Daily Unadventures in Cooking

After I returned from the Yucatan last Saturday, I was making Sopa de Lima, a Mexican chicken soup, before I’d even unpacked my suitcase.

This celeriac soup is basically just aromatics and celeraic with some lovely homemade chicken stock—perfect to really taste the flavour. It is a creamy and light soup that really does taste of celery, but lacks any stringy texture.

This beef stew recipe is why I love to cook. Simple, rustic and easy preparations lead to an amazing gravy full or lush flavour. Oh, how I love braised, stewy comfort food.

This carrot soup was deliberately made heavy on the garlic, ginger, and spice to try and combat my cold. The red lentils add some protein and make it a full meal.

Ribollita is a healthy cabbage, bean and bread soup from the tuscan region of Italy. This vegeterian interpretation is delicious and easy comfort food.

Since it is the day after thanksgiving, I should mention that though I haven’t tested it I bet you could use this recipe to make some wicked turkey, barley and thyme soup…  if I had leftover chicken or turkey I think I would first make a simple stock with the carcass.  Before straining I would [...]

I enjoyed the cassoulet with it’s firm fresh beans so much that I couldn’t wait to make something else from dried beans. For my second dried bean experiment I chose to make an easy soup from black beans and a smoked ham hock.  The spices bring out the richness in the beans and by blending [...]

Fresh, simple, and delicious, this cassoulet recipe tastes very real. The fresh vegetables retain their colour and flavour and the dried beans cook up deliciously as they are simmered with the meat.

This warming winter squash soup recipe is something my Mum used to make. Thankfully, as an adult I appreciate the strong flavours and how easy it is to make.

A light green chili based on tomatillos. The chicken and beans make it light and fresh, and the roasted poblano gives it a nice smokey sweetness.

A strong beer such as a stout has such a creamy, nutty, almost coffee like flavour that it is just beautiful with short ribs in this recipe.

This is a cheater chicken soup because you make a quasi chicken stock right in the soup. That helps to give it that homemade flavour without all the fuss. If you wanted to make this vegetarian, omit the chicken and use a vegetable stock, I am sure it would still be delicious.

A healthy soba noodle soup recipe with fresh vegetables and a miso broth base.

Does anyone know what kind of squash this is? I originally thought it was an Autumn Cup or a Kambocha, but after cutting into it I am still a little stumped. It has green flesh, that almost looks like zucchini but it is nutty in flavour more like a butternut. [...]

I wanted to call this a summer soup, but the reality is that the ingredients are in season almost all year long. Cabbage, carrots and potatoes are in season in BC through October. Cabbage is in season until March! Your basil wouldn’t last but you can always try freezing your fresh herbs in ice [...]

A delicious and easy braised short rib recipe, full of rich Indian spices.

We have been together for a year now and I think it’s serious. You have your faults (like being a pain to clean), and you aren’t in as good of shape as when we met (hello large crack in the plastic, and chip in the ceramic insert) but we love each other amidst both of [...]

This chicken tortilla soup is comforting, tangy and easy to make if you have a slow cooker or crock pot. Although it is not necessarily authentic, it is delicious and perfect if you will be out of the house for a few hours.

I am sure it can’t only be in my house that this time of the year one frequent vegetable side dish is roasted root veggies.  I chop up a combination of squash, potatoes, yams, parsnips, carrots, onions, garlic etc. Toss it in olive oil and salt and pepper and roast it at 400, tossing occasionally [...]

I made this chili last week as the beginnings of my post-Christmas detox. Anybody else craving simple, light, healthy food yet? In actual fact, I made this between Christmas and New Years and am trying to start my detox over since it didn’t really stick. (In case you are curious in this house detoxing means [...]