Chinese-Style Mushroom Soup

I was inspired to make this soup when looking through one of my all time favorite cookbooks , The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest, and because some of the ingredients were a little too specialized for me, I've adapted it to work with things I normally keep in my kitchen.

I've been making it for years and years now, and it is really a favorite! Too bad fresh mushrooms are pricey here, or I'd make it almost every week.

Here's what you need:

Fresh mushrooms, sliced (at least 1 pint-size container, more is better though, if you can manage)
5-6 green onions, white and light green  portions (set aside the darker part for garnishing the soup), sliced
2-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
 olive oil for sauteeing
tamari sauce
vinegar
red wine
honey or sugar
crushed black pepper
water

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add green onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook for about 5 min, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms. Stir occasionally, cook till reduced to about half. Add  tamari sauce (I used about 1/2 cup), some vinegar (I didn't measure, probably about 1/4 cup), and 1/4 cup red wine (I used the end of a bottle that had been open for a while). Stir and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 5 min

Look at all those mushrooms!

this the pot simmering with tamari, vinegar, and wine... mmm

Then add 2 T. honey or sugar, and some black pepper (depends how spicy you want it). Stir well. Add several cups of water to fill your pot to at least 3/4 full. Bring to a boil. Five minutes before serving I toss in the reserved green onion tops (sliced thinly), cuz I won't serve raw onions of any kind at the moment. I don't do that on Shabbat though.

Taste it to be sure you don't need to add more Tamari sauce or vinegar. This soup should be very flavorful, I just don't know how big your soup pot is!

Enjoy!

Tuesday Night, July 26, 2011

We are down to the wire! Moving day is very soon and I'm behind schedule.

Tonight's supper plan takes into account that since it's so hot, I have given in and we're running the a/c.

Took stock of the contents of my kitchen, and here's what we'll have:

Pitot with cheese (toasted, cut into triangles, perfect for little hands to hold)

Barley, Rice, Lentils, and Mushrooms in the crockpot (put it all in the crockpot in the morning, with water to cover, and season to taste. I generally use salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano)

Cucumber and Carrot sticks

Watermelon

What's your dinner plan?

Tuesday Night, July 19, 2011

Post-fast menu... this should be interesting. The pickings around here are getting pretty slim!

Here's what I can improvise:

Pita crisps


Mushroom Quiche


Pesto infused roast potato wedges (I only have a couple of potatoes)

Couscous (as an alternative to the potatoes!)

Sliced cucumbers

Shabbat Parashat B'ha'alotcha, June 10-11, 2011

Assuming I can breathe tomorrow, I'll cook for Shabbat... (I'm having something of an asthma flare-up which was exacerbated by smoke in the air from a nearby brush fire today, and I'm trying very hard to avoid the emergency room. Good luck to me...)

Here's the plan:

Some sort of cold soup (help!)

Chicken with date honey (again. trying to use up the date honey)

Barley with mushrooms

Roasted Zucchini

Fresh tomatoes and cucumbers


Baked Potatoes

Fruit for dessert


...

Tuesday Night (Feb.22, 2011)

My house keeps turning into a sick house, and it's not fun. Everyone says this is part of the "klita" (absorption) process. I hope this part of our klita ends soon!

I'm going to have to keep our food simple and suitable (at least somewhat) for the sickies...

On the way to the table tonight:

Garlic Toast (I'll slice a baguette, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder or brush with roasted garlic)

Vegetable Soup (with a little extra garlic, to boost the immune system)

Rice

Stir-Fried Veggies (I have broccoli, red peppers, and mushrooms - should combine well!)

(And something else, I don't know what, so my husband will feel like it's a real meal...but I'll let him figure that out!)

Easy ideas for Shabbat

Lucky for me, I'm actually not cooking this week! (So rare, and I really appreciate it when that happens. Even though cooking makes me happy, I still like having a break sometimes.)

In any case, I figured I could just share a few tips and shortcuts for making Shabbat a bit more frugal and simple without it feeling stingy. We try not to waste the chicken - I splurge and buy organic chicken for ethical and environmental reasons - so I don't cook much extra chicken. Instead I make sure that there is plenty of good stuff on the table, using in-season produce and inexpensive, filling grains and legumes.

Here are some simple ideas:  steam those vegetables you bought when the shuk was closing, or roast them if you're already using your oven. Roasting really brings out the flavor in so many vegetables. Certain kinds do best if roasted alone (like beets), others can be roasted as a medley (I like roasted ratatouille - place diced onions, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, and eggplants in a roasting pan and toss with olive oil. roast uncovered in your oven till they smell amazing and look done).

Rice, barley, couscous (whole grain, of course) and other grains are nutritious and frugal can be embellished in so many ways. I like to add mushrooms to most dishes, but that's because I really like mushrooms!

If you're looking for a side dish with some zip, you can make a southwestern-style pasta salad. Simply combine cooked pasta with diced tomatoes, peppers, green onion, cooked black beans, and frozen corn niblets (these defrost very quickly when mixed into the salad!). Season with a jar of salsa (hard to find here - so you can use one of those spicy tomato based piquante salads instead), lemon juice, and ground black pepper.

Enjoy your Shabbat! Let me know what you do to fill your table with good food without spending all night and day cooking! I could always use more ideas.

Thursday Night, Feb.3, 2011

I can't believe how fast this week is flying by. Menu Planning is really helping me out - there are fewer foods going to waste and no supper crises, so I'd say it's been a successful food week. Not everything I've done this week has been so successful, but I'll take what I can get...

That said, it looks like it will be another busy Thursday. We usually end up running in the door right before suppertime, and everyone wants to eat "NOW". I may not post every Thursday from now on, because it's just too predictable...

The Menu:


Any leftover soup from the week
Make your own salad 
A variation on pizza

Some notes about this menu:

Make your own salad works wonders in our house! My kids don't always like it when too many flavors are mixed together, but for some reason, it's so much more palatable for them to choose their own combinations. I just put out all the various vegetables (and yes, fruits sometimes too) in individual bowls and everyone takes their own winning combination. This way, the one who loves avocado can have it, and the one who won't touch it avoids it without any fuss...

Our pizza variations usually include toppings like tomatoes, olives, peppers, and mushrooms.