soup | Adventures in Thyme

Non-dairy Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

May 15, 2015 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Chicken Soup

Our Spring weather has been decidedly cold, wet and snowy lately – the perfect time to try a non-dairy version of an old favorite so everyone in the house could enjoy it!

This recipe takes a little extra time, making it on a weekend is best, but it has made wonderful meals I could take to work or reheat in the microwave when I didn’t feel like cooking again.

Ingredients

1 Idaho Potato
1 Quart Organic Chicken Broth
6 Organic Chicken Thighs*
1 Celery Stalk sliced
10 Baby Carrots sliced
1 Shallot finely diced
1 Cup wild rice mix
1/2 Tsp dried Savory
1/2 Tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp salt
2 Cups Almond Milk (plain, unsweetened)
Optional: Cilantro garnish

* I chose organic meat (and bone in) chicken thighs so I could get the most bang for my buck – “bone broth”. You might have memories of a beloved auntie or grandmother that always cooked soup with bones added in, I do, and the health benefits FAR exceed the time it takes to use and dispose of them.

Into a large cooking pot add the broth, celery, carrots, shallot, savory, thyme and salt and turn heat to medium high. On a cutting board I removed the chicken meat from the bone and diced into bite size pieces – add everything to the pot. Don’t worry about any remaining meat on the bones. Bones are added right into the pot with the chicken and during the cooking process will either cook off the bones or your can easily remove the meat with a spoon. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

About 45 mins or an hour before you intend to eat, peel and dice your potato and add to a small pot with just enough water to cover the potatoes. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil then reduce to medium (or just enough so it doesn’t boil over). As the water boils off, keep adding a bit more so the potato is always covered, and until the potato pieces are tender. Remove from heat and in the same little pot (don’t pour off the water) mash the potato well and add into your chicken soup.

At the same time you put your potato to boil add the cup of wild rice mix to your chicken soup. As the potato cooks, so will the rice and they will get done at approximately the same time. After the potato is added to the soup pour two cups of almond milk into the soup and increase the heat to medium. Once the soup is back to a gentle boil, reduce heat and serve.

This recipe is non dairy but you can easily add a pat of butter to your bowl if you need that “mouth feel” and aren’t allergic.

Enjoy!

Do It Yourself Chicken Soup

March 4, 2015 by Dan Leave a Comment

Chicken Soup

Simple meals can be the best meals. Tonight’s recipe is really a canvas upon which your guests, or family, can create their own masterpiece. By providing hot stock and a selection of ingredients it allows for more time at the table enjoying lively conversation and togetherness. No meal is truly complete unless it can be shared with those you care about, and that my friend is nourishment for the spirit!

For this dish you’ll need:

Chicken stock (2 boxes, 3 if you are feeding more than 4 or are really hungry)
One box of your favorite pasta
Whatever vegetables look good or you are growing in your garden (We used Sweat Potato, Turnip, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Carrot and Mushrooms)
Chicken (a roasted chicken from the grocery store works great)
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Green Onion
Parsely

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Cut your vegetables into bite sized or smaller pieces, toss with Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper. Place on a cookie sheet and roast 20-30 minutes (longer for bigger pieces) or until they begin to brown and get soft.

While the vegetables are roasting place one box of chicken stock in a large pot, add at least an equal amount of water and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until tender. (You may need to add water while they cook, just keep an eye on the level of your liquid). Cooking in the stock will give the noodles some flavor of their own!

Place your remaining boxes of stock in a pot and heat to boiling, reduce the heat and keep simmering until the rest of your ingredients are ready.

While everything is cooking, strip the meat off of your chicken and cut into bite sized pieces. You can separate white and dark meat if that is important to your guests and simple enough to do!

Once everything is cooked, place the vegetables and chicken on a plate or in separate bowls, as you prefer. Place the noodles in a large bowl. Now for the fun part. Put all of the ingredients out on the table. Let your diners assemble their soup and add the stock. Top with green onion and or parsley.

Enjoy.

Simple Soup with Wontons

February 11, 2015 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Won Tons and Won Ton Soup

Once upon a time I found myself standing next to a cooking pot with a carrot that I’d made out of construction paper. The pot was surrounded by other hungry villagers (aka my fellow Kindergarteners) each holding their own paper vegetable and peering into the pot atop a fake firepit. My teacher placed a stone in the cooking pot and we each added our humble offering. She stirred it lovingly and soon after we “ate” of its riches. It was a wonderful lesson about sharing, and how wonderful soup is – real or imagined!

Tonight I’m sharing a very simple soup, easily thrown together with whatever you might have in your fridge’s veggie bin.

Soup:
1 32oz container of Chicken Stock
Baby Bok Choy
sliced Mushrooms
sliced Green Onion (Scallions)

Wontons:
1 lb ground Pork (not sausage, you want unseasoned)
4 teaspoons Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon freshly grated Ginger
2 oz diced Water Chestnuts
1 stalk Green Onion sliced
2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
1 package of square Wonton Skins
1 beaten Egg

Pour chicken stock into a pot and bring to a simmer. While the stock is heating up mix together all the wonton ingredients EXCEPT the last two.

There are two tips I would offer when working with wonton skins, work quickly, and keep them damp. What I mean by that is keep a slightly damp papertowel over the package of unused wonton skins while you work, and a damp papertowel over the completed wontons.

With clean hands remove a few wonton skins from the package and arrange on clean cutting board. Carefully dip your finger into the beaten egg and draw around the outside edge of each wonton (a finger’s width). The egg will be the binding that seals your wonton. Place a generous teaspoon into the center of each skin and carefully fold the wonton in half (into a triangle). It is very important to gently squeeze out the air as you seal each skin. If you make a mistake and the seal isn’t so good, or you’ve overstuffed them, etc, place these “mistakes” to the side, we will get to those later…

Once your wontons are sealed and ready, carefully place into the simmering broth. About 5 mins into the cooking time add your vegetables (carrots take longer – but it’s up to you what vegetable and how cooked you want them). For my bok choy, onions and mushrooms, I cooked an additional 5 mins for a total cooking time of 10 mins. (If you are at all worried about your wontons, remove one and cut in half, if the juice runs out clear from the meat, they are done.)

Ladle the broth, veggies and a few wontons into a bowl and you’ve got yourself a quick and fabulous little bit o’soupy heaven.

So let’s move on to those wontons that didn’t quite make the cut. Heat your oven to 375 degrees F, and on a nonstick baking mat, or parchment paper, arrange your wontons so they don’t touch. Spray each wonton (both sides) with a little bit of cooking spray so they will crisp as they bake. In my convection oven it took about 20 mins. Just be careful to watch that the skins don’t burn. Again, if the juices run out clear, the wontons are cooked.

These crunchy dumplings need sauce, so below is a dipping sauce to dunk them in. Mix all ingredients together, and enjoy eating your mistakes! Oh go on, have another!

1 cup Soy Sauce
3 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
1 sliced Green Onion
1 teaspoon of Honey
a few tablespoons of Water
optional: Hot Chili Flakes

Souper Comfort Food

January 15, 2014 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Potato Soup

It’s amazing how a humble little root evokes such memories of bygone days. When I was little and Dad travelled out of town or was late coming home, Mom would promise us “the special dinner”. No matter how much we begged, we only got it when Dad was gone. It was almost torture waiting…waiting for Dad to leave so we could have the most wonderful of all dinners – potato soup. And once “the special dinner” had been declared it meant we were taking a drive in our blue 1960s Chevy Stationwagon to the store for fresh sourdough bread. Mom would always let us rip off the ends and chew on them as we drove home, it was glorious. We had no seatbelts to restrain our enthusiasm as we giggled and tumbled around the back of that old wagon heading home to soup! Egads, a wonder we survived childhood!

Little did we know that “the special dinner” was special to Mom too. It’s a no fuss, easy peasy recipe that she could throw together easily. A perfect meal that allows plenty of time to relax after a long day. It takes 4 ingredients: water, potatoes, dehydrated onions, evaporated milk. That’s it. Let’s get cooking!

Dice your potatoes in bite sized squares. I gauge the amount needed by about one potato per person. Try to dice evenly so they’ll cook uniformly. Place in a pot and add water about 1″ inch over the top. Sprinkle the dehydrated onions on – more if you like onions, less if you don’t. Bring to boil. Add a little more water if the water boils down to the potato tops. After about 15 mins or so see how “fork tender” the potatoes are. Are they still too crunchy? Soft enough for you? Keep boiling if you’d like them softer, but once they are as tender as you like, decrease down to medium and add a can of evaporated milk (one can for 1-3 potatoes, more cans as needed). Once the soup has almost reached a boil, it’s ready. At this point, you can add a pat of butter, a pinch of garlic salt, a slice of sourdough bread, whatever suits you. Now sit back, relax, and ponder memories of childhood. How sweet they can be. 🙂