Broccoli Almond Soup

This is one of Sharon's favorite soups and it is really easy to make.  I also shared this with our friend Vickie, and she serves it at her house on a regular basis.

My thanks go out, as they often do, to Joanna Pruess and Lauren Braun for the original recipe.

---Enjoy

Broccoli Almond Soup

1. Heat 6 tbs of chicken broth in a soup pot and saute' the onions until soft and translucent, about 5-6 minutes.  
2. Reserve 4 small florets of the broccoli for the garnish and add the rest of the broccoli to the onions and gently sweat the broccoli until it is soft.
3. Transfer the mixture to either a blender or food processor and add the almonds. Puree or use your immersion blender in the soup pot and puree until smooth.
4. Stir in the coriander, salt and white pepper to taste, and more broth if the soup is too thick.  Simmer until heated through, ladle, garnish with a dollop of sour cream and broccoli floret and serve.

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TO BLANCH ALMONDS YOU WILL NEED Pot of water Raw unsalted almonds, skin on Paper towels Colander or strainer Bring small pot of water to a boil. Place your raw almonds into the water.Let them boil for exactly one minute. Don't boil for any longer than 60 seconds or your almonds will start to soften. Drain the almonds immediately in a colander or strainer and rinse them with cold water to cool them. Blot the almonds dry with a paper towel.  You'll notice that the skins will be slightly shriveled. Use your fingers to gently squeeze the almonds and loosen the skin from them.  Be careful, if you squeeze too hard they'll shoot across the room. Once you remove the skins, let the almonds dry off completely.  Discard the skins. Now the almonds are blanched and ready to use in your recipe. Thanks to Tori Avey for the blanched almonds.  www.toriavey.co

Ingredients 1 lb broccoli, cut into florets 1 medium onion thinly sliced 2 ounces blanched almonds, toasted         until lightly browned 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander Salt and white pepper to taste 4 tablespoons low fat sour cream or           plain yogurt

Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of our favorite soups.  Sharon found it in the "WIL 92 FM Working Women's Survival Show 2000 Cookbook" and I make it several times a year. The recipe was submitted by Bobbie Ann Mason from WIL.   The only addition that I made to this recipe was to add a can of Rotel.  Either way, I think that you will really enjoy this soup.

Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup

1. Heat the olive oil in your favorite soup pot over a med-low heat and add the onions and garlic.  cook for 5-10 minutes or until the onion is softened.
2. Add the chilies, tomatoes with their juice, broth, Rotel, Worcestershire, spices and hot sauce and simmer the soup for about 20 minutes.
3. In a small bowl,  combine the flour and water and whisk into the soup.  Bring the soup to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the sour cream and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Garnish each portion with the tortilla chips.

Ingredients 1 med yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 2 garlic cloves, minced (about 2 teaspoons) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 4 oz can of chili peppers, chopped, reserving the juice 10 oz can Rotel 15 oz can Italian style stewed tomatoes, chopped reserving the juice 1 32 oz reduced sodium shicken broth 1 tsp lemmon pepper 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp hot sauce or to taste 4 tbsp whole wheat flour 1/2 cup water 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breast cut into small cubes 1/3 cup nonfat or low-fat sour cream Salt and pepper to taste Tortilla chips

Hearty French Onion Soup with Fire Roasted Bell Peppers and Gruyere Baguettes

I like to cook, especially when the weather turns cold.  Cooking is therapeutic for me.  You can probably make this soup in much less time than it took me.  I spent most of the day in the kitchen preparing this dish.  Most of that time was spent hovering over two pans of onions making sure that they cooked slow enough to release the flavors.  Slower is always better when cooking onions.

I reviewed Onion Soup recipes from three different cook books and I listed those book at the end of this post**.  As usual, I changed things up, made some additions and made it my own.  One point of interest is that I used no butter or oil in this soup.  To saute the onions, I substituted no fat reduced sodium beef broth for olive oil and butter.  If you haven't yet, please sign up for this blog and let me know what you think.

Hearty French Onion Soup Fire Roasted Bell Peppers with Gruyere Baguettes

1. Heat 6 tbs of beef broth in a large skillet and gently sweat the 2 1/2 lbs of onions for about 60 minutes* over low heat until soft.  
2. While the onions are cooking, heat 4 tbs of beef broth in a skillet and slowly saute the remaining 1/2 lbs of onion stirring often.  Add broth as needed to keep the onions moist. Once the onions are soft and translucent, add 1 tbs of Marsala cooking wine and sprinkle the Splenda brown sugar blend and garlic over them and continue to cook until the onions are golden brown and set aside.
3. Add the Riesling and 1/2 cup of the beef broth and bring to a boil.
4. Transfer the mixture to either a blender to  puree or a heated soup pot and use an immersion blender to puree until smooth.
5. With the mixture back in the soup pot, add the remaining beef broth, sliced fire roasted red peppers, sherry, brandy, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in the sauteed onions and keep warm over medium-low heat.
6. Prepare the baguette, ladle the soup into a bowl and float the toasted bred on top.  Serve immediately.

*Don't rush the onions.  Their sweetness emerges through long gentle cooking.

Baguette Lightly toast the sliced baguette on          one side under the broiler Flip the slices over, spread with         mustard and cover with grated           Gruyere    cheese Broil until the cheese is melted

Ingredients 2 1/2 lbs + 1/2 lbs yellow onions              peeled and thinly sliced; 2 32 oz containers of fat free reduced                sodium beef broth; 1 tbs Marsala cooking wine 1/2 cup Riesling wine 1/2 cup cooking sherry 4 tbsp Brandy 16 oz jar of fire roasted red peppers,        sliced into narrow strips 1 tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend 2 cloves garlic Salt and pepper to taste; 8-12 thin slices French baguette lightly    toasted 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard; 1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese

 

**"A Treasury of Great Recipes" by Mary and Vincent Price (my all time favorite cook book)

Page 46; Soupe 'A L'Oignon (Onion Soup)

"The Complete Book of 400 Soups" Consultant Editor: Anne Sheasby

Page 501; French Onion Soup with Cognac

"Soup for Every Body" by Joanna Pruess with Lauren Braun RD, LD

Page 34: Hearty Onion Soup

Malaysian Crab Laksa

This is my first attempt at making a Peranakan or Nonya  dish.  Peranakan cuisine combines Chinese,  Malay and other influences into a unique blend.  According to Wikipedia (so it must be true), Peranakans are descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang,  Malacca,Indonesia and Singapore, inter-marrying with local Malays.  Who knew?

I found the original recipe in "Best-Ever Recipes; Every Day Soup".  As usual, I made several changes to make it my own.  This was a lot of fun to make and Sharon and I were quite surprised at how good this soup taste.  I want to give a special thanks to Ming Chang who, from his home in Ohio, talked me through my shopping list at the Chinese Grocery.

1. Cook the angel hair in a large pan of boiling salted water for 4 minutes.  Transfer to a large colander or sieve and rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.
2. To make the spicy paste, place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until a smooth paste is formed.
3. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a soup pot; add the spicy paste and sauté stirring constantly for a few minutes to release all of the flavors.  Be careful not to let it burn.
4. Add the vegetable stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Stir in the fish sauce and kale, and then simmer gently for 5 minutes.  Season with salt and cayenne to taste and add a squeeze of ½ a lime.
5. Add the crab meat and simmer until it is heated through.
6. Divide the noodles among your soup bowls and pour the soup.  Garnish with fresh coriander and serve. 

Ingredients 4 oz Angel Hair pasta 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil  4 ¼ cups low sodium low fat vegetable stock  1 2/3 cups coconut milk  2 tbsp Thai fish sauce  1 lb lump crab meat  2 handfuls fresh kale  1/2 a lime Salt and cayenne pepper to taste  Fresh coriander sprigs and leaves, chopped to garnish

Spicy Paste  2 Lemon grass stalks, finely chopped 1 Jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped 1” piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced ½ tsp shrimp paste 2 garlic cloves, chopped ¼ tsp turmeric ¼ tsp cayenne pepper ½ tbsp chopped apricot ½ tsp chopped dates ½ tbsp. chopped prunes ½ tbsp. lemon juice