Cream of Tomato Soup

This one I made yesterday. Again it's my own recipe, and again it's all made from scratch. About that, I've learned two things: 1) It's very tiring to do everything from scratch, but 2) it's very satisfying.

Without further ado:

Another Anchor container

Ingredients:

About 1.25 kilos (almost 3 lbs) of round tomatoes, peeled, cored and seeded, then chopped. Oblong tomatoes should work, but the round ones cook faster and better. They're also easier (but not easy) to seed.
1 small or medium clove of garlic, minced
1 thick slice of onion, chopped.
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1.5 liters chicken broth
3/4 Cup low-fat or non-fat milk
5 Tbsp. Cottage cheese (I use regular, which is rather low in fat anyway)
1/4 tsp. Cumin
1/3-1/2 tsp. Paprika
420 gr. Tomato puree (or paste, or sauce)

First peel and seed your tomatoes. This is hard work, and I usually assume my readers know how. But in this case it's important that you seed the tomatoes over a strainer in a bowl, to catch and keep the juice that seeding usually produces. So my method for seeding is to quarter the tomatoes and manually remove the seed parts.


Heat the olive oil in a soup pot and set the onion and garlic to saute. Add the tomato when the onion begins to turn translucent. I cut mine into fairly large pieces, but go any way you want. As they cook, they'll release a lot of juice and will soften considerably; so you want to keep stirring them in order to keep them from burning. When they're soft, add the juice you reserved from seeding.

Cook with the juice until it barely begins to boil. Despite the released juices and the added juice, the mix will be very thick and will form large steam bubbles. So lower the flame to minimum and add the chicken broth. Bring to a slow boil, stirring on occasion.

A word here. I used actually hot water and two low-fat, low-sodium chicken bouillon cubes. The reason is to have a more subtle chicken flavor. If you can do that with broth, great. If not, try my approach.

Good. When the mix boils, turn off the heat and let it cool a bit. You guessed it, the mix will be going to the blender. Do it in batches, adding a little milk and some cottage cheese on each batch. You may want to transfer the soup to a container first, as it's all going back in the pot.

Once it's back in the pot, add the tomato puree, cumin and paprika. Stir well, and again set the heat to low and bring to a slow boil, stirring frequently. Let it simmer a bit after it boils and then serve.

I love tomato soup. I usually have it mixed with boiled, plain white rice and a little lime (yes, lime; I'm like that). Or with crackers and lime, or with croutons and lime, or with rice, crackers and lime. Enjoy!

As I said, it's very satisfying to do it all from scratch (I know I used chicken bouillon cubes and tomato puree). So much so that I later thought "Shouldn't I get canned diced tomatoes?" And I answered myself "No. I might as well get a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup!"

Cream of Chile Poblano

I made this last week, but didn't get around to posting it until today (too many long hour days at the office)

This is an entirely original recipe, mistakes and all. I'm rather proud of it.

I love these Anchor containers!

Ingredients:

1 kilo Poblano Chiles (about 8 or 9)
1/4 onion, chopped.
1 clove of garlic, minced
1.5 liters chicken broth
5 Tbsp. Cottage cheese
3/4 Cup non-fat or low-fat milk

The preparation is a bit tricky, and very time-consuming.

First you place the chiles on a baking sheet in the upper part of the oven and turn on the broiler to high. You want them to blacken and blister, turning them with tongs as needed (pull out the oven tray when you do so). This is easier said than done, however, as chiles tend to be flat. You'll find the sides won't blacken nor blister much.

When they're done, let them cool for 30 minutes or so. Then you take the skin off. This is easy in some areas and hard on others. I didn't bother to take all the skin off where it got too hard to peel.

Next you chop the peppers into large pieces, being very careful to remove the seeds and veins. Poblanos are considered mild, which is why they can be used for soup and other dishes, but that's rather relative and some are hotter than others. As it was, I did not remove all the veins, so my soup turned out rather on the hot side.

Now heat a little oil in a soup pot and saute the onion and garlic until the onion begins to turn translucent. Add the chopped chiles and saute for 5-7 minutes. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and add the chicken broth and bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally.

When it boils, turn off the heat and let it cool a bit. Now you'll be adding the soup to the blender in batches (unless you have a big industrial-type blander), along with the milk and cottage cheese, also in batches. You'll be bringing the liquefied mix back to the pot, so you may want to empty it into another container first. Taste it, too, and see whether it's too hot. if it is, add some more milk and cottage cheese, and, to taste, more chicken broth. Just be careful not to dilute the flavor of the poblanos too much.

Once the soup is liquefied, return tot he pot and bring it again to a slow boil in low heat. Let it simmer a few minutes and serve.

If you like, you can add croutons to the soup once it's served. I like mine plain.

Potato Soup, second draft

I really thought I had it, but upon eating a bowl of it I had to demote it to second draft <sigh>. I think I know now (sure) how to improve it. I'll try again a few weeks from now.

In the meantime:

Ingredients:

5-6 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
4-6 mushrooms, thinly sliced
4-6 strips turkey bacon, cut in small pieces
1/2 onion, sliced or chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 liters chicken broth
1/2 cup dry wine
1 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon fine herbs
1/2 teaspoontarragon
1 teaspoon corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water.

In a soup pot heat the olive oil then add the bacon. Fry until it's about halfway crispy. Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms begin to brown. Add the potatoes and saute, while tossing them about, for a couple of minutes. Reduce the flame to half and add the wine. Toss everything around for a minute or two, making sure it all gets exposed to the wine.

Lower the flame to low and add the chicken broth. You know what comes next, right? Bring to a sow boil.

When the soup boils, add the fine herbs and tarragon. Stir well. The potatoes will take long to cook, say about an hour. Keep checking on them. When they're nearly done, add the milk and corn starch dissolved in water. Stir well. When the potatoes are tender, you're done.

I do like it, but it's not quite right. Not to me. So I'm thinking to either skip the wine or the corn starch next time.

Mushroom Barley Soup

Third time's the charm, it seems.

 

The secret is to use sherry and a little flour.

Ingredients:

500 gr. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup barley
1/4 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fine herbs
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
2 liters water
3 chicken bullion cubes, low-fat, low-sodium
1/4 cup sherry
2 bay leaves
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a soup pot heat the olive oil, next add the mushrooms and saute for about three minutes. Add the barley (raw), garlic and onion, keep cooking until the mushroom begin to brown, or about 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir well. Keep cooking until the mushrooms are a nice golden brown, or around two minutes more. Reduce the heat to medium and add the sherry. Stir well and cook for about a minute. Reduce heat to low and add the water. Bring to a slow boil. When the water's hot, add the bay leaves and fine herbs. When it begins to bubble, add the bullion cubes.

Let the soup simmer until the barley's tender. Taste from time to time and add pepper and Worcestershire as needed.

Chicken with White Wine Sauce

Given my recent success making onion soup, I looked up other recipes using wine of some sort. Between reading and my own ideas, I came up with this:

Now, I made some mistakes with the preparation. Take note: make sure you have all the equipment you'll need! I could have sworn I had a mallet to flatten meats with, but I couldn't find it. So I wound up with rather thick chicken breasts. I wasn't going to pound them flat, I'm not making milanesas after all, but I did want to thin them so they'd cook better. Oh well.

First you prepare and cook the chicken:


Four thin boneless, skinless chicken breasts, not pounded flat.
1/4 Cup flour (I used whole wheat flour)
2 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. oregano, crushed
1 Tbsp. thyme, crushed

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 thick onion slices, separated into rings

In a large bowl, mix the flour and spices well. Dredge the chicken in the mix so it's evenly covered on both sides, shake off any excess. In a deep sauce pan heat the olive oil on a medium flame and cook the chicken along with the onions. Times vary, but cook each side of the chicken until it's golden brown. You don't want to overcook it, as it will dry out. You also don't want to leave the center raw or half-cooked. Therefore use reasonably thin pieces (as noted I didn't do).

When it's done, set the chicken aside and leave the onions in the pan.

Next:

2 Cups mushroom, sliced
2 Cups half-cooked (boiled) potatoes, thinly sliced but not potato chip thin.
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Teaspoon butter or margarine
1 Cup chicken broth
3/4 Cup white wine (I used a Riesling from Baja California)

In the same pan, still with the onions, add olive oil and margarine (or butter), and cook the mushrooms and potatoes. Again, times vary. You want the mushrooms to release their juices and turn brown around the edges only. When they're done, add the wine.

Keep cooking until the wine is reduced by about half. Add the chicken broth, and keep cooking for a few minutes, letting the sauce thicken. The sauce may not thicken enough by itself, though this can differ according to taste. If you want a thicker sauce, take a tablespoon of the left over flour and spices mix, and dissolve it in 1/4 cup of hot water. Make sure to use hot water, as wheat flour tends not to dissolve in cold water. Add the mix to the sauce and stir.

Add the chicken you'd set aside. If you like, add also another teaspoon of margarine or butter. Let the whole thing cook for another three to five minutes and you're done.

This dish would go very well with mashed potatoes or white rice.

Onion Soup

This had all the makings of  a disaster. Really. I looked at dozens of recipes and couldn't settle on one. I forgot to get beef broth. I had last minute ideas. Well, all things considered it turned out almost right. I'll tell you what I did, and what I should have done:

Mmmmm... soup!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 Large onions, cut into large pieces
1 Clove of garlic, minced
1 Bay leaf
8 Cups (2 liters) chicken broth (I use low-fat and low-sodium)
1/2 cup white wine
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. Soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
Worcestershire sauce to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onions and garlic. I cooked the onions until they were soft and somewhat translucent. this turned out well, but I think I should have cooked them until they were softer an almost transparent. In any case, you want to stir them constantly so they won't burn.

When they're close to done, add the wine, soy sauce and vinegar. For the sake of convenience, it would be best to combine them in a cup or bowl beforehand. Reduce the heat to medium and keep cooking and stirring for a few minutes, until the liquid is reduced to about half.

Add the chicken broth and the bay leaf. Reduce the heat to minimum and bring to a slow boil, stirring on occasion. When it boils, add the Worcestershire if you like. Let it simmer for a few minutes and remove from the heat.

I have it plain out of the pot, but there's no reason you can't add a slice of garlic bread and grated cheese on top. If the soup's not hot enough to melt the cheese, you can pop it in an oven for a minute or two, I suppose (I haven't tried it). Or just add some croutons.

Bean Soup

Sorry for the delay. My day job this week was far harsher then usual for this season.

I love beans in almost every kind of way, but I love bean soup best of all. So here's my recipe:

300 grs. of beans (I used a local purple variety called "Flor de Mayo," 250 gr. worth, and 50 gr. of white beans)
1/2 liter of chicken broth
440 gr. tomato puree
1/3 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon fine herbs
3 turkey sausages sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

First you cook the beans. You can use a pressure cooker. I considered it, but quite frankly I'm afraid of all tools that require high pressure (yes, this includes the espresso machine, but there's no other way to brew espresso) So first I soaked the beans for about 18 hours (at room temperature, covering the container with a paper towel), I poured about 1.5 liters of water in a pot, added a half teaspoon of olive oil, let the water boil, then added the beans and cooked them for about 2 hours on low fire. The beans aren't quite done, but they'll cook further when making the soup.

Next, cook the onions and garlic in a skillet along with 1 teaspoon olive oil. When they're done, add the sliced sausages and let them brown a bit. 

In the bean pot, add the chicken broth, tomato pure and spices, stir well and add the onions, garlic and sausage. Add a hefty dash of Worcestershire and Tabasco to taste. Bring to a slow boil, then let it simmer for about 40 minutes covered (be sure to use a pot lid with a hole or a valve on it).

You can skip the sausages if you want, or substitute some other kind of mean, such as bacon (any kind) or chicken. When serving, you can add more Worcestershire or Tabasco, or a little lime if you like.

Sopa de Fideos Seca

This week's home cooking recipe is very similar to last week's Sopa de Pasta except this is a "dry" soup, meaning there's no appreciable broth in it. It also uses a specific type of pasta called "fideo," similar to angel-hair pasta.

 Ingredients:

200 gr. Fideos
2 Cups chicken broth
350 gr. Can of diced red tomato (or two red tomatoes peeled and seeded)
1/2 cup tomato puree or tomato paste
1/3 Onion, quartered
1.5 Cloves of garlic, quartered
Cilantro to taste
1 Dried morita chile, or the chile of your choice (optional)

Put the tomato, onion, garlic, cilantro, tomato puree and chile in the blender and liquefy well. In a pot set two cups of chicken broth and the salsa from the blender on high heat. When the mix begins to boil, add the fideos and reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir well. Keep cooking while stirring occasionally until the liquid is consumed.

The result should be a very red, soft, gloppy pasta.traditionally it is served with some crumbled or grated cheese, chopped onion and sour cream.


Although I used a non-stick coated pot, the fideos tended to stick to the hot bottom. It's important to keep stirring so none of the pasta will burn. Also place a lid half on the pot, as the thick tomato, broth and pasta mix tends to splatter a bit while it boils.


Enjoy!

Sopa de Pasta

This is a rather simple dish commonly served in Mexican homes and small restaurants.

The pasta can barely be made out!

Essentially this is chicken broth with tomato and small pasta shapes. The typical recipe calls for frying the pasta a golden brown. But this being a low-fat cooking blog, I didn't do that. It works as well with un-fried pasta, so long as you don't over-cook it. So first you want to almost-cook the pasta in plain water.

Ingredients:

2 liters chicken broth
200 gr. small pasta shapes,a bit under-cooked
350 gr. peeled, seeded, diced  red tomato (or about one medium red tomato, peeled and seeded)
1/3 Onion, quartered
1 clove garlic, quartered
A pinch of fine herbs
1 Bay leaf

Under-cook and drain the pasta and set aside. In a blender place the tomato, onion and garlic. Liquefy the lot and set aside. In a large pot heat the chicken broth slowly, seasoning with fine herbs and a bay leaf (if you've seasoned it when you made it, you can skip this step), and the liquefied tomato from the blender. Stir well.


When the soup begins to bubble, add the pasta and stir. Let it boil, turn off the heat, let it cool a bit and serve.

Traditionally it's seasoned individually with lime to taste. I favor a whole small lime, or half a large one. Other people prefer less. You can also add chopped onion, cilantro or serrano chilies if you like.

Sweet and Sour Cabbage, Second Draft

I'm more nearly there, I think,  but the recipe still needs some work.
I went in a different direction, foregoing ketchup entirely and using canned pineapple bits in syrup, which happen to be sweet and sour.

Ingredients:

Sauce
1 Cup chicken broth
1/4 Cup Rice vinegar
1/4 Cup white sugar cane vinegar
1/3 Syrup from canned pineapple bits
210 Gr.tomato puree
1 Teaspoon powdered turmeric
3 Tablespoons Soy sauce (low sodium)
3 Tablespoons corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water

1/2 Head of green cabbage
1 Carrot, cubed.
1 Cup snow peas
1 Red onion in thin slices
2 Cloves garlic
1 Teaspoon sesame seeds
1 Cup pineapple bits, drained of syrup

For the sauce mix the chicken broth, both types of vinegar, syrup, tomato puree, turmeric and soy sauce in a  bowl and whisk vigorously. Set aside. As always, taste it and adjust ingredients to your taste.

In a pot heat some olive oil. Saute the onion and garlic for a few minute, then add the sesame seeds and saute for another two minutes. Add the cabbage, carrot and snow peas. Don't add the pineapple yet. Stir fry until the vegetables soften a little. Reduce heat to minimum and add the sauce and pineapple. Stir well so everything is well covered in the sauce.

Let the dish come to a slow boil. When it boils, add the corn starch solution and stir well, again making sure everything gets well covered. You'll feel the sauce thicken while you stir. Let it simmer for a minute or two, let it cool a bit and serve.

I'm not satisfied with the dish as it is, or with the sauce. But I think I'm headed in the right direction. I'll likely rest from sweet and sour, and tomato puree (see following post, eventually) for a week or two, then get back to it.

But the way, the sauce does look a little more red than it shows in the photo.

Sweet and sour cabbage, first draft

I thought this one up while at work late this afternoon. I've tried some sweet and sour recipes before, but was disappointed with the results. This one comes close to meeting my expectations, but it's not all it could be yet. Think of it as first draft.

Ingredients:

1/2 A head of green cabbage, shredded
1/3 Onion, quartered
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 Cup soybean sprouts
1 Cup snow peas
1 Cup chicken broth (Ok, I used a cup of hot water and one cube of low sodium, low fat chicken bullion)
3 Tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
4 1/2 Tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup Ketchup (I used low-sugar ketchup)
2 Tablespoons Splenda (you can use sugar in the same proportion)
Black pepper to taste
1 Teaspoon sesame seed oil
3 Tablespoons corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water

Preparation:

First do the sauce. In a bowl mix the chicken broth (cold or warm, not hot), ketchup, soy sauce and vinegar. Whisk until you can't see lumps of ketchup. Taste to see if it's sour enough. if it isn't, add more vinegar (carefully, you don't want it too sour). Add the Splenda and whisk again. Taste again to check if the sweet and sour balance is ok. if not, adjust as needed by adding more sweetener or vinegar. Just be careful not to mess it up, or to add too much liquid. Set it aside.

Heat the oil in a pot. Add the onion and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the cabbage, snow peas and soybean sprouts. Sprinkle with pepper, if you want, and stir well. Stir-fry for ten to fifteen minutes, or to the point where you think the veggies are soft enough.

Reduce the heat to minimum and add the sauce (it won't hurt to give it a last whisk). Stir well so everything gets coated. You may need to toss it like a salad. Let it simmer for three minutes and add the corn starch dissolve din water. Stir/toss well again, insuring everything gets well-drenched in sauce. Let it simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, remove from heat and serve.

I need, and I will,make some improvements. For one thing I should add sliced carrots and pineapple bits in syrup (which would alter the sweetener amounts). It might also serve for sweet and sour meats like chicken or pork.

Enjoy!

Barley Stew

Sorry I haven't posted. Last week I tried some new recipes and they didn't come out quite right. But I've fixed them, and here's the first:

3/4 Cup barley
4 Turkey sausages, sliced thinly
2 Cups shredded red or regular cabbage
1 Cup soybean sprouts
1 Carrot, sliced thinly
1 Small green bell pepper
1 Clove of garlic, minced
1/3 Chopped onion
5 Cups chicken broth
1 Tablespoon oregano
420 grs. Tomato puree
Ground black pepper to taste
4 Tablespoons barbecue sauce (I used Kraft Original flavor, but any kind will do)
1 Teaspoon olive oil.

In a soup pot heat the olive oil and slightly brown the sausages and bell pepper, for about 4-6 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the barbecue sauce and bring to a boil. If you use chicken bullion cubes rather than chicken broth, wait for the water to boil before adding the cubes; they don't dissolve well in cold or warm water. Stir well and reduce the heat. Let simmer covered for about an hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so. You want to let the fluid almost be consumed.

When there is little liquid left, add the barbecue sauce and stir well. Check to see if the remaining liquid feels thick. if it does, remove from the stove, allow to cool and then serve. If not, let it simmer a little longer, keeping an eye on it at all times. When only a little liquid is left, it goes fast.

If things go well tomorrow, I'll post my recipe for cottage cheese enchiladas.

Ginger Chicken

This is one of my first recipes, the very first to use chicken. It's very simple, but there's a lot of chopping involved.

Ingredients:

3 Chicken breasts
Sesame seed oil
Half an onion, chopped,
2 Cloves of garlic, chopped,
1.5 Carrots, chopped
2 Stalks of celery, chopped.
1/3 of a head of cabbage, shredded
1/3 cup jicama, chopped.
10-15 snow peas
2.5 teaspoons fresh ginger (2 minced, 1/2 grated)
3 teaspoons soy sauce
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
3 teaspoons corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water
1 1/2 cups chicken broth






First saute 1 teaspoon of minced ginger with some sesame seed oil for 2 minutes, then cook the chicken. Cut it into bite-sized pieces and set it aside. In the same wok, stir-fry the vegetables with the rest of the ginger and 1 teaspoon of oil. Cook until the vegetables are as soft or crunchy as you want them.


Add the soy sauce and turmeric to the chicken broth and stir well. Add the chicken to the vegetables, pour the chicken broth on top and mix well. Add the corn starch mix and again mix everything well. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes, mix occasionally so that everything is covered in the sauce.


This dish goes well with plain white rice or with  curry rice

Curry Rice

As promised yesterday, here's the recipe for curry rice.

This entirely my own recipe. I wanted boiled, low-fat rice with some flavor. I found curry powder in the pantry. The rest was easy.

2.5 cups of water
2 chicken bullion cubes (low fat, low sodium)
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1.5 tablespoons curry powder
Half a teaspoon ginger
Half a teaspoon turmeric
1/4 onion chopped in large pieces (optional).
1 cup rice

Wash and drain the rice. Boil the water, add the chicken bullion cubes and stir (you may want to crumble them first so they will dissolve faster). When the cubes are dissolved, add the spices and the onion. Stir a bit then add the rice. Stir some more, reduce the flame to the lowest setting and cover the pot. Stir occasionally.Turn off the flame when the liquid is consumed, then fluff with a fork and serve. The rice ought to turn out yellow.

Cabbage soup

This is the first recipe I tried making on my own. I find it tasty and hearty, yet low in fat. It keeps for about a week in the fridge.

I used jícama in this recipe, but it isn't essential. If you can't find any, just skip it and add more carrot or other crunchy vegetable you like. Celery ought to work well.

Ingredients:

1/4 white cabbage shredded, or 1/2 re cabbage shredded

1 clove of garlic finely chopped or minced

5 small mushrooms chopped

1/2 onion chopped

1 carrot (I cut it into sticks, but go any way you like)

About 1/4 of a medium sized jícama (in sticks, too, or see about the carrot)

Chicken stock or broth (enough to cover the vegetables)

1 teaspoon olive oil (or more or less to taste; and you can use any kind of oil)

Ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

A dash of Tabasco sauce or to taste

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a pot for a little while, then add the onion and garlic.Saute until the onions begin to turn translucent. Next add the rest of the vegetables and cook uncovered until they reach the level of softness you want, or until the mushrooms turn brown. Stir occasionally

Reduce heat to low and add the chicken broth or stock. Bring the soup to a slow boil, stirring occasionally. When it starts to boil, add the pepper, oregano, Worcestershire and Tabasco. Once it boils, let it simmer uncovered for about five minutes. Remove from heat, allow it to cool a bit and serve.