A Bite To Eat

Easy On The Waistline

i must admit (please, stick with me, even after you read these next two confessions): i do love winter. And... i have enjoyed very much the all the snow we've had this year (even "grey days" are brighter when a blanket of white snow covers the earth around us...and, stay with me...snow is great for the garden).
But it has been plenty cold for quite a while now...and i'll admit that i'm ready for a few milder days.

So, while the weather sorts itself out and i keep the polar fleece and heavy socks handy, i have been turning to this soup more than once. It's all well and good and makes me feel virtuous that it's "good for me", but the critical issue for me is, especially at this time of year when I'm antsy, I need to enjoy my food.

So, dear reader, i share with you another soup that is packed full of deliciousness, makes one feel virtuous, and is one the kids might even like since it has a wonderful peanut buttery element. i also enjoy the bit of bite provided by the cayenne pepper--which intensifies overnight if you have leftovers.

i alert you to this up front so you can adjust accordingly, if necessary. But i should also add that i've served this to people who do not always enjoy as much peppery heat as i do and they have not found it to be too hot in that regard.

This recipe comes from Ellie Krieger, nutritionist (i told you it's good for you) and host of her own excellent cooking show on the Food Network, "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger."

Nutty Sweet Potato Soup

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
2 medium carrots, diced (about 1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed (2 cups)
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with their juices
2/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 cup chopped scallion greens (about 3 scallions)

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell pepper and carrots and cook, stirring until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the cayenne, black pepper, garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the sweet potato, broth, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Puree the soup in the pot using an immersion blender or in a regular blender in 2 batches and return the soup to the pot. Add the peanut butter and honey and stir, over low heat, until the peanut butter melts. Serve warm, garnished with the scallions.

When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

Per Serving:

Calories 290; Total Fat 18g (Sat Fat 3.5g, Mono Fat 9g, Poly Fat 5g); Protein 14g; Carb 23g; Fiber 5g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 260mg

Click here to go to Ellie's page where you can print out a copy of her recipe

And, I'm curious: what have you been eating to get you through the last few cold and snowy weeks?...or warm and balmy weeks...depending on where you spend January...

Baby, It's Cold Outside

You would think that a person who loves to
talk about, write about and draw food stuffs
would post like crazy during the holidays
well
as you noticed
i did not.
Yes, i do love the holidays and all the yummies.
That was the problem
i was a tad busy baking and eating.
i was satiated and then some.
While i'm very happy to report
that i was gifted so much chocolate that i am still nibbling daily on my stash
i confess that once we returned home
i was more than ready to return to basics.
And when the weather finally turned cold
i began craving a dish from childhood:
Stewed Potatoes
also known, in the land of my nativity (the southern most tip of Nevada) as
Cowboy Potatoes.

Yes, real cowboy food
eaten by men and women who are
comfortable in
farmer tans
well-worn hats
jeans that stack just right onto dusty boots and

proud of their
family
new or old pick up
(also known as "rig" or "outfit")
four wheeler
horse
dog
tractor
and jet ski.

The story is that this meal could be cooked in one pot
a Dutch oven
over a camp fire
which my family did on occasion
even though it was only on a picnic in early Autumn
not a cattle drive or hunting trip
and i was the only cowgirl/boy of the family.

i suspect this meal was handed down to us from
great grandparents who were ranchers
or my mother
a very genteel woman who, nonetheless,
knew plenty of cowboys growing up
and taught plenty of them in her classroom.

Everyone i've ever served this to
loved it
though i admit i do not entertain many
fat/carb phobics who would undoubtedly turn pale
and run from the sight of it.
(Dear Vegetarian friends, please disregard the rest of this post)

We did not eat M&C very often while i was growing up
or spaghetti with meatballs.
Stewed Potatoes was our comfort food
and when the Arctic Front arrived last week
i put this on the stove.

Stewed Potatoes for Two

In a large skillet (a Dutch Oven is too big for just 2 servings), fry up several slices of bacon. While the bacon is cooking, peel and slice or dice one medium onion (large if you love onions) then wash and slice 3-4 red potatoes (or other "waxy type", Yukon Golds are fabulous) into 1/8-inch (in other words, not paper thin) slices.

Remove bacon and drain it. If a huge amount of fat has rendered off the bacon, remove some, according to your personal taste/desires/guilt. You want enough left to cook the onions.

Toss the onion into the fat and cook until they begin to turn translucent. Add the potatoes. Crumble up the bacon and add it into the pan; toss to mix. Add water just to cover the potatoes and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook until potatoes are tender, about 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the slices. Taste for seasoning (yes, sometimes i have to add a bit of salt). Lastly, the "fancy cook" in me will add several grinds of fresh pepper and a handful of chopped parsley just before serving.

Fats, Carbohydrates and Proteins
In moderation
these are good, comforting things.
Especially when it is 1.4 degrees F in the morning
and tops out at 15 during the sunny afternoon.

Soup So Nice

there are days...
you know
days when nothing feels nice
and you're hungry but
not in the mood
and all of the leftovers are no more
and going out is out of the question.
it was on such a day
last winter
that i stood in the kitchen
leaning against the counter
eyes closed
trying to conjur up something
nice
from what was in the house.
this soup came to mind
and is now my go-to dish
when the day
or my inards don't feel so good.

some sort of chicken broth always comes to mind
whenever i need gentle comfort food
but for years
i went wanting because i rarely took the time
to make my own broth to keep on hand
and canned broth, all by itself, even the "best" brands
is just horrid.
the organic ones now available in cartons are better
but cost a mint
this new stuff (see below) is higher in salt than the "natural" versions of canned broths

(i just make sure to taste before i ever add extra salt when using this)
It tastes wonderful all by itself
almost like my homemade broth
and is not full of lots of junky chemicals
and its cheap

the turkey one, by the way, is perfect for T-Day
if you love gravy as much as we do
and never seem to have enough drippings.
(the veggie broths from this company are wonderful as well.)

Soup So Nice to serve one

Into a saucepan:

1-2 cups of water, depending on how hungry i am
1 teaspoon per cup of water of Better Than Boullion chicken soup base
1 garlic clove (a large one for 2 cups) put through a press or mince and smashed to a paste
1 nub of ginger, to your taste...i like a lot...so i cut at least 1/2" off a root and do not bother to peel it before mincing as fine as can be
1 good-size carrot cut into tiny dice
1 stalk of celery plus leaves cut into tiny dice
3/4 of a cup, or so, of frozen petite pois, or as most American suppliers label their bags "Petite Peas"

i press the garlic and mince the ginger right off the bat and get them into the hot, simmering liquid to give them as long as possible to render their goodness and become soft while i wash and cut up the carrot and celery, which get added all at once.
i cook the carrots and celery about 3-4 minutes (they are tiny dice) then pour in the frozen peas right from the freezer, turn the heat up high, then simmer it all with a lid on for about 4-5 minutes more....just until peas are tender but still bright green and carrots and celery are just right.

pour into a mug, toss some minced parsley on top
eat with a lovely slice of bread and butter
and sigh with relief
with the very first spoonful.

You can see, I'm sure, that you double the list for 2, etc.

Speaking of Seafood Chowder

which i did very briefly in this post on Maine blueberries
the best one i have ever had the pleasure of consuming
was extremely simple
a comforting, satisfying blend of broth, cream and freshest fish
we went back for it again and again
at the very popular tourist eatery (locals love it also) in Acadia National Park
the Jordan Pond House. (if you plan to visit in high season, do make reservations)

on a clear day you can sit at one of the wooden tables
out on the lawn at the edge of the meadow surrounded
by the ancient peaks on Mount Desert
and enjoy a steaming bowl of this
or the equally delicious Lobster Bisque
with the traditional Jordan Pond Popovers.

 

Our friend
the insane one who enjoys racing up mountains
taught us her family's method for eating popovers fresh from the oven:
tear a small hole in the top
put a healthy dollop of butter inside
and a spoonful of jam
then roll it around to coat the inside.

the recipe for the bisque and popovers is in the small
booklet sold in the gift shop but not the chowder
and the kitchen was too busy during our visit
for the chef to come out and tell us the recipe
(i am amazed that not enough people request it so that
it too is written up and handed out or printed in the small book)
so my "have-apron-will-travel" sister and i
came up with the following
that is nearly as delicious
and misses only one essential ingredient:
the air of the meadow that is a swirling mix
of breezes coming up from the sea and down
from the ancient peaks.

After we left Maine, i made my annual visit to my favorite island and immediately tried to reproduce the chowder:

first i made a court boullion of the following (my sister and i both agreed that the JP version was not made with fish stock):
6 cups water
2 carrots
2 ribs celery
onion, chopped
bay leaf
peppercorns
a large bunch of parsley, including stems

i simmered it for 30 minutes, strained, and discarded all the vegetable bits.

Then i immediately added the following--all fresh from the sea that morning (to equal about 2 pounds)
4-5 sea scallops about 2" diameter, roughly chopped
1 small haddock fillet (cut into 3 pieces that fell into spoon-size pieces as they cooked)
6-8 "medium" shrimp that i cut into about 3 pieces (i would have prefered small shrimp but there were none available that morning)

once all of the fish was just cooked, i stirred in a mixture of milk and cream to equal 3 1/2 cups
heated until just piping hot then served with a lovely bread from one of the island's bakeries

(i'm not a brave baker and did not feel like experimenting with the cottage's tiny, untested oven...and am now thinking i must have a go at my first popovers...somebody, somewhere once told me that they are tricky and not being a baker, i put them at the bottom of my list but now that i've whetted my own appetite, and the mornings are dawning deliciously cool, i think it is time)