Creamy Carrot Soup made Healthier (Potage Crécy)

The local farmer's market is coming to a close in a few weeks.  The summer fruits are slowly being replaced by root vegetables and winter squashes.  This year, I am trying to adopt a better attitude to the changing of the seasons.  This means instead of looking at those root vegetables with disdain because they aren't summer fruits, I'm going to embrace them!  Yesterday, carrots and sweet potatoes looked really good at the market, so I made them into this sweet soup.  I made it early in the day, refrigerated it and served it cold along with a piece of whole wheat bread smeared with peanut butter.  It was a yummy, healthy way to herald the first day of autumn.

I worked from Mark Bittman's recipe for Potage Crécy found in his cookbook titled The Best Recipes in the World but made it a little healthier to suit my needs.  Enjoy!

Creamy Carrot Soup (Potage Crécy) by Joie de vivre
Makes 4 hearty servings

Ingredients:


1 1/2 Tbls. olive oil
1 small onion (4.5 oz.), chopped
1 lb. carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small sweet potato (6.75 oz.), peeled and chopped
1 tomato, chopped (don't worry about peeling or seeding)
1 tsp. salt (more or less to taste)
pepper to taste
2 tsp. sugar
4 c. chicken stock
1 c. water
1/2 c. light sour cream

Directions:

1.  Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil.  Add the onion, carrots, sweet potato, tomato, salt, pepper and sugar.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes until the vegetables start to break down.  If the vegetables start to stick to the bottom of the pan, lower the heat slightly and add 1/4 c. water.
2.  When the vegetables are tender, add the stock and 1 c. water.  Raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil.  Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat to low and gently simmer the soup for 15 minutes.
3.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until completely smooth.  Place the soup in the refrigerator and refrigerate until cold.
4.  When ready to serve, stir in the sour cream.  Serve cold.

Two Color Broccoli, Cauliflower, Sweet Potato Soup with Cheese Croutons

The only downside to this recipe...two pots to clean. Otherwise, a tasty, colorful and healthy way to get your veggies! Oh, and the cheese croutons help too. :)

Two Color Broccoli, Cauliflower, Sweet Potato Soup with Cheese Croutons by Joie de Vivre

Serves 4

*Note* this is really two separate recipes that you will be making simultaneously. I will write out the ingredients and directions for each recipe, but they will be made simultaneously so that they will be ready at the same time.

Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients for Cauliflower Soup:

1-2 Tbls. olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 head cauliflower, florets removed and chopped roughly

2 c. chicken stock

1 tsp. salt

1/2 sweet potato, cut thinly

Directions for Cauliflower Soup:

1. In a medium soup pot over medium heat, add the olive oil.

2. To the heated olive oil, add the onion and saute until translucent.

3. Add the minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds until fragrant

4. Add the cauliflower, chicken stock, salt and sweet potato.

5. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, partially cover, and simmer for 20 minutes until all of the vegetables are tender.

6. Puree the soup with an immersion blender.

Broccoli Soup

Ingredients for Broccoli Soup:

1-2 Tbls. olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 head broccoli, all of the crowns removed and chopped roughly

1/2 sweet potato, sliced thinly

1 tsp. salt

2 c. chicken stock

Directions for Broccoli Soup:

1. Heat 1-2 Tbls. olive oil in medium soup pot over medium heat.

2. Add the onion and cook until translucent.

3. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.

4. Add the broccoli, sweet potato, salt and chicken stock.

5. Bring to a boil, lower heat, partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes until all of the vegetables are tender.

6. Puree soup with an immersion blender.

*To serve* Place 1 c. cauliflower soup in a pouring container, place 1 c. broccoli soup in a second pouring container. Pour simultaneously into a bowl so they don't mix. Enjoy!

Cheesy Croutons:

Ingredients:

1 loaf french bread or challah

1-2 Tbls. shredded cheddar cheese for each toast

Directions: (complete while waiting for veggies in soups to cook)

1. Slice loaf of bread into 1 inch thick pieces.

2. Place slices of bread on a sheet pan and place under broiler until slightly toasted.

3. Place 1-2 Tbls. shredded cheddar cheese on each slice of bread and place back under the broiler for about 2 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with Two Color Broccoli, Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup!

The most interesting borscht chili in the world

I was a little nervous about how I would do with portion control today, but I surprised myself! This morning, there was a pancake breakfast at Applebee's, a fundraiser for my son's school. I paid attention to my stomach and was NOT part of the clean plate club! Lunch was again out with a friend. We went to a cute tea shop and I ordered the high tea. I ate slowly and sipped my tea and again, did not finish it all.

Even though my portions were good today, I can't say my meals were too healthy. Sausage and pancakes made with white flour and syrup for breakfast, tea sandwiches and a scone for lunch....by late afternoon I was craving some veggies. I came up with this, um...interesting, chili as a way to use up some beets and zucchini I had in the fridge. I am calling this dish "The most interesting borscht chili in the world" because it WAS interesting. Not something I'd necessarily make again, but pleasant, healthy and hearty none the less. I paired the borscht chili with cornbread, packaged taco salad, and milk. Enjoy!

The Most Interesting Borscht Chili in the World by Joie de vivre
Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 Tbls. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 beets, peeled and shredded
2 zucchini, shredded
1 14.5 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c. green beans
2 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 package chili seasoning

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot and add the onions. Saute for a few minutes until it starts to become translucent.
2. Add the shredded zucchini and shredded beets. Cook, stirring occasionally until they are soft, about 20 minutes.
3. When the zucchini and shredded beets are thoroughly cooked and completely softened, add all of the beans, the tomatoes and the chili seasoning.
4. Bring to a boil and cook for an additional 10 minutes to let the chili seasoning blend.
5. If desired, top with a dollop of sour cream.

Cabbage Soup

It's still raining and gray outside and I was craving warm food, so for lunch today I pulled out some cabbage soup I made as a starter a few nights ago. I paired it with a mini version of last night's chicken taco salad minus the beans and tortilla chips and also had some pepper strips with bleu cheese dressing and 1 c. nonfat milk. When I made lunch, it didn't seem to be a lot of food, and not very calorically dense, but as usual, my eyes were bigger than my stomach and I couldn't finish the soup.

I'm hoping the weather clears up enough for me to go for a walk this afternoon, but if not, I'm pulling out the Pilates DVD again. We'll see if Mother Nature wants me to get outside, or to work on my abs and arms. Ha!

My recipe for cabbage soup follows the next picture. Enjoy!

The soup was pretty easy to make and a good way to fool my kids into eating their veggies. It has an almost sweet flavor and is extremely creamy. While they didn't gobble it down, they did get a few bites down which is all this mom can ask for!

Cabbage Soup by Joie de vivre

Serves: About 8, it made quite a large pot

Ingredients:

2 Tbls. olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 head smooth, green cabbage, shredded

1 red potato, chunked. Leave skin on.

2 tsp. salt (or more depending on taste)

1 quart chicken broth

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, warm the olive oil and place in onion, cooking and stirring until translucent.

2. Place cabbage in the pot and stir. Cover and let sit a few minutes, stir again. Recover and let sit again a few minutes. Do this until cabbage is mostly wilted.

3. Add the chicken broth and the potato chunks as well as the salt. Turn the heat up and bring the soup to a boil. Partially cover the soup with lid, turn down the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until all of the vegetables are cooked and softened.

4. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup completely.

Potage of Lentils

This soup is YUMMY!  The lemon juice in it gives a hint of springtime flavor.  I adapted this recipe from 400 Soups by Anne Sheasby.  She says this soup is sometimes referred to as Esau's soup.  Esau was Issac's first born son in the Bible and thus entitled to Issac's possessions and land as his birthright.  The story goes that Esau went hunting and returned ravenous from the trip to find his younger brother Jacob making a pot of delicious smelling soup.  Esau trades his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of Jacob's soup.  I'm not sure this soup is worthy of trading in one's birthright, but it is darn-right yummy and filling.  The soup, like so many others, was even more yummy the next day for lunch.  I'm sending this over to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday round-up.  Enjoy!

Potage of Lentils adapted from 400 Soups by Anne Sheasby

Ingredients:

3 Tbls. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 celery sticks, chopped

5 garlic cloves, chopped

1 potato, peeled and diced

1 c. red lentils, rinsed

4 cups chicken stock 

2 bay leaves

1 large lemon, quartered

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Tabasco sauce, to finish

salt and pepper to taste

lemon slices and chopped parsely to finish

Directions:

1.  Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add the chopped onion and saute until onion is slightly translucent.  Add the celery, garlic and the potato.  Cook for a few minutes until beginning to soften.

2.  Add the lentils and the stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot.  Cook for about 30 minutes until the potato and lentils are tender.

3.  Add the bay leaves.  Squeeze 2 of the lemon quarters into the juice and drop them into the soup.  Cook the soup for an additional 10 minutes.

4.  Remove the bay leaves and the lemon quarters.  Squeeze the additional 2 lemon quarters into the soup.

5.  Puree in batches in the blender or use an immersion blender to blend soup until smooth.

6.  Add the cumin and stir through.  Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

7.  To serve:  ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil and Tabasco.  Garnish with lemon slices and chopped parsley.  *Note*  Please don't give away your birthright while this is cooking!  :)

Thank Goodness for Leftovers Soup

This week, I visited my local butcher who had some fabulous looking pork ribs for sale.  The woman helping me advised 3 pork ribs for a "very hungry man".  I guess I didn't trust her so I bought 7 pork ribs for the four of us because it's so hard to tell how large they are in the case.  It turns out that one pork rib would have sufficed per person, but that also meant I had leftovers!  I used the three extra cooked pork ribs to put together this quick soup.  I'm sending this over to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her weekly Souper Sunday round-up!

Joie's Thank Goodness for Leftovers Soup or (Red Lentil, Spinach and Pork Rib Soup) by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

1/4 c. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

5 small carrots, peeled and chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 1/2 quarts of chicken or beef broth (I used a combination because that's what I had!)

2 c. red lentils

3 leftover country style pork ribs (or any kind of meat), chopped into bite sized pieces

10 oz. spinach leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat.

2.  Add the olive oil.  Saute the onions and the carrots in the olive oil for about 5 minutes, until the onion starts to brown.

3.  Add the minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds until fragrant.

4.  Add the chicken or beef broth and bring to a boil.

5.  Stir in the red lentils, lower the heat to create a gentle simmer, partially cover the soup pot and cook until the lentils are soft, about 25 minutes.

6.  Stir in the cooked meat and cook for 5 minutes.

7.  Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, another 5-10 minutes.

8.  Adjust the seasonings and serve!

Staying resolute

Part of my New Year's resolution was to entertain more.  Well, here it is February and I finally entertained my first guests of the New Year yesterday.  It took me a while, but I had so much fun that I'm going to be doing it more frequently.  Getting over that first hurdle is always the hardest. 

My skills were challenged yesterday as I was cooking not only for people I had never before cooked for, but for a vegetarian.  It being Sunday, my plan was to make a soup that I could put in the crock pot before church.  I knew that my Red Lentil and Carrot Soup with Coconut would impress, but as luck would have it, I could not find red lentils at any of my usual sources.  What's a girl to do who's pressed for time and who is having her first guests of the New Year over?  Improvise, of course!

I adapted the red lentil soup recipe to use something I could readily find, split peas, and the rest is soup history.  This soup was flavorful, delicious, had a wonderful texture and was warming and filling.  I'm sending this over to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her weekly Souper Sunday event.  Enjoy!

Split Pea Soup with Carrots and Coconut by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

2 cups dried split peas

1 Tbls. vegetable oil

2 large onions, chopped

5 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. tumeric

2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

8 cups vegetable stock

1 14 oz. can coconut milk

1/8 tsp. chili pepper

Directions:

1.  In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to brown.  

2. Add the minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds, until fragrant.  Add the tumeric and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, for an additional 30 seconds.

3.  Add the vegetable stock and the salt and pepper.  Stir in the split peas.

4.  Transfer the entire mixture to the insert of a large (6 qt) crock pot.  Cover and cook on LOW for 8 - 10 hours or on HIGH for 4 - 5 hours.

5.  Stir in the coconut milk and chili pepper and cook on HIGH for an additional 20 - 30 minutes before serving.

Golden Chickpea and Polish Sausage Soup

Living more French means eating more vegetables.  What better way to get more vegetables to your diet than soup?  I've been making soup recently for Sunday evening dinners and then have lots of leftovers for healthy lunches throughout the week.  This one was inspired by the book, 400 soups, but I changed so much in the recipe it morphed into something totally, and deliciously, different.  I'm sending this soup over to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday round-up!

Golden Chickpea and Polish Sausage Soup by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

2 onions, cut in half, then sliced into half moons

3 big cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbls. olive oil

1 1/2 pints chicken stock

2 15oz. cans chopped tomatoes

2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 1/2c. chickpeas, cooked

small pinch of saffron

pinch of chili powder

1 lb. Polish sausage, cut into bite sized chunks

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Heat olive oil in a large stock pot.  Saute the onions until they begin to brown.  Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.

2.  Add the saffron and chili powder.  Stir.

3.  Add the chicken stock, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and chopped tomatoes.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, approximately 20 minutes depending on the size of your sweet potato pieces.

4.  Add sliced sausage and simmer for 5-10 more minutes.

5.  Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to taste.

Quick Cioppino

Oooh Nellie, I am one spoiled girl.  Whilst flipping through the December issue of Martha Stewart living at my mother in law's house, I came across a recipe for quick cioppino.  Cioppino was traditionally an Italian fisherman stew made with the catch of the day.  While I adapted Martha's recipe, I still made one rockin' bowl of soup.  My five year old LOVED this stew and asked for seconds of clam and mussels.  I take that as the ultimate compliment.  I'm sending this soup to be part of the Souper Sunday event over at Kahakai kitchen.  Enjoy!

Joie de vivre's Rockin' Cioppino

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 Tbls. olive oil

1 medium onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. course salt

1/8 tsp. chili pepper

1 1/4 c. dry white wine, like Chardonnay

1 15oz. can diced tomatoes with juice

2 1/2 c. chicken stock

14 mussels, debearded and scrubbed well

1 1/2 lbs. clams, scrubbed well

1 lb. firm white fish fillets, like rock cod, cut into 2 inch pieces.

Directions:

1.  Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Saute the onions and garlic until translucent.

2.  Add thyme, salt, chili pepper and cook for 1 minute, stirring.

3.  Add the wine, scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pot with your wooden spoon, simmer for 1 minute.

4.  Stir in the tomatoes with juice and chicken stock.

5.  Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

6.  Add the seafood, re-cover the pot, and cook until the shells open, about 6 minutes.  Discard any unopened shells.

7.  Dish into bowls, serve with nice rolls and put an empty bowl in the middle of the table to serve as the communal shell discard bowl.

Tuscan Style Chickpea Soup

As a result of trying to eat more "French" I have been eating my main meal at lunch with a smaller dinner in the evening.  Sunday afternoon, I made a very gooey macaroni and cheese for lunch and the whole wheat pane di como from yesterday's post with this simple soup for dinner.  I have to say, this was one of the best soups I have had in a while (If I do say so myself).  I'm submitting this one to Deb over at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday event.  Enjoy!

Tuscan Style Chickpea Soup by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

3 1/2 c. dried chickpeas, soaked overnight

8 c. chicken stock, plus 1 c. water (or 9 c. chicken stock, I just had 2 quarts on hand)

1/4 c. olive oil

1 lb. small potatoes cut into bite sized pieces

10 oz. bag pre-washed spinach leaves

1 lb. cooked polish sausage cut into soup sized chunks

salt and pepper.

Directions:

1.  Drain the chickpeas, place in a large pot, cover with fresh water, place over high heat and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to low, cover the pot partially, and simmer the beans for 1 hour until cooked.

2.  Place the chicken stock and water into a large soup pot.  Add the cooked chickpeas, potatoes and the olive oil.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked.  

3.  Add the spinach and the polish sausage and cook for 5 minutes until the spinach is wilted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Ladle into bowls and serve with crusty bread.

Vegetable Beef Soup

When I was in college, I used to attend a weekly soup supper put on by the Lutheran/Episcopal campus group.  It was a chance to get away from campus for a little while, commune with other like minded students, and enjoy a warm bowl of something wonderful.  When I read about Souper Sundays, a weekly soup round up hosted by Deb over at Kahakai Kitchen, I got the same feeling that those weekly soup suppers used to bring me.  This soup, although admittedly not one of my best, is my attempt to share a bowl of soup with those other lovely cooks.  I say it's not my best soup because although it tastes lovely and homey, the alphabet pasta keeps sucking up all of the liquid.  I added more stock to the leftovers and the next day it had been absorbed into the pasta again.  This makes it more of a pasta dish rather than a soup, but you'll still enjoy it.

Vegetable Beef Soup by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs. stew meat

2 lbs. potatoes, chopped

1 tsp. salt

3 carrots, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 15oz. cans "chili ready" chopped tomatoes

1 (1 lb.) can whole-kernel corn, drained

7 oz. package alphabet pasta

1 qt. chicken or beef stock

Directions:

1.  Place beef, potatoes, salt, carrots, celery, tomatoes and stock into the insert of a slow cooker. 

2.  Cover and cook on LOW for 7 1/2  hours or on high for 3 1/2 hours.

3.  Stir in pasta and corn and re-cover.  Cook on high for 30 minutes.

4.  Adjust the seasonings to taste. 

French Friday #1

I'm not sure where to start.  I have maintained my 34 lb. weight loss for 6 months, but after a December of WAY too much food, my jeans are tight.  I already know the verdict must be at least a 5 lb. gain, and I'm scared of getting on the scale.  Perhaps since I already know the verdict, I may skip the scale for a week or so.  At least I'm catching it now instead of 30 more pounds from now.

January is the perfect time to reassess and tweak one's eating habits.  Out with the old year, and finally, the month of eating is over.  At least in the U.S., no more holidays until President's day or Martin Luther King and those are not big eating holidays.  If you are a football fan, you do have the Superbowl coming up, but fortunately, I see the Superbowl as an opportunity to get out and do things while the crowds are home watching football, so I skip that eating holiday.  No, 2009 is an opportunity to look forward.  In this spirit, I am reassessing some of my eating habits that have slipped back to my old ways during December and start the scale moving downward again instead of insidiously creeping upward.  I am starting a read through of French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano and I hope you'll join me for it.  We will take the next 4 Fridays to read through the book, assess what we're eating and change some bad habits.

Overture and Chapter 1:  Vive L'Amerique:  The Beginning...I am Overweight

I just love Mireille Guiliano's voice and writing style.  I immediately identify with her.  To me, she writes how my French exchange mother (also a Mireille) speaks, really down to earth, no nonsense, and with an air of "I know a big secret and here's how I do it".  In these chapters, Mireille talks about her love affair with America and her journey here as a foreign exchange student.  She fell in love with the country, the people, and also the food.  She adapted some of our eating habits like eating on the run and eating just anything.

1.  What are your bad habits?  Do you eat on the run?  Do you eat "just anything"?  I had choir practice a few weeks ago and one of the members was eating a protein bar for dinner that she had found in the bottom of her purse.  It was smashed and looked completely disgusting to me and I asked her, "That is REALLY your dinner?  Seriously, I think McDonalds would be better!"

Chapter 2:  La Fille Prodigue:  Return of the Prodigal Daughter

In this chapter, Mireille returns from America 15-20lbs. heavier to the shock of her family.  She is loathing the way she looks but becomes very busy at university in Paris.  She continues her adopted American eating habits or eating anything on the run, and ends up gaining another 10 lbs. before returning home for Christmas break.  Her mother enlists the help of the family physician "Dr. Miracle" to help her relearn her French "tricks" for staying slim and healthy.  He asked her to keep a food journal for three weeks.  Mireille was not only eating just anything on the run, she was eating solely pastries on the run!

1.  Did you keep your food journal for December?  If not, start keeping one now so you can see your petite offenders.  Looking at my journal, I do eat a balanced diet consisting of whole grains, fruits and veggies, meat and fish, dairy.  However, my portions have gotten out of control.  In particular, I have a weakness for bread and butter.  Last night for dinner, in addition to a 4oz. portion of prime rib, salad, and peas, I had 3 Hawaiian rolls with butter and a large piece of limpa bread with butter.  Obviously that is WAY out of proportion and a wake up call on why my jeans are tight!

2.  Dr. Miracle also "prescribed" having a leek soup weekend as a way to kick off Mireille's new way of life.  When I first read French Women Don't Get Fat, I skipped Leek Soup weekend as I was too scared to go a whole weekend with nothing but leek soup.  Sometime around last April, after another trip to Hawaii, I tried the Leek Soup weekend but only made it a day and I was supplementing it with crackers!  Mireille says the biggest benefit of Leek Soup weekend is that it gives you an immediate mental jump on healthier living.  Leeks are a slight diuretic, and after eating Leek Soup for the weekend, you should see a weight loss of 2-3 lbs.  This is enough to give anyone encouragement!  I also think it serves to help shrink your stomach so you can start paring down your portions without discomfort.  If you are brave enough to try Leek Soup weekend, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!  As for me, I am going to try a Leek Soup Day tomorrow (for lunch and dinner, I just don't think I can stomach leek soup for breakfast) using my leek soup recipe.  If you are interested in Mireille's, I'll show it below.

Magical Leek Soup by Mireille Guiliano from French Women Don't Get Fat

Ingredients: 

2 lbs. leeks

water

1.  Clean the leeks and rinse well to get rid of sand and soil.  Cut off the ends of the dark green parts, leaving all the white parts plus a suggestion of pale green.

2.  Put the leeks in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes.  Pour off the liquid and reserve.  Place the leeks in a bowl. 

3.  The juice is to be drunk every 2 to 3 hours, 1 cup at a time.

4.  For meals or whenever hungry, have some of the leeks themselves, 1/2 cup at a time.  Drizzle with a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice.  Season sparingly with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley if you wish.

5.  This will be your nourishment for both days, until Sunday dinner, when you can have a small piece of meat or fish (4-6 oz.) with 2 vegetables, steamed with a bit of butter or olive oil, and a piece of fruit.

Chapter 3:  Short-Term Recasting:  The First Three Months

Here is where you ask yourself the necessary questions essential if you are going to conquer your weight long term.  What is going on here?  Why have I gained weight in the first place?  My answer is boredom eating.  When I'm busy, I often forget about my stomach, when I'm not, it's all I think about!  I also tend to overeat in social situations when there is an abundance of food.  I just want to try everything and have a hard time stopping when there is so much food on the table (hence December was a hard month for me.)

Rounding up the usual suspects

1.  What are your petite offenders?  For me:

bread, bread and more bread

pizza

popcorn

Mexican food, particularly refried beans

any buffet

Slow and Steady

1. Try to stay away from your offenders, those foods of which you have no will power.  Add lots of other foods to add excitement to your culinary repertoire so that it feels as if you are going on a culinary adventure rather than depriving yourself of your favorites.

Your homework this week (and really for the next three months--start slowly!):

1.  Don't stock your offenders

2.  Add more water to your life.  Start with adding one glass upon waking and another upon going to bed.  This will add two (that was easy!) and add from there until you are drinking at least 8 glasses a day.

3.  Eat slowly, savor every bite.  Only eat off plates and sitting down at the table.  Do not eat while watching T.V. or reading the paper.  (Getting rid of the morning paper at breakfast is a habit I have yet to break)

4.  Weigh your foods and slowly start cutting back on your portions little by little.

5.  Find substitutes for your offenders so that you do not feel as if you are depriving yourself.  When I first found French Women Don't Get Fat, my offenders were all things salty (of which I see that creeping back into my current offenders!).  My substitution was a tea called Genmaicha Green Tea.  This tea was a bit salty, and when I was really craving it I would add a little more salt to the pot.  This was a no calorie substitute and I satisfied my craving for salt.  Win-win!

6.  Eat scheduled meals so you are not hungry.

7.  Carry a healthy snack with you so you are not tempted to eat just anything if you are out and get hungry.

Bonne chance!  Tune in next Friday for Chapter 4-6!

Leek Soup

In the book French Women Don't Get Fat, the author recommends, as a kick off to becoming French, that you start your French journey with a leek soup weekend.  A leek soup weekend is when you eat nothing but leek soup and drink leek broth and water.  When I first "became French" I was very scared of leek soup weekend and skipped it.  However last April I went to visit my parents in Hawaii for two weeks and gained 4 pounds while I was there!  To offset the weight gain and get myself back on track, I decided to do a leek soup weekend.  The leek soup I made was so thin, very watery, extremely unappetizing with yucky chunks of boiled leek in it.  Needless to say, I didn't make it 24 hours eating this disgusting fare.

However, for the past two weeks, we have been receiving leeks in our final CSA baskets of the season.  Finally, I had about 10 of them crowding my crisper drawer and it was time to clear some space.  Last night I decided to make a starter of leek soup as I knew I could do so much better than last time if I just put my mind to it.  What I created had very subtle flavors from white wine and chicken stock, had a little "meat" to it with added olive oil, and was chock full of yummy, sauteed pieces of leek.  Much, much better.  Now I understand leek soup weekend.  I could happily survive the weekend on this soup.  Last night it was relegated to a mere starter to a main course of baked salmon, but I can't wait for lunch today to give it a starring role all it's own.

Leek Soup by Joie de vivre

Made at least 8 big servings

10 leeks, cleaned and chopped into 1/2 inch chunks

3-4 Tbls. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup white wine

2 quarts of chicken stock

*Note*  If you have never worked with leeks before, the key to using them is getting them clean.  The way farmers grow them is to mound dirt around the base to make for a longer usable white part.  This results in lots of dirt in those little groves.  What I do is chop off the green leaves.  These are good for stock but are not going to be used for the soup.  We are working with the white parts here.  Chop off the root of the white part, turn sidewise and slice long ways down the middle.  Then turn the leek and chop short ways into 1/2 inch size chunks.  Put these chunks into a salad spinner.  Continue in this manner until all of the leeks are cut.  Put the salad spinner insert containing the leeks into the salad spinner bowl and fill the bowl with cool water.  Swish around the leeks with your hands, lift out this insert and drain the water.  Repeat 3-4 times until you are convinced the leeks are clean.  

 

Instructions:

1.  Heat the olive oil in a big soup pot over medium low heat.  

2.  Add the leeks and sautee them, stirring frequently, until they are very limp and starting to stick to the bottom slightly (maybe 10 minutes)  Don't let them burn!

3.  Add the white wine and scrape the bottom of the pot clean with a wooden spoon.

4.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, give the pot a good stir and then add the chicken stock.

5.  Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil.

6.  Ladle into soup bowls and enjoy.

Taco Soup

My diabolical plan to set myself up with leftovers for an easy weekend of cooking is complete.  Mwah ha ha haaaa....  Last night we had taco soup made in the crock pot and it was quite tasty if I do say so myself.  We have enough of this soup leftover for one more dinner and a few lunches.  I love planned leftovers.  Not only is it economical, but I know that I can just kick my feet up this weekend, rely on the microwave to heat things up, spend time with the boys, and have the only dinner dishes be our plates and bowls.  Ahhhh....

A disclaimer:  my oldest didn't LOVE this soup, but he ate it because it had sour cream and cheese on top.  My youngest contented himself with the tortilla chips and little sips of soup when prodded.  So this may not be a kid favorite yet (although one would sure think it was).  However I loved it and would call it a winner myself, my husband loved it too.  Try it and let me know what you think!

Taco Soup by Joie de vivre

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb. extra-lean ground beef

1 envelope dry taco seasoning

2 16oz. cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 16oz. can of corn, drained

2 quarts of tomato juice

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

black pepper according to taste

tortilla chips, optional

shredded cheddar cheese, optional

sour cream, optional

1.  Brown the meat and onions in a skillet until onions are slightly brown (the meat doesn't need to be cooked completely).  Drain and add to the slow cooker insert.

2.  Add taco seasoning, black beans, corn, tomato juice, sugar, salt and black pepper to the slow cooker insert and give everything a stir.

3.  Cook on Low in your slow cooker for 6 hours.

4.  Ladle into soup bowls and top servings with crumbled tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream if desired.

The Giant

I first saw a Hubbard squash at our farmers market two autumns ago.  It's sheer enormity motivated my astonished question to the farmer, "What is that!?"  "A Hubbard squash, it's sweet," was the reply.  I thanked her for her answer but left without the Hubbard squash because 1. I wasn't sure I could carry that bad boy, 2.  If I could carry it, I knew that I would never be able to cut into it without cutting off a finger, and 3.  Even if I was able to cut into it without maiming myself, there was no way it was going to fit in my oven.

Our CSA box this week contained about a fifth of what had to be an enormous Hubbard squash placed in a plastic bag (Fortunately, our farmer, almost sensing my anxiety about the size of Hubbard squashes, had cut it for us.  Thanks Alan).  I had no idea what to do with it but knew I had to cook it quickly lest it mold.  Two nights ago I placed it in the oven to roast slowly for an hour and a half and scooped out the meat with the intention of finding something to make with it.  I happened upon this soup creation which was quite tasty.  The cinnamon and the cumin pair beautifully together and really complimented the sweet flesh of the Hubbard.  If you don't have access to a Hubbard squash, I'm sure you could substitute any number of the fabulous members of the cucurbita family on the market now.  By the way, the latin name for Hubbard squash is cucurbita maxima.  I find this a very fitting name for this giant.

Winter Squash and Pinto Bean Soup by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1 Tbls. olive oil

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 garlic clove, minced

3-4 cups cooked squash (if you are making this with raw squash, cut into small cubes and increase the cooking time so that the squash is fully cooked)

3 cups chicken broth

1 (15oz.) can of whole tomatoes with the juice, crushed

1 (15oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Saute the onion in the olive oil until slightly browned.  Place the sauteed onion in the insert of a slow cooker.  Add the cumin, salt, cinnamon, garlic, squash and chicken broth to the slow cooker and cover.  Cook on Low heat for 3-4 hours.  Puree soup until smooth with your hand blender.  Add the crushed tomatoes and the pinto beans to the pureed soup and cook on High for 1 hour until heated through and bubbling.

Chicken Soup

This past weekend, all three of my boys were sick.  By Sunday, being quite sick of all the sickness myself and ready for a little break, I headed to Costco to pick up an easy dinner of roasted chicken, bagged Caesar salad, and some green beans.  Last night, finally being back in the mood to cook after the little break, I made a chicken and rice soup with the leftover chicken.  It was yummy and hearty and even the little guys liked it (also the big guy) and used pantry staples and leftovers from the fridge.  I had leftover rice from this weekend also so I threw that in as well and it bulked it up quite a bit.  

Chicken and Rice Soup by Joie de vivre

1/2 cooked chicken with pieces of meat cut into fairly hearty chunks (about 4-5 cups chicken)

A large handful of green beans cut into soup sized pieces

1/2 onion cut into large pieces to allow onion haters to pick pieces out

2 carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into soup sized pieces

4 stalks of celery, cut in half lengthwise and cut into soup sized pieces

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 15 oz. can butter beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup cooked, cold rice

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 vegetable boullion

6-8 cups boiling water

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring until softened but not browned.  Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.  In the meantime, pour a little of the boiling water over the boullion to dissolve it.  Add to the soup pot along with the rest of the boiling water.  Add the chicken pieces, beans and the rice.  Add salt and pepper sparingly to taste as boullion is salty.  Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  If desired, you may skim off the olive oil that floats to the surface.  Ladle into soup bowls and serve to your sickies.

Red Lentil and Carrot Soup with Coconut

A few years ago I bought the book 125 best Vegetarian Slow Cooker recipes by Judith Finlayson as a way of adding some healthy slow-cooked meals to my repertoire.  Truly, as is so often the case, I have only tried a few recipes from this book as a whole, but one of my favorite soup recipes of all times is in there, Red Lentil and Carrot Soup with Coconut.  To hear the name, some people balk, and it has been a few years since I first tried it so I'm not sure of my motivation in trying it in the first place, but the comment I wrote above the recipe with the date of 11/1/05 was, "Delicious!"  I have a habit of writing the date and any comments above any new recipe I try in a cookbook and "delicious" is a word I reserve for the special few.  I have since made this recipe for a church potluck to rave reviews and made it this past weekend while my parents were visiting.  My father couldn't get enough of it.  I love it because besides from being delicious, it saves me so much time to put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker at the beginning of the day and let it work its magic.  Enjoy, and if you try it, let me know how you like it!

Red Lentil and Carrot Soup with Coconut by Judith Finlayson from 125 best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes

Serves 8 to 10 as a starter, or 4 to 6 as a main course

Ingredients:

2 cups red lentils

1 Tbls vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 large carrots, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp tumeric

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, including juice

6 cups vegetable stock (because it is a vegetarian cookbook, I use chicken stock though)

1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk

1 Tbls. lemon juice

1-2 Thai chilies finiely chopped

Thin slices lemon (optional)

Finely chopped cilantro (optional)

1.  In a colander, rinse lentils thoroughly under cold running water.  Set aside.

2.  In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onions and carrots and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, tumeric, cumin seeds, salt and peppercorns and cook stirring, for 1 minute.  Add tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil, breakng up with the back of a spoon.  Stir in reserved lentils and stock.

3.  Transfer mixture to slow cooker stoneware.  Cover and cook on Low for 8-10 hours or High for 4-5 hours, until carrots are tender and mixture is bubbling.  Stir in coconut milk, lemon juice and chili pepper and cook on High for 20-30 minutes until heated through.

4.  When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and top with lemon slices and cilantro if using.

Squash Soup with Crumbled Bacon

I must admit, winter squash is not my favorite.  In my mind, I remember my mother making acorn squash all the time, although probably it was not more than a few times a year.  In my mother's defense, she did make the acorn squash palatable by baking it with butter, orange juice and brown sugar.  But I remember hating the squash after finishing the bites saturated with the sweet, buttery cooking liquid.  As an adult, I have learned to look past my initial aversion to winter squash, but it is still not my favorite.  It does give me pause however, thinking about what I make that my kiddos will have an aversion to when they grow up.

 

During fall, our CSA basket always contains some interesting squash.  Last winter, I must confess, I had to throw away some winter squash that had wintered too long in my pantry.  So when we started receiving our squash this year, I knew I had to cook it quickly or risk the same squash demise.  I have been reading Tom Valenti's Soups, Stews, and One-Pot Meals this week and in it there is a technique of laying strips of bacon across squash while it is baking to give it a nice smokey flavor.  Since everything is better with bacon, I took Tom Valenti's recipe for Butternut Squash Soup with Minced Bacon, and changed it to suit my cooking style.  The Squash Soup I created has a wonderful, smokey flavor from using the bacon technique, and the texture is smooth and silky from the long, slow cooking.

By the way, I checked Soups, Stews and One-Pot Meals out from the library, but it is now on my "to buy" list.  This book is chock full of Italian grandmother type meals.  I want to try my hand at his Chicken Hearts and Gizzards in Italian-Style Tomato Sauce next.  If I don't tell my children what it is, perhaps their aversion won't be automatic.  

Squash Soup with Crumbled Bacon by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

6 lbs. of winter squash (I'm not sure of the variety I used though!)

Bacon

6 Tbls. unsalted butter

1 onion, diced

Couple sprigs of thyme plus more for plating

Bay leaf

1 qt. chicken stock

1 can (15 oz.) beef stock

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut your squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Lay strips of bacon across the open face of each squash half and place open side up on a baking sheet.  Place in the oven and bake until a fork can pierce the squash flesh easily.  Mine took 1 hour to bake, you can start checking on yours after 40 minutes or so depending on the variety of squash you are using.  Remove the bacon to paper towel lined plates and let the squash cool slightly.  Crumble bacon when cool and set aside.

In a large soup pot over medium heat, pour the melted butter from the squash or drizzle in some olive oil.  Saute the onion over medium low heat until softened, but not browned.  Put in the thyme sprigs and the bay leaf and stir for 1 to 2 minutes.  Scoop squash into the bowl and stir for 1 minute constantly so squash does not scorch.  Pour in the stocks and stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and bring soup to a boil.  After bringing soup to a boil, turn heat down, partially cover, and let simmer very gently for an hour.  Fish out the thyme and bay leaf with tongs and puree soup with an immersion blender.  

To serve:  Ladle into bowls, top with some crumbled bacon and sprinkle with additional thyme leaves.

Crock Pot Love!

In my house, the crock pot is a well loved appliance.  I use it a couple of times a month even during the summer.  I love being able to put things in the crock pot in the morning and know that dinner is done.  Also being able to do the big dishes in the morning frees up so much time in the evening when all I have to do is pop our dinner dishes in the dishwasher.  

Yesterday in our CSA, we received 4 whopping parsnips.  Frankly, they were taking up space in my refrigerator and I really wanted to get them out of the way.  Hence, tonight's dinner was born.  I could take the kiddos outside after school and play until 5 minutes before dinner.  A quick zap with the immersion blender and dinner was ready.  

Chickpea, Parsnip, and Ham Soup by Joie de Vivre

1 lb. dried chickpeas, rinsed and picked over

4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

4 parsnips, peeled and diced

3 celery stalks, diced

2 onions, peeled and diced

1 ham steak, cut into 1 inch pieces

8 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock

A little bit of Liquid Smoke, to taste

Place all vegetables, ham and stock into the insert of your crock pot.  Cook on HIGH for 7 hours or until the chickpeas are tender.  Use your hand-held immersion blender to puree about 3/4 of the soup (the more pureed the better in my house with two picky eaters).   Spoon into bowls and season with a little Liquid Smoke.

Goulash Soup

In order to fuel my cookbook obsession and not break my bank account, I have started to rely on my public library.  Every couple of weeks I load up my basket with all sorts of cookbooks that I would probably never buy, but just want to peruse.  Every once in a while however, I come across a book that I can't bear to return.  The first was a cookbook called The African News Cookbook that had the best recipe for injera I have ever found and a Doro Wat recipe I crave.  Splendid Soups by James Peterson, found just this week, may be my second.  Now that the weather is turning colder, I have been craving soup.  My library selections this week all revolved around soup as I was seeking out some warm comfort.  I found a recipe for Goulash Soup that fit the bill for me.  It used up some of the fall vegetables we have been getting in our CSA basket and was nice and hearty.  I adapted James Peterson's recipe quite a bit to fit my cooking style, ingredients on hand, and to make it quicker and it turned out quite tasty.  It made a huge pot of soup so we had the leftovers tonight which were just as good if not better than the first night.  Enjoy!

Goulash Soup by Joie de vivre

Serves at least 8

3 lbs. beef chuck cut into 1 inch cubes

2 Tbls. olive oil

2 medium sized onions, peeled and chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. caraway seeds

2 Tbls. paprika

2 quarts beef broth

4 tomatoes, chopped, or 1- 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 lbs. potatoes chopped coarsely 

1 recipe miniature dumplings (see below)

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat.  Add the meat, garlic and onion and cook until onions are softened, about 10 minutes.  Add the caraway and the paprika and stir over the heat for 1 minute more.  Add the broth and the tomatoes.  Add the bay leaf and bring soup to a gentle simmer.  Partially cover the pot and simmer for 2 hours.  After 2 hours, add the potatoes to the soup and continue simmering for 30 minutes.  Drop teaspoonfuls of dumpling batter onto the top of the soup and simmer for 5 minutes.  

Miniature Dumplings adapted from Splendid Soups by James Peterson

4 large eggs

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbls. melted butter

Wisk eggs, flour and salt in a mixing bowl.  Stir in melted butter.  Let the batter rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator until ready to drop a teaspoonful at a time onto soup.