Vegetable Soup Recipe

I remember this diet from the 80’s when it was all the rage. It seems that people pretty much just ate this soup all day (even for breakfast in some cases) I decided to make it last week as a simple way to get in lots of vegetables with minimal effort. I changed the original around and added vegetables such as zucchini and mushrooms. This makes a LOT of soup. I actually had to bag some of the vegetables for a stir fry as the ingredients would not all fit in my pasta pot. I also added chickpeas. Versatile and adaptable. Enjoy

“Fat Burning Cabbage Soup”

5 carrots, chopped

3 onions, chopped

2 (16 ounce) cans crushed or whole peeled tomatoes, with liquid

1 large head of cabbage

1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix

½ pound green beans (can substitute canned if desired)

2 quarts of tomato or V8 juice

8 stalks of celery, chopped

2 green bell peppers, diced

1 (14 ounce) can of beef or chicken broth

Place all the vegetables in a large pot. Add onion soup mix, tomato (or V8) juice, beef (or chicken) broth and enough water to cover vegetables. You may want to steam green beans first as they are the last to soften. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Freezes well.

Pickled Sweet & Sour Cucumber Recipe

For those of you having a hard time with the “no cold/raw foods in January” thing, this recipe is for you. The salting process pickles the cucumbers so that they are cooked. The texture remains crisp so those out there craving the crunch of a raw carrot (or potato chips) can munch on this instead. Keep in mind that this is not the same as officially cooking a vegetable so this should be eaten in moderation this time of year.

This recipe comes from “Chinese Kitchen” by Linda Doeser. I tried this recipe over the weekend and I have to say I loved the simplicity of it. Additionally, the taste reminded me of my long ago trip to China where it seemed that cucumber was served at many meals Frequently the cucumbers were heated up and cooked in a pan, and I bet this recipe would lend itself well to that. If anyone tries cooking the cucumbers let me know as I would love to hear the results.

The beginning of February marks the transition into “spring” so that we will be able to bring more of these foods back into our diet. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 slender cucumber, about 12 inches long.

1 tsp salt

2 tsp superfine sugar

1 tsp rice vinegar

½ tsp red chili oil (optional)

a few drops of sesame oil

Steps:

1) Halve the unpeeled cucumber lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and cut the cucumber into thick chunks.

2) In a bowl, sprinkle the cucumber chucks with the salt and mix well. Leave for at least 20-30 minutes - longer if possible- then pour the liquid off.

3) Mix the cucumber with the sugar, vinegar and chili oil, if using. Sprinkle with sesame oil just before serving.

Note: I used an English cucumber and salted for about an hour. I made the recipe twice and the second time I rinsed the salt off the cucumbers as I prefer a milder salt taste.

Crock Pot Chicken Soup Recipe

A friend of mine shared this recipe for her "Jewish penicillin" crock pot chicken soup recipe. I love this recipe and wanted to share it as it makes a delicious nourishing meal at the end of a long chilly day. This soup is especially good for winter colds and coughs. The fresh parsley adds extra vitamin C. Use this recipe as a guide. Add whatever sounds good to you!

1 hormone free chicken

4 onions

5 carrots

5 stalks celery

1/4 head of cabbage

1/2 medium size butternut squash

Sea salt to taste

Parsley (fresh if available, otherwise dried works fine)

Bay leaves

1/2 cup quinoa, barley or brown rice (or any combination of those!)

Chop all the veggies. If the vegetables are organic, don't peel it. There are lots of vitamins in the peel. Throw in the crock pot with the whole chicken (remove giblets and neck and discard). I wrap the chicken in cheesecloth to prevent the bones from getting in the soup. Cooking soup with bones is very tonifying so using a whole chicken is really the best way to go. Sprinkle liberally with salt and/or crazy salt, dill, and parsley. Add a bay leaf. Add grain. Add enough water to cover everything. Leave all day in the crock pot, or if making on the stove, keep at a mild simmer, adding more water as needed for a couple of hours.

Cooking the grain right in the soup does soak in a lot of liquid, but it makes the grain very digestible and nourishing for those overworked spleens. And it tastes delicious as it soaks in the flavor of the soup.

Remove the chicken from pot so you can pull all the meat off and put that back in the soup.

For extra immune boost, pick up some Huang Qi (astragalus root) at Coastal Acupuncture. Tie a small bunch together with string or in cheese cloth and simmer in the soup. Remove before eating. This will not change the flavor and is safe for the whole family.