Broccoli Soup

[mipafox 438]

I am not a fan of the hard, pipe-hitting veggies with a few exceptions such as broc and spinach. So I am always trying to find ways to force more broc into my face to make up for my cruciferous shortcomings.

 

Wow. This is basic and should be obvious, but it kicks butt. Obviously you can add seasoning from here (curry, hot sauce, potatoes).

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/down-home-with-the-neelys/broccoli-soup-recipe/index.html

 

A few tips.

 

1. This is big. Half the quantities for a test run unless you have a Catholic family.

2. Use light cream. No difference in a soup except the saturated fat.

3. Use ORGANIC low sodium chicken broth or make it your self. There is no low sodium chicken broth on the shelf in the grocery section. They lie. Read the label, they are like 480 mg/cup. You have to go to the organic section to get 80-140 mg/cup.

4. Once you have done it the right way to test it, try dumping the butter for olive oil moving forward. The butter adds massive saturated fat to it. Half your daily limit for a serving.

5. I don't have an immersion blender. I just put the pot in a dish of ice water until not too hot to touch and throw in the blender.

 

It aint my recipe. I just found it extremely easy and yummy so I thought I would pass it on.

[Kaiser7 33]

Wow! I'll have to try this out. You seem fairly health conscious, so I probably shouldn't even bother posting the recipie I have for potato soup-- one of the ingredients is bacon grease, but it's so damn good!

[Kaiser7 33]

Speaking of which, I wish we kind of did have a section on NJGF for recipies. I know it sounds weird, but I feel like the people here would likely not have some foo-foo, fancy ass, hard as hell to make food, but probably some pretty good stuff.

[mipafox 438]

Wow! I'll have to try this out. You seem fairly health conscious, so I probably shouldn't even bother posting the recipie I have for potato soup-- one of the ingredients is bacon grease, but it's so damn good!

 

Context is everything. I use grease from low-sodium bacon to make sauces. They are something I use maybe once a month and for their intended purpose.

 

There is no reason to completely avoid any food or ingredient when you keep a STRICT diet. The worst thing you can do to food is use a BS substitution for health reasons when you should be making the food properly and using it as intended and in moderation.

[Kaiser7 33]

Context is everything. I use grease from low-sodium bacon to make sauces. They are something I use maybe once a month and for their intended purpose.

 

There is no reason to completely avoid any food or ingredient when you keep a STRICT diet. The worst thing you can do to food is use a BS substitution for health reasons when you should be making the food properly and using it as intended and in moderation.

 

I'm 20 and broke, so I eat a lot of crap food simply due to the need for me to have something low-cost.

 

By the way, on an unrelated note, I assume you're a chemist, or chemical engineer or something? I'm actually taking organic chem right now, it's my favorite class ever.

[mipafox 438]

At 20 you can eat whatever you want. I am not 20 anymore

 

I have degrees in Chemical Engineering. I'm glad you enjoy Organic Chemistry. If it's not out of print, you should get "Pushing Electrons." It's a PChem approach to Organic Chemistry without the math. you can run through the whole thing in a day or two. Helps you figure out stuff you are not familiar with. Good luck and God Bless.

[Kaiser7 33]

At 20 you can eat whatever you want. I am not 20 anymore

 

I have degrees in Chemical Engineering. I'm glad you enjoy Organic Chemistry. If it's not out of print, you should get "Pushing Electrons." It's a PChem approach to Organic Chemistry without the math. you can run through the whole thing in a day or two. Helps you figure out stuff you are not familiar with. Good luck and God Bless.

 

No problem, I'm a biology major, but honestly, I like chem far more than bio. I'm not very good at math though, which is sort of why I went into bio instead of chem. Considering a chem minor though, I really have no clue what I can even do with a bio degree in the event I don't get into dental school.

[mipafox 438]

Then get into dental school

 

[Teky0101 6]

Thanks! I should try this out!

[Kingsoverqueens 10]

I'm 20 and broke, so I eat a lot of crap food simply due to the need for me to have something low-cost.

Don't use your age and/or financial situation as an excuse to eat crappy food. You will pay for it later in life.

 

How much does a bag of beans and some rice cost? A 4 pack of chicken thighs?

 

I can teach you to make a very healthy meal for $5.00. (oven roasted chicken thighs, oven roasted vegetable <yes-roasted in the oven> and a potato).

 

Do your self a favor and learn how to cook a little. Take one dish and master it. Then another.

 

Soups are a great place to start. And eggs, well, they aren't just for breakfast anymore.

 

I've saved the best part for last. Chicks dig a guy who can cook.

[mipafox 438]

Oh, I'm paying for it later in life alright. I think most people can be just fine eating crap in their early 20s but the question is at what point will they learn the skills they need and make the change? "I'm only in my 30s" didn't work out so well for me.

[Kingsoverqueens 10]

A week at my place and you'd be asking for the hard, piping hitting veggies.

 

My kids are 15, 13 and 12. They eat brussel sprouts, brocholi, cauliflower, squashes...you name it.

 

I wasn't kidding about oven roasting.

 

Take a head of brocholi and trim off the bottom part, and the leaves and disregard (or save for use when making chicken stock). Cut the flourettes and place on a cooking sheet. You can peel the stalk so it isn't as rough, and then slice into chunks. Take some olive oil and rub between your hands, and then rub your hands over the brocholi. Do this once or twice. You don't need a lot of olive oil. The sprinkle with Koasher salt and then fresh black pepper. If you don't have Koasher salt, get some. I use the mortons in the black box. Same with fresh cracked pepper.

 

Roast this in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until the edges get brown. My kids eat this stuff right off the tray like they are sneaking a cookie out of the oven.

 

This technique works for all manner of veg. The dry heat carmelized the sugars in the veg and creates a flavor profile you'd never expect. Broch turns nutty and sweet. Do this with a butter nut squash and it's like eating candy.

[mipafox 438]

I will definitely give that a shot, thanks!

 

Which kind of olive oil? 400 is pretty hot. It might not smoke, but those are some sensitive fats very susceptible to damage and turning unhealthy. Something that always scares me and I don't fully understand.

[raz-0 1,259]

I vote for a food subforum.

 

I'm definitely interested in any veggie recipes. I'm in need of variety in my veggie prep.

[Kingsoverqueens 10]

Regular olive oil.

 

You aren't using enough of it to cause a problem, and it never gets that hot to smoke. Remember a lot of the heat is consumed by the vegetable and not transferred to the oil. If you were deep frying I could see it being an issue.

 

Some fats are more suited for high heat cooking, like stir fry.

 

I don't know what olive oils temp threshold is, but it's fine for this application.

[Kingsoverqueens 10]

I'm in need of variety in my veggie prep.

Consider alternate cooking applications.

 

We oven roast them, grill them, sauté them with garlic.

 

Another nice application is to make a batch of chili, and then throw in a frozen block of spinach.  Delicious.

 

There is always a bag of fresh spinach in the house but on occasion we'll use frozen spinach.  

 

Take a knife and chiffonade a handful of that fresh spinach, sauté real quick and then add some scrambled eggs and some diced onion and olives, feta for a Greek style omelet.

 

I love food. lol

[tt-33 8]

once you roast carrots youll never want to boil them again

[GeorgeHM 5]

Just to add a good site to get recipes from is . http://allrecipes.com/ enjoy.

[raz-0 1,259]

Just to add a good site to get recipes from is . http://allrecipes.com/ enjoy.

 

The problem is it is also a great place to get bad recipies, mediocre recipies, 16 pages of nearly identical decent recipies that are absolutely not what you are looking for but share some ingredients with what you are. Etc.

 

If I want to slog through 14 pages of broccoli soup it's great. If I want new ideas for broccoli as a vegetable side dish, their mechanism for searching kind of sucks. As do most of the large recipe sites.

[djg0770 481]

halved brussel sprouts sauteed in garlic with bacon fat... Insert Homer Simpson's drooling face here.

[NJScott 15]

halved brussel sprouts sauteed in garlic with bacon fat... Insert Homer Simpson's drooling face here.

 

Replace the bacon fat with some E.V. olive oil and you're talking one of my favorite veg dishes. When I really want to go nuts I toss in some chopped scallions and thin-sliced shallots.

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

[greatgunstatenj 32]

halved brussel sprouts sauteed in garlic with bacon fat... Insert Homer Simpson's drooling face here.

 

Another good one...

Finely shred the sprouts throw them into a very hot frying pan with a pat of butter [i use smart balance], sea salt, pepper, a bit of lemon juice. Cook time 2-3 minutes. People who don't even like brussel sprouts will eat this. There are so many other things you can thrown in this for taste if you want to [bacon, pancetta, etc] but this simple recipe is tasty and healthy. The key to sprouts is short cooking time, the longer you cook the more the sulfur taste comes out.

[mipafox 438]

A week at my place and you'd be asking for the hard, piping hitting veggies.

 

And you'll be asking me to contribute to the toilet paper budget or GTFO.

 

Ha! I finally tried it. I thought it was either going to be a panacea or worthless. Turns out I needed to bake a little bit longer, maybe 20-25 minutes, and it was neither a panacea nor worthless. I finally got it! I don't think I have the cooking process perfect yet, but you are right. The browned portions add a very desirable taste to the broc. Going to work on this.

[voyager9 3,443]

2. Use light cream. No difference in a soup except the saturated fat.

3. Use ORGANIC low sodium chicken broth or make it your self.

4. Once you have done it the right way to test it, try dumping the butter for olive oil moving forward. The butter adds massive saturated fat to it. Half your daily limit for a serving. easy and yummy so I thought I would pass it on.

 

My wife is vegan and makes some fantastic dishes. This recipe looks good and could easily be adapted for her. Will have to give it a try.