barley & lentil soup

Yum! It's just a simple vegie soup, barley & lentils cooked with vegetables including fried onion & garlic, carrot, celery, parsnip & potato. With lots of fresh herbs, pepper & ginger.

This soup came around because I went to the St Kilda Farmers Market. I hadn't been for awhile and needed to stock up on bulk Mount Zero lentils (I love them because a- sometimes the cute Mount Zero guy is there, b- they always cook really well, and c- they're locally grown - in Tottenham, cute name!). So I was a little sad that all they had left was lentil & barley mixed together - apparently that morning, in the dark, they had a little accident, so it was cheap!

I'm always suspicious of unhulled barley because usually when I've tried to cook it it's still been really tough, but the Mount Zero one is fabulous! I soaked the lentils & barley overnight and then cooked for for maybe 30 mins before adding to the soup - very good!

miso noodle soup

Pretty much all I have been eating this week is miso noodle soup & rice paper rolls. I really am not a great candidate for having a food blog, usually I eat the same thing for a week or so at a time then switch. Chris is not such a fan, but I really enjoy it!

This week is miso noodle soup, so easy!

Boil:
1 cup water
sliced onion
pumpkin chunks
puffy tofu
Simmer until the vegies are tender

Add:
handful of soba noodles,
little bit of soy sauce
a bit more mirin
Cook for about 3 mins, until the noodles are still a bit hard

Add:
Some miso paste that you've thinned in some water
Simmer for 30 secs

That's it!
Put in a bowl with cherry tomatoes & spring onions, and some shichimi togarishi.

Obviously you can use whatever vegies you like, but it's important to not cook the noodles for too long, as they will turn soggy in your bowl.

Do you like my new bowl? My grandma gave it to me!

Gyoza Noodle Soup

I was totally won over by this post on the Fairest Feed by lovely Philippa, and decided to take my own crack at making a Japanese noodley soup with gyoza.

Mine's not quite as pretty, but was super delicious!

To make:
About 1 cup vegetable stock per person (make sure it's nice & garlicky & gingery),
Soy sauce, orange juice, kumquat marmalade, mirin, etc,
Some vegies, including asparagus, spring onion and cabbage / wombok,
Some tofu puffs
Soba / ramen noodles (precooked to al dente),
Gyoza! (You can buy dumplings at the shop, or make your own).

Okay.

Put the stock in a pot, and add juice of 1 orange, 1 tbspn light soy sauce, some mirin / ketchap manis / sugar / kumquat marmalade (just make your favourite Asian-y broth),
Add some finely sliced tofu puffs (about 1.5 per person), and the long cooking vegies (like asparagus stalks, cabbage, cauliflower etc.
When that's cooked, add asparagus spears, spring onion, other quick cooking vegies, and the noodles.

At this point, start frying your pre-steamed gyoza.

Then, when the gyoza are fried, the noodles will be done. Serve! Mmm! So good.

Healthy Tomato Soup

I was inspired by the recipe for Creamy Tomato Soup in my (recently purchased) Veganomicon cookbook - I am terrible at following recipes, I always think my variations will be better. I wanted to give this soup a bit of a health kick, so I added some lentils and other healthy bits and pieces, and it is fab! I made such a huge pot though, I ended up distributing to various family members. Here's the recipe (I actually made a double quantity but have halved it for you).

Healthy Tomato Soup
Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1sp chopped rosemary
couple of sprigs of thyme
pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup red lentils (soaked overnight if possible)
2 large potatoes, sliced thinly
1/4 cup white rice or buckwheat (or a mixture)
1 tablespoon ground almonds (optional)
2 litres stock / water *
100g sundried tomatoes (not the ones in oil, just plain ones)
1 x 810g tin crushed tomatoes (I like ardmona brand)
salt, to taste
fresh basil (optional)

Fry onion, garlic, herbs & pepper in the oil for about 5 mins, or until the onions are starting to brown slightly.
Add the stock / water, lentils, potatoes, rice & optional almonds. Boil for about 15 mins, or until the lentils are tender.
Add the sundried tomatoes and more stock / water if necessary and simmer on a low heat for 20 mins or until the lentils are soft and the tomatoes have plumped up.
Blend the soup well (a stick mixer works great), add the tinned tomatoes and blend again until smooth.
Add salt & pepper to taste, feel free to chuck in some fresh basil.

* I used water, but sploshed in some soy sauce for a bit of extra flavour