Easy weeknight dinner: Creamy tomato soup

Rain season is upon us. There's nothing more satisfying on a cold, dreary Seattle night than soup and bread. Tomato is one of my favorite soups, and is satisfying, comforting and absolutely delicious when served with some good Willamette Vally Pinot Noir, crusty bread and goat cheese. I always have cans of crushed tomato, dried herbs and vegetable bouillon on hand. This recipe is really easy and comes from years of being obsessed with tomatoes. It takes about half an hour to make from start to finish so it works really well for those evenings when all you want is to curl up on the sofa beside the fireplace with the dog, a good book, a bottle of wine and your favorite person in the world (who by the way, does NOT like tomato soup. *cries*)

Creamy Tomato Soup
Makes about 1 1/2 pints of soup

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 carrot (yields about 1/2 cup diced carrots)
1 stalk celery
1/2 white onion (yields about 1/2 cup diced onions)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 can 28oz. crushed tomatoes (San Marzano works well)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 bay leaf
2 low sodium vegetable bouillon cubes (or about 1 tablespoons)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper *see note below

1. Heat the butter in a large pot over medium heat
2. Add in the diced carrots, diced celery, diced onions and minced garlic. Add a tiny bit of salt to soften the vegetables. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
3. Add in the crushed tomatoes and saute for another 5 minutes until fragrant.
4. Add in the herbs, vegetable bouillon and water and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes until the carrots are softened.
5. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf and puree in a blender or use an immersion blender. I like my soup a little chunky, so I don't go crazy with the pureeing. Add in the heavy cream and stir gently to mix. Season with salt and pepper and serve!

*Note: Adding salt and pepper as you go brings out the flavors more!

Rainy-day comfort food: Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

On some days the weather around here gets so depressing (that coupled with depressing political, economic and personal happenings), that I just want to say sod it, curl up into a ball and not move for a few hours. I don't know about you, but I sometimes wish that the Willy Wonka Magic Food Bubblegum with a 3-course meal variety is real. Either that or a food drip.

A few weeks ago I found a bag of overpriced wild rice at Trader Joes. On the days I have canned soup for lunch, I spend almost 10 minutes trying to figure out what the floating bits and pieces are. Sometimes they appear to be dehydrated chunks of chicken but I can never really tell. Just the other day, I opened a can of Progresso's chicken and wild rice to find mushed up carrots bobbing about with some little black specks. It took me quite a few minutes to realize that those specks were wild rice.

I figured if I could spend $2 on a can of sodium-infused carrot mulch, I could haul my lazy ass up to make a healthier version on soup that won't cause hair loss or severe dehydration half a year from now.

A lot of wild rice recipes online seem to have an insane amount of cream or half and half which I somehow find to be quite unhealthy. That coupled with the fact that my partner can't have dairy makes creamy soup recipes often undesirable. After a prolonged, time consuming, hair-tearing search, I found this really interesting recipe on Kitchen Parade that it uses vegetables to create a creamy base (red creamer potatoes create a starchy texture).


I wanted some protein in the soup so I added some pan-seared chicken marinaded in some Stubbs chicken marinade. I changed the recipe very slightly from the original, but all in all I think it stayed true to the Kitchen Parade vision of a healthy, vegetarian soup. We rounded off dinner with crusty bread and a really great bottle of Mirassou (one of the oldest wineries in Western US) 2007 Chardonnay.


Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Makes about 6 cups

8oz chicken breast, cubed
2 tbsp Stubbs chicken marinade or any kind of chicken marinade
1/2 cup wild rice, native or cultivated
1 tablespoon butter
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups sliced leeks, white and light green parts only (about 4 leeks)
2 cups chopped celery (about 4 stalks)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic
1/2 medium white onion, diced
6 cups no-fat, sodium-free chicken broth
2 cups red creamer potatoes, chopped (about five small potatoes)
1 tbsp dried chopped parsley
3 pieces bay leaves
2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the wild rice in water according to package directions.

In a separate skillet, pan-sear the chicken meat until just cooked through.

In a dutch oven or soup pot, saute onions, garlic, leek, celery and carrot in the butter and olive oil until the onions become translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add in the chicken broth and potatoes, bay leaves, thyme and parsley. Bring the soup to a boil, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

Turn the heat off. With an immersion blender puree the soup until smooth, with some chunks left. Add in the chicken and wild rice. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Chunky Mushroom Soup

For a couple of weeks now I've been eyeing some mushroom soup recipes. I love mushrooms so much I can probably have them everyday. One of my favourite mushroomy meals of all time is spinach and mushroom frittata which goes wonderfully with a cup of coffee on Saturday mornings.

I bought some fresh foccacia at the grocery store today and immediately wanted to head home, have some soup and bread, a glass of wine and work on my defense. In that vein, the soup had to be easy, quick and filling too. So in came the mushroom soup idea. There are tons of really great recipes out there, so I just fused a few and made my own using the herbs I know best. It turned out that the soup was really light - I used a teensy bit of corn flour and skim milk instead of heavy cream to make the soup thick and I think being able to chew on mushroom bits and biting into a piece of foccacia layered with cream cheese whilst sipping a glass of Chardonnay helped with bringing out the wonderful flavour of this soup. You can make the recipe vegan by using soy milk instead of skim milk.

Chunky Mushroom Soup
Serves 4, about 1 cup each

2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
2 tsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 medium sweet onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp skim milk
2 tbsp sherry or dry vermouth (optional)
1 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste

Heat the butter and olive oil in a soup pot or dutch oven on medium heat. Heating both the butter and olive oil will keep the butter from browning to quickly. Add the garlic and onions and saute until onions are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add in mushrooms and saute for another 6 - 7mins until mushrooms are brown. Add in chicken or vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and add in thyme, parsley, black pepper and vermouth. Cover and simmer for about 15 - 20 mins until mushrooms are soft. Add salt to taste.

Turn heat off and stir in 1/4 cup milk. In a small bowl, mix together corn flour and remaining milk and stir into soup. I find that using a food processor helps to pulse the mushrooms better than an immersion blender, but you can use either one.

You can serve with some grated Parmigiano or just plain.

Curried Carrot Soup

Behold, the drabbiness of fall has arrived (Look at my poor solar powered doggy, it's no wonder that my basil plant is dying from lack of sunlight). And when it's fall in Seattle, you know that it's time to bring out the Macs and wellies. And if you're all snuggled inside the house, you're constantly tempted to bring out the good old dutch oven and make some warm soup, which you can then eat while watching TV with your socks on.

I staggered out this morning to the grocery store in search of carrots. I realized that baby carrots are so much more expensive than regular carrots. I'm not going to start on a rant about how ridiculous produce prices are these days ($2.49 for a pound of apples?! Blasphemous!), but I would suggest to skip things that come pre-packaged and come with the added convenience. I managed to buy about 1 pound of regular carrots for less than a dollar. A pound of baby carrots cost $2.29.

Curried carrot soup is the perfect rainy-day comfort food because it combines heat inducing curry powder with the honeyed goodness of carrots and sweet onions. It only takes less than 30 minutes to conjure up a satisfying dinner. Fresh bread, herbed olive oil dip and a glass of Chardonnay completes this meal.



Curried Carrot Soup
Serves 4
Prep time = 5 mins
Cook time = 20 mins

4 medium carrots, peeled
1 stalk celery
1 large sweet onion
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cups vegetable broth or 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
2 dried bay leaves
1 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste
Fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
Low fat yogurt (optional)

Roughly cut peeled carrots, celery and sweet onion into 1 inch cubes.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a soup pot or dutch oven. Saute garlic and onions on medium-low heat until onions become translucent. Add in carrots, celery, curry powder, minced ginger and Garam Masala and saute for another 7 - 8 minutes until curry powder is fragrant.

Add in vegetable broth, bay leaves, thyme and black pepper, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until carrots are soft. Turn heat off, wait for soup to cool a little and then transfer to food processor or use immersion blender to pulp the carrot soup.

Season to taste with salt and serve with some cilantro leaves and a dollop of low fat yogurt.

This soup freezes well, and should keep up to three days.

To make a herbed olive oil bread dip, put a pinch of oregano, basil, rosemary and chili flakes in a small dish. Add about 1/4 tsp of minced garlic, a dash of salt and pepper and 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar. Steep this is 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for about 15 minutes. Serve with fresh warm bread.

Kale and Chorizo Soup

Today was a crazy, rainy and cold day, and in the middle of summer no less. As the boyfriend stumbled out for the sell-out Radiohead show, I decided to stay home and make a comforting soup that only took half and hour to make.

This recipe originally calls for the chouriço, which is the Portuguese version of hot sausages, but I honestly cannot tell the difference between that and the Spanish chorizo so I just made life a bit easier by stopping by the grocery store and getting some freshly made chorizo and a fresh loaf of Italian round. This conconction is a fusion between the regular Portuguese Kale, Potatoes and chouriço soup with a touch of Italian herbs.

Kale and Chorizo Soup
Serves 2 (About 300 cals per serving)

2 medium red potatoes, diced to yield 1 cup
3 cups of kale leaves, roughly shredded
1/4 cup diced onions
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried fennel
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried basil
4 cups chicken broth
4 oz fresh chorizo, casing removed
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a soup pot. Add in onions and saute until it becomes transluscent. Add in potatoes and saute for about 10 minutes. Add in chorizo and use a wooden spoon to mash it around until they become tiny lumps.

Add in chicken broth, bring to a boil and add in kale and all the herbs. Simmer on low heat for half and hour until potatoes become tender. Use your wooden spoon to mash potatoes into little pieces. Serve with lots of grated parmesan and generously buttered crusty loaf.

Creamy Yellow Squash Soup and Mini Spinach-Artichoke Salmon Sandwich

The boyfriend suggested yesterday that I should include more photos in my blog, perhaps even throw in photos of me cooking. I'm thinking that's not going to happen because I already have my hands full with a spatula and a bottle of pepper, all sweaty and very impatient, I don't need people seeing what I look like in the kitchen - they just need to see the results and pretty pictures.

Anyway, we've had this piece of smoked salmon sitting at the back of the box of feta in the far left corner of the refrigerator since the Pope visited. It was the product of our fortnightly milling about in Pike Place Market. We've always wanted to use it to make some yummy grilled panini, but it somehow never panini-ed out (*insert ding-dong cue*). So today my project was to clear out the fridge of leftover summer squash and of newspaper-wrapped smoked salmon.

This recipe uses ciabbata bread but you can subsitute it for focaccia or pain rustique or even Italian round. It combines a home-made spinach-artichoke blend with the subtle crisp taste of capers and delectable dill weed.


Creamy Yellow Squash Soup
(Serves 4, about 170cals per serving)
Prep time = 10 mins
Cook time = 30 mins

2.5 cups yellow squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup baby carrots, half width-wise
1/4 cup onions
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp curry powder
3 cups low sodium vegetable or organic free-range low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup soy milk
Grated nutmeg (optional)
Parsley sprigs (optional)
Chopped walnuts (optional, 1 tsp for each serving)

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a dutch oven or large pot
2. Sautè onions until translucent. Add in squash and carrots, ginger, turmeric and curry powder, sautè another 7 mins until squash turns translucent
3. Add broth, bring to a simmer, add in thyme, Garam Masala, salt, pepper and parsley
4. Cover and simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes until carrots are just tender
5. Turn heat off and let cool for 5 minutes before using an immersion blender or food processor to puree the soup (if using a food processor, carefully pulse one cup at a time)
6. Return soup to pot on low heat, add in soy milk and stir
7. Serve with a dash of grated nutmeg, dash of pepper, walnuts and a parsley sprig


Mini Spinach-Artichoke and Salmon Sandwich

Serves 4 (about 270cals per serving)
Prep time = 15 mins
Cook time = 5 mins

1/2 loaf ciabatta bread , cut into 2 slices and separated into halves to yield 4 quarters
1.5 cups spinach leaves
1 cup canned artichoke hearts in brine
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp capers
3 tbsp feta cheese, crumbled (optional, I used it to make my sandwich, but omitted it for the boyfriend's)
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions
1 cup smoked salmon, crumbled into little bits
1 tbsp dill

1. Combine all ingredients except feta cheese and onions and blend in food processor until chunky (see pictures).
2. Add in feta cheese and onions and combine in a bowl.
3. Spread a light layer of butter on the ciabatta and toast it lightly, follow the instructions on the packaging, but make sure the bread doesn't turn out too hard - usually 3 minutes in a 350° oven should do the trick.
4. Spoon spinach-artichoke mixture into the center of the bread. Stuff the smoked salmon into the center of the mixture, about 2.5 tbsp per person.
5. Place sandwich on plate, sprinkle with dried dill (about 1/4 tsp per person) and serve.