Tomato Fennel Soup Recipe

Tomato Fennel Soup

Photo Credit: Jon Sullivan

*Cooking oil                                        (2 tsp./10 ml)

Chopped fennel bulb (white part only)  (2 cups/500 ml)

Chopped onion                                    (1 cup/250 ml)

Minced garlic cloves                            (2 cloves)

**Chopped tomatoes                          (28 oz./796 ml)

(any kind, as long as they 

are sweet and delicious!)

Chicken stock                                     (2 cups/500 ml)

Balsamic vinegar                                 (2 tsp./10 ml)

***Granulated sugar                           (1 tsp./5 ml)

Salt                                                     (1/2 tsp./2 ml)

Pepper                                                (1/4 tsp/1 ml)

*I used olive oil. I don't use any other cooking oil. Works every time.

**The recipe actually calls for a can of diced tomatoes (with juice), but if tomatoes are in season, for pete's sake, use those please!

***I halved this recipe, as it is designed to serve six and I only wanted to serve three. It worked perfectly, three medium-sized bowls of soup. I used one sugar cube (I don't have loose sugar as I don't bake). So two sugar cubes would work for the full recipe.

1. Heat cooking oil in large saucepan on medium.

2. Add fennel, onion, and garlic. Cook for approx. 10  minutes, stirring often, until onion and fennel are softened.

3. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, balsamic vinegar, granulated sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir. Bring to a boil.

4. Simmer, partially covered, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fennel is tender.

5. Carefully process in blender until smooth.

6. Makes about 6 cups.

7. Eat and enjoy.

Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup (not what you may think...)

Grilled Cheese is a classic. The classic comfort food (feel free to dispute!). And like all classics, whether it's a Led Zeppelin song, Beethoven's Fur Elise, or the grilled cheese sandwich, putting your own spin on it-making a cover of it, so to speak-is not only welcomed but encouraged in my world.

Yours truly enjoying an American Grilled Cheese
@ The Grilled Cheese Grill Food Cart in the Alberta Arts District, Portland, Oregon

(Yes, if it ain't broke don't fix it. But, you see, I'm not trying to fix anything, or re-create it, or say that something was inherently or at all wrong about the original. I'm just doing my thing, inspired by the one and only original. That's what I call respect.)

Anyways, my mum and I went out for a detox spa treatment today and I decided a few days ago that I was going to treat her and my boyfriend to a homemade special lunch.

The Hungarian Grilled Cheese Sandwich
courtesy of  all you need is cheese 

The menu: Tomato Fennel Soup & Hungarian Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Yum!
Total Ingredients: 10 and 4, respectively
Cost: low
Difficulty Level: 5/10 (easy!)
Deliciousness Level: 8/10 (yum!)
Customer Rating ("customers" being my mum and my boyfriend): 4.5/5 (grand success!)

Even on a summer's day (perhaps not a plus-30 one) this meal would make for a great lunch! Making soups and sandwiches are seriously fun for me; they always seem less daunting than grand dinner dishes that I take one look at and turn away from in disdain. (I was looking at a Thanksgiving cooking course the other day and as soon as I saw that a recipe for a whole oven-baked turkey was going to be part of it, well, let's just say I'm not considering that class anymore.)

The soup recipe is from Company's Coming Soups cookbook and the sandwich is from the 2010 Fall Issue of all you need is cheese. The former you can easily find in any bookstore (or Zellers, or Home Outfitters, etc.) and the latter is free in many grocery stores. I will include both recipes in a following post for your thorough enjoyment.
P.S.: This issue of all you need is cheese is dedicated to the grilled cheese, so eat your heart out from the basic Italian panini to the more decadent Curry Me Brie by Chef Paul Rogalski or the seriously luxe French Toast Grilled Cheese by Chef Melissa Craig of Bearfoot Bistro in Whistler.

Roasted Yam Cream Soup

Roasted Yam Cream Soup

CARDAMOM CREAM:


Sour cream (1/2 cup/125 ml)
Ground cardamom (1/2 tsp/2 ml)

SOUP:


Unpeeled yam cut into 1/2 inch slices (1 lb./454 g)
Carrots cut into 1/2 inch slices (1/2 lb./225 g)
Unpeeled garlic cloves (4)
Olive oil (1 tbsp/15 ml)


Olive oil (1 tsp/5ml)
Chopped leek (white part only) (1 cup/250 ml)
Finely grated gingerroot (1 tsp/5 ml)


Chicken (or vegetable) stock (5 cups/1.25 L)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)


Half-and-half cream (1/2 cup/125 ml)

1. Combine sour cream and cardamom in small bowl until smooth. Chill until ready to serve.
2. Pre-heat oven to 425 F/220 C.
3. Put yam, carrots, and garlic cloves into large bowl. Drizzle with first amount of olive oil (1 tbsp). Toss until coated. Spread evenly on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes until yam and carrot are tender-crisp. Cool. Transfer yam and garlic to cutting board. Discard yam and garlic peels. Set aside.
4. Heat second amount of olive oil (1 tsp) in large saucepan on medium. Add leek and ginger. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until leek is softened.
5. Add stock, salt, and pepper and the roasted yam, carrots, and garlic. Stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Carefully process with hand blender or in blender until smooth.
6. Add half-and-half cream. Heat and stir for about 2 minutes until heated through.
7. Spoon chilled cardamom cream on individual servings.
8. Serve and enjoy!

Serves 6.


I halved this recipe exactly and it worked out beautifully. It is a truly delicious soup, and while it may seem slightly laborious, it's not that bad and totally worth the effort. Easy to make in bulk, healthy, and unique. Just be extra careful if you use a blender to process it. Make sure the top of your blender is secure and cover it with a cloth while you are blending to be safe.  I had no problems, but avoiding burns and catastrophic splatters is important. Don't rush this part. Enjoy it! Seeing the soup go from a chunky vegetable broth to a smooth and silky delight is quite rewarding.

Also of note: I forgot to roast and thus include the garlic in the recipe, and I didn't discard the yam peels. The soup was still delicious and autumn-like, so if you suffer from memory loss and laziness like me, don't fret. You'll still make the greatest soup ever.

Easter Recipes

Chinese Crabmeat Soup

Prep Time: 5 minutes  

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Canned crabmeat (7 oz/220g, drained)

*Peanut oil (1 tbsp)

Fresh ginger (1 tbsp, shredded)

Fish broth or chicken broth (3 cups/24 fl oz/750 ml)

Canned creamed corn (1 can/14 oz/440 g)

Fresh cilantro (1 tbsp, chopped)

**Chinese rice wine  (1 tsp)

*I used olive oil and it worked just deliciously.

**I used Japanese sake (rice wine). What's the diff I ask?

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and after about 30 seconds-1 minute add the broth and creamed corn. Stir well and bring the mixture to a boil. 

2. Once boil is reached, add crabmeat and stir well. Bring back to boil.

3. When the soup returns to a boil, stir in cilantro and rice wine. 

4. Serve and enjoy!

Serves 4-6. 

Food, Glorious Food

I've gained a few pounds over the last few weeks. Too much bacon? Is it the polenta? Not enough veggies? I actually first noticed it when getting ready for work last week, and my button-down white shirt well, tugged a bit around my stomach. And then, I noticed a bit of extra pudge in an "intimate" situation. And otherwise. Fuck. It's so annoying because I have made huge efforts to be healthier in my life, I cook frequently and healthily, I'm more invested in learning about food security, re-use of food products, farming, organics, you name it. I've been looking and feeling much healthier over the last five months; I lost about half the weight I gained back in summer 2008; and I've been developing a great waistline over the last couple of months. Was it the bacon? Probably. Not enough veggies? Most likely. But it has happened quite quickly. Anyways, I have found a fantastic $5 dance class on Thursdays really close to where I live that I hope to start going to next week. And I'm considering getting a used treadmill. I am hopelessly inactive. I walk everywhere, but walking up one flight of stairs at the Skytrain station winds me. Not good.
Anyways, today was a pretty good day for food. I had a perfect egg and multigrain toast and Americano at Epicurean this morning. Wonderfully healthy and hearty Red Snapper Soup from The Stock Market. I made a delicious salad this afternoon: cubed Gruyere cheese, sliced strawberries, chopped red peppers, sprinkle of radish sprouts, one avocado, and a spurt of blue cheese dressing. Delicious and colourful. I made another chanterelle mushroom recipe: Mushroom and Watercress Soup. I replaced the watercress with the radish sprouts though. It wasn't that great. I had to add a lot of salt, and lemon juice and pepper, to make it tasty enough. I think the creamy recipes of mushroom and watercress soup would have worked better. But I don't have a blender. It's on the Christmas wish list. Anyways, as all creators know, every success has a mistake to go along with it. Hopefully the mushroom tart will work on Friday. And, if there's any chanterelles left over, I will be making a delicious goat cheese and mushroom pizza. Mmmm good.
Oh, new favourite coffee drink: Espresso con panna. Espresso with whipped cream. Hot damn.