Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai Soup)

 Several years ago my son James and I discovered a Thai restaurant and in addition to my standbys of Pad Thai and Massaman Curry we ordered Coconut Chicken soup and it was delicious!   That particular restaurant is really the only one that has soup this good.  

In July of 2020, I got COVID-19 (luckily I didn't lose my taste or smell) and my son and his fiancé went to that restaurant, got a tub of this soup, and brought it to me.  It was absolutely delicious and exactly what I needed and I craved it.  Obviously, it was not practical to keep getting takeout (especially while I was quarantined) so I found a recipe and had my mom pick up the "exotic" ingredients and made it at home.  It was almost as delicious at that restaurant.   I've done some experimenting and tweaking and now have my ultimate homemade version of Tom Kha Gai.

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 medium onion, sliced into thin wedges 
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
5-6 Thai chilies chopped
3 inches galangal (or ginger) cut in 1/2 inch pieces 
1 stalk of lemongrass, cut in 2 pieces
2 Tablespoons Thai red curry paste 
1 Tablespoon Tom Kha paste

4 cups chicken broth 
2 cups cooked chicken 
1 can coconut cream*
2 cans coconut milk
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 can baby corn (cut in bite size pieces if needed)

2 Tablespoons coconut aminos 
1 1/2 Tablespoons fish sauce 
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice 

Optional:
3 drops doTerra Lemongrass essential oil 
5 drops doTerra Thai Cuisine essential oil 

Directions 

In a large pot melt the coconut oil and add the onion, garlic, chilies, galangal, lemongrass, red curry paste, and Tom Kha paste. Sauté 5-10 minutes until onions are soft and just starting to brown

Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.  

Remove the galangal chunks and lemongrass pieces

Add the coconut cream, coconut milk, chicken, baby corn, and mushrooms.

Simmer for 20 minutes or until mushrooms are desired consistency

Add coconut aminos, fish sauce, and lime juice 

Simmer about 5 more minutes  

Tips and Hints 

• *Make sure you use unsweetened coconut cream and not cream of coconut which is essentially sweetened condensed coconut milk and has added sugar which is great for coconut desserts but not a savory soup 

• Red jalapeno can be substituted for the Thai peppers

• I found the Thai chilies, lemongrass, and galangal at my local Asian store 

• You can add more or less chilies to taste 

• Add more red curry paste, Tom Kha paste, coconut aminos, and fish sauce to taste. 

• You can use uncooked chicken and simmer until the chicken is cooked in step two, but I love to use rotisserie chicken from Costco

Sweet n Spicy Pumpkin Chili

It's October and that means Pumpkin! I love finding and making new pumpkin recipes.  I also love chili.  Why not combine the two for Pumpkin Chili!   A touch of sweet, also spicy with oodles of pumpkin and it is vegan to boot.  The first time I made it I took it to a chili cook off at my church and it took Second Place.  (First Place went to my other entry Chipotle Chocolate Chili ).  I love this fresh take on chili and hope you do too!  

Spicy n Sweet Pumpkin Chili

Ingredients 

1 Tablespoon coconut oil 

1/2  large onion, finely chopped 

1 carrot, finely chopped 
1 stalk celery, finely chopped 

1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped 
1-2 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 serrano pepper, minced
1 habanero pepper, minced 
5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 
1/2 large onion, rough chopped 

2 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons soy sauce* 

1 cup vegetable broth 
1 can coconut milk
4 cups pumpkin puree
4 medium to large fresh tomatoes, chopped 

1  15 ounce cans diced fire roasted tomatoes, with liquid

1 14.5 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed 
1 14.5 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed 
1 14.5 ounce can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed 
2-3 cups uncooked cubed pumpkin
salt and pepper to taste 

garnish 

chopped green onions

shredded cheddar cheese

light sour cream or Greek Yogurt 

Directions

Heat coconut oil add 1/2 onion, carrot and celery, saute until caramelized
Add chopped peppers and remaining onion and saute about five more minutes 
Meanwhile combine chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and cayenne 
Add the seasoning blend and soy sauce, saute five more minutes 
Add vegetable broth to deglaze the pan
Mix in coconut milk, stir to blend well and simmer five minutes
Stir in the pumpkin puree and blend well 
Add chopped tomatoes, fire roasted tomatoes and all beans, mix well
Add cubed pumpkin 
Bring to a simmer and reduce heat
Simmer, covered until the pumpkin is tender 

Serve with desired toppings 

Tips and Hints

• I recommend fresh pumpkin puree
• *Use LaChoy or Tamari sauce to make this gluten free
• Can be cooked in a crock pot by transferring to the crock-pot right after deglazing the pan, then following the directions except cooking on low 6-8 hours 
• If you like a bit less spicy omit the habanero and use only one jalapeno, removing the seeds.  You can also use other chili peppers of varying heat depending on your preference

Chipotle Chocolate Chili

I love chili, I love chipotle, and I love chocolate! 
So what's not to love combining them all into one hearty, slightly sweet, slightly savory, slightly smokey and somewhat spicy pot of deliciousity.  (yes I did just make up a word, but it fits!)  I found this recipe a while ago and have been waiting for a cold snowy day to try it out, but the persnickety Utah January weather is not cooperating so I decided to just jump in and make it, then freeze some until we get that cold snowy day, probably in late March!  I am most definitely bringing this to my next chili cook off! 

So here is my rich, spicy, gift to you:

Chipotle Chocolate Chili

Ingredients 

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 pound lean ground turkey 

1 large onion, chopped 

1 red bell pepper, minced

3-5 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed

3 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon Ancho Chili powder

1 Tablespoon Chipotle Chili powder 

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried, crushed chipotle pepper

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

2  cups beef broth

2  15 ounce cans diced tomatoes, with liquid

2  14.5 ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed 

1  7 ounce can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 

1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke 

1/2 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate (1/2 a cube), chopped 

3-4 Tablespoons red wine vinegar 

garnish 

chopped green onions

shredded cheddar cheese

light sour cream or Greek Yogurt 

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, add turkey, onion, garlic and bell pepper until turkey is cooked through, stirring frequently

Mix together the brown sugar, cocoa powder, chili powders, cumin, crushed chipotle, paprika, black pepper and salt together. 

Stir seasoning mix into meat mixture until well coated.  

Heat another few minutes until the seasonings just start to brown. 

Add beef broth and de-glaze the pan. 

Add tomatoes and beans

Remove the chipotle chilies from the adobo sauce and add the sauce to the pot, reserving the chilies. 

Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened. This should take about 45-60 minutes.

Add the liquid smoke, cook 5 more minutes

Now it is time to play with the flavor a bit

Dice some of chipotle peppers and add to the pot

Stir in some of the red wine vinegar

Stir in some of the chocolate

Keep adding a little of these ingredients at a time until you find the flavor balance you like

Remember: the chocolate adds depth, the vinegar cuts some of the sweetness and the chipotle add smokey heat 

Simmer about 30 more minutes until chocolate is fully melted and flavors blend.

Serve with desired toppings 

Tips and Hints

• Make sure you use real cocoa do NOT use Nesquik or similar powder 
• I discovered I was out of red wine vinegar and substituted apple cider vinegar with success
• Look for a brand of Chipotle in adobo that doesn't have wheat added for a gluten free version 
• If you don't like a lot of heat decrease the chili powder and omit the extra chipotle peppers, you'll still want to use at least some of the adobo sauce for the flavor depth
• Too much of the chocolate will make the chili bitter, so add with caution 
• Feel free to use beef. sausage or other meat for a less healthy version, but I promise the turkey is delicious! 
• Consider doubling or even tripling the batch because, trust me, people will come back for more.

Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

I recently found a different pumpkin curry that called for diced fresh pumpkin.  Since this was between Halloween and Thanksgiving there was nary a pumpkin to be found at the regular stores.  Finally as a friend and I were out and about we found a roadside stand with pumpkins so I bought a small one.  It had a skin that would have done well for a shield for Iron Man as it was practically impervious.  I did manage to get the seeds out and roast them, but mourned the loss of the potential to use the flesh for cooking.  (Steaming it to soften it ruined the texture and the recipe was a flop).  About a week later I saw a neighbor ready to toss her pumpkins from her porch and asked if I could have them, as they were still in prime condition.     Now with a whole new batch of freshly roasted pumpkin seeds and a whole lot of diced pumpkin I decided to find a new pumpkin recipe. Of course I did my own tweaking and this is the yummy result.  It is even better the second day.  

Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

2 pounds cubed fresh pumpkin*

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon sea salt 

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

3 cups vegetable broth

1-2 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon - 2 Tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes 

1 can coconut milk

Directions:

Put 1 1/2 pounds of the pumpkin in a baking dish, toss with the olive oil and sea salt.  

Roast in a 325 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.

In a large pot add the coconut oil and heat until melted.  Add the onion, carrot and celery to make a mirapoix.  Allow the veggies to caramelize as directed in the mirapoix.  

Add the garlic and saute a couple more minutes. 

Deglaze the pan with the broth.     

Add the curry powder, red pepper flakes and remaining half pound of uncooked pumpkin.

Simmer about 10 minutes.

Add the cooked pumpkin and simmer 10 minutes more.

Carefully transfer the soup to a blender and process until smooth

Return to the pot.

Shake the can of coconut milk well and pour into the blender.

Blend on high for about 60 seconds to remove the soup that is still clinging to the sides of the blender.

Pour into the pot and continue to heat another 5-10 minutes while stirring until all is heated through and well incorporated 

Tips and Hints

• *You can substitute canned pumpkin in this soup when fresh pumpkin is not available, just add it after you've pureed the rest of the ingredients.
• You can use an immersion blender rather than a traditional blender.
• If you are familiar with this blog at all you know we love spicy in our family so I ampped up the red pepper flakes, feel free to adjust to your taste.
• The crackers in the photo are delicious with this soup and anything else you care to use them with.  They are Kirkland Signature Ancient Grains Crackers from Costco and have Millet, Amaranth, Quinoa and Teff grains in them. 
• Since vegetable broth is not as readily available in forms such as  bullion powder, soup base, paste etc.  You can easily substitute chicken broth, it just won't be vegetarian.  

Vegetarian Quinoa Chili

I adore quinoa as an idea.  I know that it is a super grain and mega-healthy for you.  Since I struggle a bit as how to implement it I am always in search of new delicious quinoa recipes.  I found this one recently (and of course tweaked it a bit) and it is definitely a keeper.  Particularly as the weather cools off and I start craving a rich, hearty, flavor packed chili! 

Vegetarian Quinoa Chili 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup water or vegetable broth

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/4 cup water or vegetable broth 

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium zucchini, chopped

2 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1-3 Tablespoons chili powder 

1-2 Tablespoons cayenne pepper (optional) 

Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan combine the quinoa and 1 cup broth. 

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed, 15-20 minutes.

In a large pot heat the olive oil add the onion, carrot and celery in a mirapoix.  Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup broth.  

Add the garlic, peppers and zucchini to the pot.  Cook about 10 more minutes until the vegetables are heated and beginning to soften.  

Add the beans, tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Mix well.

Season with the cumin, chili powder, cayenne and salt and pepper.

Simmer chili on low for at least 30 minutes.

Serve hot.  

Tips and Hints:

• If you are timid with heat remove the seeds and membranes from the jalapeno.

• Do NOT omit the chili powder, if you don't like the heat level just use only 1 Tablespoon.  This adds a depth of flavor that makes the chili taste good.

• You can add optional toppings such as: green onion, diced avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream, Greek yogurt, crackers, etc. to your bowl when serving.

• This would be fantastic with a good corn bread. 

Bread Bowls

One of my favorite things is a thick hearty soup in a bread bowl, but they tend to be expensive and hard to find so I decided to learn to make my own.

Bread Bowls

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoons dehydrated onion flakes
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
7 cups flour
1 Tablespoon cornmeal

Directions:
Put water in a mixing bowl, sprinkle in yeast and mix well.
Add honey and mix in.
Allow to sit several minutes until the yeast is foamy
Add onion flakes and olive oil
Mix salt into the flour
Gradually add flour to yeast mixture, mixing well.
When the yeast is fully incorporated knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic
Cover and let rise until double in size, about 30 minutes.
Punch down and allow to rise again until doubled.
Sprinkle cornmeal onto a baking sheet.
Separate into six equal balls. Shape until smooth and round.
Place dough balls on the baking sheet and allow to double in size again.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes until golden.
Allow to cool then cut off the top similar to the way you would when carving a jack-o-lantern.
Remove some of the bread from the center leaving a full crust about 3/4 inches thick.
Fill with your favorite thick soup and serve with the excess bread.

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Tips and Hints

• The bowls do not work well with a thin brothy soup, as they tend to get too soggy too quickly.


• The first time I made these bowls my honey was a thick clumpy block so I used brown sugar and it turned out great.


• The purpose of the dehydrated onion is to give the bread a depth of flavor, you can omit it if you want to, you could also add dehydrated garlic or other seasonings.


• You can add a Tablespoon or two of your favorite small whole grain such as millet, amaranth, quinoa etc.

Best Broccoli Cheese Soup

I love cream of broccoli soup with cheese. I searched for recipes and didn't find one I liked so I asked my friend Andrea for her recipe. She invited the whole family to dinner for my birthday and we cooked it together. Delish!

Best Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
3 onions
6 Tablespoons butter
salt
3 cloves garlic

3 potatoes, peeled and shredded or finely chopped
thyme
12 cups chicken broth
48 ounces broccoli
1 1/2 cups cream or half and half
1 pound each sharp cheddar, medium or mild cheddar and fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
black pepper

Directions:
Make mirapoix. With this soup you'll have double onion instead of equal portions of each of the veggies. You'll also use the butter rather than olive oil for a richer and creamier flavor.
Add garlic just before de-glazing
De-glaze with about a cup of chicken broth, add rest of broth and potatoes along with a pinch of thyme.
Simmer until potatoes are soft.
Put veggies and some of the broth in a blender or food processor.
Process until very smooth. You'll probably have to do this in multiple batches.
Pour back in pot and add broccoli lightly simmer until broccoli is tender.
Remove from heat and let sit a few minutes, until slightly cooled
Add cheese and stir well until melted
Add cream and mix well
If the soup is to thin you may thicken it with cornstarch or heat just to steaming, no simmer or boil, and allow to reduce.

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Tips and Hints

• Do not allow soup to get too hot or boil after adding the dairy products or it will curdle.


• Feel free to adjust the amount of cheese based on personal preference. If you love cheese add more, if you want the soup more "cream of" use less cheese.


• You may add or substitute other favorite cheeses.


• Never use that fake, dried Parmesan in a green can, it will not work properly or give good flavor.


• This soup is excellent served in a bread bowl.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love Chicken Tortilla Soup on a cool day, but a great version is hard to find and tends to be pricey at a restaurant. Once again I searched online, found a version that seemed good and tweaked it to make this savory and a bit spicy version.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

6 corn tortillas
olive oil
salt
favorite seasonings (optional)

3-4 carrots, diced
3-4 stalks celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed


32 ounces beef broth 
32 ounces chicken broth 

1 4-ounce can green chilies
2 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 can Rotel 
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cups cooked chicken


1 cup cheddar-jack cheese, grated
1 avocado, diced (optional)
1 lime (optional)
sour cream (optional)
other toppings as desired

Directions:

Warm the tortillas slightly (about 30 seconds in the microwave) to soften them. Slice tortilla into thin strips. Toss with a tiny bit of olive oil and salt and other seasonings. (I use Cholula Chili Lime and/or Mrs. Dash spicy). Place on a baking sheet and place in a 250 degree oven until crispy, about 40 minutes.

Mix together the celery, carrot and onion. Put in a large pot with the olive oil and salt to make mirepoix. When the veggies are caramelized add the garlic and sauté one or two more minutes.

Deglaze the mirepoix with some of the beef and/or chicken broth.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the cheese, tortilla strips, avocado and lime.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer at least 30 minutes to blend flavors.

Serve hot, In each individual bowl stir in a squeeze of lime and top with a sprinkle of cheese, a few pieces of avocado, sour cream, and some tortilla strips.

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Tips and Hints

• Shredded rotisserie chicken is my favorite 
• In addition to Rotel, I like to use diced tomatoes with chilies for at least one of the cans 
• To add some extra spiciness add a can of El Pato hot tomato sauce to the soup.
• You can also add cayenne pepper to spice it up. 
• To make it less spicy use mild green chilies
• Feel free to improvise, if you love corn add two cans, if you don't like it leave it out. Same goes for any other ingredient.
• Adding the lime to the whole pot and heating it tends to produce bitterness so make sure you just add it to the individual bowls.  

Chicken and Dumplings

We've all heard of this traditional dish. On a cool rainy day I was looking for some good old fashioned comfort food I did some searching, combining and tweaking and came up with a this thick, creamy chicken soup with fluffy dumplings. Our family loves this scrumptious version of this wonderful comfort food.

Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:
Chicken Soup:

2 pounds chicken breast

3 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
olive oil
salt

8 cups water
chicken bouillon powder or cubes
2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup

Dumplings

3 cups flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons butter
1 ½ cups milk


Directions:

Dice the chicken into chunks and sauté in a large pot using a small amount of olive oil and desired seasonings (I use salt and a touch of pepper) until no longer pink. Lift from pot and set aside.

Combine the celery, carrots and onion in the pot with more olive oil and salt to make mirapoix. Combine the water and correct amount of bouillon to make 8 cups of chicken broth. Deglaze the pan with a bit of the broth.

Add the cream of chicken soup and mix well, slowly add the remaining broth, stirring carefully to incorporate into the cream soup. Add the cooked chicken and bring to a slow simmer.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk to make a soft dough, may be a bit sticky.

Drop by spoonfuls into simmering stew and cover. Simmer 15-20 minutes without lifting lid.

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Tips and Hints

• The soup will start out a bit thin but the dumplings should thicken it up nicely.

• Smaller dumplings will cook through easier and be less doughy. If they are a bit doughy just let them cook a bit longer.

• You can omit the dumplings and add homemade noodles instead to make a creamy chicken noodle soup.

• You can use a whole chicken and boil it in 4 quarts of water. Then remove the chicken from the pot and take the meat off the bones. The water used to cook the chicken will replace the water and bouillon broth.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

The first time I ever heard of this soup was in an e-mail from Sweet Tomatoes. Since I love baked potatoes and I love soup I was very excited and made the 35 mile trip to try it with eager anticipation. I was so disappointed! Their soup had so little flavor. I still wanted to try a good loaded baked potato soup so I looked online, found a recipe and tweaked it a bit.
Sheer Loaded Baked Potato Bliss!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:
12 oz thick sliced Applewood smoked bacon
13-15 med/lg. potatoes, baked

3-4 stalks celery finely diced
2-3 large carrots, peeled, finely diced
1 large onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeno finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
4-8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 cup thinly sliced ham or Canadian Bacon (or mini cubed ham)

6 cups (or 3 cans) chicken broth
2 cups (or 1 can) vegetable broth

1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ - 1 cup milk, warmed
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (optional)

1 pint heavy cream
1 small carton sour cream
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Garnish
½ cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup thinly sliced green onion (green part)

Directions:
Cut bacon into chunks, cook in large stock pot until crisp.
Remove the bacon, set aside.  Also remove grease, and discard, reserving about 2-3 Tablespoons
Chop carrots, celery and onion. Use to make mirapoix, in the bacon grease.
While the mirapoix is cooking mash 10 of the potatoes adding warm milk, salt and pepper. You can saute the two cloves of garlic in the butter and add them to the potatoes if you would like. I dice the potatoes with the peel on and toss it all in a stand mixer to mash them.
Peel the remaining potatoes and cut them into bite size chunks, set aside.
This is a slight change from the usual mirapoix step. Before de-glazing the pan add the diced peppers, garlic and ham and saute about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Scoop out most of the veggie and ham mixture. Add a small amount of the broth to de-glaze the pan. Once the pan is de-glazed add the rest of the cooked veggies and ham back to the pot along with the rest of the broth and cream.
Stir the mashed potatoes into the soup mixing until well combined. Add potato chunks. Heat about 10 minutes.

Add sour cream, cheese and most of the bacon, stir well, heat until sour cream dissolves and cheese is melted.
Stir in half and half
Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low until ready to serve.
Spoon into bowls. Top with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle each of bacon, cheese and green onion.

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Tips and Hints

• If you are timid about spicy food still use the jalapeno, but be sure it is seeded with the membrane removed. The dairy products really diminish the heat so you shouldn't need to omit it. To turn up the heat toss in a few more and leave in the seeds, I use about 3 jalapenos
• Try pre-baking the potatoes and pre-cooking the bacon to save time when making the soup.


• Served with some hot crusty bread this soup is hearty enough to make a perfect meal.

Mirapoix

I have a wonderful friend named Andrea. When Martha Stewart grows up she wants to be Andrea. The things Andrea can do could fill a huge book. She is the most amazing chef, she can taste a dish and figure out how to replicate it. Last year at Girls' Camp she used one of the cabins to create a kitchen complete with a refrigerator she made herself that required no electricity.

Andrea taught me how to create the perfect base to any soup. It begins with mirapoix (mir-a-pwah) Since learning this technique my homemade soups have greatly improved in depth and richness of flavor.

Let me pass on the Magic of Andrea

Mirapoix

Ingredients:
Equal parts diced:

onion
carrots
celery

olive oil

salt

liquid (according to soup you intend to make)


Directions:

The proportions are not listed because it is not an exact science. I usually use one large onion and enough carrots and celery to balance it out.


In a large soup pot slightly heat a tablespoon or so of the oil. Add the veggies and sprinkle with a bit of salt, this draws out the natural sugars in the veggies. Saute on medium heat, but don't scorch the oil, until the veggies start to caramelize and turn the bottom of the pan starts turning dark, you'll want a fairly large patch of the dark caramelization. Don't let it burn.

pan with carmelized mirapoix

Pour a small amount of the the liquid into the pan and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping at the dark patches until they loosen and are incorporated into the liquid and vegetables. The bottom of the pan should mostly "clean up" This is called de-glazing

pan that has been deglazed

Now you are ready to proceed with making your soup. Just follow your recipe from here.

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Tips and Hints

• I usually dice the veggies very fine, but they can be a little bigger if you like


• They tend to shrivel as they cook so if want a soup with a lot of chunky vegetables I would recommend adding extra chopped veggies after you have de-glazed the pan.


• You can use butter or some other fat source in place of the olive oil, just be aware of the scorching temperature of your fat.


• Sometimes I need to use up my veggies so I use more than normal, if there are too many to easily de-glaze the pan I'll scoop most of them out before de-glazing the pan, then add them back in after the pan is clean.


• Some soup recipes will call for the mirapoix ingredients and direct you to cook 10 minutes or so. I would recommend following the mirapoix directions and cooking until caramelized, as this makes the flavor so much more full.


• If your recipe calls for the three vegetables you can use those amounts as your guide.


• Mirapoix can be the basis for just about any soup you could think of (French Onion is about the only exception - for this just use lots of onion and saute it until it caramelizes)


• Even if your family does not like these veggies use them anyway, just dice them extra fine! Trust me. My husband claims to hate celery, but he loves the soups I make using celery in a mirapoix base.


• Alternate spelling: mirepoix