Winter is the Time for Soup

Mum and dad were up and out of the house before I'd even got out of bed, and the rain was drizzling heavily in streams down the windows. It was one of those lazy weekend days where the cat slept in her little basket by the fire, the rabbit huddled under the coffee table, the dog was sprawled out comfortably between the cat and the rabbit next to the hearth of the fire, and there wasn't much going on at all. That is, except for the busy movement coming from the kitchen and bursts of air shuffling through the rooms following my flurry of activity.

The dog just raised her eyes at me, sighed, and went back to sleep. Only lifting her head enough to peer at me over top the back of the chair.

I lazily woke up with plans of cooking and sipping hot tea when I waited for the oven. My pajamas were just too cozy, so I slipped on a pair of fuzzy slippers and began about making a toasty and warm winter breakfast: fibre-filled oatmeal sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon. I cooked on the stove, stirring in freshly ground cinnamon with water and oats, and as the pot came to a boil, stirred vigorously to mix. I topped my breakfast with some apple slices quickly baked in the oven, defrosted blueberries from the valley in the summer, and finally, a spoonful of vanilla Greek yogourt. It was creamy, flavourful and delicious - and extremely colourful, a mix of vibrant blueberry blue, and cherry-apple red. A perfect start to a day of cooking and playing in the kitchen.

If there's one flavour which I could love more than chocolate, it would be cinnamon. Nothing short of delightful, I love the warm aroma of the spice in baked goods, a top my breakfast cereal, or even sprinkled on slices of apple and cottage cheese for a snack.

My tangle with kitchen utensils and ingredients didn't stop there however, for a few hours later, I stepped back into the kitchen for a creation for lunch. From the vegetables leftover in the fridge I chopped and peeled, imagined and fantasized all the while, as I combined flavours together to make something edible, and delicious. It was just the day for a hearty bowl of soup. A little shrimp cocktail from the evening before's dinner - we go big on Valentine's Day: mum makes dinner and I do dessert, a Chocolate Hazelnut Cake in pots - so I had it on the side ready to go with a few crackers. As I lent over the steaming pot on the stove, steam rising and cascading into my face, I felt the refreshing and warming power of a bowl of soup.

Winter Vegetable Soup
Print recipe here.

Chard seems to be in season this time of year, so instead of using the popular leafy green kale, I've opted for a few leaves of this similar dark green vegetable, which I have no doubt has very similar health benefits, full of essential vitamins and nutrients.

As a super quick stove top recipes for those days when you're just craving a bowl of hearty soup to ease the brisk chill of winter, I guarantee that a bowl of this vegetable soup will warm you and your mood.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 garlic clove, chopped finely
1 tbsp grape seed oil

1 1/2 cup canned chopped tomatoes, with juice
1 1/2 cup water

2 chard leaves, chopped
1/2 cup cubed yam
1/2 cup cubed zucchini
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 each salt and pepper

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan heat the oil, and add the garlic. Cook about 1 minutes, until the garlic becomes fragrant.

Pour in the canned tomatoes, with juice, and add the water.

Bring the pan to a boil before adding the vegetables. I put the yam in a small bowl in a little water and heated it up for two minutes in the microwave to reduce cooking time on the stove.

Add the thyme, salt, and pepper, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.

Pour into bowls and serve with gluten free crackers or bread.

Enjoy! xx S.

Sweetest of Potatoes

Winter means its time to dig up the root vegetables and enjoy the comfort of a staple winter food.

Sweet Potatoes. They are what I can only describe as real and essential bliss. Freshly roasted and cooled after a few minutes under the heat of the oven - steam rising from the punctured skin, a soft and sweet middle - I'd have them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I could, and I'd be happy as a yam to eat them plain.

However, they can surely be glammed up any way you like. And instead of resigning the sweet potato to "side dish status," let's make the sweet potato the center piece of your dinner plate, all forks on set. This luscious dish deserves all these photos, it's definitely center stage (or table) tonight.

I'll take those sweet potatoes any day. Bake them. Stuff them.

Start by halving a fresh sweet potato lengthwise and place it in the hot oven, baking until tender. It should look something like this:

How healthy and delicious are those little sweet potatoes? The bright orange colour just screams out the health benefits. Sweet potatoes are the highest source of beta-carotene - an antioxidant important for giving the carrots and the oranges the orange colour. Sweet potatoes are also bursting with essential vitamins for our diet, such as vitamins A and C.

Did you know that the sporamins in sweet potatoes, or "storage proteins," help the vegetable to heal itself after physical damage? Now I wouldn't mind getting some of that!

While cooking this recipe I thought of all the recipes which involve scraping the cooked sweet potato flesh from the skin to mash it with other flavourful ingredients before re-stuffing it into the skins. I admit, this is a delicious way to enjoy sweet potato, however, what's better than enjoying the sweet potato in all its natural flavours that it has to offer without the added chore of scraping, mashing and re-stuffing. That means following a more minimalistic route, skipping those steps, and simply cracking the golden babies open when they're hot from the oven to scoop a delicious mix of complementing ingredients over top. Or perhaps a Yam Tuna Bake is more pleasing right now?

Quinoa and Chard Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Print recipe here.

Sweet potatoes sing and quinoa dances in this wonderful combination of nature's finest super foods enriched with a delicate chile sauce drizzled over top with spring onions and basil to serve - just sit back and let the health benefits of this delicious dinner take the stage.

Ingredients

2 small sweet potatoes

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water

2 cups freshly chopped chard leaves
1 tomato, diced
2 tbsp sliced almonds

2 tbsp of baked sweet potato (taken from potatoes above), mashed
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 pinches chile powder
2 tbsp maple syrup

2 spring onions, sliced
3 basil leaves, chopped finely

Directions

Cook the sweet potatoes in an oven preheated to 400°F. Bake until tender, 45 minutes to an hour.

In a sieve, rinse the dry quinoa under cold running water. This will remove any "mush-promoting" grit remaining on the grain.

Combine the uncooked quinoa and water in a saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil, do not stir as it will disturb the cooking process.

As water begins to bubble, turn off the heat and place a lid over the pan. Allow the quinoa to cook - no peeking or stirring! - for 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the chopped chard into a steamer over boiling water and cook until softened. Alternatively, cook in about 1 inch of water in a wide saucepan. Allow to cool slightly before combining with diced tomatoes and sliced almonds in a small bowl, set aside.

With the sweet potatoes out of the oven, place them in separate serving plates and spread the two halves apart.

Scoop one tablespoon from each sweet potato and mash in a small bowl, combine with mayonnaise, chile powder and maple syrup, blending evenly. To thin out the sauce mix in a dash of liquid - water, vinegar or oil - until the desired consistency has been reached.

Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork before scooping onto the open sweet potato, dividing it equally between the two. Layer the chard salad over top, and drizzle with the sweet potato chile sauce.

Serve with the chopped spring onions and basil leaves sprinkled over.

Dive into the sweetest potato of all comfort food.

xx S.