Leek and Potato Soup

When I decided to make some touriere last week I had to buy some leeks. And of course it's cheaper to get a bunch of them rather than only 2 or 3. And as it happened they were on special, big bunches of 6 big leeks for under 5 bucks. Yippy! I immediately thought of making this soup. It's one of my favorite soups ever. Tastes really smooth for a bunch of onions! And when it's cold outside and you feel like having something velvety and comforting, especially after eating so much on Christmas, this soup is amazing. Sometimes I add chick peas to this for extra protein but not this time. I really wanted only the vegetables and that nice leek flavor.

So here's how simple this is to make. You'll need:

3-4 leeks, chopped (i only used 3 'cause they were pretty big, and also keep in mind they will wilt down when they cook!!).
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped.
1 medium yellow onion
2-3 cloves garlic
4-5 cups chicken broth
Salt, pepper, dried thyme, to taste.
1 TBSP each of butter and oil

Saute the leeks, onion and garlic in the butter and oil, on medium heat until it startes to soften. Add the potatoes, season, stir and add the broth.
Bring to simmer than turn down to med-low, semi-cover and cook until everything is soft.
In batches, puree in the blender, until it's all nice and smooth. Return to the pot, on low heat, check the seasonnings, add a bit of milk or cream if you feel like it ( I added about 1/3 cup 2% milk) and you good to go.



The perfect dunking item for this is a nice toasted bread with melted gruyere. Potato and gruyere and really good friends.



Bon appetit!

Veggie-Lentil Soup with Ginger

This is a soup I've been making very often, for the past 5-6 years. It's like a cross between minestrone and curry lentil soup. Sometimes I put italian spices in it but this week I had a bit of fresh ginger left, and since I felt a little cold coming, it was gonna be a gingered soup! By the way, the cold didn't make it!! Killed it right in the bud with this wonderful natural medecine. Seriously, the chinese have it right. Ginger heals. Every time I feel a cold coming, I drink ginger tea or use it generously in a soup, like this one, and done the cold is. Miraculous!
Anyway. Other than that I also had a few vegetables that were getting a little soft in the crisper, and soup is the best for rescuing those rather hopeless veggies...



Like any other soup or stew, start by chopping (and peeling those that require peeling)all the vegetables:

1 carrot
1 celeri
1 onion
1 parsnip
1/2 zucchini(or a whole one, but that's what was left in the bag...)
5-6 asparagus
1/2 yellow pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 big chunk fresh ginger

In 1-2 tablespoons of oil, sautee on medium-high heat, first the carrot, celeri, onion, parsnip and ginger. Those are the ones that take longer so I throw them in first. Don't forget the salt and pepper...
After a few minutes add the rest of the vegetables, salt and pepper again, and stir.



Then add:

1 cup canned tomatoes (or if you like throw in the whole can, but again, I only had that leftover from a few days ago when I made a pasta sauce and didn't use the whole thing...)
1/2 cup lentils (I used brown lentils for this one)
1-2 tsp curry powder
1-2 tsp cumin powder
1-2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp crushed chili

Then add about 4 cups of vegetable broth and when it starts to bubble turn the heat to medium-low, semi-cover and let it simmer until all the veggies are soft and the lentils are cooked. Should be about 20-30 minutes.


Adjust the seasonning and enjoy!

Roasted Squash Soup

Here's one of the reasons why I love fall so much: SOUPS!! I can eat soup for lunch AND diner no problem. I love the warmth of it, the versatility, and because it's hot you eat it slowly, which is good for the digestive system, so I've heard...
And I love fall for this star vegetable: SQUASH!! There are so many varieties, and yes you can do a lot more than soups with them, but they are the AMAZING for soups. They make everything turn into velvet. Also they can stay on the counter for a long time without going bad. This one here I've had for at least a month, chillin on my kitchen table, taunting me... So today on my day off, on a rather gray gloomy/rainy friday I thought it was time. Plus, I still had some home-made chicken broth I'd brought from work last week and it was now or never the time to use it.
Today because I had nothing else to do I decided to take the long route; I roasted the squash nicely with some spices and cooked the base really slowly...All together I think it took about 2 hours to make this soup. But when pressed for time it's possible to make it quicker, by skipping the roasting and just cubing the squash and cooking everything together. But I assure you, if you have time to do it like this, do it, it makes a big difference!

For the flavors I got the inspiration from Jamie Oliver, in his first ever cook book, "The Naked Chef". The fennel seeds is a great flavor for squash! I would've never thought of it myself, so Thanx Jamie!
I should also mention that adding lentils to a soup is a great way to get a dose of protein, and by no means does it change the taste of the soup, at all. So go for lentils they're sooooooo good for us!

Here are the ingredients list:

1 big butternut squash
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp chili flakes
1 1/2 tsp dry oregano
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp corsely ground black pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1-2 tsp brown sugar
Canola oil (1-2 TBSP???...)

1 big or 2 medium onions, chopped.
2 big celeri stalks, peeled and chopped.
1 big carrot, peeled and chopped.
2 cloves garlic, minced.
1-2 white potatoes, peeled and cut.
2/3 cup red lentils.
4-6 cups chicken broth.
1 bay leaf.

To roast the squash:

Cut the thing in half, clean out the seeds, and cut into reasonable sized pieces...the bigger they are the longer it will take to cook, but if they're too smalll it'll be a pain to peel. You be the judge...
Smash all the spices in a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, brush the squash with oil and sprinkle the spices over it.
Bake in the oven at 400F until fork-tender, for about 40 minutes.



Let it cool before peeling.
Meanwhile, sautee the onion, celeri and carrots in some canola oil on medium heat until the onions are soft and transluscent.
Add the garlic and potatoes, season with salt and pepper and sautee for 1-2 minutes.
Add the lentils and the stock, throw in a bay leaf.
Bring to a light boil and simmer on low-medium for about 30 minutes, until everything is soft.
While this is simmering peel the squash and cut into chunks. Set aside until it's time to add to the rest of the soup.
(If you need more liquid add a little more broth, or water)
When the vegetables are cooked and the squash been added and warmed up and everybody seems to be well aquainted, TAKE OUT THE BAY LEAF and start the pureeing process! Either with a hand blender or a traditional blender, it's up to you, but make sure it's all smooth!
If it seems too thick add a bit of milk, check the seasonnings and adjust to your liking.



Don't forget the bread on the side for dunking!!

Spinach&Feta Omelette

This is my favorite breakfast. I make it at least once a week. There's something about feta and spinach together...and with the dill...well, a-mazing!
Think Spanokopita minus the dough...



When I make omelettes I usually use only 1 egg and 2 eggwhites(for 1 person, otherwise double it!), that way it's lower in fat!
So, for one omelette:

1 egg
2 eggwhites
2-3 TBSP milk
pinch of salt and pepper
1/4 tsp dried dill(i rarely buy the fresh stuff, so I use dry. but if you use fresh dill add more!!)
1/2 baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1-2 green onions

Mix the egg and whites, milk and seasonnings. Add the onion and half the spinach and combine well.
In a pan(med-high heat), melt some margarine or butter, pour in the egg mixture and let it set for about a minute, add the feta and the rest of the spinach.
When it looks like it's set enough to flip and it's slightly gold at the bottom, fold it in half and cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Basically you just want the cheese to melt.



What a great way to start the day!

(...forgive me but I'll have a bit of ketchup on the side...)

Mediterenean Quinoa Salad

Here's a fresh, simple, healthy and delicious salad, perfect for a hot summer day!
(No need to say more...just enjoy!)



For 2 approximately servings:
1/2-3/4 cooked quinoa
1 zucchini
3-4 mini peppers
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half or whole if really small
1 cup green peas
2-3 green onions
1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Salt&Pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil, or more

Cut the zucchinis in whatever shape you feel like(rounds, half-moons, or quaters, you decide!).
Chop the peppers into small pieces, as well as the green onions.
Cut the tomatoes, and sprinkle with salt so they release their juices and flavor!
If you use frozen peas, thaw them nicely in the micro-wave...(did I mention this salad is sooooo easy??!)
Mix all the veggies together, add the quinoa, basil, lemon juice and oil, salt and pepper to taste and that's it...



Add a nice crusty bread on the side if you wish and bon appetit!

Tomato and Basil Spaghetti

Yes, this is a new post...
I really have to apologize, again, for being so distant...it's not you, it's me...

So. Yesterday I actually COOKED! Well, it was a quick, under 30 minutes easy meal before running out the door, but still. Last time I made a plate of pasta...I don't even know.
This is not really a "recipe", per say, but all things that match so well thrown together for a fresh little lunch:



Cooked spaghettini
Different colored tomatoes, cut in 4(or half if they're small...)
Garlic
Button mushrooms
Fresh basil(yes, the plant is still alive!!! and H-U-G-E!)
Olive oil and butter

Sautee the garlic and mushrooms in the butter and oil until it's semi-cooked. Preferably on medium heat and stir often so the garlic doesn't burn...Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, cook for a few minutes until soft but not totally mushed. The idea is to keep the tomatoes chunky and looking like tomatoes, rather than sauce. Add basil at the end, throw in the pasta, stir to combine and voila. It's easy isn't it? Oh, and if you'd like you could drizzle a little olive oil on top, but I was a little generous with the oil in the beginning so I passed on the drizzle...



I should really start cooking again...

Millet salad with Mediterranean flavors...

It's summer time, almost, so there will be a lot of salads coming on this blog. This is one I made a few days ago but kept the pictures for a later post...one week later. I have a full time job now, food-related, so my cooking/baking time as gone WAY down! But I'm still around...
So this salad was thrown together after looking in the fridge and grabbing whatever was in there:

1 zucchini
3-4 button mushrooms
1 clove garlic
Leftover millet from last week "bread of the week"(about 1/2 cup was left...)
2-3 big pieces sundried tomatoes
BIG chunk feta cheese
about 1/4 cup roasted UNsalted sunflower seeds.

I started by sauteeing the zucchini, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil, with oregano(lots of it!!), salt, pepper, and paprika.
In a big bowl I mixed the cold millet, feta, sundried tomatoes and sunflower seeds with cracked black pepper. Didn't add salt because feta is pretty salty already...
I threw in the hot sauteed zucch's and 'shrooms to make the cheese soften a bit.
I then mixed in 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 2-3 tablespoons olive oil.

So fresh and delicious.



Only thing missing is a nice cold glass of white wine...

Jamie's Coleslaw

I LOOOOOVE Jamie Oliver. I love his food, his ideas, the simplicity of his recipes and his enthusiasm about cooking. And this Food Revolution he's got going right now in the States is amazing. I really hope people listen to him because he's right about everything. This obesity issue is getting out of control here in North America, something has to change.
In walks Jamie Oliver...
Anyway...
I finally got his book called "Cook with Jamie". It's a really nice one, with nice pictures, tips and of course amazing recipes!
I usually don't follow recipes to the T, I buy cook books for inspiration mostly. Like this one here. It's a simple coleslaw, but I got the inspiration from Jamie's book. And it's really nice. I usually don't go for creamy slaw, I love vinegary type dressings but I had to try!

Start by thinly chopping half a green cabbage. Then shred 2-3 carrots, 1 apple and finely slice a few green onions(the book called for red onions, but I only had green so...). Chop a big handfull of fresh parsley, add to the rest of the ingredients with salt and pepper.
Add 2-3 spoonfulls of light mayo, a squeeze on dijon and the juice of a lemon.
Mix it all up nicely and enjoy!
It went really well with my cranberry-orange bread!!



I bet raisins or dried cranberries would be really good in here too!

Carrot-Ginger Soup

Carrots are the one vegetable I always have in the fridge no matter what. I like them mostly raw but when they cook they get really sweet, almost like a different vegetable. I love making soups with carrots because of that! And currys. Well, actually this soup is a curry soup so there you go!! Carrots are best friends with ginger, and ginger is a main component of curry so...you get what I mean, right?
So at the moment the vegetable situation is not that hot in my fridge, I reeeeeally need to go to the market this week-end..so that's when that never-ending bag of carrots comes in handy! And those never ending bags of lentils also!!



For this soup, I used:

1 yellow onion, chopped
1 branch celeri, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 golf-ball size FRESH ginger, peeled and grated(or finely chopped)
4-5 carrots, peeld, chopped
1-2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup red lentils
3-4 cups chicken stock(start with 3, the lentils will thicken the soup..)
salt, pepper, curry powder, cumin, tumeric, red chili flakes

Throw all the veggies in a pot, with the broth and seasonnings. When it starts to boil add the lentils, and simmer util everything is cooked.
Puree in 2 batches, to make it all nice and smooth. I blend it twice, so that it's REALLY velvety and creamy-like(but no cream!!). I may have added a bit of milk because I put in a lot of chili flakes, it was a bit too spicy. But that's totally optional, go with your taste buds, they never lie!!



I sprinled a bit of parsley on top to be fancy, and to make nice pictures!!

Lentil "Chili" with Quinoa.

I've been kind of on a quinoa kick lately. I love these little grains! On the nutritious point of view it's one of the healthiest, very high in protein and fiber. And it tastes really good, almost nutty and buttery kinda flavor. Plus, it's gluten-free so since I always try to eat at least one gluten-free meal a day quinoa is a good option.
I also always try to eat at least one meat-free meal a day. I used to be totally vegetarian, but I really like chicken and fish so I went back. But I don't HAVE to have meat at every meal. I don't crave red meat all that often. Lentils is one of my main sources of protein. I have at least 3 bags of different types of lentils in the pantry and I used them in a lot of stuff. Soups, stews, stir frys... They're so easy to cook and you don't have to soak them like beans and chick peas. And those little things are so high in fiber also and protein and iron, and they have no fat. Love that!
Ok so this meal was totally done in a freestyle fashion:
(I should mention this is enough for 2 people)

I cooked the quinoa in water with a pinch of salt and a couple sprigs of thyme. To cook quinoa it's 1 part grains 2 parts liquid. Let the liquid boil, throw the quinoa in, turn down the heat and simmer, covered, until cooked. Easy as pie.
Meanwhile, I chopped one medium onion, one green chili pepper, one clove garlic and sauteed them in oil for 5 minutes with salt and pepper. Then I added 1/4 cup red lentils, 1 small can tomato sauce, 1/2 small can tomato juice to start, if you see you need more by all means...(I thought 1/2 can was enough though), cumin, cinnamon, red chili flakes and molasses to cut the acidity of the tomato!!. I then let it simmer until the lentils were cooked. If you see you need more liquid add a bit of water, or more tomato juice(unless, like me, you drank the rest of the can...). Check seasonning and pour over quinoa. Shredded cheese to tame the heat a bit and Oh My was that ever nice!



This would be a really nice pasta sauce too!

for a little info on quinoa:
Quinoa

Roasted Beet Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Beets is one of my favorite vegetables, but I rarely eat them. I almost never buy canned veggies or pickled stuff, so when I pick up beets at the grocery store it's always in a bag, or sometimes in a bunch with the leaves still on. But it takes so long to cook! And I seem to always forget I have them. They sit in the bottom drawer and end up rotting. Tonight I had to throw out half of the bag 'cause of blue stuff growing on them. Yuk. But I salvaged the rest and cooked them all. The easiest way obviously to cook those gems are in boiling water, but like anything else, they end up losing a lot of nutrients with that water. So I baked them in the oven. It takes around 45-50 minutes, for cubes of about 2 cm. in diameter. All you gotta do is peel, cube, lay on foil with about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, and some herb(i used thyme. it goes with everything!). Fold up the foil around the beets just a little, leaving a big opening at the top, and bake at 400F for, like I said, 45-50 minutes. So delicious!
For this salad I used baby romaine, green onions, feta(surprise, surprise...), flat-leaf parsley and chopped roasted pecans.
For the dressing, I made a honey-balsamic vinaigrette:

1 TBSP honey
small squeeze dijon mustard (just to help bind everything...)
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1/2 TBSP lemon juice
2-3 TBSP olive oil
cracked black pepper

I mixed all the greens and feta and nuts, with some of the dressing, and added the still kinda hot beets on top so everything kinda whilted and warmed-up a bit. Poured the rest of the vinaigrette, big squeeze of lemon juice and more pepper.



I should definetly eat beets more often...

*on a side note, i've been trying different settings on my camera, so it's totally normal those 2 pictures have different lightings... :)

More than just coleslaw...

Cabbage is one of the heathiest vegetable. Vitamin C, folic acid, cancer-fighting agents, etc. And the red is twice as high in vitamin as the green cabbage. The brighter the food the better. That's what the nutritionists always say, right? Red purple, bright red, dark green, orange, we should all eat food of bright colors! All from nature of course because red jelly beans don't count.. :)
I bought a red cabbage a few days ago, because I try to eat as colorful as possible, but also because it's great in salads. And the great thing about this type of salad is that it stays good for quite a while even with the dressing in it. It even gets better with time...Plus, the cabbage itself keeps for a while in the crisper. I don't know if it's the "proper" place to store it but it won't go bad for a few weeks, wrapped in plastic in the bottom drawer.
So at first I was gonna make just coleslaw with ONLY that cabbage and a red wine vinegar dressing, but I got carried away and added a bunch of other good stuff.



Ingredients(don't know the exact quantities, I didn't measure...):
Red cabbage, carrots, celeri, yellow pepper, flat-leaf parsley, golden raisins.
Sadly I was out of green onions, otherwise there would have been green onions in there.

Dressing:
1 TBSP dijon
1-2 TBSP maple syrup
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
2 TBSP orange juice
Extra virgin olive oil, however much you'll need...
For dressings I usually mix everything except the oil until it's homogenised, then add the oil while whisking and emulsify slowly until it looks good enough, and adjust it if need be.

This is so much better than just plain coleslaw, the raisins bring some sweetness to it, and the o.j. in the dressing brightens everything up.

Try it you won't be disapointed!

Spinach Salad with Peas and Feta and other good stuff.

This salad is awesome. It has a lot of my favorites in it: spinach, feta, sundried tomatoes...I've been making this a lot lately. A few secondary ingredients change from time to time, depending on what I got, but it pretty much always tastes the same.



I really like using baby spinach in salads. They come in packs already washed, so it's quick. And the nutrion values of that leafy green is no secret, right?
If you've been following this blog you know by now how much I love feta and sundried tomatoes, so I won't get into that again.. ;) Lots of those in this salad!
And then there's the green peas. Lovely frozen green peas ready to use anytime in anything, rich in fiber and protein. Great for vegetarians.
What else is in there?? Green onions, leftover cooked millet from a few nights ago (grains in salalds is genius! throw in some barley or rice or couscous, combined with the peas it's a complete protein!!), and some cucumber also is in here.

For the vinegrette it's pretty simple:
*1 tsp each of honey and dijon mustard (could be more, just taste and adjust to your tastebuds!!)
*1 TBSP each of lemon juice and red wine vinegar
*5-6 TBSP extra virgin olive oil.
(i like vinegrettes very vinegery so I always use less oil than the traditional 1 part vinegar 3 parts oil ratio.)
Mix in everything but the oil until well combined, add olive oil 2 TBSP at a time and whisk with a fork or one of those mini whisk thingy until it's all nicely emulsified...add salt and pepper to taste. This will be enough for a couple of BIG salalds or 3-4 small ones.
Homemade dressing are so easy to make and so much better than the chemical filled storebought stuff!



Tastes like summer....

Macaroni with Creamy Leek Sauce.

Here's another freestyle meal. It was originally gonna be mac and cheese but I remembered I had leeks kicking around in the fridge so I changed it to this. Instead of a rich cheese sauce I kept it simple with an easy bechamel/alfredo type sauce. It really hit the spot I tell ya'. And it took only about 30 minutes total to prepare. Not the healthiest(in the end I think I used about 3 tablespoons of butter...yikes!) but in my defense(...) I used "smart" pasta, low-fat milk and UNsalted butter. I had a bit of a sugar overload yesterday so this salty and very peppery meal kinda balanced eveything.



First, get some water boiling for the pasta. Finely cut 1 medium leek, it will be about 2 cups. Seems like a lot but they will shrink when cooked! But if you want less by all means...I just really love leeks! Slice 1-2 cloves of garlic.(Oh and btw this was just me eating so for 2 people double the quantities). Sautee in 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter, on medium heat, with salt, pepper and 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme, until tender. Cover to help keep the moisture in.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of flour, stir and add about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of milk. Simmer very gently while stirring often, until the sauce starts to thicken. You might need to add a bit more flour, a bit more butter, and/or a bit more milk, just eyeball it...When it hits the consistency you want throw in some parmesan, about 1/4 cup, add the cooked pasta, stir it all to get the noodles all coated, check for seasonning, add more parm on top, freshly cracked black pepper, and it's done!



That's some good comfort food.

*I could've done the breadcrumb topping thing in the oven but I thought of it too late...next time!

I don't how to call this one...brown rice gratin? ok.. Brown Rice Gratin.

This is a perfect example of freestyle cooking. Tonight i had NO idea where I was going with this, I just kinda made this dish up as I was going along. I knew I wanted something with rice, brown rice, so as that was cooking I kinda startd chopping veggies with the intention of a stir fry, then I had the idea of turning it into a gratin. A little cheese never hurt anybody right? Everything tastes better with cheese anyway. So I think I ended up with something pretty darn good.



Here's how it happened:
First, I cooked the brown rice. Toasted it first in a bit of butter(unsalted butter!) and added 3 parts of water. I knew it was gonna be a little too much but that water can be used to add moisture to the stri fry. Meawhile, I shredded half a zucchini(it was a big zucchini...), chopped about 1/2 a cup of mushrooms. couple of green onions, clove of garlic and 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley. When the rice seemed to be almost done I started sauteing the veggies in grapeseed oil, added salt, pepper, paprika and cajun spices. As I had thought the rice was done with a little extra liquid at the bottom, I threw all that in and cokked for a few minutes. That would have been awsome on its own. But the cheese! So I threw the rice mix in an oven proof dish, mixed in a couple big pinches of parm in it, stirred and topped it with about 1/3 cup shredded Montrey Jack queso. In the oven at 425 for about 10 minutes to make the cheese melt,(in the meantime the dishes are done...)broil for 5 minutes to give it a crisp and voila! Oh and to be fancy I sprinkled dried parsley on top. Restaurant habits die hard...
Pretty good diner. Also, the brown rice and the cheese together make a complete protein, so it's a great vegetarian meal!

Hot Curry-Ginger Lentil and Vegetable Soup.

Today I was gonna post up a really nice quick-bread recipe I found online. I "baked" it this afternoon, made it according to the instructions, I'm absoluetly POSITIVE I didn't forget anything, but it didn't work out. It was still raw on the inside. I was able to salvage a little bit of it, and it tastes great but it's in crumbles. Oh, well. These things happen...
So, I had to find something for diner that would be quick enough to make before daylight disapears(all the pics all naturally lighted, at night it just doesn't work as well). And...since I'm the soup master, and I have plenty of options in the fridge for soup, soup it is. Plus, I feel I have a bit of a cold coming so I wanted something soothing, spicy and gingery. And spicy it was! I put a little too much chili flakes in it...oups...

So here it is:
*and also, like any cooking "recipes" on this site, these ingredients are not set in stone, if there's something you don't like don't use it. if you want to add something, go for it! it's all about freestylin' ya know?!


1 big onion
1 branch celeri
1 big or 2 medium carrots
2 cloves garlic
1 zucchini
6-7 button mushrooms
1 piece fresh ginger the size of a golfball, cut in 2
1 big potato
1/3-1/2 cup lentils(i used brown lentils)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
salt, pepper to taste
about 1tsp each of: curry powder, ground cumin, tumeric, paprika, chili flakes
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP oil(i used grapeseed)



-Cut all the veggies, sautee the onion first in oil, 1-2 minutes. Add carrots, celeri, garlic and ginger, salt and pepper, heat for 2 minutes.
-Add zucchinis, mushrooms, potato, lentils and all the spices. Sautee for a bit...
-Add the stock and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer until cooked.
-Puree 1/3 of it in a blender, return to pot.
-Bon Appetit!

Now, I always eat my soup with crackers and margarine. It's a habit. I think it goes back to my childhood, the traditional saturday vegetable "Minestrone" soup eaten with saltines. And I just really like crackers. I'm gonna learn how to make them for a later post...

Potato, asparagus and chick pea soup.

Soup is one of my favorite things to freestyle with. Anything can go in a soup. I love making it when it's cold outside(God knows it gets freakishly cold here in Quebec!), or raining like today, with a good piece of bread on the side or good crackers...mm-mm-mm. Plus, since it's hot it forces you to eat slower which is what Mom always told me to do...I can say without a shadow of a doubt there will be a lot of soup recipes on this site!
Today I decided to honor my Irish roots and make something green, with potatoes:



Ingredients:

1 TBSP oil
1 TBSP butter(unsalted)
1 big white or yellow onion, diced
1-2 parsnips, diced
1-2 branch celeri, chopped
2-3 medium potatoes, diced
1-2 cloves galic, sliced
1-1 1/2 cup asparagus, cut about 1 inch long.
1 cup canned chick peas(rinsed of course...)
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup milk(i used 2%)
salt and pepper to taste
some kind of herb, i used tarragon fo this one...

-Sweat the onion on med. heat in oil and butter for about 2-3 minutes, until they start to get transluscent. Add celeri, parsnips, potatoes, garlic, season to taste.
-Add asparagus. Sautee for another 2-3 minutes.
-Add stock and milk, bring to boil, reduce to simmer until the veggies are all cooked.
-Add chick peas.
-In a blender(or with a hand blender), puree half of it so it gets a little smooth but it's still chunky.
-Check for seasonning...
-Enjoy.



Happy St-Patrick's Day.