Two things to do with fennel

I am no longer anise/licorice-averse, thanks to accidentally buying anise-flavored toothpaste in France a few years ago and getting used to the flavor. However, it's usually not the first flavor that comes to my mind. I see fennel bulbs at the store a lot, and they look so pretty with their feathery green fronds, but I've never been blown away by a fennel recipe. I find anise to be an often-strange flavor for savory dishes. I saw this fennel-tomato soup recipe in a recent Vegetarian Times and decided to make it. We un-veg-ified it by using real sausage Jon had gotten on sale, and it was my first time to actually cook meat myself. I had to keep reminding myself that I shouldn't touch it and then other food without washing my hands and cutting board, and that it actually mattered if it got cooked well enough. Luckily, despite my lack of meat safety expertise, we didn't get food poisoning! It was a nice soup. We might decrease the tomatoes next time because Jon isn't wild about tomato-based soups. The sausage was pretty great in it, and the combination of fennel bulb and fennel seed was nice.

Since we only used part of our fennel for the soup, I made up a beet-fennel salad to go with it. I didn't pick beets for any particular reason, except that we had one in the fridge that needed using. I made a clementine vinaigrette to go with it because we had just bought a bag of clementines, and I thought citrus would pair well with fennel. It was a good salad, with great crunch and an interesting mix of flavors.

These were both good, but I don't know that I'm really a fennel convert yet. I think there are just vegetables out there I'd rather have, so like radishes, fennel will probably be a "seldom" food.

Beet-fennel salad with goat cheese and clementine vinaigrette

1 beet, boiled, peeled, and sliced

2 cups fennel, thinly sliced

Crumbled chevre

Dressing:

2 tbsp olive oil

Juice of one clementine

1 tsp cider vinegar

A pinch or two of dried thyme

Arrange fennel and beets on a plate in as artful a manner as you desire. Sprinkle with goat cheese and drizzle with vinaigreete.

Buttermilk bonanza: baby, it's cold outside edition

Of course, it was a requirement to try buttermilk biscuits during our buttermilk bonanza. There are a ton of biscuit recipes out there, but we settled on Alton Brown's because we like him. We split the work on this one: Jon did the measuring and mixing, I did the shaping and baking. They were really good fresh from the oven, but they didn't age well. We probably should have halved the recipe. I included a picture of the spread on our table that night because it makes us look sophisticated: biscuits, lentil-kale soup, grapefruit-avocado salad, and grapefruit-gin spritzers with rosemary.

The day after we made the biscuits, we took a day trip to the Indiana dunes. I am filled with trepidation about my first winter in the midwest, and I am trying to take opportunities to enjoy the outdoors in the cold so I will not become a lump on my Ikea chair during the winter. We packed a nice picnic, including a thermos full of buttermilk potato soup. I based it on this recipe from Homesick Texan, but I basically made it less interesting by omitting the jalapeno, bacon, and cilantro. I did add a bit of smoked paprika to get some of the bacon smokiness, but I wasn't sad that the soup wasn't popping with flavors. It was a nice, warm, thick, creamy potato soup that made a picnic on a snow-covered picnic table much more delightful. For those keeping score, the soup called for 1/2 cup of buttermilk. By the way, we had a fantastic day at the dunes. If you like looking at goofy pictures of us, you can look at our facebook album of the trip here.

Buttermilk in today's recipes: 1 1/2 cups

Buttermilk bonanza total: 6 cups

Tortilla soup

As promised, I made this last Thursday, and it sure warmed up my snow day. I took the leftovers to a snow day soup party at a friend's house, and it was well received there too. I don't often use TVP (textured vegetable protein), which is why I had TVP in my pantry. I must have bought it in 2005 or 2006, thinking that since I was a vegetarian and cooking for myself, I would be using it all the time. That was a long time ago, before I knew much about cooking. I had relied on processed meat substitutes for a lot of my meals in college, so I kind of assumed that "from scratch" vegetarian cooking must use those too. Ah, how young and innocent I was! I have nothing against TVP, but I just don't use it very much. TVP has a somewhat meatlike texture, and I actually found it a very welcome addition to this soup. I was very glad to get it out of the pantry, too.

In this recipe I also call specifically for Arizona Dreaming seasoning. I buy most of my spices in bulk, but I do love going to the Penzey's store, so when I got a coupon for this new seasoning, I went out and got some. It's in the chili powder genre, but it's more complex and has more of a sour taste than most chili powders. I don't actually use that many spice blends, so I keep forgetting that I have this one, but I'm really glad I used it this time. The sourness was just what I wanted for this soup. I wanted it to be not just spicy and vegetal, but to have a little of an acid bite. Of course, the lime juice at the end helps with that too. I also really liked the hint of lime zest in there.

We got Friday off of school for ice. Houston has tons of bridges and overpasses, so precipitation+freezing temperatures makes for a dangerous commute in a lot of the city. My apartment isn't well designed for getting heat downstairs, and my room is the only area that gets tolerably temperate when it's really cold outside. I spent most of my snow day huddled in my room with my laptop working on my thesis. I could barely stand to go downstairs to eat. I'm glad it rarely gets below freezing here.

Tortilla soup

Vegetable oil for sauteing

1 onion, diced

2 celery ribs, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup frozen corn

2 cups cooked pinto beans

1 14 oz can tomatoes (I used a can that had japalenos and garlic too)

1/2 cup TVP

1 tbsp Arizona Dreaming seasoning or other chili powder

1/2 tsp lime zest

Garnishes:

Chopped avocado

Crumbled queso fresco

Corn tortillas, cut into strips and fried

Lime juice or wedges

Cilantro

In a large soup pot, saute onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in vegetable oil until soft. Add corn, beans, tomatoes, TVP, Arizona Dreaming, and lime zest and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish to your heart's content.

Onion soup

It has been quite a week. Our classes are cancelled for the rest of the day for impending "wintry mix," so since I don't have seminars and choir practice, I figured I'd post a soup recipe instead. Since my last post, my diet has gotten back on track, and I feel lighter and more chipper. I have eaten a lot of good soup since then. This is an onion soup I made because I had some lightly sparkling wine that went flat and didn't taste very good, and of course I always have onions around. The wine imparted a nice sweetness and acidity to this onion soup. In this picture, I served this soup with bread that had cheese melted on it and some leftover roasted buttercup squash. It was a great cold weather meal.

Yesterday I went to the grocery store for the first time since January 18. This is probably the longest I've gone between grocery shops since I started grad school. (I did spend a few days in Chicago in the middle there, and I was in Dallas last weekend, so it's not quite as impressive as it sounds.) My freezer had gotten to an untenable place. I think with Jon gone, I get it in my mind that I should make lots of food, freeze the leftovers, and then eat those when I don't have time to cook. It makes sense, except that cooking is an important part of my day, and I am just in the habit of making time for it. So the leftovers accumulate in the freezer until I can't open it without a rain of tupperware. I decided that I needed to stop stockpiling and eat through the leftovers. Since January 18th, I have eliminated 1 quart of sweet potato soup, 1 quart of butternut squash soup, 2 cups of corn chowder, 1 1/2 quarts of pineapple rice pilaf, 2 cups of other rice pilaf, and 1/2 poud of tofu from the freezer, along with some frozen vegetables. (That's not all I've eaten; there were leftovers in the fridge too.) I have also discovered the amazing stay-fresh-ability of lettuce. I bought a head of red-leaf lettuce on January 18, and I'm still working through it. (I haven't been eating quite as many salads as usual; maybe one every other day.) I feel very accomplished now, but I'm also yearning to cook. Tonight I'm making a tortilla soup-like concoction. I shouldn't say tortilla soup because I'm not frying tortillas and adding them. But it's a Southwest flavor soup with pinto beans and tomatoes, garnished with queso fresco and avocado. If it's good, I'll write about it here. Now for your regularly scheduled soup recipe.

Onion soup

Makes about 4 servings

2 tbsp butter

6 cups thinly sliced white onions (1 1/2 large ones; my supermarket has really big onions)

1 cup white wine

1 quart vegetable broth

Thyme and oregano sprigs

2 bay leaves

parmesan cheese for garnishing, optional

Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they are caramelized and soft. I think this took about 30 minutes for me. It's OK if they get a few burnt bits, but don't let them burn completely. Deglaze the pan with wine, add the broth and herbs, and bring to a boil. Simmer until you're ready to eat. I don't think it really matters how long. Garnish with grated parmesan if that is your desire.

Detox Week

I went up to Chicago for the first few days of 2011, and then I flew to New Orleans for the Joint Math Meetings, a giant convention featuring math talks, job interviews (I had two; I think they went well), and an overwhelming number of people and exhibits of math books. I just got home yesterday, and I am in detox mode for the next week. In 20 degree Chicago, I wasn't especially anxious to eat healthfully-my body wanted to build a layer of blubber, and it's just hard to resist temptation in New Orleans, what with all the gumbo and bread pudding. When I got home, I was pleased to see that the lettuce I had left in the fridge was still good, if a little limp, and I made myself a nice salad of lettuce, carrot, cucumber, sprouts, sunflower seeds, and almonds. It was exactly what I wanted. I have dubbed this week detox week. I really feel like I need to recover from the assault to my stomach the beginning of the month has been. I haven't planned my menu entirely, but below are some things that sound pretty good to me right now.

Sweet potato soup, spinach or kale soup, soba noodles, barley and lentil soup, onion soup, crepes topped with salad. Of course, the soups will be accompanied by salad, and I'm thinking about making a nice whole grain loaf in the bread machine to go with it.

I'm glad it's cold in Houston this week so I can really enjoy all the soup I'm planning to make!

Inspiration Soup III

It's been a while since I made inspiration soup, but a recent freezer reorganization reminded me of some neglected chickpeas and their cooking water. We also had some leftover potatoes Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes in the fridge from a previous root veggie roast, and I wanted to get them into something. In case you are unfamiliar with them, Jerusalem artichokes are not from Jerusalem, nor do they resemble artichokes in any way. They are very knobby and kind of look like ginger. The taste is very reminiscent of potatoes, but they are a little sweeter and hold their texture better than potatoes do. The soup itself is vegan, but I like to finish it with a little parmesan cheese or a poached egg, as pictured above.

Inspiration soup III (Return of the inspiration):

Makes about 4 servings

Vegetable oil

1/2 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 new potatoes, diced

1/2 pound Jerusalem artichokes, well scrubbed and diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 quart chickpea cooking water

1 1/2 tsp salt

About 2 tsp total of dried basil, oregano, rosemary, and other such herbs you've got lying around

Big pinch cumin

Big pinch smoked paprika

Black pepper to taste.

1 cup cooked chickpeas

4 kale leaves, washed and coarsely chopped

Saute onion in vegetable oil for about five minutes. Add garlic, potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, and carrot and saute a few more minutes. Add chickpea broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes are tender. Add cooked chickpeas and kale, and heat until kale is wilted.

Split pea soup

Mm, green.

I am taking German right now, and I love it. Monday morning, my bike ride to school was pleasantly cool, so I declare that we have now entered Suppezeit! Suppezeit is a great time of year, albeit somewhat short in Houston. Only in a place as hot, humid, and long-summered as Houston would someone declare Suppezeit on an 86-degree day. But get this, although the temperature was 86 degrees, it only “felt like” 83 degrees, according to whomever decides these things. If you’ve lived in Houston, you know what a big deal that is. But I digress. The point is, I love soup, and I am very happy to be moving into soup season.

I made this soup on Monday after a long day at school. With just a little measuring, chopping, and patience, I had a warm, filling dinner and over a quart of leftovers. Stay tuned for a nice use of those leftovers in an upcoming post. While the soup is cooking, you can make a salad and some nice salad dressing (recipe also forthcoming). I also ate it with a slice of yogurt bread toast with a lot of butter.

I love the cumin-smoked paprika combo I used in this soup. Both spices add a lot of umami, which makes the soup really satisfying. Some vegetarian split pea soups are bland or way too salty, but I think the spices in this one give it some depth and flavor without adding too much salt. This vegetarian thinks that smoked paprika is a great substitute for the smoky, savory ham flavor in a lot of split pea soups. I put celery seeds in there because I didn’t have celery. They were fine, but add a diced celery rib if you’ve got one.

Split pea soup
makes 6 cups-ish, enough for at least 4 meals

2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery rib, diced, if you have it
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/4 tsp celery seeds if you don’t have a celery rib
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 lb split peas
6 cups vegetable broth or 6 cups water with 1 tbsp Better than Bouillon soup base

Heat vegetable oil in a soup pot over medium heat. When it is hot, add the onion, carrot, and spices. Saute until onion and carrot are soft and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add split peas and broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until peas are done to your liking, about 40 minutes.

Corn chowder

I can't believe I've never posted our corn chowder recipe! This, spanakopita, and sweet potato gnocchi might be why Jon married me. We made this on Saturday as a pre-ballet dinner for us, his mom, and a friend. The recipe is from Vegetarian Classics by Jeanne Lemlin. While we're here, I must put in a good word for this book. When I became a vegetarian in 2002, my grandparents gave me this book for my birthday. Back then I didn't know how to make pretty much anything. The recipes in this book are always easy to follow, don't use obscure ingredients, and most importantly for a new cook, work! We still refer to it a lot, and it has ingredient combinations and techniques we wouldn't think about but end up being really good. I highly recommend this for anyone's vegetarian cookbook collection.

Corn chowder

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

2 medium onions, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups vegetable broth

2 large potatoes, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)

1 celery rib, sliced

2 red bell peppers, diced

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 tbsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

pepper to taste

4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

Fresh basil to garnish

Heat the butter and oil in a stockpot on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes, celery, red peppers, bay leaf, basil, sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Add corn kernels and heat through. Remove the bay leaf. With an immersion blender or food processor, partially puree soup. It should still be basically a chunky vegetable soup, but pureeing a little bit gets some of the potato starch into the broth and makes it extra rich and creamy. Stir in cream and milk and serve. Garnish with fresh basil.

Better than Bouillion

Since we have been making a lot of soup, we've been using a lot of vegetable broth. I've never had success making it from scratch, and we have enough freezer space problems as it is, so we use Better than Bouillion jarred broth concentrate and love it. The recommended reconstitution rate is 1 tsp in 8 oz of water, but we usually make it half-strength so we can control the saltiness of our dishes more easily. The six-ounce jar usually lasts us for six or more months. In addition to the standard vegetable base, they have a really excellent mushroom base for making mushroom risotto or other mushroom dishes, and they even have vegetarian beef- and chicken-flavored bases. We've tried them and really didn't think there was a point to stocking all the different flavors, but if you're really craving the chicken or beef broth flavor, you could try those. They have regular meat-based ones, as well. I feel like an ad, but it is a pretty good product and much better than keeping a bunch of canned broth around or realizing you don't have any when you want to make a soup. Water-based soups can be good, too, but lots of soups really benefit from a nice broth. What do you do for broth?

Lentil soup

It's been a really cold winter here, at least by Houston standards, so we've been making a lot of soup. This is a simple but delicious soup I got out of the Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rogers. You want to use the small black or dark green lentils. They might be called French, dePuy, or Beluga lentils at the store. I don't think the texture of the regular brown ones would be ideal. I've changed it a little, but not much.

Lentil soup
The cumin seeds are key here, and I sometimes add some extra or 1/4 tsp ground cumin to boost the cuminy-ness.

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 tsp whole cumin seeds
Black pepper
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup sliced carrots
1/4 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
1 cup lentils
1 quart vegetable broth

Warm the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the red peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are getting brownish and smell great. Add the cumin seeds and a generous grinding of black pepper and stir to combine. Add the celery, carrots, onion, and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Stir in the bay leaf, lentils, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until lentils are tender, 15-25 minutes depending on your preferences.

Italian soup

Houston has been having quite the cold snap lately. Motivated by this I threw together a soup.

Ingredients:
1/2 onion (diced)
1 celery stalk (diced)
1 clove garlic (minced)

1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp paprika
pepper (to taste)

1/4 cup white wine (something a little sweet and fruity is what I used)
2 Quarts chickpea cooking water
1 1/2 tsp salt

5 oz pasta
3 stalks worth kale (chopped)
2 cups white beans (cooked)
1 0z grated romano (parmesan or asiago are fine)

Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent. Add celery and sweat about 2 minutes. Add garlic and saute until it begins to smell strongly then add seasoning and stir for about 1 minute. Cut temperature and add wine cooking until the alcohol burns off. Add chickpea broth and salt. Raise heat until the soup reaches a boil and add pasta. Cook until about 3 minutes from done and add kale. When done cooking turn off heat and add beans and cheese.

Note: The pasta may well get very soft (read mushy) so you may want to cook the past separately and add it to the soup just before serving. This has the drawback that the pasta won't have the rich soup flavor all through it.

Moong dal

We visited Jon's family in Rhode Island and New York for Christmas, and we got back a couple days ago. I made this for lunch yesterday before we went grocery shopping. It's mostly pantry staples for us, and it came together very easily. The basic idea is from Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Sumana Ray, but I have modified the directions. She has you cook the lentils for over an hour, which I find unnecessary. It's a warming, beautifully spiced soup. I leave the whole spices in because as it sits they contribute more and more to the flavor. The cardamom pods can be eaten whole if they've been sitting in the soup for a while. They'll give you a nice burst of freshness.

Moong dal

1 cup split beans (I used a combination of urid dal and split mung beans, or moong dal)
5 cups water
2 chopped tomatoes or 2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) or vegetable oil
1/4 cup diced onion
2 bay leaves
4 cardamom pods
1 inch stick cinnamon
3/4 tsp whole cumin seeds
2 dried chiles, cut in half if you want a hotter soup

Place beans and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that forms. Add the tomatoes, salt, turmeric, and ground cumin and lower heat to a simmer. Cook until beans are done, about 15 minutes. While you're waiting, you can prepare the rest of the ingredients. In a small saute pan, heat the ghee or oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 4 minutes or until soft and slightly translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and let sizzle for about a minute. Remove from heat. When the beans are done, add the ghee and spices to the lentils and stir to combine.

Edamame soup

In honor of two friends visiting from San Antonio, I had people over last night for dinner. I decided to serve three soups, a salad, and homemade bread for a simple, cozy supper. The three soups I chose were butternut squash, beet, and this edamame soup. They are three of my favorite soups, and I thought they went together well. They are all pureed soups focused on a single vegetable, and the colors contrast nicely. Jon made an excellent salad, and I made some rye crescent rolls for the first time. The rolls burned slightly on the bottom, but they were still pretty good.

I had forgotten that one of our honored guests avoids dairy, but I was pleased to realize that our menu was already dairy-free, so we didn't have to change anything. It was a good reminder to me that it is very easy to make vegan soups that are flavor-packed and don't leave people feeling deprived. It was one of the easiest dinners I have had. I needed to make sure to put the ingredients in the bread machine early enough to get the rolls done on time, but other than that, I just dawdled around sipping wine and preparing three easy soups. The soups stayed warm for a while, and everyone seemed to like at least one of them. We had a total of about 2 cups of soup leftover at the end, and the salad and bread were both completely gone.

I got this soup recipe from 101 Cookbooks. Her recipe includes creme fraiche, but I have always just omitted it. I forgot to take a picture of this, but the one at the top of her page is a lot better than mine would have been anyway. This soup is very simple, and you really get the edamame flavor shining through. The potato thickens it and makes it hearty enough for a meal. Several times I have started to make the soup only to realize that I don't have as much edamame in the freezer as I thought. No worries, I just throw in some frozen lima beans or green peas to whatever edamame I have, and it's still delicious.

Edamame soup
You don't need to worry about dicing the onion or potato very small because they will be pureed. The smaller you dice them, the less time the soup has to cook, but it's not very time-intensive anyway.

1 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 quart vegetable broth
1 1/2 lbs. frozen edamame
salt to taste
chopped peanuts, optional
toasted sesame oil, optional

Saute the onion and potatoes in the oil for a few minutes, stirring often to prevent the potatoes from sticking. Pour in the broth and edamame. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are done, about 20 minutes. Puree in a food processor or with an immersion blender. Adjust salt or just let people do it at the table. Garnish with chopped peanuts and toasted sesame oil if desired.

Sweet potato soup

I got the idea for this recipe from the inside of a Dannon yogurt container foil, but the foil accidentally got thrown away before I made the soup, so I had to wing it on the amounts of everything. Sweet potatoes were only $0.19/lb the week before Thanksgiving, so I bought a ton of them, and this soup was a very comforting, tasty way to use some of them.

Sweet potato soup

2 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder (by which I mean the spice blend containing cumin, oregano, and ground chiles)
3 medium sweet potatoes (about 10 oz each), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 qt vegetable broth
Pumpkin or squash seeds for garnish, optional
Yogurt for garnish, optional

Saute the onion in the oil until translucent. Sprinkle spices on top and saute another 30 seconds. Add sweet potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes, or until sweet potato is soft. Use an immersion blender to make it nice and smooth, or process it in batches in a food processor or blender. Garnish with pumpkin seeds and yogurt if desired.

Stirring the yogurt into the soup yields beautiful patterns and reminds me of a scene in "Arcadia."

Inspiration soup II

After my last batch of chickpeas, I had a ton of chickpea cooking water, so I decided to make an inspiration soup. It was a cold and rainy day, so I wanted something hearty and comforting. Instead of the vaguely Indian spice route I usually take, I decided to go Italian with some rosemary and Italian seasoning blend. I may have overdone it a little on the rosemary, but it was pretty good. I had a gorgeous bunch of Swiss chard to use, and of course some chickpeas. I also wanted something starchy. I decided on some "rice stick" noodles I had in the pantry because I didn't really feel like potatoes, and I didn't have much in the way of regular pasta. I think the rice noodles were perfect. They soaked up the broth flavors very nicely. My chard had pink stems, and the color leached out into the broth, giving it a gorgeous warm oragey hue. I think the carrot helped with that too.

I'll be busy most of the day tomorrow, so this is my last vegan month of food post. It was fun to eat a little more vegan for the month and learn a little bit about some vegan foods I had never tried before. I definitely ate fewer eggs and dairy products because of the theme this month, which was probably good for me and the earth.

Inspiration soup

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 carrot, diced
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and leaves separated, stems diced, leaves cut into thin strips
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp Italian seasoning (blend of thyme, oregano, basil, etc.)
2 quarts chickpea cooking water
1 tsp salt
1 cup cooked chickpeas
4 oz. rice stick noodles

Saute onion, garlic, carrot, and Swiss chard stems in the oil for about five minutes. Add spices and stir briefly. Add chickpea water, salt, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil. Add the noodles. When the noodles are almost soft enough for you, add the Swiss chard leaves. They will wilt very quickly. Stir through, make sure the noodles are cooked to the consistency you like, and serve. You might want to add a little salt at the table.

"Gumbo"

I'm not from gumbo country and didn't grow up eating it, so apologies to those who are and/or did, for this is probably a slap in the face of all that is actually "gumbo". But I call it that because it's faster than "okra bean stew thing". And because Barbara Kafka did in the cookbook whence comes the recipe. This is one of the few meals I make that Jon doesn't love. He's not a fan of tomato-based stews. But I love it. The beans make it hearty and filling. The kale and okra give it a lot of texture. The corn bits are sweet. The roux and chipotle give it a nice smokiness. It's great. I serve it over rice or cornbread. This recipe makes an absurd amount, so it's perfect for serving to friends or freezing for lunch later. As is the case with most spicy recipes on this blog, the heat level is appropriate for me, and I am a big wuss. So feel free to add more chipotles, dried chilies, cayenne, or Tabasco sauce as you see fit. This recipe is a good place to hide leftover or excess veggies you have. I have had zucchinis and yellow squashes lying around that get thrown in there, and I'm sure leftover potatoes, broccoli, green beans, etc. would be good too. It's very flexible.

Vegan gumbo (from Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka)
Makes about 13 cups, serves at least 8 very hungry people

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 large onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped
2 small or 1 large bunch kale, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
4 cups canned tomatoes, crushed or diced, with their juice
1 pound okra, cut into 1/4-inch slices (fresh is better, but frozen save so much time that I use them instead)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 cups beans, either canned or cooked from dry, any kind (I usually use kidney or cannellini beans, but anything works in a pinch)
1 cup frozen lima beans
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

First, make a roux. To do this, heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes or until the mixture begins taking on a lot of color. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook until the roux is a warm brown, like a Hershey's bar. How long this takes is very stove-dependent.
Add the onion to the roux. Remove from heat and continue to stir. The onion should wilt but not burn. When the onion and roux have stopped sizzling, return the pot to medium-low heat. Stir in the garlic, chipotle pepper, and kale. Cook, stirring occasionally, until kale is wilted, about 7-10 minutes.
Add 4 cups of water and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, okra, and two cups of water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the corn, beans, and limas. Season with vinegar, salt, and pepper. The salt will depend a lot on how salty your beans and tomatoes were. If you used unsalted tomatoes and beans you cooked from dry yourself, add some salt. Otherwise, I prefer just to add the vinegar and salt it myself at the table. If you can let the soup sit for 30-90 minutes before serving, it will let the flavors meld nicely. But if not, no big deal because you will have leftovers, and they will taste even better the next day.

Butternut squash and apple cider soup

It feels kind of like fall is here, at least Houston's version of fall. I had tea and granola on the balcony this morning, and it was pleasantly cool. It's in the 80s this afternoon, but the humidity is low, so we can imagine that it's crisp outside even if it is a little warm. This is a great fall soup. Squash is of course a classic fall ingredient, and the warm curry spices and sweetness of the cider are perfect when the weather is cooler. With a nice green salad or a big helping of sauteed kale and maybe some crusty bread, this makes a healthy, hearty dinner. The recipe is from Jeanne Lemlin's Vegetarian Classics, my very first vegetarian cookbook. My grandparents got it for me the year I "converted", and it's full of good, solid recipes I keep coming back to.

Butternut squash and apple cider soup
Serves 4 as a main course.

3 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
3 cups water
3 cups apple cider
3 pounds butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 7 cups)
1/3 cup uncooked white rice
1 tsp salt

Heat the oil at medium in a large soup pot. Add onions and garlic and saute until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle on the curry powder, toss, and cook one minute. Pour in the water and cider, then stir in the butternut squash, rice, and salt. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the squash is very soft, about 20 minutes. Conveniently, the rice will be done by then too. Puree in batches in a food processor or use a hand blender and blend it in the pot.

Bonus recipe:
Instead of throwing out the butternut squash seeds, you can roast them like you would pumpkin seeds. Lightly coat them with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt, pepper, seasoned salt, cayenne, or whatever suits your fancy, and roast them at 400 F until they start turning golden. I do this in the toaster oven because it's really easy to monitor them.

Inspiration soup

It's August in Houston, a.k.a. NOT SOUP WEATHER. But I have a small freezer, and I had four quarts of chickpea cooking water in it, which meant that at least one quart would fall out every time I opened the freezer. So on Sunday, I pretended it was cold outside and made a nice hearty soup. I call this inspiration soup because I didn't have much of a plan when I started. I knew I was using a chickpea broth base. The rest of it just happened to be in the fridge. The tofu skins were really nice in this. I used the ones labeled fu bao. I don't know if this is the "official" name. I cut them into thin strips, and they kind of reminded me of the egg in egg drop soup. They were savory and protein-full and slightly chewy. Here is the recipe, but if you make inspiration soup, you should just let your fridge be your guide.

Close-up of some tofu skins in my soup

Inspiration soup
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp curry powder (I used Penzey's Balti seasoning)
3 leaves kale, washed, thick center rib removed, and cut into thin strips
4 oz tofu skins, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1 1/2 qts chickpea cooking water
1 3/4 tsp salt

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and saute until onion is translucent. Add the paprika, cumin seeds, curry powder, and kale. Cover and saute/steam until kale is wilted. Add the tofu skins, chickpeas, broth, and salt. Heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste as deemed appropriate at the table.

Five-spice beet soup

I made this beet soup as part of Jon's birthday feast. I got the recipe from the February 2009 issue of Bon Appetit. I have not made any other beet soups, but I can't imagine a better one. It's warm and comforting but spicy and interesting. It calls for five-spice powder, a common Chinese seasoning. I didn't have any the first few times I made it, so I made my own version on the fly, just adding a bit of ground fennel seed, ground pepper, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and a piece of star anise, which I then retrieved from the soup before pureeing. Now I have "real" five-spice powder, and the effect is about the same. The recipe as written is very gingery, which is nice. If you don't like ginger that much, you could cut back the amount but not eliminate it entirely. The beet-ginger combination is excellent, and it might grow on you. If you don't have fresh ginger, you can substitute about 1/2 tsp of ground. It's not the same, but it works.

I don't know what you do for broth. I am a big fan of Better than Bouillion brand concentrated vegetable soup base, but if you make it as strong as it says on the package, it's usually way too salty, at least for my taste. For this recipe, Iused about 1 tsp of the base in 3 cups warm water, and I could have gone with less. That's 1/3 strength. If you use canned broth, you might want to dilute it with water. If you use homemade broth, you probably don't need my suggestions on whether/how to dilute it.

One last thing: Wear an apron! Or clothes you think are not pink enough.

Five-spice beet soup (adapted from Bon Appetit)
Beets: about 3 1/2 cups' worth, trimmed, scrubbed but not peeled, and quartered or eighth'd. If you get big ones, it's about four beets. Smaller ones, a lot more.
3 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp neutral oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 tsp peeled fresh ginger, minced or grated
1/4 tsp five-spice powder
Yogurt or sour cream for garnish

Bring the beets to a boil in the broth. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until they are soft all the way through and easily pierced with a sharp knife. If you use smaller beets, they will be done sooner. Marvel at how pink your broth is. In the meantime, saute onion and celery in the oil until they are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery and onion to the beets when they are done and let them cook together for about four minutes. Add the five-spice powder and ginger and combine. Puree. I use an immersion blender, which is really fun, but you can also transfer it in batches to a blender or food processor. You'll probably want to let it cool a bit before you do that. Serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream. I'm partial to my homemade yogurt.

Miso soup

I made miso soup for the first time on Friday. It was raining cats and dogs, so soup seemed appropriate. Plus, I had bought miso a while ago and hadn't gotten around to using it yet. I threw in some extras to make it a little more substantial than your standard Japanese restaurant miso soup. Beyond the dashi and miso, everything else is optional, and you can add any other fun extras you want. I don't know very much about miso, and I forgot to write down the kind I used. It was a light brown color. I know each kind has its own flavor but are to some degree interchangeable. Dashi is Japanese kelp stock. It traditionally has bonito fish flakes in it, but I didn't add them. This was my first time making or using it, and I also added some other seaweed to the soup itself. I had only had seaweed in the form of Japanese restaurant seaweed salad, but I bought a bunch of dried seaweed in Chinatown a few months ago and have decided to explore a little bit. So far, so good.

Miso soup (adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman):
1 quart dashi (see next recipe)
1/3 cup miso
8 oz firm silken tofu, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup frozen edamame
1 carrot, cut into small rounds
1/4 cup dry hijiki seaweed, rehydrated in about 1/3 cup warm water for a few minutes

Heat the dashi in a saucepan over medium heat until it's almost boiling. Then scoop out about 1/2 a cup and mix it with the miso. Then add the miso mixture back to the dashi. Toss in the rest of the ingredients, including the water used to rehydrate the hijiki. Let it cook without boiling until the edamame is cooked to your taste.

Dashi (also from Bittman):
2 quarts of water
1 piece of kombu (kelp), about 4-6 inches (I'm a seaweed newbie, and the whole piece looked awfully big to me (about 4x10 inches or so), so I cut it in half, and it seemed to work fine.)

Put the water and dashi in a saucepan over medium heat until almost boiling. Bittman says it takes about 15 minutes. I wasn't paying attention to the time when I made it, so I don't know. I used one quart immediately in the miso soup and froze the other quart for the next batch of soup.

The next day for lunch I had leftover miso soup with spring rolls. I made a dipping sauce for the spring rolls this time: peanut butter, orange juice, rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil, and srirachi (Thai chili sauce), all to taste. I also tossed a couple leftover leaves of lacinato kale (aka dinosaur kale) into the soup. Both were good choices.