Zesty Cook » Soup

A 15 Bean Chili To Make You Smile

zesty — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:00:04 +0000

Hey you! How goes Wednesday? Excited to be here? Well I sure hoe you are. I have a down home recipe today that will warm you up all the way down to your toes. I built this chili on Sunday morning and it has been a huge hit. Flavorful, rich and satisfying to say the least.

It all started with a 15 bean mix by Thompson’s that include white pea beans, black beans, green lentils, pinto beans, yellow eye beans, light and dark red kidney beans, pink beans, green split peas, yellow split peas, baby lima beans, black eye peas ( Not the band ), pearl barley, cranberry beans and chick peas. That is a lot of bean action isn’t it? I am sure some of you are thinking WOW…. No I won’t go there.

So this can be a little bit of a process as you have to soak the beans overnight and take 3 hours to prepare this chili but the end results will not disappoint.

Ingredients

450g Thompson’s Ultimate Bean Mix
4 Cups Cold water
4 Cups Soup stock
1 Large onion, diced
1 Green pepper, diced
2 Cups carrots, sliced
1 Clove garlic, chopped
1/2 Tbsp. Rosemary
1/2 Tbsp. Thyme
1/2 Tbsp. Basil
1/2 Tbsp. Chili powder
1/2 Tbsp. Cumin
1/2 Tbsp. Red Pepper flakes
1/2 Tbsp. Pepper
2 Tsp. Lemon juice
1 Bay leaf
1 Cabbage, chopped
2 Cans (19oz) diced tomatoes
1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Sort and rinse beans before cooking. Cover beans completely with cold water ( 3 Cups water for every cup of dry beans) and SOAK BEANS OVERNIGHT in refrigerator.

Drain.
In a stock pot add soaked beans to fresh water and soup stock. heat to boiling then reduce and simmer for one hour or until beans are nearly tender.
In another large pot over medium heat, saute onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
Add the ground beef and begin to brown the beef. Once the beef is almost cooked, add in carrots, green pepper, cabbage and all the spices including lemon juice and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the cans of tomatoes and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes.
Once the beans are almost tender begin to ladle the beans over into the beef mixture. I took a little bit of the stock over on the spoon but not too much. I wanted the chili to be somewhat “THICK”
Simmer together for about an hour to let the flavors come together; adjust salt and pepper to taste as well as other spices if needed.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: If you like your chili more like a soup, you can keep more of the water/stock that you cooked the beans with or for that matter you can keep all the stock and make a bean soup.

I hope you enjoyed this Chili. As I type this, I have consumed four bowls thus far and absolutely love it. It is super hearty with a hint of heat. There really is no fear of you being hungry after a bowl. Have a super Wednesday and stay tuned for a giveaway on Friday that may just sweeten up your mouth.

Take care

zesty

Easy Carrot Ginger Soup

zesty — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:00:05 +0000

End of the week is upon us – I hope everyone is doing well thus far. The weather is starting to warm up a little but not enough to my liking compared to Florida last week. I thought I would warm everyone up with a super simple smooth soup. Now I have made this soup before but I had a bag of carrots hanging out in the fridge growing more hair than I can and I hate wasting food so carrot soup was the answer. The combination of carrot and ginger coupled with the nutty flavor of the cashews make this soup so rich and creamy. This soup tastes so good with a nice piece of crusty bread or along side your favorite sandwich.

Did I tell you I love Ezekiel bread now? I cannot get enough of that sprouted goodness.

The soup is really straight forward so I didn’t get into too many pictures of all the steps. Feel free to add some of you favorite flavors in as substitutions. The spices in this recipe are vital to the flavor. Be sure they are fresh and ready to make you smile.

Ingredients

2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
4 cups water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground fennel
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
3-4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup toasted cashews

Method

Place the carrots in a medium saucepan and add the water.

Bring to a boil, cover and cook until the carrots are very tender (10-15 minutes)
Heat the olive oil in a small fry pan. Add onion and cook over medium heat until translucent.
Add ginger, garlic, salt, and spices.

Lower the heat and continue to saute for another 8-10 minutes, until the onions are soft.
Stir in lemon juice.
Combine the spice-onion mixture with the carrots and the cashews.
Use a blender to puree the mixture until smooth.
Once smooth, pour back into the saucepan and prepare to serve.
Top with a dollop of sour cream.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The soup will thicken up a bit in the fridge, but just a little water before you microwave it at work and it will be just as good as when you first made it.

Somewhat of a generic question and could gather a variety of answers, but tell me, what is your favorite soup to eat to warm up?

I hope everyone has a great Friday and a super weekend. Let me know if there is anything you would like to see me cook, bake or make for upcoming posts and I have a slight clarification to make on Wednesday’s giveaway post. Dempster’s bagels are available in Atlantic Canada and Ontario and Quebec only. I was wondering why there were not a lot of entries but when I got a few questions such as” Where the heck would I buy these” from folks I knew something was up.

Take Care

zesty

Chicken Soup For The Soul and Media

zesty — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:00:23 +0000

Happy Monday to you! Some days you just need something simple to eat. Something that will comfort you if you are feeling down, something quick if you are in a rush. This no nonsense chicken soup will definitely do the trick. Simple flavors really make you realize that good food can be made easy.

Honestly when I was making this soup, I thought it might be a bit bland in flavor until I hit it with the fresh lemon juice and ground pepper. It woke the soup up and made it SING. This is a must try for any soup lover.

Ingredients

3/4 Cup Long Grain White Rice
6 Cups Homemade or canned low sodium chicken stock
2 Cups Water
Chicken breasts ( cut into thin slices)
2 Carrots ( chopped)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
350g (12 oz) Spinach leaves
1 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 Tsp. Olive oil
Fresh Ground black pepper

Method

Place the rice and carrot in a large saucepan with the stock and water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
In a separate pan, saute the chicken with the oil until slightly brown adding the garlic and 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon juice and set aside once no longer pink.
Add the sliced chicken to the pan and simmer partly covered for another 5-7 minutes.
Stir in the spinach and continue simmering for another 5 minutes or until the rice is tender and both the chicken and spinach are cooked.
Stir in remaining lemon juice and pepper and serve hot.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Add some crunch to your soup by adding roasted pine nuts at the very end just before serving. It will add a nice texture to the somewhat smooth soup.

I must really say that these soup has been one of my favorites that I had had in a long time. I think it also offers a nice canvas to add any other vegetables you would like but I think keeping it simple is one of the attractive elements.

Zesty Hits the Media

Well you know how shy I am in real life right? Ummm just joking! Just last week I was speaking with the Guardian as they wanted to do a special piece on Zesty and how it all began. The Guardian is the local newspaper serving PEI so I was more than happy to oblige.

They also wanted to shoot a video in zesty’s kitchen with some holiday flare. So many ideas went through my head thinking of what I wanted to share with you. It came down to doing something simple and fun and also a recipe that kids can help create. These cookies were really fun to make even with the crazy twist. They taste pretty good out of the oven as well.

All in good fun and hopefully the videos will continue.

Have a super start to your week and I will see you all on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

Run of the Mill Red Lentil and Tomato Soup

zesty — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:00:32 +0000

The week is almost over. This weekend has to be Get The House Ready For Christmas as we have not done anything at this point. We also have to commence with the shopping and try and get organized. Normally I like to leave everything to the last minute but that kinda bugs Mrs. Zesty – so I am willing to get things wrapped up so we can relax in the evenings.

Did I just say relax? I wish…. oh well I love the way things are going in zesty land so I cannot complain.

On to the Food

There is something about soup this time of year that really makes you feel good, warms you up and makes you happy! Today’s soup is something you can do on a weeknight and still be eating before your stomach starts to growl. The downside to most soups for me is that I am so hungry I could eat a horse and chase the rider when I get home from work that I do not want to wait for the soup to cook and I end of eating something else.

This soup however is pretty straight forward and serves up pretty quickly.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 Cup onion (chopped)
1/2 Cup carrot (chopped)
1/2 Cup celery (chopped)
1 Tbsp.garlic (chopped)
1 Cup lentils
3 Cups chicken stock (or vegetable broth)
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp.chili sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro (chopped)
Sour cream

Method

Heat the oil in a pan.
Add the onions, carrots and celery and saute until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
Add the lentils, stock, tomatoes and chili sauce.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper and serve with a garnish of cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Use this as the basis to add or sneak in other vegetables if you so desire. Frozen peas would be a nice addition or one of my favorites would be to add a huge handful of spinach at the end of the cooking process for a nice pop of color and texture.

New Kitchen Addition

We ordered stools for the kitchen!! Finally! Here is a snapshot of the stool. We went with the white choice for color – but if we happened to know there was orange we may have changed our mind.

Have a super Friday and an even better weekend.

Take care

zesty

Lentil and Black Bean Soup w/ Roasted Turkey

zesty — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:00:26 +0000

Happy Friday! When this recipe started out – I was planning on preparing roasted turkey with a cranberry glaze as a tester recipe for Thanksgiving. About mid way through after I had started roasting the turkey legs, I switched gears as I roamed through the pantry. I noticed a bag of lentils calling my name and decided to go for the soup.

Well, let’s just say that I was pleasantly surprised with the results. Served over raw spinach allowing it to wilt is a great way to get some greens without really knowing. This recipe was pretty slick and easy and the addition of the roasted turkey was a definite texture and flavor booster for my taste buds.

Give this a try and let me know.

Ingredients

2 Tsp. canola oil
2 Turkey Legs
Salt and Pepper
1 Tsp. Dried rosemary
1 1/2 Cups finely chopped onion
1 large celery stalk, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 cup green lentils, rinsed and picked through
1 15-ounce can reduced-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 Can low-sodium Tomato Juice
3 Cups water
2 Cups Spinach

Method

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.
Add turkey legs, salt, pepper and rosemary to a roasting pan and cook turkey legs for about 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and let rest.
In a large pot, heat oil on medium heat. Sauté onions, celery, and garlic until softened, about 4-5 minutes.
Sprinkle cumin and chili powder, cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add lentils, black beans, tomatoes, juice and water.
Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 25 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
Pull turkey meat off the legs and toss in the soup and stir.
Place handful of spinach in a bowl and top with soup.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: If you had homemade vegetable stock or even canned stock you could use that in replace of the water but I didn’t so I chose to go with water and it worked out fine. Always before serving soup, especially homemade, double check the seasoning so you are not disappointed with the flavor.

OK, so here is the scoop for the weekend. This weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada which as you can well imagine I am excited for but with that comes some downfall. I have to travel on Monday due to ticket limitations. So I am off to Virginia on Monday and I will miss one turkey day. I guess I will have to make Sunday a double turkey day ( lunch and supper ). I have done that many years so I am hoping that is the plan for this year. I will keep you posted.

Have a great weekend and I will talk to you next week from VA.

Take care

zesty

Everybody Needs A Little Chicken Noodle!

zesty — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:00:49 +0000

Welcome to Mid Week Wednesday! I have nothing exciting in my life to report except… work work work and some upcoming travel to the DC area. So I thought I would get right to the point and chit chat about some homemade whole wheat chicken noodle soup that very well might loosen your socks. I don’t want to come right out and say that it will knock your socks off but I am pretty sure they will be loosened.

A simple concept for sure – packed with flavor and missing all the sodium! What a treat. I can honestly say that the results were spectacular as I was only able to get one bowl of soup from the huge pot. Let’s just say Mrs. Zesty and family enjoyed this one.

Ingredients

3-4 lb Whole chicken ( roasted and separated)
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Cups carrot ( chopped)
1 Cup Celery ( chopped)
1 Cup Onion ( chopped)
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 Tbsp. Ginger
1 Tsp. Dried Thyme ( optional )
2 Cloves garlic
4 Cups chicken stock ( I used Organic Chicken stock )
3 Cups water
1 Tbsp. Salt
2 Bay Leafs
1 500g Bag Egg noodles

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare the chicken to be roasted. Clean the cavity, salt the inside, add a bay leaf to the cavity and splash a dollop of butter on top.

Roast until cooked through and browned nicely 9 about 20-25 mins/lb. Remove from roaster and let cool

In a large saucepan preheated to medium heat, add the olive oil, onion, garlic and ginger

Let the onion cook down for a few minutes until becoming translucent

Toss in the carrots and celery and continue to cook for 7 minutes.

Pull all the chicken off the bird and chop into small pieces and set aside.

In the sauce pan, start adding your flavor – dried thyme and remaining bay leaf.
Toss in the chicken
Add the chicken stock and water and let simmer for 45 minutes.

Stirring occasionally and testing the seasoning adjust prior to adding the noodles
Drop in the noodles and stir to mix.

Let the noodles cook through another 10 minutes.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: I think the best thing about this dish is that is freezes well and will last the whole week for lunches and or suppers. Drop it off to your friends or just eat it all yourself. This is true comfort food that doesn’t take long to make and is super easy.

The Mandolin Slicer Winner

Let’s put our hands together and rise off the chairs for Georgeann from Hurst, TX. Also, the coupons have a few extra days before they expire so make sure you pick up your own mandolin for the kitchen. Thanks for everyone who entered the contest. I believe the turn out was successful. Georgeann – your mandolin is on it’s way. Make sure you tell me what you think.

I hope you enjoy the chicken noodle soup. This was my first time using the whole wheat egg noodles. I did enjoy them and would likely do it again. In hindsight I would reduce the number of noodles next time for the amount of broth.

I hope you have a great Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

Curried Pumpkin and Apple Soup

zesty — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:00:58 +0000

Hi Zesty Readers, I am Mellissa from A Fit and Spicy Life and am very excited to be doing a guest post while Zesty is out of town. I thought I would share one of my fall favorites made with ingredients that are in season now and spices that really complement those flavors! Since this soup has a lot of chopping I use a Chopper or Food Processor to get the onions and apples the same size, to save time and to stop a few tears.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
Pinch red pepper flakes
3 apples, cored and chopped
15-oz can pumpkin puree
2 2/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (veggie broth can be substituted)
2/3 cup water
1 tsp cane sugar

Directions

Pour oil into large saucepan and place over medium heat.
Add onion, garlic, curry, cumin and cayenne.
Saute, stirring often until onion is soft.

Stir in apples, pumpkin, broth, water and sugar.

Bring to boil, cover and reduce heat to low.
Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Puree soup in a food processor or with a hand blender, to achieve desired consistency.
Just before serving, return to pot on low heat.
ENJOY!!

Thanks so much Melissa (fit and spicy life) for a great recipe. This is definitely the time of year for curry and pumpkin. I love the combination of flavors and will be trying this for sure. I hope you have a great Thursday and talk soon.

Take care

zesty

Curried Red Lentil Soup with Chickpeas and Quinoa

zesty — Wed, 06 May 2009 08:00:05 +0000

I am excited to present you a new blogger to Zestycook. Kevin from Closetcooking was very accepting when I asked him to do a guest post on zesty. I have been reading Kevin’s blog for a while now and mostly drooling over stunning photography and loving his recipes. I gave Kevin full reign over what to post and as you can see below – it looks like he came up with another winner.

Recently I have been enjoying exploring lentils though up until now I have only been using the green du puy lentils. There are many different types of lentils and I wanted to branch out and try a new one. When I was out shopping the bright red lentils caught my attention and I picked some of them up.

Despite the fact that we have had a few warm days the weather has gotten cooler again and I was in the mood for a soup. While searching for recipes I came across a few for curried red lentil and chickpea soups that sounded good. Using those two main ingredients as the base for my soup I proceeded to add my favorite soup vegetables; onions, carrots and celery. Next I added some diced tomatoes to add more body and red to the soup. I thought that I was pretty much done but then as I was pulling out the lentils I noticed the quinoa in my cupboard and I recalled that it had worked well in several soups that I had made before and I decided to throw some in as well. I had ended up with a recipe for a nice and healthy sounding soup that also promised to taste great.

Red lentils cook pretty quickly and I only needed to simmer them in the soup for as long as I would have simmered the soup to allow for enough time for the flavours to mingle anyways. The curried red lentil soup with chickpeas and quinoa was nice and easy to make and it did not take long. This soup could easily be made on a week night. I really enjoyed the combination of the red lentils, chickpeas and quinoa and the textures that they added to the soup. The soup was nice and thick and hearty and yet somehow light at the same time. With the curry powder in it the soup was nice and aromatic and it tasted great. I wanted a bit more heat in the soup so I added some chili sauce though you could easily omit it or reduce it or even increase it depending on your tastes. I garnish the soup with some fresh chopped cilantro and a dollop of thick and creamy strained (or Greek style) yogurt.

Curried Red Lentil Soup with Chickpeas and Quinoa

(makes 4-6 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
1/2 cup carrot (chopped)
1/2 cup celery (chopped)
1 tablespoon garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon ginger (chopped)
1 tablespoon curry powder (or 1 tablespoon garam masala + 1 teaspoon turmeric)
1 cup red lentils
3 cups chicken stock (or vegetable broth)
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chili sauce (such as sambal oelek, or to taste)
1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
1 cup quinoa (cooked)
salt and pepper to taste
* cilantro (chopped)
* Greek style yogurt (or strained yogurt or sour cream)

Method

Heat the oil in a pan.
Add the onions, carrots and celery and saute until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
Add the lentils, stock, tomatoes and chili sauce.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Add the chickpeas and quinoa and warm them up.
Season with salt and pepper and serve with a garnish of cilantro and a dollop of Greek style yogurt.
ENJOY!

Editors Note:

I hope you enjoyed this post! The soup looks excellent and I am very thankful that Closetcooking took the time to guest post on zesty. If you are one of Kevin’s regular readers drop a comment below and let him know what you think of the recipe. If you are a regular zesty reader, I definitely appreciate your support and love reading your comments. As you read this, I wonder if I am on the beach in Jamaica? I hope you have a great Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

Thai Pumpkin Soup

zesty — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 07:00:30 +0000

Sitting in the office the other day I get an email with a bunch of Thai recipes from an office colleague. I decided to whip up this interesting soup that I scrolled through. I always have been a big fan of smooth soups so I am hoping this one will be just as good. The recipe is very simple and has some great flavors that I enjoy.

So I said what the heck, lets give it a whirl and see if it is worth serving to others. Follow below and let me hear what you think.

Ingredients

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 15 oz can coconut milk
2 cups mango nectar
3 cups water
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter; your preference
2 veggie bullion cubes
1/2 an inch fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 green chilies, minced
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
3-4 green onions, chopped

Method

Add the pumpkin puree, coconut milk, mango nectar, and water to a large pot and bring to a low boil.
Meanwhile, you can mince the ginger and green chilies (jalepenos are fine too) and add them to the pot.
Chop the cilantro and green onions, and reserve for a garnish.
Once the soup is hot, take out a small bowlful and stir in the peanut butter until it is completely incorporated. Add back to the pot.
Repeat with another bowlful and incorporate the bullion cubes.
Serve in bowls topped with the cilantro and green onions.