Category: Recipes (Page 41 of 55)

Chef Sara’s Raw Thai Coconut Soup

At intotheSoup.com, we talk alot about enjoying life and eating well. There are many ways to accomplish this. Chef Sara is passionate about teaching people how to eat well by providing  organic raw vegetable based foods. Here she provides us a raw Thai Cococut soup. Check it out and feel better for it.

Ingredients:

  • 2 young coconut milk & meat
  • 1/4 cup coconut butter
  • 1 jalapeno (seeds removed)
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 2-inch ginger root
  • 1 t lemongrass
  • 1 lime freshly juiced
  • 1 t agave nectar
  • 1 cup chopped Thai basil
  • 1 T white miso
  • 1 T Tamari

Preparation:

  1. Remove the meat and milk from the coconut shell.
  2. Place in a blender with the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Blend until creamy and smooth.

Note: If you can’t find Thai basil then use 1/2 regular fresh basil 1/2 fresh mint.

 Click Here for More Soups of the Week

About Chef Sara

Chef Sara Siso is a Raw Food Master, Coach, Author & founder of the 3 Weeks Back to Health Program. She’s also a personal chef with many clients in the Scottsdale and Phoenix area. Chef Sara teaches, and lives by, raw vegan foods of all kinds.  She’s been a vegan herself for 13 years. She’s lived in Arizona for 3 years where she teaches classes in raw vegan food and the health benefits. She teaches at her own home and her clients’ homes. Her interest in the healing power of food began when she learned her sister had cancer.  She got trained in raw vegan at the alternative medicine facility in the world, Hippocrates Health Institute. During her education at HHI, she witnessed remarkable transformations of people’s health, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Chef Sara focuses on creating tasty foods that will keep it interesting while maintaining the health benefits.  Foods like sushi, gazpacho, and even pumpkin pie are on the menu when Chef Sara cooks. Learn more by clicking here 

5 Tips to Health Through Food with Kami Pastis: July

Humans are 75% water. As a result, waters is an essential element to maintaining good health.  Here in Arizona summer is upon us so we think a lot about hydration but these tips are good for you no matter where you live.

   

  1. Drinking water at the correct time maximizes its effectiveness on the human body. 2 glasses of water after waking up helps activate internal organs. Especially eliminative organs.
  2. Drinking water 30 minutes before a meal helps break down the food in your stomach and keep your digestive system on track. Water is a key enabler for our digestive organs.
  3. Latest awesome hydration elixir I concocted for when water seems so boring: 64 oz purified water, 1 whole lemon sliced, 1 whole orange sliced, 2 sprigs of fresh mint, 3 packets of Stevia. Mix all ingredients in a large pitcher, stir & enjoy throughout the day.
  4. Zucchini (room temp.) cut with a mandolin long ways or spiralized is a very quick & hydrating pasta substitute. Just slice, pour on your favorite pasta sauce and food is ready!
  5. Watermelon is super hydrating and a great source of iron along with vitamins A, C, betacarotene and a whole host of other micronutrients our bodies so desperately crave. Have a half of an entire watermelon for breakfast, your body will thank you!

 

For more tips on Health & Wellness click here

 

About Kami

Kamara Pastis is a certified personal trainer, life style educator, group fitness instructor and licensed massage therapist in the Phoenix area. Clinical, therapeutic massage has been her mainstay for seven years where she has experienced the lasting therapeutic changes massage can make in cases with debilitating pain and disfunction. The traditional Thai and Yogi tradition of metta (literally “loving kindness”) is Kami’s healing philosophy. When not healing her patients, Kami is more than blissfully occupied with her husband and three kids.

To contact Kami and learn more about her services Click Here: www.kamaralmt.com or call (602) 622-1046. Tell her you saw her on intotheSoup.com

 

Richard Ferguson’s Dueling Scottish Soups

The week of July 17th & 18th, we are all Celtic all the time. Well, at least much of the time. This is because of the Arizona Highland Celtic Festival in Flagstaff. In honor of that, Richard Ferguson who is one of the event organizers and Vice President of the Clan Ferguson Society of North America, provided us not one, but two traditional Scottish soups – Cullen Skink and Cock-a-Leekie.

Cullen Skink

The name of this soup comes from the fishing village of Cullen, in Morayshire. “Skink” is a soup made from a shin of beef; however, in this case, it is made with smoked haddock.

Ingredients

  •     A large smoked haddock (weighing around 2 lb)
  •     1 medium onion, finely chopped.
  •     1½ pints milk
  •     2 tablespoons butter
  •     8 oz mashed potato
  •     Salt and pepper
  •     1 bay leaf
  •     Chopped parsley
  •     Water
  •     Triangles of toast (as an accompaniment)

Method

Cover the smoked haddock with water, in a shallow pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, turning once. Take the haddock from the pan and remove the skin and bones. Break up the fish into flakes, return to the stock and add the chopped onion, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer for another 15 minutes. Strain, remove the bay leaf but retain the stock and fish. Add the milk to the fish stock and bring back to the boil. Add enough mashed potato to create the consistency you prefer (don’t be afraid to make it rich and thick!). Add the fish and reheat. Check for seasoning. Just before serving, add the butter in small pieces so that it runs through the soup.

Serve with chopped parsley on top, accompanied by triangles of toast.

 

Cock-a-Leekie Soup

This traditional soup, with prunes included in the ingredients, is mentioned as early as the 16th century. It is often served at Burns Suppers or St Andrew’s Night Dinner (30 November) as well as an every-day soup in winter. Some people omit the prunes though!

Ingredients

  •     1 boiling fowl, about 4lb, including legs and wings
  •     1lb leeks (about 12) cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
  •     4 pints stock or water
  •     1oz long grained rice
  •     4oz cooked, stoned prunes
  •     One teaspoon brown sugar
  •     Salt and pepper
  •     Garni of bay leaf, parsley, thyme
  •     Some recipes also have 3 chopped rashers of streaky bacon

Method

Put the fowl and bacon in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and remove any scum. Add three-quarters of the leeks, (green as well as white sections), herbs (tied together in a bundle), salt and pepper and return to the boil. Simmer gently for 2-3 hours, adding more water if necessary.

Remove the bird. Some thrifty chefs use the bird as another course, others cut the meat into small pieces and add them back to the soup (certainly it should have some pieces of chicken in it when served). Add the rice and drained prunes and the remaining leeks and simmer for another 30 minutes. Check for flavour and serve with a little chopped parsley.

Serves 6/8 people.

 Click Here for More Soups of the Week

Chef Kirsten Seltzer’s Turtle Soup

We had the privilage of interviewing Chef Kirsten Seltzer for our Whose Cookin’ Now article. She just rocks. Down-to-earth, tough and rooted in family. She attributes her love for cooking to her  Grandmother who spent 50 years in the biz. This is her Grandmother’s turtle soup.

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds of chopped turtle meat
  • 1 cup of finely chopped onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped, optional
  • 3 tablespoon of cooking oil
  • 2 tablespoons of flour
  • one 6 ounce can of tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 sprigs of parsley
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon of whole allspice
  • 1 tablespoon of whole cloves
  • 1 lemon, sliced

Wash the turtle meat thoroughly and set aside. Sauté the onion and garlic in oil, then add the flour and brown lightly. Add the tomato paste and simmer for 3 minutes. Add 2 quarts of boiling water, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper and turtle meat. Tie the allspice and cloves in a cloth bag and drop into the mixture (crab or shrimp boil bags can also be use).

Simmer for 1 hour or until turtle is tender. Remove the spice bag. Add the  lemon and simmer for 5 minutes longer. Let stand for 1 hour. Sherry to taste maybe added when served, if desired. 6 servings

 Click Here for More Soups of the Week

 

Read more about Chef Kirsten Seltzer in Whose Cookin’ Now. Click here.

 

Chef Bernard Guillas’ Chilled Carrot Tangerine Velouté w/ Rock Lobster Salad

Chef Benard Guillas friended me on Facebook. We started talking about our favorite common subjects, food and travel. He’s currently promoting his first book, Flying Pans: Two Chefs, One World. I took a sneak peek online and realized I just had to talk to this guy. After checking out his book, I have the travel bug again. For now, I am happy to try his Chilled Carrot Tangerine Velouté w/ Rock Lobster Salad inspired by his voyage to Tahiti. Try it yourself and enjoy. Also, check out the special offer for his book below.

Ingredients

Serves 6

The Soup

  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1 bulb fennel, chopped
  • 1 1/2 pounds chopped peeled carrots
  • 1 cup diced peeled sweet potato
  • 1/4 cup sweet vermouth
  • 1 cup tangerine juice
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 1/8 teaspoon hot chile powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • pinch saffron threads
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup carrot juice
  • to taste sea salt and ground white pepper

Add oil to stock pot over medium heat. Add celery, fennel, carrots, and sweet potato. Cook 5 minutes, without browning, stirring often. Add vermouth, 1/2 cup tangerine juice, vegetable stock, chile powder, sea salt and saffron. Cover. Simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Remove from heat. Stir in cream. Working in batches, puree in blender until smooth. Strain through fine sieve. Refrigerate until well-chilled. Whisk in carrot juice and remaining tangerine juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Vanilla Oil

  • 2 vanilla beans
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons hazelnut oil

Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape seeds into small mixing bowl. Whisk in vanilla extract and hazelnut oil. Reserve vanilla pod for another use.

Rock Lobster Salad

  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 6-ounce rock lobster tails
  • 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla oil
  • 1 tablespoon sweet vermouth
  • 1 teaspoon minced chives
  • 1 tablespoon  julienned mint leaves
  • to taste sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Boil water and salt in large pot over high heat. Drop in lobster tails. Return to simmer. Cook 5 minutes. Transfer to ice bath. Remove shell. De-vein. Cut into small cubes. Transfer to mixing bowl. Combine with remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

Presentation

  • 1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts

Ladle soup into chilled shallow bowls. Place lobster salad in center. Top with sprouts. Drizzle vanilla oil over soup.

 Click Here for More Soups of the Week

Special Offer:

Get a signed copy of Flying Pans: Two Chefs, One World and free shipping by going to  www.twochefsoneworld.com. When ordering the book, mention Into the Soup, and your name.

About Chef Bernard Guillas

Brittany-born Bernard Guillas is Executive Chef of the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club and landmark Marine Room restaurant in California.  He is an avid culinary traveler who can share tales from seven continents.  He has been featured in Food Arts and “Great Chefs of the World” TV series and was awarded “Chef of the Year” by Chef Magazine.

Soup Photo by Gregory Bertolini

5 Tricks to Healthy Restaurant Dining

by Katie Haarala

As you are sitting at the stoplight on your way home from work, you notice a new Italian restaurant to your right, wafting all of it’s basil, fresh tomato, and olive oil scents into your car window. Further down the road, the American style joint to your left stimulates your drool glands as you envision yourself diving into a meal of burger, french fries, and a strawberry shake.  Up ahead, a gauntlet of fast food chains line the road, each one beckoning you to stop for 44 oz. of a slurry frozen beverage (and hey, it’s only $0.89!), or a warm apple pie for $1.

Our society is bombarded with the idea of food continuously. If were are caught unaware, and our hunger hormones are begging us, no, demanding us to eat; chances are we are going to take the Golden Arches up on its Dollar Menu delicacies. 

When we do decide to enter a restaurant for a bit to eat, it is important to remember to reduce the calorie content and increase the health content of our meals. Being proactive helps make our meals as healthy as possible. The following tips can make a big difference.

1. Beware of saucy sauces: Tips to avoid the higher calorie dishes

Whenever we scour a menu, we can pick out words that are noting the menu item is higher in calories, meaning we should try to choose a more waist and heart friendly option. Words such as fried, au gratin, crispy, pan-fried, sautéed, creamy, or stuffed are terms used to describe high fat, high calorie dishes.  Describing words such as steamed, baked, grilled, poached, or roasted are terms used for lower calories dishes. If it comes down to it, and you would like to try the “grilled chicken and pasta tossed in creamy, velvety, melt in your mouth, Alfredo sauce; ask the server (let’s call him Charles) to, “Bring the sassy-saucy-sauce on the side, please, so I do not disrupt my figure!”

2. Welcome the water (with lemon! Voila!)

Often we can find a large portion of the caloric content of an overall restaurant meal stemming from those found in our beverages.  In a 16 oz. portion of Coca-Cola ®, you find about 11.5 teaspoons of sugar and 200 calories. In a 16 oz. of Mountain Dew, you will consume over 14 teaspoons of sugar and 220 calories.  If you are a typical consumer, when Charles offers you that refill, you will  gladly accept not understanding the amount of sugar and calories consumed from this small beverage alone! Therefore, it is best to choose plain water and add a lemon for a burst of flavor. Adding lemon to your water is also believed to aid in digestive processes.

3. Become the best of friends with the “doggie bag”

The portions at many restaurants are nothing less that gargantuan, providing us with another reason to rely on our willpower to not eat the entire portion in one sitting.  If you find yourself lingering, chatting, and taking in the ambience of the restaurant, you will find the last bites that you were going to save for lunch tomorrow, even more tempting. Your best bet it to ask Charles to bring out a box right when you receive your meal to ensure you actually do have lunch tomorrow.

4. Sensible Side Salads

Most menu items boast that they come with a side of fries, sour cream and cheese topped mashed potatoes, or butter laden biscuits.  As tempting as those high carbohydrate and high fat options may be when you sit down in the restaurant and are starving, your best bet is to ask Charles if they have side salads instead. Ask for the dressing to be placed on the side so that you can dip the lettuce leaves or lightly spread it atop the greens. 

5. Enjoy yourself!

The last tip is for you to remind you to enjoy yourself! Going out to a restaurant for a meal should be fun as it allows casual conversation and great food! The trick is just to keep these tips in the back of your mind so you do not end up leaving the restaurant with the belt unbuckled and your button undone. The point it to leaving feeling nourished, satisfied, and socially satiated. 

Food is delicious, can make for entertaining times, and should always be used as a tool for nourishment.  Keep these tips in mind next time you venture out to a restaurant with your friends or family so that you can eat deliciously and intelligently!

Katie

Get more Health & Wellness advice by Clicking Here.

About Katie

Kate Paige Haarala is a registered dietitian (R.D.) from Minnesota who has an undying passion for nutrition education and helping others incorporate healthy dishes into their daily menu.  She graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Food, Nutrition & Dietetics along with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Exercise Science. You can catch more of Katie on her blog by clicking here.

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