healthy cooking tips: Soups

HEARTY AND HEALTHY

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 19:27:06 GMT

Potato and Leek Soup

This recipe serves: 6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
2 cups chopped leeks, well rinsed
1 sprig fresh thyme, or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
salt to taste
white pepper to taste
about 1 1/2 quarts chicken stock (1qt of chicken stock and 1/2 qt of water)
2 cups peeled potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes (keep in bowl of water so they do not discolor)
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh chives

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat the peanut oil in a saucepan over low heat. Add the onion, leek and thyme, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook for 15 minutes.
2. Add the stock and bring to a boil quickly over high heat.
3. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the leeks are completely tender.
4. Add the potatoes and simmer about 10 minutes more, or until the potatoes are tender.

5. Puree in a blender.
6. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve garnished with chives.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

THANKS MAMA!

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 18:37:46 GMT

Eggplant and Parmesan Cream Soup

This recipe serves: 6

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup finely chopped carrots

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1 large onion, chopped

6 ripe plum tomatoes, halved

Salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

About 1 quart low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

3 medium eggplants, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons non-fat sour cream

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion and tomatoes, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook for 10 minutes.

2. Add the bay leaf, oregano and stock and bring to a boil quickly over high heat.

3. Lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are completely tender, about 15 minutes.

4. Add the eggplant and simmer until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.

5. Blend the Parmesan cheese and sour cream together and set aside.

6. Remove the bay leaf and puree the soup in a blender. Strain and adjust the salt and pepper.

7. Serve the soup in bowls with a dollop of Parmesan cream.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

Warm and Good!

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:36:27 GMT

Organic mushroom soup with lemon and thyme

I love organic mushrooms. They are so versatile yet, at least in my opinion, highly undervalued in most kitchens. If you’ve got family and friends who adhere to vegetarian principles, then mushrooms provide a great focal point for a number of brilliant mains. Unfortunately, I find that most recipes involving mushrooms are often so overdone that the delicate and subtle flavours embodied in the mushrooms tend to be overpowered by an annoying array of flavours.

I keep telling people, if you start with fresh organic produce, there’s no need to distract people’s attention away from it. That’s what I like about this particular recipe. The flavours contained in this soup are sufficiently subtle that the wonderful aromas and textures of the mushrooms are given every opportunity to win the race to your taste buds and leave you feeling as though you’ve died and gone to heaven. Today’s recipe is all about a soup that uses the freshest organic mushrooms you can lay your hands on. Let’s get started.

Ingredients

1 organic onion
1 clove of organic garlic
2 medium organic potatoes
1 tablespoon extra virgin organic olive oil
250g organic button (white cap) mushrooms
4 cups of organic chicken stock
2 teaspoons of fresh thyme
3cm strip of lemon rind
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)

Method

Peel the onion and chop finely. Peel, chop and crush the garlic in a press. Peel the potatoes and chop into roughly 1cm cubes. Place them in a bowl of water at room temperature until ready to use. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion, garlic and potatoes for about 5 minutes to release their flavours. Add the washed mushrooms to the saucepan and sauté for a further 2 minutes. Add the stock, lemon rind and thyme. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the lemon rind. Remove approximately half of the soup and puree in a food processor or blender. Add the pureed soup mix to the saucepan and reheat. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper, garnish with sour cream, and serve with wafer crackers. Enjoy.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

Corn and Crab Chowder

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 19:25:54 GMT

Butter 2 tsp

Scallions, split and diced 2

Skim milk 1 pint

Chicken stock 1 pint

Fresh Corn, cut from the cob 9 oz

Russet potatoes, peeled and diced 2

Evaporated Skim milk 6 oz

Fresh Thyme 1 sprig

crushed black pepper 1/4 tsp

Seasalt 1/4 tsp

Backfin crabmeat. cleaned 3 1/2 oz

Parsley chopped 1 Tbsp

Heat the butter in the soup pot, add the scallions and saute them until they are tender.

Add the skim milk, stock, corn, potatoes, evaporated skim milk, thmye, pepper, and salt. Simmer the soup until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the soup from the heat. Stir in the crabmeat and parsley. If the soup is to be held for later, allow it

to cool to room temperature before adding crabmeat and parsley, refrigerate it and then reheat it. Servings 2

Chef Tim

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Remember... Grace is upon you so eat to live!™