Souperlicious: Sweatin' To The Oldies

"The guy who runs the place is a little temperamental, especially about the ordering procedure. He's secretly referred to as the Soup Nazi."

"Why? What happens if you don't order right?"

"He yells and you don't get your soup."

- Jerry and Elaine, in "The Soup Nazi"

Fall is the perfect time of year to make soups. With an abundance of veggies in harvest, it's the perfect way to "hide" our favourite food group. I've never really been a fan of soups - mainly because I've based my opinion on the canned and packaged soups which I find too bland or salty. But after seeing my co-worker bring in some delicious home-made soups, I decided it was time to turn down that nose, roll up the sleeves and enroll in a soup class through the town of EG. For $45 I learned how to make 5 different soups in 6 hours and the best part was we took home the leftovers. Actually, the best part was being surrounded by so many foodies who share a passion for cooking!

What did I learn? I think the most important thing i learned was to let your veggies "sweat" before adding water. You can achieve this by cooking them on low in either butter or olive oil. A healthy substitute is vegetable stock but I find the butter or oil taste better.

Another great tip is adding the dry spices at the beginning when the veggies are sweating. If you're going to use fresh herbs than throw them in near the end of the soup cooking process because the flavour doesn't last as long and they can get mushy.

So if you're thinking about making the following soups, give me a shout and i'll do my best to add my two cents.

• Curried Carrot
• Hot Sausage, Lentils, Spinach
• Black Bean
• Lemon, Kale & White Bean
• Potato & Leek

Dear Vegetables: Can We Change Our Relationship Status?

Dear Vegetables,

I'm sorry you haven't been part of my life lately. When I was little, I had to eat you everyday and, well I just felt the relationship was one sided. So I ended it. Actually, I cheated on your first with Mr. Chocolate Bar. I know. I was young and vulnerable then. I hope you can forgive my foolish ways.

Today, I'm writing you this letter to say I'm back. I thought the V8 experience was a one night stand but it made me realize how much I need you. From this day on, I vow to eat you regularly. No more sidedish label for you. I'm ready for a full commitment... actually for facebook purposes I'd like to be in an open relationship so I can still have meat products in the picture.

Let's meet tonight for dinner.

Ok so corny. BUT the point is I'm taking a vegetable challenge. I'm going to try and have veg's at every meal (breakfast may be a challenge but i'm up for it). Now lets get one thing straight here people. I'm NOT going on a VEGETABLE ONLY diet. That would be silly and unhealthy. I'm making a public pledge to eat more vegetable's because Canada's Food Guide said so. Actually, the eat tracker tool through Dietitians of Canada website is pretty cool.

So.... let the eating begin (tomorrow though cuz I have to go grocery shopping ha!)

Parsley: More than A Garnish

Parsley is more than just a pretty face. I have a few parsley plants growing in the garden and decided to use a few to use in my pasta dish tonight. I pulled out the good ol spice bible and here's what I've learned:

In medieval times, parsley was surrounded by much superstition - one being that the long germination period for the seeds was to allow them to travel to hell and back seven times before sprouting. Some farmers refused to transplant parsley, and some were too afraid to grow it at all! In the 17th century the early colonists took parsley to America and it never looked back.

Here are a few dishes it compliments quite well:

• Omelets, scrambled eggs and savory souffles
• Mashed potatoes
• Tabouleh
• Soups
• Pasta dishes
• Sauces for fish and poultry
  

Combines well with:

• basil
• arugula
• bay leaves
• chives
• dill
• garlic
• mint
• rosemary
• sage
• oregano
• thyme

Storage:

I keep most of my herbs in an herb keeper (I sell them through pampered chef if you need one). You can also freeze parsley (never tried it but might this winter).

As you can see this versatile plant is more than just a garnish. Next time you're cooking, add a little parsley love and let me know how it goes

It's Da Bomb!

Herbs...

Last year, Adam bought me a spice bible for christmas and although i've flipped through it, I have to admit I haven't used it as much as I should. So i'm going to devote one blog a week to an herb or spice and educate myself and you about different ways you can use it. Last saturday I hit up the Bradford Farmers Market on a hunt for mint and to my disappointment they were all sold out. The friendly farmer offered me some lemon balms as an alternative. For $1.50 I thought.. why not?

Thanks to google, I found out that the lemon balm is a perennial in the mint family. Its use is both medicinal and culinary, often used to flavour ice cream, teas, fish and pesto (this plant had me at ice cream).

So thanks to Vitality Magazine, here's a yummy recipe for lemon pesto

Serve this pesto with fish, chicken and seafood or toss 3 tablespoons with 2 cups cooked rice for a zesty side dish.
(Makes: 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup natural almonds
2 cups fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh lemon balm
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
Salt
In a food processor or blender, combine garlic and almonds. Process for 20 seconds or until chopped. Add basil, lemon balm, Parmesan cheese and lemon zest. Process for 30 to 40 seconds or until chopped. With motor running, add lemon juice and then add olive oil in a steady stream through opening in the lid. Keep adding oil, 1/4 cup (50 mL) at a time, and blending until pesto has reached the desired consistency. Taste and add salt as required, process 3 seconds to blend.
Store: Cover tightly and keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Recipes adapted with permission from The Vegetarian Cook’s Bible by Pat Crocker (Robert Rose: Toronto, 2007).

Budding Ideas

I swore to never blog, but after reading so many good, bad and sometimes ugly blogs, I decided that someone out there might be interested in something I have to say (even if it's just my mom!)

The great thing about the social media world is the opportunity for geeks or should i say gleeks, to unite and talk about their hobbies. For me that's food. Being the oldest of three girls and having two working parents, I would come home from school to find a long honey-do list that always started with, empty the dishwasher, start dinner, do homework. My first dishes were naturally KD, Hot dogs, and the odd time, Taco's. Since then I've developed a knack for cooking and discovered that its really stealing other people's recipe and adding a dash of love and pinch of....(yes I stole that from Monica Gheller from Friends but what can I say, she's my role model).

Ok i love food so much that I took a 4th year course in university called Food Politics - the one text book i opted not to sell.

Moving to Bradford has opened my eyes to a whole new way of viewing food. Being the "Salad Bowl" of Ontario, the Holland Marsh has some of the richest soil in the country. With over 125 farms, you are bound to find a vegetable you like (by the way there's over 40 veg's to choose from).

Maybe I've gone "Native" (I knew that anthropology class would come in hand) but being surrounded by so many farmers, Adam and I decided to start our own veggie garden.

Ok so this picture is a little dated (pre sod, soil and plants). So far my radishes are winning the race and I've already picked 3 to eat.

I'm not sure what the blogging etiquette is on length (is anyone even still reading?) so I guess I should shut up and do some more research for my next entry.