Post Detox Green Chicken Soup

Why yes, it does say "post detox" in the title. Which means yes, I actually did a cleanse. I know... I am as surprised as anyone!!! I had very little faith in myself going into this whole thing, but I actually made it through and I feel absolutely amazing! I started out doing a three day cleanse though Pressed Juices and loved it so much that I actually added two days and did a five day cleanse! I was definitely hungry at first, especially being around food non stop. Cooking and cleansing is tough to say the least, but it was totally worth it. 

This soup is perfect for coming off of a cleanse! Orrrr just because soup is delicious. It's super healthy, packed with immunity boosting greens and lean chicken breast. I made a huge batch of it so that it would be ready when I was done my cleanse and so that I would have extras to freeze for the next time I wake up with a sniffle in my nose.

POST-DETOX CHICKEN SOUP
Recipe from Chalkboardmag.com

Ingredients:

For the soup:

½ bunch kale (washed, stem removed and leaves shredded)
½ bunch swiss chard (washed and shred leaves only. Keep stems)
1/2 leek (mostly white part, washed very well and sliced into strips)
2 cups green cabbage (shredded)
2 stalks of celery (washed and slivered)
6 cups fortified chicken stock (regular chicken stock, reduced to ½ its volume)
couple minced cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste

To simmer the chicken:
2 chicken breast (bone-in for more flavor)
2 carrots (peeled and cut into thick slices)
2 stalk celery (washed and cut into big slices)
Swiss Chard (sliced stems)
½ cup leek (washed and sliced)
½ cup Spanish onion (cut into chunks)
cold water- to cover chicken and veg


Method:

For the Chicken:

Add all the ingredients in stockpot and cover with cold water. Start on high until it comes to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let the chicken cook for 25 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot and chill until cool enough to handle with hands. Pull chicken into shreds. I saved the stock for the soup... I just reduced it by half so that it was much more flavorful.

For the Soup:

Place all the shredded greens and garlic into a separate pot. Cover with fortified chicken stock and cook at medium high heat, until it begins to boil (you won’t see it very well, as the greens will cover the broth). The greens will soon cook down and diminish in size. Let soup simmer slowly for 10 more minutes. Stir in shredded chicken breast and cook for 1 or 2 more minutes. Adjust seasoning. I like to keep it low in salt after co ming out of detox.

Green Minestrone for a Summertime Cold

Wanna know what's worse than sweating in 90 degree weather.......??
Sweating in 90 degree weather because you have a fever and feel like death.

UGH!

Summertime colds are the very worst time. They are way worse than winter colds because at least when you have a winter cold you can wear sweatpants.

In front of me I have two glasses of OJ because one is obviously not enough, 5 dogs piled on my lap, 97 or so crumpled up tissues, a scary movie playing on netflix because only scary movies are appropriate for me to watch in my current state of horror, and one Bon Appetite Magazine from which I found the recipe for my only reason for surviving today...

Green Minestrone. 

It is soup for summertime colds and it is delicious. Like, really, really delicious. It is quick to make, so you don't have to have the stove top on all day long. And it is packed with bright, seasonal produce and herbs!


Ingredients:
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 leeks, white and pale green parts only, chopped
1/2 fennel bulb, chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
4 cups veggie broth or chicken broth
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise on a mandolin
1 1/2 cups green peas (fresh or frozen)
1 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 shallot finely chopped
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
Shaved parmesan to serve, optional

Method:
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and cook the leeks, onion, fennel, and celery until softened, but not taking on any color, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds before adding the broth and bringing to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10- 15 minutes.

Add the carrots and the peas and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

While soup is cooking, process the parsley and the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a food processor to a course paste and transfer to a small bowl. Mix the shopped shallot into the parsley paste.

Serve the soup topped with the parsley pesto, thinly sliced red onion, and shaved parmesan.

Garden Vegetable Soup

I have decided that it is FALL! It's official. I'm done waiting... and sweating! I went to Starbucks this morning (as I only do from mid September-November...) and ordered a Pumpkin Spice latte and it set me over the edge! Both into fall and into an over-caffeinated, gourd-based decorating spree (there was some dried corn involved, too. After all, it is FALL!).

 

it's that time of the year!

Now, I may have a friend or two who is less than thrilled about my seasonal enthusiasm, (ahem... Marco....), which Rich calls my "seasonal affective disorder" because he says I try to bring about the changes in season through my decorating. But, here's what I have to say to you (and Marco), "Come over and eat a pumpkin whoopie pie while sitting at my lovely, gourd covered dining room table, and shut your mouth!"

I know that it is going to be in the high 80's this weekend, but I will be holed up in my house with the A.C. blasting, brainstorming for my Thanksgiving day menu. You might think that I am kidding.... I am not. Trust me, the only thing that I'm kidding about is that I haven't already started thinking about what I am going to serve on my perfectly decorated Thanksgiving table. I just really love fall!

I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but this time of year just gets me verrrrry excited! Maybe it's a little too early to talk turkey, but it is not too early to break out the fall decor. It's after Labor Day, so something has to fill the hole in my heart left by my inability to wear white jeans (which isn't a seasonal thing for me, white jeans just never work for me and that hurts my heart!)

Anyway, I made a soup a few weeks ago and, looking back, maybe I was jumping the shark a little bit. I mean, I pretty much had to strip down to my skivvies and surreptitiously sip soup slowly as I sat about 2 inches away from the A.C. (which Rich assures me is the least sexy way to see me unclothed). I did all of that just to avoid spontaneously bursting into flames from severe overheating. But, seeing as it was in the 60's this morning,  I decided to give this whole soup-making thing another try. Here's the thing, it's the end of summer vegetables and there's starting to be a (very) slight chill in the air, so take off your judging pants (or shirt... this could get fun) and give soup a chance.... I promise to hold off on the pumpkin recipes for at least another week!

Ingredients:
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, washed and thinly sliced
1 potato, peeled
1 onion
3 stalks celery
5 carrots, peeled
A few leaves of kale (I used curly)
1 zucchini
15 green beans
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 gallon (or so) of chicken or veggie stock (you know me, I use no chicken- chicken broth because it is the bomb dot com)
2 28oz cans of diced tomatoes
A few sprigs of fresh parsley
A few fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper

If you have some extra veggies that you are dying to add... go for it. Get crazy, be creative, the sky is your limit (I am such a motivational blogger! Woo!)

Method:
Chop all of the veggies into bit sized pieces... about 1/4 inch. Then, in a large stock pot, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and saute all of the vegetables for about 5 minutes until they are translucent, but not browned.

Add the stock of your choice, tomatoes (with their juices) and fresh herbs, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook the soup, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes.

Serve. Hot. Enjoy.

Mushroom & Purple Barley Soup with Swiss Chard

It is 96 degrees and humid outside... in Los Angeles!!! I know, WTF!

Dear Nature, your mother is a real bitch! 

Since going outside is gross in every way of the word, I decided to torture myself for the grumpy attitude that I had with my husband this morning (a peach in the morning I am not) by running errands.... gotta get ready for PALM SPRINGS this weekend! Woo! Anyways, I strayed a little from my plan (as usual)  and instead of buying a much needed new bikini, I bought a Yankee Candle instead. Now, I didn't buy just any Yankee Candle.... I bought the most cozy fall scent of all. Home Again. Yeah, I did it. And I did it in almost 100 degree weather. I may have lost my mind... or I may be awesome. I'm going to let you make that decision after what I am about to tell you next.....

So, I came home with my fall scented candle, sweaty and near heat exhaustion,  and decided that it was the perfect day to make a nice hot soup. I don't know why I decide to do these things (Rich take note, I understand myself as little as you do), but I do and I did... I also made mint ice cream to even out my insanity a little bit. I really love soup and I do not regret my decision. Plus, now my house smells like cinnamon-y pumpkins AND cozy fall food. Take that you crazy Mother Nature bitch with your heat waves!!!!

This soup is delicious. Make it now or wait three weeks until fall like a normal person.... I'm not here to judge.

hot.

Ingredients:
2 cups of Purple Barley... it's pretty and it must be good for you because a colorfull diet is a healthy diet.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large leek, washed and sliced
1 bunch swiss chard, roughly chopped
3 cups of sliced mushrooms, this is clearly an estimate.... I used 3 packages
64 ounces No-Chiken Chicken broth (I think it tastes better than vegetable broth)
2 bay leaves
Salt and Pepper

Method:
Heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and bay leaves and sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add barley, swiss chard, and broth and cook about 1 hour until barley is tender. I ended up adding an extra cup of water or so because my soup got very thick. Your call on that one.... maybe you like your barley soup thick.... it's still summer here, so I did not.

eat while sitting directly in front of the A.C.

Summer Gazpacho & Summertime Lovin' Photo Blog

I was just looking through my phone trying to find some pictures from our garden this year. That way I could brag about how cute the Mr. and I are and how we (he) has such a green thumb and we pick our tomatoes while holding hands and blah blah blah. Then it hit me. "Sarah Keith...." I thought to myself because I always think to myself using my full married name.... "Sarah Keith.... why don't you just go outside and take some pictures of your garden for your blog?! Then you can show all four of your readers your beautiful and healthy plants and pretend that you made this recipe from them and them only... " 

But here's the thing. All of that super cute B.S. up above.... is exactly that. B.S. Our garden has been less than productive this year to say the very least. We had one amazing harvest mid June, but, unfortunately, our plants just couldn't hang this summer and all of the veggies that I used to make gazpacho from today are from Whole Foods. WHEW!!! It feels really good to get that off my chest. After all, honesty is the most important part of the blogger/blogee relationship. And honestly, sometimes my green thumb is well, just not. Even Rich's green thumbs (both of his are green... that's how good he is at plant stuff) couldn't keep up with the summer whirlwind that I have been this year. Who needs to water plants when you can pour another glass of rose down your beautiful wife's throat? (Yes, Gingers prefer rose, it's the ginger of wines.) What was I saying again? Oh right. I'm a distraction. Poor plants.

On a more positive note, it is almost time to rip up all of our terribly disappointing excuses for plants and replace them with fall crops! Sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, brussels sprouts... you name it, it's getting planted and will be very well documented (dead or alive) for your viewing pleasure. I have the cutest gardening gloves (and freckles), so an excess of photos will be necessary. Which brings me back to where I started in this crazy, rambling mess of a blog post. 

Photos. I love them and thought this would be the perfect time to share some gems that have been lost in the summertime shuffle. 

 

Holy Instagram addict  What am I going to swoon over when summer is over?! Gah- love it. But alas, the days are unfortunately starting to get shorter and tomatoes starting to get a little less juicy and I am going to squeeze every ounce of summer in until I break out the Christmas decorations. (We decorate for Christmas the day after Halloween.)

Wow, this has seriously been the most rambl-y blog of all time. My brain may still be mush from the weekend. Ok. "Sarah Keith... get it together." It's time for a recipe. It's a summery one, so this blog kind of makes sense. (Richard Keith is going to edit this and quite possibly murder me.)

So, today I made Gazpacho. Gazpacho is one of my absolute favorite summer foods! It's healthy, delicious and super refreshing! And the longer you keep it in the fridge, the better it gets! So make a big batch and eat it for days!!! (If it can last that long.... I seriously ate it for dinner last night and breakfast AND lunch today.) 

This gazpacho is all that I ever want to eat again. 

Ingredients:
1 hothouse cucumber, seeded and chopped (not peeled)
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded and finely chopped (you can also use yellow or orange peppers for some more color)
6 plum tomatoes, chopped (if not plum, make sure to seed)
1 red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups of tomato juice (more or less depending on how soupy you prefer your gazpacho!)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp tabasco sauce (do NOT omit this one, I promise it does NOT make it spicy; though if you like spice, add more!)
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

For garnish:
chopped basil 
chopped parsley
(optional.... but fresh herbs make everything 300% better!)

Method:
Sharpen your knives and get choppin! I like to chop everything really small (or make Rich chop everything really small while I sit at the kitchen table eating a popsicle. I am soooo good at being bossy.)If your veggies aren't chopped small enough it ends up looking more like salsa than soup and it's a pain to eat. So, listen to me like Rich does, I know what's up.

After your veggies are chopped, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, tabasco, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop and the more insanely delicious it becomes! 

Before serving, I add some chopped basil or parsley to brighten up the flavors even more! 

Vegan Five Bean Chili

I know.... I said the "V-Word..."

When I first stopped eating meat, 6 whole months ago, I had this idea that I would just continue cooking all of my favorite meals and just leave out the meat. Super simple. Except for that Beef commercial I booked one month later (hey, I'm a capitalist first) things were pretty simple. Chicken stir fry became veggie stir fry. Chicken soup became veggie soup (not for Rich, he's "not a quitter"). But then my little trick became, well, trickier. You see I'm not a fan of fake meats. If you give up meat, why are you in such a hurry to eat a "burger." Maybe try eating more vegetables? So without fake meat at my disposal, some of my favorite dishes became hard to adapt to my new diet. For example chicken paprikash did not become veggie paprikash... it became disgusting red vegetable gloup. Braised beef short ribs? Let's not even go there...

Don't get me wrong, I love my veggies and there are endless amazing vegetarian dishes that I have seriously started mastering, but steak.... is still steak. And while cauliflower steaks with smoked cauliflower puree (recipe coming soon) are delicious, you can only eat so many grilled vegetables before considering suicide.

Enter chili.

I have tried a lot of vegetarian chili recipes and to be honest, none of them are bad.... they just aren't chili. At least not by the standard definition of flavor profile. Sure, chili pretty much tastes like chili. It's beans and spices, but when you leave out the meat, you lose that comforting, warm THING that feels good in your mouth. You know, that thing chili is all about. What is that thing, you ask? That thing is lentils.

Yup. LENTILS! Bet you didn't see that coming, carnivores.

This recipe is actually VEGAN. It's crazy, I know. I made a dish Fiona Apple would eat. But don't stop reading yet. I fed it to our uber-carnivorous roommate Michael (yup, we're married with roommates) and he didn't even realize it was missing meat... it's that tasty.

five bean chili.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped..... use one whole RED bell pepper. It doesn't matter- go crazy!!

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups lentils, cooked

1 can black beans, drained

1 can great northern beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 28oz can chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp cumin

3 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a large pot (I use a Le Creuset dutch oven because my husband loves me and bought me one) heat olive oil and sauté onions and bell pepper over medium heat until golden. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute until fragrant. Add the rest of the ingredients.... the beans, the lentils, the spices.... you name it and mix them all together. Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat to low and let cook for 30 minutes or so until all of the flavors are combined.

this is how I roll.

And, if you're like me and you're ok with making your vegan friends happy and jealous all in one bowl- pile on the cheddar cheese, greek yogurt (extra protein!) and avocado on your own bowl and I dare you to miss the meat!

If you're vegan? Add some sliced green onions and avocado and try not to cry at how much better my bowl looks with ten tons of cheddar on it.

Borscht with Beef.

I know. Weird.
I can barely pronounce it either. But when you get past the awkward color and strange (to some) ingredients it is so yummy!
Borscht is a staple food in Eastern European cuisine and being from a Hungarian background I pretty much have a taste for beets and cabbage in my blood. This is a pretty healthy version... leaving out potatoes and cream and opting for greek yogurt (as usual) and lots of extra veggies.

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons canola oil

8 ounces flank steak cut into cubes

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

6 medium beets, peeled and shredded

2 cups green cabbage, shredded

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 cup onion, finely chopped

1 cup celery, finely chopped

1/2 cup red wine

6 cups beef stock

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped, plus more for garnish

1/2 cup non fat greek yogurt (or sour cream)

Method:

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add steak and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Add 1 teaspoon oil to the pot and heat over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the pot. Add beets, cabbage, carrots, onion and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften, about 10 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the reserved mushrooms, broth, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and bring to a boil. Add meat and reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, covered, until the vegetables and meat are tender, about an hour.

Stir in the fresh dill before serving and garnish with yogurt and dill. 

Enjoy!

Artichoke and Root Vegetable Soup

The coolest dad ever is one that you call at 11am and is elbows deep in a new culinary adventure, but still makes time to share it with his *favorite child*

I would like to think that I got my love of food and cooking from my dad, who may be the only other person I know that would prefer to spend his day in the kitchen whipping up a tasty treat rather than doing just about anything else.

Like father, like daughter right?

Artichoke and Root Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

2 large artichokes

2 parsnips, peeled and cubed

1 onion, chopped

4 stalks of celery, sliced

1 turnip, peeled and cubed

1 leek, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, sliced

6 cups chicken stock (vegetable stock is fine, too)

1 cup water

1/2 cup white whine

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/4 cup cream (optional)

Salt and freshly cracked pepper

1/4 cup shelled pistachio nuts, toasted

Method:

Begin by cutting off the artichoke stems and the pointy part of the leaves. Remove the tough bottom leaves and discard. Cut each artichoke into quarters. Remove and discard the choke and inner leaves. Place the cut artichokes into a bowl of water with tablespoon of lemon juice to prevent discoloration. 

Prepare the parsnips, turnip, celery leeks, parsley, and onion. 

I am a big fan of the ready to go, pre-chopped, tear free onion from Whole Foods. 

  

In a large pot, sweat the onions, leeks, and celery. Do not brown. Add the garlic and white wine. Reduce. Add all remaining vegetables, stock, water, coriander, and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cover for 2 hours. 

Remove from heat. Puree the solids with a little bit of the liquid in a food processor or blender. Strain the puree through a medium sieve into a clean pot. Continue pureeing and straining until all of the soup is smooth. Adjust the seasonings. I had to add quite a bit of salt. 

In a small frying pan, toast the pistachio nuts by tossing them over medium heat until golden brown. 

Reheat the soup before serving. Pour into individual bowls and garnish with a tablespoon of cream and toasted pistachios. 

Makes about 6 servings. 

Vegetable Soup.

Once upon a time I got the flu and this really sweet boy that I had just started dating made this soup for me so that I would get better and he could continue kissing me.

Yes, this is the same boy that I now live with.... I kept him around for his amazing apartment and really yummy soup recipe.

So, here's the thing.... not only does this soup take about 15 minutes to make, but it also keeps for days, can feed you for a week, and costs under $20.00 to make. Seriously....

vegetable soup for your soul... and your super cute wallet.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 28oz can of chopped tomatoes and juices
2 15oz cans sliced potatoes
2 15oz cans corn
2 15oz cans green beans and juices
2 15oz cans sliced carrots and juices
1 15oz can black beans
32oz beef broth or beef stock
1 tbsp "Better than Bouillon" beef bouillon
Salt and Pepper to taste

*note: I buy all low sodium ingredients.

Tools:
Large stock pot, dutch oven, or something that will hold enough soup for an army
A really good can opener

Method:
In a very large stock pot.... very large, this makes A LOT of soup.... heat canola oil and sauté chopped onion until golden brown. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (cooking garlic any more than a minute or so will cause it to burn and alter the flavor of the soup.) Using the "really good can opener" that I conveniently listed above, open all the cans.... all 11 of them. Pour all contents, including juices, of the chopped tomatoes, carrots, green beans into the pot. Drain the potatoes, corn and black beans and add them to the pot. Stir everything together. Add beef stock and bouillon. Bring everything to a simmer, cover, and cook for at least 30 minutes. The longer you cook it, the more the flavors will combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy on the couch with your pups, or find a sick boy and serve piping hot with a good movie and a cuddle- he will think you are a goddess.

PS: This soup freezes well, too! Put one serving portions in tupperware in your freezer and you will be instantly ready to fight chilly nights and sore throats. 

When it's 94 degrees outside.....

..... make a huge pot of scorching hot tomato basil soup?

Not only was I sweating half to death as I drove to the market to buy ingredients, but I pretty much melted while I cooked and now resemble The Wicked Witch of the West after a good dousing of water.

Damn you southern California and your overly desirable summer weather. It is so hot. So so hot.

Fresh tomato basil soup

Ingredients:

5 Large, very ripe on the vine tomatoes

3 Onions

5-6 Cloves of whole garlic

Fresh basil

1 Jar of Whole Foods brand tomato basil sauce

3/4 Carton of low sodium chicken broth

Salt and pepper

Method:

In a large dutch over heat a small amount of canola oil and caramelize onions. They can be chopped any way as you will puree everything later. When onions are golden brown (the longer they cook, the better flavor they release) add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add chopped tomatoes..... fresh, not canned..... and cook 2-3 minutes. Pour in tomato sauce and chicken stock and let cook 10-15 minutes. I added a handful of fresh basil leaves (from my garden!) and then broke out the immersion blender that I have used once since I absolutely had to have it.

Note: It is super exciting when you get to actually use the things in your kitchen that you "had to buy to be happy"....... but only use once every other leap year. 

Puree soup until smooth. Adjust seasoning. Add salt and pepper. Eat, sweat, and enjoy. 

I am about to make some Strawberry Mint sorbet.