This was an on-the-fly concoction, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, thrown together on a busy Saturday morning following a busy week of work. It's adapted from Mom's Minestrone, but it is legume-free. This could easily be done on the stove top and would be ready to eat in 30-45 minutes. I opted for the crock pot, as I was having friends over in the evening but had a number of things that were going to keep me out and busy during the day. I prefer with most of my crock pot recipes to throw everything in uncooked, as I figure that's kind of the whole point of using the crock pot. This time, though, I decided to saute the onions and garlic before adding them. I'm sure it would have been okay had I thrown them in raw, but this came out really nicely, so I would recommend cooking them ahead as I did. As with so many things in cooking, chopping the veggies into smaller, bite-sized pieces makes this soup even more delicious. 2 large onions Olive oil - lots (1/4 cup or so) 4-6 tsp minced garlic 1 large can diced tomatoes, or equivalent of chopped fresh tomatoes 4 Tbsp tomato paste 1 package frozen chopped spinach 2 cups cut green beans 2 cups diced butternut squash 2 medium potatoes, diced 4 large carrots, chopped 2 cups fresh green beans, cut into bite-sized lengths 2 tsp salt black pepper 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (oregano/basil/thyme blend) Water or broth 1. Add olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Chop the onions into small pieces and add to the skillet. Add garlic, as well. Allow to saute over for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid over-browning. 2. Add onions/garlic to crock pot. Then add everything else. Stir. Add water or broth to bring the level to 3/4 up the side of the crock pot, or until soup is the desired consistency. If you don't use broth, I would recommend adding some extra salt. 3. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours. Serve topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
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Tonight, dinner was chicken vegetable soup and a fresh loaf of GF focaccia. Inspiration came from a cookbook, but I adapted the recipe. The chicken soup was made from broth that I had been simmering all day. Last night I roasted a good-sized chicken, and used the bones and left over meat to prepare the soup today. (Here is a link to both a technique to doing this, as well as a discussion of the benefits of making bone broth.) About one hour before dinner, I strained the broth into a stock pot and added the leftover chicken (about 2 cups chopped), frozen corn, frozen green beans, and a chopped sweet potato and allowed it all to simmer. About 20 minutes before we ate, I added a handful of rice noodles. The focaccia came out very well. It was soft, chewy, and even a bit "springy", unusual in GF yeast breads (in my experience). It took about 10 minutes to put together, another 15 to rest and rise, and then less than 20 to bake. The original recipe called for topping it with black olives and fresh grated romano, which would be delicious in my opinion, but I opted to keep it slightly plain in order to please the palates of the kids. I made them guess if it was GF or not, and they couldn't tell - unusual with GF yeast bread recipes. It was a great side to round out the soup on a chilly fall evening after spending a few hours raking leaves. Lots of leaves. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups GF flour blend - I used King Arthur's this time. 1/2 tsp salt 1 packet yeast 1 tsp xantham gum (unless included in GF flour blend you are using) 1 Tbsp honey 1/2 cup warm water 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tsp minced garlic 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning (or basil and oregano) 1 egg 1/2 tsp vinegar (I used red wine vinegar, but any type will do) 1. Put flour, salt, yeast, and xantham gum in a mixing bowl. Combine. 2. Add remaining ingredients. Mix on medium speed using an electric mixer. 3. Using wet hands (you know what I mean if you've worked with GF dough at all), spread out on a well-greased cookie sheet. It should be about 1/2 inch thick when you are done. 4. Drizzle top with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan or Romano cheese if desired. Let stand and "rest" for 15-20 minutes while oven preheats. 5. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. I didn't intend to grow butternut squash this year. I find that the vines take up way too much of my limited garden space, and for the past two years, my squash plants have gotten a strange fungus which spreads to other plants. This year, however, I must have had one rogue seed that managed to germinate and a vine cropped up. I couldn't bear to cut it back - it was so green and healthy - and so I have this huge butternut plant growing all over my garden. Surprisingly, this one vine has remained very healthy and has produced more squashes so far than my multiple plants produced last year. I have had one casualty to the lawn mower (it was being pushed by a 12-year-old), but I have 3 that have ripened, and at least another 5 on the vine that should mature in the next few weeks. I found this recipe on the back of a can of coconut milk, and have adapted it slightly. Ingredients: 1 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cumin 4 cups of chopped butternut squash (fresh or frozen) 1 can coconut milk 4 cups of broth (vegetable or chicken) or water, with 1 tsp salt added Salt and pepper to taste 1. In a large pot, combine the olive oil, onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook over medium heat until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. 2. Add coriander and cumin. Cook for another 5 minutes, until aromatic. 3. Add broth and chopped squash. Simmer gently for 30 minutes, or until squash is tender. 4. Using a blender (traditional or immersion will work) blend squash/broth mixture until smooth. Return to medium heat. 5. Add coconut milk. Simmer for another 5 minutes, or until warm. Garnish with fresh cilantro if desired. I love making soup, especially when I have a batch of good, hearty bone broth to use. Back in the day, when an animal was slaughtered, the whole animal was used. The meat was consumed, but the bones, skin, and organs were also put to good use. As we have gotten more comfortable with buying our protein in the form of pretty little packets of boneless cuts of meat, we have unwittingly lost touch with the benefits of using the whole animal. Using the whole animal (an animal that has been raised and fed properly, in humane conditions, and without the use of hormones or antibiotics) yields nutritional benefits far beyond the cuts of meat that we buy in the supermarket.
Broth made from bones is full of molecules from the collagen family, molecules that help to build joints. People buy capsules of glucosamine or shark cartilage, but those same molecules are found in the bones of animals and can be captured in a way that is much more natural and healthy through the proper preparation of bone broth. Bone broth is also rich in calcium and magnesium, two minerals vital to healthy bones. Stop spending money on capsules that have questionable efficacy, and eat bone broth once or twice a week. It is satisfying and delicious, too. Growing kids will benefit from bone broth, too. When you make chicken broth this way, it is literally golden in color. The flavor is amazing. The key to making good bone broth is to keep the cooking temperature to a very low simmer. High temperatures will tangle up proteins and molecules, making them hard or impossible for the digestive system to absorb properly. Keep temps low enough that the broth is just barely bubbling, or use your crock pot set at low. You can use any type of animal bone to make broth, though I personally have only used beef and chicken bones. Roast a chicken for dinner or buy a rotisserie chicken. Clean the meat off the bones, then crack the bones (as much as possible) and place in the bottom of a large pot. I use an 8 quart pot. Throw in a whole onion, a carrot, a stalk of celery, a few bay leaves, and a Tbsp of salt. Add a spoonful of vinegar, which will lower the pH and help to extract more nutrients from the bones. Fill the pot 3/4 full with water, and put on the stove at a medium-low setting. Alternatively, put everything into your crock pot, cover, and set to low. I let my stock go overnight and into the next morning. After a good long time, strain the stock into another large pot. Discard the solids that you catch in the strainer. Cool the broth to store and use later (it can be frozen in freezer bags) or use it for that night's dinner. Any vegetables will do. Today, I used: half a rutabaga, finely chopped; 3 whole carrots, chopped; a bag of frozen organic green beans; one-quarter of a head of green cabbage, finely chopped; and the remaining chicken meat from last night's dinner. If you have time, make it in the morning and leave on a low simmer all day. This is the one thing that I missed when living overseas, because it never tastes the same unless my mom makes it! It's a family staple. It is a delicious vegetable soup that is best if put together in the morning and allowed to simmer all day.
3-4 Tbsp butter or olive oil 1 large chopped onion 1 cup chopped celery 2 T chopped parsley 2 cloves garlic Gently saute onion, celery, garlic, and parsley in the fat of your choosing until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add in the following: 16 ounces crushed tomatoes 4 cups of fresh or frozen spinach 1 cup diced rutabaga 1 cup chopped carrot 1 medium zucchini, chopped 2 cups green beans 2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 10 cups of broth, if you have it on hand (homemade beef or chicken bone broth is best), or water. Optional: 1-2 cups of cooked beans - can leave out if you want to be legume-free. *Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to let simmer. Cook at least 45 minutes, but as I said above, all day is better. Delicious with grated romano or parmesan cheese on top. Skip the bread and eat with a big salad or half of a baked sweet potato. My 12-year-old now eats this with gusto, but I usually make a gluten-free pizza or flatbread on the side to supplement for the kids. I find that when I make grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids, they always request tomato soup – they have clearly been well conditioned! – so I usually find a way to whip some up using tomato paste and milk. I have tried over the past few years to make a creamy tomato soup that approximates the taste of Campbell’s made with milk, with limited success. Campbell’s, as it turns out, contains both wheat starch (bad news in the gluten realm) and high-fructose corn syrup (just plain bad news). Not to mention how long it’s stored on the shelves, what happens to the tomatoes in all that processing, the BPA-laden lining of the can, and so forth.
In the past, I’ve always made a classic cream of tomato soup involving a roux, but the last time I made it, I used only 5 ingredients, no roux, and it was incredible. The best I’ve made so far. The recipe is below. I buy tomato paste in a large jar at a local Middle Eastern market, which solves the BPA problem. I hope to process and make my OWN tomato paste this summer, if my garden cooperates. More on that later. The bread recipe that follows represents an evolution over time of a GF bread recipe that I first made almost 2 years ago. I have made some minor tweaks and found that I get a more pleasant-tasting bread that’s a little less crumbly. It also works great for pizza crust (I pre-bake for 10 minutes, add toppings, then bake for another 10 at a higher temp to finish it off) and rolls. I have also made French toast with it. I store it in the fridge, wrapped up tightly. It makes a great grilled cheese sandwich. GF bread will never be the same as wheat bread, so you just have to adjust your expectations. But warmed up a little and used with toppings, butter, peanut butter, it's not bad at all. Just different. :) Tomato Soup 2 Tablespoons tomato paste 2 Tablespoons butter 2 cups milk (I use whole because that’s all I buy, but I imagine other milks would work. Cream would be amazing. For dairy-free, try rice milk.) ½ tsp salt 2 tsp sugar 1. Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Add tomato paste, combine well, and continue to heat. 2. Add sugar and salt, stir until dissolved. 3. Add milk and stir gently until combined and heated thoroughly. Favorite GF Bread Recipe – Revised 1 cup brown rice flour ½ cup tapioca flour/starch ½ cup potato starch 1 ½ tsp xantham gum 1 tsp salt 1 Tbsp yeast 1 Tbsp sugar 2 eggs 1 cup hot water 4 Tbsp olive oil You need a good mixer to make this bread the right way! 1. Combine ALL dry ingredients (including yeast and sugar) in a mixing bowl. 2. Pour in eggs, HOT water, and olive oil. 3. Mix on medium high for 4 minutes. 4. Pour into a greased bread pan (or press onto a pizza pan or place into muffin tins). Allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. 5. Bake at 375 until golden brown (about 25 minutes for a loaf, 10 for a pizza crust, 15-20 for rolls). At some point in the last 5 years, I made a recipe called Baked Potato Soup. It was made from potatoes that were - you guessed it! - baked. The insides were scooped out, mixed with butter and cream and broth and cheese and seasonings. It was pureed, then served with a dollop of sour cream, some chives, and bacon crumbles. It makes for a delicious but incredibly heavy soup - definitely a meal in and of itself.
I love potatoes, but in an effort to eat on the lower end of the carbohydrate spectrum, I tend to limit them. They certainly have a number of redeeming qualities, especially when the skin is consumed. But they are also one of the biggest offenders in the vegetable world for having high levels of chemical residue on them when not grown organically, so skin eating is typically not a great idea. I decided to take the baked potato concept and add in some colorful, lower carb squash in place of a few potatoes, take out the dairy altogether, and throw in some more exotic seasonings. I was very happy with the result, so thought I'd share. What I enjoyed about this recipe was that it did have a thicker, heavier quality due to the baking of the vegetables, but it was not overly rich. It's that wonderful time of the year when squash is plentiful. Buy lots and store it in a cool place (like a garage or unfinished basement) and it should keep for months. Or, better yet, dig your own root cellar (http://www.motherearthnews.com/do-it-yourself/root-cellars-zm0z11zkon.aspx?page=2) and store them outdoors. I used butternut for this recipe, but I think any squash would do the trick, whatever you have on hand. I'm sure pumpkin would be nice, as well. Last year right before their farmstand closed for the season, J&F farms in Derry offered 50 pound bags of potato and squash for $10, definitely enough for a few months. I baked the squash and potatoes earlier in the day and left them on the counter to cool. That made the soup prep/cook time very quick (about 30 minutes) at dinner time. I like to cut squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and bake it right in the skin. I put everything on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 1 hour. Ingredients 1 onion, chopped 1 Tbsp minced garlic 4 Tbsp oil or butter (I used butter) 3/4 tsp salt 1 Tbsp curry powder 1 tsp cumin 2 baked potatoes 1 baked butternut squash, or 2 smaller squashes baked 1. In a large pot, combine onion, garlic, oil or butter, and allow to cook about 5 minutes over medium heat, until onions are soft. 2. Add salt, curry powder and cumin. Cook until aromatic, about 3-4 minutes. 3. Add about 8 cups of water and continue to heat. Scoop flesh out of potato and squash skins and add to the pot. Stir well. Bring to a boil and let simmer for another 10 minutes. 4. Run soup through a food processor or use an immersion blender to puree. 5. Top with a few tablespoons of sour cream, chives or fresh green onion, and slivered almonds. Enjoy. I love vegetables. I really do. I try to eat them at every meal. But you know what? Sometimes salads get boring. Sometimes I get tired of crunching through a plate of greens or raw veggies like a rabbit. And so, every once in a while, I need to do something different like a stir-fry or a veggie-heavy quiche. I have also found that I like to have something warm around lunch time, but rarely feel like "cooking" in the middle of the day. I love soup, but don't care to buy pre-made soups, due in part to expense, processing, and, in the case of canned soups, the BPA that is released from the can lining into the soup itself.
I have been using this relatively easy method for making a creamy, veggie-rich soup when needed. It stores and reheats well. It's a great way to get 3 or 4 servings of vegetables without eating 3 or 4 cups of greens which, every once in a while, is a nice alternative. The best part is you can throw in any vegetables you have hanging around that you need to use up. So far, I have used the following (sometimes all in the same pot): tomatoes, zucchini, onions, broccoli, white cabbage, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, summer squash, spinach, red pepper...you get the idea. My inspiration for this came from a desire to make a lentil-free, lower-carb version of Turkish red lentil soup, which I blogged a recipe for a few months ago. I find this soup to be equally satisfying. It requires a food processor or blender, and I haven't tried it, but I imagine an immersion blender would work, as well. You can easily play around with seasonings - ginger and cinnamon, or curry powder and cumin, or oregano and basil. I use a splash of milk or cream at the end to add a little extra creaminess, but this could be skipped altogether or substituted for with coconut milk/cream. In terms of broth options, I use bone broth if I have a batch available, but generally I only use water, butter, and salt. I am not a fan of any form of bouillon, as most brands contain MSG or other sketchy additives/flavorings. Keep in mind that food packages can list "natural flavorings" on their ingredient list to refer to MSG. Ingredients 4 cups of chopped vegetables 2 Tbsp butter 2 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp minced garlic black pepper Other seasonings as desired 4 cups water or broth 1. Melt butter and olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add vegetables and seasonings. Cook gently for 5 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, heat 4 cups of water in kettle to boiling. 3. After cooking for 5 minutes, add boiling water. Allow veggies to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the toughest vegetable (often carrots) are tender when pierced with a fork. 4. Pour entire mixture into blender or food processor. If desired, add a splash of milk or cream for extra creaminess. Blend until smooth. Ready to serve or store. The secret to amazing tortilla soup? The right seasonings, and lots of fresh, chopped cilantro as a garnish. Everything else is secondary. You can leave out the beans and corn if you are strictly primal. I keep them in. You could easily substitute other chopped vegetables (zucchini? carrots?) and keep the carb count lower. But in general, the carb content on this recipe is still low if you leave them in.
I like to top my bowl of soup with, in addition to fresh cilantro, a generous slab of avocado and a blob of sour cream or whole fat plain yogurt. This is easily made on the stove (allow 1-2 hours) but I chose the crock pot today. Yesterday I bought a rotisserie chicken for lunch. I removed the leftover meat and saved in the refrigerator, then made a stock overnight in the crock pot. This morning, I strained the broth and threw the rest of the ingredients in. Ingredients: 6-8 cups chicken broth or water 2 cups of cooked chicken, shredded or cubed 1 cup frozen corn 1 can black beans 1 can diced tomatoes or 2 cups fresh diced/chopped tomatoes 1 tsp salt 2 tsp cumin 2 tsp minced garlic 1 tsp chili powder, or sweet paprika black pepper 1 bay leaf Mix everything together. Let simmer on stove top for at least 1 hour, or leave on low setting in crock pot. If you tolerate corn, serve with corn chips crunched over the top (I like Xochitl brand - no gluten, no GMOs), shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado slices, salsa, jalapenos, etc. Goes great with a big salad topped with a creamy Mexican ranch (1 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup milk, and 1/2 tsp of each of the following: salt, pepper, dill, basil, cumin). Nachos or cheese chips make a great side dish with this soup, as well. A rainy Saturday with nowhere in particular to go after a week of running around nonstop, plus struggling, as a family, with various colds and severe allergies, puts me in the mood for soup. The mystery of soup and its healing qualities is one I do not at all understand, but that I sincerely believe in. Today I want something that will be rich in vitamins, smooth and creamy, with some fresh ginger involved. This recipe is adapted from a Molly Katzen recipe, but modified both to make preparation more streamlined, and based on what I had available in the fridge and pantry.
This soup turned out exactly as I had hoped - a wonderful balance of sweet and savory, with a creamy richness that I couldn't believe resulted from a dairy-free recipe. Knowing that we are getting a nice dose of vitamins and minerals from the carrots and potatoes, in addition to the myriad of health benefits from eating ginger, adds to the pleasure. All in all, this took about 30 minutes to make, start to finish. Not bad for a whole-foods-based, non-processed, nutrient-rich lunch. Ingredients 1 onion, chopped 2 Tbsp olive oil and/or butter 2 cloves minced garlic 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated 1 tsp salt A dash of any or all of the following: cumin, dried mint, fennel seed, black pepper, cinnamon 4 cups water 1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped into pennies 1-2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped (I would have used sweet potatoes if had them) 2 Tbsp lemon juice 1. In a large saucepan, saute onion in oil over medium heat. After the onion softens, add garlic, ginger, salt, and seasonings. Let cook for 5 minutes more. While that cooks, boil 4 cups of water in a kettle. Peel and chop carrots and potatoes. 2. Add water, carrots, and potatoes to the pan. Stir and let cook for 15 minutes, or until carrots are soft. Add the lemon juice. 3. Blend using an immersion blender, or run through a regular blender or food processor. Soup should be smooth and creamy. |
AuthorI'm Emily. I currently work in online education management, but I also have a Masters degree in Nutritional Sciences (my true passion). In addition, I am a mom, cook, avid reader, novice gardener, and enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities. On my blog, you will find articles on food, fitness, weight management, and eating issues. ALL recipes on my blog are gluten-free. Many are low-carbohydrate. Most are grain free. Enjoy! Categories
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