"Orange" Soup... *ahem* I mean, Tomato Soup

Recently I shared memories of lunches reading with my brother and mom while we ate soup. As soon as I got my Blendtec, I set about creating an adult version of the "white" soup, or Creamy Mushroom Soup, I favored those childhood afternoons. I figured I might as well delve into reverse engineering my mom & brother's favorite, too: "orange" soup, or Creamy Tomato.

This time I started simple, since that's what ended up working previously. You know what - simple was all I needed! In the Blendtec, this fresh soup is just about as easy as opening a can of Campbell's. Using a standard blender adds only minimal extra work.

Fresh & Easy Tomato Soup

Amounts for 1 serving. Multiply amounts by number of servings you'd like - it's best fresh, so try to avoid leftovers. Only blend as much as 2, MAYBE three servings at once, depending on the size of your blender carafe. Blend additional batches for more servings.

1 tsp. Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base dissolved into 1 cup hot water (or 1 cup of your favorite vegetable stock)
2 whole roma tomatoes, woody nub removed (for a standard blender, chop tomatoes)
Up to 1 tsp. agave nectar (depending on how sweet the tomatoes are - at the height of the summer tomato season, you won't need any sweetener)

Place all ingredients into blender and secure lid tightly. Select "Soup" option on the Blendtec to get hot, delicious soup straight from the blender. For a standard blender, puree until completely smooth, then transfer to microwave safe bowl or a pot on the stove to heat.

Variations:
For a more complex flavor, try adding one or more of the following ingredients. Amounts given for one serving; multiply for additional servings.

3 leaves fresh basil
1 strip red bell pepper
Small wedge yellow or sweet onion
Small wedge avocado
1/2 inch cube of cheddar cheese (or equivalent of shredded for a standard blender)

Steak, Stir-Fried

I realized I couldn't even remember the last time I cooked red meat. I guess that explained the craving. So I picked up a steak at the butcher and threw this quick stir-fry together from items in my crisper and pantry. Super yummy lunch; this really hit the spot. As good as just about any Chinese delivery.

Easy Broccoli Beef

Serves 4.

1 lb. boneless sirloin steak, chopped into roughly 1inch cubes
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. corn starch
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp. seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. ground or fresh grated ginger
1 tsp. sesame oil
about 10 dashes chili oil
1 Tbsp. Truvia stevia sweetener (or 2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar)
1 cup beef broth
2 Tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil, divided
2 cups broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, cut into roughly 2 inch strips
1 yellow onion, cut into roughly 2 inch strips
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
2 cups cooked brown rice

Sprinkle cubes of steak on all sides with garlic salt and pepper. Set aside to rest for 15-30 minutes. Meanwhile, in bowl or measuring cup, mix cornstarch with soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, chili oil, and sweetener/sugar. Add beef broth and blend with a fork. Set aside. Blot steak cubes dry with paper towels. In large skillet, heat one tablespoon of the cooking oil over medium high heat. Add steak cubes in one layer. Sear on one side without turning for about 1-1 1/2 minutes, until just browned. Flip the chunks and sear for another 1-1 1/2 minutes until browned on the other side. Remove from pan and set aside. Add remaining tablespoon of cooking oil to the skillet and swish it around to recoat the surface. Add broccoli, bell pepper, and onion to the pan and stir-fry until the broccoli is just tender, about 7-8 minutes, stirring often. Add pressed garlic and continue to stir-fry another 30 seconds. Add steak cubes back into the skillet with the vegetables and toss to combine. Blend sauce mixture again with the fork. Pour over skillet contents. Toss everything together over heat until sauce has thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Mound 1/2 cup rice on each plate. Divide stir-fry evenly into four portions and pour over rice.

Creamless Creamy Mushroom Soup

Growing up, I have fond memories of lunches around the kitchen table with my mom and brother, each of us with a bowl of soup, a hunk of cheese, and a book in our hands, our heads buried in literary worlds while hot liquid filled our stomachs. My brother and mom preferred "orange" soup and "orange" cheese (Campbell's Tomato Soup and a big slice of cheddar), while I always insisted on "white" soup and "white" cheese (Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup and a big slice of mozzarella). As an adult, I've never lost my love for soup, cheese, or a good book. But Campbell's doesn't cut it any more, and with age I've also developed an intolerance to cream. Creamy soups, chowders, pastas, and soft serve - how I miss thee! But I never give up the fight to find ways to enjoy those old favorites with my new restrictions, a fight I've documented on this blog (such as here and here).

When I got my Blendtec for my recent 30th birthday, I immediately resolved to create a cream of mushroom soup that took me back to those days around the table with my family. I started to experiment immediately. I tried all sorts of ideas that sounded good in my head - white wine, onions, leeks, cream cheese. They were all too harsh or, in the case of the cream cheese, disappeared entirely. It turned out, as it often does, simplicity won the day. The glutamates in soy sauce bump up the umami-rich nucleotides in the mushrooms for full, savory flavor. A little garlic for depth, a touch of cornstarch to mimic the creaminess of the soup of my youth. Voila. That's all it takes.

"Creamy" Mushroom Soup

Serves 2.

12 oz. sliced crimini mushrooms

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 1/2 cups light, unsweetened almond, soy, or other milk substitute, or even milk, if you prefer

1/2 tsp corn starch

In a preheated skillet sprayed with PAM, saute mushrooms and soy sauce over medium-high until tender, about 6-7 minutes. Add garlic and continue to saute for another 30 seconds - 1 minute. Remove from heat. In blender carafe, add "milk," cornstarch, and all but 2/3 cup of the mushrooms. Blend until entirely smooth and combined. Add the remaining 2/3 cup of mushrooms and pulse a couple times until the slices have broken up into smaller pieces without blending them in entirely. Transfer to a pot on the stove and heat over medium. Simmer for a few minutes until mushrooms are heated through. Salt and pepper to taste. Hunk of "white" cheese and tattered paperback optional.

Smoky Kale Chips

It's been awhile, hasn't it? I've been having a lot of fun with other people's recipes (yes, mostly America's Test Kitchen, you know me so well) and playing with my new Blendtec the husband man gave me for my 30 birthday, so I just haven't had a lot of new creations to pass on. I'll start sharing some Blendtec recipes as I work them out, especially ones that can be created with a standard blender. But for now, how about a nutritious snack to hold you over?

Since my original Kale Edition post, I've only included kale in stir-fry and soup recipes on here. I thought it would be fun to introduce you to another use, one in the form of a crispy, salty snack (my favorite kind!) Kale chips are easy to make. All you really need is oil, salt, kale, and an oven. But, like potato chips, you can get creative with the seasoning to find your favorite flavors. Here's a combination I've been especially loving at the moment, but it does require a special ingredient.

I often infuse olive oil for an extra layer of flavor in any recipe. Well, I admit I'm currently hooked on a flavored olive oil I didn't make myself. The Smoked Olive has a whole range of oils infused with smoky goodness. I'm head over heels for the most intense in the line, Santa Fe. If I'm paying for it, I want FLAVOR. This is like a marriage between local foods I love and the southwest cuisine I grew up with. And others agree; it's won awards! It adds a warmth and depth to kale chips that I find utterly addictive.

Smoky Kale Chips

1 bunch kale, ribs removed and ripped into pieces, washed and THOROUGHLY dried
1 Tbsp The Smoked Olive Santa Fe Chili Smoked Olive Oil
1 Tbsp imported balsamic vinegar (stronger flavor than domestic)
1 tsp salt, more to taste if desired

Preheat oven to 300. In a large bowl, massage kale with oil until evenly coated. Add vinegar and salt and massage again until evenly coated. Spread in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Optionally, place them on a rack set inside the baking sheet to promote greater airflow.

Bake 30-40 minutes until crisp. Start tossing the leaves and checking for doneness at 20 minutes and again every few minutes after that to avoid burning. Remove from oven and sprinkle with additional salt while hot, if desired.

Chili Night

Another recipe forged during my foray into cooking with V8. Nothing fancy. Chili night shouldn't be fancy. But there's no reason it can't be healthy. About 350 calories, 18 grams of fiber, 32 grams of protein, almost no fat, and two full servings of vegetables per bowl - with zero loss of flavor and satisfaction. Who needs fancy?

Turkey Chili

I like to use a variety of beans in many combinations: pinto, red, kidney, black... Toss in your favorites or use whatever cans have been hanging around your pantry the last couple years. For the tomatoes, try ones flavored with adobo, chipotle, or green chile for an extra layer of flavor. Any sugar will work, but I like turbinado or brown sugar for slightly deeper sweet; or skip the sugar altogether in favor of a hefty sprinkle of calorie free stevia sweetener. Serves 6.

1lb. lean ground turkey breast
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. Mexican oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1-2 Tbsp chili powder, depending on desired spice level
Salt & pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 cans diced tomatoes, with liquid
2 cups V8
1 Tbsp sugar
4 cans beans, drained

In a pan (or slow cooker bowl if it's removable and stovetop safe) sprayed with Pam, saute turkey, onion, bell pepper, oregano, cumin, and chili powder over medium high heat until turkey is cooked through with no pink. Salt & pepper to taste. Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds or so until fragrant. In slow cooker, combine turkey mixture with tomatoes, V8, sugar, and beans. Cover and cook over low heat for 4-6 hours. Serve alone or topped with sour cream, fresh cilantro, grated cheese, and/or lime slices.

Silky Sweet Potato Soup

Are you sick of soup, yet? Neither am I! Good thing, too, because I got a new toy. Way back in the day when my blog was a fresh little newborn, I discovered a trick that guaranteed a velvety vegetable soup. I cooked the vegetables, whipped them in the KitchenAid mixer, and then "strained" them by pressing them through a mesh sieve. It was time and work intensive. I knew the process would be greatly simplified by a ricer. Well, take a look at the America's Test Kitchen recommended tool my parents gave me as one of my holiday gifts! I couldn't wait to give it a spin and instantly had its inaugural soup in mind.

I've made simplistic sweet potato soup before - stew sweet potato chunks in milk/dairy substitute and butter/butter substitute, mash 'em up, and mix with more liquid to reach the desired consistency. Easy peasy! But I knew I could make it smoother and more delicious with a couple tweaks. The leek and turnip add richness and complexity to balance the slight sweetness. You don't need a ricer to make this soup, but if you can get your hands on one, you'll find that the texture goes beyond even velvety, all the way to silken.

Silky Sweet Potato Soup

Feel free to use milk and butter in place of my vegan non-dairy substitutions. Serves 4.

1 bulb leek, dark greens removed, diced
2 medium white/yellow sweet potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into half-inch slices
1 medium turnip, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into half-inch slices
4 Tbsp butter substitute (I like Light Smart Balance Buttery Spread)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups light unsweetened soy milk, approximate

1. Spray large pot with Pam and heat to medium. Sautee leek until soft, 5-10 minutes. Add sweet potato, turnips, butter substitute, sugar, salt, and one cup of the milk. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until potatoes fall apart with a fork, about 35-45 minutes.

2. OPTIONAL: Strain and reserve cooking liquid. Press vegetables through ricer using medium-holed plate. Discard tough fibrous parts remaining in the ricer's bowl. Add reserved cooking liquid back to the vegetables.

"Riced" sweet potato mixture.

3. Add about a cup and a half more soy milk to the vegetables. Blend using your preferred method: in the blender (may require two batches), with a hand or stand mixer, or with an immersion blender. Return to stove and slowly add more soy milk until desired consistency is reached, approximately one and half more cups. Heat over medium until hot. Salt to taste if desired. Garnish with a sprinkle of brown or turbinado sugar.

Cheater's Cioppino

This is not real cioppino. But it is pretty darn close, and pretty darn good.

Cioppino is a tomato-based seafood stew invented in San Francisco more than a century ago. It can contain clams, mussels, shrimp, white fish, and any other of the day's catch. And crab. Though it doesn't have to by definition, I am here proclaiming that it should always have crab. And I mean ALWAYS. Crab is sort of the point. And guess what - it's Dungeness crab season here in Northern California! 'Tis the season, indeed.

I grew up eating this Italian-American soup homemade by my mom from a recipe she procured on Fisherman's Wharf back in the '70s. From stove to table, it is an EXPERIENCE. You make a sauce from scratch in which you boil crab and a variety of other crustaceans and mollusks still in the shell. Meanwhile, cover the table in newsprint, fill it with crusty sourdough bread, giant bowls, soup spoons, crab crackers, tiny fish forks, and rolls of paper towels. Tie dishtowels around your neck, throw another in your lap, and you are ready for a feast. Crack, peel, slurp, and repeat, juices dripping off your elbows all the while. Just toss the shells right into the center to be folded up and tossed out with the stained paper. The kitchen (and your hands) smell like seafood for days. It is truly incredible.

But this ordeal is just not feasible as a regular meal. Is there a way to enjoy cioppino without it becoming a whole day event, or involving a trip to the Wharf? (FYI, we love the cioppino at Alioto's - just in case you are making that trip.) Could I create a facsimile easy and quick enough for a weeknight without losing the classic flavor?

Why yes, yes I could. As you know, I've been using V8 a lot as a soup base. I employed that method again for a rich, flavorful, and nutritious base right out of the bottle. I added the same vegetables and aromatics used in the traditional version, but included much more than the usual skimpy amounts. I knew a lot of delicious seafood flavor would be lost by not stewing shells and fish in the broth. I reclaimed some of this flavor by adding clam juice. Finally, I used fresh crab and shrimp meat and canned clams for the seafood - no messing with shells. What came out was a supremely flavorful dish that tasted a lot like the cioppino I grew up with. Plus, with about 300 calories, three servings of vegetables, and tons of protein in every bowl, there's plenty of nutrition and zero guilt. Sure, it doesn't taste exactly like the original, and the whole spectacle of in-the-shell seafood is a lot of fun on the right night, but I have made this dish easy and fast for anytime.

Cheater's Cioppino

I highly recommend using Snow's brand clam products. I eat a lot of clams and this is my favorite brand when I go canned instead of fresh. Serves 3.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeds and white parts removed, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups V8 vegetable juice
1 8oz bottle Snow's clam juice
2 6.5oz cans Snow's chopped clams, juices drained and reserved (should be about 1 cup juices)
1/2lb fresh crab meat, preferably Dungeness
1/4lb fresh cooked bay shrimp
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped

In a large pot, heat oil over medium high. Add onion, pepper, and celery. Sautee for a few minutes until onion is translucent and soft. Add garlic and sautee another 30 seconds or so, until aromatic. Stir in tomatoes, V8, bottled clam juice, and reserved juice from canned clams. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in shrimp, clams, and parsley. Finally, gently fold in crab - show care not to break up lumps of meat too much. Simmer for another 5 minutes, just until seafood is hot. Serve hot with crusty sourdough or baguette, if desired.