kale and seafood soup

The funny thing about this is that I did everything completely wrong and backwards, but in the end it tasted pretty good. I actually started by steaming some mussels in white wine and butter with onion and garlic. When they were done, I removed them from the liquid and then used the cooking liquid as the base for the soup. I chopped up some linguica sausage and added it, along with some chicken stock. I chopped up some kale pretty finely and added that, then let it cook for 5-7 minutes. In went some shrimp and some chopped-up cod, a splash of sherry and a little salt and pepper. I let it cook for about 5 more minutes, until the fish was cooked through.

Wait, you're saying...what happened to the mussels? Funny thing about that, actually. I kept picking at them as I was cooking everything else, because they were sitting right there in front of me and I was hungry. By the time I got to the end of the soup-making, they were gone. It's ok, though...they gave the stock plenty of their tasty goodness, and they made an excellent snack!

soup night

Tonight I made kale and chorizo soup for dinner. It was very simple - just carrot, celery, chorizo, kale, chicken stock, water, a splash of sherry vinegar and a couple of bay leaves. It has to cook for about an hour to make the kale tender, but it's totally worth the wait.

I roasted up some kabocha squash tonight as well. The sweetness of the squash actually went really well with the soup.

egg-drop soup

I find myself coming down with a bit of a cold. When I'm feeling stuffed up and with a sore throat, the only thing I really want is soup. I usually make just a simple chicken soup with carrot and celery, but tonight I wanted something a little different. I ended up settling on egg-drop soup because it's loaded with protein and is very simple and inexpensive to make.

Egg-Drop Soup

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 cups water
3 eggs
1 bunch scallions
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 2-inch piece of ginger root
salt and white pepper to taste
toasted sesame oil to taste

Combine broth and water in a large pot, add salt to taste if desired. Smash six scallions and chop into thirds. Peel ginger and slice. Add scallions and ginger to liquid and bring to a simmer. Add chicken breasts and allow to poach in simmering liquid for about 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Once chicken is cooked, remove and let broth simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Shred chicken and slice the remainder of the scallions. Remove ginger and scallions from the broth (I put a strainer over a large bowl and carefully dumped the contents of the pot into it, then dumped the strained broth back into the pot). In a separate bowl, beat three eggs with a whisk until combined, then pour the egg in a slow steady stream into the simmering broth while constantly whisking. Remove from heat and ladle into dishes. Add shredded chicken and chopped scallions, and drizzle toasted sesame oil across top, to taste.

It was a nice change from our usual soup, and filled us up for not a lot of money or effort, which is always nice. :) Plus, this soup fits nicely in with our Primal eating, as it's high-fat, moderate-protein and low carb, with no grains in sight!

kale and bean soup

I used to call this kale and kielbasa soup, but I'm trying to work more beans into our diets, so the kielbasa kind of took a back seat in this batch of soup. It's still in there, don't get me wrong...but there's also a ton of kale, a can of white beans, a can of chickpeas, carrots, celery, onion, and a big can of diced tomato along with chicken stock and some oregano and thyme.

It was a good batch. I actually didn't mean to put chickpeas in the soup - I had planned on using just white beans, but one of the cans I opened was chickpeas so I figured what the hell and dumped 'em in. They gave a nice difference in texture, but I don't think I'll put them in next time (assuming I read the cans before I open them next time...derp). I just like white beans better.

soup and sandwich

It was miserably cold the other day, and my husband requested some chicken soup for dinner. What goes better with chicken noodle soup than a grilled cheese sandwich? Nothing, I say!



My favorite grilled cheese sandwich is made with whole wheat bread and swiss cheese, which is what is pictured above. I make them in a cast-iron pan and they come out lovely and crisp on the outside, creamy and cheesy inside. Bliss!

As for the soup, I don't usually put noodles in my chicken soup but Mark asked for them this time so I put some in. I have to say - ever since I started making my own soup, I cannot bring myself to eat canned soup. It's just vastly inferior. Chicken soup is ridiculously easy to make - it takes all of 10 minutes - and the finished product is exponentially better tasting than anything you can get in a can.

Here's my super-simple recipe. You can make this even easier if you use pre-cooked chicken.

Chicken Noodle Soup

32oz lower-sodium chicken stock
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large rib of celery, peeled and chopped - I like to use the celery leaves, too.
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 bay leaf
1-2 handfuls of dried wide pasta noodles (not egg noodles)
black pepper to taste

Bring stock to a boil over medium-high heat while you chop the veggies and the chicken. Add veggies and chicken to hot stock and stir. Let cook on medium-high for 2-3 minutes. Add noodles (start with one handful. If it doesn't look like enough, throw some more in. I like to err on the side of over-noodling), bay leaf and black pepper (I use kind of a lot because I like the kick it gives the soup, especially when I'm sick), and allow to cook at a medium boil until noodles are al dente. Fish out the bay leaf before serving.

NOTE: if you make this soup with the intention of freezing it (which I often do), do NOT put the noodles in...add them when you warm up the soup after it has been frozen, otherwise you end up with really mushy pasta in your soup, which is less than appetizing, generally.