Feeding Body and Soul: Soups and Stews

Quick and Easy:
Spicy Veggie Crockpot stew

Well, alright maybe only quick in the preparing but this is a slow cooker recipe so it's easy!

2 orange sweet potatoes, cut           into 1/2" cubes
2 medium parsnips, halved and thinly sliced (1/4")
2 onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped

1,2 or 3 jalapeños depending on your love of heat. I used three with seeds and membrane. Hot!!!!

1 can each, rinsed
        black beans
        chick peas
        Romano beans
        Fava beans
2 tsp curry paste, rounded
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
450 ml stock

Throw it all in a large crock pot and set to low for eight hours.

Quick and Easy:
Tomato Curry Soup

I do have another recipe that is similar and uses canned tomatoes or stewed from your freezer. It is different enough that it's simply a matter of what is better for your taste buds. I like them both but this version is "meatier" for lack of a better word. But word of warning--this is a creamy soup with the accompanying fat content. If you are watching your fat intake please don't substitute the real ingredients for chemicals. Use skim milk if you like but stay away from butter substitutes. That's death in a plastic tub.

To eat this relatively guilt-free is to eat it on a day you haven't gone overboard on the fats or for lunch on a physically demanding day. Don't eat this three times a week along with the trips to McDonalds. 

Common sense= fat fighting the healthy way.

3 cans condensed tomato soup--use the can for the next three measurements
2 cans of milk
1 can of broth (I use beef)
1/2 can of cream
1 tbsp curry paste, rounded +1 tsp
2 sweet onions, halved and thinly sliced
butter
olive oil
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp your favourite garam masala blend
8 hard-boiled eggs, quartered lengthwise

Sauté onions until soft and translucent. Add ginger and cook another 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine cream, milk, broth and the first instalment of curry paste. Whisk and heat on medium low.

Add tomato soup, salt, pepper, garam masala and the last tsp curry paste to the onions.

When both the cream mixture and the soup are hot, mix them together. Add more broth if a thinner consistency is desired.

To serve:
Ladle soup into a shallow bowl, being careful to snag some onions. Drop 8 egg-quarters into the bowl. Serve with naan bread or simple homemade crackers.


Quick and Easy:
Caramelized Onion and Sweet Potato Soup

This light-tasting, warming and satisfying soup I developed one winter when I grew tired of heavy stews and casseroles. You can serve this with a chunk of pumpernickel bread or a thick buttered slice of country bread.

1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cups chopped sweet onion
1 tbsp packed brown sugar--use any 'though I prefer Demararra 
1/2 tsp freshly ground allspice (two to three berries)
pinch salt--use kosher or sea salt for better health and flavour
3 cups chopped sweet potato--strive for the deep orange type rather than the yellowish.
3 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme or 11/2 tsp of fresh
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 leek, split and rinsed, chopped, optional

Cook onions in lidded pan with the butter, oil, brown sugar and the first instalment of the allspice and salt. Cook until caramelized. 
In soup pot place potatoes, broth and the second instalment of allspice, salt and the thyme and pepper. Add onions and leek if using. Bring to a boil; lower temperature and simmer for 20 minutes until potato is tender. Process smooth with an immersion blender.


Quick and Easy:
Onion Stew with Dry Mead (or Smithwicks style Irish beer)

I wanted to develop a soup/stew that was hearty and utilized some mead I had come across. I had used the Blueberry Mead for the mustard I canned but needed to use up the dry mead as well. This is what I came up with.

3 large sweet onions, Vidalia preferred, chopped
3 yellow onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups pearl onions, skins removed and stemmed
2 medium carrots, halved and sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 tsp each thyme, savoury, herbes du provence
1/4 tsp salt and pepper
8 cups meat broth*
1 cup dry mead or 3/4 can Smithwicks
2 tbsp brown sugar
good dollop light honey
butter
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp worchestershire sauce
2 bay leaves

Saute and caramelize the onions, garlic and pearl onions in butter, brown sugar and honey for 45 minutes. Add dried herbs halfway through cooking. After 45 minutes, add more butter if necessary then add the flour. Cook for at least two minutes to get rid of the flour taste. Add stock, worchestershire, and mead or beer, scraping up any brown bits. Add in the carrots and celery. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 1/2 hour or until vegetables are tender.

To serve:
Rip an artisanal bread into large chunks. Serve a chunk along with a piece of sharp, old cheese and a green salad.