get creative. I pulled out everything from the drawers and took inventory.

A few carrots, some limp leeks, 4 shitake mushrooms, a bunch of tired cilantro. That was the start. I peeked into my freezer and found some frozen chicken stock.  A can of white beans and a can of diced tomatoes. This was starting to look like something I could turn into soup.

I sauteed up the leeks with some garlic and a shallot, added diced carrots and mushrooms. Tossed in the stock. Brought it up to a simmer, added the tomatoes and beans, a little sea salt and pepper. It turned out to be awesome. In less time than it would have taken to get take out.

The best part is today. All I had to do was toss the leftover soup into a pot, warm it up. Made for a perfect light meal on a cold windy day.

You can find a more detailed recipe for “Refrigerator Soup” here Hopefully I’ll have all the soups I made last month put into an eBook format by the end of the week.

Today is the 30th day of soups. For this special occasion, I dug deep into my document files and found this gem from 2003. This light, healing veggie noodle soup is a great thing to make when you’re feeling like you may be on your way to coming down with one of those head colds that seem to be going around right now.  Hopefully you have a container of Miso paste in your fridge by now along with some veggies. If so, this is a quick soup you can whip up and feel better fast.

Remember, this recipe is not set in stone! If you don’t have an ingredient, substitute something else. Play with your soup, you can’t go wrong!

Miso Vegetable Noodle Bowl

Cooked udon noodles, cellophane noodles or rice noodles

3 cups water

3 cups veggie broth

1 ½ cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed

1 cup thinly sliced napa cabbage

1 cup diagonally cut carrot

broccoli florets

1 cup snow peas or sugar snap peas, diagonally cut

1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps

½ cup finely chopped scallions

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

3 tablespoons yellow miso

2 teaspoons chili paste with garlic

2 tablespoons minced cilantro

Bring water and broth to a boil; add noodles, edamame, cabbage, carrot, broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms and green onions.

Combine juice, ginger, miso, and chile paste, stirring with a whisk; stir into the soup.

Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

The Blue Pig in Croton NY serves ice cream in the summer, home made soup in the winter

Today’s soup is from Lisa Moir, the owner of Blue Pig Ice Cream in Croton NY.  I’m a huge fan of Blue Pig ice cream and wrote about it last summer in my blog. (click here to read my review). As the weather has cooled off, Lisa is now offering two soups a day at the Blue Pig.

Cream of Celeriac Soup

Ingredients:
1 1/2 celery root, trimmed peeled, and cut up
2 3/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
*optional – freshly grated nutmeg for serving

In a medium saucepan bring the celery root and chicken stock to a boil, lower the heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes

In a blender, working in batches of no more than 2 cups, puree the root and stock

When all is blended return contents to the pot and heat through

Season with salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle nutmeg over each serving if desired

ENJOY!

Curried Lentil Soup BonAppetit Dec 2010

The Turkey Day weekend is over, my two older girls headed back to college. No more bird left in the house and its getting really cold outside. What to do? Make some more soup. I found this recipe for Curried Lentil Soup in Bon Appetite magazine which comes free to my house every month because the magazine people think I am still a practicing dentist. I continue to get oodles of free magazines for my waiting room, most end up as compost or fodder for collage.

Lentil soups are easy to make and are full of protein and fiber. Curry powder is a mix of spices: turmeric, paprika, pepper, ginger, cumin, celery seed. Curry has lots of warming energy and is great for digestion too. This soup can also make for a nice warming breakfast if you’re willing to think outside the cereal box.

Curried Lentil Soup

Bon Appetit magazine 12/10

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

1  medium carrot, finely chopped

2 large garlic cloves, chopped, divided

2 tablespoons (or more) curry powder

1 cup French green lentils

4 1/4 cups (or more) water, divided

1 15- to 16-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges

Cheryl's Carrot Soup

Today, I’ve brought in another guest soup blogger to inspire you to make more soup.  Cheryl Sternman Rule is a widely published food writer, recipe developer and blogger at 5 Second Rule . She is currently working on a vegetarian cookbook, to be published by Running Press in 2012.

Cheryl is a great cook, a sharp writer and a talented photographer. She and I have been pals in cyberspace for many years. She wrote a piece about kids and allergies  for the Better School Food back in 2008. We got to meet in person in Portland Oregon at the Farm to School Conference in March of 2009. The conference inspired her to write a great post about Activism on her blog.  Since I just got back from the farmer’s market with  I am making this carrot soup this afternoon. Thanks, Cheryl.

Carrot Leek Soup with Tarragon

Makes about 8 cups

1/4 cup olive oil

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, quartered lengthwise then roughly chopped

1-1/2 pounds carrots (about 4 to 6 medium), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and roughly chopped

1 russet potato, peeled, diced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Two 14-1/2 ounce cans low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, plus additional for garnish

2 tablespoons sour cream, plus additional for garnish

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add leeks, carrots, diced potato, and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper, and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Slowly add the chicken broth and the equivalent of 1 can of cold water (just shy of 2 cups).  Add the tarragon and raise the heat to high.  Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, partially cover, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the vegetables are all tender.  Remove from the heat.

If you have an immersion blender, use it to puree the soup.  (Otherwise, allow to cool slightly and then puree in batches in a traditional blender.  Return soup to the pot.)  Swirl in two tablespoons of the sour cream and the lime juice, and adjust the salt and pepper, if necessary.  Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with a sprinkling of additional tarragon, if desired.

Turkey Soup

Despite what the TV and newspapers are telling you, the day after Thanksgiving is not the day to shop. It’s the day to make Turkey Soup. A good soup starts with good stock. In previous blog posts, I’ve talked about making chicken stock in a slow cooker after enjoying a roast chicken. Making a turkey stock is the same deal. You can make it overnight in a slow cooker or on the stove top in an afternoon.

Here’s how to make a good turkey stock.

First, cut  all the usable turkey meat from the turkey carcass to save for adding to the soup or other leftovers.

Put the leftover bones and skin into a large stock pot and cover with cold water by an inch. Drippings that weren’t used to make gravy can go in too. Add a yellow onion that has been quartered along with some chopped carrots, parsley, thyme, a bay leaf and some celery tops if you have them.

Bring your stock to a boil and immediately reduce heat to bring it down to  just below a simmer. Skim off any foamy crud that may float to the surface of the stock.

Add sea salt and pepper, about 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper. It sort of depends on how big your turkey is. You can always add salt to the soup later.

Cook for at least 4 hours, uncovered or partially uncovered (so the stock reduces),  skim off any foam that comes to the surface.

Remove the bones and veggies and strain the stock, ideally through a very fine mesh strainer.

Now that you’ve got some good turkey stock,  it’s time to make the soup.

This is just like making a chicken soup.

With your stock already made, add chopped carrots, onions, and celery in equal parts. Add some parsley, a couple cloves of garlic. Add seasoning – poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, marjoram, whatever herbs you like.

Cook at a bare simmer until the vegetables are cooked through.

You can add rice, noodles, cooked quinoa, or even leftover mashed potatoes.

Take some of the turkey meat you saved earlier, shred it into bite sized pieces and add to the soup.

You could also  add some chopped tomatoes, either fresh or canned.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sometimes a pinch or two of cayenne pepper gives the soup a nice little kick.

Stay home on Black Friday and enjoy your Turkey Soup!

Joe's Shanghai, NYC

We have an unusual but fun tradition here at the Rubin Rodeo. Every other year, instead of packing in the car and heading to Delaware where the bulk of the Rubin relatives live, we head to Chinatown. This tradition was started after my parents passed away, I’m what you’d call an adult orphan. The holidays can be a bit of a bummer when everyone else has parents and grandparents and yours are not around.

Chinatown is busy and bustling on Thanksgiving, its just another day for Chinese restaurants. We have lots of fun “grazing” at many different Chinatown hot spots. One famous place known for it’s soup dumplings is Joe’s Shanghai. These giant dumplings filled with soup are messy but fun to eat. It’s pretty darn challenging to make at home. If you wanted to, here’s a link to a recipe for Shanghai Soup Dumplings.

Soup dumpling, up close

I’ll be back tomorrow and the next 5 days with more soup!

In the meantime, wherever you are and whomever you’re with, have a great Turkey Day.