Baby it's cold outside! More mouth watering soups!

I guess winter has finally arrived. I thought we were getting off easy this year, but no. The bitter cold days of January have kicked in, and all I crave are comfort foods. Thankfully the comfort foods I crave right now are more of the vegetable soups and stew variety, rather than the heavy carbs, fat and dairy type. Trust me, I love those as much as the next guy, but I'm just grateful that my cravings are leaning toward healthy.

Last week I made a lentil soup. Pretty basic, but at the end I threw in some diced zucchini. I like to bulk up my soups with lots of vegetables. It's an easy way to get your five servings in. I like to have a cup of vegetable soup instead of a salad on winter's coldest days.  A great tool when dieting, to keep from snacking too much  is to have a cup of it while you're prepping a meal and it'll take the edge off your hunger. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to butter my own arm and eat it around that time of the day.

Tonight I made a variation of a dish I like to make this time of year. It doesn't have a name, but my friend from Argentina made something like it when I lived in California. I never had the spice she had to give it the kick, so I had to improvise. I make an 'inspired by' version.
The basic ingredients are onion, garlic, cabbage, yams, white potato and chicken broth. I had no yams so I used butternut squash. I still have some potatoes from the garden so I used those. I used fat free chicken broth, and I sauteed the onion and garlic in a little olive oil. (Vegetable broth will work fine)

I get the onion to where its starting to get nice and brown, and then add the cabbage and the broth.(I used 32oz. of chicken broth) I cook it down for a couple minutes and add the potatoes and yams. In this case it was butternut squash.

As for spices I usually use kosher or sea salt, pepper and then cayenne or crushed red pepper to give it some kick. This time I used a spice blend called Hot Rocks from a company called Pelican Bay Ltd. It's a "Uniquely hot and spicy blend of seasonings, mineral & sea salts, peppers, parsley, lemon and natural flavorings". (this is where I should put a link and try and make some money from Google ads!)

What you end up with is a brothy, spicy, combo of winter vegetables. You could serve it over wide egg noodles if you were so inclined. Serve it as a main dish or along with your dinner as a side. I skipped the noodles and just had a big bowl all by itself. I added a little more kosher salt to my bowl, and a grind of black pepper. I still prefer the yams, but the butternut was a decent substitute. The Hot Rocks were a nice addition.

If you're interested in making either of these, and have questions, just let me know. I know I've posted mostly soups so far and I hope you're not tired of them already! I just need them to get through the coldest portion of winter!

I'll be looking forward to next spring and summer when I plant my garden and start creating dishes from all homegrown vegetables. I hope to share my garden experimentation here on D.R.O.O.L.

Until next time-

d*

Winter Squash and Chicken Stew

As promised, the recipe for this wintry, warming stew. I cannot take credit for this recipe, and I will post it as written, but will also make side notes and suggestions.

I wrote this all out on Facebook the last time I made it, complete with pictures and notes, and then my browser crashed. I'm just getting around to doing this again.

Let's get started. According to my notes, this recipe is from Bon Apetit - November, 1995. Wow, I had been married a little over 2 years and was  3 months pregnant.  How time flies.

The Recipe:

2 teaspoons olive oil

6 chicken thighs - no skin (I like the flash frozen boneless and skinless. They work great)

1 1/3 Cup chopped onion

3 Garlic cloves, minced (diced, sliced, squeezed, pressed... it doesn't matter)

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 Cups peeled, cubed butternut or acorn squash. (I always use butternut, but it's a personal preference)

2 Cups peeled, cubed Russet potatoes (I use whatever I've got on hand)

1 Cup chicken broth

1 14.5 -16 oz can diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons cilantro (optional)

I used potatoes and onions from my summer garden, and I measured out

the spices ahead of time

 Method:

Heat 1 tsp oil in Dutch oven- Season Chicken with salt and pepper, and brown on all sides. (About 8 minutes) Transfer to plate

Heat remaining tsp. oil - add onion and garlic, saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder, cumin and cinnamon and stir one minute.

Return chicken to pot, add squash, potatoes, broth and tomatoes.

Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until chicken and potatoes are cooked through and liquid is slightly reduced, about 8 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper

Sprinkle with cilantro

This is a great recipe used just as written, but I find that it easily adjusts, and you can play with it. I don't measure out the potatoes or squash or onions either. I just use the entire squash because it's almost always more than 4 cups. Also, there is no law against using more garlic in my opinion!
I started using boneless chicken thighs simply because no one wants to deal with trying to get the meat off the bone in the middle of their soup bowl.
The same with my preference to Butternut, I find Acorn to be a pain to peel!
As far as tomatoes, I think I used stewed tomatoes last time. Sometimes I add more broth, water or tomatoes, depending on what is available and how much extra vegetables or chicken I'm using.
Go ahead and experiment. Sometimes I use more chicken...or less! You can't mess it up.
The only thing I do measure out is the cumin, curry and cinnamon. These are potent spices and can overwhelm a recipe if you have a heavy hand. I find this blend is perfect just as written. The cinnamon is a subtle surprise. I would never have thought of using it in stew before.

I love cilantro, but I won't make a trip to the store for 2 Tablespoons. I appreciate it when it's there, but don't miss it when it's not.

I hope you'll try this recipe, and share your thoughts and results.
I appreciate you when you're here, and miss you when you're not. Not like that silly cilantro!