Classic Vegetable Soup

I haven’t posted in a while. We’ve had a hard summer and the desire to post has just not been there. I am looking forward to forgetting all about this summer so it’s nice that Mother Nature is cooperating. The air is getting cooler. Our central air conditioning unit broke (again) last week and we haven’t felt the urgency to get it fixed. The past few mornings I have sent my kids to camp with hoodies on, and in the evening the breeze picks up and I enjoy the sight of the curtains billowing about the windowsills.

Logically, as it cools down outside, we feel the need to warm up inside. What better way to  accomplish that than with a piping hot delicious homemade soup?

Soup time is one of my favourite times of year, largely because The King of Soup starts to make some of his masterpieces again. The KoS is quite open to suggestions so I find myself browsing through cookbooks and websites, and proposing new options weekly. This process works well for me.

Even though I love when The KoS cooks, I also enjoy making soup myself. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it’s not technical, and you can generally combine many things that are already in your refrigerator and end up with something quite yummy.

This recipe came from my head, and was not prepared by The KoS. It’s a classic vegetable soup with some extra protein in the form of chick peas. And it was delicious.

Ingredients:

2 large carrots, sliced

2 large stalks celery, sliced

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed (14 oz can) (or you could use lentils)

1 large can diced tomatoes (or take fresh tomatoes and pulse them a few times in the food processor)

A couple of handfuls of green beans, cut into 1 inch sections

Any other vegetables you want to add! (try zucchini, sweet potato or squash, peppers...)

Herbs (a combination of fresh and dried works well – try dried oregano, fresh basil, fresh parsley, or whatever else you’d like)

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil (2 tbsp should do the trick)

Vegetable stock cubes reconstituted with boiling water, or homemade stock

Method:

In a large stock pot, heat 1 tbsp of the oil. When hot, reduce the heat to medium-high and add the onions. Saute for about 5 minutes until translucent.

Add the rest of the oil and the celery and carrots and sauté for another 2 – 3 minutes. Add the garlic.

Add the chick peas and sauté for 1 minute. 

Then add the tomatoes and the dried herbs.

Finally add the beans and whichever other veggies you have decided to use. Add the stock (liquid should just cover veggies). You don’t want too much liquid because you won’t be letting this soup simmer too long or the vegetables will overcook.

If you have decided to use sweet potatoes, cube them and par-boil them first for about 10 minutes before adding them to the soup. If you have decided to try squash, add an extra layer of deliciousness by roasting the squash in the oven (in cubes) for 10 – 15 minutes prior to adding it to the soup. 

Add your fresh herbs and the salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with parmesan cheese, homemade bread, biscuits, or whatever else makes you feel happy and cosy inside. I made Challah and toasted it nicely. Yummy.

Peanut Veggie Stir Fry

The other day at work we had our annual holiday potluck. Rather than make something sweet, I decided it would be good to have some vegetables available for myself since potlucks in the past have tended to be rather meat heavy, and I am a vegetarian. To my great surprise, everything on offer at the event was vegetarian!!!

This is a very quick meal to make once your veggies are prepped. If you want to make it during the week and find yourself pressed for time, you could cut up the veggies in advance and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to go.

 

For the sauce, the only items that might not already be in your pantry and fridge are sesame oil, and Sambal Oelek (Thai red chilli paste). The other magic ingredients are peanut butter and soy sauce.

As you prep your veggies, group them with other veggies that take similar cooking times (for example, celery and carrots together, beans and peas together, peppers and zucchini together). The more organized you are with your mise en place, the faster the cooking process will go.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 large carrot, thinly sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

A large handful of green beans, cut into bite sized pieces

A large handful of snap peas or pea pods, cut into bite sized pieces

1 small head broccoli, cut into florets (you can also add cauliflower if you like – I didn’t have any on hand)

1 small can water chestnuts

1 small can bamboo shoots, which have been julienned (you can buy them in a can this way)

1 medium zucchini, sliced

1 red or yellow pepper, sliced (or ½ a red and ½ a yellow)

You can add mushrooms as well if you like, I don’t care for them so I leave them out J

2 – 3 tbsp peanut butter

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp grapeseed oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

Crushed peanuts (optional)

Cilantro (optional)

Rice or rice noodles (optional)

Method

 

In a large wok or non stick pan, put 1 – 2 tbsp grapeseed oil and 1 tbsp sesame oil. When it’s hot, add onions and cook for about 5 minutes (you can lower the heat so they don’t burn). Add the garlic and stir for a minute or so. 

 

Add the celery and carrots. Stir for 2 minutes. 

 

Then add the beans and peas, broccoli and cauliflower (if using). Stir for 2 minutes. 

 

Then add the rest of the vegetables. Stir for a couple of minutes – don’t overcook.

 

Add 1 tsp Sambal Oelek (Thai red chili paste, or if you can’t find Sambal, use another chili sauce). Add 2 – 3 tbsp peanut butter, and 2 tbsp soy sauce (approximately). Salt and pepper. Stir to combine the sauce with the vegetables. Taste it and adjust seasonings as you require.

You can serve it with rice, or rice noodles, or on its own. The julienned bamboo shoots look like noodles and have a similar texture so you might not even notice that the noodles aren’t there. You can add crushed peanuts on top when you serve it, and also cilantro if you have some around.

Enjoy!!

Braised French Lentils

As a vegetarian who doesn’t like tofu, I eat a lot of lentils as a source of protein. To prevent boredom, I endeavour to find as many ways as possible to prepare them. A couple of years ago I was at a restaurant on the Danforth (in Toronto) and tried braised French lentils – it was my first time having French lentils (also called du Puy lentils) and I really liked them for their earthy flavour, and firm, round texture.

I figured out how to make something that tasted pretty much like what I had in that restaurant, and this weekend I invited a friend over for some cooking and we made this dish. We went to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients and to my chagrin; I could not find French lentils. So the photo you see for this recipe is actually of mostly red lentils, with whatever amount of French lentils I had left in my pantry thrown in to the mix! It was still delicious and I plan to eat it today for lunch.

For those of you out there who eat and enjoy meat, you can serve this with whatever meat or fish you like. When I first had it in that restaurant, they served it with pistachio-crusted salmon, and green beans. At the time I was still eating fish, and this was just a fabulous combination. For all the vegetarians out there, this can easily be a main dish as it is quite hearty. Below you will find my made-up recipe – enjoy!

Braised French Lentils

1/8 cup olive oil

1 large sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 – 3 stalks celery, diced

2 – 3 carrots, diced

½ bottle red wine

1 large sweet potato, diced

2 cups French lentils

6 cups of just boiled water

Rosemary & thyme (or herbes de Provence) - a few teaspoons of herbs in total

salt & pepper

Slice the onions and yes, you guessed it, caramelize them in the olive oil (I am sure you have noticed by now that I am a big fan of caramelized onions!). To caramelize the onions, start the heat on high, and then after a couple of minutes lower the heat to medium. The process will take 20 to 30 minutes in total. At around the last 5 minutes mark, add the crushed garlic and some salt and pepper.

Add the carrots and celery and the red wine to deglaze the pan. Let this cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Then add the sweet potatoes, the lentils, the water, the herbs and the salt and pepper.

Let this simmer on low heat, uncovered, until the lentils are the texture you like (I like mine still a bit firm, which last night took about 20 - 25 minutes).

Serve as a side dish, or as a main. Perfect for those blustery autumn nights ahead of us.