Tag Archives: Soup

Five Ingredient Broccoli Cheese Soup

* Posted on February 12, 2013 by Allie

6 Replies

Mr. Allie has been on a serious dinner-cooking streak lately! He’s on fire! Every night a fabulous meal materializes before my eyes…

This chick is not complaining, I assure you. Much as I love to cook, it’s soooo nice to have the pressure off! And, I still get plenty of opportunities to putter in my kitchen. The kiddies still need to eat, breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. (Many of Mr. Allie’s meals are not-so-kid-friendly. They are, however, extremely Mama-friendly, as evidenced by the extra few pounds I’ve packed on.)

So lately, my five-year-old has been way into soups. (How could anyone not be, at this time of year?) I’m so happy about this! It’s a great way for me to sneak in lots of good nutrition.

He recently got turned on to broccoli-cheese soup by my mom. HA-lelujah! He’s finally opened his mind to green foods!

This is not my mom’s recipe, so hopefully he’ll still go for it. It is super easy and comes together in minutes! I whipped it up for him while he was at half-day kindergarten! I’m really hoping he likes it, as it’s full of healthy veggies, protein, and calcium-rich dairy! Three things I always struggle to get into him.

Empty a carton of chicken (or vegetable) stock into a big pot, and dump a big bag of frozen broccoli florets into it. Get that on a medium-high heat to simmer.

While that is going, get a good quality cheese all shredded up. My son (and I!) really enjoy a good, extra-sharp cheddar.

When the broccoli is nice and tender, add the milk and cream.

Puree until you get the texture you are after. I like mostly smooth, with a few chunks of broccoli still remaining.

Place the pot back on the stove, and add in the cheese, a handful at a time, stirring gently after each addition, until all the cheese is melted and incorporated.

If you like a little extra protein and smokey flavor, you can make this Six-Ingredient Broccoli Cheese Soup, by adding a few handfuls of chopped, cooked ham, or crispy bacon.

Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Author: YinMom YangMom Allie

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

1 32-ounce carton chicken stock
1 14-ounce bag frozen broccoli florets
¾ cup lowfat milk
¾ cup heavy cream
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper, to taste
¼ pound cooked ham or bacon, thinly sliced (optional)

Instructions

In a large pot, simmer the chicken stock and broccoli until tender.
Add the milk and cream, and puree to desired consistency.
Add the cheese, a handful at a time, stirring after each addition, until melted and incorporated.
Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Garnish with ham or bacon, if desired.

Are you into soups lately too? I swear I could eat soup every day at this time of year… What’s your favorite kind? How about your kiddos? Has it taken them more than five years to take a bite of something green?

Creamy Sunchoke Soup

* Posted on January 8, 2013 by Allie

8 Replies

With two little ones, it certainly doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but Mr. Allie and I absolutely adore dining out. Over the years, Philadelphia has made a name for itself as one of the country’s best cities for food. Whenever we get the opportunity, we jump at the chance to try out one of the many fabulous restaurants that’s been making headlines. Recently, Philadelphia magazine listed the top 50 restaurants in the city, and we were pleased (and surprised!) to realize we had been to nearly half of them! Not bad for a family with a nonexistent babysitting budget…!

As much as we love city dining, we are suburbanites, and when we stumble across a hidden gem of a restaurant, that’s also in the ‘burbs, it’s like a double whammy! Great food, atmosphere, service, and a short drive? With no worries about parking? Yes please and THANK YOU!

The other night my mom graciously offered to take the boys for a sleepover, so we didn’t waste any time making a dinner reservation. Mr. Allie had heard good things about Honey, in Doylestown, and we were able to snag a table on relatively short notice (no small feat, if you too are interested in checking it out).

It was everything it’s cracked up to be and MORE! Love at first sight for us. There wasn’t a single thing on the menu we didn’t want to try. It’s a “small plates” kinda place, so we did get to order several things, and each dish was stellar. Our eyes were bigger than our bellies, so we over-ordered (how could we not?), but we weren’t getting mad at bringing leftovers home.

My number one favorite was their cream of sunchoke soup, and I knew instantly that I needed more of it in my life. First thing Monday morning I was scouring my local supermarket for sunchokes, a.k.a.: Jerusalem artichokes, so that I could do my best to recreate Honey‘s magic.

If you’ve never heard of Sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes, they are a tuberous vegetable that is actually not related to the artichoke at all, but rather, in the sunflower family. They look like a piece of ginger or a bulb you would plant in your flower garden. The texture is similar to jicama or a water chestnut, and they have an earthy, nutty, and slightly sweet flavor. I just love them, especially at this time of year, which is the peak of their season.

In this preparation, the goat cheese, pomegranate seeds, and balsamic give a bright, tangy counterbalance to the earthy sunchokes, and the pistachios and chives tie in with their nutty and sweet flavor. The combination is a stroke of pure genius!

Saute the shallot in a little butter until soft and translucent. Add in the garlic (I like to use a garlic press) and saute until fragrant.

Pour the chicken stock over and bring to a gentle simmer.

Wash the sunchokes carefully with a vegetable brush and cut them into pieces that are roughly the same size. Add them to the pot and simmer, covered, until fork-tender, about 20 minutes.

Puree until smooth. Swirl in some half and half…

Garnish with a thick slice of goat’s cheese that’s been rolled in crushed pistachios, and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds, for sweetness and crunch. (Check this out if you’re not sure how to de-seed a pomegranate.)

Drizzle with balsamic reduction (I love this kind. I put that s*** on everything!) and minced chives.

My version could never hold a candle to Honey‘s (I think they must have some fairy dust in their kitchen), but I think it’s a close second! Like heaven in a bowl, and so seasonal to boot! Just what you want to warm up with on a January day…

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, finely minced
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
32 ounces chicken stock
2 pounds sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes
1 cup half and half
salt and pepper, to taste
4 ounces soft goat cheese
½ cup pistachio nuts, shelled and toasted
½ pomegranate, seeded
prepared balsamic glaze, for garnish
finely chopped fresh chives, for garnish

Instructions

In a large pot, saute the shallots in butter until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Cover with chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
Wash the sunchokes and cut them into pieces that are roughly the same size.
Add to the pot, cover, and simmer until fork tender.
Puree, and add the half and half.
Season with salt and pepper.
Roll the goat cheese in the toasted pistachios, and slice into thick rounds.
Place a round of goat cheese into each bowl of soup, and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Garnish with balsamic glaze and chives.

Do you ever try to copycat your favorite restaurant dishes? What have you taken a stab at recently? Was it a success?

Quick and Easy Tomato Soup

* Posted on November 27, 2012 by Allie

6 Replies

This morning we awoke to the most beautiful blanket of snow… It looked so clean and pretty, fluttering down from the sky and covering all the bare tree branches. And it bought me a 30 full minutes (!) of uninterrupted computer time while my little ones made snowmen in the back yard. I still can’t get over my good fortune!

The first snowfall is always such a delight, and this one was a happy surprise. Between the luminous, soft filtered light from my kitchen window, and the rosy cheeks and noses, and frosty fingers of my little ones as they shook the snow off their boots, I just knew today would have to by a bloggy day- and there was no other option but soup.

My five-year-old is way into soup lately. And considering how infuriatingly picky he is about what he will and won’t eat, I’m happy to feed him anything morning, noon, and night, as long as it’s not chips!

This one is easy as can be, with just a few ingredients, and it comes together in about 15 minutes.

Tomato Cheddar Soup

2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 32-ounce box chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Saute the garlic in a little olive oil until fragrant. Add in the crushed tomatoes, stock, and cream and heat until just about to simmer. Add in the cheese and stir, continuously, until melted. Season with onion powder, salt, pepper, and honey.

It’s so comforting and warm in your tummy!

* For a more grown-up version, try substituting freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano or pecorino-romano for the cheddar, and garnish with a chiffonade of fresh basil *

A Very Special Pumpkin Soup

* Posted on October 27, 2012 by Allie

2 Replies

Ok so now that it’s October all we want to do is go on a hayride and pick apples and eat soup from a mug and wear outfits like this, right?

J.Crew turtle neck sweater / Topshop Skinny fit jeans / Etienne Aigner tall boots / Danielle Nicole zipper bag / FOSSIL vintage watch / Stella & Dot vintage earrings / Stella & Dot ball bracelet / J.Crew merino wool hat / 7 Hills Dalmation Print Skinny Belt/ J. Crew Stripe Merino Glittens

And pumpkin! It’s all about the pumpkin, right? Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and my personal favorite: pumpkin soup!

This recipe originates with one of my favorite celebrity chefs. I first saw it on Jamie Oliver’s Christmas special, on my other favorite: Cooking Channel. Watching that show was like being transported to a warm, snug little warren, fragrant with spice and twinkling with fairy lights, with a downy snow falling outside the frosty window… it was magical! So cozy and festive…

“-’ello luv!”

image via

Jamie began by roasting a whole fresh pumpkin and scooping out the contents of another to create a serving vessel for the soup. The food nerd in me was utterly transfixed.

The flavors of the soup were like no other pumpkin soup I had ever tried, fragrant, a little spicy, and very exotic. This sort of thing is right up my alley.

I made it the first chance I got! But I had a bit of trouble getting my hands on some of the ingredients. I did the best I could, and I absolutely loved it! Now I don’t want to wait until Christmas to make it again. This time around, I’m wrapping my hands around a mug of this bad boy in October, and I’ve simplified the recipe to save time and a 25 minute trip to the Asian grocery.

Pumpkin Laksa Soup
modified from Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Dinners

zest of one lime
2-3 chilis, (I like jalapenos or serranos), deseeded and finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled
3 tablespoons finely minced lemongrass
a large handful of fresh cilantro, leaves and stems
1 heaping teaspoon five-spice powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, peeled and finely sliced
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 29-ounce can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons agave nectar or sugar, or to taste
2 14-ounce cans coconut milk
juice of one lime

This soup begins with an aromatic mixture that gets sauteed with the onions. So the first eight ingredients just get buzzed up in the food processor, into a paste.

When I made this soup last year, I made the trek to the Asian grocery for the fresh stalks of lemongrass Jamie calls for. I pulverized the lemongrass stalks as Jamie had instructed, but my finished soup came out with some woody bits. So for this batch, I’m using half a tube of Gourmet Garden Lemongrass Herb Blend, which contains six stalks of chopped fresh organic lemongrass. They have this in the produce section of my local grocery store, near the fresh herbs. It works pretty well!

In a deep-ish pot heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute the onions along with the fragrant paste from the food processor. The aromas are intense!

Once the onions are soft and translucent, you can add in the pumpkin puree and the stock.

Add salt and agave or sugar to taste. At this point I like to get it silky-smooth with the immersion blender, but if you like it chunky you can skip this step.

Now, Mr. Oliver likes to cook some rice into this soup now. I personally could take rice or leave it. It makes it heartier, so if that is what you are after, here is my expert opinion on the subject:

If you think you will be eating the entire pot of soup in one sitting (the recipe serves six to eight, so maybe like if it’s for a party?), then stir in the rice and let it simmer and cook in the soup (about 20 minutes or until softened). This is what I did the first time I made it and my first few bowls were wonderful! But as the soup sat in my fridge, the rice made it really gummy and thick. So if you want to savor a heartier soup over several days, just ladle it over a bowl of pre-cooked rice.

Today I chose to forgo the rice in hopes of cutting down on the carbs.

Right before serving, swirl in some sweet, creamy coconut milk love…

…squeeze a lime wedge over, and garnish with some cilantro leaves.

Oh, kids! OOOOOOH, Kids!

This soup is like a mug full of Fall- the earthy sweetness of pumpkin, spice, and ginger, with a little lingering bright freshness of cilantro and lime, all warm and creamy delicious… Sage and bacon are good and all, but this pumpkin soup is on a whole different level!

What are your favorite things to do/foods to eat at this time of year? Leave me a comment and lets have a little chat!

Summer’s Bounty

* Posted on July 12, 2012 by Allie

4 Replies

Allie

Look the backyard vegetable garden my Mr. put together earlier this season:

Isn’t it a work of art? I am so very proud of his hard work. Out here in the boonies, (where I grew up and now find myself again), vegetable gardens are a common sight in most backyards. Nevertheless, I’m thoroughly impressed with the farming skills of my rather citified husband…

Even if you don’t have a backyard vegetable garden, delicious summer fruits and vegetables are hard to miss right now. Supermarkets, farmers markets, and roadside stands bursting with fresh produce seem to be everywhere you look. Take advantage of the best summer has to offer, with an easy summertime classic that’s so simple to prepare, you don’t even need to cook it!

Who doesn’t enjoy a cool, refreshing bowl of fresh gazpacho? I’ve liked it as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until I tasted the real deal, on my honeymoon in Spain, that I truly fell in love.

Most of the gazpacho I had tried up until that point was a lot like a soupy salsa. Lots of chunky veg blended together and served cold. Nice. But true Gazpacho Andaluz is a completely different animal. Velvety smooth, pale in color, and so rich and creamy you almost can’t believe it’s completely free of dairy.

Allie’s Gazpacho Andaluz

3-4 baguette slices
1/2 cup water
1 cucumber
2 large, ripe tomatoes
1/2 red bell pepper
3 scallions, green part only
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)

Start by trimming off and discarding the crusts of the bread. Soak the bread in water.

While that’s soaking, peel your cucumber and halve it lengthways. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon.

Cut the tomatoes into quarters, remove the core, and squeeze the seeds out. This really isn’t as difficult as it maybe sounds. I just run my thumb inside all the little tomato crevices and squish the seeds out.

Now just hack the bell pepper and the scallions up a bit, and throw all the veg into the bowl of the blender.

Scoop up the soggy bread, squoosh out all the excess water, (there’s a lot of squooshing going on in this recipe), and throw that into the blender too. You can also add in the olive oil, bready water, sherry vinegar, salt, agave, and garlic powder. (I like garlic powder because to me it’s a little less sharp than raw garlic.)

Let it buzz for a good long time, so it gets nice and smooth.

Set up a strainer over a big bowl. I especially like the kind with the pour spout, so you won’t even have to dirty up a ladle. I get pretty lazy when it’s hot outside…

Pour in the soup and let it strain. You can speed up the process by stirring it around in the strainer.

Serve it mercifully cold and garnish as you wish! (I’ve used some sliced scallions and a dribble of olive oil.)

Here is a 4×6″ printable recipe card for you: Gazpacho Andaluz Recipe Card, but please just use it as a rough guide. You can use as much or as little of any ingredient as you like. You can even swap out ingredients! And, as for the seasonings (salt, agave, and vinegar), you really just want to taste and decide for yourself. A lot will depend on the produce you begin with.

Do you like to grow your own food? What is your favorite seasonal summer ingredient? How do you like to put your bumper crop to use? Are you feeling pretty lazy these days, too? I’m hoping nobody drops by unexpectedly and sees the layer of dust that is accumulating… if so maybe I can distract them with a nice cold bowl of soup.

Rapunzel’s Favorite

* Posted on January 24, 2012 by Allie

2 Replies

I’m so grateful to this woman. My daughter’s been begging for this soup!

This one goes out to all those other families out there, like mine, with Disney dvd’s seemingly on an endless loop… they must be getting into my subconscious.

Do you remember that scene at the beginning of Tangled, where Rapunzel is so excited to tell Mother Gothel what she wants for her 18th birthday? Mother Gothel wants nothing of it, and keeps trying to sidetrack Rapunzel with her favorite. “I’ve got parsnips!”, she sing-songs, “I’m going to make your favorite, hazelnut soup!”

Sounds delicious to me…

Well, Mother Gothel was not giving that recipe up, (I’m pretty sure she plunged from that tower to her death…) so I had to get creative.

Incidentally, this soup would be a perfect compliment to my brie, pear, sage, and bacon grilled cheese.

Parsnip Soup with Hazelnut Sage Brown Butter

2 leeks
8 medium-sized parsnips
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups milk, preferably whole
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup hazlenuts (sometimes called filberts)
2 sprigs fresh sage

Start by removing the tough, grungy looking tops of your leeks.

Now run your knife down the length of the leek.

It’s pretty scuzzy in there.

Not appetizing. But don’t worry, it’s an easy fix. Chop the halved leeks crosswise and put them in a big bowl. Now fill the bowl with cold water.

Swish it all around with your hands and then just let that sit a spell, (all the grit will fall to the bottom of the bowl), and start on the parsnips. Peel them with a veggie peeler and then chop them into pieces.

If you’ve never had a parsnip, it tastes like a really intense carrot, with a little peppery bite to it. Very sweet and very seasonal right now, if you like to do that seasonal thang..

Put the parsnips into the hot oil in a large saucepan and let them soften up and get a little browned.

Now fish the leeks out of their cool bath and add them to the pot. When you see their color start to go brighter, pour in the stock.

Clap on a lid and let it just simmer away for a half-hour or so, or until those parsnips are falling-apart tender.

Grab your immersion blender and whiz it all up with the milk.

Give it a few scratches of fresh nutmeg and some salt and pep.

Now it’s time to start the brown butter, which, I might add, makes this soup. Toast the hazelnuts.

I like to do mine in the toaster oven, but if you don’t have one, you can just roll them around in a dry pan over a medium heat. You can tell when they’re done because they grab you by the nose.

Put the butter in a saute pan and start it melting on a medium heat. Meanwhile, give the nuts a rough chop.

When the butter starts foaming and sizzling, just throw in the hazelnuts and the sage. Now it’s really going to get angry…

It makes a lot of noise but it’s just a harmless pussycat.

When the butter has calmed itself down, you might notice it has mellowed out to a toasty brown color. Drizzle some over your bowl of silky parsnip goodness…

…and they all lived happily ever after…

Click here for an awesome accompaniment: Brie, Pear, Sage, and Bacon Grilled Cheese

and click here for a printable 4×6 recipe card: Parsnip Soup with Hazelnut Sage Brown Butter Recipe Card

This sounds weird, but it’s good.

* Posted on December 23, 2011 by yinmomyangmom

It Must Be That Time of Year

* Posted on December 12, 2011 by Allie

1 Reply

Knows the power of a good soup and a trashy TV show.

Sorry if anyone finds this post to be a little redundant, in light of the fact that I just recently posted another soup recipe. What can I say? Something about a frosty December Sunday afternoon just makes me want to curl up with a steamy bowl of deliciousness…

Baked Potato Soup
4 slices of smoky bacon
3 potatoes
1 medium onion
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups good quality extra –sharp cheddar
3 or 4 scallions
½ cup heavy cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice up your bacon into little rectangles (lardon)…

Throw them into a soup pot. I like to start them in a cold pan and put them on a low heat. It seems to really draw out the fat and crisp them up nice without burning.
While those are getting warmed up, dice up your potatoes…

Keep an eye on your lardon and give them a stir every now and then so they don’t stick and so they can brown evenly. These are coming along nicely…

As they continue along on their journey, you can busy yourself with chopping the onion…
And grating the cheese…

These look perfect now. I’d take them out when they look just a little bit shy of perfect, they will continue to cook a bit as they cool.
Pull them out with a slotted spoon and drain them on some paper towels.

Now chuck your potatoes into the hot bacon fat and season them generously. Potatoes can handle a good bit of salt and pepper. Stir ‘em around and give them a head start, then, in go the onions…

If there is a heaven I imagine it smells like potatoes and onions frying in bacon fat!
While all this is cooking, you can slice up your scallions thinly…

After a few minutes, the onions will start to look translucent. Now you can pour in the chicken stock…

Put a lid on it so it can simmer and steam until everything is soft and mushy.
This is how much cheese and scallions I ended up with, after it was all shredded and chopped. I pulled my scallions from our vegetable garden. Amazingly, they are still alive despite the biting cold, and even more amazingly, they are ginormous. They look like Fred Flintstone grew them. If you are buying your scallions at the grocery store or farmers’ market, they will probably be smaller, so I’m showing this photo so you can adjust your amounts accordingly.

Once your potatoes are nice and soft, give them a buzz with the immersion blender but leave some chunks for texture. Then toss in the cheese and scallions.Sir it all around a bit to melt.

Then drizzle in the cream…

And garnish with the crispy bacon bits…

Eat it on your couch with a blanket over your lap and an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians on your TV.

Corn Chowder Yum

* Posted on December 7, 2011 by Allie

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