Stoking the home fires

I was gone essentially for three weeks - family in Florida, friends (and more family) in Kentucky, then life adventure in Baja Sur, Mexico. When I got back to Sacramento, I had some work to do to get our kitchen back in production.

What have I been doing?
-Made a batch of chicken bone broth immediately. Jarred and froze for later use.
-Made another batch of broth with mixed bones that had collected in a bag in the freezer, and then in the last hours added a potful of aromatic veggie stems - carrot stubs, onion tips, leek leaves, etc. - that I had also been collecting in the freezer. I jarred this flavorful mix in tiny 1/2 pint jelly jars to use in sauces.
-I bottled the 1/2 gallon of beet kvass that had been brewing patiently in my absence, and added preserved lemon to each bottle! I think I'll like this!
-Anjali and I made a quart of sauerkraut from CSA veggies that I had set aside for this purpose weeks ago. Napa cabbage, cauliflower, red-centered "watermelon" daikon radish, and carrot. I then poured the garlicky brine I saved from a previous batch overtop of it. We ate the first forkfuls last night with dinner.
:)
-Brought the sourdough starter out of hibernation in the fridge, ground some fresh spelt flour, mixed it in with water, and set it up to bubble on the back of the stove. It'll be ready for a loaf tonight! :)
-Made, jarred, and froze quart jars of soup (from CSA veggies and bone broth) for Troy's lunches.

I love all these little projects. I love the bubbling crocks, and the pot constantly simmering on low on the back burner. I love that I have oranges set out next to a cookbook on the cutting board in preparation for marmalade, and bananas ripening for Anjali's favorite of late: "Fozen Mananas" (bananas pureed with melted butter and coconut oil, and then frozen and cut into chunks). I feel so lucky to have these as my day-to-day.
If I could finally get through the dirty dishes and see my way to the countertop, I'd be one totally content kitchen goddess! ;)

This blog post is part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Fridays!

Thai-Inspired Coconut Soup with Pork and Rice Noodles

This met with great enthusiasm at the dinner table last night. : )

I think all it's missing in the Thai department is lemongrass, which I'm not in the habit of keeping on hand.

Thai-Inspired Coconut Soup with Pork and Rice Noodles

Serves 2-3, depending on appetite

1 quart chicken broth
1 can coconut milk
about 1 inch knob of ginger, peeled with spoon, then grated with a Microplane, with about a tsp set aside for pork
1 carrot, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
about 1/3 pound ground pork
sea salt
fish sauce (simply of anchovy, salt, and sugar), to taste
1 tbsp rice vinegar
enough rice noodles* for two people
a large handful of sugar snap peas, tips chopped and strings removed
a small handful cilantro, chopped, for garnish
red pepper flakes

This can all be done in pretty rapid succession; the veggies should retain some texture. Heat the broth and coconut milk to boiling. Add ginger, garlic, and carrots, fish sauce and vinegar. Knead the pork with the tsp ginger and a little sea salt, and drop bite-sized pieces into the soup. Add water as necessary to keep it soupy. Wait a few minutes and add the pasta. When the pasta is very close to done, toss in the snap peas and cover while you get the bowls ready; the snap peas should cook only till bright green. Serve in large bowls, with cilantro and red pepper flakes sprinkled on top, to taste.

*Whenever we eat pasta, we use Tinkyada brown rice pasta. Unlike other white and even whole grain pastas, it is a whole product ~ fully available for the body. And it's tasty, with a good texture.

A late-summer variation:
Substitute cubed (unpeeled but scrubbed) sweet potatoes - or my recent favorite discovery: purple yams! - for the carrot and snap peas. Simmer in the broth until soft but still intact.
Substitute cooked brown rice for rice noodles.
Mmmm!

Sweet Potato Soup with Greens

I love soup. I could probably prepare and enjoy a soup every night of the year. A base of some good broth, whatever produce we brought home from the farmers' market plus maybe some meat ~ that's the soup. And it's always good. This winter season I have been attached to making soup this way: lay down a base flavor ~ usually starting by simmering a chopped onion in the broth; then a veggie such as stewed tomatoes, roasted winter squash, carrots, or in this case, roasted sweet potatoes with the skins. I puree that. Then I add a chopped or chunked veggie that adds texture. This often includes a dark leafy green. We eat a lot of dark leafy greens. They are oftentimes delicious in soups. Last night's ingredients were intended for a soup to take to a friend who recently had a healthy baby boy. But we sure did enjoy it. ;-) The three different dried peppers cut the sweetness of the potatoes three different ways. Leftover, it was probably even better.

Sweet Potato Soup with Greens

serves 3-4 depending on your sweet potatoes, the water you add, and the size of your bowls

A quart of good chicken broth ~ homemade or of equal quality, or homemade veggie broth

A mess of sweet potatoes roasted at 400 until soft, cooled, then sliced into 1/2 inch pieces ~ as many as you can fit between your two hands without dropping them (before they're roasted) ~ I used "Japanese sweet potatoes", but use your favorite, or what's on hand. In America, Sweet Potato = Yam = same thing.

Three large cloves of garlic ~ two crushed well with the side of your chef's knife, the other sliced thin

Dark leafy greens ~ I used what they call a "braising mix" at the farmers' market = an assortment of young kales, collard, chard, etc. ~ equal in precooked volume to the potatoes, chiffonade

1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Cayenne

*Fresh* red pepper flakes

Smoked paprika

Sea salt to taste ~ start with 1/2 teaspoon

Water as needed

In a pot or dutch oven, warm the chicken broth slowly up to a boil. Add the crushed garlic and simmer until the garlic is soft. Add the sweet potato slices and simmer. Puree till smooth (there's that handheld blender again!). Toss in greens and garlic. Cover. Simmer until greens get a little darker than just wilted. Add vinegar, spices, and sea salt, adjusting as needed. If it's too thick, add some water and bring back up to temperature. I think it's better at the consistency of thick soup, as opposed to a soupy baked potato... This is hearty.

Serve with a salad and some craggy hunks of bread to dip in the soup.

Read about that charming label.

Nourishing Sea Veggie and Greens Soup with Coconut

When I need deep nourishment, my body calls out for sea vegetables and real, homemade broth.

Here's a Thai-inspired bowl I ate this evening.

Serves 1 big bowl.

real, homemade chicken broth (or, in my fortunate case, broth from Three Stone Hearth)

1/3 cup coconut milk

1-2 Tbs coconut oil (don't be afraid of this oil. so good for you.)

a small handful of arame, or whatever sea veggie you have or like

1 tsp kelp powder

fish sauce, to taste

grated fresh ginger, to taste

large handful chopped leafy greens ~ collard, kale.. dandelion.. whatever you like or is on hand

a sprinkling of powdered gelatin (Bernard Jensen is a good brand), to even greater soothe and encourage digestion

Measure out enough chicken broth to almost fill your favorite large soup bowl. Put this in a small pot (or my favorite tiny cast-iron skillet). Add the coconut milk and oil, and the arame. Once it warms close to a simmer, sprinkle in the kelp powder and gelatin and let them dissolve on top before stirring them in. Add the other seasonings ~ fish sauce and ginger ~ to taste. When the broth comes to a light boil, add the chopped greens and let these simmer till they are wilted and their color turns slightly. Adjust seasoning as necessary, and add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes if your tummy is up for it. Sit down, turn off the noise, and bring this bowl up to your face to let the steam warm you flushed. Drink and chew and be well.