Soups + Stews
It used to be that whenever I would go out of town, Adam would get himself Vietnamese take out and watch a bunch of action movies, two things I claimed not to like. I still don't really watch anything without Colin Firth or Julianne Moore in it (I kid), but I did eventually fall in love with Vietnamese food, including Bun Cha, Goi Cuon-Fresh Spring Rolls, and the simple, easy to replicate Chicken Pho Ga- Vietnamese noodle soup. I made this today for Jasper who is stuck at home with a nasty outbreak of poison oak, because it is his favorite too, and chicken soup really does make everything better.
This recipe is one of those things that came together on a day when we might have been just too tired to cook, and could have very well ordered some take out to get us through. Instead we turned to our old friend the slow-cooker, because I had a hankering for chili verde. The addition of pumpkin makes it a hearty, autumn stew, and we ate ours up with sliced avocado, and honey cornbread. Here's the recipe...
If you have a young child, I'm willing to bet you have a bag of peas in your freezer right now. It seems that the pea is the most well loved childhood vegetable. Little known fact:most kids like to eat them still frozen, which is why today's recipe is in fact a cold soup. You may wonder if your kids (or you) would want to eat a cold green soup. It's actually quite delicious. Made with veggie stock and a little olive oil, it's not super hearty like split pea, but on a hot day it's refreshing, filling,and flavorful. Now that it's springtime, you can also make this soup using fresh peas. Simply blanch for 5 minutes, then chill in fridge for half an hour. Now onto the recipe:
Both of my kids love carrots. We grew them in Oakland last year and they were picked and eaten straight from the earth when I wasn't looking. They really love them. So when I was pouring over some of our new cookbooks over the long weekend and I found a recipe for carrot soup made with coconut milk and vegetable broth I knew we'd have to make it. The recipe comes from a book called Grow It, Cook It With Kids. One of us, we're not sure who, got it for Christmas this year. It's full of information for kids on how to plant their own garden, harvest, and prepare the fruits and vegetables. They learn about growing seasons, important knife skills, and basic cooking technique. You should check it out. Oh, and the soup was delicious! If you omit some of the broth it would make a wonderful puree to serve with fish, and I'm betting babies would love it too. Recipe below.
Our family is kind of hurting right now. I lost my sweet Grandma on Sunday morning. She was my only living grandparent, and I'd grown much closer to her in the last few years. She was very fond of my kids and they just loved to visit her at her Florida home. I learned of her passing while I was up in the mountains with my family, pretty sick with a cold. Things got worse when after only a few minutes of sleep on Sunday night, Adam woke up violently ill. He was so sick we had to head home early, exhausted and somber. I'm a firm believer in the healing power of food, and I needed to do something to put us on the mend, so yesterday I made a ginger infused chicken soup with rice. To me it's a cure-all. If your tummy hurts, the ginger will settle it. If you have a cold, or a broken heart, adding some thinly-sliced jalepeno will help you sweat it out.
This time of year can get hectic, and of course, quite costly. Today I'm going to share a recipe for my signature party treat: Rosemary and Truffle Oil Popcorn. It's such a crowd pleaser, and with a small investment in some decent white truffle oil (on sale right now at Whole Foods for $13) this stovetop treat is perfect for Thanksgiving football or a holiday party. I'm also doing a quick tutorial for a fancy pants way to serve it, inspired by a ornament display at Anthro. Read on and have a beautiful weekend!
It was a rainy night of trick-or-treating here in Petaluma. After the kids were stripped of their damp furry costumes and put to bed, and before I fell asleep on the couch, we enjoyed a few helpings of this slow cooked spicy Stew. I added a little cinnamon and nutmeg to the broth which sweetened the pork and layered onto the peppery kick. Delicious with a few mini Heath Bars for dessert, you know, if you happen to have some on hand.
We ate this up, we loved it so. Sausage, White Bean and Kale soup is a weeknight staple at our house. I add ginger to my broth to soothe after a weekend of rich food. To make the meal more substantial, I served our dinner with al dente farfale pasta, but it's delicious on it's own, and it would be even more nutritious (and gluten free) over quinoa or brown rice.
Last Halloweentime we hosted a little pumpkin carving party at our house and made a pumpkin soup that knocked everyone's sock off (perhaps it was the truffle oil floated on each serving). We're reprising the soup this year for our new school friends and their families, which might have me chopping up 25 pumpkins to feed everyone. That's a lot of pumpkins.
I found some beautiful white corn at our Farmer's Market over the weekend. I plan on using it for an unbelievably delicious chowder that my friend Heather made the last time I was at her house. She gave me a copy of the recipe which is from Fields of Greens vegetarian cookbook. The sweetness of the chowder comes from the corn stock that you'll make ahead of time. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of butter which I'm omitting because of Jasper's dairy allergy, rendering my version vegan. I'm excited to serve this tonight as it'll just be me and the boys and corn and potatoes are their favorites.
I recently started making my own chicken stock. I realized that I was going through at least 2 cardboard containers of stock a week, much more than that during the holidays. I don't love stock in a box, but it's convenient. Here's a simple, organic, inexpensive way to make and freeze your own so that you always have it on hand.
Sometimes the weather puts you in a mood that feels the way it looks.I decided to make a big pot of split pea soup to really hammer it on home.
We are really in the sweet spot of summer, when the corn is sweet, and squash and tomatoes are ripe and full of flavor. Here's a pretty summer chowder chalk full of everything summer with a simple corn stock, salty Canadian bacon and sweet shrimp.