Ginger-Garlic Spicy Oriental Vegetable Soup

 Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian  No Responses »
Dec 212016
 

I created this recipe a number of years ago for Natalie when she was suffering from a bit of a cold since she is a big fan or ginger, garlic, and hot pepper. It provided some relief and we’ve been making ever since, whether we need it for its curative properties or not. Despite the fresh vegetables, we usually eat it in the fall and winter, as it is soothing for stuffed up noses and sore throats. Of course, spicy soup is always comforting in cold weather.

This recipe can be very flexible and you can adjust the amounts to your taste and by what vegetables are available. However, the key ingredients are lots of ginger and garlic, and some type of hot pepper. Mirin and Soy Sauce also help give the broth it’s characteristic flavor, so don’t omit or skimp on these items. You can leave the soup with just vegetables — I usually add shrimp but cooked pork would probably be good, or tofu to keep it vegan or vegetarian. If your head is really stuffed up, increase the amounts of ginger, garlic, and hot pepper. You have my word that you’ll feel a lot better after a hot bowl of this soup.

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Ginger-Garlic Spicy Oriental Vegetable Soup

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients

  • 3 to 4 inch piece of ginger, grated
  • 3-4 large cloves of garlic, minced
  • I large jalapeno pepper, finely diced, or hot pepper flakes
  • 2 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 package Shitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
  • 1 large carrot, matchstick cut
  • 1 Baby Bok Choy, sliced at about 1/4 inch, including leaves
  • 1 cup snow pea pods sliced on an angle
  • Green onions, diced
  • Bean sprouts
  • 48 oz. broth, I use "Imagine" vegetarian no-chicken broth
  • 3 Tbsp Aji Mirin, rice wine
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp Lite soy sauce
  • Tofu, shrimp or pork (If desired)

Instructions

  1. Fry the ginger, garlic and pepper in oil over medium heat until softened.
  2. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking a few minutes until the mushrooms are softened.
  3. Add the broth, turn the heat to high, and add the Mirin and part of the soy sauce.
  4. Stir and taste, adding soy sauce to get the proper amount of saltiness. The amount needed will vary depending on your choice of broth.
  5. Keep the broth warm until you are ready to serve, then add all of the vegetables except the bean sprouts and green onions. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil and cook for a minute or two.
  6. Add the shrimp, pork or tofu if desired and heat through.
  7. Put some bean sprouts in the bottom of each bowl and ladle the soup in.
  8. Everyone can top with green onions to their taste.

Notes

As stated in the description, you can vary most of the amounts and the ingredients according to your preferences. The key ingredients are lots of garlic and ginger and some type of hot pepper, so don't omit or skimp on these The Mirin and soy sauce give the broth it's flavor so don't omit those. i think the Shitake or at least some type of mushroom is essential also. Experiment with vegetable types and amounts. The protein is optional. i always add shrimp, but tofu or pork or nothing is acceptable. Enjoy!

https://karneyfamilyrecipes.com/2016/12/21/ginger-garlic-spicy-oriental-vegetable-soup/

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Butternut Squash Soup

 Soup, Vegan, Vegetable, Vegetarian  No Responses »
Oct 272016
 
Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

I always hate to see the warm days of summer go, but one bright spot as the cold short days of fall and winter arrive is a nice hot bowl of Butternut Squash soup and a fresh warm piece of good, hearth baked multi-grain or rye bread. This is a savory, spicy soup with just a hint of sweetness. It’s relatively easy to make if you have an immersion blender and a large batch will provide meals for a couple of days along with some to freeze.

I tend to modify the recipe according to which vegetables I have on hand. To change up the recipe a bit, add a couple of large chopped jalapeno peppers and saute with the onions. My current recipe uses 2 large parsnips and 4 large carrots instead of the potatoes.

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Butternut Squash Soup

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Butternut Squash (2-3 pounds each)
  • 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 2 large or 3 medium Onions
  • 2 large jalapeno peppers (optional)
  • 2 large parsnips and 4 large carrots or 2 large Potatoes
  • 10 cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth
  • 15-20 Fresh Sage leaves (or dried sage)
  • Paprika
  • Fresh-Ground Nutmeg
  • White Pepper to taste
  • Salt if needed
  • Green Onions or Chives (chopped)

Instructions

  1. Peel, seed and cube the squash.
  2. Peel and cube the parsnips and carrots or the potatoes.
  3. Chop the onions and the peppers if you are using them.
  4. In a large pot, saute the onions and peppers in the oil until they are translucent and just start to brown.
  5. Add the squash and the parsnips and carrots, or the potatoes to the pot and then add the broth until the vegetables are almost covered.
  6. Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
  7. When the cooking is almost done, Chop the sage and add it to the pot.
  8. Use a hand blender to puree the soup.**
  9. Season with paprika, nutmeg, salt and white pepper.***
  10. Taste and add more salt and white pepper if necessary.
  11. Serve with chopped green onions or chives.

Notes

* I use my favorite vegetable broth called "No Chicken", made by Imagine, which makes for a vegetarian and vegan recipe. You can substitute chicken broth or your favorite vegetable broth.

** If you don't have a hand blender, you can remove the cooked vegetables with a slotted spoon and puree them in a blender or food processor and then return the puree to the soup pot. This is a messy and time-consuming way of doing this, so if you like the recipe, splurge and buy yourself a hand blender.

*** For this recipe I usually grate a whole nutmeg seed into the pot and also season with a considerable amount of white pepper to give the soup a bit of a bite, but add it to your own taste. I add some paprika for color. Taste before you add salt as the soup may be salty enough from the broth.

https://karneyfamilyrecipes.com/2016/10/27/butternut-squash-soup/

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Roasted Tomatillo Salsa with Avocados

 Appetizers, Dips and Spreads, Mexican, Vegan, Vegetarian  No Responses »
Sep 192016
 

Since I’ve been growing Tomatillos in the garden, I’ve been looking for new recipes to use them in. I found a couple interesting recipes on the web and adapted them to my own tastes and came up with this one. Grilling the Tomatillos, onions and peppers adds a delightful smokiness to the salsa, so you really need to make an effort to grill them. I made this recipe for our annual trip to the Vintage Illinois wine festival at Mattheissen state park and it disappeared quickly even with a lot of other food around, which let me know it was a hit. This is an interesting alternative to Guacamole, and a nice change when Tomatillos are in abundance.

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Roasted Tomatillo Salsa with Avocados

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • Approximately 2 pounds Tomatillos, husked and washed
  • 2 large Jalapeno peppers, quartered lenngthwise, seeds and pith removed
  • Approximately 1/4 of a large red onion, large dice
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 3 or 4 ripe avocados
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • 2 Red peppers, I use hot hungarian
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • Olive oil
  • Granulated garlic (to taste)
  • Pepper (to taste)
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Sugar (to taste if needed)

Instructions

  1. Halve and remove stem from the Tomatillos.
  2. Put the Tomatillos, onions and peppers in a bowl and sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, granulated garlic and olive oil, mix well to coat evenly.
  3. Grill this mixture on a very hot grill, in a grill pan until the vegetables start to brown a bit. If the grill isn't very hot the Tomatillos will turn to mush before they start to brown.*
  4. When the mixture has cooled a bit, puree it in a food processor along with the garlic and lime juice.
  5. Peel and seed the Avocados, and dice to about 1/2 inch cubes. Combine in a bowl with the Tomatillo puree. Add the chopped bunch of the cilantro to taste.
  6. Seed the red peppers and remove the pith, chop fine and add to the mixture.**
  7. Mix well, taste, and add salt as needed. You may want to add some sugar depending on the tartness of the Tomatillos.
  8. Serve with cornchips.

Notes

*You could probably roast the vegetables in a 450 degree oven, but the grilling really adds a lot of flavor, so grill them if you can.

**Usually the grilled Jalapenos don't add a lot of heat so I add hot peppers to get a bit of spice in the sauce. The red peppers also add some color and flavor to the salsa, so use sweet ones if you want the dip very mild.

https://karneyfamilyrecipes.com/2016/09/19/roasted-tomatillo-salsa-with-avocados/

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Baked Zucchini Appetizer

 Appetizers, Vegetable, Vegetarian  No Responses »
Jul 012016
 

We’re always looking for Zucchini recipes. Here is a great appetizer with a fraction of the calories of breaded zucchini. Thanks to Marilyn Aliede for introducing us to this one.

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Baked Zucchini Appetizer

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 or 2 Medium Zucchini
  • 1/2 cup Panko
  • 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp.Thyme
  • Paprika
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive Oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Mix Panko, Cheese, Thyme and 1 Tbsp. olive oil until the mixture is an even yellow color from the oil.
  3. Slice zucchini into 1/8 inch thick pieces.
  4. Spray or brush both sides of Zucchini with olive oil.
  5. Arrange in single layer on cookie sheet.
  6. Sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Sprinkle Panko mixture generously on top of the Zucchini.
  8. Bake 20 - 30 minutes until golden brown.

Notes

You can mix up the Panko, Parmesan cheese, olive oil and thyme mixture in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for several weeks, using it as needed.

https://karneyfamilyrecipes.com/2016/07/01/baked-zucchini-appetizer/

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Natalie’s Pasta Salad

 Pasta, Salad, Vegetable, Vegetarian  No Responses »
Jun 252016
 

Natalie’s pasta salad  is a group favorite at summer gatherings. She gets lots of requests for it, and it keeps well in the summer heat.

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Natalie’s Pasta Salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound tri-colored rotini pasta
  • ½ Bottle McCormick’s Salad Supreme (2.62 oz. bottle)
  • 1 cup (8 oz.) Kraft Viva Italian Dressing
  • 3 tomatoes (chopped) or 1 lb. grape tomatoes halved or quartered.
  • 1 large cucumber (peeled, seeded and & diced)
  • 8 green onions (chopped)
  • Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta to al dente and drain.
  2. Chop vegetables while the pasta is cooking.
  3. Mix all ingredients together.
  4. Top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
  5. Refrigerate for an hour or more to let flavors blend.
https://karneyfamilyrecipes.com/2016/06/25/natalies-pasta-salad/

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