peanuts — 2015 — The 21st Century Matriarch

When it’s cold outside – I like to make soup. Here’s my general technique:

I check my refrigerator and pantry – picking a protein and vegetables. And then I think about the broth.

The protein is generally something left over that I need to use up (like roast or lunch meat) or frozen edamame, or nuts (dry roasted peanuts or soy beans or my favorites). Sometimes I use quinoa as the protein source.

I try to pick veggies that will hold up to being in soup. I particularly like carrots and Brussel sprouts and bell pepper…and some of the stronger greens like beet tops or kale. I still have frozen whole tomatoes that are excellent thawed to enrich winter soups. Sometimes I cut up sweet potatoes to use instead of carrots. Onions and garlic can be cut up fresh or added in dry form. If I use them fresh I like to sauté them before adding the broth. In fact – many of the veggies can be sautéed before the broth is added.

Broths can be made a number of ways. I sometimes start with whatever is hot in the tea pot (tea, ginger water, cinnamon water, etc.) then I add seasonings or a bouillon cube…or let the meat I am adding provide the flavor and seasoning. My favorite seasonings (other than garlic and onion) are oregano, thyme, basil….or curry.

I don’t make cream soups very often but that doesn’t mean I don’t have thick pureed type soups. I like butternut squash soup with curry seasoning. Two ways to prepare it: 1) cook the squash directly in the broth and then mash it in the pan or 2) use squash cooked previously that is already pureed when I add it to the broth. The bright green of edamame added as the protein makes a very colorful soup…..or dry roasted peanuts if the bright colors are overwhelming.

Enjoy a warm bowl of December soup!

Beautiful food often comes in whole plates like this one: Brussel sprouts with orange marmalade glaze, potato skins (there butter melting inside…my husband only like the inside of the potato and I have always favored the skins; we’re a good match), roast, and a cranberry sweet potato bread.

Sometimes even when it is cold, I get hungry for a salad. This one had no lettuce at all! It was hearty meal of celery (complete with leaves), cucumbers, carrots, cranberries, and peanuts! I like the bright colors and the melding of flavors. This time of year I like cranberries in lots of dishes.

The last stir fry with CSA veggies included watermelon radish, turnips, sweet potatoes and a few Brussel sprouts. The green beans were some I’d put in the freezer; they thawed quickly when added to the stir fry. The different shapes appeal to me almost as much as the colors.

A more recent stir fry is just as colorful but everything is from the produce section of the grocery store. I like different colors of bell pepper and carrot chips roughly cut…and I am enjoying Brussel sprouts although I’m going to wait a bit before buying more.