Cod Soup

I've been craving this soup for weeks now.  I just knew a nice firm fish would stand up well to soup and it would give it a great flavor!  I wanted to stay away from spinach for this one and went with a zucchini instead.  I added a touch of heat with some jalapeno too.  Remember to be careful when removing the seeds and membranes and wash hands thoroughly afterward!

 Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil, minced or thinly sliced
3-4 Garlic Cloves
4-6 oz Mushrooms, sliced
4 Cups Vegetable Stock
1 Jalapeno, seeds and membranes removed, diced
3 Potatoes, diced in inch large chunks
1 Zucchini, diced in inch large chunks
5-7 Tomatoes, diced in small chunks
2 Cod Filets, diced in inch large chunks
2 tsp Dried Basil
1-2 tsp Cumin, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste


Add the oil to your pot, let it get hot and then add the garlic.  Let the garlic cook for a few seconds and then add the mushrooms.  It was really hard to get pictures of the steps for this soup, the mushrooms steamed up so much! Add a touch of salt and pepper here.

 Once the mushrooms have lost most of their water and have started to brown, it's time to add the stock, jalapenos and potatoes. I wanted the potatoes to have a bit longer to cook and soften. Add a little bit more salt and pepper again.

 While that's cooking, you can dice the zucchini and tomatoes and then add them to the pot with a touch more salt and pepper.  It's always best to add it in small touches along the cooking process!

 At this point I added some cumin and basil and cut up the cod.  I had been cooking about a half hour before I added the fish.  Once it was added, I turned down the heat to low and let it sit another half hour.  The only thing I would have done differently would be to have mashed some of the potatoes before serving.  The liquid was too thin for my taste.  But the flavor was awesome!  I topped it with parmesan cheese too! YUM!!

 

Avocado Gazpacho 2 ways

It's been a while!  We're back from Colorado and getting back into our routines.  I made a great Tilapia dish on Monday but I totally forgot to take pictures!  I'll just have to make it again.

It's hot and muggy here so The Husband and I wanted something light, cool and refreshing.  He suggested Gazpacho. 

I had never made gazpacho before so I started with a little research.  I found a few recipes that I liked, and decided to try this one from Manifest Vegan, and then make up one of my own, based on a guacamole recipe.  I had a pretty good idea in my head what I'd be using for the soup, but not the quantities.  I put more in the picture than I actually ended up using.  There's two avocados in each picture, but only two total ended up being ripe enough so there's only one avocado per soup.   I knew I'd end up using much less lime than I have pictured, i just wasn't sure how much less.  I only used half a lime per soup!  So here's what I did:

 Cucumber Basil Avocado Gazpacho:

2 Cucumbers

2 Handfulls Basil

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Avocado

1 Green Onion (green and white parts)

1/2 Lime, peeled

 Guacamole Gazpacho:

2 Large Tomatoes

1 Handfull Cilantro

1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeds removed

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Avocado

1 Green Onion (green and white parts)

1/2 Lime, peeled

I literally put all of the ingredients into my blender at once and just blended until smooth.  The only "prep work" I did was cut the ends off the scallions, peel the lime, seed the jalapeno and remove the flesh and seeds from the avocados.  I have a VitaMix so it made everything into a creamy smooth puree!

I did follow the instructions on Menifest Vegan site to chill the ingredients before and after blending.  The soup came out very creamy thanks to the avocado and it was a nice cool meal on a very humid night. We enjoyed the soups out on the deck while talking about the fun we had in Denver.  We can't wait to go back!

Here's a picture of The Husband and me with our friends at our camp on Longs Peak.  It was a great day!!

Very Veggie Soup (Rainbow Soup)

I can't believe I leave for Colorado tomorrow!  I'm so excited to see Denver and hike Longs Peak!!  The place we're staying has a very nice kitchen so I might even be able to get you a blog post!

In case I can't, I wanted to make sure I posted something before I left.  Have you ever heard the expression that in order to get the right fruits and vegetables you should eat a rainbow everyday.  Well today I have a soup that's almost a double rainbow!  Of course there are no blue veggies, though I could have added an eggplant for a touch of purple.  It started out with some beautiful peppers and I couldn't decide what color to pick, so I picked them all.   I'm always trying to make my food colorful! Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2-3 Cloves Garlic
1 Green Onion
1/2 Tbsp Oregano
1/2 Tbsp Basil
1/2 Tbsp Parsley
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
10oz Mushrooms
3 Carrots
4 Peppers
2 Yellow Squash
2 Small Heads of Broccoli
4 Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Tomato Paste
4 Cups Veggie Stock
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the garlic.  Saute for a few minutes until it starts to get fragrant. 

Add the green onion and cook for a few minutes. 

Next add the seasonings.  I liked adding them at this point so they could open up more and add more flavor to the dish.  It really made the house smell amazing! 

Add the mushrooms and cook down until the water evaporates from them. 

Like this:

Then add the veggies as you dice them.  First I diced up the carrots.  I made them smaller so they'd get soft faster. Add a pinch of salt and pepper too!

I stirred that well and then started dicing the peppers.  Once they were all cut up, I added them to the pot and realized I was quickly running out of room! Add another pinch of salt and pepper!

Before I added the yellow squash I moved everything to a bigger pot!  Now that's much better right! Keep stirring everything up with each new addition.  Keep adding small pinches of salt and pepper along the way.  Just don't over do it!

Next was the broccoli.  I kept some of the pieces bigger for more of a crunch. 

Lastly I added the Tomatoes and the tomato paste

Stir everything up well and add the broth.  You can add more than the 4 cups if you'd like it soupier.

Cook on medium until you're too impatient to wait any longer.  Or, if you're not ravenious, you could cook it on low for about 30 minute or more to really let all of the flavors blend well.

We ate this out on the deck under the heater.  There was a bit too much red pepper for me, but the Husband loved it!  I think a potato would have been great in here too! Any combination of veggies would be great, add your favorites!

Quick Meal - Shrimp Roll

The Husband has been craving a Shrimp Roll and they're surprisingly simple to make.  A lot of recipes I looked up called for Tarragon in the mix while others left all seasoning and let the Shrimp be the main flavor.  I do not have fresh New England Shrimp in my house so I decided to add the Tarragon to give it an extra flavor.  Don't do it!  I wasn't familiar with Tarragon before this and now I know why, it tastes like liquorice.  And while I don't like the taste normally, it especially does not blend with a Shrimp Roll.  Dill or Thyme would have been a better choice. 

Ingredients:

6 Shrimp

1 Tbsp Mayonaise

1 Tbsp Celery, Chopped

1/4 Lemon, Juiced

2 Leaves Tarragon, Chopped

2 Hotdog Rolls

Boil the shrimp until they are pink throughout.  Transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking.  Cut each shrimp into 4 or 5 pieces and add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well.

Fill the hotdog roll with the mixture and enjoy.  This is a light and refreshing quick lunch option served with a side of chips.  Now I want to go to Maine!