Tomato Soup
When I was a kid, I loved Campbell’s Tomato Soup. I ate it with grilled cheese sandwiches and as far as I was concerned it was heaven. But kids grow up and sometimes when we revisit a childhood favorite, we’re dismayed to discover that it’s an overly salty, tin can tasting, hot mess. So what’s a girl to do? Make her own of course! (You knew I was going to say that didn’t you?)
Here’s what I did:
2 onions peeled and chopped
2 large garlic cloves chopped
1 jalapeno pepper deseeded, deveined and chopped
8 stalks of celery trimmed and chopped
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
2 packets of Truvia = 4 teaspoons sugar
2 cups of vegetable broth
Heat a heavy bottomed pan on med/high. When it’s hot, add the olive oil, as soon as that starts to ribbon, add the onion, garlic, celery and jalapeno and saute until softened, about 10 minutes
Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil then lower the heat to low and allow to cook for about 20 minutes.
At this point you’ll have to make a decision – Do you want a hearty, chunky soup or a creamy, smooth soup? I went for the smooth(ish) soup, so I got out my immersion blender (go buy one, you need it if you’re going to be making soup and you can get them on sale for less than $50 – you can get a different brand for under $30 – it’s worth it) You could also do it in batches in a blender, but if you’re clumsy like me, scalding liquid in a blender is just not a good idea. Blend till smooth.
Add the vegetable broth – use my measurements as a guideline only, use what looks right to you, and the rest of the ingredients, stir and cook on low for at least an hour. Ladle into a bowl and eat – it’s delicious. If that sounds far too healthy for you, go ahead and add a splash of cream, I won’t tell.
Not Just Any Spinach Salad
When I was a kid, there was a restaurant that I used to love to go to. They had all your “Continental” type cuisines and one of my very favorite things to eat was the Spinach Salad. I don’t know why, but a couple of days ago while I was lying, sick, in my bed, I started to crave this salad. Today, being the first time I’ve felt well enough to leave the house, I ran out and picked up the ingredients (or at least what I thought were the ingredients) and I don’t really remember if this is exactly what it tasted like, but I no longer care. This one was remarkably delicious.
Here’s what I did:
1 bunch of baby spinach, washed and dried and rechilled
1 lb. bacon
1 pint of strawberries cleaned, hulled and sliced
1 block of bleu cheese (don’t buy the crumbled, crumble it yourself, just trust me on this one)
1 c. of balsamic vinegar
1/3 c. of sugar
chop raw bacon and add to skillet, cook on med. heat until completely crispy.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain and cool.
Drain bacon fat from pan, except for about 4 Tablespoons – heat it back up and when hot add vinegar and sugar to pan. Stir and cook allowing the sugar to dissolve. Lower heat and allow to cook and thicken slightly.
Assemble salad.
Pour warm dressing directly over salad, toss and serve.
I don’t think this would keep well, so eat the whole thing. If there’s too much, invite your neighbors over. They’ll be your friends for life, I promise.
Israeli Couscous with Asparagus, Tomato and Goat Cheese
In an effort to cut costs, as well as lighten our carbon foot print we’re trying to incorporate more meatless meals into our plan. Pasta is always easy and delicious, but sometimes we like to venture out into the unknown. This is a delicious, surprisingly refreshing meal made with Israeli couscous which is much bigger than regular couscous and absolutely wonderful. I was inspired by this recipe, but as with everything, I had to make it my own.
Here’s what I did:
Israeli couscous (I used a lot!)
2 lbs. of asparagus cleaned, trimmed and cut into 2 in. pieces)
3 tomatoes, chopped
olive oil
2 lemons (zest and juice)*
4 cups of vegetable broth
1 can of garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
4 oz. goat cheese
Heat a saute pan and a heavy bottomed pan with a lid, add olive oil to both. When the oil is heated, add the asparagus to the saute pan and the couscous to the lidded pan. Stir and saute the couscous till it turns a golden brown and then add the vegetable broth (follow the package directions as to couscous/liquid ratio), bring it to a boil and then follow the package directions.
Saute the asparagus until it’s slightly cooked, but still crunchy, turn off the heat, and leave the asparagus until you’re ready for it.
Finish the couscous, and when it’s reached the desired consistency add the asparagus, lemon zest, juice, garbanzo beans and goat cheese and stir to combine.
Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
*This got rave reviews, but it was really lemony – I liked it that way, but if you’re not citrus crazy like me, you might only use the juice and zest of one lemon.
Roasted Chickpeas
Whether we call them garbanzos, chick peas, or chichis, we just love them in salads, with rice, or anytime you need a little protein. Recently I heard of someone roasting them as a snack, so I had to try!
I’ve done them a few times now at different temperatures, for different lengths of time and this is how I like them.
2 cans of chick peas
garlic powder
cayenne pepper
chili powder
garlic salt
Mediterranean salt
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Drain the chickpeas in a colander and rinse until they no longer foam. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle your spices in. Just to taste, it’s really up to you. Toss well and then pour them out onto a lipped cookie sheet.
Put in the oven and set the timer for 40 minutes. When the times up, take out and let cool completely before transferring them to a storage container.
They’ll crisp a little more as they cool. If you try to store them before they’re completely cool and crunchy, they’ll be soggy and while they’re not bad that way, it just not what we’re looking for here.
Eat them as a snack, or use them on salads. Yum!
Chef’s Little Helper and App
Remember when I was lamenting the lack of a perfect iPhone app for groceries and lists and menus? Well, apparently I’m not going to get everything I’m looking for in one app and it’s not going to be free. At least not yet. So, while I searched for perfection I came across something pretty darn close. The app is called Chef ($2.99 from iTunes) and it’s got a companion website “Chef’s Little Helper“. I’ve been using them for about a week now.
The interface is very nice. Bright, crisp, appealing, graphics and easy navigation. From the main screen you can access the app settings, deciding which page the app opens to, some grocery list setting as well as your website log in and which color scheme you prefer (just blue or black). Definitely sign up for a free account on the website, it’s what makes this app so useful.
The recipe search is beautifully done. You can choose the meal type and the cuisine type – and I love the wheel selector thingies, I think more apps should use them. There are tons of recipes in here. I don’t know if they’re all user submissions, and use at your own risk – they’re obviously not guaranteed to be good. Use your own judgment.
The cookbook shows the recipes that you’ve entered at the top, and then the bookmarked ones beneath it. You can rate the recipes, and add the ingredients from the recipe right to the grocery list, even email the recipe to someone from right within the app. You can add pictures with your recipes, but you don’t have to. I wish more people would, but that’s just me.
The grocery list is sortable by aisle and you can add from the app, from the cookbook and from the website. And they all sync beautifully. Nicely done.
There are even four kitchen timers! I have three of them in my kitchen already, but sometimes I need as many as five. I haven’t tested their effectiveness and accuracy, but it’s nice to have.
What I love most about this app and site is that there’s a community feel – the ability to create your own cookbook, as well as try other other cooks’ recipes. There’s even a forum, but it doesn’t seem very active. If you decide to give it a try, I’m ColorMePink.
My personal wish list:
- the ability to add items that the app doesn’t recognize to an aisle (ex: the app doesn’t know what rappini is, so it puts it in “odds and ends”. I’d like it in produce where it belongs.
- Ability to add recipe submitted by someone else to your cookbook, via the website
- Remove bookmarked recipes from your bookmarked list in your cookbook
