Cold Kicker Soup

This is a soup that I have started doing recently in place of chicken noodle when I am working through a head cold.    I have done this one with mushroom broth and since we just came off of thanksgiving, I did a batch using half beef broth and half homemade turkey bone broth.  Both worked really well flavor wise, but I love the added benefit of the collagen from the bone broth.

This is something I created out of my own brain.  I wanted something reminiscent of chicken noodle but with some Asian hints to it.  I really wanted to take advantage of the earthy-ness of turmeric and the complexity of the ginger.   The Sambal Oelek plus the warmth of the soup helps clear you out enough to hopefully allow you to smell all those aromatics.  This is a soup that you can be a little free with.  The measurements for the soy sauce, fish sauce, and Sambal Oelek are guesstimates and you can feel free to add more or less to taste.

A note: I absolutely love using Sambal Oelek.  I like dishes that are spicy but with flavor.  I can't handle things that are that spicy.  For reference, on the 1 - 10 Thai scale, I will usually order a 2 or 3.  I could handle a 4.  Anything beyond that and I stop being able to enjoy the dish because I'm focused on the heat.  If you're like me, Sambal Oelek is the choice for you.  It's more forgiving then things like cayenne pepper or straight hot sauce meaning you've got room for error.  1/4 teaspoon of cayenne is about equivalent to 1 teaspoon of Sambal, so a little slip won't kill you.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium carrots shredded
• 1 red onion finely sliced
• 1.5 cups sliced mushroom (I use cremini.  Button and shiitake would also work well.)
• 2-3 large baby bok choy roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped garlic
• 1/2 to 1 lb of protein cut into bite size cubes (I usually use flank steak but any protein works)
• 2 - 3 quarts of broth or stock depending on how liquid you like your soup (keep in mind you may have to increase your seasonings)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce (can be omitted/replaced with more soy sauce but I like the umami effect of this)
• 3 Tbsp of lemon juice (add more if your soup needs more brightness)
• 2 - 4 Tbsp Sambal Oelek
• Salt to taste
• 1 "bouquet garni"  (recipe below)
• handful of ramen noodles

Bouquet Garni

• cheese cloth and twine or a bouquet garni bag
• 1/2 palm worth of ginger roughly chopped
• 1/2 palm worth of galangal roughly chopped (if you can't find, substitute with 3/4 of a palm of ginger)
• 2 large stalks of lemon grass chopped into 1 inch sections (this and the galangal can be found in any asian markets.  most grocery stores will also have this in jars in the asian section.  If using jarred, use about 2 Tbsp)

Directions

• In a large pot, saute heat the butter and oil over medium heat and saute the onions, mushrooms, and bok choy stems.  Once they start to soften, add the carrots, garlic, and a dash of salt.
• While this is sauteing you can assemble the bouquet garni.  If you have a garni bag, put all the ingredients inside and tie it off.  If using cheese cloth, lay it out, put the ingredients in the center, pull cheese cloth up to make a makeshift bag, and tie off with twine.  Set aside.
• Once the carrots have softened, add the leafy part of the bok choy.  Saute until softened.
• Add the broth/stock, soy sauce, lemon juice, fish sauce, and Sambal Oelek.
• Turn the heat to medium high and drop in the bouquet garni.  Bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, drop in protein and noodles.  Continue to boil for 3 minutes then reduce heat to low.
• Simmer until protein is cooked through. 

Shakshouka

This is a recipe that I love to use on nights where I'm pressed for time.  It is technically a breakfast item so this is just another case of brinner in my house.  This meal originally comes from Tunisia and is popular in the Middle East and northern Africa.  There are variations on this but they are all fairly simple and generally use ingredients that are fairly common to have in you're fridge and pantry.  This is the version I use.

Ingredients

• 1 small to medium onion diced (I usually use red)
• 1 medium red pepper diced (you can use orange for the color pop but you want a sweet pepper to help counteract the acidity of the tomato)
• 1 generous Tb tomato paste
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes
• 1 Tb honey
• 1Tb fresh garlic
• Chili powder, Cumin, Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Cayenne or more to taste
• 6-8 eggs

Directions

In a medium pan, saute the onion and pepper until just softened.  I normally add about a tsp of Chili powder, Cumin, and Salt as well as the garlic while sauteing.  Add the tomato paste and stir to coat your veggies.  Saute for another minute.  Add the tomatoes, honey, cayenne and more of your Chili powder, Cumin, and Salt.  Stir, taste, and add more seasoning as needed.  Crack the eggs and add them to the top.  Try not to crack the yolk, but if you do, it will still be tasty.  Dust the eggs with Chili powder and a little salt.  Cover and let cook until the eggs reach the desired consistency.  I like my eggs runny.  Others in my house don't, so we let them cook through so they have more of a hard boiled consistency in the yolk.

This is normally served with a soft but crusty bread.  I like putting it over rice.  Dealers choice.

Simple Beginnings

It's been a long while since I have blogged here.  Years.  But life's a journey and sometimes you circle back to what is comfortable but with more perspective.  At this point I've started my own website which can be found here.  I'm doing my blogging there but I wanted a place that could house all of my recipes that I want to share.  I've been saving them all for you and now I'm brimming with yummies to share!  I'm hoping that I can use this as a way to better interact with y'all.  I would love to revive my Naturally Sweeter blog, and that may happen in the future, but for right now, love food and eat well.