Tomato Soup for Four

A side note: this blog has been on extended vacation for a while. Although I'd like to keep it updated much more frequently, it looks like that's not going to happen. Since this blog is not my full-time job (and like you all, I have a life I'm trying to keep up with), I've realized it's unrealistic for me to hope to have weekly original recipes complete with beautiful photos of every step. So, now that I've let myself off the hook and have set my sights a little lower, let's just call this a real-life-expat-mostly-healthy food-adventure blog for my friends.

A long time ago, while living overseas for my first extended period of time, I had to learn to make tomato soup. Back then, this prospect seemed very absurd. I thought, "Is it possible to MAKE tomato soup? How is it done? I thought you always had to get it from a can!" Since then, I've tried to remember the ratio of ingredients I had used from the recipe my roommate had found on the internet six years ago (THANKS, Joy H!). Well, thanks to some input from friends (THANKS, Linda W., Judi and Jenny D!) and a second round of taste-testing from my hubby (THANKS hubby!), here we go:

Tomato Soup for Four
serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter
1 small red onion, finely diced
2-3 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup whole milk
1 liter tomato juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
shredded Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top before serving

1. If you have a food processor, use it to chop up the onion and garlic until it has a slight "pulp" consistency. (Simply chopping very finely by hand works too, if you don't mind some texture in your soup. For a very smooth soup, use a hand blender after adding the tomato juice to the pot).
2. Melt 2 Tbsp of butter over medium heat and then sautee the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Toss in the basil and stir. Add the 2 Tbsp flour and stir well. You may need to turn the heat down to medium-low.
3. After the flour is well mixed-in, add the milk, stirring often until the consistency is a bit like gravy. Then, pour in the tomato juice. Bring the soup to an almost-simmer over medium-low to medium heat, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan on top.
Linda W. also suggests adding a bit of sugar to the soup to cut the acidity if desired. I've found that a half of a Splenda packet also works well. Judi says that baking soda would do the same thing. You may also want to use wheat flour if you're following the South Beach Diet and are in phase 2 or 3. You may also substitute olive oil for the butter, but I prefer the butter taste to the soup. If you live in Europe, I recommend Rauch "Happy Day" tomato juice. It tastes great and has a nice color. Jenny D. sent me this link for another version with fresh tomatoes.

Best of the Web #2

As the fall approaches and hopefully the weather is getting cooler where you live, you may have the urge to go for a nice run outside. "Map My Run" is a great site that will give you routes in your town, whether you want to run, bike, or hike. I even found Vienna! Thanks to the Diets in Review blog for the great info!

As I was checking in with The Frugal Duchess, I found some great tips in, "How to Get Free E-Books". I'm checking out DailyLit at the moment, so I can try to read some Chekov. I'm having 3 installments sent to me weekly through my email, at 12:30 pm Vienna time. How cool!

Make-them-yourself mixes, sauces, and convenience foods courtesy of the Hillbilly Housewife are handy for saving money, and for saving your usual recipes, if you happen to be an expat without access to readily available items like these. I used the recipe for "Buttery Garlic Rice" yesterday to go with roasted chicken, and it was delicious! I only used one tablespoon of margarine and one bouillion cube (since the ones I have are HUGE), and it came out great. As a side note, I successfully roasted my first chicken, combining tips from Kalyn's Kitchen (turning the oven temperature down for the last part of the cooking time); and Eatin' on the Cheap (with her recipe for herbed butter). As a sub-side note, I did not use a roasting pan, because I don't own one yet. I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you have a ton of Easy Off oven cleaner and a maid. Lesson learned.

Food Adventure: Ranchman's Cafe

So here's a plug for Ranchman's Cafe

in Ponder, Texas.
We had delicious steak...





fried green tomatoes...














and cobbler! Go there!

Food Adventure: Crawfish

Before heading to Austria, we headed down to south Texas to visit family. Here's me trying crawfish at Pincher's Boil'n Pot. It was a very messy experience! It tasted okay, but it's not something I think I'll be craving. It must be something you have to grow up eating to really appreciate.

Pioneer Corn Muffins: South-Beach-on-a-Budget Style

Perfect served with Red Chicken Stew! Crumble half a muffin on top of the stew, and serve the other half on the side with Smart Balance Spread. These have a honey-sweet taste, and you could probably use even less agave than I did to make them less sweet.

South Beach 2-3
makes 12 muffins
modified from Pioneer Corn Meal recipe

for a printable version click here.

Ingredients:
1 cup Pioneer Yellow Corn Meal
1 cup wheat flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 cup skim milk
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Oil or spray 12-serving muffin pan generously.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Mix egg, agave nectar and milk in a separate bowl; then mix into dry ingredients.
4. Stir in vegetable oil and mix well. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full and bake 10 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out dry.

Red Chicken Stew

Is there anything more comforting and delicious than the smell of garlic sauteeing in olive oil? I'm not sure anything's better in my book, although freshly ground and brewed, strong coffee and chocolate chip cookies in the oven are definitely in the top three. Anyway, back to the garlic! This recipe is garlicky, hearty, and is a comfort food in our family! Read this article to find out why garlic is healthy for you.

This recipe is really simple if you already have some cooked chicken in the freezer that you can de-thaw--I did, as well as some chicken stock from when I boiled a whole chicken. For tips on cutting up a whole chicken, click here.

For a printable version, click here.

Serves: 4-5
South Beach 1-3

Ingredients:
2 stalks of celery
4 garlic cloves
1 medium onion
1 Tbsp each paprika, basil, oregano, thyme
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 can great northern beans
dash of salt

1. In a food processor, mince the garlic, then scrape down the bowl. Gradually add onion and celery pieces through the feeder tube with machine running. Stop to scrape down bowl when needed. Continue processing mixture until it is the consistency of a slightly juicy pulp.

2. Heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat in large saucepan. Add the dried herbs and stir for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the vegetable mixture from food processor and sautee, stirring frequently, until veggies are tender, somewhere between 5-7 minutes.

3. Add cooked chicken and all other ingredients to crock pot and cover. Cook 4-6 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low. If desired, serve with corn muffins during phases 2-3 of The South Beach Diet, or with a large salad during phase 1.

The Grocery Store: Going in with a Game Plan

Check out this great article, "Spend Less, Eat Healthier: The Five Most Important Things You Can Do" on Cheap, Healthy, Good. I found it very helpful and easy to implement into my life! Here's a related article to help you be aware of the marketing tricks in the supermarket, "How Supermarkets Lure You to Buy More", featured on the CBS Early Show. I also enjoyed the article, "How To Fight Back Against Overpriced Cereal" on Casual Kitchen, which also gives ideas on other things to eat for breakfast. Personally, I still buy cereal, but since it's so expensive, I've lately been sticking to less-expensive versions such as Uncle Sam and the store-brand version of Grape Nuts, both of which still fit into our "South Beach on a budget" lifestyle. We also make our cereal last for a while by mixing up the breakfast choices with oatmeal, eggs, breakfast casserole, smoothies, and the occasional made-from-scratch whole wheat pancakes. Visit Kalyn's Kitchen for more breakfast recipes.