Lentil Soup

Rating: 4 of 5 

Notes: It's a smidge on the spicy side, I'd like it to be more lentil soup. 

Ingredients:

•     3 slices bacon (about 3 ounces), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
•     1 large onion , chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
•     2 medium carrots , peeled and chopped medium (about 1 cup)
•     3 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
•     1 teaspoon ground cumin
•     1 teaspoon ground coriander
•     1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•     1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•     1 can diced tomatoes (14 1/2 ounces), drained
•     1 bay leaf
•     1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
•     1 cup lentils (7 ounces), rinsed and picked over
•     1 teaspoon table salt
•     Ground black pepper
•     1/2 cup dry white wine
•     4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
•     1 1/2 cups water
•     1 1/2 teaspoons lemon lime juice
•     3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

1. Fry bacon in large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onion and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, bay leaf, and thyme; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in lentils, salt, and pepper to taste; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until vegetables are softened and lentils have darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to high, add wine, and bring to simmer. Add chicken broth and water; bring to boil, cover partially, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until lentils are tender but still hold their shape, 30 to 35 minutes; discard bay leaf.
2. Puree 3 cups soup in blender until smooth, then return to pot; stir in lemon juice and heat soup over medium-low until hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons cilantro and serve, garnishing each bowl with some of remaining cilantro.

Vegetable Barley Soup

Rating: 5 of 5

Note: I always make Amish white bread to dip in this soup, the sweetness of the bread complements the curry powder in the soup. Also, I turn down the heat and simmer it for much longer to bring out the flavor. I usually just keep it on low heat until the bread is down.

Ingredients:
     2 quarts vegetable broth
     1 cup uncooked barley
     2 large carrots, chopped
     2 stalks celery, chopped
     1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
     1 zucchini, chopped
     1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
     1 onion, chopped
     3 bay leaves
     1 teaspoon garlic powder
     1 teaspoon white sugar
     1 teaspoon salt
     1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
     1 teaspoon dried parsley
     1 teaspoon curry powder
     1 teaspoon paprika
     1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
   1. Pour the vegetable broth into a large pot. Add the barley, carrots, celery, tomatoes, zucchini, garbanzo beans, onion, and bay leaves. Season with garlic powder, sugar, salt, pepper, parsley, curry powder, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 90 minutes. The soup will be very thick. You may adjust by adding more broth or less barley if desired. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Pasta E Fagioli

Rating: 4 of 5

Notes: Instead of using the allotted cooking time, I let the soup simmer (with a lid on) until the rest of dinner was almost ready. I did not add the pasta at the said time; I added it 10 min before the rest of the meal was done. I wish it had had a little bit more flavor. Will add a little bit more spice next time :D

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 slices of bacon (1 peppered, 2 black forest)
• 1 medium onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium rib celery , chopped fine (about 2/3 cup)
• 4 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 heaping tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with liquid
• 1 piece Parmesan cheese rind , about 5 inches by 2 inches
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans , drained and rinsed
• 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• Salt
• 8 ounces orzo or other small pasta
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Ground black pepper
• 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)

Directions:
      1. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and anchovies; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Add cheese rind and beans; bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer to blend flavors, 10 minutes. Add chicken broth, 2 1/2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt; increase heat to high and bring to boil. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 10 minutes (refer to package instructions to better estimate pasta cooking time).
      2. Discard cheese rind. Off heat, stir in 3 tablespoons parsley; adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into individual bowls; drizzle each serving with olive oil and sprinkle with a portion of remaining parsley. Serve immediately, passing grated Parmesan separately.

Vampire Blood Tomato Soup with Muenster Sammies

Tomato Soup

 Rating: 5 of 5 


Ingredients:

•      3 tablespoons olive oil
•      1/2 fennel bulb, chopped, about 2 1/2 cups
•      1/2 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
•      4 cloves garlic, smashed
•      1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
•      1 teaspoon fennel seed
•      1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
•      1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
•      2 cups homemade vegetable broth or low-sodium canned
•      2 cups tomato juice
•      6 basil leaves, torn
•      Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
•      Muenster Sammies, recipe follows

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add fennel, onion, garlic, salt, fennel seed and crushed pepper, if using, and cook until vegetables soften and brown slightly, about 5 minutes. Drain and reserve juice from the tomatoes, then crush tomatoes gently with your hands. Add the tomatoes, increase heat to high, and cook until they begin to brown slightly, about 5 minutes.

Add the reserved tomato juice, vegetable broth, tomato juice, and basil leaves. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook until vegetables are cooked through and soup reduces and thickens, about 30 minutes.

Remove pot from stove and puree the soup in batches, with an immersion, regular blender, or food processor. Stir in lemon juice and season with pepper to taste. Serve.

Muenster Sammies with Apple Butter

Rating: 4 of 5

Note: I don't like these very much on their own. They're so good with the tomato soup though.

Ingredients:

•      16 (3 1/2-inch square) slices dark rye
•      1/2 cup apple butter
•      8 slices muenster cheese, about 3 ounces
•      8 slices yellow cheddar cheese, about 3 ounces

Directions:
Toast bread in toaster or toaster oven until slightly crisp, about 5 minutes (or less if using a toaster.) Spread one side of each slice of bread with apple jelly. Layer the cheese over the apple jelly, top with remaining slice of bread. Cut out as desired. Garnish as desired.

French Onion Soup

Rating: 5 of 5
 
Note: I wish I had doubled the amount of broth; this was barely enough soup to go around between 4 people.It also ended up being more flavored onions rather than soup.


Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 pounds onions (a mixture of yellow, red and shallots), sliced in thin half-moons
• 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 quart beef stock
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 baguette, sliced into 1/2 inch slices slightly on the diagonal (I used my homemade french bread)
• 6 ounces Gruyere, grated (Smoked Gruyere gives the best flavor)
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• Additional thyme sprigs for garnish

Note: I used a typical soup pot for the soup, not a Dutch oven.

Directions:

1. Heat the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onions, salt, thyme and bay leaves; stir, ensuring that the onions are coated in the melted butter. Cook the onions over medium heat for about 45 minutes, until the onions become very caramelized.
2. Once the onions have become very caramelized, add the flour and cook for about a minute, stirring continuously. Next, slowly add the red wine, stirring the pot to scrape up the caramelization from the sides of the Dutch oven. Then, add the beef stock and water. Bring the soup to a bubble, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
3. When the soup is nearly done simmering, turn on the broiler. Place the baguette slices (enough to have two to three slices per bowl) on a parchment-lined baking sheet; toast under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. While the slices toast, ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls or crocks. Once the tops of the baguette slices have toasted, remove them from the oven. Float 2 or 3 slices, toasted side down, on the tops of each bowl. Place the bowls on the baking sheet and slide the sheet under the broiler for 2 minutes, until the tops of the baguette slices become very lightly browned. Remove the pan and top each bowl with an equal amount of the shredded gruyere. Slide the pan under the broiler for a final 3 to 5 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
4. Crack fresh black pepper on top of the bowls and garnish with a small sprig of thyme, if desired.

Chicken Noodle Soup

My coworkers were kind enough to share the flu with me. I'm therefore posting some pretty simple chicken noodle soup. If you're too weak to make it, ask, bargain, fool, trick, do whatever it takes to have someone make it for you. This beats the canned stuff any day; not to mention it's probably much more nutritious.

Tips: The trick to making sure this soup tastes really super awesome, is to season the chicken and cook it in a way that really gives the soup that extra something. I sautéed my chicken with some garlic herb sensation, garlic powder, paprika, and a splash of white wine. Another trick is to not cook the noodles in the soup; cook them separate. It ensures the soup doesn't become starchy and the noodles don't become soggy over time.

Recommendation: This is by far my favorite brand of vegetable bouillon.

Ingredients:

•      1 tablespoon butter
•      1/2 cup chopped onion
•      1/2 cup chopped celery
•      10 cups water
•      4 chicken bouillon cubes
•      1 vegetable bouillon cube
•      1/2 pound chopped cooked chicken breast
•      1 1/2 cups egg noodles
•      1 cup sliced carrots
•      1/2 teaspoon dried basil
•      1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
•      salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion and celery in butter until just tender, 5 minutes. Pour in chicken and vegetable broths and stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving.