Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry

Hi,

I've adapted this recipe to make it more soupy. It's great served with a spoonful of Greek yogurt or sour cream. It heats up well for lunch the next day. You can also fill it out when you serve it with rice. I threw everything in a slow cooker before I left for work in the morning and when I got home, dinner!

1 large onion peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

Cook the onion and olive oil in a removable stove safe slow cooker insert or large soup pot until the onion starts to brown around the edges, about 5 minutes.

1 lb chicken breast, diced and sprinkled with a bit of salt

Add the chicken breast and cook stirring until the chicken is no longer pink.

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin

Add the above ingredients and cook just until the spices are fragrant, about 2 minutes.

1/2 cup lentils, rinsed and sorted to eliminate debris
1/2 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
3 cups water
1/2 bouillon cube
(1 cup frozen spinach, optional. This added a nice bit of green.)

Add the rest of the ingredients. If you plan on using a slow cooker, set it to med/high to be ready in about 7 hours. If you plan on cooking the curry on the stove, cook for about 30 minutes on low, until the sweet potatoes are tender. Taste to see if you need to add additional salt or pepper.

Hope you enjoy the curry. Maybe it is more like soup than curry. If you want to make it thicker you can add 1/2 cup more lentils. Enjoy!

Hugs,
Mameekosan

Asian Corn and Chicken Soup

Hi,

I liked this new recipe because it's surprising and fresh. I made it with fresh corn on the cob, but I think it would be equally good with frozen corn. This recipe was adapted from Cook's Country.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced

Combine the four ingredients listed above in a large soup pot. Cook stirring over medium heat until the ingredients are almost brown about 1 to 2 minutes.

3 fresh corn on the cobs (or half a bag frozen corn)

Remove the corn from the cob, if you are using fresh. Hold the cob perpendicular to a cutting board and carefully slice off the kernels. Rotate the cob to continue cutting all the way around the cob. Add the corn, either fresh or frozen into the soup pot.

1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
3 cups water with 1 large bouillon cube or 3 cups chicken stock

Add the coconut milk and water or stock. Bring just up to boiling. Cook about 15 minutes. At this point if you have an immersion blender you can puree the mixture a bit at this point. If you don't have a blender, it's not vital, don't worry.

1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Add the chicken and cook for about 10 more minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
Juice from a lime
Salt and pepper
Lime wedges (optional)

Stir in the cilantro and lime juice and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper if needed. You can serve some additional lime wedges. I hope you are delighted with this recipe as much as I was. The coconut milk makes for a rich creamy soup. Hope you like it as much as I did.

Hugs,
Mameekosan

Lentil Soup with Bacon and Ham

Hi,
The weather is starting to turn cool here. I'm holding out turning on the heat, so instead have been making soup and other fall type dishes to warm us up.

I'm a huge fan of slow cookers. I throw in everything in the morning before I leave the house and "voila" when I get home... dinner. Somehow it seems magical. I made this soup with things I had around the house. If you don't have the bacon or the ham, I think you can do without, but I think the addition of a bit of protein adds depth to the soup.

1 lb lentils, I used half brown and half red, rinsed thoroughly

Be sure to rinse the lentils. A good way is in a large bowl, swishing the lentils around and changing the water frequently until the water is clear. On a few occasions I have found a small pebble or debris. Drain, then set aside.

4 medium onions, coarsely chopped (I used red onions because those were the ones I had. Regular onions are fine too)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 slices of bacon, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

Add the onions, oil and bacon to a large pot. Cook until the onions start to brown.

4 medium carrots, coarsely chopped

Add the carrots and cook for another minute. At this point if you are using a slow cooker transfer the mixture the slow cooker.

5 cups of water
1/4 lb sliced ham, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 bouillon cube (for 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
Rinsed lentils

Add the rest of the ingredients. If you are doing the soup in a slow cooker, set it to medium and the soup will be done in about 8 hours. If you are doing this on top of a stove, simmer the soup over low heat for about 2 hours. You may need to add a bit more liquid if the soup gets too thick.

Salt and pepper

Check to see if the soup needs a bit more salt or some pepper. This is a very hearty soup. We had it for dinner with some cheese toast and fruit. It reheats well, so it's perfect for the rest of the week for lunches or dinners. It's very quick and easy.

Hugs,
Mameekosan

Chinese Meatball Soup (Winter Melon Optional)

Hi,

We were at H Mart recently and R was intrigued with the Winter Melon. I think he thought it might be similar to a Honeydew Melon, but once we got it home and I did a little research, I found that Winter Melon is more like a cucumber in sweetness and texture. Okay, so now I had to figure out what to do with it. I found this recipe, on allrecipes.com and adapted it quite a bit from the original. I think it would be fine without the winter melon and I think in the future I plan to make it without.

Preheat over to 400 degrees. First you have to make the meatballs.

1 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients listed above together until well mixed. Form the mixture into golf ball sized balls. If you have some around, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, to make clean-up so much faster. Place meat balls on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in 400 degree oven until browned, around 15 minutes. While the meatballs brown, continue working on the soup.

6 cups water
2 pounds Winter Melon, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 slices fresh ginger
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
black pepper (healthy amount)
1/2 bag frozen spinach
(bok choy or celery, thinly sliced)

Add the above ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes or until the veggies are cooked, but still a bit crispy. The original recipe didn't call for anymore veggies other than the winter melon. I felt like it needed more veggies, so I added 1/2 package of frozen spinach. I think you could also add some fresh bok choy or thinly sliced celery.

(thinly sliced green onions and cilantro)

When the meatballs are browned add to the soup and simmer gently for 10 more minutes. Check to see that the meatballs are cooked through. I ended up simmer the soup for longer and the meatballs started to fall apart a bit, but I thought the soup was still delicious. Check to see if the soup needs a bit more salt or pepper. I liked to finish the soup, just before serving, with a sprinkle or green onions and cilantro.

Hope you enjoy this soup. It heats up well for lunch or dinner the next day.

Hugs,
Mameekosan

Hot and Sour Asian Soup (Soup #2)

Hi,

This is another recipe where you can use your delicious chicken stock. I like to think of soup as totally flexible so that you can add ingredients that you have at hand. I'll list some possible additions.

Leftover cooked chicken, pork or beef cut into matchstick pieces
1/2 block firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Spinach (frozen is fine)
French cut green beans (frozen is okay)
Carrots, cut into slanted crosswise pieces
Celery, thinly sliced
Kabocha squash, a few thin slices cut into bite sized pieces
Bok Choy, sliced
Mushrooms, sliced
Bean thread or rice noodles

4 cups chicken broth
(If you have on hand you can also add: 1 Tablespoon dry sherry, white wine, or mirin)


Heat the chicken broth until boiling. Add the ingredients that you have selected, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (this will give the soup the sour)
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Add the vinegar and soy sauce, stir.

1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 bunch cilantro

Add the ingredients listed above, heat through. The soup is now ready. I hope you'll see how easy it is to make delicious soup. It's a great way to use up the bits of veggies that you might have in the fridge.

Hugs,
Mameekosan 

Corn Chowder - (Use the stock you made)

Hi,

If you made the roast chicken, then made the stock, congratulations. But, now maybe you are thinking, "Okay now what do with the stock?" Well here's one option. This recipe came about because I had to use up the remaining veggies from the previous week. I happened to have fresh corn, if you don't have fresh, you can also use frozen. And if you don't have stock, it's totally fine to make it without.

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1/2 Chicken breast cut into 1/2 inch cubes (you can also use 6 slices of bacon chopped, or a couple of italian sausages or kielbasa cut into small cubes)

In a large heavy soup pot, heat the oil, when hot add the onion and cook until just starting to brown. Add the protein, sprinkle generously with salt and cook stirring until the chicken (or other protein is cooked.)

1 red pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 or 4 carrots, cut in half and then sliced

Add the pepper and carrots and saute for a few minutes.

3 cups of stock or water

Add the stock or water. Bring the veggies and liquid to boiling.

2 fresh corn, remove the corn kernels holding the cob vertically and carefully cutting off the kernels.
(or 2 cups frozen corn)
2 cloves garlic, minced

Add the corn and the garlic. Bring back to boiling and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes.

1 cup half and half
3 sliced green onions
small bunch of parsley
salt and fresh ground pepper

Add the half and half and the onions and parsley. Bring back to almost boiling. Taste, you'll probably need to add a bit more salt and a generous bit of ground pepper.

Hope you enjoy the soup! It makes a light dinner and reheats well for lunch the next day.

Hugs,
Mameekosan

Easy Chicken Stock - Roasted Chicken Part 2

Hi,

I have been reminded that I never did circle around to write about taking the roast chicken carcass and turning it into delicious and cheap stock. So here it is.  Also, if when you are cooking and you end up with chicken bones or small bits of chicken, I just throw them in a bag and freeze them for when I make stock.

1 roasted chicken carcass (Also any leftover chicken bones that you may have frozen)

Break up the carcass. Add any leftover bones or drippings scraped from the roasting pan, into a large stock pot, large enough to hold chicken and water to cover.

1 large onion, peeled and cut in half
2 carrots
2 bay leaves
if you have any fresh herbs such as parsley or thyme, they can be added as well
1 bouillon cube (I know that some people may not like this, but I usually add just one cube)

Add the above ingredients to the pot and add water to cover. Bring just to boiling and lower temperature to low, so that the water is hot, but not enough to boil. Skim the gunky stuff that forms on the surface. Cook for at least 2 hours and as long as 4. Add water if necessary. Adjust to taste with salt and pepper.

Strain the stock through a strainer. I usually divide the stock into small containers and freeze. It's great to have stock on hand for soup.

Hope you can stock up on stock! (sorry for the pun)

Hugs,
Mameekosan