December’s Favorite – Clear Tomato Soup

December is one month we should all take advantage of Nature's bounty in baskets of red tomatoes everywhere.

But you will need only four large hothouse tomatoes for four cups of this Clear Tomato Soup. A delightful soul food I have grown up on. I don’t garnish the clear broth of tomato with croutons or elaborate herbs if I am drinking it straight from a cup, but if you do want to dress it up, I suggest herbs like fresh basil or even the humble coriander to be added only when you turn the heat off on the soup.

Ingredients for Clear Tomato Soup are:

4 large vine-ripened tomatoes, washed and quartered
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
2 beets (optional), halved
3-4 fat cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt

In a pressure cooker, toss in the tomatoes, garlic, beets, onion, pepper powder, sugar and salt. Add four-five cups of water. (I add the beets for an extra red color to my broth, if you don’t have them, omit them from your recipe.)

Cook till three-four whistles go off. Don’t rush opening the pressure cooker, let all the steam release on its own. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, cook the tomatoes in a stockpot with a tight lid on medium heat for about 20 minutes till the tomatoes are mushy.

Sieve the broth on a larger bowl, mashing the tomato mixture with a ladle to strain all the juices out. Check the seasoning, and adjust accordingly. Stir in a little butter and pour into mugs or soup bowls. Serve hot.

These mugs of Clear Tomato Soup are perfect for a cold snap. Let it snow then, my hands and soul will remain warm thus.

Soul Seduction with Beef-Barley Soup

My soup repertoire is quite limited. But this 50ish lady at P’s office cafeteria was giving me some long distance competition. Every time, P did not take lunch from home, he invariably has the Beef-Barley Soup served at his work’s cafeteria. Apparently its his favorite soup. Now that sure was NEWS.

No wife likes competition from another woman. Even if its the harmless soup lady.

After some help from Google and Food Network, I created my husband’s favorite soup today. Ladies and gentlemen, applaud my maiden attempt at Beef Barley Soup, since you cannot slurp on it.

Ingredients for Beef-Barley Soup are:

300 grams oxtail
400 grams boneless beef stew pieces
Half cup (heaped) pearl barley
1 medium size onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
3-4 fat cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Freshly crushed black pepper
Salt

Cook the oxtail and beef stew pieces with the bay leaves, salt and pepper. I added about 8-9 cups of water in my stock pot. It took me about one hour to do so, until the meat was tender. Skim any fat from the surface with a ladle.

Separate the meat from the stock and shred them. Discard the bones from the oxtail pieces.

In a stockpot, heat the canola oil, sauté the minced garlic without browning it. Add the celery, onions and carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes.

 
Add the barley and mix well with the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the barley and vegetables are coated well with salt and pepper and the cooking oil, add the pieces of beef. Give it a good mix and then add the beef stock and Worcestershire sauce.

Cook covered on a slow heat for one hour or so, stirring continuously. The barley will plump up and soak some of the liquid. Add a little water if the stock is soaked up.

Check the seasoning one last time and adjust accordingly. Turn the heat off and add the chopped parsley to the soup.

Serve the Beef-Barley Soup hot with your favorite bread for a complete meal that is guaranteed to seduce your soul. And your spouse.

And guess what my husband is taking for lunch tomorrow!

Chicken Soup for a Cause

There is nothing remotely romantic about men who talk to your breasts. Its uncomfortable and downright disgusting to have someone stare at you in a manner which is not only inappropriate but also comes close to being “unlawful”.

The Blog world is full of posts on Pink Power and the cause and awareness of Breast Cancer, well there is another kind of cancer that affects individuals with breasts!

I was still naive in my first job at a large encyclopedia company. I was also very aware of the fact that every time I talked to a certain male colleague, I “mesmerized” him in a way which was all too new for me. His eyes remained transfixed. The gaze just wouldn’t shift. Initially I thought it was me. The next few times I had the need to talk to him, I would shield myself with the latest edition of The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus. But his peering gaze bore through its hard covers. Neither Merriam nor Webster could provide an armor for me.

I talked about it to another colleague. Apparently she was a victim too. Soon, we were all talking about the man who stared at… And he did not even look like George Clooney!!

I was definitely not alone.

In my last life in an ITES corporation, I was no more naive, no more the duckling trying to become a swan. I was the swan in four-inch stilettos. And my hawk eyes met another such highly placed honcho, who was in the habit of having conversations with the chest.

The first time he talked corporate policies and tools and technology in the Knowledge Management domain to my breasts, I did brush it off thinking it was my imagination (read paranoia).

The second time, I was not so kind. As his stare shifted, so did I, on my swivel chair. I slid in my seat to meet his eyes. I stooped low to meet his gaze. But it was all worth it. He never looked at me again. Not even my eyes.

This Chicken Soup is not related in anyway to the above incidents (or the people), except that I used chicken breast portions for my soup which is now becoming a highly recommended source of calm and cure when the mind is racing and the nose is runny.

Ingredients for my Chicken Soup are:

2 portions of chicken breasts
One small onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon very finely chopped ginger
Half cup finely chopped green beans
Half cup finely chopped carrots
Half cup green peas
Half cup chopped coriander/cilantro
1 tablespoon butter
Black pepper
Salt

Make the broth by boiling the portions of chicken, onion, salt and pepper with 6-7 cups of water. Cook covered.

Remove the boiled chicken pieces and shred.

Just before you are ready to have the soup, crank the heat up of the broth, when its come to a raging boil, add the chicken, ginger, green beans, carrots and peas. And butter.

Turn the heat off after about 3-4 minutes. The idea is to keep the vegetables crunchy and retain their color.

Remove from the stove and add the chopped coriander. Lots of it. Cooking the soup with the coriander in will result in darker leaves which are not too pleasing, just like the looks of these men.

Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Make It Tonight

I am always looking out for ideas and inspirations for dinner. Most nights I have what is proverbially a chef’s block.

Yesterday’s dinner was about quickly putting a meal together with some inspirations peeping out from the fridge (remember those black olives and the remaining couscous?) and some fresh white mushrooms and pork tenderloin.

After a rain-drenched afternoon, the idea of a hot soup was all too comforting and the soup of the evening ended up in a bowl of Cream of Mushroom Soup, actually my first time in making a mushroom soup. Nothing fancy, just some unsalted butter melted in a pan and the chopped red onion sautéed in it. Adding flour little by little, so as not to form clumps and then tossing in all that freshly chopped mushrooms. A simple seasoning of salt and pepper and some drizzle of heavy cream. Isn't that the most easy thing to do and under 20 minutes – prep to cook time!
Did you know in Chinese culture its okay to slurp your soup? So curl your stiff upper lip and s-l-u-rrrrrrrr-p.

Oil has always been a cause of worry for everyone whether its deep water or dietary. I have had many anxious moments each time I have wiped off oily fingers from biting on to that chicken or fish finger. Well, this variation of “fingers” made with some lean pork tenderloin may just quell your calorie-intake worries.

Cut thin strips of any meat that you choose – fish, chicken or pork work best. Dust them with corn starch and sprinkle some salt and pepper.

Dip them in an egg batter and roll them in bread crumbs. This is where you don’t turn them into unhealthy chunks of meat. We throw them in the oven at 350 °C with TWO teaspoons oil drizzled over them and bake each side till they turn golden brown. It usually takes about 20-25 minutes.

I made a yogurty version of the mustard-honey dip to go with the Pork Fingers.

Mix together plain yogurt, honey and old style wholegrain mustard. Enliven the taste of your Pork Fingers with this sweet-tangy dip!

 
After a soup and a starter, I went ahead and did a room-temperature couscous salad with pomegranate, broiled corn kernels, garden greens and that one leftover sprig of basil.   This is the freshest a Moroccan-inspired Couscous Salad can get. Toss everything together in a large bowl with the already cooked couscous, throw in a handful of very finely chopped red onion, some garden greens, kalamata olives, torn basil leaves and some freshly squeezed lemon juice. Add EVOO, salt and white pepper. Serve.

Some things in life are simple. And it never hurts if its this easy.

So what’s your meal plan for tonight?

A Hard Day’s Night & Fried Noodle Soup Delight

I come back today with the promise of a soup recipe for my friend RS, who lives by herself and often works late. By the time she comes back home, she is so dog-tired that the idea of cooking something for herself does not appeal to her at all. She ends up eating out and then burning calories on the treadmill!

I have been there and done that too! Hence my experiments with food often are results of my own experiences.
RS, this soup is for you and hundreds of bachelorettes who fly high but like the comfort of their own kitchen. Ingredients for Fried Noodle Soup are:

6 cups broth/stock (vegetable or chicken)
1 cup fried noodles
Half cup bean sprouts
One and half cup bok choy, stems removed
Few flowerets of broccoli
Handful of very finely sliced green onions
Quarter cup julienned carrots
Handful of cilantro leaves
2 tablespoon dark soy sauce 
1 tablespoon green chili sauce
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Little dice of unsalted butter
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Fry the noodles in oil till crispy, drain excess oil on paper towels and keep aside.

In a large open mouth sauce pan, boil the stock with little butter and add all the vegetables one by one – starting from the most hardy. Season with soy sauce, chili sauce, and black pepper powder. Check on the salt as soy sauce already is salty.

We don’t need to cook the vegetables, its important to maintain the crunch and the color in this soup.

Ladle out the soup in bowls and top it with the fried noodles. Garnish with green onions and cilantro leaves.

I wouldn’t suggest making this soup ahead of time, as it is important not to have soggy vegetables in it. Cook and serve only when you are about to eat.Comfort food on your couch will never let you down! Ask the boys from The Beatles…

Bowl Asylum

My tonsils are kissing each other today. I have to be more careful in this weather and the Spring allergies. Thankfully the sub-zero days are behind us. But I think last night’s iced tea did it.

My Mum always made me thin chicken soup whenever I had my infamous tonsil-sinus bouts. And Ma (my Mother-in-law) used to give me this bowl of broth with freshly squeezed lemon juice, some chopped garlic and fresh cracked black pepper to cure me of my cold. But I was in no mood for either. Since I am my own boss here, I settled for something filling so I wouldn’t have to cook dinner. A bowlful of Chicken Sweet Corn Soup with some bread sticks seemed quite dependable. Not to mention the extra chopped chilies I put in my bowl.

I don’t think any of you need a recipe for this soup. I will let the photos speak for themselves. Plus I can’t talk much; gola’e baitha (my throat hurts)!

Hopefully a bowlful of this coupled with two Tylenols should get me ready to post something more delectable. And if in a couple of days, I don’t post something here, please check back on me. Will ya?