Chicken Noodle Soup

The world must be coming to an end, I'm putting up more than one post in a day.  Heck, that's more than I manage to put up most weeks!  What is the reason for this madness?  A good chunk of Nova Scotia is currently powerless, including my place of work.  Earliest ETA for power restoration, 11:30 tonight, and where I work is one of the lucky places.  Other area's are looking at an ETA of 11:30 TOMORROW night.  Yep, that's right, they're going powerless for two days.  This is what happens when Winter decides to rear her very ugly head, and blow in with hurricane strength winds, snow, and freezing rain.  Tree's have been downed, the landscape is white, and most of all, it's still way to windy out there for much to be happening at the airport.  I'm glad I'm not trying to travel today.  

The good thing here is, I have the day to myself.  The last time this happened, feels like a lifetime ago.  Really, it was just over a week ago, but today it's literally just me and my cats.  My roommate is at his parents, or fiance's, or somewhere.  Not too sure where, and me, I'm all alone in my apartment :)  It's a nice change.  The downside, apparently my body chose today to come down with a bit of a cold.  Here's to hoping that having a restful day will mean that when I get up to head in for an absolutely crazy day at work tomorrow, I'm all better.  Wishful thinking?  Perhaps, but it won't stop me.

So while I wish I was baking and concocting some elaborate meal, I've been vegetating on the couch watching Martha Stewart and snuggling with my kitties.  Though I did stand in the kitchen long enough to whip up a delicious and simple chicken noodle soup.  Within half an hour I had a big bowl of steaming, nutrient stuffed soup sitting in front of me, making my nose run from the warmth.  Now if that doesn't conjure images of sexiness, I don't know what does!  As long as you have stock, pasta and greens (which you could leave out very easily if you either don't have or really don't like), and enough energy to stand for 30 minutes, you too can enjoy some soup.  And on a day like today, even if I wasn't sick, I think I'd have been enjoying a big bowl anyway.

Express Chicken Noodle Soup

3/4 cup rice macaroni, uncooked

2 cups chicken stock, homemade or store-bought

2-3 cups sliced greens of your choice

Cook macaroni in salted-like-the-sea water until nearly al dente.  Drain.

Return to pot with stock and greens.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until pasta are cooked to desired tenderness.

Spoon into a big bowl, and and enjoy the healing properties that can only come from chicken noodle soup.

Rice Pudding

In spite of our spectacular snow storm in November, here in Nova Scotia we've been flirting with the continued presence of Fall trying to hold onto every last minute of warmth. I for one have been hoping that for some reason Winter will choose to play shy and not make an appearance this year. Every year I have this same hope, the same dream. I imagine Winter turning into a lovely Summer. I picutre myself able to wander the city, wearing tanktops and my Birks. And just when I let myself truly think that maybe this Winter will be a good one, it goes and rears it's ugly head. For example, at 7 this morning it was -1 C, and we were dropping to our high of the day at -7 C. Our high was lower than our early morning temperature. Am I the only other person who sees a problem with this? In case I haven't already mentioned this, please allow me to do so again - I hate Winter!

What is a girl to do? I can't hide away in a nice warm bed for about 5 months (and that's not really much of an exaggeration, maybe an extra week or two has been added). Nor can I afford to become a snow bird, at least not until I hit retirement age. I'm trying to make the best of things, I have managed to make myself a lovely Advent wreath, and I've been baking up a storm (more of those to come). But none of that warms my soul. But there is one thing, one dish that can do that. It's creamy, and sweet with lovely hints of vanilla. Why, I'm talking about rice pudding of course! Such a simple treat, yet so satisfying. It's one of those great treats you can enjoy hot or cold, for breakfast or dessert. And best of all, it involves next to no work! Mix it all in a pot, let it simmer, and eat. What more could I ask for?

There are surely a million different rice pudding recipes out there. I honeslty don't know if there is another one like mine, the recipe I orginally used was from Martha Stewart, but I left out large parts, and change several quantities. All it contains is rice, milk, sugar and vanilla. Beyond that, it's all mine. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, and that it brings a little bit of warmth to your Winter.

Rice Pudding

4 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup short grain rice

1 vanilla bean

pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pot. Over low heat bring to a simmer and let gently bubble away until most of the liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender. Since I never set the burner to more than low, it took about an hour in total. But if you want to use a slightly higher heat (no more than medium-low) cooking time will be decreased some.

Serve hot or cold and enjoy.

Veggie Stock

I promised a stock recipe, and I have finally delivered.  Sorry for the absence, however I have been rather busy with three jobs.  Here's to hoping things start to settle back down soon!

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Considering that the colder months of the year have arrived, soups and stews are going to be making appearances on many a supper table.  The foundation for many a good warm up supper is a hearty stock.  Chicken stock, beef stock, seafood stock (don't expect to find that one on this blog) and of course veggie stock.  And really, what could be easier, healthy, or cheaper than to make your own veggie stock.  Well, if you eat veggies on a semi regular basis, and you can bring a pot of water to a boil, you can make veggie stock.  

The best thing about the recipe that I use, is that it's not much of a recipe, and you're using things you would normally just throw into your kitchen garbage or compost bin.  And all you need is a big pot, some water, and a large Ziploc bag. 

So, lets get started.

Vegetable Stock

The very first thing you need to do, is start keeping a large re-sealable bag in the freezer.  From now on, every time you prepare some veggies for your meals and snacks, place all the trimmings, peels, and guts into this bag.  When it's full, you're ready to make stock.

Empty frozen veggie bits into a stock pot.  Add: 1-2 bay leaves, 2-3 cloves of garlic (don't bother peeling), a pinch of salt, and around 10 whole pepper kernels. 

Next add 8 cups of water, and make note of where the water level is.  You'll need to know this for later.  I usually just stick a plastic spoon in, and note where it is on there.  Add another 4 cups of water.  Bring the whole mess to a simmer and leave uncovered.

When about 4 cups of water has evaporated - this is why you took note of the water level before - add another 4 cups in, and again simmer down to 8 cups in the pot.  Do this whole thing one more time.  It seems tedious, but it improves the flavour, which is all that one really wants.  Besides, it's not much work, and it makes the house smell like yummy stock.

After the final reduction, allow stock to cool, strain out solids, and pour into containers.  The used veggie trimmings can now be tossed in your compost or garbage, and the stock can be refrigerated and enjoyed.

Curried Butternut Soup

Have you ever bought something, and then forgotten you had it?  Well, it happens to me all the time, with the most recent items being sour cream and a butternut squash.  Sadly the sour cream didn't survive my bought of forgetfulness, but the squash did!  Thank goodness they last forever.  I don't even know what made me think of that squash, but for some reason I suddenly remembered it while at work today.  Actually, I also remembered the sour cream, and was going to use both, but it was kind of moldy.  Oops!

What to do with that squash though?  I really didn't want to roast it.  But then I thought that I could make a soup...heck, I could even use some of my most recently made stock (recipe still to come).  Looking around, I realized that I had several tins of coconut milk and some lovely red curry paste in my pantry.  A Thai inspired soup suddenly sprang to mind and off to work I went.  The heat from the curry adds such a lovely depth and warmth to the soup, and the coconut milk cools that heat down, and helps give the soup a luscious creamy texture.  

Give it a try, it's a great pick me up for a cold Fall or Winter day - we're back to Fall here, though I'm sure Winter will make another appearance soon enough.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

15 mL olive oil

100 g onions, diced

500 g butternut squash, peeled and cubed

15 mL red curry paste 

250 mL veggie stock

1/2 tin coconut milk

In a large pot heat olive oil over med-high heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened and translucent.  Add curry paste and stir to coat onions.

Add cubed squash and veggie stock, bring to boil.  Once at a boil, reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender enough to be mashed with a fork.  Using a potato masher or hand blender, mash/puree squash.  Once uniform, stir in coconut milk and serve.

Makes enough for three.

Sauteed Kale

A while back I finally got up the guts to try Kale. I've always had a hard time with the greens, and other than spinach had yet to find one I liked. But thanks to this post by Gluten Free Girl, and the many glowing comments, I took the plunge. I can now say that Kale is my favorite of the greens. I have been eating crazy amounts of it, and plan to add it to my little patio garden next year. I love it with mashed potatoes and parsnip. So much that I went through a full bag of parsnips this way. Considering I live alone, that's quite the feat. But, as great as Kale tastes with those root vegetables, I wanted something different.

I ended up choosing to sautee it, which really isn't all that different...everyone seems to enjoy it this way. But really, I can't be creative all the time. But wow, it was delicious. Dead easy too. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I added my favorite flavor of all time, garlic, and some bacon fat for depth and meatiness. If you're vegetarian, or just don't like bacon, I think a lemon infused oil would make a great base, or any nutty oil...just make sure it can hold up to high heat before using it.

The garlic slices became crispy and flavorful, almost like little garlic chips mixed in. The bacon fat added flavor without overpowering the kale or garlic. As a result the Kale was still the star of the show, but it had to fantastically talented sidekicks.

With American Thanksgiving coming up - Thursday I believe, correct me if I'm wrong - I thought someone might want to try a slightly different side. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have been!

Sauteed Kale
(serves one)

1/3 bunch of organic kale *Any type of kale with do, but I used Lacinato
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp bacon fat

Stack kale leaves, and slice widthwise into 1 cm thick slices.

Heat fat over medium high.

Add kale and sautee for a minute or two. Until color is bright great and slices are more flexible.

Add garlic slices and continue to sautee about 4-5 minutes until everything is cooked and garlic is starting to turn golden.

Wicked Winter

As of this morning, there is no denying Winter has arrived in Nova Scotia.  Thirty centimeters (about 1 ft) of snow had fallen during the night.  Effectively covering the ground with a white blanket, and causing things to grind to a near halt.  We're Canadians, 30 cm slows us down, it doesn't stop us.  However, like most Haligonian's, I was snow bound for the morning, and spent part of my afternoon digging the car out from under all that snow.  

All this cold white stuff, that I'm anything but fond of, left me wanting something warm and satisfying for supper.  Really, when Winter hits there are only a few foods that will take off that chill.  One of the easiest and most satisfying is a great big bowl of Chili.  However, it is this specific desire for Chili is what lead me out into the snow to fight my way into a grocery store, and though the pathetically, poorly plowed roads.  Why couldn't I have wanted something that I had everything for already, as opposed to wanting Chili, when all I had for it was onions and garlic?  Thank goodness Sobey's is just around the corner.  

Lean ground beef was on sale this week, but due to the weather, there was no one around to put any out.  So I started looking at the alternatives, maybe some lower fat turkey, or mild pork.  I even looked over at the ground sausage.  Luckily, out of the corner of my eye I noticed some lovely local lamb for the same price.  Well, if I can have the extravagant purchase for the same cost, I'm going for it!  If you don't like lamb, use one of the other ground meats, any one of them will do.  After all, everything is about what will taste good to YOU (cheesy yes, but true).

After stocking up on the remaining necessary items, plus a few regular grocery items, I fought my way back home, and have determined that I truly need to move out of this frozen country.  Winter is not my friend.  Now, a little about my Chili before you go ahead and make it.  I like, no make that love, beans, therefore my Chili is a little heavier on the beans than most I've tried.  If you have a preferred type of bean, now is the time to use it.  I never use just plain old Kidney beans, so this time I used Chickpeas and Black Beans.  

Next, I've never been a big fan of tomato sauce, so while my Chili is tomato based, it is not as thick as your average Chili.  I find that the one I make, and love, is a more chunky style Chili.  Try, you'll like it.  Heck, my ex determined it was the best Chili she'd ever eaten, and I have yet to have a negative review on it - minus my friend who can not tolerate any beans what so ever in her Chili.

Chili

1 pound ground meat, use a lean meat, but not extra lean - you want some fat, it adds flavour

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

chili powder

In a large pot cook ground beef until no longer pink.  Do not drain out those lovely fat molecules!  To the cooked meat add all the veggies and cook, stirring constantly, one to two minutes.  Add chili powder - 2 Tbsp is a good starting point as it makes a very mild chili, if you like more heat, go from there.  I'm partial to the addition of about 4 Tbsp, but I like a fair amount of heat.

When chili powder has been mixed around and everything is coated with it, add the beans.  Give everything a nice stir before adding the diced tomatoes and bay leaves.  The Chili is going to look like there isn't enough moisture in it at this time, but don't worry, after it has cooked for a while, the veggies will let out some more water and you'll have plenty of liquid.  Bring to a simmer and leave on medium-low.  

After the pot has simmered away for about an hour, you can take it off and serve.  Corn bread would be a nice side, but the best is a slice of garlicky toast to soak of up the little bit of liquid that stays behind in your bowl.  

This makes a very large pot of Chili, enough for 6-8 servings.