Potato Soup

Potato Soup

Fall is slowly turning into winter and there is a definite chill in the evening air. Potato soup is great comfort soup on such nights. I tried it out this past weekend and it turned out great. Definitely try it in the winters!

Ingredients:

• 1 full head of garlic
• 2 Tblsp Olive Oil
• 8 medium red Potatoes
• 2-3 sprigs of green onions
• 1/4 Cup diced Celery
• 1.5 Cups chopped Cauliflower florets
• 8 Cups vegetable broth
• 1/3 Cup unsalted Cashews
• 1/4 Turmeric powder
• 1 Tblsp lemon juice
• 1 Cup baby spinach cut into ribbons

Using a garlic press, crush all the cloves of a single garlic and roast the mix in a few drops of olive oil till it starts to turns brown. Keep this aside. Now peel the potatoes and dice them into medium chunks. Wash these under cold water to remove some starch.

Now, take a large pot (this is what you'll be cooking the soup in) and heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Olive oil has a very low smoking point so make sure your heat is not high. Add the celery and most of the spring onions - you want to keep some greens for garnishing. Saute for 5 minutes and as the vegetables begin to get translucent, add 1 Tsp salt. Now, add the potatoes, cauliflower, the garlic pulp roasted in the beginning and pour 7 cups of the broth in the pot. Mix well and increase the heat to high.

Once the mix starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. By now the potatoes and cauliflower should be tender enough to be poked by a fork.  Once you get to this point, remove the soup from heat - this helps in preventing starch build up. Stir in the cashews and turmeric powder and mix well.

Finally, you will need to blend the soup in a food processor or a blender. Use the remaining broth to assist with this. The result should be smooth and creamy and you may need to work this part in batches. Pour the soup back to the pot, add the lemon juice and warm over low heat. Stir in the spinach and heat for a minute or so for the leaves to wilt before turning the heat off.

Garnish with the green onions or chives and serve piping hot. A new favorite for the cold evenings!

Quinoa Chickpea Stir Fry

Quinoa Chickpea Stir Fry

Quinoa seems to be the "in" food nowadays! And for good reason too: 1 Cup (170 g) of Quinoa provides 24 g of protein, 12 g of fiber and is very rich in specific minerals. The other thing a lot of folks don't know is that it technically isn't even a cereal grain - it is actually a seed. You see a lot of Quinoa reference in hip health blogs and magazines. Here is an easy recipe to get you started if you buy some Quinoa from the grocery store.(You can even get it from Walmart of Sam's Club)

I found this recipe on Yummly.

• 3 Tblsp Olive Oil
• 3-4 cloves Garlic
• 1 Tsp Ginger chopped fine
• 1 green chilly chopped fine
• 2 Tsp Red Chilli powder
• 2 Tsp Cumin powder
• 2 Tsp Garam masala
• 1/4 Tsp red pepper flakes
• A pinch of black pepper
• 1 medium onion sliced thin
• 1 red bell pepper sliced thin
• 4 Cups cooked Quinoa
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1 can tomatoes 
• 3 Cups baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 Tsp Salt

Heat the olive oil on medium low in a wok or large pan. Add the spices and let them simmer for 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat down if they start to burn. Then, add the onion and raise the heat to medium. 

Now, cook stirring frequently for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and peppers and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the quinoa and stir fry for another minute.

Add the chickpeas and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Finally, stir in the tomatoes, fold in the spinach and the salt and stir fry, stirring frequently for another 2 minutes. I like to puree out the tomatoes in a blender, even if they're out of a can. If you're using fresh, use 2 medium tomatoes. Using canned ones like zesty jalapeno add a nice kick sometimes.

Spicy Vegetarian Chili

If you come from the same part of the world as me, the heading of this blog post probably doesn't make sense. Why specify "spicy" with "chili"? Traditionally to us, Chili is just this spicy hot pepper that is an essential part of out cooking. Chili, whose actual name comes from Spanish Chili con carne meaning peppers with meat, is a very popular food in America. Usually, meat, tomatoes and beans are the norm with other ingredients being the basis for variation.

Here is a recipe I tried out to create a spicy vegetarian version of Chili. it turned out great, and since I used canned ingredients this first time, it was also real simple. In fact, it was actually so good that I have decided to stick to the canned goods :)

Ingredients:

• 2 Cans of Del Monte diced tomatoes - Zesty Chili style
• 1 Can of Great Value Chili beans (Walmart brand)
• 4 Cloves garlic minced
• 1 Red onion chopped fine
• 1/2 Spanish onion chopped fine
• 1 Cup green, yellow and red bell pepper diced
• 2 Habanero peppers seeded and chopped fine
• 1/2 Cup sweet corn
• 2 Tblsp olive oil
• 2 Tblsp Italian spices
• 3 Tblsp sugar
• 3 Tsp salt
• 1 Tsp cumin powder
• 1 Tsp red chilli powder
• 3 Sprigs of green onion chopped
• 1/4 Cup of cilantro chopped

You begin with a large enough saucepan and start with heating the olive oil on medium heat. Once heated, add the garlic and the Italian seasoning and fry these for about 30 second. Then, add the onions to the mix and cook until you can see the onions begin to lose their color. This should  take around 3-4 minutes; keep the heat on medium all through this.

Now, add the peppers - habanero and the bell peppers, corn and all the spices except sugar. Cook these well until the bell peppers have lost their crunch and yet are not completely squishy - allow for some texture. While the peppers are cooking, puree the tomatoes. This step is optional. Like I have mentioned before, I just dislike chunks of tomatoes in  my food, so I puree them.

Once the peppers are done, add in the tomatoes and mix everything well. Bring the mix to a boil, and then add the sugar. The sugar helps tackle the tomatoes' tangy flavor which can sometimes overpower the other flavors. Simmer this for 8 minues and then add in the beans. Mix well again, and cook for another 5 minutes. At this time, you can taste and adjust spices, if you so wish.

Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro on top.

You can eat a bowl of chili on its own, but we prefer it with Chicago Italian bread slices toasted with olive oil and spices...