beautiful borscht

I may be reading too much - looking outside at the falling snow I feel all War-and-Peace-ish and Dr Zhivago-y - and everybody is writing about detoxing and healthy livers and resolutions to eat healthy forevermore. Of course when I went to the market the bin of beets was both homely and beautiful. It was too perfect a storm; I could feel romantic and virtuous at the same time if I made a pot of borscht.

Beautiful borscht (has to be just about the prettiest soup) always makes me think of two things. Russian winter and Merin. The Russian connection is fairly obvious but I should perhaps explain Merin. Mike's paternal grandparents came to Canada from Poland and his Baba made borscht. I know this because after one trip to visit her in-laws Merin came home with a few Mason jars filled with the pretty soup and shared it with me. Prior to this sharing I was not a fan of the beet soup but Baba's soup opened the door. After that shared lunch I tried my hand at beet soup once but I was not impressed and didn't revisit the idea until the other day. I had been reading about the myriad health advantages of wonderful beets (an important source of betaine and folate, loaded with potassium, some magnesium and even a little vitamin C - beets are believed to be an excellent liver tonic and blood purifier) and, to be sure, we love beets whether cooked or raw. Soup is an easy answer to a fast, healthy lunch and absolutely obvious in the cold, cold, snowy winter. And so, borscht.

Some years we have a pretty bare and very brown winter. Other years it snows often - snowflakes falling for hours and hours in a thick curtain. This is one of the years when if one counted wealth in terms of centimetres of snow, Calgary would have to be acknowledged as having an absolute embarrassment of riches. It is snowing yet again today. Beautiful, big flakes drifting down and piling up, adding to an already abundant blanket and deep drifts everywhere. My little vegetable garden has a two foot fence around it (to keep the rabbits out) and today the top of the fence is officially buried. There is a lot of snow. I have never been to Russia - unless reading counts (doesn't) - but I imagine it to be beautifully snowy in winter and (thankfully) ever so much colder than it is here today. 

Having concluded that borscht had to be made I searched my cookbook collection and my favourite spots online for a likely-looking recipe. I read reviews and made my own calculations. But really there wasn't much of a contest - who wouldn't be won over by "Dr Zhivago Borscht"? It was a very wise choice. I may not be a borscht connoisseur but I do know good soup and this is good soup. If you don't have a good recipe for borscht - or even if you do - you really ought to give this one a try. I found the recipe on Food 52 - always a good bet - and made a very few, small modifications.

The soup has a wonderful fresh, slightly sweet taste (as one would expect from beets). I like to add a tsp or so (to taste) of apple cider vinegar to my bowl along with another sprinkle of fresh dill. Sometimes I add a tablespoon of sour cream as well. David likes some chopped smoked sausage in his bowl. Many recipes for borscht include shredded cabbage. I dislike overly cooked cabbage but cabbage is very highly thought of in the detox circles, so I decided to shred some very finely and added it to the hot soup the second day we had it. It cooked just enough but not too much. This recipe makes a generous large pot of soup. Enough for several lunches and even a jar or two to share.

Virtuous new year food. Romance. Merin and Russia. Who knew all that could be in a simple bowl of ruby soup?

beautiful borscht
(adapted very lightly from Food 52)

10 cups water
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
3 large beets
3 medium carrots
2 medium-large red potatoes
1 large celery stalk, sliced into thin moons
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2-3 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Optional add-ins:
apple cider vinegar
sour cream
finely shredded green cabbage
chopped smoked sausage
finely chopped fresh dill

Add the water to a large heavy pot and set over low heat. Add the oil, chopped onion, and bay leaf. Peel the beets and cut into quarters. Add the beets gently to the water and continue to prepare the other vegetables.

Cut the carrots into rounds and the potatoes into 1/2" cubes, adding each to the pot as they are ready. Add the celery slices and lemon juice. Increase the heat a bit (to a medium-low) and cook until the beet pieces can be pierced easily with the tip of a knife.

Carefully scoop the beets out of the cooking pot and let them cool slightly - about 2 minutes for easier handling. Use a box grater if you must but if you have a food processor this is a good time to pull it out. Using a large hole on your grater or attachment shred the beets, returning the shredded beets to the pot. Cook for a further 10 minutes. Add the dill and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

smoked paprika soup with chickpeas & chorizo

April may bring the famous flower-heralding showers in some parts of the world but more often than not what we get here in Calgary is more snow. My mom reminded me last night that someone we love often remarked that the weather was immaterial. That it should be - although rarely is - really ought to be a self-evident obviousity. At least I haven't noticed that complaining about it has ever been effective. In that vein I have chosen to view the newly fallen snow as a perfect opportunity to make this wonderfully warming soup. I love a bowl of soup most any time but when there is a blizzard - or even a gentle shower - outside your April door, it is practically mandatory.

This soup is ever so much better than I expected and I was expecting good! Fast, easy, healthy, and warming. I  love the exactly perfect heat of the smoked paprika combined with the almost sweet chorizo sausage. It smells good and tastes better. Make it!

If you are feeding young children you might want to start slowly with the smoked paprika - the 3/4 tsp produces a nicely hot spiciness that could be more than they would like. Taste and add more according to their (or your) tolerance. That said, this isn't crazy hot but I know kids :)

smoked paprika soup with chickpeas & chorizo 
(adapted from 20 minute supper club)

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/3 cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp herbes de provence
1 540ml can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth
1 796ml can diced tomatoes
1 tsp coconut palm sugar
1 cup diced semi-dry cured chorizo sausage
baby spinach and/or baby kale leaves
3 Tbsp chopped celery leaves
1 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and garlic. Saute until the onions begin to soften. Add the chickpeas and paprika - stir until the paprika is warmed and evenly mixed in. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, herbes de provence, 1/4 cup of the diced sausage and coconut palm sugar. Bring just to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove roughly 1/3 of the soup mixture from the pot and puree with an immersion blender until smooth. (Alternately process in a blender after allowing the soup to cool for about 10 minutes. Really, let it cool. The alternative to the short wait is a mess you don't want to deal with.) Return the pureed mixture to the pot and stir to combine. Stir in the chopped celery leaves and remaining diced sausage. Taste for seasoning; add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper if you wish.

Put a small handful of fresh spinach or baby kale leaves in the bottom of each serving bowl. Ladle hot soup over and serve.

cauliflower soup with toasted garlic

If I had any kind of professional pride I would not be posting these pictures - but there you go, I am most certainly not any kind of professional, so no need for pride! Nevertheless whatever kind of pride I do have is smarting a bit. I don't know what was going on with my camera when I took the pictures - I did it so quickly just before we polished off the soup that I didn't check and now the soup is gone and the pictures are a bit of a mess. I really couldn't not post this recipe for such a small and selfish reason. As it was I felt a bit like I was holding out because this is almost as simple and genius a recipe as last year's broccoli-spinach soup, and I had made it 10 whole days ago. Without sharing. 

I didn't expect an awful lot from this soup. It had been one of those days. The day flies by, stomachs are beginning to growl, and there are no plans for what to fill them with. Not a one. And not an awful lot of anything very exciting in the pantry or fridge to get things off to a promising start. Just a pretty head of cauliflower and some fresh thyme. Not expecting much I didn't plan to share the result ... so no pics. But happy surprise! the soup was really good and there was plenty for another day when I could snap a couple of mediocre shots just as the light was fading.

If you find yourself with a pretty head of cauliflower and half an hour until dinner, consider trying this incredibly simple soup. Toss together a salad of greens with a bit of sharp cheese and some bright cherry tomatoes to go along with the soup. A light dinner to warm your body and soul, satisfy tummies and health.

cauliflower soup with toasted garlic
(from RealSimple magazine)

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 head cauliflower, chopped
5 cups chicken broth
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot, add the sliced garlic and cook over medium heat, stirring, until golden - about 2 or 3 minutes. Remove and reserve the garlic slices.

Add the chopped cauliflower to the pot, give it a quick stir for a minute or so then add the chicken broth, thyme sprigs, salt, and pepper. Simmer until the cauliflower is tender (15-20 minutes) then remove the thyme sprigs - by this time most of the leaves will have fallen off and you are just pulling out the twiggy bits. Puree in a blender (I prefer an immersion blender). Top with some slivers of toasted garlic and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

nikujaga

Way back in the olden days when we lived in Osaka and our children were small we lived in a lovely 900 sq ft apartment (it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be with 5 kids - in fact it was quite liberating). We lived on the third level of the building, the Harada family lived two floors directly below us. Harada-san was the perfect practical older sister that I very much needed. She helped me with the daily demands of our children's school and taught me to make many of the Japanese dishes that we ate regularly and are now comfort food for our family. I have fond memories of our tiny identical kitchens and the time we spent talking and cooking together. Her patient, gentle approach was so perfect for me right then. 

One of the very first dishes we made together was nikujaga. Literally meat potatoes. Everything Harada-san made was a no-recipe affair. Just some of this, some of that, and taste, smell, taste. When I decided to make a pot of nikujaga to share here I thought perhaps I would check some formal recipes just because and to my great surprise not a single one of them was quite like the dish I had been taught. To be fair, nikujaga is kind of like making chicken noodle soup in that every cook has their own particular version. But the big shock was that in many (if not most) versions the meat and potatoes are served on a plate without the wonderful broth they are braised in. Such a shame! Made with miso and soy sauce the broth is rich and interesting with that nifty umami thing going on - to be honest the meat and potatoes are pretty bland without it. Harada-san served hers more like a soup or perhaps stew and that is the way we have always had it in our house. So that is the recipe you get today. 

When we lived in Osaka I was told that the people in Tokyo are very fashionable but Osakans are the better cooks. It is certainly true that Tokyoites are very fashionable but I don't know about the cooking. All I know for sure is that there are definitely regional variations in traditional dishes. That difference may account for the broth-less nikujaga or maybe I just learned it the way that Harada-san liked to serve it. It certainly accounts for the use of pork as opposed to beef - pork being the Kansai preference. My own contribution is one that no self-respecting Japanese cook would countenance - I never peel the potatoes!

It is perfect winter food. Warm and richly flavourful without being heavy. Fragrant. Comforting and comfortable. I cannot even smell this without remembering Harada-san and feeling a wave of gratitude for her firendship.

nikujaga

8 0z pork shoulder cut into 1" cubes
6 small red potatoes, quartered
2 medium onions, chopped
4 carrots, cut into 1/2" pieces
6 cups dashi*
6 Tbsp mirin
4 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
sea salt to taste

Heat the grapeseed oil in a large heavy pot and saute the meat on high until it is beginning to brown. Add the potatoes, onions, and carrots and cook together for two or three minutes. Pour the dashi into the pot and bring everything to a boil. Turn the heat down to simmer. Add the mirin, sugar, and soy sauce. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Just before serving stir in the roasted sesame oil. Add salt to taste.

This is even better with a sprinkle of shichimi - a mix of dried peppers and sea weed. You may need to go to an Asian market to find it but it is so good and you will like it on lots of dishes so it is worth the looking.

*The easiest way to make the dashi is with Hon dashi granules from Ajinomoto. Again look for that in an Asian market. But to be honest making it from scratch is pretty fast and easy too. Google it if you want to give that a go ... or find your own Harada-san :)

tomato chowder with quinoa

I am relieved that it is finally November because perhaps now we can justify the snow and cold! It was really hard to get into the spirit of Halloween when it just felt more like January. (I know that is a bit of an exaggeration - when January is truly here this weather will seem downright lovely but I don't have my thick Canadian-winter-blood running yet.) At any rate, between the snow and cold and a sore throat/cough thing soup was all I wanted to eat this week. It was the perfect chance to try something that had been  rattling around in my mind for a few weeks.

Jonathon has recently started a new job (as President of Martha Sturdy - and yes, I am proud!!!) and as part of team-building had a retreat to Martha's beautiful ranch in Pemberton, BC. When Jonathon was telling me about the event he waxed slightly poetic about a tomato soup that Martha had made. It sounded so delicious that I was determined to give it a try. A rich, thick tomato soup with vegetables. This is not Martha's recipe - just a soup I made inspired by Jonathon's ode to Martha's soup. I would love to try her soup but have to say that we thoroughly enjoyed what was in our own soup pot. As an endorsement I offer this: David quite dislikes eating the same thing in close succession but we had this soup for our evening meal one day and for lunch the three days following and he mentioned that the soup was so good that he was really enjoying it - even three days running for lunch. That may not seem like much to anyone else but it is high praise indeed!

This soup is almost as easy as opening a can and so much better. It is tangy with the tomatoes and herbs, full of vegetables and smoothed out with just a tiny bit of cream. The quinoa adds more fiber, additional protein, and nice body. 

The last day we had this for lunch I added a few drops of Louisiana hot sauce just to change it up a tiny bit. 

And as for Halloween? We did something we had never done before - filled a huge bowl with treats, put them on the doorstep with a sign, and retreated to watch Snow White and the Huntsman - which ended up being a pretty good Halloween movie.  The sign recommended taking a couple of treats but since the bowl was empty by 7:30 and it was awfully cold for trick-or-treating, my guess is that the little ghouls took by the armfuls. lol

p.s. you should really check out Martha's house. Well, one of them - it was featured this last summer in Canadian House and Home magazine. Martha is an iconic artist and her favoured medium is resin. From housewares to furniture to canvases and sculpture - all very cool and beautiful.

tomato chowder with quinoa

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic,  minced

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

4 cups chicken stock

3 sprigs fresh oregano (or 1 Tbsp dried)

2 mild Italian sausages, cut into 'coins'

1 lb yellow fleshed 'baby' potatoes - halved if small, quartered for the larger ones

2 stalks celery, diced

3 medium carrots, cut into half moons

1/3 cup quinoa

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/4 cup heavy cream

Melt the butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring,  until translucent. Add the sausage, celery, potatoes, and carrots and cook for a minute or two, stirring to coat the vegetables and let things begin to get carmel-y edges. Add the chicken stock, quinoa, and oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer (covered) until the vegetables are tender - about 20 minutes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and bring back to a simmer. Cook for another 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and add the salt and pepper to taste.

chorizo, black bean & corn chowder

In my humble opinion, soup is wonderful just about anytime. Fall and winter are no-brainer seasons for soup - all that hot, cozy goodness chasing the cold away. Sadly, even in spring and summer there are days that are cool enough to warrant chill-chasing here in Calgary. But my love of soup has little to do with the weather and a lot to do with easy, yummy, nutrition. It is very simple to pack a lot of goodness (taste and food-value-wise) into a single bowl and that is exactly why I love to have soup - or the fixings for it - in the fridge. Lots of veggies, a bit of quality protein, some herbs to give it a kick and you're good to go. Quick to heat and easy to eat. Perfect.


This soup way out-performs its appearance and totally lives up to the expectation I had reading the name. How could anything fail to be great with chorizo, black beans, corn, and chowder in the title (and thus the pot)? This is another recipe from Spilling the Beans by Julie Van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan ( a cookbook I highly recommend). We liked it very well as per the recipe but loved it with a squirt of Sriracha sauce and a light handful of chopped cilantro. I also added salt because, well, I love salt and my rational is just this - when one cooks whole foods from 'scratch' one avoids all the added and hidden sodium that bedevils fast and prepared foods. Whatever salt I get is honest sea salt and I know how much and where it is. Besides, it tasted a bit flat and sad without any. But salt this recipe according to your taste and conscience.


chorizo, black bean & corn chowder
(adapted from Spilling the Beans  by Julie Van Rosendall and Sue Duncan)


olive oil for cooking
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 fresh chorizo sausage (about 125 gm)
3 green onions, chopped (separate the white and green bits)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 cups corn kernels (I used frozen)
1 (19 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
a handful of baby new potatoes, washed and quartered
1 l (4 cups) chicken stock
2 cups coconut milk (fresh, from the dairy case)*
2 tsp sea salt
Sriracha sauce 
1/2 cup chopped cilantro


Heat a drizzle of oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, carrot and celery for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add the sausage (squeezed out of its casing) and cook, breaking it up, until the meat is no longer pink. Stir in the white bits of the green onion, the garlic, and cumin and cook for another minute.


Add the corn, beans, potato, and stock. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the coconut milk and green bits of the green onions. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and pass the Sriracha (rooster) sauce. Garnish with a generous sprinkle of chopped cilantro.


This made enough for generous main-course servings for 2 one evening and two lunches for 2.


*Once again I used So Delicious Coconut Milk (original). You could also use 1/2 to 1 cup of half-and-half cream if that is your preference. Or another milk altogether.

simply vegetable beef soup

I had no intention of posting this. It is just plain ol' soup. But David loved it. In fact he raved. Well....what passes for raving. A bit of back-story here - David rarely gets very excited about anything I cook. If I ask what he thinks he usually replies with a cool and non-commital "uh, good". So when he gets even a tiny bit enthusiastic I pay attention. When he made three comments about how he really liked this soup, I noticed. When he said "You should blog this one!" I more or less puffed up my chest and polished my nails. 

I have been reading lately about the merits of cooking meat bone-in. Tastes better - richer and fuller - and the nutritional value of the end product is enhanced. Bones are after all storehouses of nutrients, not just racks for muscles and skin. For the last few weeks I have had a hankering for a hearty, healthy vegetable beef soup, so when I stopped at the farmer's market for a few things I added a package of beef braising short-ribs (from grass-fed* Alberta beef) to my bag. This soup is just what I wanted to eat - pretty, rich, full of flavour and meltingly tender morsels of beef. Loaded with goodness.

vegetable beef soup

500 gm of braising short-ribs

2 onions, chopped

2 large cloves garlic, minced

4 cups water

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

2 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced

6 baby potatoes, quartered

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (19 oz) can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 tsp thyme leaves

1 Tbsp dried basil

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)

5 cups fresh baby spinach, washed

parmesan for sprinkling

In a large pot (I use a large enamelled cast iron pot) heat a tablespoon of light olive oil over medium-high heat. Brown the short-ribs. Add the onion, cook stirring for a couple of minutes then turn the heat to low, add the garlic, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Leaving the heat low, add water making sure to cover the ribs. Replace the lid and continue cooking on a very low heat for an hour.

With a slotted spoon remove the short-ribs from the broth and let cool slightly. Pull the meat from the bones (the meat will basically fall off) and cut into small bite-size pieces. Return the meat to the pot. Add celery, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, tomatoes, and seasonings. Bring back to a nice simmer, replace the lid and cook for at least 20 minutes - or until the vegetables are tender. (Longer cooking won't hurt the flavour so if you want or need to leave it longer, don't worry.) Add the beans and cook another 10 minutes or so. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your preference. 

Just before serving add the spinach and stir until wilted. Serve with a tablespoon of parmesan sprinkled on each serving.

I once read that only the pure in heart can make good soup. I almost always think of that at some point in the soup-making process. Do whatever you want with that - but I aim to make good soup :)

*grass-fed (or pasture-fed) animal products -meat, dairy, eggs- are sources of vitally important and naturally occurring vit K2 as well as omega-3's. When you eat these products it is worth the time and money to source grass-fed. Just be respectful and don't over-indulge.

broccoli-spinach soup

This soup is so beautifully, brilliantly emerald green that I really should save it for St Patrick's Day. But it is also incredibly healthy, zip-fast to make, and delicious so I really could not (in good conscience) be so selfish as to not share immediately. It's one of the best ways to get a good big dose of greens in one sitting that I have had in a long time.


I added  hot sauce and more onion to the original recipe - the hot sauce because it just wanted to be there, the onion for health. And it tasted better.


broccoli-spinach soup
(slightly adapted from Whole Living Magazine)


1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
4 cups organic chicken broth
6 cups chopped broccoli
6 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp tahini
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sriracha  aka rooster sauce


Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until beginning to be tender, add the scallions and cook another 2 minutes. Add broth, bring to a boil. Add broccoli and cook, covered, until bright green and tender - about 3 minutes.


Remove pan from heat and stir in the spinach, Parmesan, and tahini. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Using a hand blender, puree soup until smooth. (If you are using a counter-top blender to puree the soup, be sure to let it cool slightly first or you will be wiping down your walls and ceiling.)


Drizzle with sriracha and sprinkle a bit more Parmesan on each serving. Pass the sriracha - so everyone is happy with the hot :)


Note: this saved and reheated beautifully. Still bright and green, both in colour and flavour.

rich corn chowder

Dinner last night needed to be comfort food and corn chowder is about as definitive in that regard as you can get. We used Merin's pretty dishes and enjoyed a simple meal of plain good food. Hannah made the most amazing delicious biscuits and honey butter to go with the chowder. We all got up from the table perfectly satisfied - filled with laughter, love, shared memories, and warm chowder and biscuits. David ended the meal with "m-m-mmmm" in Merin's honour - her typical expression of delight in what she ate.

This chowder is made with fresh corn cut from the cob and then uses the cobs as well. You could use frozen corn (and I have when fresh is not available) but take advantage of the season and make a better chowder with fresh.

rich corn chowder

(adapted from High Flavor Low Labor by J.M. Hirsch)

4 cups 2% milk
6 ears corn, husked
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 large yellow potatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 tsp dried thyme
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 slices naturally smoked bacon

In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring the milk to a low simmer.

Cut the kernels from the cobs.* When the milk is warm, add the cobs only and simmer for 10 minutes. Simmering the cobs in the milk draws out the juices and with it tons of flavour.

While the cobs simmer, combine the oil, onion, potato, and thyme. Saute until the potatoes are golden. Add the garlic and saute another minute.

Remove the cobs from the milk. Using a cloth (so as not to burn your fingers) hold one end and stand the cob on its end on a plate. Using a butter knife run the back of the blade down the cob pushing out the last bit of the kernels. Discard the cobs. Add all the corn (the bits you have just pushed out of the cobs and the kernels cut off) and the potato mixture to the milk. Add the salt and chicken broth. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile cook the bacon to crisp. Drain on a paper towel and crumble.

Just before serving mix together 1/2 cup milk with 2 Tbsp cornstarch and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Stir into the soup and let thicken slightly. Stir in the 1/2 cup heavy cream and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle each serving with bacon crumbles.

*To cut the kernels from the cob stand each ear on its wide end and using a serrated knife saw down the length of the ear. It's a bit of a messy job as the kernels love to bounce onto the floor but persevere, it is well worth it.

Eden-aid: Curried Quinoa and Yam Soup

Eden has been suffering some really severe headaches and yesterday was a bad day for her. Seemed like a little soup on what was literally - as well as metaphorically - a rainy day might be a good thing. Even it if couldn't cure the ailment at least it would show some love and concern. And she wouldn't need to worry about, or make, dinner. 

My good friend Nancy shared the basic recipe with me. It was delicious as she sent it. I made a few changes that I think make it even better. It is fast, easy, and super yummy. (Ya, I know, I know. I've said that before - but it is.) Better yet, it can be made on the spur of the moment from things that I usually have in my pantry. Fastest of all when there are frozen, diced, organic sweet potatoes in the freezer. The only thing you may not keep on hand is the cilantro but it is worth stopping to pick up at the market - it really kicks this up a few steps on the yummy scale. Looks pretty too.

Curried Quinoa and Yam Soup

(adapted from Nancy's recipe*)

1 red onion finely chopped

3 tsps finely chopped ginger

1 garlic clove minced
1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp Red Thai curry paste

4 1/2 cups (1.1L) chicken stock

2/3 cup quinoa 

1 (19 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice 

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

2 medium yams  peeled and cut into small cubes (or 4 cups diced, frozen, sweet potatoes)

salt to taste

3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

Place the coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic. Cook 2 minutes until softened. Mix in the curry paste and cook 30 seconds more. Add stock, quinoa, tomatoes, sugar, and bring to simmer. Simmer  for 5 minutes. Add the yams and simmer 10-13 minutes more or until yams and quinoa are tender. Season with salt. 

Puree with an immersion blender.

I serve this with a very generous garnish of chopped cilantro - but I love cilantro. If you don't, try some finely sliced green onion.

I wish that I could just kiss it and make it better for Eden. That climbing in my lap and snuggling in my arms was all that it still took to sooth the misery of feeling poorly. Hopefully, it still helps to know that I really, really care. That I love her.

* Unfortunately I don't know where Nancy got the original recipe.

A Little Help

First Thomas, then Jane, followed by Hannah and finally Theo. All sick. As in fever, hacking cough, aching body, laying on the floor moaning. Bronchitis. That kind of sick. It's no fun to be sick but we all get sick sometimes. Just part of life. Sick children are a challenge and a concern. Sick babies even more so. But when the whole family is sick - at the same time - that is a whole new level of no fun. Where is the person to take care of the people who are sick? Once (long ago and far away) I had pneumonia, 5 young children, and a very busy husband. In a tiny part of my tired brain there was a wish that I could have a mommy come put me to bed, sing me a song, take care of whatever needed taking care of .... or some small part of any of that. Remembering, I wanted to be the person that at least tries to do some small part to help. So I made soup for dinner so Hannah could rest. 

This soup is chock-full of healthy, colorful stuff that looks pretty and tastes fantastic. I added some quinoa, another sweet potato and a little more water to the original recipe. Fast and easy to make -  it is a for sure 'make-again'.

Curried Sweet Potato, Carrot & Red Lentil Soup
( from Dinner with Julie  - with a small addition)


Olive oil, for cooking
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup dry red lentils
2 medium dark- fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tsp medium curry powder
4 cups chicken broth
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup plain yogurt, or cream
2 cups water
1/2 cup quinoa


In a large pot, heat a drizzle of oil and saute the onion, garlic and ginger until soft. Add the lentils, sweet potato, carrots, curry, quinoa, water and broth. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender.


Season with salt and pepper, add the yogurt or cream and puree with an immersion blender. Or you can roughly mash it with a potato masher for a chunkier texture.

I also made a simple coleslaw to go with the soup. The crunch of the cabbage and the sweetness of the dressing made a nice counterpoint to the soup. All together there is a lot of really good nutritional value in this meal.

Coleslaw


1/2 head of cabbage, sliced very thinly
2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely grated


Dressing:
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper


Whisk the dressing ingredients together and pour over the cabbage and carrots. Toss and serve. This keeps quite well for a couple of days.

(I used some very cool purple carrots - well, the outside of the carrots was purple - in my coleslaw. It was pretty and since more colorful means more good for you, I figure this is really good food.)