Cabbage Soup

I found this recipe on line as part of the "Cabbage Soup Diet"and it sounded good.  But, it was not my intention to pass on a well known (in some circles) recipe and call it a day.  As usual, I made changes to the recipe, but I used this recipe to try some new cooking techniques:

1. When sauteing the onions and peppers, no oil or butter was used.  I used low fat low sodium broth (I used beef, but chicken or vegetable would work fine too).
2. By the time I added the rest of the vegetables to the pot, the ingredients filled it to the top.  I wanted to continue to sweat the veggies before adding the liquid base, so in keeping with the no oil no butter scheme, I used 2 cups of V8 Juice and continued to sweat for about 45minutes.

This recipe makes a whole lot of sop.  If I would have known, I might have halved it, but no harm no foul.  I will just share some with family and friends.

---Enjoy

Cabbage Soup

1. Heat a very large pot, on medium low heat and cover the bottom with about 1/8"-1/4" low sodium reduced fat broth.
2. Add the onion, green peppers, celery, mushrooms and carrots. Cover and begin to sweat the vegetables.
3. Add the cabbage and V8 and mix well.  Cover and continue sweating for abot 45 minutes.
4. Stir in 4 cups of fat free low sodium broth and 1 teaspoon Himala Salt.  Heat over medium high heat for about 10 minutes. 
5. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 2 hours being careful not to let the soup come to a boil.
6. Add dill weed, dry mustard, ground marjoram and remaining himala salt and stir until well combined. 
7. Ladel into bowl and garnish with spicy brown mustard.

Ingredients 1 head cabbage, coarsely chopped or shredded 2 med yellow onions, coarsly chopped or diced 2 green peppers, coarsly chopped or diced 5 stalks celry, chopped 2 or 3 cans tomatoes, diced or stewed 3 or 4 carrots, chopped 8-10 oz mushrooms 2 cloves garlic 2 cups V8 Juice 4 tablespoons dill weed 2 teaspoons ground mustard 2 teaspoons ground marjoram 2 teaspoons Himala Salt Spicy brown mustard (garnish) Pepper to taste

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