GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Tag: soup

Easiest Best White Bean Soup in 30 Minutes

I didn’t really know what to make for dinner last night, and I had a bunch of onions in the refrigerator which I had bought at the Costco. So I thought okay, I’m going to chop up an onion and start cooking it and go from there. I took a large onion and I cut it in half and then cut it into half ring things.

I think you need to cook onions in more oil than people seem to think on the cooking shows, so I dumped a bunch of blogs of oil into a pot and dropped in the onions. I then just kinda looked around and I saw that I had just bought a can of small white beans from the grocery store. The Goya brand, which I like. I guess it’s a 28 ounce can or so of small white beans. I cooked down the onions and I threw in two clothes of chopped up garlic. I first put the lid on and let the onions sweat and steam. Then I take the lid off and let them cook until they are almost burnt – by accident – because I walked away from the stove. I dropped in the white beans and a tablespoon of the Italian seasoning mix that I have. I went into the fridge and pulled out some Parmesan Reggiano cheese rinds that I had been saving and I threw those in. Heated it long enough to cook through, let the cheese rinds get kind of soft and boom done.

That was the most amazing white bean soup I’ve ever made and it was like nothing to it. Of course we have some bean dinner videos here for you to check out. So what do you think, how do you make white bean soup? Let me know below:

Easy White Bean Soup Recipe

1 can medium size 28 oz or so small white beans. I used the Goya brand

1 large onion, cut in half, then sliced into 1/4″ rings

1 tablespoon italian seasoning mix

2 cloves garlic chopped up

Cheese rinds if you have them.

In a medium sized pan, glug in vegetable oil. Don’t just skim the surface, glug enough.

Heat this up till it shimmers, and drop in the onions. Stir around and cover the pan for a few minutes. You want to steam the onions a bit,

Take off the cover, throw in the garlic and cook down the onions until golden, medium heat, but keep an eye on it. Kinda burnt is OK.

When the onions are golden, add in the can of white beans and the cheese rinds.

Top with the italian seasoning, stir in and warm up the mix to bubbling.

Don’t over cook this, but let the cheese rinds soften, so some of their flavor moves into the beans.

I had this with grilled cheese. nice.

November 4, 2014
Heirloom Simple Squash Soup Recipe – GF Video

Here’s a simple squash soup recipe that uses heirloom winter squash- Blue Hubbard – instead of the usual Butternut Squash. You can use any type of winter squash in this soup, but we wanted to trumpet the use of more heirloom vegetables in our recipes here.

We grow heirloom and hybrid squash in our neighbor’s field, using the weed stop fabric. We made a how to video about using the weed free plastic gardening mulch, which you can watch here.

Winter Squash are easy to grow. The biggest problem we have with growing squash is the Squash Vine Borer, and we have 2 videos on dealing with them

An organic method to prevent the Squash Vine Borer Video

How to deal with a Squash Vine Borer infestation Video

You can cook winter squash several ways, steaming, frying, baking… I prefer to roast squash. You need to be careful when cutting winter squash, it’s quite dense, and you need a sharp knife. Take care to steady the squash and yourself when cutting it up, if you slip, its a bad thing with a knife.

Baking or roasting squash helps sweeten the flavor of the squash, i think. I split the squash in two, put both halves face up in a pan, and stick in the oven; don’t cover with foil.

Heirloom Simple Squash Soup Recipe
Ingredients
•   1 Heirloom Squash, such as Hubbard
•   1 medium onion, chopped
•   1 small handful sage or thyme or a mix
•   2 cups lowfat milk
Cooking Directions
1. Split the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, place face up in roasting pan and roast for 1 hour at 350 or until squash flesh is soft. you can check this when a knife easily inserts into the flesh.
2. When squash is roasted, put 2 glugs of oil in a dutch oven or deep pot, toss in oinion and cook till just golden and kinda clear
3. Add cooked squash flesh to the pot along with chopped herbs
4. Mash the squash with a potato masher and add some of the milk.
5. You can use a hand blender or masher to cream the squash, adding more milk to get the consistency you want. A blender will work also, but its more messy.
6. Salt and pepper to taste and ladle into individual bowls.
7. You can add in home made croutons, which makes the soup more of a filling meal.

December 13, 2012
Chili Corn Chowder with Fennel: A Blender Soup Recipe

Warm up a cold rainy day with a hot bowl of Chili Corn Chowder with Fennel. Corn and chili are classic South Western companions, fennel ads a slight sweet anisette flavor and a rich body to this soup. I made this with the last of the summer’s fresh sweet corn, but frozen corn works just fine. Corn, like green beans, improves in flavor after freezing. It’s an easy soup to make, but you’ll need a blender. Turmeric (aka, “curcumin”) is a spice powder made from a dried South Asian root, it’s the prime ingredient in commercial curry powder. It also adds a warm yellow color to food. Tumeric touts some wellness claims such anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, … yadda, yadda, yadda, let’s get cooking.

Yield: 6 servings

You’ll Need:
1 good blender with puree setting
1 stock pot with lid
1 skillet

4 ears of sweet corn (3 cups)
Half of fennel bulb, shopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 cups chicken broth
1 pint Half & Half, or milk
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup first-press olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp powdered chili
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp dried thyme
scallions, minced
bacon (optional)

If you’re lucky enough to get sweet ears of corn, first the cut kernels from the cob. With a sharp knife hold an ear of corn diagonally on a cutting board. Slice one side with the knife going “away” from you (otherwise keep 911 on auto-dial). Turn corn and repeat until all kernels are cut. Be sure not to cut too deep into the cob, you just want the kernels.

In a stock pot bring stock to a boil. Add corn, sugar, and onion powder. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. If you’re using frozen corn, simmer for 5, but makes sure it’s thawed out completely before adding to the boiling stock. Meanwhile, in a hot skillet (cast iron preferred) melt 3 tbsp of butter. Throw in chopped onion, fennel, garlic, and salt. Cook until fennel and onion have clarified (4 minutes). Add everything from the skillet into the stock pot and simmer for another 10 minutes.

So why cast iron? I find it heats up much more quickly and evenly than other types of pans. Care is simpler than non-stick pans, and when it has been properly seasoned it is virtually non-stick. It is also a good nutritional source of iron in your diet. Mostly of all it looks really cool in a photo.

And now for the blender — this thing is so handy, I should have two. Don’t be a hero, let the stock pot cool a bit and carefully pour 80% of the contents it into the blender (otherwise keep 911 on auto-dial). Puree until everything has a smooth consistent texture. It works best if you blend in smaller batches. Returns the blended soup into same stockpot heat up Half & Half (or milk), then add remaining butter, olive oil, thyme, chili, and turmeric. Turmeric adds a warm color and deep flavor to the soup. Now add the blended corn to the stock pot and heat for 5 more minutes. Done. Serve it in a deep bowl, top with minced scallions or crumbled bacon, grab a spoon, kick back and turn on the Netflix.

October 4, 2010
Creamy Potato Leek Soup: A Blender Soup Recipe

Served hot or cold, Creamed Potato and Leek Soup is the perfect fall meal.

The growing season has come to an end here on the East Coast. One of my favorite harvest meals is potato and leek soup made with heavy cream — a very humble yet satisfying meal. This soup is perfect for fall’s fickle weather. The soup base can be kept in the fridge for up to a week and then served as a hot hearty meal, or served as refreshing, chilled Vichyssoise (pronounced vee-shee-swaz). Despite its French trappings, Julia Child called Vichyssoise “an American creation,” invented by Louis Diat, a French chef who worked at the Ritz-Carlton (c. 1917)

Leeks are mild-mannered cousin of the onion, they tend to be gritty since they grow in sandy soil. They require much washing before cooking. They have a very mild onion flavor and a subtle sweetness. Give it a shot, it’s not that hard to make and you probably have everything in your kitchen, but you will need a blender.

You’ll need:
1 medium size stock pot with lid
a blender
1 large bowl for rinsing leeks, or a salad spinner
1 large colander

4 large leeks, sliced
1 onion, chopped
3 large cloves of garlic
3 medium Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbl sea salt
1 tbl sugar, or honey
heavy cream

WASH LEEKS
No one likes sand in their soup. Here are some instruction on cleaning and washing leeks. Discard the roots and any part of the leeks that are too fibrous and stringy, usually it’s just the top outer portion of the “greens.” With a sharp knife cut leeks into rings that are about 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick and put them into a large bowl (or pot) of water with a 1/4 cup of vinegar. Break up the rings with your hands and rub the leeks vigorously. Vinegar is the key, when the pH factor is adjusted dirt and grit are attracted to the water, as the leeks float to the top dirt settles at the bottom. It also gets rid of any unwanted garden visitors. Rinse under tap, drain in a colander and repeat until all grit it removed. If you have one, a salad spinner is real time saver. So… why don’t you have one yet?

MAKE THE SOUP BASE
In a large stock pot melt butter, then add roughly chopped onion and salt. When the onions have clarified add the cleaned leeks, garlic, and olive oil. Cover and reduce heat to medium and sweat everything for about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add stock and bring to a boil. Add peeled potatoes and sugar then reduce heat. Make sure the potatoes are cut into smaller pieces of even size. Return cover and simmer until potatoes are fork friendly (40 minutes or so) then set aside to cool. Next, dust off that blender — ladle soup into the blender and puree. There you have it, the soup base. You can store this away in the fridge for up to a week, but don’t freeze it. For a vegetarian version use mushroom or vegetable bullion.

SERVE IT UP HOT
In a smaller pot heat up a cup of milk, add about three cups of the soup base and little cream (4 tbl). Salt and pepper to taste. Optional: Top soup with more heavy cream before serving. This goes well with a toasted crusty bread.

SERVE IT UP COLD
On one of those weird hot fall afternoons, serve up some Vichyssoise. Add cold milk and cream to the soup base and mix it well. The only thing that can make this better is light topping of crumbled bacon or fried onions.

September 10, 2010