Making The Best Of Leftovers

 I have always been The Leftover Queen, I can't abide throwing good food out. This is not a recipe, just a good tasty idea for Waste Not Want Not... I am also a believer that soup is not just a Winter Dish. It's an AnyTime Dish

In the fridge were 2 containers of food, leftover from yesterday. Some mushroom soup, incidentally which was store bought. Plus cold boiled potatoes, corn cobs and a little broccoli for that touch of green, all leftover from last night's dinner

Instead of making croutons to sprinkle on the soup, I decided to chop up the Vege and sprinkle them on top...as simple as that

The soup needed a little extra zing, so I heated it up with some cream, just enough to thin it down a bit and make it extra creamy.

Meanwhile I chopped up the potatoes, stripped the corn off the cob, broke up the broccoli, popped them into a pan, on medium heat, which contained some butter

Turned the heat up...so that the potatoes would get some colour, seasoned them with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

About 4-5 minutes was enough

I grabbed a pretty serving bowl, filled it up with the hot soup, scattered the Vege on top and                        

Voila... Lunch and Delicious it was too 

New Way To Use Bagged Salads

There was a chicken carcass in the fridge, so immediately popped into the pot and I made some beautiful chicken stock
There was enough to put in the freezer for later and another litre or so to make soup for lunch.
Except for an onion and 2 sad looking carrots, I was a little low on soup vege
BUT  also in the fridge was a bag of an Asian Chopped Salad, why don't I use that, after all a 

really nice mix of vege plus... there is a sesame ginger dressing and some croutony crunchy things...perfect for lunch I thought

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil

1 med onion finely chopped

2 small carrots grated

1 bag Asian Vege with little bag croutony things

1 litre chicken stock

Sesame and ginger dressing

In a pot heat the olive oil and add the chopped onions

Cook till soft then add grated carrot

Stir and season with some salt and freshly ground black pepper

Add the Asian Vege and stir plus a little more seasoning 

when soft add the chicken stock

Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20-30 minutes

Before serving add the Sesame and Ginger dressing

Into your soup bowl, and maybe a few crunchy "croutony" things on the top 

Plus some chopped chives for colour 

Yum

Perfect lunch

Will do that again

Winters Here - Soup's Up

I love making soup, just such an excellent way to boost your vege intake all in one bowl

So nourishing and tasty... It has to be good for you

In the fridge, we had what is considered to be winter vege but actually these days, they are available 

all year around

I was lacking in any stock, so I chopped up some salami and used that for the extra flavour

Look at those Brussels Sprouts, I love them and to think I hated them when I was a kid

2 tablespoons of Olive Oil and 30 gms butter

8-10 slices of Pepperoni Salami chopped

1 Onion peeled and chopped

1/2 Cauliflower chopped

1/2 head Broccoli chopped

4 Brussels Sprouts sliced

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Water

In a pot add the oil and butter

Melt

Add the salami

Saute for a few minutes

Add the onion just a few more minutes

Then the rest of the vege

Saute till they soften and are well tossed in the oil

Season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Add enough water to cover

Bring to boil and simmer till soft about 30-40 minutes

Remove from heat

Into Blender

AND just like that...Lunch is ready 

Enjoy

Cauliflower Cheese Soup - Perfect for An Autumnal Day

Autumn is here
We have had a wonderful summer and I'm sorry to see it slowly disappear but with the advent of slightly colder temperatures there is the excitement of different food
So I made a "real soup" instead of the chicken soup (which is really the only appropriate hot soup  in the summer) and very nice it was too


1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
40g (1.5 ounces or one-third US stick) butter
1/2 medium cauliflower
1 courgette 
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tablespoon grain mustard
900 ml boiling water or Chicken Stock if you wish
50 ml double cream
50 g (2oz) grated cheddar cheese
Chopped Spring Onion Greens to Garnish

Method:
Heat the butter in a large pan.
Add the onion and the garlic and leave on a medium heat for 2 - 3 minutes, until they are soft and clear.
Whilst the onion and garlic are softening,
Chop the cauliflower and courgettes as fine as possible.
Add them into the onion mix, season witn S & P
then stir in the boiling water.
Bring back to the boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

Stir the soup well and add the grain mustard and the grated cheese.

Adjust seasoning to taste.
Blend the soup with the cream in a liquidiser.

 Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped green onion

Nothing like some Toasted Garlic Pita Bread on the side

Perfect for Lunch

Almost Instant Chicken Soup - Lunch for One - Waste Not Want Not

I can never throw away any chicken bones or scraps. It makes the best stock and such a good base for so many things
So in the fridge, was a lovely jelly like jar of stock, complete with some chicken fat, good for that extra flavour

My mission... to turn this lovely stock into a almost instant lunch for one,
For that extra seasoning, I added some Vegeta Powdered Stock
Such a good product
So
Slosh of olive oil
Take 1 onion peeled and sliced
1 red pepper, de-seeded and rough chopped
1 stick celery finely sliced
1/2 small carrot grated
1 tablespoon chopped red chili
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 teaspoons Vegeta 
2 cups chicken Stock
2 teaspoons coconut sugar
juice of 1/2 small lemon or lime

Into a saucepan add olive oil over med heat
Add onions saute till softened a little 3-4 months
Add pepper, celery, carrot, chili and grate the ginger into the mix
when the vege soften add the Vegeta Stock powder

Stir
Add Chicken Stock...Bring to boil 
Simmer

Not for long though
5-7 minutes will be enough
Add the coconut sugar and the lemon or lime juice, just to balance the flavour

Lunch is served
Delicious and healthy whats more
If you have some coriander, (I didn't)...a few sprigs would be a welcome addition

Celery Salad with Dates, Almonds and Shaved Parmesan - Followed by Gingery Chicken Soup over Zucchini Noodles

Currently my flatmates are on the No Grain kick, of course, gives me a chance to hunt down food that is just not just plain old meat and vege.
 
So for our first dinner, we started with this delicious Celery Salad, peppered with Sweet Dates, Crunchy Toasted Almonds, shaved Parmesan, with a simple dressing of Lemon and beautiful Olive Oil.
Then we completed the meal with Gingery Chicken Soup over Zucchini Noodles

If you want the gluten option...serve with some Beautiful Fresh Crunchy Bread

For the Salad
½ cup raw almonds
8 celery stalks, thinly sliced on a diagonal, leaves separated
6 dates, pitted, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
60 gms Parmesan, shaved
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Preheat oven to 175C.
Spread out almonds on a small rimmed baking sheet;
toast, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes.
Let cool; coarsely chop.

Toss almonds, celery, celery leaves, dates, and lemon juice in a medium bowl;
season with salt and pepper.
Add Parmesan and oil and toss gently; season with red pepper flakes.

So first course made
On to the main
Gingery Chicken Soup of Zucchini Noodles

To be honest I do like carbs with my meal but I also really enjoy any food and this tasty Noodle dish really hit the spot

 4 medium carrots, divided
 3 (3") pieces ginger, unpeeled
 1 Large whole chicken
 1 medium onion, unpeeled, cut into sixths
 3 celery stalks, cut into 2" pieces
 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
  Handful of cilantro stems, plus leaves (for serving; optional)
  2 medium zucchini (about 10 ounces)
  2 teaspoons Sea salt, plus more
  3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more
  Lime wedges (for serving; optional)

First make the Broth
Scrub 2 carrots and cut into 4 Cm pieces
Finely grate ginger to yield 1 tsp
Then thinly slice remaining ginger
Place chopped carrots, ginger slices, chicken, onion, celery, garlic
Peppercorns and coriander stems in stockpot
Fill with cold water to cover
Cover with lid and heat over high until mixture comes to boil
Lower heat and bring to a simmer

Cook, uncovered, skimming foam and fat from the surface occasionally
And reducing  heat if needed so mixture does not come to a boil,
until chicken is just cooked through
About 30 minutes

Using tongs, carefully transfer chicken into a large bowl and let cool slightly
About 15 minutes...so you can handle it
Remove meat from bones, discard skin
And return bones to pot

Continue to simmer until liquid is flavourful and reduced
Should take about 2 hours

Meanwhile shred chicken and set aside
When your broth is ready strain into a large bowl
Discard the vege and bones

You can do this ahead, in fact the day before
Just refrigerate the broth and chicken till you are ready to go
You should have about 8 cups of broth

Make noodles
Use the clever peeler which makes noodles out of vege

Or you can spiralize them
Or cut them into very fine noodles
This is what they should look like

Set aside
So to compete the Soup
Peel remaining carrots and slice into 1 cm slices on the bias
Return the broth to your stockpot
Bring to a simmer

Add carrots, shredded chicken, the reserved grated ginger
2 tsps sea salt and good grind of black pepper
And cook until carrots are tender.
5-7 minutes
Remove from heat, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary...


To serve place zucchini noodles in bowls
Ladle simmering soup over the noodles
And top with coriander leaves

Serve and if you have any limes
Offer them
That last touch of lime juice, Just lifts the completed soup

Cauliflower Soup With a Twist

I often use cheese in my Cauliflower Soup 
I digressed today... there were some tomatoes needing attention in the fruit bowl  
So I sautéed them in yummy butter 
Into the blender with the cooked cauliflower
Whiz
So so simple and so so tasty

For 2 good servings

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion rough chopped
1 stick celery sliced 
1/2 cauliflower broken into florets
1 large tablespoon of Chicken stock powder
Freshly ground black pepper

Water
1/2 dozen cherry tomatoes 
2 tablespoons butter

In a saucepan add 2 tablespoons butter
Sauté chopped onion till soft
Add celery, stir and cook for about 2-3 minutes
Add cauliflower florets
Stir
Add chicken stock powder 
Let cook gently about 2-3 minutes
Add enough water to cover the vegetables

Bring to boil and simmer till cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes 
Meanwhile in another pan
Melt remaining butter add tomatoes 
Gently sauté till they start to break up

Add to cooked cauliflower and onion mix

Into blender
Whiz till smooth

Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 
Serve

 

Carrot and Cauliflower Soup with a Lemon Twist

I made this beautiful, colourful soup for dinner the other night
Got thumbs up from all around the table.
My secret ingredient, which added a touch of heat...
Not hot... just enough to coat your mouth...
A dash of Sriracha Sauce
Also the original recipe, on the NY Times Cooking site... only added water. That is boring
It's easy to add, some very good powdered chicken stock...that's a good flavour boost
So I did

 Ingredients
    1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds
    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for serving
    1 large white onion, peeled and diced (2 cups)
    2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
    5 medium carrots (1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
    1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
    3 tablespoons white miso
    6 cups of water
    1 Tablespoon Vegeta Chicken Stock Powder
    1 small (or half of a large) head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
    Juice and Zest of a medium Lemon
    Dash Sriracha Sauce   

    Cilantro leaves, for serving

Heat a large pot over medium heat
Add the oil and heat until warm.
Stir in onion;
Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly coloured, 7 to 10 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute.
  
Add carrots, coriander, Chicken Stock Powder and 6 cups water to the pot.
Stir in the miso until it dissolves.
Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. 


Stir in cauliflower and cook, covered, over medium-low heat until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat.
Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth.
(Alternatively, you can let soup cool slightly then purée it in batches in a food processor or blender.)

You can make it up to this point, earlier in the day
If you make it the day before, I suggest you keep it refrigerated

Before serving return the puréed soup to the heat to warm through.

Stir in the lemon zest and juice just before serving.
Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with sea salt and cilantro leaves.

Cauliflower and Curry - Perfect for a Truly International Soup

Cauliflower and Curry go so well together, add some onion for flavour and Kumara (sweet potato) to add more body.
 
This is such an excellent soup. I would serve it for a dinner party. Cheap too

 I like to use Vegeta Chicken Stock Powder, it is an excellent seasoning particularly for soups
and very useful if you haven't any homemade or bought chicken stock on hand
In Croatia, they season almost everything with it.
I brought some back from there 7 years ago and then found out luckily that you can buy here
This is a photo of my original tin. All the way from the island of Mljet,

All gone now
Oh well
Once again, I am using the Japanese Curry Paste, for the Curry part of the soup
Great flavour and it thickens slightly

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion peeled and chopped
1 medium cauliflower cut into florets
2 medium Kumara peeled and cut into chunks
3 tablespoons Vegeta Chicken Stock powder
Enough water to cover
Freshly ground black pepper
3 segments of Japanese Curry Paste 

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat
Add chopped onions and 1 tablespoon of Vegeta

Sauté till soft but not brown
Add cauliflower and Kumera
Toss
Add rest of Vegeta plus some freshly ground black pepper and let cook for a few minutes

Add water till well covered
Bring to the boil and simmer about 30 minutes

Take out some of the stock and dissolve the curry paste segments

Add to the soup
Simmer another 10 minutes

Into blender and whiz till smooth
Taste and season with freshly ground pepper
Probably wont need any salt, the Vegeta should be enough

 A Particularly tasty soup

Delicious, Japanese Curry Vegetable Soup - Perfect for a Winter Lunch

When our daughter Katie was a teenager, she went to Japan to stay with her friend Michiko
She came home totally enthralled with Japanese Food
She introduced me to Japanese Curry Sauce Paste
It has become a pantry essential item ever since

I like to use it to flavour soup.
With the cold weather this week.
It screams, SOUP, cook me now

So I made a very tasty root vege soup for my lunch.
Accompanied by a Spinach, Corn and Feta Muffin
Perfect

So Take
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 sticks of celery sliced
1 large carrot sliced
1/2 swede, peeled and chopped
1/2 parsnip peeled and chopped
1 cup of peeled and chopped butternut squash

Chicken stock
Coriander stalks and leaves

2 squares of Japanese Curry Paste
Sauté onion and celery in the butter over medium heat till soft
Add carrot, swede, parsnip and squash
And the coriander stalks chopped
Sauté a little longer so that the vegetables get coated in the butter
Add enough chicken stock to cover the verge
Bring to boil and simmer until vegetables are soft

Take some of the hot chicken stock out of the plot and dissolve the curry paste

Add to soup, simmer for about another 10 minutes
Place in blender and whip it up till smooth

Serve with a few coriander leaves on top
And a little muffin on the side

Lunch is served

Best Roast Butternut Soup, with Roast Chicken Pieces and Broccoli Garnish

If you are are looking for a smooth Pumpkin/Butternut Squash Soup. This is the one
The addition of the large pieces of Roast Chicken just add another dimension
Plus little flavourful slices of broccoli on top
This is a complete meal
I found this soup on better recipes.com a website that sends me emails each morning
It is soup time at the moment and this was a little beauty
For those interested, it is gluten free and also Paleo 

Ingredients:
4 Bone-in, skin-on breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 Medium Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 Small Yellow Onion, rough chopped
2 cloves Garlic, peeled and left whole
2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Freshly ground black pepper

5 cup Chicken Broth
⅓ tsp Ground Cumin
⅓ tsp Ground Coriander
2 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice


Optional Garnish
Kale  sliced in my case or as I find Kale a little boring
Broccoli broken into florets, just enough to use as a garnish

To prepare broccoli
Slice broccoli thinly, I used a mandolin
Blanch the broccoli in boiling salted water for about 45 seconds
Strain immediately and plunge into cold water, to stop cooking
This will keep the fabulous bright green colour

In a frying pan, on medium heat, add about 1 tablespoon olive oil
add 1 clove of garlic, finely copped with sea salt and about 1 tbs of lemon zest
Just sauté gently for about a minute be careful not to burn the garlic

Throw in blanched broccoli and cook till heated through
Use to garnish soup

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 200C degrees
Place the chicken, squash, garlic, and onion on a baking sheet.
Season the chicken and vegetables with the oil, salt and pepper. 

Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the chicken and set it aside.

Place the remaining vegetables into a blender with any excess oils.
Add the remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth.
Depending on the size of your blender, you may have to do this in two batches.
Strain through a sieve, into a stock pot and bring into a boil.
There was still some fibre from the squash, I though it needed to go
So I strained it
Reduce to a simmer and return the chicken.
Simmer the soup uncovered for 20 minutes.

If you really want to use kale, stir in it for the last 5 minutes.

Or again my case, I served the soup and topped with Broccoli Slices
Very pretty and tastes fab

Of course I had leftovers
Reheat it very gently, so that the chicken heats through