Thai Chicken and Lemongrass Soup Patricia's Cafe - by Pat McClelland 1 ea Onion ½ lb Chicken Breast 2 Tbs Oil 2 c Water 1 stick Lemon Grass 4 ea Cilantro Roots 5 Tbs Fresh Limejuice 1 inch Fresh Ginger 1 can Coconut Milk to taste Chili Paste 2 oz Mushrooms to taste Fish Sauce to taste Crushed Red Peppers 1. Julienne the onions and chicken then sauté in oil until onions are caramelized. 2. Add the water and bring to a boil. 3. Smash the lemon grass and chop. Add to soup. 4. Peel and chop the ginger. Add to soup. 5. Add the coconut milk, chili paste, limejuice, salt and mushrooms. 6. Add the crushed red peppers and serve. 7. Garnish with fresh cilantro. For those of you that have never had Thai food it tends to be on the very spicy hot side. I am a wimp though so I leave out most of the chilies. In this recipe I’ve used some very traditional ingredients but if you have trouble finding them they can be replaced with others. The lemon grass can be replaced with additional limejuice, the cilantro roots can be replaced with cilantro leaves, fish sauce can be replaced with chicken base. This will change the flavor slightly but will work. 
Beef Stew
Patricia's Cafe - by Pat McClelland ¼ c Olive Oil 1 lb Beef Stew Meat 1 ea Medium Onion 4 ea Large Carrots 1 hd Celery 4 ea Medium Potatoes 1¼ qt Beef stock 1½ c Red Wine 1 (6 oz) can Tomato Paste 1 Tbs Garlic Powder 1 Tbs Onion Powder 3 ea Bay Leaves To taste Kosher Salt ½ c Flour 1. Dice stew meat, onion, carrots and celery into large chunks. 2. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot and add meat. 3. Add onion, carrots and celery when meat is browned. 4. Add stock, wine and tomato paste when vegetables are caramelized. 5. Add the garlic, onion, and bay leaves let simmer for about 2 hours, until the meat is tender. 6. Dice the potatoes and add to the stew. Simmer until done. 7. Place about 1 c of the liquid into a bowl and whisk in the flour. 8. Add back into the stew mixing well. 9. Bring to a boil while stirring until thickened. 10. Salt to taste. My mom always served her stew with fried bread. She would take frozen bread dough and portion it into 1” balls and let it rise. She would then flatten and stretch it and fry it in hot oil. It was so good. Sometimes she would add a little fennel to the dough. If you wanted to make this vegetarian, add more vegetables such as portabella mushrooms, egg plant, or pumpkin in place of the meat and replace the beef stock with a veggie stock. You could also use other types of meat such as chicken with chicken stock or seafood with a seafood stock. Feel free to try other types of veggies too. If you are short on time follow the first 4 steps and then add to a crock-pot with rest of the ingredients and cook all day. 
Chicken Stew Provencal 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 pounds chicken parts, cut in small pieces, if necessary 2 (16-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, broken up 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest 1 clove garlic, minced 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1 bay leaf 2 cups celery cut in 1-inch lengths 1/4 cup dry white wine Rinse chicken under running cold water. Dry with paper towels. In large saucepan heat oil until hot. Add chicken; brown on all sides; drain off drippings. Add tomatoes, salt, thyme, fennel seed, lemon zest and garlic, black pepper and bay leaf. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is almost cooked, about 35 minutes. Add celery and wine. Simmer, uncovered, until chicken and vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf. Makes 4 servings. |
Miso Soup Patricia's Cafe - by Pat McClelland 5 c Water 1 piece Kombu 2 c Bonito Flakes ¼ c Miso Paste 1. Cut kombu into 1” pieces and place in a pot with water. 2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until kombu is soft. 3. Add bonito flakes pushing them into the water with a spoon. 4. After 3 minutes strain through a strainer with cheesecloth. 5. Return liquid to low heat and add the miso. 6. Simmer until miso dissolves. 7. Strain through a strainer removing larger chunks. Garnish with small cubes of silken tofu and some chopped green onions for a basic miso soup. You can add seaweed, vegetables or chunks of meat/seafood to make the soup hardier. I found the miso paste at Whole Foods and the bonito flakes and kombu at the Vitamin Cottage. Miso soup is an accompaniment to most Japanese meals and found in almost any sushi restaurant. Miso is a fermented product made from rice, barley, or soybeans. It comes in white, golden and red. The white is milder with a sweeter flavor and the red’s flavor is more intense with a sour flavor. White miso is fermented for the least amount of time. 
Pumpkin Soup Patricia's Cafe - by Pat McClelland ½ stick Butter 2 ea Carrots 4 ea Celery Ribs 1 ea Onion 4 ea Bay leaves 1 Tbs Garlic powder 1 Tbs Onion powder ½ gal Chicken Stock 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice 3 drops Tabasco 1 can (29 oz) Puréed Pumpkin 1 qt Heavy whipping cream to thicken Roux 1. Dice carrots, celery and onion into ¼” pieces. 2. Heat the butter in a heavy bottomed stockpot and add the diced vegetables. 3. Sauté until golden brown, stirring so as not to burn. 4. Add chicken stock, onion and garlic powders, and bay leaves. 5. Let simmer for 1 hour. 6. Add pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, Tabasco and heavy whipping cream and bring to a boil. 7. Thicken with roux. Garnish with chopped green onions, toasted pumpkin seeds, fried garlic and/or a dollop of sour cream. This is a great soup to serve on Thanksgiving for a starter. If you wanted to make this soup healthier you could use low fat milk in place of the cream and olive oil in place of the butter in both the sautéing and the roux. Roux is part flour and part melted butter made into a paste. Of course that’s no fun. To make this soup vegetarian you would use vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock. You can replace the canned pumpkin with fresh pumpkin that has been cooked down and pureed but in this day and age it is hard to get a good baking pumpkin. You can also change the soup by replacing the spices and replacing the pumpkin with other types of squash or roasted red peppers. 
Monterey Jack Corn Soup Having three dairy servings a day is easy with this Monterey Jack Corn Soup that includes butter, cheese and milk. It’s a delicious, spicy, perky way to get more calcium, which is so necessary for healthy bones. This recipe calls for star anise, which is found in Asian markets and in some supermarkets and specialty stores. It has a slightly bitter taste, but is not really noticeable in this soup with its sweet corn and hot chilies. But you may substitute anise seed, which is sweeter and more widely available in the herb and spice aisles. If you like a milder flavor, you may also reduce the amount of chilies. At any rate, you’ll make a hit with this creamy soup. SWEET & SPICY MONTEREY JACK CORN SOUP 7 1/2 cups water, divided 5 1/3 cups extra-sweet frozen corn 1/2 white onion, roughly chopped 5 tablespoons butter 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, to taste 3 star anise or 1 1/2 teaspoons anise seed 4 serrano chilies, seeded 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded or finely cubed Bring 7 cups water to a boil; add corn, onion, butter and salt. Let simmer about 5 minutes; remove from heat and let cool. Puree in blender and set aside. Bring remaining 1/2 cup water to a boil. Crumble star anise and add it (or the anise seed) and serrano chilies to the water. Let simmer until chilies are soft, remove from heat. Puree until smooth. Strain liquid. Adjust seasoning if needed. Heat corn puree, and ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle cheese on soup, distributing it evenly among the bowls. Drizzle with a few drops of the chili-star anise mixture and serve. Makes 4 servings. |
