Search Results for: miso

Butternut Soup

December 16, 2020 by towers

This is fast to prepare if you already have the butternut squash cooked. When I have time on the weekend I bake one whole (no need to cut it) at 350 degree F until easily pierced by a knife in the solid end (not the seed cavity at the rounded end which cooks faster). This usually takes about an hour depending on the size of the squash; it’s ok if the skin browns. Remove it from the oven and allow to cool so that it is easier to handle before proceeding. Then, cut it in half length-wise and scoop out and discard the seeds. Scoop the flesh from the skin with a large spoon into a bowl (discard the skin). Now either refrigerate the pulp for later use or proceed with making the soup.

By the way, I always use butternut cooked this way to make “pumpkin” pies–check out the recipe here

Serves 4

Pulp from 1 cooked butternut squash (see directions above)

2 medium-sized onions (about 1 and 1/2 cups chopped), yellow or red or 1 of each which is what I used

2 Tbsp. ghee

1 quart of water or chicken stock

2 Tbsp. MisoMaster chick pea miso (available in health food stores)

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. coriander

cayenne powder to taste, if desired

sea salt to taste

Melt the ghee in a soup pot and once the melted ghee is hot enough for the onions to sizzle, add the onions. Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the turmeric and coriander and stir well. Saute a minute more and then add the water or broth. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low to keep it simmering for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the miso. Blend with an immersion blender. Add cayenne if desired and salt to taste. Serve hot.

White Bean Salad

May 15, 2020 by towers

This salad involves no cooking (nice now that the weather is warming up!) and is very quick to put together if you have some of the ingredients made ahead. I routinely make marinated red onions, ginger carrots, and a mustard-honey dressing (make it without the miso for this recipe) so that I usually have them in the refrigerator. Also, it helps to have some cooked beans in the freezer; I cook big batches of either pinto or garbanzo beans, and sometimes navy beans so that I can freeze some in pint-sized containers.

Serves 2-4 Served over bed of lettuce

2 cups cooked navy beans (small white beans)

1/2 cup ginger carrots

1/4 cup marinated red onions

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 avocado, cubed

1/2 cup mustard honey dressing

fresh parsley or cilantro, finely chopped and optional

salt to taste

lettuce of your choice (2 cups per person for a big salad)

Evenly mix all the ingredients except the dressing and salt in a bowl. Add the dressing and stir well again. Add salt to taste. Serve over a bed of lettuce in individual salad bowls.

Sunchoke Soup

April 20, 2020 by towers

Yesterday I found a surprise in my garden–lots of sprouting sunchokes (aka Jerusalem artichokes) that were growing out of control. The tubers were large and in good condition. I normally slice them and serve them raw in salads but this was over a pound of tubers so I decided to make soup. This recipe is similar to the Celeriac soup recipe posted earlier. Sunchokes, like celeriac, are non-starchy making them low-glycemic.

For the gardeners out there, these potato-like tubers are easy to grow, prolific, and survive the winter so that they come back each year. But be careful where you plant them as they can be invasive—I thought I had harvested them all but apparently I missed some and they spread into my iris patch.

Produce departments usually have them in the Fall and Winter, but you may find them now as they are still available at our Co-op. Be sure to scrub them well with a vegetable brush as they are knobby. No need to peel after scrubbing but use a paring knife to remove spots that could be harboring dirt or sand.

Usually milk or cream is used in sunchoke soup, but I used yellow miso. If you don’t have miso and are dairy tolerant, use 1 cup of cream or half-and-half instead.

Serves 4-6

1 large yellow onion, chopped

4 Tbsp. ghee

1 pound of sunchokes, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

1 celeriac root, peeled and cubed or 2 stalks of celery, chopped

4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth or water

1/4 cup of MisoMaster mellow miso or 1 cup of cream or half-and-half

Salt and black pepper to taste

In a soup pot melt the ghee over medium heat. Add the onions and saute 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the celeriac or celery and saute another few minutes. Add the sunchokes. Stir well. Add the broth or water and bring close to a boil. Reduce heat to low to keep the soup at a simmer–don’t boil. Cover with the lid cracked. Simmer until vegetables are tender and pierced easily with a fork. If you are using milk, add that now and heat for a few more minutes. Remove from heat. Use an immersion blender to puree. Add the miso if you are using miso and blend again. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Broccoli Millet Soup

February 1, 2019 by towers

Too healthy-sounding for you? I promise this soup is yummy if you have a good broth. I prefer home-made chicken broth which is extra flavorful and that is what I used in this recipe. If you have some leftover millet grits, making this soup will be even quicker. In fact, if you have some leftover chicken, add that too!

Serves 4

1 large yellow onion, chopped fine

1/4 cup ghee or coconut oil (I used ghee)

2 cups broccoli floretes

1 quart chicken broth

2 cups cooked millet grits

1/4 cup chickpea miso, mashed and mixed well in 1/3 cup of water

sea salt to taste and black pepper if desired

Saute the onion in melted ghee or coconut oil in a medium-sized soup pot over medium heat. Give an occasional stir and saute for about 5 minutes until onions are tender. Layer the broccoli over the onions and cover the soup pot. Let the broccoli steam over the onions with heat on a low setting so onions don’t burn for about 5 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Add the millet grits and mix well. Again, bring to a simmer to thoroughly heat the millet. Keep heating until the broccoli is tender but still bright green–if you overcook the broccoli it will be a drab green color. Remove from heat and add the miso paste. Stir well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sweet Potato Soup II

December 15, 2016 by towers

Ever wonder what to do with leftover sweet potatoes? Here’s an easy way to make a quick soup and use them up. It is really quick if you have an immersion blender. This recipe is different from the first one I posted–it’s a variation on the leftover sweet potato theme that features miso.

Miso, or fermented soy or chickpea paste, is not in most people’s kitchens–if it hasn’t been in yours, consider keeping some in the fridge. It is a good source of probiotics (don’t add it until the end of cooking so it doesn’t get cooked) and adds to the flavor of many soups. In fact, you can add only miso to a bone, meat, or vegetable broth and it makes a delicious soup (1 tsp of miso to 1 cup of broth). Traditionally, miso is made from soybeans but there is a soy-free chickpea miso that is made by MisoMaster that I like very much. Either could be used in this soup, but if you use soy miso use the mild kind–it’s called mellow white miso.

Serves 4

2 large sweet potatoes, baked until very soft and then skinned–may be leftover

2 medium-sized onions

3 Tbsp. ghee or butter

2 cups vegetable, bone, or meat broth; or you can use water

1/4 cup coconut milk (canned, classic)

1 tsp. cumin powder

1/8 tsp. clove powder

1/8 tsp. cinnamon powder

2 Tbsp. chickpea miso

salt and black pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan melt the ghee or butter over medium heat and add the chopped onions. Stir every minute or so and continue to sautee until the onions are soft for about 5 minutes. Add the spices and stir well. Add the sweet potato (cut into chunks) and the broth or water and keep on medium heat with an occasional stir until it simmers. Add coconut milk. Heat another 5 minutes or so. Take off the heat and blend until smooth and creamy. Add miso and blend again. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Serve immediately.

2-for-1 Flounder

February 8, 2015 by towers

No time to cook from scratch? A common complaint I hear. I’m well aware that most people need easy recipes and time-saving ideas. This recipe will illustrate one way that I simplify getting dinner on the table two nights in a row. Try to always keep the basics on hand—onions, garlic, dried herbs, olive oil, carrots, celery, potatoes–so that it’s easy to pull this off without a lot of planning. I also always have zucchini in the refrigerator because we love having a side dish of zucchini noodles (made with the vegetable spiralizer).

Both recipes are gluten-free. Both could be dairy-free if the butter is left out.

We bought two pounds of flounder that was on sale. We baked it with olive oil, butter, onion and herbs. After we ate half of it with an avocado salad and zucchini noodles, I put the rest of the fish with all its juices (scrape the pan well with a spatula) into a pyrex storage container and place in the fridge for soup for the next day. The soup can be prepared quickly and is very flavorful.

2 pounds of flounder or cod

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 Tbsp. butter sliced in thin pieces

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. dried sweet basil, or dried herb of your choice

salt and black pepper

Oil large baking pan with olive oil. Add crushed garlic and stir around well. Wash fish in water and pat dry with some paper towels. Place each piece of fish flat in the pan rub it in the oil-garlic mixture and flip it over placing flat in the pan again. This coats the top of the fish with oil and garlic. Dot fish with butter slices. Sprinkle salt, black pepper, and basil over fish. Spread the chopped onion over the fish evenly. Bake in 400 degree F pre-heated oven for about 7 minutes or until fish flakes when pierced with a fork. Do not overbake or the fish will not be tender. Remove from oven and serve immediately. Save the juice in the pan (as described above) with any leftover fish.

The next day prepare the fish chowder soup:

1 large red onion, chopped fine

1 carrot, chopped fine

1 medium-sized red potato, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

1/2 cup frozen sweet corn

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 quart of water

leftover fish mashed with a fork and its juices (which will have hardened)

salt and black pepper to taste

2 Tbsp. mellow miso

Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add water and carrots, celery, potato, and corn. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer with a lid on the pan for about 15 minutes or until carrots and potato are cooked through. Add mashed leftover fish with its juices. Rinse container out with warm water and add it to the soup (don’t waste any of that flavorful stuff!). Bring to a simmer again and then heat for about 5 minutes. In a bowl, mix the miso with some of the broth. Add this mixture back to the soup pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

Chicken Zoodle Soup

October 15, 2014 by towers

Previous recipes posted here have featured zucchini “noodles” (for which I have just coined the name zoodle) and chicken broth. This soup is super easy if you have these 2 items plus a few other basics on hand. It’s no secret that I am no fan of pasta–so this is my version of chicken noodle soup! If you make the chicken broth according to this linked recipe, it is so flavorful that this soup needs little seasoning.

1 small zucchini, spiralized with a vegetable spiralizer or a julienne vegetable peeler

2 cups homemade chicken broth

1/2 cup of a mix of other vegetables: green peas (frozen ok), chopped carrots, finely chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped chicken meat (optional)

2 tsp. mellow white miso (MisoMaster brand is good)

salt and black pepper to taste

Heat broth in soup pot on medium heat until simmering. If you want to add onions to your soup, sauté them first in some olive oil until soft and then add them to the broth. Add other vegetables to the broth except zucchini. As soon as other veggies are tender, add the chicken. Simmer for a few minutes and then add the zucchini “zoodles”. Simmer for just a few minutes more so as not to overcook the zucchini–it should be firm so it resembles pasta. Take off heat. Mix miso in a bowl with a few tablespoons of the hot broth from the soup and then add this mixture to the soup. Stir well. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Best served immediately.

Cauliflower Soup

April 18, 2014 by towers

This soup is easy and a tasty way to have cauliflower. You will need either a blender (an immersion blender is easiest) or food processor. Since the vegetables will be blended once cooked, you only need to chop them coarsely.

1 head of cauliflower

1 large red or yellow onion

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 carrot

2-4 stalks celery ( I like more celery) and/or 1 celeriac root

1 medium red potato, optional ( I usually leave this out>)

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil or ghee ( I use ghee)

Approximately 6 cups of water or chicken or vegetable stock

3 Tbsp. mellow white miso (MisoMaster brand)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

1 tsp. ground dill seed (optional)

pinch cayenne

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion in olive oil in a soup pot about 3 minutes. Add cauliflower, carrot, potato, and celery. Add enough water or stock to just cover vegetables. Bring to a boil and immediately lower heat so that the soup simmers gently. Cover with the lid cracked open–this is important for avoiding developing a strong cauliflower flavor. Simmer until vegetables are tender–about 30-45 minutes. Remove from heat. If you have an immersion blender, blend the vegetables until smooth, otherwise, strain vegetables. Save cooking water and return to soup pot. Blend or process strained vegetables. Add the puree to the liquid in the soup pot. Stir well. Mix miso in a small bowl with some of the soup. Add to soup pot. Crush garlic and add to soup and stir well. Add cilantro/dill seed. Season with salt and pepper and cayenne.

Serves 4-6

Celeriac Soup

October 19, 2011 by towers

Celeriac Soup Recipe

Celeriac root is an unusual vegetable related to celery that has a fantastic flavor. If you can’t find it, 4 stalks of celery can be substituted. The vegetable stock can be made concurrently with the onion, the leek trimmings, the potato and celeriac peelings, plus a bay leaf. Remember to slit the leek with a knife lengthwise from about 3 inches from the root end all the way through the remainder of the leek so you can wash all the dirt out. Also, this can be made dairy-free and still be quite good. Just add 2 Tbsp. of mellow white miso right before serving and blend well.

1 celeriac root (5 inches in diameter)

4 cups vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1 onion

1 leek

4 small white potatoes

2 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup cream or plain yogurt

4-5 sprigs of fresh basil and parley each

Wash and trim the leek well–usually only about 6-8 inches of the white part of the root end of the leek is used and the rest trimmed off. Place the trimmings in a sauce pan with 5 cups of water, the bay leaf, and the onion (cut in half ) and bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium low and cover. Wash and skin the celeriac root and potatoes. Place the peels in the water also and continue to simmer with the lid on. Simmer for 45 minutes. Continue preparing the remaining ingredients while the stock cooks.

Chop the leek and potatoes. Grate the celeriac root. Saute the leek in the melted butter in another sauce pan for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes and grated celeriac root. Saute 5 minutes more. Add the stock and bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 45 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Blend with a hand-held blender until smooth. (You can also transfer to a blender and blend.) Add cream or yogurt, salt and pepper to taste, and the chopped herbs. Serves 4-6.

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Butternut Soup

White Bean Salad

Sunchoke Soup

Broccoli Millet Soup

Sweet Potato Soup II

2-for-1 Flounder

Chicken Zoodle Soup

Cauliflower Soup

Celeriac Soup

Good Nutrition

Polenta

Children’s Adjustments

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