(Potato) Kale Soup and Cookbook Review

If you're looking for a comforting soup that you can feel good about eating, you're in for a treat. This soup is not only healthy, it's really quite delicious - and my entire family agrees even with the green color. Both children have asked for seconds when we've eaten it.

(2/28/2012: As a side note, I'm linking this post up to the very cool #Soupapalooza event hosted by Dine and Dish and TidyMom. See the bottom of this post for details and how you can join in, too. There are some really awesome prizes!)

The recipe is just very slightly adapted from the "Kale Soup" recipe in Barbara Kafka's new cookbook "The Intolerant Gourmet: Glorious Food without Gluten and Lactose." Barbara Kafka not only has celiac disease herself, but she is the author of several other cookbooks and is the recipient of the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.

I was contacted with a request to review this book and I'm pleased to say that I've so far tried two recipes from it and the whole family has loved each one. I love that all the recipes are free of both gluten and dairy. While I am lactose-intolerant myself in the form of milk, cream and ice cream in their pure forms (I can cook/bake with them and I can eat a little with a Lactaid), I am able to eat cheese, a little yogurt and butter without problems. However, I know several people who aren't able to eat gluten or dairy, or have children who aren't. This would be a great cookbook for them.

Recipes in this book are broken into the following categories: Breakfast; Hors D'oevuvre & First Courses; Pasta & Risotto; Glorious Soup; The Wide World of Salads; Fish & Seafood; Chicken & Other Birds; Beef; Perfect Pig; Lamb; Other Meats; Vegetable Main Courses; Sides; Desserts; Sauces; Basic Recipes (seasonings, stocks, etc.); as well as a pretty comprehensive section covering starches and information on the different types available in this diet.

While the dessert section doesn't include much in the way of baked goods, the recipes look delicious and I look forward to trying them. I especially loved the soup section, which includes a large variety of different kinds of soups. There are a total of 300 recipes in the book, and I think there are plenty to suit any individual's tastes. I don't eat pork because I believe I've developed an allergy to it (didn't really like it before, anyway), or even fix it for my family (my husband cooks up some bacon for himself and the girls on occasion), but I'm sure the rest of my family would like several of the pork recipes offered in this book.

Projected start to finish time: 45 minutes to 1 hour
(Printable Recipe)

1 1/2 pounds kale, washed, stemmed and roughly chopped (about 6 cups)
Approximately 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
*4 1/2 cups gluten-free chicken stock
*4 1/2 cups gluten-free vegetable broth (*use all vegetable broth to make vegan)
4-5 good sized red potatoes, scrubbed with peel on and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste, if desired

Place chopped kale into food processor (work in batches if you have one with 7-cup or smaller capacity) and process until almost pureed. (I probably got it really close to pureed when I made this.)

Move to large saucepan, add oil (she recommends 1/3 cup in original recipe but I found it worked fine to use less - add more if needed) and cook over medium heat for about 25-30 minutes or until the kale has become soft and dark.

While kale is cooking, pour chicken stock into another large saucepan and add potatoes. Bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes can be easily pierced, about 10 to 12 minutes. (She uses peeled Idaho potatoes in original recipe, but I prefer to use red with the peel on when I'm able.)

If you have an immersion blender, you may want to use it for this next step. I have one, but it's not the greatest so I didn't use it for this recipe. If not, I recommend the blender. I tried this in the food processor first in about 1/4 of the processor bowl (and I have a large processor) and it splattered everywhere and was hot. So, work in batches and add the stock and potatoes to the blender (don't fill too high with hot liquid!) and blend until mixture is smooth and uniform.

Add blended stock and potatoes to to cooked kale and whisk together. Salt to taste, and add just a little black pepper if desired.

Serve with gluten-free crackers if desired.

This recipe made enough for our family of four to make two meals out of it.

Enjoy!

Note about book review: I was given a free copy of this cookbook for review. The opinion of this book, however, is entirely mine.

I'll also share today's photo of beauty in this post:

One of our little male house finches, enjoying a meal in our dining room window feeder.

Find beauty in your day today!

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

**More #Soupapalooza information (see second paragraph above): Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset

Matzoh Ball Soup

I absolutely LOVE matzoh ball soup. I've adored it since I was a child, and don't know why I don't make it more often. If you are wanting some great charoset or matzoh crackers, check out yesterday's post.

These matzoh balls, just so you know, would taste great as dumplings for chicken and dumplings. They don't taste the same as the dumplings my mom made for chicken and dumplings, but she made the dumplings into balls rather than thinner squares like some do, so this recipe is what I'd start with if I was craving that dish.

I adapted this recipe from this gluten-free matzo balls recipe a couple of years ago, and we all love it.

Projected prep time: 10 minutes; Refrigerator time: 2 hour minimum; Cook time: 20 minutes
This recipe will make approximately 18 matzoh balls
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 cup almond flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1 tbsp. milled flax seed
Pinch of dried dill (tiny bit less than 1/8 tsp.)
1/4-1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. grapeseed oil
2 quarts chicken stock

Mix dry ingredients together, including herbs, making sure to get out any lumps in the almond flour and potato starch.

Whisk together eggs and grapeseed oil.

Add egg mixture to dry mixture, stirring together until all is incorporated very well. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least two hours, a few hours longer is better.

Bring chicken stock to a boil.

Roll matzoh mixture into 1-inch balls.

Drop dough into boiling stock.

Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. The matzoh balls will puff up and start to float as they cook. After they begin to cool, they will deflate but will still be delicious! Serve a few matzoh balls with the soup in each bowl.

Enjoy!

Italian Lentil Soup

I saw this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens magazine several years ago. It was one of the monthly recipe winners. I decided to try it, and our oldest daughter, who was about 2 at the time, decided it was one of her favorite meals. She still loves it. It's a perfect soup for a cold day, and doesn't take too long to make or prepare.

I've never been a fan of boiled cabbage. Honestly, unless it's in a spring roll or coleslaw I don't want much to do with cabbage. But this ... this recipe makes cabbage good. Really good.

I was able to find this recipe on the Better Homes and Gardens website, so I'll just let you view it from this link and then share the small changes I make.

You're going to be looking at an approximate prep time of about 15 minutes and a cook time of about 45 minutes.

Since I do have the dislike of cabbage in certain ways as described above, I usually use about 1/3, sometimes 1/4, of a small head of cabbage instead of half. I also add more onion than the original recipe calls for. I don't care for celery unless it's cooked a really long time, so I omit celery from this recipe.

I didn't have a can of tomato puree on hand when I made this last night so I used a 15-oz. can of tomato sauce and only 4 cups of water instead of 5. It was perfect. I also make sure the sugar I use is organic sugar, and the salt is sea salt.

Also, since I was making kale chips anyway last night, I set some aside to add to the soup for the last 20 minutes of cooking. It was delicious.

I usually serve this soup with some cornbread for a hearty meal but I was making these yummy kale chips last night, so I served the soup with kale chips and Schar snack crackers (not the table crackers, but they would have tasted great with the soup as well).

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

*And for your kale enjoyment, I'm linking this recipe up with some other gluten-free kale recipes here: http://www.bookofyum.com/blog/kale-week-tahini-kale-chip-recipe-and-dehydrator-review-6328.html

Turkey and Buffalo Andouille Gumbo

Gumbo. Is there anything more satisfying? Well, yes. There are lots of things, even other foods, but there is something about gumbo that makes me smile.

There are so many different kinds of gumbo and ingredients you can use. Chicken and sausage gumbo is one of my favorites, and it's the same recipe I use for this one. You've got seafood gumbo, you can make vegetable gumbo. My dad loves to make turkey bone gumbo. The list is nearly endless.

I like to use andouille sausage in my gumbo, but a lot of the sausage has pork in it and I'm not able to eat pork anymore. I don't know why, but it makes me sick every time I eat it. A lot of sausage also has gluten in it. I don't live in Louisiana anymore and it's a little harder to find andouille -- especially an andouille that meets all my needs -- where I live. I was overjoyed when I found gluten-free buffalo andouille in our health food store. And it's not too bad, either.

As anyone who has cooked gumbo knows, first you make a roux. You can find my gluten-free roux recipe here.

And that's where this recipe begins.

Projected prep time: Varies, won't even put one on here; Projected cook time: 2-3 hours (after making roux)
(Printable Recipe)

2 medium white onions, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
(*Obviously leave out the next two items and add desired vegetables if you're making this vegetarian)
1 lb. smoked gluten-free sausage, chopped (I prefer andouille as noted above)
2 or 3 lbs., or a little more, cooked turkey (or chicken) This was a turkey breast we froze after cooking this huge turkey. Note you can add the poultry raw and cook for a couple of hours and then remove and cut or shred into smaller pieces, but it may be tougher meat that way.
4 quarts water
1 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt, then more to taste if necessary
1/4 tsp. black pepper, then more to taste, up to 1/2 tsp.
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, then more to taste (my husband and our youngest are really sensitive to "spicy" so I usually start with a small amount of cayenne pepper, then I douse my own bowl with it)
Dash of Tony Chachere's, to taste
Sometimes I add a little chopped parsley while it's cooking
Gumbo file, if desired, to sprinkle in individual bowls
Cooked rice, white or brown is fine. Brown is healthier, white is more traditional.
*As I note above, you can use lots of different ingredients in a gumbo. I like green bell pepper in mine, some like red. Many people put celery (this is part of the traditional "trinity" of onions, bell pepper and celery) and okra in their gumbo, but I don't care for celery in my gumbo, though I'll certainly eat it, and okra in any form makes me gag.

You can make your gumbo in a big cast iron Dutch oven or a large stock pot. If you are making your roux in the Dutch oven, you'll continue to add all the ingredients for your gumbo in the same pot. If you make your roux in a separate skillet, you'll want to have your water boiling in the stock pot before you add the roux and other ingredients to it. If you are adding it to the same pot you've been cooking your roux in, you'll want to have a kettle of water boiling to add to the roux. If you add water that's not hot to the roux, you will probably cause the roux to separate.

I'm taking you now back to the roux being ready for gumbo. You've already taken it off the heat and it's to the point where you need to quickly stop it from cooking. Add of the chopped onions and vigorously stir. Add a little more, not all, of the onions, and bell pepper. Add a little bit of your hot water, a little at a time, stirring vigorously. The roux will seize like chocolate does when you are melting it and it touches liquid, but it's okay.

The roux will seize, as explained above. It's okay.  It will also lighten in color as you add ingredients to it, as this has done. This gluten-free roux isn't as brown as I'd like it, as explained in the post with roux recipe, but it gets the job done!

Just keep stirring and adding water a little at a time until it's a consistency you can either add the rest of the liquid to if you are adding it all to the roux pot, or that you can add it to the rest of the water in the stock pot.

Some people like to cook all of their vegetables before adding to the gumbo. I prefer to add the rest of them raw. Not only is it one less step for me, I find it flavors the gumbo just fine to have it cook down in the liquid.

I took this photo right before I added the turkey.

Once all of the ingredients are added, boil for two or three hours. After it's been cooking for a couple of hours, check the flavors to make sure you don't need to season it more.

I think the camera was trying to focus on the steam!

Put a scoop of rice in your bowl ...

Add your gumbo, then sprinkle with file if you desire. I sometimes add it, sometimes don't. This photo doesn't have it.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Quick Chunky Potato Leek Soup with White Pizza Bagels

I love making soup this time of year. As soon as cooler weather starts, I want soup. I like to make big batches of soup that take hours to simmer so I can freeze some for later and still have some left over to enjoy a few more meals. Not to mention they make the house smell yummy and feel cozy. But sometimes, I need quick. And it still has to be delicious. This is one of those soups, and paired with the bagel, it's very filling.

This recipe as is will make enough for two adults and two children, with larger bowls for the adults and smaller bowls for the children. You might even have a little left over.

Projected prep time: 15 minutes; Projected cook time: 30-45 minutes

Soup:

1 carton Imagine Organic Potato Leek Soup

1 medium white onion, diced

4 medium red potatoes, skin on, cubed

(Optional: 1 tbsp. Watkins chicken soup & gravy base - omit if dairy/soy free - or a little chicken stock, omit if vegan. Gives a good flavor)

1 c. water, possibly a little more if needed to thin some

Sea salt or kosher salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

White pizza bagels (omit if vegan or egg-free)

1 whole Udi's bagel, thawed and halved

3/4 c. ricotta cheese (omit or use dairy-free option for dairy-free)

Shredded mozzarella (omit or use dairy-free option for dairy-free)

1 or 2 cloves garlic, pressed, depending on how strong you like your garlic

Chop potatoes

And onions

Pour soup into saucepan

Add onions and potatoes and bring to boil, then reduce to simmer but hot enough to cook potatoes, stirring often to prevent sticking on bottom. Add chicken soup base or chicken stock if your are using it, and water. Cook until potatoes are cooked through.

While soup is cooking, make your pizza bagels. I do this in the toaster oven. Note that I haven't been able to get my hands on the new whole grain bagels Udi's just came out with. I'm very excited to try them when I can,  and I'll most likely be using those instead of the plain ones when I'm able.

In small bowl, combine ricotta and pressed or minced garlic. Spread generously over each bagel half. Note if you don't have a ricotta replacement and aren't able to have dairy, you can try roasting the garlic cloves whole first and then spreading the softened garlic over the bagels. If you don't plan to top this with any type of shredded cheese, you probably want to toast the bagel halves before putting the roasted garlic on top.

Top each half with a generous amount of shredded mozzarella, or whatever replacement you are using.

Bake in toaster oven at about 400 degrees until both cheeses are heated through, then switch to broil to get the cheese nice and melted and brown on top.

 Cut each half in half and serve warm with a bowl of soup.

Cleansing Chicken Soup

This is the best chicken soup. Ever. My husband and children agree. I'm just going to link directly to this recipe, but I will tell you that I follow it almost exactly with the exception of the chicken feet (sorry, but gross!). I also use about half a bunch of parsley instead of a whole, and about 2 inches of ginger instead of 4. Lastly, I often use just organic chicken breasts or breasts and thighs. I realize that much of the nutrients in this soup is retrieved from cooking the bones of the entire chicken, but I have some serious issues with chicken skin and things that float in around after cooking a whole chicken. My mom always made chicken soup with a whole chicken and I was constantly picking out things that grossed me out. Don't skip out on the organic extra virgin coconut oil (it's extremely healthy) and the apple cider vinegar being raw. It really needs to be to get the best benefits.

If you're not feeling well, this is the soup for you. If you want comfort food, this is the soup for you. I like to freeze about half of it. I freeze about 1/4 of it for another meal and then I freeze the other 1/4 in individual servings to pull out and defrost when someone has a cold or flu and wants this ultimate feel-good meal.

It does take literally all day to make, so get it started on a morning you plan to be home all day. In Jordan Rubin's book Perfect Weight America (not a gf book, but a good book nevertheless), he names this soup cleansing chicken soup. That's where I got the recipe. On his Perfect Weight America site, however, he names it Cold and Flu Bustin' Spicy Chicken Soup. And there's the link for you. Hover over the soup words if you don't see it.

I like to serve it with these delicious crackers, as close to saltines as you'll find gluten-free.

Quick n Easy Chili

For those days you're craving chili, but don't have time to let it cook for hours, here's your recipe. I like to top mine with shredded Colby Jack cheese and Fritos. I realize I have somewhat of a contradiction here posting organic ingredients and then saying to put Fritos on top. But, I love Fritos on my chili. I figure adding a non-organic ingredient or two when the rest is organic is still better than using most of it non-organic. Of course if you don't believe organic makes a difference, go right ahead and use the type of ingredients you want.

Estimated prep time: 10 min.; Total cook time: 45 min. to 1 hour
1 pound lean ground beef (prefer grass-fed organic -- omit if vegetarian)
1 medium onion, chopped not quite as small as diced
1 can diced organic tomatoes
1 can organic kidney beans or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz. can of organic tomato sauce
Water
Black pepper to taste
Seas salt to taste
Chili powder to taste
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce (omit if vegan or soy-free -- and U.S. version is GF, Canada is not)
2 tsp. Watkins Meat Magic (omit if don't have or not using meat, or soy-free)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed, or use Watkins Liquid Garlic Spice
Shredded Colby Jack cheese (or vegan cheese if dairy-free)
Fritos, if desired
*Note: If you are making this vegetarian, use one can of kidney beans and one can of pinto beans instead of beef.

Brown beef together with Meat Magic, chopped onion and a little sea salt. If you aren't using beef, just do onion and some salt. When beef is cooked through, add beans, garlic, tomatoes and can of tomato sauce. Fill tomato sauce can about 1/2 full of water and add to ingredients. Flavor to taste with Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, black pepper, sea salt and garlic spice if you aren't using fresh garlic.Simmer uncovered about 30-45 minutes. Serve topped with shredded Colby Jack cheese (vegan cheese if dairy-free) and Fritos if desired.