Food Fascination

This soup was originally known as Spicy Sour Garlic, but it was decided that, all things considered, that name just didn’t quite represent this soup. Entirely vegan (depending on the garnishes you choose, of course) this is a thick, chowder-like soup that is spicy, thick, and just perfect for harvest time.

You’ll need:
1 can (14.5 oz) black beans
4 large russet potatoes
6 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 chopped medium onions
2 sliced carrots
1 can (14oz) white or yellow corn
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 Tbsp yellow curry powder
1 Tbsp hot sauce
1 can (14 oz) chopped tomatoes
2 tsp salt

Peel and cube potatoes. Boil in a large pot of water until soft. Drain, reserving 2 cups of cooking liquid. Drain black beans, adding liquid to the reserved potato liquid. Puree potatoes, black beans, and a small amount of potato liquid in a blender or food processor until smooth. Simmer puree with potato and black bean liquid over low heat or in a crockpot set to high.

In a skillet, saute chopped onion, carrots, and garlic in olive oil until lightly browned. Slowly add vinegar and curry. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add to potato base and bring to a simmer. Add corn, tomatoes, hot sauce, and salt. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, or warm in a crockpot on high for 2-3 hours.

Serve hot with lime, sour cream, or pepperjack cheese for garnish. If remaining vegan isn’t of concern, try adding poached chicken chunks.

This soup is absolutely amazing for cold, rainy spring days or as a frozen, easy-to-heat-up-on-a-weekday dinner. Serve it with French bread or baguette, and you’ve got a meal. If you already have roasted beets or leftover baked potatoes, go ahead and use them - just don’t boil the soup as long. This is also a great restricted-diet option, as it has no gluten, can easily be made vegetarian, has no dairy, and no soy. The parsnip can be replaced by a carrot if you’d like - parsnips are a white, slightly sweeter cousin to carrots.

You’ll need:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, diced
1 parsnip, chopped
4 medium beet roots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 medium russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cups beef or vegetable broth
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon dill
1 teaspoon salt

In a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat the olive oil. Add the chopped onion, garlic, and parsnip and saute until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add the beets and potatoes and heat for 2 minutes or until they’re beginning to roast. Pour in the broth and spices and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 5-10 minutes, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and let cook until the beets and potatoes are cooked through. Serve as a stew, or for a creamier soup, separate 1/4 to 1/2 of the mixture and puree in a food processor, then stir back into the remaining soup.

To freeze, allow to cool in the fridge, then separate into freezer-safe zipper lock bags or storage containers.

Makes about 4 cups of soup

Why does sour cream always turn into little lumps when I mix it into my hot soup?

To add marbled color, of course! Ok, so maybe those whitish balls of sour cream floating around in your otherwise creamy soup isn’t exactly appetizing, which is a shame because the creamy mouthfeel and bit of tang that sour cream adds is so darn good.

Dairy can be a double-edged sword when you’re cooking. The creamy mouthfeel, rich taste, and wide range of possibilities make milk, cream, sour cream, half and half, cream cheese, and even buttermilk great additions to your ingredient list. However, the protein structures that give dairy products these very features are what make it a little more difficult to deal with.

Milk is made up of two major things - protein that acts like a “net” and lightly binds things together, and fat that coats other ingredients and fills in the molecular “spaces,” making your food creamier. To test this out, blow bubbles in your milk with a straw - the proteins are what make those bubbles stick around so long.

However, that protein net is very sensitive to temperature. When it’s shocked with heat, the proteins seize up and hold onto each other, jealously guarding the fat it wraps around. It’s not that the milk doesn’t want to play nicely, it just doesn’t like being thrown in with a group of strangers. When this happens, it’s known as “curdling.” While curdling is also a sign of milk going bad, it is just the proteins seizing up and “protecting” the fact. This is how cottage cheese and regular cheese are made - the controlled curdling of milk using heat, bacteria, or other agents (such as vinegar).

Of course, the last thing you want is cottage cheese in your creamy tomato soup. Preventing this is as easy as planning ahead a bit. If you are adding anything dairy to your warm food, during cooking or during serving, then simply let it warm up a bit. There are two ways of doing this - one, set it out on the counter while you’re doing the prep work. I promise - it won’t go sour in the 45 minutes or so that it’s sitting out. Your other option is known as “tempering.” Put your dairy in a small container, then whisk or stir in a very small amount (2 Tablespoons or so for each cup of dairy) of the hot soup or hot mixture. Do this once or twice, then immediately stir in the dairy. This raises the temperature of the dairy without throwing it into a very hot environment - which gives the proteins a chance to relax and get ready for their hot bath.

This is a great mix-up of your traditional cream of chicken soup. Like all soups, it’s a great way to get rid of the little bits and pieces of leftover vegetables you’ve got sitting in your fridge - and makes a wonderful wintery lunch.

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 1 - 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1-3 cloves garlic
1/2 a medium onion or 1 small onion (optional)
2 cups milk
1/2 to 1 cup white wine (optional - just replace with milk or chicken broth if you don’t have or want to use wine)
1 small box Long Grain and Wild Rice

In a deep frying pan or wide saucepan, cover the chicken with water (if you have it, add a cube of bullion or teaspoon of chicken stock). Place over medium-high heat. Let the water reach a boil, and poach chicken for 8-12 minutes, or until cutting into the thickest part of the meat reveals no pink.

Set poached chicken on a plate and allow to cool until you can comfortably handle it. (In the fridge, if you’re in a hurry) Shred or roughly chop the chicken - don’t worry about making it look pretty.

Prepare the long grain and wild rice according to the package directions.

Chop the garlic and onions into small pieces. In a medium soup pot, saute them together with a small amount of oil, until they’re softened. Add the cream of chicken soup, milk, white wine, shredded chicken, and rice. Heat through and serve.

There are plenty of things you can add to this soup. Try adding corn for a more hearty meal. Or throw in a few teaspoons of cayenne pepper for a bit of heat. Small amounts of rosemary or thyme make great seasonings. This also freezes well - just pour into freezer-safe containers, let cool, uncovered in the fridge, then seal and pop into the freezer. To reheat, just put in a pot over very low heat.