Broccoli, Bacon and Cheese Soup

Broccoli, Bacon & Cheese Soup

Ingredients

• 4 -5 c broccoli florets
• 5 slices of bacon
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 1/2 c - 3 1/2 c shredded cheese (I use a Mexican blend)
• 2 c whole milk
• 1 c half and half
• 3 Tbls flour
• 2 Tbls butter
• 1 14 oz can low sodium chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• To start, slice some bacon into small pieces.
• Saute the bacon in a large, deep skillet until nicely browned. Remove with a slotted spoon. Reserve 2 Tbls of bacon drippings and remove the rest.
• Dice up the onion and shallot. I ended up with about 1 cup total.
• Add the butter to the bacon drippings and let it melt. Add in the onion and shallot.
• Cook for several minutes until translucent.
• Add the flour and combine well. Let this cook for a minute or two to cook out the raw flour taste.
• Add in the chopped broccoli and remaining ingredients except for the cheese.
• Let the soup come to a simmer and then cover with a lid.
• The soup needs to simmer for about 25-30 minutes - just until the broccoli is nice and tender.
• Go ahead and turn the heat off. Now comes some more delicious flavor - the CHEESE! Depending on how ooey-gooey you like your soup to be you can add in more. I'd suggest starting with 2 cups and then adding in 1/2 cup increments till you reach your desired cheesiness. Mix the cheese in until it's melted into the soup.
• If you like your soup chunky, you're done! If you like a more creamy, consistent texture, use an immersion blender of a blender to get your desired consistency. I used my blender and did it in two batches.

A Meaty Affair Zum Franziskaner, Munich, Germany

 A Meaty Affair Zum Franziskaner, Munich, Germany

•     Schwammerlsuppe to start (€5,90)
•     Rich and creamy mushroom soup with meaty bites of three different types of mushroom
•     Pouring on the sauce
•     Sinful but absolutely delicious
•     Crispy skin and pork served the no-frills Bavarian way
•     Different mustards for different dishes such as Leberkäs (German meat loaf) and Weißwürst (Bavarian veal sausage)
•     The hallway
•     No prizes for guessing where the beer is produced
•     Outside the restaurant

Recipe: Japanese Miso Soup (Miso-shiru)

Recipe: Japanese Miso Soup (Miso-shiru)

We love Miso Soup!

Miso soup (miso-shiru) is made from dashi stock, miso paste and other added ingredients according to personal preference; I like to add tofu, super grade wakame, Shiitake mushrooms and scallions. Super grade wakame is a type of premium seaweed and is said to have a nutritional value 30 times higher than land vegetables and it will contribute to your health, well-being and radiant facial appearance.

Miso soup using pure miso paste contains many nutritional values such as excellent source of dietary fibre, protein, minerals and vitamin K. According to Wikipedia, researchers at Japan's National Cancer Centre suggested "eating three or more bowls of miso soup everyday could cut women's risk of developing breast cancer". Miso paste however is quite high in sodium; the original recipe actually suggested adding 50g miso paste to the dashi, however I have decreased the amount to half as I deemed it flavorful enough.

Baby C's favorite soup :)

Usually I would use either red (akamiso) or mixed (awase) miso paste. There is a miso paste brand called "Marukome Boy" which contains dashi already, so all you need to do is add it to water. For me, I still like to make dashi from scratch or using the sachets, as it feels more "authentic". ;)

We had a Japanese-themed lunch one afternoon... ebikko sushi, miso soup and Hokkaido cupcakes.

Japanese traditional miso soup (miso-shiru)

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5-10 minutes

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

1. 450ml dashi stock II
2. 1 1/2 tbsp red or awase miso paste
3. 125g firm silken tofu
4. 2 Shiitake mushrooms, soaked and finely sliced
5. 1-2 tsp super-grade wakame
6. 2 tbsp finely chopped spring onions

To Do :-

1. Place 2 tbsp of the dashi in a small bowl, add the miso paste and blend until smooth.

2. Place remaining dashi in a saucepan over medium high heat and bring just to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Spoon the miso mixture into the simmering stock, stirring continuously to dissolve the miso paste. Add shiitake mushrooms, tofu and wakame and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with spring onions and serve immediately.

Oven Roasted Squash, Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

Oven Roasted Squash, Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

1.     1 butternut squash (about 2 lb), peeled, seeded & diced into cubes
2.     3 large sweet potatoes, peeled & diced into cubes
3.     1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
4.     1 onion, peeled and cut into 4 wedges
5.     3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6.     Salt & pepper
7.     8 cups vegetable broth
8.     1/3 cup pine nuts
9.     Cooking spray
10.     1 granny smith apple, cut into small cubes
11.     2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Directions:

•     Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
•     Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with foil. Divide squash, potatoes, carrots and onion between baking sheets. Drizzle oil, salt & pepper over the veggies. Toss veggies to coat. Roast until lightly brown, about 25 minutes. Stir veggies around the 15 minute mark.
•     In a soup pot, combine oven roasted veggies & vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for 15 minutes.
•     Puree the soup by using an immersion blender or a blender working in batches. Taste and season with salt & pepper. Bring soup back up to a simmer.
•     In a skillet, toast pine nuts. Remove nuts from skillet. Spray skillet with cooking spray. At a medium heat, saute apple cubes for 3 minutes. Set aside.
•     When soup is ready, ladle into bowls and top with pine nuts, apples and parsley.