FOODing Around

It has been cold and damp around here lately which means one thing... all I want is some good soup! Soup to me is like a warm hug from a loved one on a cold day. I know, how cliche right? But that is just how I feel about soup! I even love it on hot days. Heck when I was traveling through south east Asia where temperatures hovered around the 40 degree mark without humidity, I was still slurping up soup any time I got the chance! 

So when outside looks like this!

I want my meal to look like this!

The best thing about soup, besides the warm hug aspect, is that it can take you places. A good ramen bursts with the flavours of Japan. A spicy piping hot dwenjeon jiggae transports me to Korea and a sweet, spicy beef soup with a mess of noodles reminds my taste buds of Laos mountain sides!

So when I woke up to a drizzly damp day the first thing I thought was, today looks like a Laos Beef Noodle Soup kind of day! Not only was I hoping to taste a bit of one of my favourite countries I was also hoping to recreate something purely from memory!

Laos Beef Noodle Soup

Recipe...

1 can of reduced salt beef broth

1 can of chicken and herb broth

6 cups of water

2 cloves of garlic

1.5 tablespoons of oyster sauce

1.5 tablespoons of fish sauce

3 sprigs of fresh tarragon

1 sweet onion diced

1.5 tablespoons of hot chili sauce

1 package of thin rice vermicelli noodles

1 bunch of watercress

1 lime

1 bunch of green onions

bean sprouts

.5-1lb of very thinly sliced beef (depending on how much meat you want)

1 bunch of cilantro (I left this out as I can't stand cilantro but it is very present in south east Asian cooking)

Boil broth, water, garlic, sauces, onion and tarragon. Reduce heat and simmer until garlic and tarragon infuse broth. (Remove tarragon and garlic chunks before serving)

Prepare noodles according to package directions.

Roughly chop watercress and green onions.

Cut lime into wedges

Put a handful of noodles at the bottom of a deep serving bowl (1 bowl per person)

Lay a few pieces of beef over noodles

Ladle broth over beef and noodles (the beef will be cooked by the hot broth)

Top with watercress, onions, bean sprouts and lime juice (put used lime right in the bowl) and cilantro 

Individuals can add more fish sauce, oyster sauce or hot sauce depending on their tastes.

Of course we in the west have some fabulous soups as well. Clam chowder, corn chowder, minestrone, cream of mushroom, chicken noodle, french onion and cream of broccoli just to name a few. My favourite soup on this side of the world has got to be cream of mushroom. It's just so darn good with its mushrooms and cream and goodness! 

Well for years now I have been making my very own cream of mushroom soup without... cream! You see one reaches a point where they think, gee that sure is a lot of cream... that can't be too good for me! So I made some substitutions and came up with something just as rich and creamy as the original!

"Cream" of Mushroom Soup

Recipe...

3 packs of white button mushrooms (I've done it with a mix of button and crimini and it's good!)

1 large red onion

Worcester Sauce

3 cloves of garlic

thyme (I just used about a tablespoon of dried stuff)

Milk

Butter

flour to make a rue.

salt and pepper to taste

chop red onion and caramelize with olive oil and butter

chop mushrooms and brown

fill a pot with about 4 cups of milk (I just keep going until it looks like it's going to be enough!)

on a very low heat simmer the milk with garlic and about 1/4c of butter

add mushrooms and onions (I split the garlic and throw it in, when it's time for serving I remove the cloves)

add 1/3c of Worcester sauce (more or less depending on preference)

add rue and let simmer until all the flavours have combined

Of course with autumn upon us it's always nice to indulge in the warm and colourful flavours that the season is best known for. 

Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Soup with Caramelized Onions.

Recipe...

3 large sweet potatoes

2 apples (whichever you prefer)

5 cups of milk

1/3 cup of cream

2 tablespoons of butter

1 large sweet onion

2 tablespoons of cinnamon

1 tablespoon of nutmeg

1 tablespoon of cloves

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch discs

Peel and core apples and cut into 1/2 inch discs

Roast sweet potatoes with a drizzle of olive oil at 350 for 12 minutes or until soft

Roast apples at 350 for 10 minutes or until soft

In a blender blend apples and sweet potatoes, add milk if mixture is too thick

Chop onions and caramelize in a pan with 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil

In a pot mix sweet potato and apple puree with milk and spices

Add caramelized onions and stir

Simmer all ingredients together for 20 minutes

Put soup through a sieve until desired texture is reached

Ladle into bowls and finish with a swirl of cream