Wholesome Mushroom Soup

I think I started liking mushroom soup the minute I ate it. At the time — I musta been about 7 or so — my favourite mushroom soup came out of a can, a red and white iconic can (come on, you can guess which one I mean, right?). Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one in the family who loved mushroom soup and so any hope of a second helping was slim (and that's on a good day). 

When I eat out and I spy soup on the menu, I usually order mushroom. Sometimes, I deviate when I spy another favourite on the menu — pumpkin. Oh my.  Once, I decided to be adventurous and ordered a split pea soup and lived to regret it — it wasn't bad y any means but it didn't stroke my soul the way a good mushroom soup does. 

I like my mushroom soup thick and dark, creamy and rich. I like it peppery. I like it slightly chewy. I like my mushroom soup with a little sour cream or yoghurt on top and croutons. Must have croutons. Parsley is good. Basil is nice. Garlic? Sure. 

Making mushroom soup isn't complicated. You need mushrooms, some form of allium, liquid, cream/thickener and seasoning.

I like to use different types of mushrooms in my soup, and I often experiment with different combinations — just for fun. Yeah, I know I perhaps need to go out more if this constitutes fun for me, eh? Today I used three types: baby portobello, brown button mushrooms and white oyster mushrooms. 

While mushrooms are naturally the star of the soup, an important ingredient is the allium. I often use a little garlic and red onions but today I went with leeks and a couple of cloves of garlic. 

To dilute the soup, you can use water or stock. I used a combination of both, more stock than liquid though. 

To thicken the soup and add an element of creaminess, I used milk this time around. Sometimes, I use a light cream. Some cooks use flour or a white sauce like the béchamel but I have yet to give that a go. I also added a tablespoon or so of plain yoghurt for a slightly sourish taste. You can omit the yoghurt, no problem. 

A bay leaf adds flavour and fragrance and of course, seasoning of salt and black pepper.

To garnish, I used croutons, sauteed button mushrooms, chopped basil and some shredded cheese. Jamie Oliver adds a little lemon juice and zest which I've tried and quite like too. 

Wholesome Mushroom Soup

600g mushrooms, roughly chopped (set aside some quartered buttons for garnish if you like)

1/3 cup sliced leeks

1 litre stock/water

1 cup milk (or 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup cream)

1 tbsp yoghurt (optional)

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper

olive oil/butter

a couple of basil leaves, chopped

Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil/butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the mushrooms and toss till they brown a little and then add the leeks. Let the two cook till soft and the moisture disappears and season with salt and pepper. 

Add the stock/liquid and bring to a light boil.

Transfer soup to a blender and puree it roughly/to your satisfaction. I like my soup a little chunky so I just pulse it a few times in the blender.

Return the soup to the heat. If it's too thick, add some water. Add the bay leaved as when it starts to simmer add the milk/cream. Season and cook till it starts to boil.

For the garnish

Melt some butter in a saucepan and saute the mushrooms till nice and brown. Season lightly.

Cut bread into cubes and toast lightly in the same pan that was used to cook the mushroom garnish (this way the croutons will get some extra flavour.

Arrange the mushrooms, croutons and basil on your soup and, if you want, drizzle some olive oil or lemon juice on as well — don't overdo it though!

French Onion Soup

This picture of a dark broth with pieces of sodden bread and clumpy cheese floating on top doesn't look like much but, take my word for it, this bowl of French Onion Soup is so, so good. It may well be the best French Onion Soup I have ever made.

The French Onion Soup is my perfect rainy-day soup. I've made it quite a few times and each time, I try a different recipe just out of curiousity. Most recipes are pretty standard (the standard ingredients are onions, stock, cheese and day-old bread) and often it is just the measurements that differ.

The process is always the same: you begin by caramelising of the onions.

I've always thought that I make a pretty decent French Onion Soup. I am generous with my cheese and sprinkle it liberally both inside the soup as well as on the pieces of french bread that lie atop the soup. Because I put quite a lot of cheese, my soup is often thick and where wonderfully chewy.

So, I've been pretty content with my soup .... UNTIL I came upon this article on crookrookery.com about caramelising onions as I was browsing some food sites. The article, titled Caramelising Onions: Three Ways, explains how to caramelise the onions to perfection, thereby getting the best out of them for a truly flavourful French Onion Soup.

The flavour of the soup, says the article (which quotes food writer John Thorne who wrote, among other things, a Treatise on Onion Soup)  rests largely on the way the onions have been caramelised. The stock is important too but the onions are more important.

I smelt trouble. I read on and it didn't take long for me to realise that tasty though my French Onion Soups may be, I have not been caramelising my onions as they should be. My soup has been imperfect. Mediocre. Not done properly. Apparently I have not been doing the classic soup any justice! Grrrr....

Actually, I was not bummed out. Rather, I was quite excited. I wanted to rush right home (I was at work) so that I could make the soup as it should be made, according to Thorne. I wanted to taste how different the soup would be if I followed the proper process. I wanted to do it immediately but I I couldn't skive off work. I had to wait.

Later that night, I went at it.

I usually caramelise the onions required for the soup for about 45 minutes to an hour, from start to finish. This article recommends a slow, slow, caramelisation process that takes about two hours: and that's two hours of standing vigilantly by, stirring the onions so that they don't stick to the bottom of the pan or burn. A cast-iron pan or Dutch oven is recommended just so that the heat is distributed evenly and the onions cook down better. I had one. Yay.

So I grabbed my notebook computer and settled myself in the kitchen: I made sure I spent two hours on my onions (I stirred and I played online Scrabble at the same time. It's amazing how time flies when you're losing at Scrabble!).

Watching the onions transform, from white and crunchy to golden and chewy is actually quite magical. The smell of the caramelising onions is intoxicating and the anticipation of the soup that would come out of all this was huge.

The result: absolutely satisfying. The extra cooking time for the onions obviously paid off as the flavour was more intense, sweeter and richer. Who knew onions could have so many layers of flavour?

Here are a few tips from Daniel of cookrookery.com.

1. slice the onions thin.
2. salt them to take out as much moisture as possible before putting them on the heat.
3. Use really low heat. Really low.
4. Be patient. Be vigilant. Don't let the onions burns. A little bit of blackened onions is fine, not a whole pot full of charred onions.

French Onion Soup
350g sliced onions (yellow is good, red is fine too)
11/2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of sugar
1 litre vegetable stock (a mushroom-based stock is preferable)

1 cup grated cheese (Gruyere is great, parmesan is fine or you could use cheddar too)
1 baguette, cut into slices
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Toss the sliced onions in salt and let them rest for about 15 minutes for the moisture to ooze out. Drain and gently wipe down with a tea towel.

Melt the butter and oil in a dutch oven/cast iron pan. You can use a saucepan too but be careful the onions don't burn. 

When the butter has just melted, add the onions into the pan and toss/mix so that they are evenly coated with the fat. Don't let the butter boil/heat up too much. You don't want a sizzle when you put in the onions. Keep the heat low.

Cover and let the onions cook uninterrupted for about 15 mins. Remember: low, low heat.

Remove the cover and stir the onions. The onions will continue to release moisture, keep stirring periodically so that those at the bottom don't burn.

The onions will soon wilt. Add a pinch of salt and sugar to help with the caramelising. 

Keep vigilant and stir from time to time. The onions should start to brown. Keep them on a very low heat, stir more frequently now.

Keep this up until they turn reddish and reduce in volume by at least half. The entire process should take about 11/2 to 2 hours. 

Once the onions are nicely caramelised, add the stock. The onions should plump up. Let it simmer for about 30 mins (still low heat), season. Add about 1/4 cup of white wine to the soup just before its ready to come off the stove.

While the stock is simmering,lightly toast your bread. Also, lay your soup bowls/ramekins on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 170C.

When the soup is ready (after 30 mins), take it off the heat and ladle it into the prepared bowls till it's almost full. 

Add some cheese into the soup, stirring gently.

Float three or four slices of the toasted baguette on the soup and pile on the cheese. Let there be a mound, I say. 

Transfer the tray to the oven and bake for about 20 mins. Preheat your broiler and place the soup bowls under the broiler for a few minutes for the cheese to brown a little.

Garnish with parsley and eat the soup while its warm.

Nemo will be pleased

[caption id="attachment_507" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Nothing fishy here"][/caption]

One of the easiest things to make is soup. And one of the easiest and tastiest soups I like to make is fish ball soup. Vegetarian fish ball soup that is. What is that, you ask? It's fish ball soup without any of the fishy smell. The vegetarian fish balls look like real fish balls: same texture but none of that awful fishy smell. They're made of vegetable substitutes like soybean protein, yam flour, wheat gluten powder, herbs and spices, and even shredded vegetables.  The soup (if you add some glass noodles) can be eaten on its own  or with rice and veges. And it must be eaten hot.

♣ Nemo friendly soup

250 ml vegetable stock

6 vegetarian fish balls

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, smashed

Spring onion -- dice the bulb and slice the green part of the  stalk.

glass noodles, optional

salt and pepper

dash of light soy sauce

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan. Add onions, dicced spring onion and garlic . Add vege fish balls once onion is soft and fry for a few minutes. Add stock. Once soup starts to boil add seasoning and glass noodles and sliced spring onion and  let it cook for a few minnutes. Turn the heat off, serve and slurrrp. Enough for two bowls.

Perfect for a rainy day

[caption id="attachment_222" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Nothing like creamy mushroom soup on a rainy day. And it's Type B perfect."][/caption]

Mushroom soup easily ranks as one of  my favourite things to eat. Especially when its cold outside. For the longest time, homemeade mushroom soup for me meant a can of Campbells'  (I'd add some milk and call it my own).

[caption id="attachment_230" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Hello, old friend"][/caption]

Then, one day I decided to try making my own from scratch. I figure, this way I could add more yummy mushrooms!

Cranking open a can of Campbells is way cheaper than making your own mushroom soup but homemade soup is a gazillion times more tasty. And, seriously, its almost as easy.

♣ Delish Mushroom soup

3 cups mushrooms (Swiss button/ shitake/white button ... as long as it's fresh), cut into 1 inch pieces.

1.5 cups leek, sliced.

300ml vege stock

milk

pepper and salt

Parmesan cheese

Heat some butter in a saucepan and add leek when hot. When soft, add mushrooms and cook till browned -- about 5-7 mins. Add pepper. Add stock and cook till it simmers. Add millk -- about 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup and salt and cook till it simmers. Turn off fire.

Blend (depends on what consistency you want. I like it a but chunky).

Return to stove and cook till it simmers. Add cheese. turn off. Serve with croutons or saltines or crackers.

burp and smile.

New day, new diet. Why do i do it?

I have been on a diet since I was 16 -- I am now ... 37. Yup. Don't roll your eyes because I know I need help.

The latest diet I am trying is pretty controversial. It's not really a diet, more a way of eating "healthier" -- therein lies the controversy. Ever heard of Dr Peter D'Adamo? Sometime in the late 1990s, he write a book titled Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type where he recommends food to suit your blood type. His theory (based on studies he and his father before him had done) is that not all blood types react with food the same way. If you eat food that is not quite suitable or agreeable with your blood type, you suffer the consequences. Not serious consequences, exactly ... but you don't feel the best you could and your metabolic rate could be slow because of it.



Ok. I ain't gonna make this post a summary of his study -- check him out on the web if you want.

I am a type-B (blood that is) and although most people with this  blood type have hardy and flecible digestive systems and can therefore enjoy a wider variety of food, it's not a very friendly blood type for vegetarians as many vegetarian staples like soy and lentils are not type B friendly.

What? Just my luck cos  I am a vegetarian!

Should I stick to it?

I decide to give it a try .. for a month. And am going to chart my meals for this month with food thats beneficial for type Bs.

My first meal is a Broccoli and Mushroom soup with cheese (cos dairy is good for me, thank god)

Broccoli and Mushroom Soup ♣

2 cups broccoli, cut small

1 cup white button mushrooms, cut small

leek, 3 inch, sliced

3 - 4 cups vegetable stock

butter

1 cup milk

parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

ground oregano

Melt butter in saucepan. Add leek and saute till soft. Add mushrooms and broccoli and cook for about 5 -7 mins. Add stock and cook till it simmers. Add milk and keep on stove till it simmers. Remove from heat. Blend. Return to heat, add cheese, salt, pepper and a dash of ground oregano.