I Love Soup

Allegedly, to everything there is a season. Right now it's time for soup, though I'm the kind of person who enjoys it all year long. Maryland Crab in the summer is a must, but so is gazpacho and any other chilled soup. But when there's a nip in the air, my instinct is to toss things in a pot, add water, and a few hours later enjoy a hearty bowl of something that warms me from the inside. (When soup isn't possible, I use bourbon.) 

There are 30+ soup recipes on Minxeats, a dozen cold and the rest suitable for the current season. The simplest of hot soups doesn't need a recipe. To make it, you need aromatics (onions, leeks, shallots, garlic, carrots and/or celery), stock, bouillon, or broth, and seasonings. French onion soup, for example, only requires onions cooked low and slow in olive oil and butter, stock (beef or a rich chicken or veg), and seasonings (salt, pepper, sugar, bay leaf, thyme, a bit of wine). A topping of sliced baguette and Gruyere cheese and a few minutes under the broiler is totally optional (and a great way to burn your mouth, if you're into that sort of thing). Homemade tomato soup needs tomatoes, garlic or onion, stock, seasonings, and quick rendezvous with a stick blender. Or an actual blender, if you are adventurous. Hot liquids expand while blending and can blow the top off. To avoid the mess, remove the center rubber cap from the blender lid and hold a folded kitchen towel firmly over the opening. Or better yet, avoid hot soups and blenders. Unless you really want to clean the kitchen thoroughly afterward. (I love my 40-year-old Cuisinart Stick Blender!)

If you decide to try any of my recipes, please do leave a comment and let me know how it went.

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Avocado Soup and Crab Salad There are other versions of both avocado soup and crab salad below, but they're not the same as the ones in this recipe. Feel free to mix and match; I can't tell you what to do in your own kitchen. I can try, but I know you won't listen.

avocado soup with chipotle shrimp and blue corn polenta croutons

Avocado Soup with Chipotle Shrimp and Blue Corn Polenta Croutons Feel free to leave out the croutons, or use purchased ones instead. 

Black Bean Soup I often make black bean soup with some sort of meat protein, but this version is vegetarian. Use non-dairy yogurt instead of sour cream and it's vegan.

Bloody Mary Gazpacho Gazpacho, with celery, Worcestershire, and...vodka.

broccoli cheese soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup This is unlike a typical broccoli cheese soup in that it's not the texture of wallpaper paste. It's thickened with a modicum of roux, and flavored with hard cider and roasted broccoli.

Cantaloupe Gazpacho Keep reading, and you'll see that I can make gazpacho out of anything.

Cauliflower Soup This simple recipe is from a Rocco DiSpirito cookbook. His non-diet book, so it's actually good.

celery root vichyssoise

Celery Root Vichyssoise Vichyssoise is traditionally made with potatoes, but it can be made with any starchy tuber or root. Celery root just happens to be one of the more delicious root vegs.

Coconut Gazpacho I don't know why I called this gazpacho. It's more of a chilled tomato soup with Thai seasonings and coconut milk.

Creamy Chilled Tomatillo Soup was reverse engineered from a dish at SoBo Cafe. Tomatillos can be pretty tart, so add more honey or agave syrup if you can't hang with the tang.

Creamy Chorizo, Chicken, and Corn Chowder If you've never cooked with Mexican chorizo, definitely pick some up. It's an annatto-bright and spicy raw sausage, not cured like Spanish chorizo, with a distinctive flavor and crumbly texture. It's not easy to locate, but I have found it at Asian markets like H Mart.

Creamy Parsnip Soup Parsnips are another tasty root veg that is under-utilized. This soup is easy and filling, but if you need more than a bowl of soup for dinner, make the bacon pie recipe included in this blog post.

creamy roasted vegetable gazpacho

Creamy Roasted Vegetable Gazpacho I was tasked to use up some cottage cheese and this was the result. Yes, it's good!

Creamy Tomato Peanut Soup My Dad used to make peanut soup when I was a kid. IIRC, it was pretty simple: onions; peanut butter; chicken stock. I loved it, but it was a little heavy. This one includes tomatoes and seasonings and is a little lighter on the palate, though just as tasty.

Edward Lee's Tomatillo Gazpacho This version of the chilled soup uses cooked vegetables that are cooled before pureeing. 

Gazpeacho aka peach gazpacho.

Green Gazpacho Tomatillos instead of tomatoes and a wee bit of yogurt make this one different.

Mashed Potato Soup Random leftovers tend to make pretty good soup. 

Mediterrasian Seafood Soup I've made many variations on this theme, based on a reverse-engineered dish I ate at a long-closed restaurant called Ixia. It's easy and delicious, but needs to be simmered for quite a while to guarantee that the flavors meld.

Mr Minx's Gumbo Soup Gumbo is usually more stew-like, thanks to thickeners like roux, filé powder, and okra. This batch came out rather more runny, but still had that lovely browned flour and Cajun spice flavor.

nectarine soup with crab salad

Nectarine Soup with Crab Salad This chilled soup is a little sweet, but the citrus dressing on the ceviche-like salad balances the dish nicely.

Polish Mushroom Soup Simple mushroom and potato deliciousness.

Red Cabbage Soup reminded me of my Grandma's barszcz, or Polish red beet soup. IYKYK.

Roasted Parsnip and Sweet Potato Soup I used white Japanese sweet potatoes, but you could use the easier-to-find red or orange ones instead. This would make a nice Thanksgiving starter.

Roasted Poblano Soup This is more of an appetizer soup than a full meal, but would work well as a side to a sandwich.

Spicy Corn Gazpacho This recipe calls for corn on the cob, which is cooked before blending. But you could use frozen corn kernels and skip the cooking part. Just make sure they are thawed before proceeding. And don't forget to strain the soup!

spicy fish soup

Spicy Fish Soup see Mediterrasian Seafood Soup above. Same base, different flavors. 

Spiced winter squash soup

Spiced Winter Squash Soup The cumin/coriander/cinnamon/paprika/cayenne mixture is fairly common in the southern Mediterranean cuisines and goes beautifully with mellow and slightly sweet winter squash.

Strawberry Gazpacho Strawberries stand in for tomatoes in this version, with balsamic in place of the usual sherry vinegar.

Thai Avocado Soup Apparently I like making soup with avocados. This one has that bright/sweet/ garlicky/ fishy/funky thing that reminds me of one of my favorite Thai dishes, drunken noodles.

tomato garlic parm soup

Tomato Garlic Parm Soup This is a copycat recipe of a dish served at my favorite Cajun restaurant, Cajun Kate's, though it's not quite as decadent as theirs.

White Bean and Kale Soup While there's a classic Italian soup that stars these two ingredients, this version is a pastiche of leftovers + freezer staples that is a bit different.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Green Tomato Relish

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on July 23, 2013.

We've planted tomatoes in containers for several years now. The smaller, miniature varieties grow like gangbusters, but the full-sized fruits are always a disappointment. This year, we put in a raised bed garden and planted it with several types of large tomatoes. They're growing well - yay! But not wanting to have more ripe tomatoes than we can handle at one time, I've been culling them while green. There's only so many times one feels like fussing with fried green tomatoes, so I wanted to do something different. Easier. I thought maybe a green tomato relish could be interesting, but when I looked for recipes on the Web, all I found were supersweet versions that would be best used on a hot dog. I wanted something far more subtle, something slightly sweet, slightly tangy, and not at all pickle-tasting.

Basically, I chopped my green tomatoes, added a bare minimum of seasoning, and was pretty satisfied with that. I served it over pan-seared salmon and barley "Alfredo." (Prepare a package of quick cooking barley, drain and add a big blob of butter, a couple tablespoons of heavy cream, and a handful of grated Parmesan cheese. Stir well, season to taste.)

Green Tomato Relish

olive oil
3 green tomatoes, cut in small dice
1 tablespoon diced onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt, pepper, hot sauce to taste

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add tomatoes and onion. Cook for a minute or so, then add the garlic. Stir frequently for another minute, then add the brown sugar and vinegar. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and hot sauce (I like Tabasco's green jalapeno sauce for this) to taste. If you feel the tomatoes need more sugar or vinegar, then add to taste. Cook for another minute or so. The tomatoes should still be somewhat crisp.

Store in the refrigerator in a covered jar until ready to use.



Posted on Minxeats.com.




Posted on Minxeats.com.

Authentic Italian Pasta Chips

For too many years, snack foods promised more than they could deliver. The bag might say, "spicy salsa flavor" or "rich caramel goodness," but they would usually end up being a giant salt bomb or sugar bomb with little actual flavor. Recently, however, a growing number of entrepreneurs have been putting some real effort into creating snack foods with unique flavors that taste exactly like what they're supposed to taste like. One such product is Authentic Italian Pasta Chips.

Made with Durum wheat semolina flour like real pasta, these thin, square crackers look like dried out pieces of ravioli dough. But don't worry, it doesn't taste like dried pasta. The crackers are light and crisp. Pasta Chips come in six flavors all classically Italian in origin: Mediterranean Sea Salt, Garlic Olive Oil, Spicy Tomato Herb, Marinara, Alfredo, Spinach-Broccoli-Kale and Sea Salt. Okay, the last one might be a little New American, but they're all quite tasty.

If you're looking for a good dipping  chip, I would recommend the mildly flavored Mediterranean Sea Salt, Garlic Olive Oil, or Spinach-Broccoli-Kale and Sea Salt. Since they taste exactly like the flavors they purport to be, you can match each one to the flavor of dip you have so they will compliment each other. The other flavors are best eaten on their own. Although I didn't think the Marinara tasted much like marinara sauce, it does have a really addictive flavor, like a low salt version of Doritos (I mean that in a good way). Spicy Tomato Herb actually reminded me more of a tomato-based pasta sauce and was really delicious. Parmesan and Romano cheese are the primary flavors of the Alfredo chips with a hint of parsley in the background.

All six flavors of Authentic Italian Pasta Chips are well worth trying, and since they are made with non-GMO ingredients, you can feel good about eating them.    

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Green Tomato Relish

We've planted tomatoes in containers for several years now. The smaller, miniature varieties grow like gangbusters, but the full-sized fruits are always a disappointment. This year, we put in a raised bed garden and planted it with several types of large tomatoes. They're growing well - yay! But not wanting to have more ripe tomatoes than we can handle at one time, I've been culling them while green. There's only so many times one feels like fussing with fried green tomatoes, so I wanted to do something different. Easier. I thought maybe a green tomato relish could be interesting, but when I looked for recipes on the Web, all I found were supersweet versions that would be best used on a hot dog. I wanted something far more subtle, something slightly sweet, slightly tangy, and not at all pickle-tasting.

Basically, I chopped my green tomatoes, added a bare minimum of seasoning, and was pretty satisfied with that. I served it over pan-seared salmon and barley "Alfredo." (Prepare a package of quick cooking barley, drain and add a big blob of butter, a couple tablespoons of heavy cream, and a handful of grated Parmesan cheese. Stir well, season to taste.)

Green Tomato Relish

olive oil
3 green tomatoes, cut in small dice
1 tablespoon diced onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt, pepper, hot sauce to taste

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add tomatoes and onion. Cook for a minute or so, then add the garlic. Stir frequently for another minute, then add the brown sugar and vinegar. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and hot sauce (I like Tabasco's green jalapeno sauce for this) to taste. If you feel the tomatoes need more sugar or vinegar, then add to taste. Cook for another minute or so. The tomatoes should still be somewhat crisp.

Store in the refrigerator in a covered jar until ready to use.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Pasta Caprese

It was one of those weekends when dinner plans were up in the air. Were we going out, or were we staying in? Turns out, we stayed in, but the larder was bare. (That's a lie. It just didn't contain anything we wanted to eat.) We were at Belvedere Market doing a book signing at Greg's Bagels (Yes, we wrote a book! Go buy it!) so we picked up some stuff from Ceriello. A blob of mozzarella, a jar of pesto, and a bag of fresh orecchiette pasta later, we were well on our way to dinner.

I'm trying to eat less meat; Mr Minx doesn't restrict himself that way, so I poached a couple of chicken thighs in chicken stock for him. Then I raided the container garden for fresh basil - because a dish can't have too much basil.

The dish, despite being pasta and cheese, was light and summery, and redolent of my favorite fresh herb. Don't let the dish sit too long before serving, as the hot pasta will melt the cheese too much. Melty blobs are fine, but you don't want the cheese to get stringy.

Quick Pasta Caprese

1 cup diced tomato
drizzle balsamic vinegar
1 lb orecchiette pasta (or pasta shape of your choice)
about 1/2 cup basil pesto
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
diced cooked chicken, optional
1 cup diced mozzarella cheese
fresh basil
chopped pine nuts or walnuts, optional

Drizzle some balsamic vinegar over the diced tomato and set aside.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and leave in the pot. Gently stir in the pesto, adding a bit of olive oil if it seems dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken, if you're using it.

Just before serving, toss in the tomato (and juices) and mozzarella. Garnish with  plenty of fresh basil, either torn into pieces or cut into a chiffonade, and the nuts, if using.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Green Machine

Here's a delicious vegetarian sandwich for you: fried green tomatoes, basil and dill pesto, lemon chive mayonnaise, and avocado on a ciabatta roll. Better than a burger (seriously)!

The tomatoes, basil, dill, and chives came from our garden. Alas, we do not have an avocado tree!



Posted on Minxeats.com.