Lenten Soup Supper

[Michie]

This one is somewhere between what my grandmother calls End of the Garden soup and some of the old recipes you might run across for weight loss soup. The American heart association used to publish a recipe for a low sodium and low carb soup that was part of a weight loss diet.

Low Carb Vegetable Soup

1 can of tomatoes (I like stewed)
1/2 of a cabbage
1 pint of beef broth or water
Miscellaneous vegetables (3 Cups)
Salt and pepper​

1. Combine tomatoes and broth, bring to simmer.
2. Slice the cabbage rather thin. Add.
3. Add other vegetables as one has available. (I had carrots, broccoli, celery, garlic, leeks, onion, zucchini, and mushrooms today). They should all be roughly the same size.
4. Let this go, covered, for a bit until everything starts to get warm. Some of the vegetables will release a lot of liquid.
5. Add water as needed (about 1/2 Cup at a time) to reach the desired consistency. Check about every hour and season and/or add water.
6. This should never reach a boil and takes about 2 hours to come to a finish.

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I remember some sort of soup like that. How does it taste??

 

[Shane R]

I remember some sort of soup like that. How does it taste??

It tastes great. I forgot to mention adding a shot of Worcestershire sauce and the juice of half an orange to it. The one drawback is the fairly low calorie content. You'll be hungry again as fast as you would with Chinese take out. But in the old diet plans you can eat as much of this as you want in a day because the calorie count is so minimal. And you will not be constipated after a bowl or 2 of the soup.

 

[Shane R]

By this week of Lent, I am becoming bored with soup. What other vegetarian dish might I make? I usually turn to eggplants. But I saw an interesting variation on stuffed peppers the other day called Pepper Boats:

3 bell peppers, halved lengthwise, stems intact
1/2 Cup of dry rice
1 eggplant
1 zucchini, diced
1 Cup of mushrooms, rough chopped
4 Tbsp (which is also 1/4 Cup) oil
4 Tbsp butter
Grated cheese for topping

1. Cook the rice. It doesn't need to be warm when you go to stuff the peppers.
2. Prepare the eggplant by slicing lengthwise into 1/2" thick strips. Salt and cover with paper towels. Let sit for 1 hour.
3. Bring the oil to a frying temperature. Fry the eggplant 2 minutes on each side, set on a draining apparatus.
4. Add half of the butter to the remaining oil and sautee the mushrooms and zucchini with seasonings of choice.
5. Cut the eggplant into pieces the same size as the zucchini.
6. Mix the eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and rice together with the rest of the butter.
7. Spoon into the peppers. Put them in a convection oven at 350F for 10 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with the cheese. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes. (For conventional ovens add 20% to the cook time.)
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[Michie]

Another good one for Lent.

 

[Shane R]

I never did share my Pumpkin soup recipe. My kids actually decided last fall that they would eat it. I'll pull it out soon. It works for any kind of squash. I don't have any pumpkin left from the fall so I'll use some other form of squash.

 

[Michie]

I never did share my Pumpkin soup recipe. My kids actually decided last fall that they would eat it. I'll pull it out soon. It works for any kind of squash. I don't have any pumpkin left from the fall so I'll use some other form of squash.

I look forward to seeing it.

 

[Michie]

We had oyster stew this evening.

 

[Shane R]

This could be served soupy but I don't like it that way; rice & beans.


This is so basic. Run 2 cups of water into a sauce pot. Add 1 tsp of your favorite all purpose seasoning and 1/2 tsp of garlic salt. Caramelize some onions while your water warms up (maybe 1/2 cup). Chop a pepper or pop open a can of diced peppers from the Hispanic foods section. Add a cup of rice. Let it get to a good simmer, add a can of beans of your choice, and cover. Let it go until the water is mostly gone and add 2 or 3 pats of butter. Turn off the heat and leave it alone for about 10 minutes. Garnish with shredded cheese.

 

[Michie]

This could be served soupy but I don't like it that way; rice & beans.
View attachment 314277

This is so basic. Run 2 cups of water into a sauce pot. Add 1 tsp of your favorite all purpose seasoning and 1/2 tsp of garlic salt. Caramelize some onions while your water warms up (maybe 1/2 cup). Chop a pepper or pop open a can of diced peppers from the Hispanic foods section. Add a cup of rice. Let it get to a good simmer, add a can of beans of your choice, and cover. Let it go until the water is mostly gone and add 2 or 3 pats of butter. Turn off the heat and leave it alone for about 10 minutes. Garnish with shredded cheese.

Looks good! I’ll try that.

 

[Shane R]

Looks good! I’ll try that.

My wife had a more elaborate recipe for arroz con gandules (which are more like a chickpea than most beans). It called for sofrito and more elaborate seasoning. It's a stand alone meal in many Puerto Rican households. I've taken the concept and simplified it. This is a good struggle meal: total cost is around $3.

 

[Michie]

My wife had a more elaborate recipe for arroz con gandules (which are more like a chickpea than most beans). It called for sofrito and more elaborate seasoning. It's a stand alone meal in many Puerto Rican households. I've taken the concept and simplified it. This is a good struggle meal: total cost is around $3.

Very in keeping with the spirit of Lent too.

 

[Shane R]

Squash Soup
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 large onion, chopped
1 apple, peeled and chopped
3 lbs of squash or pumpkin, cubed
1 qt of broth

- Sauté onion and carrots until onion is tender
- Add apple to pan and sauté 5 more minutes
- Add garlic and sauté just until fragrant
- Add squash and broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes
- Process mixture, in batches, in a blender until smooth

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp each, allspice and nutmeg
1/4 Cup cream
salt

Return mixture to pot and stir in these flavorings. Simmer for 7-10 minutes or until thickened.

In the fall I tend to top this with crumbled bacon. A good hunk of crusty bread is also desirable.

 

[Michie]

Squash Soup
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 large onion, chopped
1 apple, peeled and chopped
3 lbs of squash or pumpkin, cubed
1 qt of broth

- Sauté onion and carrots until onion is tender
- Add apple to pan and sauté 5 more minutes
- Add garlic and sauté just until fragrant
- Add squash and broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes
- Process mixture, in batches, in a blender until smooth

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp each, allspice and nutmeg
1/4 Cup cream
salt

Return mixture to pot and stir in these flavorings. Simmer for 7-10 minutes or until thickened.

In the fall I tend to top this with crumbled bacon. A good hunk of crusty bread is also desirable.

That sounds very good. Like it would warm the bones.