Cream of Mushroom Soup: What To Do When a Good Mushroom Goes Bad

If you're like me, you have a busy fridge. You know, leftover spaghetti, some baked ham for brekkie, maybe a roasted squash or two kicking around. Maybe you even have a bunch of mushrooms kicking around that you overbought for a recent kid's birthday party because you forgot that kids DON'T LIKE MUSHROOMS, MOM. So. They're not bad mushrooms, per se, just slightly neglected and maybe they slipped your mind and need to be acknowledged RIGHT NOW. This is a great soup for that! You can use them all up and they will stop staring at you with their slightly browning rounded edges every time you open up the crisper. Somebody help, I've gone too far into the analogy!!

 

Anyway! Easy fast soup using kitchen staples! Somewhat healthier even! It is snowing like a mofo here and a day in the kitchen is just what the foodie ordered.

Sorta Lasaga Soup: SHV

Quite a while ago, I read this recipe in a shared space and was interested in blogging / sharing it; but had some issues with provenance. For one thing, the person that posted the recipe wasn't the author, but where she got it from wasn't the originator either. Messy! Plus I really don't know how any of that works.

So, I decided to do the recipe anyway, almost a year later, but with all the changes I thought would make it all the more awesome, and also somewhat healthier along the way. And voila!! Zut alors! And alla that jazz (hands!).

You will need:

600 g hot Italian turkey sausage (8 med in this case)
2 tsp Olive oil, divided (NEVER EVOO for cooking! Nevair!!)
Chili flakes
2 med onions
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
4-6 cloves of garlic
1-156 ml can tomato paste
1-2 tsp oregano
Salt, pepper
2 bay leaves
796 ml  (28oz) can diced tomatoes
6 c chicken stock ( I use unsalted-ish)
3 c egg noodles, 4.5 oz (I use No-Yolks brand out of habit, but whatever you have is fine)

Optional: 6 oz light shredded cheese

Not pictured: bay leaves. It's always SOMETHING!

Prep!! First, de-skin your sausages (not a euphemism); I've found that the easiest way to do that is to cut along one side, like zo:



Then just peel them off around. Voila! Touche! Lots of other words that mean Easy Peasy!

Heat one teaspoon of the oil in a large, heavy bottom pot. They make the cooking world go round.

Add the sausages and chili flakes, breaking the meat into bite-sized chunks.

While that is cooking (jk, you know  did it in advance. But you totally could do it while the sausage is cooking), chop the onions and peppers.

When the meat is all nicely browned, scoop it out and set aside.

I absolutely HAVE to take a picture every time I see a nice fond like that. Lookit it!!

Add the remaining teaspoon of olive oil and the onions and peppers, cook stirring over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Now mince your garlic! No earlier. The air does things to it.

Add in the garlic, cook for ONE MINUTE ONLY.One!!

Add in the can of tomato paste, cook for 3 or 4 minutes until it turns a dark rust colour.

Add in 1 teaspoon of oregano, salt, pepper and return the sausage to the pot. Stir until well mixed. Coat that sausage (also not a euphemism).

Add in the tomatoes, stock and bay leaves, and another bitta oregano. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the lid, add in the egg noodles and cook for 10 more minutes or until the pasta is tender.

This is a very big soup, it makes 6 very healthy-sized portions at 294 calories per serving. 



To make it more lasagna-ish, you can top it with as little or as much cheese as you would like. This is half an ounce of light cheddar blend, but I also recommend adding Parmesan. People use cottage or ricotta in the bowl, more power to you. Just add in the calories and Bob will be your uncle.

Enjoy!

Sausage & Bean Soup

I've made variations of this soup over the years; I typically use lentils but a friend mentioned Cannellini beans (white kidney beans) one day, so I immediately decided to give them a shot. Yes, I am just that suggestible. I only wish I was kidding. Also, any reason for beans AND sausage!

You will need:

2 tsp oil (not EVOO ever for cooking!)
1 lb hot Italian turkey sausages, (or mild, should you be a baby. or be feeding a baby)
1/4 tsp chili flakes (see above note re: feeding babies); optional
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, about 1 1/2 c
2 stalks celery
1 c carrots, about 2 medium
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp tomato paste
900 ml chicken stock - I am using no-salt-added
1 540 ml can Cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans)
5 c kale (about a small bunch
Salt, pepper, 1 tsp thyme
2 c water

First, prep! Should you have sausages that have a casing, remove it. Otherwise, it's easier to cook them whole and slice up after. Dice your celery, chop your carrots, mince your garlic. To prep your leeks, first you want to slice off the dark green tops (save for stock!) and cut the white and light green parts into 3 inch chunks, about like zo:

Slice them lengthwise and rinse the layers under running water. You would not believe the crud that gets in there. King Crud of Crudtown has set up shop there, you need to wash that crud right out of your food. Crud.dy.

Cut each half lengthwise three to four times, depending on width, and dice finely.

People always ask why leeks instead of onions (okay, my mom always asks); I just like the different nuances of flavour that leeks have. Milder, but warmer. Man, I sound like a food hippie. Namaste, betches! Cut your kale into ribbons; I find the easiest way to get the spine off the leaves is to run a paring knife along the hardest part.

Prep all done!

Now we begin: heat the oil in a large Dutch oven, add in the sausages, breaking apart into bite-sized chunks as you go. Unless you have the casing-less sausages, then cook them whole and slice after, reserving juices. I suggest using a flat-edged wooden spoon, but then of course I do. I love them. This is when you could add in the chili flakes, should you want to spice things up.

When the sausages are all browned, remove and set aside somewhere relatively warm. Add the leeks, carrots and celery into the pot, stirring to scrape up any browned sausage bits. Drool. After about 5 minutes, when they feel pretty much softened, add in the garlic and cook for one more minute. Just one!

Stir in the 2 Tbsp tomato paste, salt and pepper. Cook until it darkens and starts to stick to the bottom, 2-3 minutes. Ish.

Dump in the chicken stock, using your flat-edged spoon to scrape any brown stuff off the sides. Oh yes, we want ALLS the fond and flavour in our pot.

Add in the rinsed Cannellini beans, sausages, kale and 1tsp thyme. I read somewhere that the beans won't break down if there is too much salt, I hold off on adding any more s&p until the end. If it seems as though there isn't enough liquid, add up to 2 cups of water, until all is covered. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Check about halfway through, see how the flavour is developing and if the beans are starting to soften. After 20 minutes, add salt and pepper, check your beans. Should be lovely.

This breaks down into 6 big servings, at 262 calories each, which is toadilly awesome. You could add some bread, a glass of milk and be right at or under the recommended 400 - 500 calorie per meal guideline.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Soup

We are still in the deep freeze, but at least it feels more season-appropriate. Totally fine for -40 AFTER Christmas. Okay, not really, but when we make up rules like that, we feel more in control. Canadians! Masters of self-delusion! At any rate, a friend mentioned black bean soup the other day and I haven't been able to get it oot of my head. Here's what I came up with.

You will need:

1 tsp butter
2 leeks
1 small carrot
1 celery stalk
3 garlic cloves
2 cans black beans (540 ml each) - rinsed, for the love of all that is holy
6-ish stalks cilantro
3 c chicken stock (or vegetable stock, should you want to make this vegetarian)
28 oz can diced tomatoes
Salt, pepper, ground cumin

Prep! Dice your carrots and celery, mince your garlic. Separate the stems from the leaves on the cilantro stalks, set leaves aside. Mince the stems.

Leeks are a little different. Cut off the dark green tops, set aside for stock (haven't tried them yet in there, totally going to!) and rinse the insides of the white / light green parts. You would not believe how dirty it is in there. Guh-ross. Cut the ends off, then slice lengthwise. Rinse under running water, pulling apart the layers. Then slice lengthwise into three pieces, then crosswise. You know, make them smaller. Exactly how is not important.

Heat the butter in a large Dutch oven, add in the leeks, carrot, minced cilantro stems and celery. Cook until somewhat softened, about 4-6 minutes. Add in the garlic, cook for only one more minute. Just one! Or until you can smell it, so maybe 30 seconds.

Add in the (rinsed, right?? don't skip this step, for reals) beans, chicken stock, tomatoes, salt, pepper and about a teaspoon of ground cumin. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Let simmer for 20 minutes, tasting about halfway through. Probably needs more pepper. And cumin. Maybe even some salt.

Remove the lid, let simmer for five more minutes while you chop up the cilantro leaves into thin slivers. My old cooking instructor would insist that I call this en chiffonade, but it really isn't that fancy. Slivers! Add in the cilantro leaves, cook for five more minutes, done!

This also came out to 6 big cup and a half servings, at 243 calories each, with an unreal amount of fibre and protein. Hey! I just realised this could also be vegetarian! And it's not even Wednesday!

Enjoy!

Roasted Garlic Potato Chow-dair

I had a bunch of roasted garlic left over from the mayo the other day, so I figured I would put it to good use in a yummy soup, mostly because it has been ALMOST -40 the last couple of days. Gross! Anyway, I used red-skinned potatoes, because that's what I had, but really, you should use russet. That's what all the cool kids say. I also threw in cauliflower because I get all excited when I see something in which I can potentially hide vegetables.

You will need:

2 slices bacon (I like reduced-sodium because I like to suck the fun out of everything)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 large carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 heads roasted garlic
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp thyme
Salt, pepper
1/4 c white wine
4 c chicken stock
1 lb red-skinned potatoes, diced
2 c cauliflower, chopped
2 c milk

Lots of prep! Dice your potatoes, carrot and celery, chop everything else finely. Cut the bacon into small chunks. Don't make your potatoes too small, say about half a centimetre across. Gotcha! Slipped in the metric system when you weren't looking. Don't worry about your cauliflower being any particular size, you just want it relatively easy to break down. Now, start! If you haven't any roasted garlic already (whaaat? doesn't everyone have 9 roasted bulbs just kicking around??), see here for instructions

Brown the bacon in a large Dutch oven, remove the bits and set aside.

Add in the onions, celery and carrot, cook until softened, 3-5 minutes.

Add in a head and a half's worth of roasted garlic, about 10 cloves. Cook for one more minute. Add in the 2 Tbsp flour and 1 tsp of thyme, stirring to combine. Add in salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, until it starts to stick to the bottom.

Deglaze with the wine, stirring to scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom. Cook until the wine is all gone, then add in the chicken stock, potatoes, cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes and cauliflower have softened.

Taste! Re-season as necessary. I like to break up the potatoes a bit, using a potato masher, but you could also use a hand-held blender. I prefer the masher because I like to leave chunks, but it you are into smooth soup, use one by all means.

Turn the heat up a smidge and add in the milk. Using a garlic press, crush the rest of the roasted garlic cloves into the soup - about 4 or 5. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes or so, uncovered, until it has thickened somewhat. Taste again! More pepper, probably. More thyme for sure. Make it so!

I garnished each bowl with the cooked bacon from the beginning and portioned this into 6 1 1/2 c servings at 209 calories per. Add on a slice of whole wheat, whole grain bread and some butter, good to go for supper or lunch on a really FREAKING cold day.

Enjoy!