Cream of Mushroom Soup

 

        Soups have always been a winner at my household. It is the easiest way to sneak in veggies into the kids. As they are easy to prepare with no much intriguing techniques, it is one of the frequently made dishes at home. Whenever I am in no mood for an elaborate cooking session I always prefer soups for dinner. Mmm...yummy and healthy dinner in no time! Perfect for busy moms like me;). This time I am sharing with you the recipe of Cream of Mushroom soup, loaded with Calcium and Vitamins.

 

 

 Here is the recipe...

Sweet corn Chicken Soup (Restaurant Style)

"Soup is liquid comfort. "

~Author Unknown

 



 

               Now that the temperature is still dropping, we are getting into the thick of soup season here. What more! the low temperature has made a lazy brat like me even lazier. So after sending the husband and son off to office and school respectively, I find it a waste of time to make breakfast for myself.
        Recently, I have found a queer interest in brunch! You guessed it right. I have the advantage of discarding all those extra works which comes in making breakfast and lunch separately and in time.

         What else? I have lately found a great interest in soups for brunch. Now, you always guess right! Again less time waste and less work.
         Yuck! Don't look at me like that! I'm not that lazy... It's the weather, you know.. I won't forgive you if you think, I am a disgrace to the food bloggers ;)
        So brunch is now adays filled with all kinds of warm comfort soups. And the kids too love it.

                If there is anything, the children would have with ardent appetite on our visits to  the restaurants, it is the sweet corn chicken soup. Each bowl would be licked clean before the main course came( though the main course is not welcomed with equal zeal):) I remember that being kids, we too used to love this soup so much that our dad had to order a bowl for each of us on every visit to the restaurant.
           When I tried it at home, I found it too easy to make and was horrified at the price they put up for it at the restaurants. No doubt, restaurants are good business. Should seriously plan about starting a restaurant,some day ;)

Chicken & Oats Soup

                                                   Cup of delight... Sip it hot

               A hot and delicious Chicken soup had always been my weakness. When my mom used to prepare her special chicken soup for us, fighting with my bro and sis, for a greater share of it was almost always inevitable. Mom used to cook her chicken soup in a pressure cooker with bony chicken pieces and removed the bones after cooking. Added pepper and salt while serving garnished with strands of egg whites. It was always a winner and ended up with me and my siblings fighting to lick the serving bowl and mom commenting on investing in a larger pressure cooker.

              For a lazy brat like me, cooking chicken in a pressure cooker, then removing the bones just seemed sort of painful. Also pressure cooking the bones (so that the marrow comes into soup)of oestrogen fed chicken is not a good idea unless you want to include half a dozen of life style diseases in your buddy list. Mom always prepared her chicken soup with organically fed chickens ( from local farms) which in turn is far from affordable nowadays especially when you are living abroad.

                                                       ..the comfort food..

             Every time we had chicken soup from our favourite restaurant, I had noticed that it had small chunks of chicken breast in it. Without doubt, they never cooked chicken with bones like my mom used to do and consequently took no pains to remove the bones either. So I inferred they added flavour enhancers and probably MSG to make it all the more yummy (which is what comes to my mind whenever I have tasty food from outside, though I don't consider myself a pessimist ;)

             So I was in search of a more easy and healthy chicken soup which ended at Zainab's soup at Arabic Bites and was more than thankful after I made it, in a matter of minutes. Slurp!Slurp! It just bowled me over. A perfect 'Chicken soup for the soul'.Visit her gorgeous blog for more finger licking Arab delights.
Here is the soup I made..

Chicken & Oats Soup Recipe:

Things you need:

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (finely chopped)
black pepper powder - to taste
1/4 tsp  Cumin powder(jeera powder) or to taste
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup red or yellow lentil(quick cooking)
5 tbsp quick cooking oats
4 cups water
Fresh parsley or coriander leaves (to garnish)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a sauce pan and add the chicken and saute until lightly browned and almost cooked. Add salt, pepper and cumin powder.
2. Now add lentil, oats and water and bring to boil. After that, simmer the heat and cook  for about 20 to 25 minutes.
3. When the soup starts to thicken, remove from heat,garnish with leaves and serve hot.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

  

      Who wouldn't love a steaming cup of incredibly delicious soup on a cold winter night? Bet, you wouldn't stop at one. And when it comes to creamy soups, the kids it seems have ample space in their stomach to host an air ship crew. I have always wondered how fast my son's stomach gets filled while drinking milk to a point that he cannot sip a single mouth after half the glass is in. But while having soups and soft drinks 1 cup, 2 cups, 3... and I have reasons to doubt  if he has holes in his stomach. Keeping these holes in mind I always make soups in a large pot :) 

     Making him eat vegetables, cooked or raw has proved to be a 'Mission impossible' nowadays. I have found that making vegetable soups is the most inconspicuous way to sneak them in.. and he hardly notice his enemies entering his stomach right under his nose ;) I adopted this plan from my mom who used to feed us veggies this way when we were small and at the end she would be contend that her children had her provision of vegetables and we in turn enjoyed our favourite soups. I usually make this soup with carrots and cabbages along with broccoli or spinach.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Things you need:

Broccoli florets ,cleaned and washed     -   2 cups
Carrots, diced into small pieces             -    2
Celery, diced                                        -   1stalk
Onion, sliced                                        - 1
Garlic, sliced                                        -   1
Cabbage, sliced                                    -    1/2 cup (optional)
Butter                                                   -   2 tbsp
Corn flour                                             -   2 tbsp
Flour / maida                                       -   1 tbsp
Water                                                  -    4 cups
Ground black pepper                           -    2 tsp
Oyster sauce                                       -    2 tsp
Cream / full fat milk                              - 1 cup
Sugar                                                   - a pinch
Salt                                                      -  to taste

Method:

Heat a sauce pan and add butter to it. Add the sliced onion and garlic and saute until tender. Add the vegetables and saute for a few minutes. Now add the water and let the mixture boil.Cook for a few minutes more until the vegetables are tender.Now add the flours dissolved in 1 cup of cream and add this to the soup. When the soup begin to thicken add sugar,salt and the oyster sauce. Mix well, remove from heat and serve hot with ground black pepper. Enjoy!

                   

Leek Soup

                              
          The hotness has gone from the days. It's no longer muggy in the evenings... Feels good to be in a soothing climate... to comfortably cook and dream with my mind's outpourings...

           Looks like the summer has gone for good. It's already a bit cold at nights and for our air conditioner, the 'off days' has started. It left me thinking about comfort foods. Well, are there any, more comfy than soups? Mmm.. a hot soup on a cold evening is something you call' homely' or 'pure bliss'...
 
            I thought of making chicken soup... but later I had better ideas. Let it wait for the more colder days. As Ayurveda says, chicken comes in the 'hot food' variety, and is better to have in colder climates..You may be wondering how chicken becomes hot, even if no hot spices are added? Well, Ayurveda has a concept called 'vipaka',which deals with the transformation of food after entering the body.It brings to light, the true colour of food which you have consumed... ie) the property of the food before you consume it could be entirely different from that after the digestion... Haven't you felt hot and sweaty at night when you have slept after a meal of chicken? Well, am I boring you with my Ayurvedic 'know how'?s. Let it rest for a while.. Back to the soup.. How about Leek soup, which is completely vegetarian? Very simple to prepare but unequivocally relishable...

               Leek is a vegetable which comes in the onion family. It looks like a bigger version of green onions and taste some what like green onion, but is more mild in flavour..The lower portion up to the dark green part is used for food. It is used as a vegetable in many countries and is the national vegetable of Wales( this knowledge was new to me.. Wikipedia my guru :) ) If you want to know more about leeks or it's nutritional value, click here.

                             Coming to the recipe...
Things you need:

Leeks, sliced into small pieces  -   2 cups
Onion(preferably white) sliced into small pieces    - 1 cup
Butter      -  1 tbsp
Water      -  2 cups
Salt as required
Black pepper powder  -  1/2 tsp
Milk       -   1 cup

Method:

         Heat a wok and add butter to it. Add leeks and onions and saute until tender. Add water and salt and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool down. Then blend it in a blender and pour this to a heated wok through a sieve. Add milk and pepper powder. Adjust the salt and serve hot.

     Sending this to Dr. Sameena Prathab's Soup event