Soupy Tuesday

Recently I was trying to decide what my "signature dish" should be. Very important work, I know. Though I've become somewhat known for my baking, I actually don't love doing it. It's too much of an exact science, having to measure out ingredients exactly. I tend to prefer just throwing things into a pot and seeing what comes out.

So I suppose it's fitting that I decided my signature dish is soup. I love it in all forms - creamy, tomatoey, full of veggies and beans. At a previous job I used to cook up big pots of soup on Sunday nights and bring them in for lunch for my co-workers on Mondays.  And it's perfect for using up leftovers, which is why yesterday I found myself cooking up a big pot of what I'll call "Mixed Greens and Noodle Soup."

It was so good so I figured I'd post what I did. Sort of a recipe... more like suggestions. 

I started with 3 Yukon Gold potatoes which I partially skinned, chopped up and boiled until they were soft.

While they boiled I heated 2 tbps of olive oil in my pot and added two cloves of chopped garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, tarragon, and onion powder. When it got hot, I added some sherry to deglaze the pot. Then I lowered the heat and added a quart (32 oz.) of vegetable broth and 1/3 cup of white miso and stirred.

Next I chopped up about half a bunch of kale, maybe two or 3 cups of spinach, one stalk of broccoli, and one carrot and added those to the mix. I added two cups of water.

When the potatoes are cooked, pull them off the stove and pour out most of the water. I left a bit of water in the pot, added to it one cup of non-dairy milk, mashed it all together until it was nice and creamy, and then added it to my soup. 

I stirred everything well and let it simmer, covered for about 15 minutes. Then I added a handful of soba noodles and let cook for another 10. Voila!

Super easy and you could probably added any greens, cauliflower, celery, onion. Good stuff.

Killer Kale Recipes

Every now and then I have to take a break from promotion Veg Table to actually eat... I'm trying to eat healthier and lose a bit of weight because summer, bathing suits, weddings, blah blah blah. I don't really need an excuse to add healthier meals to my diet. So because I'm trying to eat lighter, smaller portions, I'm trying to work in foods that are dense in nutrients. Like kale! It's a superfood!

I know that eating raw kale makes me sound like one of those vegans who wastes away, subsiding on nothing but berries and twigs. Don't worry, I've consumed enough fried pickles and beer over the last year to more than warrant a bit of a cleanse. And while kale can be great sauteed in garlic and olive oil, you're just losing nutrients and adding fat. So here are a few ways I sneak it into my dishes.

Kale and Soba Noodle Salad

I eat a lot of edamame because it's high in protein and yummy. I buy it frozen and shelled so you can't beat that convenience. I throw about a cup of it in a bowl (don't bother to thaw it) with maybe three large leaves of kale, stalk removed and chopped up. After the soba noodles have cooked, drain and toss them right in. (The frozen edamame will cool down the noodles and vice versa.) Then I toss with a combo of rice vinegar, ginger, black pepper, soy sauce and garlic salt. If you're not too concerned about the calories you can add sesame or chili oil. You can also throw in some pine nuts or almonds. Doesn't get much easier than that. 

Here's another variation...

Kale Sushi Rolls

Take one cup uncooked sushi rice and cook as directed. I used this Jade Pearl Rice which is infused with bamboo for a little extra iron and a nutty flavor, which took about 20 minutes. Move it to a bowl, add a healthy amount of rice vinegar, fluff it up, and refrigerate. While it cools chop up three large kale leaves. (You want to chop it pretty finely.) I added edamame because I almost always have it on hand, but I bet this would work really well using chopped up avocado instead. If you want to avoid the fat, try diced cucumber or daikon. 

Mix into the rice some similar flavors as used for the kale salad. You can't go wrong with soy, ginger, garlic salt, and black pepper. I added a touch of hoisin too for added sweetness. Toss some sesame seeds in there too and then add the kale and whatever other veggies you've decided on and mix well. It helps if you have bamboo sushi rolling mat, but you can make do without. Lay a sheet of nori out and place a few spoonfuls of your rice mixture onto one half. Spread it out so it covers a little over 1/2 of the nori like so and then roll it up into a nice tight roll. This makes about 6-8 rolls. Cut them in half and then serve with your choice of dipping sauce.

Do you have a favorite recipe using kale? Let me know!