SAVORY SOUP And Super Food SWEET SALAD

 You say tomato...I say soup.

I love having soup from scratch waiting in my fridge for me when I finally get home and cozy. My mom would always make HUGE pots of chicken noodle, potato leek, minestrone, or chili, so that we could ladle a little into our lunches for days. 

As the soup thickens over time, you can just add more h2o or broth and voila! I also think the flavor gets better after a few days, while each ingredient marinates in the liquid into a hearty fusion. This soup is reminiscent of that tomato alphabet soup you may have had as a kid, except it’s so good for you. The savory flavor comes from miso instead of salt, plus those floating bits (which aren’t as fun as letters), arrree a protein packed super food! I’ve been thinking about dunking a slightly burned gooey gruyere grilled cheese in my leftovers all day, but when I initially made the soup, I had a salad dressed in elderberry Dijon dressing; inspired by Superfood Kitchen. 

TOMATO QUINOA SOUP:

(QUINOA; the butt of so many hippie jokes, right next to granola. Let em' laugh...they're missing out. Many people think quinoa is a grain, but it's actually the seed of a vegetable. The seed has about 11 grams of protein per half cup and contains all 8 essential amino acids. It also has a good amount of  vitamin E and vitamin B, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. It's the most guilt-free "comfort food" you could imagine.)

(MISO PASTE; Besides the fact that it tastes so salty, I love miso because it has a ton of enzymes, minerals, and vitamins (B-12). Yellow & white miso are the most mild, brown is medium, and red is the strongest most potent of the flavors. For this recipe, I used brown rice miso.

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup tomato paste

6 cups water

1 cup uncooked quinoa

3-4 cups chopped mixed veggies of choice

3 tablespoons brown miso paste

DIRECTIONS:

Add 5 cups water to the tomato paste in a blender and pulse just enough to incorporate.

Pour into a large pot and turn the heat on to medium

Add quinoa and veggies and bring to a boil. Keep on a low boil for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked through and the veggies are tender.

Meanwhile: Pour remaining 1 cup of water and miso into blender. Pulse quickly.

Add the miso mixture to the pot and remove from heat. Serve HOT! I put chopped avocado on top.

If you dig spicy, add some sriracha or cayenne pepper like me. 

(Word of advice: Don’t overcook the vegetables! The chewiness from the broccoli and quinoa are such a good texture contrast to the broth).

KITCHEN SINK SALAD WITH:

PICKLED ONIONS: (chop 1 medium sized onion, put in a jar with 2 cups apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp. sea salt. Shake vigorously for a minute. Strain and keep onions in a sealed jar)

MULBERRY DIJON DRESSING:

Put into blender:

2/3 cups dried mulberries

3 T dijon mustard

½ cup apple juice (OR coconut water. Sounds weird, but it was perfect)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

I added some avocado and ground flax seed! 

(Why mulberries? Mulberries are considered a top anti-aging berry and have a super high concentration of RESVERATROL, which fights radicals in your body that cause inflammation. They're also one of the few fruits to have a level of protein worth noticing.)

P.S. My brother visited me yesterday :). He even brought me eggs from home.

Carrot Orange Ginger Soup

After a lasagna and cookie filled weekend, I felt like I had just cheated on my body if that makes sense. When thinking about what I could have for dinner last night in order to come clean and feel better, one of the (many) favorite soups my Mom makes, came to mind. And to accompany it, some light salad rolls with peanut dipping sauce.

Lucky for us, there are citrus sales everywhere right now, and I'm going to guess just about everyone has a bag of carrots in their fridge they almost forgot about, until now.

Everyone knows chicken soup is good for your immune system. Why? Because your mom says so. No really, it is though. Well THIS soup is even better. It's great for digestion, your immune system, your skin...

The carrots give the soup an earthy full body with lots..and lots of vitamin C, vitamin A, and antioxidants. Garlic and onions are great at removing toxins in your blood cells. These early  flavors team up with fresh orange juice and zest (Also full of vitamin C), and a spicy kick of ginger (that helps in digestion) to make something so fresh, bright, and delicious, you'll have the feeling you're "walkin' on sunshine".
 If you are what you eat, how great is this?

SOUP Ingredients:

1 pound carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1-2 medium-sized onions, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced  (use a garlic squeezer if you have one)

1(2-inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large orange
4 1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable broth)

Salt pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
Fresh parsley to garnish
1/4 cup sour cream, creme fraiche, or greek yogurt

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add vegetables and ginger, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile grate orange to yield 2 teaspoon grated zest.  Juice the orange to yield 1/2 cup juice. 
3. Add chicken stock and orange zest to pan,  bringing it to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. 
4. In a food processor or blender, puree soup in batches until smooth; return to saucepan. 
5. Stir in orange juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Garnish each soup bowl with a little parsley and dollop of sour creme or yogurt.

Salad rolls and dipping sauce have an infinite level of variations. I love the Vietnamese salad rolls at Luna 61 in Tivoli, as well as the ones my friend Lea makes. The ones I make are quite literally salad and avocado rolled up in rice paper. (I use a mandolin to slice the veggies really thin). Cooked shrimp would be great in them, as would some rice vermicelli.

For the sauce: Heat about 2 T peanut butter over low heat. Add some fresh lime juice, soy sauce, and minced garlic, and voila! That's my sauce. Nothing fancy, but it tastes good, so what?