Tag Archives: nutritious

Snow Day Soup

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If you live pretty much anywhere on the east coast of the country above South Carolina, you are probably experiencing some snow today. In southeastern Virginia, we started getting snow yesterday afternoon and through the night. And if there’s anything that below freezing temperatures and a few inches of snow makes you want, it’s soup. A certain soup company has made like a zillion dollar or something on this concept. Ehhh?

Please don't sue me for the unauthorized use of this picture, soup company!

Please don’t sue me for the unauthorized use of this picture, soup company!

So last night I got the soup pot fired up, but unlike this creepy snowman kid, I did not turn to the standard snow day soup . . .

Move over, Chicken Noodle – there’s a new soup in town!

Ham & Cabbage Soup

ham and cabbage soup

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups of chicken broth (I used my homemade crockpot chicken broth)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 5-6 medium carrots, diced
  • 1 small head of cabbage, chopped
  • 1/2 cup of pearled barley
  • 1/2 – 1 lb ham, diced
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbs dried parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Add all the ingredients to a large, heavy stockpot, bring it to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer for 1.5 hours. Soup is ready when carrots and cabbage are tender and barley has fluffed and cooked through.

A quick note about the ham. You can use any kind of ham you want here – I made this soup because I had a little less than a pound of Honeybaked Ham (on the bone) left over from a brunch. I usually make this soup with a salted, country style ham to give the soup the saltiness I like. But if you prefer sweet ham and don’t need or want your soup to be salty, then use that. Another note that the cabbage, carrots and onions came from our Winter CSA that we are getting from Cullipher Farm. Yes, there is fresh, local produce available in the winter! In addition to those ingredients we also got potatoes, kale, turnips and collards in our box last week.

This soup is very filling thanks to the barley. Barley is a whole grain that is high in fiber, which means it helps with digestion, can lower cholesterol, keep blood pressure low and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Barley is more effective at all of these things than whole oats, so it’s a good substitute every once in awhile. For those with diabetes, pearled barley has the lowest glycemic index of all the common cereal grains (such as wheat, rye, oats, etc). This means that even though it is a carbohydrate, it won’t raise your blood sugar as much as other carbs. It’s glycemic index (when boiled) is 35.

Additionally, carrots, cabbage and onions provide a wide variety of nutrients from Vitamins K and C to powerful antioxidants that protect our bodies against a host of things, including cancer. So while chicken noodle soup might ward off a cold, this soup is fighting cancer. And with high fiber barley rather than high-glycemic noodles, to boot. So make a bowl and sit back and enjoy the snow.

Bison stuffed cabbage

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Stuffed cabbage was not a part of my childhood growing up – it’s something I sometimes heard other people talk about or maybe even tried once or twice, but it wasn’t until I married my half-Polish husband and had “Galumpkis” at his family’s house in Ohio that I realized what I’d been missing out on. A few years ago I made the traditional Polish Galumpkis recipe and swore I’d never take it on again – it was a three page long recipe that downright exhausted me. But I found myself with an abundance of cabbage recently and decided to give it a go again in my own simplified version and with bison rather than ground beef or pork.

Pastured bison (which is really the only kind of bison you can buy) is leaner and healthier than beef or pork. Pastured animals are free-range, they eat grass and graze on open pasture, which means they move around, develop healthy muscles and fat and because they’re eating what nature intended for them to eat (instead of corn and antibiotics like mass produced beef), their meat is actually healthier and contains WAY more Omega-3’s and less bad (saturated) fats.

I also substituted quinoa for rice. We generally don’t eat rice – I don’t really like it unless there’s raw fish on top of it and there’s just not a lot of nutritional value. Quinoa is a whole grain with a higher fiber content and other nutritional benefits like a particularly high dose of antioxidant phytonutrients…..and other scientific sounding things that I will refrain from diving into.

And cabbage is good for you. Obviously. If it wasn’t, nobody would eat it.

Bison and Quinoa Stuffed Cabbage

rolls

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground bison
  • 1/2 a medium onion, chopped
  • 1 can stewed tomatoes, roughly chopped with juice
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/3 cup quinoa
  • 1/2 tsp oregano (dried)
  • 8 medium to large cabbage leaves
  • 1 15oz can of tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  • Parmesan, shredded Swiss or Jack cheese (optional)

Method:

  1. In a large skillet, brown the meat and cook the onions – drain off any fat (there won’t be a lot – remember, this is a very lean meat), then stir in the tomatoes with their juice, the water, quinoa, 1/2 tsp oregano, and 1/4 tsp ground black pepper. Bring this up to a boil, then reduce, cover and let simmer about 20 minutes, until the quinoa is cooked (when quinoa is done, the grain sort of “pops” open).
  2. Meanwhile, trim the large veins from the back of the cabbage leaves so they rib is flush with the leaf. Use a small paring knife to do this. Drop the leaves, three or four at a time into a bot of boiling water for just 2-3 minutes or until they are just limp – then quickly drop into a bowl of ice water as you continue with the others. This is “blanching” and it retains texture and color:

    blanched cabbage

    Blanched Cabbage

  3. After all the leaves have been blanched, pull them out of the water and dry them off with a towel. Scoop about 1/3 cup of the meat mixture into the center of the leaf, fold in the sides of the leaf, then start rolling at one of the unfolded ends until its all rolled up nice and neatly and no meat is exposed. Do this to all of the leaves and set to the side.
  4. To make the sauce, combine the tomato sauce, maple syrup*, oregano, cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste in a small mixing bowl. Pour half of the sauce into a 2-quart baking dish. Arrange stuffed leaves on top, then pour the remaining sauce over the rolls. Cover the baking dish and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. If you want cheese on top (I did a tiny bit of shredded Jack – it honestly made no difference), then top with cheese and bake for a few more minutes until melted, then remove from oven and serve!

rolls with fork

*I use a Virginia made maple syrup that is, without exaggeration, the best maple syrup in the world. It is made by two very special people, Pat and Valerie. If you can’t name the people making your syrup, then get on it (and Aunt Jemima doesn’t count). Now you can. You can purchase it through their Back Creek Farms website – they even did the work for me and tell you all about why maple syrup is actually good for you! While you’re there – check out their adorable cabin, which I have stayed in and can vouch for the fact that it’s one of the most adorable places on the planet.

maple syrup

 

 

 

The Secret to Life is Soup

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Soup is the secret to life because it’s simple, hearty, enjoyable, shareable, saveable, warming, nurturing. Nobody ever wrote Chicken Satay for the Soul and nobody ever will. The secret to life is something that is easy to make, something that can be done while you live your actual life, something that can bring people together and then when enjoyed later can bring them right back to that same place.

Soup is particularly great this time of year because it can be a breeze to make for a big crowd, then you save your left overs for when you’re too busy to cook one night (you know, like, every night until January). This soup is one of my favorites that I’ve been making for years because it is SO SO simple, low-cal/fat and stores really well. You could even make big batches, freeze, then thaw as needed.

So make this soup so you can stop standing over the stove, worrying about what you’re making/missing/buying/gifting/planning/doing and just go sit by the fire or the tree or someone you love and share some soup.

Stupid Simple Salsa and Black Bean Soup

black bean soup 1

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup of salsa
  • 1 cup of vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, to taste
  • Optional toppings: plain Greek yogurt, cilantro, chopped onions, sliced green onions or chives

Method:

  1. Combine the beans, salsa and broth in a blender and pulse until smooth, or put all the ingredients it a stock pot and blend with an immersion blender.
  2. Add the spices to taste and allow soup to warm to a simmer.
  3. Reduce heat and let warm on the stove top for 20-30 minutes to let the flavors combine.
  4. Serve warm with optional toppings.

black bean soup 2