Sick Soup

The day's assignment: a simple loop run at training pace; longer but not exceptionally fast.

Along with the regular group I set out for the run.

After each step, I found myself sliding my tongue over my teeth.  After each mile, I noticed.   After each half way mark, I questioned myself: your breathing is good, your muscle's are fine, are you hungry?

As each stride became a fight, I struggle to form the logic behind the excuse: my face hurts.

It was my first sinus infection and to me it made no sense, but hundreds of tooth-achey steps later I've developed a punch packed all natural team:  ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, ACV, and (of course) netti pot.

Oh, and soup, lots and lots of soup.

Like this one that helped me survive my first cold of the season.  A turmeric and ginger boosted base that will help raise your immune system while fighting inflammation, the warming cayenne in the broth will help melt your nose off your face, and the silken tofu will help keep you full while giving you an energy boost - so you can lace up your shoes a little tighter and keep striding!

Silk Soup with Ginger and Turmeric

Ingredients

• 3 c veggie broth
• 2 T grated ginger
• 2 t turmeric
• 3 cl garlic, minced
• 1/2 t cayenne powder
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 1/4 T rice vinegar
• 1 block silken tofu
• 2 servings rice noodles
• 2 c mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1/4 c parsley or cilantro
• 1/4 c scallions
• 1-2 limes, juiced and zested

Combine

1. Bring the broth, ginger, turmeric, garlic, cayenne, and soy sauce to a boil in a large pot over high heat.
2. Crumble the tofu into the pot and continue to boil for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for another 15 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms, carrot, and rice noodles and boil for another 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the parsley, scallions, and lime.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Fused

From the other side of a move this dish is almost too good of a fit for the moment; a picture perfect feel if you will.

In retrospect, it never seemed as if all these weeks dominated by the first real, thus stereo-typically nightmarish, NYC move were leading to this equally stereotypical, but wonderful, post-move nesting moment.

And yet, the universe came through.

Somehow from brokers equivalent the devil, to flower filled windows equivalent the garden hosting a dove's nest, we made it.

Maybe being filled with these homey feels laid way for these little nesting bowls to be, but moving or not, they are something you want on your dinner table (read: stack of cardboard boxes for those of you who are moving).

Nesting Bowls

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1 lb ground chicken, turkey, or pork
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 T shallot, finely minced
• 2 t ginger, grated
• coriander
• cayenne
• clove
• cinnamon
• oil

For the nest:

• daikon
• rice vinegar
• vermicilli rice noodles
• lime, zested and juiced
• coconut oil
• salt
• mint leaves
• basil, chiffonade
• spinach
• cucumber, diced
• red pepper flakes, if desired

Combine

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Peel the daikon then chop it into little sticks.  Stir together some rice vinegar and salt until the crystals are dissolved then submerge the daikon in the bowl, adding more vinegar if needed.  Set aside.
3. Mince the garlic, shallot, and ginger.  Sprinkle the ground meat with the seasonings and gently fold together until well incorporated but not over-mixed.  Roll the mixture into one to two inch sized balls, toss in a little coconut oil, and place on the sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked, stopping to turn the pieces over and rotate the baking sheet halfway through.
4. Bring slightly salted water to a boil in a small pot.  Add the vermicelli noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Dump into a strainer and rinse thoroughly with cold water.
5. Stir together the lime juice and zest, coconut oil, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Toss the mint, basil, and large handfuls of spinach with the dressing until well coated.
6. Add servings of greens to bowls then add servings of noodles.  Top with daikon, extra vinegar, and cucumber.  Top with meatballs.
7. Sprinkle with extra herbs or red pepper flakes and enjoy!

They Call Me Miss Pickle

Sometime between me living on college cafeteria food and me falling so in love with food that I started a food blog, I made the decision to learn how to cook.


I kid you not, the process began with me manipulating Knorr packaged dinners, think a small step above Kraft Mac n Cheese, but eventually I moved on to just using the sauce packets that were sold separately and mixing them into other ingredients.


Strangely, this taught me more than you would think about cooking: like how different liquids changed the flavor and consistency of the sauce, what shape I liked various veggies cut to, and how to stagger the addition of ingredients without turning half to mush while leaving the other half raw.

As I dragged my friends through this process I managed to pick up a mish-mash of passed down advice which included how to soak onions:


'Why would we do that?'

"I dunno, it's how my mom does it, I think it's Romanian..."

Sold.


For that dinner we took our chopped up Vidalia onions and tossed them into a bowl of water with a little pinch of salt and waited.  A few minutes later the water had passed through each piece, taking with it the sharp onion burn and the dramatic crunch, but leaving behind the mellow sweetness and a pleasant crunch.


Since then, whether it's labeled as soaked, a quick and dirty pickle, or macerated, I've discovered that this is a pretty common means for manipulating veggies that have too much bite or too much crunch without actually bringing them under heat (yay Summer-friendly recipes).  In the case of onions, this process will make them less spicy and more flavorful while still allowing them to bring that desired crunch to a dish.  Read: your breath won't smell half as bad if you soak onions before bringing them to work for lunch.


Happy soaking!

Soaked Onions and Other Stuff

Ingredients

• Vegetables, thinly sliced or chopped
• Vinegar, warm water, or boiled water to cover
• 1/2 - 1 t salt

Combine

1. Stir together the salt and liquid until the salt is dissolved.
2. Add in the veggies.
3. Let soak for 15 minutes or longer before enjoying!

Some Suggestions:

• Beets: use half boiled water and half white vinegar for the liquid and 1-2 t of salt. Soak for 2-3 days before enjoying.
• Carrots, radish, or fennel: use half boiled water and half vinegar with 1/2 t of salt. Soak overnight before enjoying.
• Vidalia onions:  Use warm water and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, and let soak for 15 minutes.  For more flavor use balsamic vinegar (or half water, half vinegar) and 1/2 of salt, and let soak for 30 minutes.
• Shallots: use red wine vinegar for the liquid and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Soak for 15 minutes.
• Garlic: use half warm water and half white vinegar with 1 teaspoon of salt.  Let soak for at least 15 minutes.
• Hot peppers (like jalapeños): use lime juice for the liquid and 1/2 t of salt.  Soak for 30 minutes.

Herby Salmon Salad

A word to the wise says it's best to pack (read: hide) lazy dinners with flavor.

Lots and lots of flavor.

So much flavor, that your taste buds are blown away - taking with them your shameless lack of labor, and leaving behind the few extra moments you now have to savor a tasteful meal.

The kind of flavor that arrives with a big bang with this salmon salad.  A salad in which dill and garlic are rubbed onto the filet before it's baked, peppery arugula is tossed in a fresh onion vinaigrette, then sweet apricots, strong blue cheese, and warm roasted almonds are mixed into the greens for bursts of contrasting flavor.

Later long day, hello good night!

Herby Salmon Salad

Ingredients

For the salmon:

• 12 oz salmon
• lemon juice
• dill, dried
• garlic, powdered
• salt and pepper for taste

For the salad:

• Arugula, as desired
• a few apricots, chopped
• Blue cheese, crumbled
• Roasted almonds, chopped

For the dressing:

• 1 T vidalia onion
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1 T olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 t mustard seeds

Combine

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Place the salmon on the middle of the baking sheet then squeeze some lemon juice over it and sprinkle with dill, garlic, salt, and pepper as desired.
3. Bake for 15 minutes until crisping on the outside but juicy and tender on the inside.
4. Meanwhile, blend the vidalia onion, vinegar, oil, and spices together.
5. Toss the arugula with the dressing until well coated.
6. Toss in the apricots, blue cheese, and roasted almonds.
7. Top with the salmon and enjoy!

Casserole Soup

What does soup have to do with casserole?

Obviously, that it's also the best way to use up your dwindling second-hand stockpile of ingredients.

So if you happen to be staring at the contents of your fridge wondering what to do with those few stalks of celery and half a head of cabbage, or even if you've just come back from the farmer's market with some spring potatoes and carrots, this recipe is for you.

I helped justify this wintery chicken soup as "spring" worthy by adding some red wine vinegar to the broth.  It may sound bold (read: strange), but the vinegar adds a little zing that cuts the salty weight of a typical chicken soup and gives it a borscht-like lightness making it a poor man's Progresso perfect for chasing away a lingering cold just in time to welcome warmer days.

Spring Chicken Soup with Red Wine and Cabbage

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces, brushed with oil, and lightly salted
• 3 T olive oil
• 1 large gold potato, diced
• 1/2 a sweet onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2-3 stalks of celery, sliced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 t thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• Water or Broth as needed
• 1/2 a cabbage, sliced and broken up

Combine

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat until it shimmers then add the chicken to the pan.
2. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side then mix in the potato, onion, garlic bay leaves, and thyme and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Mix in the carrots, celery, salt, and pepper and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
4. Pour in the vinegar and enough broth to cover the saute by an inch.
5. Bring the liquid to a boil for 5 minutes then simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Add the cabbage and simmer for another 5 minutes.
7. Enjoy!