Cold – Broccoli, Yellow Pepper & Cheddar Chowder and Cantaloupe Limesicles

Posted by Tricia in Dessert, soup and tagged with Broccoli, broccoli cheddar chowder, broccoli soup, chowder, homemade popsicle recipes, popsicles, potato, soup September 6, 2013

No, I didn’t fall off the face of the planet. More like swallowed up by the busy-ness of end of summer and back-to school. And, as if those two numbers weren’t enough to keep me on my toes, we decided to fit in a little jaunt back to Ohio to visit the grand parents. It was kind of a last minute decision, actually. I mentioned that we should probably try to schedule a trip sometime soon. The Hubs suggested October. Sounded good enough to me, but then I realized that the Wee One would turn 2 on September 3rd. The cheap-o in me said, “Get that clan on the plane before 9/3 and then you won’t have to pay for another seat and you can take Wee One as a lap baby.” The masochist in me, then added in, “Of course you want to fly to Cleveland via San Francisco ALONE with four girls!” So with all of my split personalities speaking their piece, I dove in and booked the tickets.

The upside of the Ohio visit? Seeing family and catching up. The down side? Two words: muggy and buggy. And to think that I had just recently contemplated what it would be like to move my family back to the land of my childhood. Ummmmm, no thanks. Just that one visit let the girls get in their tractor driving, lightening bug catching, box trap building, and toad hunting. Now we’ll just return to our OC suburban life, thank you.

Unfortunately, I think Mr. Muggy decided to stow away in our suitcase or something. This OC heat is ridiculous and immediately upon returning I remembered a crucial point – I detest OC in September. It’s as if I have a honing pigeon like instinct born out of my mid-western roots. The minute it is September my brain starts to think chilly, crisp, fall. I want to wear sweaters, sip warm tea, and decorate with red, orange and yellow foliage. But no, it’s a sweltering over here in September and you just can’t escape the heat.

Also, in the midst of all this traveling, and back-to-school planning, and other time consuming stuff, I decided to subscribe to our local CSA program. Basically this means I’m getting a box of wonderful local and organic produce delivered to my doorstep every week. I chose Abundant Harvest Organics and so far, love the fruits and veggies. However, this week’s box gifted us with an abundant harvest of broccoli and we are just not a broccoli eating family. Call me strange, but my beef (ha! no pun intended) with broccoli is that it doesn’t retain its heat. And the only thing I hate more than bland food is cold food. So . . . all this to say that in this blazing weather, I, the genius that I am, decided to make Broccoli Soup. Yes, you heard right, soup in 98 degree weather. So here goes. You, being a more intelligent person than I, can just tuck this little recipe aside and whip it out on a chilly fall day.

I started by chopping up an onion. a yellow bell pepper, and a russet potato.

I separated the broccoli florets from the stem and then peeled and finely chopped the stem.

I boiled some salt water and then added the florets and boiled for about 3 minutes. I removed them and plopped them right into some ice water to stop them from cooking. I saved about 4 cups of the cooking water for later. I sat the florets aside and went to work on the other veggies. I sauteed the onion, potato, pepper, broccoli stems, and some garlic for about 10 minutes. Then I added in some cumin, salt, pepper, and some flour.

I added the reserved cooking water to this sautee and let it simmer (partially covered) until the potatoes were tender – about 10 minutes. Then I added in some half and half and grated sharp cheddar. I whisked it well until the cheese was all melted. After that, I pureed about 2 cups of the soup and returned it to the pot. I then added in the broccoli florets and heated until everything was piping hot. I served with a little French baguette and we were good to go. The kids gave it rave reviews, even while thinking their mother was insane for serving soup on one of the hottest days of the year.

So just to redeem myself, I pulled out the coolest dessert ever. Throughout the summer I have been experimenting with homemade popsicles. We’ve done orange-raspberry creamsicles (a hit!), watermelon-basil-honey pops (so-so), and then, the the chef d’oeuvre of the summer – – – -cantaloupe limesicles. So easy and delish! I took about 3 slices of cataloupe, and, in the blender, combined it with 1/4 c. water, 2 Tbsp. sugar, and the juice of one lime. Into my popsicle molds it went and hours later we had a wonderful treat to combat the heat!

So call me crazy for my soup concoction, but in the blazing weekend ahead, whip up your own cantaloupe lime-sicles and enjoy!

Here’s the full Broccoli, Yellow Pepper & Cheddar Cheese Chowder recipe, adapted from Epicurious.

Want to browse other broccoli recipes? Here are some to get you started.

Broccoli Chowder (realfitrealfoodmom.com)
Broccoli and Cheese Soup (biscuitsncrazy.com)
Broccoli Fig Salad (coconutandcurls.com)
The Best Broccoli Soup Ever (thesavoytruffles.wordpress.com)
Lemon & Garlic Roasted Broccoli (hugsnkitchen.com)
Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese (kissmyingredients.com)
Broccoli Salad (goodeatsbyadah.wordpress.com)

Blah! I’ve Been Blindsided – Summer Corn Chowder with Bacon

Posted by Tricia in soup and tagged with chowder, corn, corn chowder, corn recipes, fresh corn, summer, summer soups August 8, 2013

I have seriously hit a wall. I look at the calendar for the next three weeks and I don’t see any way I am going to feel rested and rejuvenated before that back-to-school bell rings.

The funny thing is that just about two weeks ago I was feeling wonderful enjoying how summer was softly slipping by. Then WHAM! Family funkiness set in and I feel like I’ve been robbed. My reserve of peace and calm has been depleted just like that. I want it all back, and I want it back now. I want to laze. I want to linger. I want to lollygag. And yet it doesn’t look lkie that’s in the cards at the moment.

And as some of you readers might well relate to, these periods of unease are notorious for their “trickle down effect”. Yep, you feel like a rotten egg inside and all of a sudden your offspring start acting like rotten eggs. It’s a vicious cycle. I can’t take any more arguing. I don’t want to wake up to whining. If anyone is going into timeout, I think it should be me and I think that timeout should take place at a five star resort.

All sarcasm aside, I have seriously considered asking the Hubs what he would think about me escaping for a weekend. I’m imagining something along the lines of using hotel points, checking in, lounging, reading, listening to pure silence – – – just picture a big sedentary, quasi-comatose blob, and that’s what I dream of being for 48 hours straight. I may not even emerge to consume food. I said “may not”; don’t hold it against me if I decide to shower and make myself presentable for the express purpose of eating out at some swanky restaurant.

But until I actually have that conversation with the Hubs, and he’s on board with the 48 hour escape idea, I guess I will just have to suck it up and keep on keepin’ on. I’ll sort through the major crisis at hand. I’ll take toddlers to swim lessons, drive kids to practices, plan play dates and get togethers, police ipad usage, continue the endless cycle of feeding people, washing people, washing clothes, and washing dishes. I’ll try not to whine about it all, because as I myself have been heard saying, “Whining isn’t going to change anything.”

I know my perspective will change soon enough, even if the Hubs isn’t down with that 48 hour furlough idea. It always does. I know that soon enough I will see things in a different light. Feel that heaviness gone. When I start hearing kind words from my kids’ mouths again and see them helping of each other with love in their eyes, then I’ll know that we’re back in synch and that, for the most part, everything has been restored.

I don’t know about you, but when junk goes awry in my little universe, I always find that soup makes it better. Here’s a little Summer Corn Chowder that I whipped up recently. It might not cure all ills, but it sure did taste good.

I started by sautéing up a little bacon.

After the bacon was crisp, I removed it with a slotted spoon and set it aside.

I took about 6 ears of fresh sweet corn and removed the kernels from he cobs.

I added the corn, along with some chopped russet potatoes and diced crookneck squash to the bacon drippings. I sautéed it all for about 5 minutes and then added in some veggie broth. I simmered it all about 20 minutes until everything was tender.

I then scooped about 3 cups of the mixture out and transferred it to the blender. I pureed that to a nice smooth texture. I transferred it back to the original pot, added in some fresh whipping cream and a little cayenne pepper for a bit of a kick. A little salt and pepper to taste and we were good to go.

Here’s the complete recipe for Summer Corn Chowder with Bacon, adapted from Epicurious.

9 Simple Ingredients – Curried Zucchini Soup . . . oh, and a Skillet Peach Cobbler

Posted by Tricia in soup and tagged with cobbler, curry, dessert, peach, peach cobbler, peaches, soup, zucchini, zucchini soup July 10, 2013

Just in case that last post had you reeling from ingredient and preparation overload, here’s a simple little number to balance it out. And yes, we’re sticking with the curry theme.

I’m an experimenter by nature. In the kitchen that means that I rarely do repeats. But this soup was so tasty that it will definitely be making regular appearances at the table.

On a separate note, this week was unofficially “peach week” at our house. One friend stopped by bearing a whole bag of delicious little peaches. The following morning, we awoke to another bag of peachiness left on our front doorstep by another friend. Well, when that many peaches just show up unsolicited, you really have no other option but to make cobbler. I wasn’t too happy with my first attempt – a pretty traditional recipe that got good reviews on Epicurious. Not to be defeated, or to sell the peaches short of their full potential, I tried again. This time with a Skillet Peach Cobbler. Winner, winner, cobbler dinner! The clan was unanimously very much in favor of my quest for cobbler perfection. After all, why wouldn’t they be? They got peach cobbler for dessert two nights in a row!

So first for the soup and then I’ll let you in on the cobbler.

The greatest thing about this soup is that I literally threw it together in 20 minutes. I started by chopping a whole onion.

I heated some oil and sauteed the onion, and then threw in some garlic and curry powder. I then added 3 medium zucchini and a russet potato along with 4 cups of water. I brought it all to a boil, then reduced the heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

I left everything just sit on the stove at this point while the Hubs was off collecting children. When everyone was accounted for and whining for dinner, I brought the soup back to a simmer and then pureed it in the blender until it was smooth. I then added in a half a cup of half and half. Done! (BTW, the original recipe I was working from had no mention of half and half. But I looked at the soup and the soup looked back at me and we just both knew some half and half was needed. BUT . . . if you are looking to cut calories, fat or dairy, just skip that step and I won’t think any less of you.)

Oh, and please don’t judge me based on the ice cubes in my rosé wine – so gauche, I know. But the Hubs brought the bottle home after collecting kids and we didn’t have time for a proper chilling.

Now on to the cobbler . . .

I’ll spare you the explanation and let you imagine it through this photo collage. I think a big part of its deliciousness came from the fact that it was a skillet cobbler. I essentially melted a half a stick of butter in the skillet before adding the batter and then scattering the peaches over that. The peach preserves, blobbed about around the fresh peaches, also gave this dessert a great flavor. And if you’re going to go through the effort of making this little number, don’t skimp on the preserves. Bite the bullet and buy the good stuff. I personally love this St. Dalfour brand pictured in the collage.

I just need to point out the pudgy 4 year old hand stirring the batter. She was my sous-chef for “Peach Cobbler Take II”. Oh and I guess I should also add this photo for your entertainment. The peach peeling was slow going given that the ratio went something like this. One half for the bowl, one half for the Wee One. Good thing we had so many peaches!

Want the complete recipes? Here they are.

Curried Zucchini Soup, adapted from Martha’s Great Food Fast cookbook

Skillet Peach Cobbler, from Epicurious

Mom’s Night Out – Crock Pot Carrot Ginger Soup

Posted by Tricia in soup and tagged with carrot, coconut milk, crock pot, recipes, Slow cooker May 30, 2013

Around here, the Mama needs to get out on a regular basis. You know the saying, “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy”, and usually what makes Mama happy is great conversation and great food. My outings typically amount to dinner or cocktails out with friends every couple of weeks. There are my “super foodie” friends who point me to new and delicious restaurants, then there are the “quasi-foodie” friends who usually ask me where we should go, and then there are the “wouldn’t know good food if it fell on your head” friends, and with them it’s just best to opt for cocktails.

There are two total Mom’s Night Out joy killers. The first is coming home to kids who are still awake. Seriously, Hubs? Going through the “I need another kiss, and I have to tell you one more thing, and did you forget to change my band-aid, and I need another drink of water, and I can’t fall asleep without my glow in the dark, sparkly Littlest Petshop unicorn that has been MIA for 7 days now” routine just sucks the pleasure out of any evening out. When I come home, I want to be greeted by silence. Let me spell that out even more clearly. I want the house to be absent of all noise, especially small voices uttering the words “Mom” and “I want”. The second major joy killer is trying to get any kind of complicated meal on the table before rushing out the door.

Over the years, I have had to adapt my definition of “complicated”. Basically, anything involving more than two steps is complicated for the Hubs to pull off. So as my craving for Me Nights Out has increased, so too has my love of the crock pot. 1) Scoop out 2) Plop on plate These are 2 steps that my family can cope with. I don’t get hung up in the doorway giving little last minute reminders and being asked about what to do with such and such. I can just point to the pot and remind them to scoop and plop. Easy.

Last week, I enjoyed a great dinner out at Tender Greens with a friend. That restaurant is really growing on me. As I headed out the door, I pointed my brood to the crock pot. On this occasion, it was filled with Carrot Ginger Soup. I can always gauge whether the dinner left behind was a hit or not by how much of it is left when I get back home (to a completely SILENT house, on a good night). Well, let me just say there wasn’t a lick of anything left for me to even taste.

So here are the down and dirty simple steps to Crock Pot Carrot Ginger Soup.

Toss about a pound of chopped carrots, a large chopped sweet potato, one diced onion, a couple cloves of minced garlic, a bit of fresh grated ginger, a dash of garlic salt, and a bit of black pepper into your crock pot.

Pour some veggie broth over it all and cook on low for about 8 hours. Then pour all of the crock pot contents into the blender and blend until soup is smooth.

Whisk in some light coconut milk and serve.

This is where you would have seen a picture of this beautiful soup in a nice white bowl garnished with fresh basil and accompanied by homemade garlic bread sticks and fresh cherry tomatoes with a balsamic glaze. BUT . . . I don’t know what, if anything they ate it with, and the last thing I shouted as I hurried out the door was, “Take a pretty picture of the soup for my blog” which obviously didn’t happen. The good news is, I had a wonderful evening out with a friend and discussed everything we needed to catch up on. AND I returned home to a house with all small people fast asleep.

For the full Carrot Ginger Soup Recipe, click here.