Cauliflower Coconut Soup

I had some leftover cauliflower and baby carrots from a crudite platter and a can of coconut milk in the pantry and thought, why not a Thai inspired soup for lunch on a gorgeous, sunny day? This was super easy and tasted like a bowl of sunshine.

INGREDIENTS
Cauliflower
Carrots
Sliced onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tbs coconut oil
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
salt to taste
1 can coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
3 dashes Thai fish sauce

Preheat oven to 385 and roast veggies and spices in coconut oil about 40 minutes until tender and slightly carmelized. then in a blender mix veggies with a can of coconut milk, lime juice and fish sauce. Puree until smooth, reheat in a pot and serve in warm bowls garnished with cilantro or scallions.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup- Houston's Knock Off

 

Happy New Year... a month late! The year is already flying by and I just realized I had no time to post last month as it started with a righteous case of the flu over New Year's eve and week followed by Austin's famous Cedar Fever and then a trip to Ocho Rios, Jamaica to celebrate the hubby's birthday. This was likely my 28th visit to Jamaica, but my first time in Ocho Rios and we had a fantastic time. We stayed at the Sandal's Royal Plantation and were very impressed with the level of service and quality for an all inclusive resort. We were upgraded after a little reservation snafu and I've never had any hotel go above and beyond like that to remedy an error. We cannot wait to return. I will post a few pics at the end of this post.

But now that we are back in Austin, we've had some crazy weather this year. One day it's 70 degrees and sunny and the next the whole city has shut down due to ice storms, or it shuts down in anticipation of an ice storm that never arrives. Classic Texas weather, for sure. Yankees and the like make fun of us, but the reality is that a lot of Texans don't have the proper cars or driving skills to take on icy roads and as a result tons of accidents happen. I was driving slowly into a meeting a few weeks back, knowing sneaky black ice could be lurking, yet a foolish young guy in the opposite lane hauled passed me at 60 miles an hour, hit some ice and started to lose control. Yeah, no thanks, I will stay at home and make some SOUP.

Since I've been working on eating 5 cruciferous vegetables a day per doctor's orders, I admit my culinary adventures have been pretty boring. Roasted Brussles' sprouts, lean meat or kale salad from Whole Foods for dinner. Bah! Boring!

On a cold day, sometimes this family just wants a creamy cup of loaded baked potato soup inspired by our favorite Houston's Baked Potato soup (Now called Bartlett's in Austin). I could never figure out what the underlying hint of herb was until I searched around and found a copy cat recipe online that said they use fennel in their recipe. But of course! However, it's so subtle that my fennel averse husband even loved this soup. The copy cat recipe also calls for 5 cups of whole milk plus half and half, which explains the decadence, but I decided to tweak it a bit for health purposes and it tasted just as good if not better. Instead of baking my potatoes in the oven, I peeled and grilled them in a veggie basket on the Big Green Egg while the hubby was cooking some meats. The slight smoky flavor of the potatoes added a nice little surprise to the flavor profile that complemented the bacon terrifically. This recipe makes about 10 servings and freezes well for later use.

INGREDIENTS

4 large organic russet potatoes, peeled and diced

4 strips of bacon

2 shallots

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1.5 tsp fennel seeds (bundle them in cheesecloth with the bay leaf & thyme for easy removal)

1 tsp celery salt

3 cups chicken stock

2 cups 1% organic milk

1/2 cup half and half

1/4 cup sour cream

Shredded sharp cheddar to garnish

Chopped scallions and chives to garnish

Either bake the potatoes in the oven  for an hour then peel and scoop the insides, OR peel and dice them, drizzle with olive oil and grill them at 350 degrees in a veggie basket over charcoal for 25 minutes or until soft.

Meanwhile in a large 6 quart Dutch Oven, cook bacon until cooked crispy. Set aside for later.

In bacon fat, add shallots and potatoes and saute until shallots are softened- about 5 minutes.

Then add herb bundle, milk, half and half and stock, cover and cook over medium low until the potatoes are very soft- about 40 minutes. Be sure NOT to boil as you don't want the milk to curdle. Stir occasionally.

Remove herb bundle and add the sour cream and pour it in small batches in the blender until it is creamy and smooth. Add more chicken stock if it's too thick, or if you like chunky soup, just mash the soup by hand.

Pour in very warm bowls, garnish with bacon, chives, scallions and sharp cheddar (I used a nice Irish white cheddar). Fresh cracked salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!!

 

Some highlights from our trip...

 Gorgeous West Beach with the restaurant grill to the right.

Lovely lunch of fresh grilled snapper and island lamb kabobs delivered right on the beach after a morning of sailing the hobies.

The stunning villa and private pool

Beautiful plate waiting for us upon our return from a day at the beach.

Birthday FEAST fit for a king! Many thanks to Oratio, Claudine and Lucian for the big surprise.

One more bite of Jerk chicken at the airport before sadly returning to the chaos that is the Houston International Airport. Won't ever fly through there again if possible. 1500 people trying to clear customs through THREE lanes. Almost everyone missed their connecting flight. All the relaxation of the prior week was instantly snapped away in a heartbeat! 

And when things get stressful I just need to close my eyes and picture myself back here...

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup

Another freezing cold day brought on a craving for some hot soup with a Tex Mex flavor profile. I used to love Chili's enchilada soup, but I'm not a fan of the quality of their ingredients, so I rooted around on the internet and found a pretty good knock off at www.iwashyoudry.com and used it as inspiration for this rich, decadent and GLUTEN FREE soup. This makes about 8 cups or servings and freezes really well for another cold winter's eve.

INGREDIENTS
8 cups organic chicken stock
2 whole roasted organic chicken breasts
1 large diced onion
1 12 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 can red enchilada sauce
10 ounces velveeta cheese
1 cup Masa Harina (superfine ground corn meal)
1 tsp cumin
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs onion powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup olive oil

I sprinkled two whole chicken breasts with salt and pepper and roasted them at 420 for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile I sweated some onions in olive oil until softened, stirred in the masa and stirred it for about 3 minutes until it became fragrant and toasty. I then added the chicken stock, enchilada sauce and tomatoes plus spices.

I pulled the meat from the bones and stored it in the fridge and added the bones to the soup for enhanced flavor. Covered and let it simmer about 30 minutes. I removed the bay leaf and bones and I then poured the soup in our vitamix blender in small batches and pureed until smooth. I transferred the blended soup back into the pot, added the cheese and shredded chicken and reheated it to melt the cheese. Serve with a drizzle of sour cream or fresh chopped cilantro (which I didn't have and that was a bummer).

Creamy Kale Soup

 Assessing the contents of my fridge I decided to make a creamy kale soup. I've been on a bit of a kale kick lately because it's not only pretty tasty, but it's terrifically healthy. According to the ANDI system at Whole Foods, Kale is at the top of the charts for healthy eating. There's a nice link here that describes the rating system if you're interested.

So I had some Pacific Organics cream of chicken soup, Tuscan kale, shallots, garlic, onions, carrot  thought they'd make a nice little quick and easy soup. I might add a potato next time to thicken it a bit. Overall it's not near as delicious as say, loaded baked potato soup, but I don't feel the need to go run 5 miles after eating it either.

INGREDIENTS
1 carton Pacific Organics Cream of Chicken
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
5 stalks of kale, stems removed
2 cups spring water
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Gruyere for garnish 

I softened the onions, shallots, garlic, carrots in 1 tbs olive oil about 8 minutes

Picture taken without carrots, but they went in right after

Then I thought, "Wouldn't a little shot of Vermouth make this taste sweet??"

So I added a shot of Vermouth, which ended up being a nice addition. I added the herbs, cream of chicken plus water and simmered about 20 minutes and then added the kale to soften it just a bit- about 2 minutes. I find cooking it too long makes it bitter. 

I threw it all in the Vitamix on high for about 1 minute...

The Vitamix has quite possibly been one of the best investments I've ever made!!

I served it in a soup crock and garnished with some gruyere cheese and shared some with the puppies too. They loved it!

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Nothing sings of spring like fresh asparagus, spring onions and herbs. I spotted some gorgeous fresh asparagus at Whole Foods and decided to make a little soup as it was uncharacteristically cold and rainy this weekend. The recipe is simple and satisfying and so easy to make. 

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch of asparagus spears, tough stems removed, reserve a few for garnish.

2 spring onion bulbs, white part only
1 small shallot

2 chopped cloves of garlic

4 cups low sodium chicken broth or homemade broth (I like Whole Foods 360 or Central Market Organics in the carton).

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp Better than Bullion chicken stock for seasoning

dash of white wine (optional)

1 tbs olive oil

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1  bay leaf

In a pot, add olive oil, shallots, onions and garlic and turn heat to medium low. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add a dash of white wine if you prefer to add some depth. Turn up the heat and add stock, bullion, thyme and bay leaf. Cook on med-high about 15 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook until they are softened, about 10 more minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf.

Then in small batches, puree the soup in a blender. I really like a silky soup, so I then strained it through a Chinois strainer into a clean pot. Add a touch of cream or a little more stock if you'd like and re-warm. Garnish with asparagus spears, creme fraiche, herbs such as thyme or tarragon, or croutons and a drizzle of olive oil. This goes great with slices of french bread, smeared with goat cheese and browned under the broiler for about 3 minutes. 

Soup lasts two days in the refrigerator. Happy Spring!!