Monday, October 27, 2014

Battle of the Bulge: The Spontaneous Green Soup

Now with the fattening holidays behind us, let's recuperate! 

I decided to aimlessly assemble a green soup, which eventually consisted of: 
http://www.radicalgardens.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/zucchini1.jpg
1 bunch kale 
2 zucchini
1 eggplant 
3 carrots
1 parsnip 
3 stalks celery
8 mushrooms
1 can aduki/adzuki beans 
1/2 onion 
4 cloves garlic, minced
a little oil 
boiling water 
sea salt
black pepper 

Sauté the diced onion in a soup pot, then add the chopped veggies except for the mushrooms, beans, and kale. (Slice and sauté the mushrooms separately until gorgeous.) 
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Add boiling water to vegetables in the soup pot, along with sprinkle of salt, pepper, and the garlic. Simmer until veggies are tender, then add the kale, which should wilt on impact. Give a few pulses of an immersion blender for blended smoothness; three should do. Then add the mushrooms and beans.  

It took practically no time to prepare and cook. Ten minutes, maybe?

On motzei Shavuous, I was quite concerned as to my cheesy indulgences of the past two days. Rummaging about the fridge, I threw together a green soup composed of: 
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1 cabbage head 
1 onion
4 stalks celery 
1/2 bag frozen cauliflower
1 parsnip 
1/2 head garlic
1 can navy beans
boiling water
sea salt
black pepper
oil

Begin with the sautéed onion, then add the messily chopped veggies, simmered with boiling until the vegetables were tender, pulverized with the immersion blender, threw in a can of navy beans.
http://keepcaliforniafarming.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Cauliflower.jpeg
Then, after a busy Shabbos, I unearthed three large cucumbers that needed some love before they rotted. I wouldn't recommend doing this unless one has cucumbers that are decomposing, but the soup still tasted quite good.
http://www.foodsubs.com/Photos/cucumber-American.jpg
3 cucumbers 
2 zucchini
1 cup frozen broccoli florets (courtesy of Costco) 
3 carrots 
1 parsnip 
4 stalks celery
1 head garlic 
1 can aduki beans 
5 mushrooms 
1 onion
sea salt
black pepper
oil

In a separate pan, I caramelized the onion, and sautéed the mushrooms and beans. Everything else went into the pot with some water and sea salt, simmered for about 15 minutes, and yes, again immersion blender. Finish with pepper, add the onions, mushrooms, and beans.  
http://www.cherrygal.com/images/Adzuki.jpg
Ta-da.      

The point of this long, rambling post that a redemptive soup requires no recipe, barely any time, and the results (scale-wise) are divine. A soup can be thrown together with whatever is lying around—please do not consider the above as recipes. It's just what was left in the fridge. The soups, no matter what they are made of, are (usually) delicious, and great for rectifying any diet fiascos. 

I had thrown myself upon it's mercy on motzei Succos, and really, that was fast. 

Like I said, it's easy being green.         

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