Mustard soup

Mustard and coconut soup

Winter has arrived.. at least in this part of the world that I live in, and so has the season of soups. I could binge on soups all year round, though! My husband and I have been consciously trying to reduce our dairy intake and this is why creamy soups will be on a down-low for us this winter. He was down with the flu last week, and hence I using all my soup knowledge, to try and make him flavorful soups, that would also help with faster recovery. While doing so, I thought of using coconut milk as a base for one of my soups. I usually do a corn & coconut soup, but decided to change it up with mustard this time around. It was a simple, quick and flavorful soup packed with flavor, yet light on the stomach.
I prefer adding shreds of chicken to my soup, but you could substitute this with veggies, or any other meat. For the jalapeños, I used the store-bought pickled ones, since I feel like they pack in more flavor, but feel free to use fresh or pickled ones depending on your taste.
For my chicken broth, I usually like to boil chicken legs in ginger-garlic paste along with some salt. I use the broth for the soup, and shred the chicken from the legs to use in the soup. The flavor from the bone makes a big difference in my opinion!

Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds (optional)
• 1 Bay Leaf 
• 1 clove of  Garlic, chopped 
• 1/2 Onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp, Jalapeños
• 2 tbsp Mustard Sauce
• 1 can Coconut Milk
• 3-4 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 cup Shredded Chicken
• a bunch of rosemary leaves (usually 6-8 leaves)
• 1/2 tbsp Franks Hot Sauce
• Salt according to taste
• Pepper according to taste 

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a pot and add bay leaf and a few cumin seeds to it
2. Once the cumin seeds start popping, add in the garlic and onions
3. Wait till the onions turn translucent. Now add the jalapeños and give it all a good stir.
4. Next pour in the mustard sauce and mix everything well
5. Then add the coconut milk and chicken broth to the pot and let it boil
6. You can also add the shredded chicken here, if you are including chicken in your soup. Cook on medium heat for about 5 mins.
7. Add rosemary leaves to your soup now along with hot sauce. Make sure you add your hot sauce according to your taste preference. I would say start with a little and keep adding till you reach desired spice level. Cook for another 5-7 mins.
8. Lastly, adjust salt and pepper according to your taste and your super delicious soup is now ready to be devoured.

Hoping you guys get to bundle up and enjoy some soup too. As always, feel free to comment with questions, concerns and suggestions. Until then, Live, Love, Laugh and Eat.. Oh yes, EAT!!

Cream of Celery & Mushroom Soup

As the Northeast braces itself to face the Arctic "Bomb" Storm, my love for soup grows more than ever. The thought of a warm creamy soup entices me any time of the year, but even more this winter. I usually don't buy canned or packet soups from the store because they just never cut it for me. I personally don't think store bought "Cream of" soups match anywhere close to homemade soup flavors.
My last soup post was an easy yet time consuming recipe. This one however, is one of those perfect weekday cook ups. Easy and quick to make, amazing to taste.. Don't see any reason to wait to tell you more.. The initial recipe that I had referred to for this soup was a plain Cream of Celery soup. But I had leftover mushrooms that I threw into the mix, and I did not regret that one bit. But if you are not a mushroom lover, fear not, you can still devour this recipe, follow it exactly the same way without adding the mushrooms. You can basically use this recipe as the base for any other "cream of" soups. You could substitute the celery with mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, etc.
For best results, make sure you use fresh and flavorful celery (you can tell by the color of celery, it would be a bright green color, with tightly packed stalks).

First, finely dice the onions, garlic, celery and mushrooms.

Melt butter in your pot, and add the garlic and a slit green chili. Mix in the onions and celery and cook them until the onion turns translucent. Since I have a gas stove, it takes me about 5 mins to achieve that. Once, the onions are translucent, add in the flour and stir for another 2 mins. Now add the broth.

I made fresh broth by boiling chicken, ginger-garlic paste, salt & pepper together. Once the chicken was cooked, I took out the chicken pieces and left the carcass with the leftover celery stalks and boiled that for another 10 mins. I then strained this broth and saved it for my soup.
I added the broth, some cream, and milk. If you want to make it less heavy, you could get rid of the cream and just use milk.
Stir immediately to avoid clumping. Increase the heat now and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium then add salt, pepper, and any other herbs you'd like to add. For me personally, the flavor of celery and mushroom turn out delicious together, so I don't add any additional herbs. Now cook uncovered for another 10 mins, stirring occasionally.

Your deliciously creamy soup is now ready to devour! You can enjoy this soup as is, like I did, or use it for any recipe that calls for cream of celery as a base.

Prep Time: 15 mins  Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 1 packet celery sticks, finely chopped (about 6-8 sticks)
• 1/2 cup mushrooms (about 2-3 button mushrooms)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 green chilli
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions: 

1. Melt the butter in a pot. Add the garlic and chilli to the melted butter.
2. Add onion and celery to the pot and cook until onion is translucent ~5 mins.
3. Add the flour and cook for another 2 minutes
4. Then add the chicken broth, cream and milk to the soup, stirring continuously
5. Increase the heat now and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium then, and salt, pepper and any additional herbs per your preference. 
6. Now cook uncovered for another 10 mins, stirring occasionally. 

If using as a base for another recipe, the soup will keep in the fridge for at least 3-4 days. 

This soup started off on a fridge cleanout day to get rid of my celery and mushrooms, but ended up being a real show stopper for me! I hope you enjoyed this recipe. Please feel free to share and comment. And let me know if you tried it. Until then, stay warm everyone.. Live, Love, Laugh and EAT. Oh yes, EAT! :)

Chicken Soup with Vegetables

Chicken Soup for the soul.. These dropping temperatures definitely have me craving some soup. And chicken soup is definitely my go-to! It isn't particularly a quick recipe, but it needs minimum monitoring and can be something you've left on the back burner while you finish other tasks. It is also a one pot and in my case, a one pot and one chopping board recipe.. So here's your not-so-quick but easy fix for the winter.

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 70 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken legs (I usually cut mine in half, so I have 3 thighs and 3 drumsticks)
• 1 cube of maggi chicken flavor Bouillon cube (you could also replace this wih either homemade or store-bought chicken broth)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 5-6 Peppercorns 
• 1/2 tsp ground thyme (fresh thyme would definitely enhance the flavor, but I don't usually have fresh thyme available)
• 1 bay leaf
• 6-8 baby carrots diced
• 1 medium yellow onion sliced 
• 2 medium ribs of celery
• 3-4 mushrooms
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Any fresh herbs that you would like to add to the mix. I usually use my go-to: Mrs. Dash seasoning and some fresh parsley and coriander since I grow them at home. 

You can also vary with the vegetables and flavors you have readily available at home. The idea of this soup is to use as many of the extra veggies you have at home and modifying the flavor according to your personal taste.

Directions:

1. Using a sharp knife, cut out all the meat from the bones. In a large pot, cover the meat and the bones and carcass with water. Add the chicken bouillon, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaf.
2. Heat the stock over medium-high heat for about 30 mins. Once the chicken has changed color, reduce the temperature to medium heat and let it cook for another 15 mins. Add more water if it feels necessary. Remove the meat and set it aside to cool. (If you are using fresh thyme, this would be the right time to remove it from the stock mixture). 
3. Bring the soup to a simmer and continue cooking for another 10 mins, skimming as needed. Now add the ground thyme, salt and pepper. If the broth is too cloudy, you could use a fine-mesh strainer to clarify it. This is a personal preference, I usually like the froth in my broth.
4. Once the chicken has cooled, remove any leftover meat from the bones, and shred the remaining meat to bite-sized pieces. Return all this meat back to the pot and return to a simmer.
5. Add the diced vegetables, and other dried herbs that you would like to add to you soup. Finish off with the fresh parsley and or other fresh herbs that you would like to add in.
6. Last but not the least, add the lemon juice and give it a good stir before you take it off the heat. 

Another variation to the soup would be to blend all the boiled vegetables and add the chicken to the blended mixture. This would be ideal for all those picky eaters who won't eat vegetables once they see them.. Serve Hot! I usually like my soup with some bread or crackers. I hope you enjoy this recipe. I would love you hear your variations in the comments as well. 

 A light and simple recipe after all that holiday eating. Wishing you and your family a happy holidays and in case I don't write another post in the next few days, wishing you a Happy New Year as well..