A recipe and a cute photo!

Lately I have been having lots of good memories of childhood, whether it songs I heard when I was a kid, crafts I did, or old photos, it's put me in a warm nostalgic mood. The recipe I'm sharing today is one my Mama used to make, and it was one of my favorites! It's a white bean and escarole (or spinach) soup. Maybe this is where my love of white beans first began! 
It is a very simple soup and therefore each ingredients really shines. I highly recommend it for these cold days of winter.
The original recipe calls for escarole (a bitter green, similar to kale and swiss chard) but I like it with spinach, which is much easier to find!

White Bean and Spinach Soup
adapted from Molly Katzen

2 cups cooked white beans (canned or 1 cup uncooked, simmered in water for 1 1/2-2 hours)
1 tablespoon oil and butter
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper
5 cups stock/water (if you cooked your own beans you can use some of the leftover cooking water)
1/2 pound chopped spinach

In a pot, melt the butter and oil. Saute the onion and garlic for 3-5 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, bay leaf and salt and pepper. Saute another 5 minutes.
Add the stock/water. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes.
Add the beans and spinach, cook on low heat for another 15 minutes. Season to taste.
Simple and delicious!

Here is one of those nostalgic photos...

That's me on the left, my dad in the middle and Zoe on the right! We were quite the ragamuffins!

Asparagus...yum!

If you have been to the market lately you will probably have noticed the abundance of asparagus, I have and it has resulted in a lot of asparagus eating!
I love vegetables, but I can't narrow down my favorite vegetables in list form, I try but this is what happens:
"Ooh brussels sprouts. No, kholarabi! Wait, and blanched green beans. Fresh corn! Swiss Chard, I think. And beet greens!" And it goes on. But I will say asparagus is in the top 20!
It is so versatile and can be as simple as grilling a few spears or making a creamy asparagus soup!
This is the recipe I grew up eating and it is heaven. Pure asparagus deliciousness.
For those of you who haven't much experience in the asparagus department a quick note...When preparing asparagus you need to snap/cut the bottoms of the stalk off as it is tough. Sometimes it is an inch or more, depending on how fresh the asparagus is.
Although this is not in the following recipe, I snap my stalks and take the tough ends and make stock to use in the soup. This really intensifies the asparagus flavor and makes use of the whole vegetable. Just simple put the tough ends into a pot and add some carrot and chopped onion. Then add cold water to cover the vegetables. Simmer this for about 40 minutes, then strain it and voila asparagus stalk stock.

Creamy Asparagus Soup
adapted from Molly Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook
Serves 5

2 pounds asparagus
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons flour (I used rice flour so it would be gluten-free for Zoe)
2 cups water (or asparagus stalk stock!)
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste

Snap off asparagus ends, make stock or discard. Chop the remaining stalks into 1 inch pieces.
Melt the butter in a pot. Add the onion, asparagus stalks and salt. Saute 10 minutes.
Stir in the flour, cook for 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add in the stock/water. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Puree the soup in a blender or food processor, adding the milk.
Return the soup to the pot and taste for seasonings. Don't boil the soup because you now have dairy in there!
Enjoy!

Finally a recipe!

I wanted to share this soup recipe with you today, it has two of my favorite ingredients in it...beans and yogurt! It is a very simple recipe and is quite satisfying, I actually ate it for breakfast this morning!

Yogurt Soup with Rice and Chickpeas
from Claudia Roden's Tamarind & Saffron
serves 6

100g rice (about 1/2 cup), cooked

4 cups chicken stock, homemade or bought

2 cups thick plain yogurt, not non-fat (I usually use something in the range of 6% - 11% milk fat)

2 tablespoons flour

 2 egg yolks

pepper and salt

14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Bring the chicken stock to a boil in large pot, reduce to a very low heat.
In a bowl whisk together the yogurt, flour and egg yolks. Season with salt and pepper.
Whisk a bit of the hot stock into the yogurt mixture, just to bring it closer to the temperature of the stock. Then pour the yogurt mixture into the broth. Stir, allowing to the soup to cook until it thickens slightly.
Right before serving stir in the rice and chickpeas and heat through.

There you go! Have a great day!

Carrot Coconut Soup

This week I have gone baby crazy! Not only in food for mama's but treats for the babes, my sewing machine has been pretty busy. I have added to my baby tag blanket repertoire, I've added double thick swaddling blankets and burp clothes. The best thing about sewing baby stuff is that it's usually small and can be completed in a day and they make the cutest baby fabric!
Here is the recipe for the carrot coconut soup recipe I posted about this week. It's a great recipe for people with food allergies as it contains no gluten, no dairy, and is vegetarian!


Carrot Coconut Soup
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
6 cups carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly chopped ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 15 ounce can full fat coconut milk


Heat the oil in large pot and add the onions. Saute for about 7 minutes. Stir in the ginger, curry powder, and chili flakes, cook 1 minute. Add in the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes.
Pour in the stock and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and cover, cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the carrots are soft.
Puree the soup in a blender or using an immersion blender (stick blender). Season with salt and pepper.