Not Just a Critic

Roasted Tomato Soup

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 09:48:35 -0400

This recipe is a hybrid from two different recipes I recently read. One recipe was for a roasted tomato soup... the other for a creamy tomato soup (using white potatoes for the “creaminess”). This soup turns out delicious and can also be frozen. The best part is that it is a creamy soup but without dairy. It makes about 8 servings.

One thing I’d like to make note of is the type of tomatoes I used. I planted salsa tomatoes this year which are very similar to roma tomatoes. However, I find them to not have the same kind of flavor or texture that the roma tomatoes have (they tend to be harder and not as flavorful). You can use roma tomatoes if that is your preference but for my recipes I’ve used all kinds of tomatoes: steak, seedless (similar to the hothouse type you find in the grocery store) and black truffle tomatoes. I find the sweeter tomatoes taste incredible after roasting.

Ingredients
3 lbs fresh tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (chopped and not in oil)
Dried basil and oregano
1/2 medium red onion
2-3 peppers (optional, sweet or hot based on your tastes)
6 cloves of garlic
6 cups chicken stock
1 lb white potatoes, peeled (do not use russet potatoes)
Salt & pepper to taste

Roasting the tomatoes
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Core and cut the tomatoes in half vertically. If the tomato is really big, cut it into quarters. Cut the red onion into large chunks. If you are adding peppers, halve and seed them, removing the membrane and stems. Put the tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic into a large bowl. Sprinkle the dried basil, oregano, salt and pepper across the mix of vegetables (I typically like to put a light coat of each spice across to achieve the proper flavor).

Pour the olive oil and vinegar over the vegetables and mix to coat the veggies well. Place the vegetables in a large Pyrex dish in preparation for roasted. There should only be a single layer of veggies for the roasting process. If you don’t have enough room in the dish, use a second or prepare to do the roasting in two batches.

Place the veggie mix into the oven and roast them for 30 to 45 minutes. Mix them at least once during the roasting time. They are done when the edges begin to brown and the tomato skins become wrinkled (see the photo above). Remove them from the oven and let cool. Once they are cool enough to touch, peel the skins from the tomatoes by hand. The pepper skins may be done enough to peel but if they aren’t you can leave them in tact.

The Soup
About halfway through the roasting process, bring the six cups of chicken stock to a boil. Add the peeled potatoes to the boiling stock and boil until fork tender. If the potatoes are done before the tomatoes, simply remove them from the heat and let stand until the tomatoes are done.

Add the roasted tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, onions and garlic to the stock with the potatoes. Use a hand blender (also called an immersion blender - see the graphic to the right) and blend the soup until creamy. It is now ready to serve!

Substitutes and Add-ons
The best part of this time of year is that there are tons of treats in the garden and at farmer stands. You can add whatever might be fresh to the soup (i.e. zucchini and peppers) but aren’t integral to the soup itself.

If you have fresh basil and oregano, by all means use it! Same thing with fresh dill - it would be a nice addition to the soup.

Have an extra lemon sitting around? Use the juice of the lemon instead of balsamic vinegar for your acid. Or, you can do half and half.

Don’t have fresh garlic? You can use granulated or roasted garlic powder instead. Do you like thyme and rosemary? Add those into the mix of spices you use on your tomatoes for roasting. If you don’t have a red onion (or don’t like them) use a yellow or sweet onion instead. Personally, I think the red works best because when roasted it gives a nice sweet taste... but to each his own.

Grilled Veggies

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:38:43 -0400

For this recipe you can use pretty much any vegetable that is hardy enough to stay together under the heat of the grill. Feel free to swap out whatever veggies you prefer or have on hand for your dinner. Don’t hesitate to make lots of extra so you have it for the whole week or store some away in the freezer.

Ingredients
Chop in big enough pieces that they will not fall through cracks in the grilling grate (pictured above):

1 HUGE zucchini
1/2 Vidalia onion, cut in thick rings
3 bell peppers of your preferred color
1 hot pepper
2 green tomatoes

Mix the veggies together in a large mixing bowl. Add the following flavors to the mix:

Fresh basil (5 leaves, snipped finely)
Fresh parsley (3 sprigs, snipped finely)
Fresh dill (3 sprigs, snipped)
Extra virgin olive oil (2 swirls around the bowl)
Balsamic vinegar (1 swirl around the bowl)
Guava nectar syrup (1 swirl around the bowl)
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Mix the veggies again, allow to sit for at least 30 minutes to marinate (mix occasionally) and then put in grill basket and onto the grill.

The guava nectar syrup is something I picked up in the organic section of the supermarket. It is a natural and low-cal sweetener. If you don’t have this syrup, you can use any natural sweetener syrup (like honey) or you can use a powder form (Stevia, Truvia, etc.)

Dad’s Fresh Dill Pickles

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 21:41:41 -0400

This recipe is from my favorite cookbook “Treasures in Lithuanian Cooking” given to me by one of my aunts. When my mom made these pickles, she just put them in a big ceramic pot and put a plate on top to keep the cucumbers submerged (versus the preserving jars in the recipe below). These pickles will be ready to eat as early as 24 hours after preparation but it’s best to wait at least a couple of days for maximum taste.

3 pounds small cucumbers
8 cups of water
1/2 cup coarse salt
3-4 bunches of fresh dill (best with stems and seeds intact)
Several very large preserving jars (or big ceramic bowl as mentioned above)

Clean and wash canning jars thoroughly. Wash cucumbers and trim tips. Fill the jars with cucumbers, alternating them with large sprigs of dill, cut roughly into 4-inch lengths. Boil 8 cups of water with the salt. Pour boiling water over cucumbers and dill in the jars. Let cool and refrigerate.

Try to wait at least 24 hours before quartering the pickles... that way they’ll stay more crispy. Personally, I prefer keeping them whole and not quartering them at all.

Enjoy!

Quick Garlic-Basil Pasta

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:09:28 -0400

This is an adapted recipe for someone who is not inclined towards a white clam sauce. So, instead this is going to stick to non-bottom feeder saltiness and will provide a yummy garlic basil pasta.

Ingredients...
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
5 cloves garlic, diced
2 cups chicken stock
2 chicken breasts
1/2 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (or, if you have a pesto blend add 3 tbsp)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups dry pasta of your choice (I use protein whole wheat pasta)
Goat cheese crumbles
1 small Roma tomato
salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large pot or oversize skillet and add the olive oil. Add onions, peppers and garlic and saute at low temperature. Once translucent, add chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Add chicken breasts, salt, pepper, basil and parsley and cook until the chicken is cooked (about 20 minutes). Add the pasta of your choice and cook until done. Frozen chicken breasts can be used as well - just plan for an additional 10 minutes of cook time (and keep some water on hand in case the liquid boils off).

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces, serve pasta in a bowl with chicken and just under 1/4 cup of goat cheese crumbles. Mix until the cheese is melted. Top with diced tomato.

** Alternate... I made this recipe tonight w/ minced clams. I purchased a small can of minced clams. If going this route and sans chicken, replace 1 cup of chicken stock with the clam juice. Replace the chicken with the minced clams. No cooking needed like you do with the chicken so just add the minced clams before you add the pasta.

Healthy Broccoli Soup

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:46:47 -0400

Since I started working with a nutritionist over a month ago to drop some pounds, I’ve been on the hunt for a better variety of preparations that I can eat. They gotta stay within my calorie counts and cover the portions I need of each food group. Tonight I decided to try a broccoli soup. Most broccoli soups are cream of broccoli or some kind of cheese-broccoli (aka cheddar broccoli soup) that are delicious but carry the fat and calorie content the size of Texas. This particular recipe is different. While it uses some cheese, it is not the dominant product that pulls this soup together. Plus, you can use low-fat parmesan.

3 cups chicken broth
1 cup diced chicken breast
1 bag broccoli steamers (from the grocer’s freezer section)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tsp hot jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional)
1 tsp ground chipotle pepper (can also use chili powder or a curry powder like Rogan Josh)
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring the chicken stock to a boil. If using frozen chicken breast, place in boiling stock and simmer for 20 minutes until chicken is thawed and cooked. Remove the chicken and shred/dice, return to the broth.

Put broccoli steamer bag in the microwave according to directions on the bag. Once cooked, put all the broccoli into a blender. Add the parmesan cheese and about four ladles of stock. Add some salt and pepper and blend the ingredients together.

Once the ingredients are blended, add them to the stock w/ the chicken pieces. Stir to incorporate all the ingredients together and serve. Add a sprinkling of the chipotle pepper to the soup prior to serving.

Note: in my soup tonight, I added about a tablespoon of Penzey’s Krakow Nights spice blend. This is not necessary but can provide just a slightly more savory taste to the soup.