Split Pea Soup

Well, I meant to post this around St. Patrick's Day, but the month of March kind of flew by. I had fun experimenting with soups this winter and am still making them since our spring has turned cold again. This soup brings back memories of my times in Germany, where I discovered how good a soup with peas in it could be. While experimenting with this recipe, I realized that the key to making a great split pea soup is to use lots of bacon. Lots. I know on the recipe it looks like quite a large amount of bacon, but please don't skimp on it and use less. The bacon is essential to the flavor, and if you need more help rationalizing the amount, it comes out to just two slices of bacon per serving of soup. So enjoy your bacon-filled split pea soup.

My sources of inspiration for this recipe are from the New York Times, One Frugal Foodie, and allrecipes.com.

Split Pea Soup
serves 6 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. dried green split peas. Check the bag to make sure it contains only peas. Some brands, like Goya, include added ingredients to give the peas a ham flavor, but these contain corn.
  
• 12 ounces of bacon (like the Classic Sliced Dry Rubbed All Natural Uncured Bacon at Trader Joe's) or, if your bacon comes in 8-ounce packages like Applegate Naturals Sunday Bacon, then feel free to use 16 ounces for the soup. Another corn-free bacon is Hormel Natural Choice 100% Natural Original Uncured Bacon.
  
• 3 to 4 stalks of celery (about 1 cup diced)
• 2 medium onions (about 1 cup diced)
  
• 4 medium carrots (about 1 cup diced)
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 8 cups of chicken broth. That is 64 ounces or 2 cartons of Imagine Organic chicken broth or Kitchen Basics Original chicken cooking stock.
  
• 2 bay leaves
• optional: hot dogs. We eat Applegate Farms hot dogs because they are the only ones I've found that are free of corn and lactic acid starter culture (which could come from dairy and/or corn).
  

Instructions:

Place the peas in a bowl filled with water to soak. Cut the bacon into 1/4-inch-wide pieces. Place the bacon in a large 6-quart pot over medium heat and cook until browned. Remove the bacon from the pot and place on a paper towel.

While the bacon is browning, dice the celery, onions, and carrots. Add the vegetables to the pot containing the bacon drippings and saute over medium heat until softened. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Stir in the black pepper and thyme. Rinse the peas thoroughly and add to the pot. Finally, add the chicken broth, bay leaves, and half of the cooked bacon, and stir.

Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the peas are tender and beginning to fall apart. Transfer 6 cups of the soup to a blender and puree. (Because this is quite a bit of soup, it's best to do this in two batches and just put 3 cups of soup in the blender at a time. Wearing an oven mitt, hold the blender lid on tightly so that hot soup does not explode all over your kitchen. Just ask me how I know these things.) Then return the pureed soup to the pot. Add back to the pot the bacon that had been set aside, and stir.

If you would like, boil some hot dogs, cut them up into bite size pieces, and stir them into your soup. Or you could eat the soup without the hot dogs. It's good either way.

Black-eyed Pea and Sausage Soup

A while ago I got a cook book called Make It Fast, Cook It Slow, which is filled with gluten-free slow cooker recipes. This month I tried out the black-eyed pea soup, although I modified it to make it corn-free. I hadn't ever cooked with black-eyed peas before, but the recipe looked easy, so I thought it was worth trying. I'm glad I did, because it turned out great. The sausage is essential for the flavor of the soup, so be sure to get some kind of spicy sausage. I cut the sausage up into small pieces, and it wasn't too hot, even for the girls.

This recipe requires a 6-quart slow cooker, or 5-quart at the smallest. If your slow cooker has a 3 or 4-quart capacity, cut the recipe in half so that the soup doesn't overflow while cooking.

Black-eyed Pea and Sausage Soup
serves 6 to 8 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
• 1 large yellow onion
  
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
  
• 12 oz. to 1 lb. of hot Italian pork sausage or Cajun Andouille pork sausage. Michael reacts to chicken sausage, so please buy pork sausage if cooking for us. Look for a sausage that doesn't contain any words that aren't recognizable as foods. Also, don't get low-fat sausage since it usually contains wheat, soy, or corn to replace the fat. I get my Italian pork sausage at BJ's, and I buy Aidells Cajun Style Andouille smoked pork sausage at Shaw's.
  
• 4 cups (1 32-ounce box) of chicken broth. The two kinds that I recommend are Imagine Organic Free Range chicken broth and Kitchen Basics Original chicken stock. Do not get the Imagine Organic chicken cooking stock, which contains "natural flavor" that probably comes from corn.
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Instructions:

The night before you want to make the soup, put the beans in a large bowl filled with water. In the morning, drain and rinse the beans, and place them in the crock pot. Chop the onion, carrots, and celery, and add them to the crock pot. Add the chicken broth, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine.

If you are using uncooked sausages, cut them into thin slices and stir them into the mixture in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 6 hours. Before serving, scoop 3 cups of the soup out of the crock pot and pour into a blender. Remove the sausage pieces from the soup you have scooped out, and blend the soup until it is creamy. Pour this blended soup back into the crock pot and stir. The blending of part of the soup gives it a thicker, creamier consistency that we really like.

If you are using pre-cooked sausages, wait until after you have blended up part of the soup, and then add the slices of sausage. Let the sausage pieces heat up in the crock pot for about 30 minutes before serving.

Potato Cheddar Soup

This is a comforting soup, especially in the winter. I know it's not winter anymore, but we still have had some gray rainy days that qualify as soup days in my mind. Michael and I ate this soup a lot in our early married days, and I had missed it since needing to reduce our dairy intake. However, I've been doing some research and food tests, and the great news is that the girls and I can eat small amounts of extra-sharp Cheddar cheese.

Did you know that all cheeses are not created equal? Hard aged cheeses, like extra-sharp Cheddar, contain no lactose or whey. (It's best to buy the extra-sharp, not just sharp, Cheddar and to buy a brand like Cabot that says "no lactose" on the label. I've read that another clue is to look on the nutrition label to see if the cheese contains any sugar. If so, it still contains some lactose.) The only possibly troublesome milk ingredient left in the cheese is the casein, but since the girls tested negative for a milk allergy, I don't think the casein bothers them. Hooray!

Potato Cheddar Soup
serves 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 2 medium to large yellow onions
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper (or more if you like a bit more kick to your soup)
  
• 2 1/2 cups Imagine Organic chicken broth or Trader Joe's Organic chicken broth.
  
• 1 1/2 lb. potatoes. I recommend either Russet or Yukon Gold.
• 1 lightly packed cup (2 oz.) of shredded aged extra-sharp Cheddar cheese (This might be 2/3 cup if tightly packed). Do not buy pre-shredded cheese, which is coated with corn-products to prevent the cheese from clumping.
  

Instructions:

Place a medium-size pot over medium heat and pour in the olive oil. Finely chop the onions and add them to the pot. Saute the onions until they have softened. Add the black pepper and beef broth to the pot and increase the heat to high to bring the broth to a boil.

While the broth is heating, rinse and peel the potatoes. Then cut them into 1/4-inch cubes. When the broth has come to a boil, add the potatoes to the pot. Cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat down to medium or medium-low so that the liquid simmers. Cook the potatoes for 20 minutes, until they are soft. Remove the pot from the heat and mash the potatoes in the soup using a potato masher. Stir in the shredded cheese and serve.

Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

Since buying a jar of fish sauce and a bottle of Thai red curry paste, I've been looking for ways to use them. This soup recipe uses both ingredients and tastes great, especially on a cold, rainy day like today. I started off with the following recipe for coconut curry soup. However, I modified the recipe to use red curry paste, which gives the soup more of a Thai flavor. So if you like Thai food, you should really try this soup. The coconut milk gives it a creamy taste, something that I miss since going mostly dairy-free. I also like the fact that the soup does not call for all that many ingredients, and it's really quite easy to make. Even better than that is the fact that Michael and the girls all think it's great.

Coconut Curry Chicken Soup
serves 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 "rice-cooker" cup of long-grain white rice, like Thai jasmine, to make about 2 cups of cooked rice
  
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 lb. (to 1.25 lb.) boneless skinless chicken breasts that are organic or kosher
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 to 3 medium carrots (to make 1/2 cup chopped carrots)
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp. red curry paste. I use Thai Kitchen brand because it's gluten-free.
  
• dash of cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 Tbsp. fish sauce. I use Thai Kitchen brand because it's gluten-free.
  
• 2 cups Imagine Organic chicken broth OR Trader Joe's Organic free-range chicken broth
• 1 can light coconut milk. A can with guar gum is okay, but avoid any other additives.
  
• 2 broccoli crowns or 1 small bag of baby spinach
• 1/2 cup frozen peas

Instructions:

Place 1 "rice-cooker" cup of uncooked rice in the rice cooker with the appropriate amount of water and start the rice cooker. Chop the onion and carrots and set aside.

Place a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat. Thoroughly rinse the chicken breasts and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Pour 1 tablespoon of canola oil into the pot and let the oil heat up. Then add the chicken to the pot. Let one side of the chicken brown before turning the cubes so that another side browns. Toss the chicken pieces until all of the sides have browned, about 2 minutes in total. The chicken should not be fully cooked inside since it will cook some more later on. Transfer the chicken and any chicken juices to a bowl.

Pour another tablespoon of canola oil into the pot and lower the heat to medium. Add the onions and carrot to the pot and saute until they have softened, stirring occasionally. When they are soft, add the coriander, red curry paste, and cayenne pepper to the pot. Stir for 1 minute. Then pour the lime juice, fish sauce, chicken broth, and coconut milk into the pot, and stir. Increase the heat to medium-high to bring the liquid to a simmer.

While the liquid is heating, cut the broccoli crown into approximately 4 cups of bite-size florets. If using baby spinach instead of broccoli, measure about 4 packed cups of spinach and chop the spinach into bite-size pieces. When the liquid has come to a simmer, add the chicken with its cooking juices and the broccoli florets to the pot, cover the pot with a lid, and reduce the heat to low. Let the soup barely simmer for 15 minutes. (If using spinach, just add the chicken to the pot.) After the 15 minutes, add the spinach, if using, the cooked rice, and the peas. Stir and serve.

Tomato Soup

In the winter I like to make soup, and recently I have been craving tomato soup. In particular, I wanted cream of tomato soup. I though this would be a bit difficult to make dairy-free, but then I came across a Cook's Illustrated recipe for dairy-free tomato soup that claimed to be just as thick and creamy as tomato soup that contains lots of cream. I tried it out, and I think they're right! Naomi likes this soup so much that she says it's one of her favorites. I made the mistake of giving her some of the leftover soup for lunch one day last week, and since then at lunchtime she's been asking for more. Fortunately, the recipe is quite easy and quick to make, so I perhaps I'll make it again soon.

Here is my version of the Cook's Illustrated recipe, modified to make it wheat-free and corn-free. If you don't need to make the soup wheat-free and corn-free, just follow the ingredients listed on the link.

Tomato Soup
serves 2 adults and 2 small children, or 3 adults

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. brown sugar (depending on your preference)
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
  
• 1 28-ounce can of Nature's Promise Organic whole or diced tomatoes in tomato juice (found at Stop & Shop and Giants supermarkets) OR 1 26.46-ounce box of Pomi chopped tomatoes and 1/4 cup water
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 2 slices Ener-G tapioca bread, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
  
• 1 cup Imagine Organic chicken broth OR Trader Joe's Organic free-range chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• sea salt to taste. I use about 1/2 tsp.

Instructions:

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Chop the onion and add it to the pot. Saute the onion until it has softened. Then add the garlic to the pot and stir for about 1 minute. Add the ground black pepper, brown sugar, and tomato paste, and stir. Then add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, and chopped bread. Stir and increase the heat to medium-high to bring the liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and let the liquid simmer for about 5 minutes so that the bread falls apart.

Remove the bay leaf from the pot and add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. If you have an immersion blender, add the chicken broth to the pot and then use the immersion blender to blend the soup until it is completely smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, pour half of the soup into a standing blender and blend until smooth. Transfer this liquid into a bowl and then pour the rest of the soup from the pot into the blender to blend until smooth. Pour all of the soup back into the pot and add the chicken broth. Stir in the baking soda and salt, to taste.

Lentil Soup

The first cookbook that Michael and I bought together after getting married was entitled Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen. That pretty much summed up my feelings about cooking, so I thought the cookbook would be a wise investment. One of the first recipes we tried in the cookbook was for lentil soup. I was so excited when the soup turned out well that I have been making it ever since. Over the years I have tweaked the recipe a bit, and below is the current rendition of our hearty lentil soup.

Lentil Soup
serves 3 or 4 adults as a main dish

Ingredients:

• optional: 4 slices of bacon. To find a corn-free bacon, look for one that has just these ingredients: pork, salt, sugar, celery powder, and spices. I recommend a bacon I find at Trader Joe's called Classic Sliced Dry Rubbed All Natural Uncured Bacon. Another corn-free bacon is Hormel Natural Choice 100% Natural Original Uncured Bacon. Be sure that the bacon you use does not have any dextrose, sodium erythorbate, sodium lactate, or lactic acid starter culture.
• 1 medium onion, chopped
  
• 2 medium celery sticks, chopped
  
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  
• 1 or 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/3 tsp. sea salt
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes. Try to find a can with only tomatoes, salt, and water, and without citric acid.
  
• 1 32-ounce box of Imagine Organic Free Range chicken broth, or 4 cups of homemade chicken stock

Instructions:

If you would like to use bacon, cut the bacon into 1/4 inch wide slices. Put the cut bacon in a 4-quart pot and cook over medium heat until browned and crispy. Remove the cooked bacon from the pot and place on a plate covered with a paper towel. While the bacon is cooking, chop the onion, carrots, and celery. After removing the bacon from the pot, put the onion, carrots, and celery in the pot and saute in the bacon drippings until the vegetables begin to soften. If you did not use bacon, heat 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pot over medium heat and then saute the vegetables in that.

When the vegetables have begun to soften, add the minced garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, pepper, and salt to the pot and stir for a minute. Rinse the lentils in cold water, add the lentils to the pot, and stir the lentils in with the vegetables. Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover the pot, and let the lentils steam in the pot for about 5 minutes, stirring halfway through. Then add the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, and bacon to the pot, stir, and increase the heat to bring the soup to a boil. Once the soup is simmering, turn the heat down to low or medium-low, cover the pot, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Test the lentils to see if they are fully cooked; if they are still hard, cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. When the lentils are done, if the soup is too thick for your liking, add 1/2 to 1 cup of water. Before serving add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and stir to combine.

Vegetable Soup

This is my favorite vegetable soup. I found the recipe in a Real Simple magazine issue a few years ago and have been making it ever since. I like it because it is simple yet delicious. I like it because it makes me feel healthy to eat all of those vegetables. And I like it because it warms me up on a cold winter day.

Usually I put one or two Yukon Gold potatoes in the soup, but this time I put in some uncooked quinoa instead. I liked the flavor and texture of the quinoa in the soup, and I liked that measuring the quinoa was a lot easier and quicker than cutting up a potato. If you're not familiar with quinoa, you can find it in the health food section of a grocery store, usually next to the rice and barley. The original recipe also calls for just 1/4 pound of green beans and 1 cup of broccoli, but we really like both of those vegetables, so I tend to add a bit more, probably about 1/2 pound of green beans and 2 cups of broccoli.

Here is the original vegetable soup recipe, and my modified version is below.

Vegetable Soup
serves 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 or 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 32-ounce box of Imagine Organic free range chicken broth (not low-sodium). The quality of the chicken broth is really important for this soup, so I would recommend using either the Imagine chicken broth or a homemade chicken stock.
• about 1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes (1 or 2 medium-size potatoes), cut into 1-inch chunks
  
• OR, instead of the potato, 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes and their juices, no salt added
• 1/4 to 1/2 pound green beans, ends cut off and then cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 to 2 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 15-ounce can chick peas, drained and rinsed. Look for a can that has just chick peas, water, and salt.

Instructions:

Chop the onion, carrots, and celery. Place a 4-quart pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion, carrots, and celery to the pot and saute until softened. Add the thyme and salt, and stir thoroughly. Then add the broth and either the potatoes or quinoa. Increase the heat to high to bring the broth to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot partially, and let simmer for 7 minutes. Then add the green beans, tomatoes, and chick peas to the pot and stir. When the soup begins simmering again, set the timer for another 7 minutes. After those 7 minutes, add the broccoli. If there is not enough liquid, add 1 or 2 cups of hot water. Cook until the broccoli and green beans are tender, about 5 to 10 more minutes.

Turkey and Black-Bean Soup

This soup is amazing. And it's easy. I highly encourage you to try out this recipe for Turkey and Black-Bean Soup.

Even though the ingredients in the soup are quite basic, I still have to modify the recipe a little bit and check the labels on several of the ingredients. Corn could be lurking anywhere! Therefore, I thought it would be simpler if I just gave you the entire ingredient list as I've modified it.

The only suggestions I would make to the cooking instructions are at the end of the recipe. Michael and I like adding a splash of lime juice to the pot of soup just before serving. If you are not serving the soup all at once, then do not add the spinach to the pot of soup. Instead, put 1 cup of cut spinach leaves in each bowl. Then pour the soup on top of the spinach leaves and stir to combine the soup and spinach. We like to eat this soup with potato chips on the side, but if you're not allergic to corn, I imagine that tortilla chips would probably be more in line with the cultural affinities of the soup.

Turkey and Black-Bean Soup
serves 4 people as a main dish

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound bacon (about 4 slices), cut into 1/4 inch strips. To find a corn-free bacon, look for one that has just these ingredients: pork, salt, sugar, celery powder, and spices. I recommend a bacon I find at Trader Joe's called Classic Sliced Dry Rubbed All Natural Uncured Bacon. Another corn-free bacon is Hormel Natural Choice 100% Natural Original Uncured Bacon. Be sure that the bacon you use does not have any dextrose, sodium erythorbate, sodium lactate, or lactic acid starter culture.
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• OMIT the Tabasco sauce found in the original recipe. If you would like your soup a little spicier, add a dash of Cayenne pepper instead of the Tabasco sauce.
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. sea salt. Because I use regular chicken broth, rather than low-sodium, I decrease the amount of salt that I added to the soup.
  
• 1 3/4 cups (1 15-ounce can) of pureed tomatoes. We prefer the consistency of pureed tomatoes and the fact that they don't have any seeds. Try to get a can of tomatoes that contains only tomatoes and no additives, such as citric acid.
  
• 1 quart of homemade stock or regular (NOT low-sodium) chicken broth. If you use store-bought chicken broth, look on the label to make sure it does not contain any corn, wheat, soy, dextrose, MSG, xanthan gum, mono and diglycerides, natural flavoring, organic flavors, or vegetable flavor. The brand that I think tastes the best is Imagine Organic Free Range Chicken Broth. If you cannot find that one, Pacific Organic Free Range Chicken Broth and Trader Joe's Free Range Chicken Broth (but not the low-sodium version) are also safe to use.
• 1 2/3 cups (1 15-ounce can) of black beans, drained and rinsed. Try to get a can with just black beans, water, and salt.
• 1 1-pound pre-cooked turkey breast. A pre-cooked turkey breast is much less likely than deli turkey to have corn products added. The ingredient list should be very basic and not contain much more than turkey breast, turkey broth, sugar, and salt. I purchased Jennie-O Turkey Store All Natural Golden Roast Premium Turkey Breast.
  
• 1 6-ounce bag of pre-washed baby spinach, cut into strips. I was not all that exact with the cutting and just chopped a bit at the pile of spinach on my cutting board.
• a splash of lime juice. The original recipe didn't call for this, but it adds even another layer of flavor to a great soup.
  

Potato Leek Soup

My favorite potato soup used to be potato Cheddar soup. It was almost like a cheeseburger in soup form, on account of the beef broth, bacon, sauteed onions, and cupfuls of Cheddar cheese. However, since the girls and I now are trying to avoid dairy products, I have had to search for a new favorite potato soup, one that would still be thick and creamy, even without using any cream, milk, butter, or cheese. This fall I found a potato leek soup recipe that exceeded my expectations: the resulting soup is flavorful and creamy, and Michael likes it even better than our old favorite!

Potato Leek Soup:

I was able to follow the ingredient list and instructions on the recipe, except for the following modifications:

• Bacon instead of Butter: Instead of sauteing the leeks in butter, saute them in bacon drippings. Chop two slices of bacon into small pieces, fry the bacon over medium heat until it is browned and crispy, then remove the bacon from the pot, leaving the drippings. Add the leeks to the pot and followed the instructions to saute the leeks over low heat until softened. When you add the potatoes and broth to the soup, put the bacon bits back in as well. If you would like to make this recipe for us using bacon, look for one without any sodium erythorbate, sodium lactate, or lactic acid starter culture, all of which can come from corn. I recommend Classic Sliced Dry Rubbed All Natural Uncured Bacon, which can be found at Trader Joe's. If you cannot find a Michael-friendly bacon, saute the leeks in olive oil or canola oil.

• Chicken Broth: Before having kids, I used to make home-made chicken broth, and perhaps one of these days I'll get around to doing that again. In the mean time, I use boxed chicken broth. If you also prefer the convenience of store-bought chicken broth, look on the label to make sure it does not contain any corn, wheat, soy, dextrose, MSG, xanthan gum, mono and diglycerides, natural flavoring, organic flavors, or vegetable flavor. The brand that I think tastes the best is Imagine Organic Free Range Chicken Broth. If you cannot find that one, Pacific Organic Free Range Chicken Broth and Trader Joe's Free Range Chicken Broth (but not the low-sodium version) are also safe to use.
  

• Potatoes: After trying several different kinds of potatoes, I recommend Russet potatoes for the creamiest consistency.

• Spices: Instead of Tabasco sauce or red chili sauce, use a dash of Cayenne red pepper and a bit of paprika. If you like a spicier soup, you can add more of these as well as more black pepper.