Yep, that’s an empty bowl. The soup was so good I didn’t get a chance to photograph it! But, I can tell you how easy it is to make. AND the umami flavor hits you on all your senses. You only need 5 or 6 ingredients and 5-10 minutes and you have a great lunch or snack or a quick breakfast or dinner. Yes, I said breakfast! Ya know, breakfast doesn’t have to be poptarts or cereal to be a “quick” one any more. I like my goat’s milk plain yogurt, a piece of fried polenta, leftover homemade thin crust pizza, rice and egg, baked oatmeal, breakfast squares, etc….,but this is wonderful and simple!

Umami Asian Soup

12 oz hot water
1 1/2 tsp Organic Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
Cooked Udon Noodles to taste (start with 1/3 Cup)
Vegetable Seasoning Sauce or Soy Sauce or Tamari Sauce to taste (start with 1/2 tsp)
Sliced Scallions or Shallots to taste
Cilantro to taste
You could add:
Crushed Red Pepper or Chili Garlic Sauce to taste

I heated water in my electric kettle and poured 1/2 Cups into the bowl on top of the 1 1/2 tsp beef bouillon and stirred well. Add another Cup of hot water and drop in the already cooked noodles, seasoning sauce and stir again. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add scallions and cilantro. Yum!
If you like chili garlic sauce or crushed red pepper, add a little and stir and let sit and taste before adding more.
Here are two other kinds of noodles to use. The dried noodles are wheat and the Buddha Brand rice sticks are, um, RICE! Since these are smaller and dried, you could drop them into the broth and let it sit longer to cook. You might need to microwave it a bit to heat back up. Just be creative and have fun with your food!

SOUPED UP VEGGIE SOUP

Serves 6-8
Takes about 1 hour start to finish

8 C turkey or chicken broth (use “Better Than Bouillon” if you don’t have fresh)
2 leeks chopped and rinsed several times
2-3 potatoes, washed and chopped
3 carrots, washed, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, washed and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, washed and chopped
1 C corn kernels, either fresh or fresh frozen (I used roasted frozen kernels)
1/2 C green beans, either fresh or frozen (I used some French frozen)
1 C sliced & chopped mushrooms
4 oz can hatch chillies

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4-1/2 tsp Tabasco Sauce
Jane’s Crazy Salt to taste
Tony’s seasoning to taste
1/4 C cilantro

Heat the broth, leeks and potatoes until soft. Using an immersion blender*, blend until smooth. This is the basic soup mix.

In a skillet, sauté the chopped vegetables in a little oil until soft/crisp. Add the sauteed veggies, corn, green beans, hatch chilies, mushrooms, and the spices to the blended soup mix. Stir and cook on medium to medium low heat until fragrant and mellow. Adjust the spices as needed.

Add chopped cilantro or another fresh herb and/or sour cream or yogurt to the individual bowls when served. Serve with bread and a salad. This soup can be frozen for later and tastes better and better.

*If you don’t have an immersion blender, boil the leeks and potatoes then take them out of the broth and mash well. Put them back in the broth and whisk in.

Ingredients:
12 medium tomatillos, cut in half and cored
2 poblano peppers, cut in half
2 ancho peppers, cut in half
2 jalapeño or cayenne peppers, cut in half
2 fresh hatch chilis, cut in half, or 1 can (4 oz.) fire roasted hatch chilis
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped.
6 large cloves garlic, crushed and minced
6 tbs EVOO
1½ cups chicken broth
¼ C cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 tbs ground cumin
salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Putting it together:
In a large glass baking pan, place the tomatillos and peppers cut side down and drizzle with half of the EVOO. Place in a 350 deg oven and roast for 30 minutes or until the skin is releasing from the peppers. Remove from the oven and place the peppers in a paper bag to complete the releasing of the skin, then peel.
 
In a medium skillet, add the remainder of the EVOO and the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until soft.
 
Place the tomatillos, chilis (if you are using the canned Hatch chilis, add them now), onions, garlic, and cilantro, along with the liquid from the roasting pan, in a food processor with a steel knife. Pulse until the mixture is chunky.
 
Place the processed tomatillos and chilis, broth, and cumin in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Continue cooking for about 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning, and cool to room temperature.
 
Use the sauce warm, refrigerate for later (lasts about two weeks), or freeze.

This recipe has developed over the years, and it it really easy to make. I first found a version of it in a Prevention magazine; very, very plain-kidney beans and no greens, ick! They did not know SW cuisine, so sad. So, I had to take it up several notches. Eat it with Mexican, TEX-MEX or SW food. OR eat it alone for lunch at work or with a steak, pork or chicken for dinner. Enjoy!

CORN/BEAN/FRISEE SALAD

3 C frozen roasted corn or regular yellow corn or canned and drained yellow and white corn, let sit until room temp
1 1/2 C canned black beans, drained well
1/2 lg red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 lg red onion, chopped
3-4 lg cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C cilantro leaves, torn in pieces
Dressing:
Combine
3 TBSP dark balsamic vinegar (I used Newman’s Own)
1 TBSP white balsamic vinegar (I used Trader Joe’s)
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes (or to taste)

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and let sit for 30 minutes to overnight. Adjust taste. Pour over veggies and mix well. Let sit for about an hour. Adjust taste.

3 C frisee or chicory or curly endive (all the same thing), washed and dried, torn into bite sized pieces

Add greens at the last minute*, toss well and serve.
Makes 6-8 servings

*If you are not eating the whole salad at once, combine greens and veggies together as needed.

I hope everyone had a great new year! We had the most fabulous dinner with champagne for NYE.
Chicken enchiladas with homemade tortillas, cooked and shredded light (breast) chicken meat, and a lovely and flavorful homemade roasted tomatillo and green chilies sauce, with sour cream, scallion and cilantro condiments.
Yellow rice with saffron, turmeric and chicken broth.
Wonderful pinto beans.
Isn’t it interesting that most of the time one can make the dishes they crave the most? Sweetie and I love the occasional Mexican (Tex/Mex) meal. Can’t get it where we live-must fix it ourselves. So, we do!
You may have to leave a comment to talk Sweetie into giving you his recipes for these wonderful dishes!
Best Wishes to You for 2010!
Gimme a comment!

Spaghetti Casserole

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Equipment: large saucepan with lid, spaghetti cooker with strainer, 9″ X 13″ pyrex pan

1 lb spaghetti, broken in half
1 T olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1 28 oz can plum tomatoes
1 12 oz jar bruchetta
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2-1 tsp thyme, if wanted
1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper to taste
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 T olive oil
1 C sliced mushrooms
parmesan cheese, grated

Pour 1 T olive oil in the saucepan and heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Meanwhile, break up the tomatoes and add tomatoes and sauce to the onion/garlic mixture along with the herbs*, salt and pepper. Cook on medium low heat, stirring occasionally for about 1 hour. Add the bruchetta and olive oil and cook for 30 minutes.
Prepare the spaghetti according to package directions just barely “al dente”. When the spaghetti is ready, drain and toss with 1/2 the sauce and the mushrooms and pour in the lightly oiled pyrex pan. Be sure to remove the bay leaf from the sauce at this point and splash a little olive on top of the spaghetti before sliding it in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes until slightly browned, pour the rest of the sauce on top, mush it into the spaghetti, and cook for another 15 minutes. Grate some parmesan cheese over all and cook until melted.
Makes 12-16 servings. I let it sit for a few minutes before cutting into pieces.

Note: You can use some dried, fresh Italian seasoning in place of the thyme and oregano. Y’all know you can’t keep dried seasonings forever, don’t you?

YUM!!! This recipe turned out wonderful! The flavors melded and it swam in a great bechamel sauce.

Turkey Tetrazinni

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Use a buttered 8X8 pyrex pan

3/4 lb spaghetti
EVOO
1/2 chopped yellow onion
1/2 chopped red bell pepper
1/2 lb sliced crimini mushrooms
1-3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2-3 T roasted sorta hot green peppers, chopped
1-3 C turkey gravy
1 C turkey, light and dark, chopped
5-10 leaves basil, chiffoniered
1/2 C parmesan cheese, grated
Bechamel or White Sauce:
3 T butter
4 T flour
1 C milk
sea salt & pepper

Cook the spaghetti in some boiling water and olive oil until al dente, drain, toss in a little EVOO and keep warm. Meanwhile saute onion in some EVOO until lightly caramelized, add red bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic and hot peppers and cook until soft. Set aside until needed.
Make bechamel sauce: melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and whisk until incorporated and thick. Add milk all at once. Whisk vigorously until thickened. Add salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Add basil and 1 1/2 C turkey gravy and stir. Add more gravy as wanted. I think I used about 2 C gravy with the thicker white sauce and it was still somewhat creamy, but I don’t like it really creamy, so you can add more. You should still end up with about 3+ C sauce (or more if you like it really creamy).
Toss the spaghetti, vegetables and 1/2 of the sauce and pour in the pyrex dish. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes. Add the chopped turkey to the rest of the sauce, heat a little, and stir. Now, take the partially cooked spaghetti out of the oven when the top is slightly browned and a teeny bit crispy. Take your wooden spoon, and, using the handle end, poke holes in the casserole all over, then pour the rest of the sauce on top, spread evenly, and work into the holes a little bit. Cook for another 10 minutes, sprinkle cheese on top, and broil until the cheese is browned. Let sit for about 10-15 minutes and cut and serve. Makes 6 dinner sized servings.

Brussels Sprouts With Wine & Garlic

1/2-3/4 C brussels sprouts per person
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced per person
1 T EVOO or peanut or canola oil per person
2 T savinugion blanc wine per person
sea salt to taste (I didn’t use any salt)
freshly grated nutmeg after the last browning

Wash the brussel sprouts well, cut off the stem end, and halve and/or quarter the big ones. Wash again and drain.
Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until hot. Add garlic, turn heat down to medium low, and cook until tender. Add brussel sprouts halved side down. Put lid on pan and gently cook until caramelized. Add 1/2 of the wine, put lid back on, and cook until absorbed.
Flip the brussel sprouts and cook the same way until caramelized on that side. Add the rest of the wine. Put the lid back on and cook until wine is absorbed. Add the sea salt and nutmeg. Toss and serve warm.

We are very lucky that we have lots of outlets to buy “la vita locavore”. Our local farmer’s market, several locally owned grocery stores and the “Meatshop of Tacoma” are all good. We are having a small scale Thanksgiving this year as we are far from family. We did get to participate in preparing a meal for the local homeless camp. Um, I guess the camp IS their home. Most just don’t have enough money at one time to get into an apartment or they are just a little scattered and can’t work well. We had our first Iraqi vet in the camp this month. I am so scared that will become more and more the norm here.
I look around my house and family and friends and think how lucky we are to have what we have, a roof over our heads and backup of family and friends if we need it.
Thank you all for looking at this site. I really appreciate each one of you that are looking for good food and how to cook it. This year is dedicated to our friend, drchelo, I miss her so much.
Oh, this cranberry relish-the cranberries came from our local oyster farm-they were selling the fresh cranberries for the benefit of the local library.

Cranberry/Ginger Relish

1 C ginger tea
1/2 C orange juice (either fresh or ….)
1 C white sugar
3″ piece cinnamon stick
Boil and cook down until semi-thick.
Add 2-3 C fresh cranberries (add some orange zest if you want)
Cook on a medium low heat until tender, thickened and some of the cranberries are popped. Let sit until cooled. Refrigerate overnight. Serve the next day. OR just make it early in The Day. It is really good. Enjoy!!!