Vegan Thai Soup

Minoo selected a Thai theme for this community kitchen. Thai cuisine is aromatic and with a spicy edge.

The first recipe is a Vegan Thai Soup. This is a very easy recipe, get all the vegetables and liquid into a pot and bring to a boil. Then add the tofu and the rest of the of the seasonings.

You can keep this soup in the fridge for up to 5 days in a sealed container or you can freeze it.

Ingredients

• 1/2 julienned red onion
• 1/2 julienned red bell pepper
• 5 mushrooms, sliced
• 5 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1/2-inch piece of ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 Thai chili or any other chili, finely chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth or water (we used chicken broth)
• 1 14-ounce can coconut milk (400ml)
• 1 tablespoon coconut, cane or brown sugar
• 10 oz firm tofu, cubed (275g)
• 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
• juice of half a lime
• a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Source: this recipe is adapted from New York times cooking

Garden Vegetable Soup

The South Arm Community Kitchen made a hearty soup as our main dish.

This Garden Vegetable Soup is good enough for a light lunch with the addition of rice or small noodles.

Ingredients

• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1/2 cup diced onions
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups of broth (chicken, beef or vegetable) or more
• 1 1/2 cups sweet peppers (green, red and yellow)
• 1 cup diced zucchini
• 1 cup diced potatoes
• 1/2 cup rice or small noodle
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste or 1/2 can tomato soup
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 teaspoon fresh one)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Many hands in the kitchen makes preparation easier as there is a lot of chopping to do.

Source: South Arm Community Kitchen

Lotus Root Pork Neck Bone Soup

Soup is always good for cold days.

Ben wanted to have lotus root soup. I usually made lotus soup with pork bones. Ben likes to dig the meat from bones and flavours it with the Spicy Maggi seasoning.

Ingredients

• 1 slab of pork neck bone (the butcher will chop it up into pieces)
• 2 to 3 nodes of lotus root, depending on size
• few slices of ginger
• salt to taste

Lotus root is rich in Vitamin C and a good source of dietary fiber. It has a crunchy texture and when cook long enough like making soup, the texture become “powdery” (in Cantonese, “fern”).

Marvelous Minestrone

Minoo shared three recipes in the South Arm Community Kitchen as usual.

The first recipe is a soup recipe. This Marvelous Minestrone is great with some toasted bread as a light meal. This soup also freezes well for a quick meal any day of week. Freeze extra in small freezer bags in single portion size.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 red pepper, removed seeds and diced
• 1 green pepper, removed seeds and diced
• 1x19oz (540ml) can of diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage or 1 teaspoon fresh sage (can be substituted with oregano)
• 2 small zucchini, diced
• 1x14oz (398ml) can kidney beans (or pinto or navy beans), rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup small pasta (like macaroni)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Source: Food Skills for Families; Active Seniors

This recipe uses Italian seasonings as it’s an Italian soup. But do not limit yourself as you can make a curry version with cumin, turmeric or curry powder.

You can also add other vegetables like celery or cabbage.

Adding legumes to the soup as an inexpensive source of protein .

Split Pea Soup

The second recipe we made in the South Arm Community Kitchen is a healthy Split Pea Soup.

The soup is refreshing with lemon juice, fresh mint and parsley.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 to 10 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups green split peas
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoons cumin or paprika

Source: South Arm Community Kitchen

Brazilian Black Bean Soup

The South Arm Multicultural Community Kitchen met up for another session.

The first recipe we made was a hearty Brazilian Black Bean Soup which is just great for the winter season.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 carrots, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 3 (15 ounces) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 cups water, or more
• 2 pinches cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• organic chicken seasoning to taste, optional

Source: this recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com (submitted by Liebelune)

Root Vegetables Soup

The South Arm Community Kitchen met again on a Wednesday. We made a winter soup with various seasonal root vegetables.

This simple, robust and cold weather soup can be made with almost any mixture of root vegetables you can get on hand. We made this with carrots, parsnips, celery root, turnips, rutabaga and sweet potatoes. Winter gourd, potatoes and squash are great for this soup too.

We served the Mixed Root Vegetables Soup with a 3 chicken salad of 3 different flavours.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large onion or 2 leeks (white and light green part only), chopped
• 2 to 3 celery stalks, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 rosemary or thyme stalks (or 1 teaspoon dried ones)
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 1/2 pounds mixed root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, celery root, turnip, rutabaga, sweet or regular potatoes), peeled and diced
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
• juice of 1/2 lemon, or more for serving
• extra virgin olive oil
• chili flakes, optional

Source: South Arm Community Kitchen

Beet Soup

Another Fall vegetable being cooked up in the South Arm Multicultural Community Kitchen is Beet.

Beets have many health benefits which include high in vitamins and minerals like the B Vitamin, folate, manganese, potassium and copper. They are also high in dietary fiber. Beets also contain a healthy amount of magnesium, phosphorous, vitamin C and vitamin B6.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced (or 1 tablespoon ground ginger)
• 4 to 5 small potatoes, chopped
• 4 large beets, chopped
• 16 to 20 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons curry powder or paste
• 2 tablespoons cumin

Source: South Arm Community Kitchen

Greek Lentil Soup (Fakes)

The South Arm Multicultural Community Kitchen made a Greek Lentil Soup (Fakes) in line with the Greek theme menu.

Fakes (pronounced “Fah-kehs”) is a staple in the Greek kitchen. It is a filling meal. It is traditionally served with a drizzle of olive oil and lots of vinegar. Though the vinegar is of course optional, it lifts the lentils and adds another dimension of flavor.

Brown lentil is a good source of iron.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces brown lentils
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 quart water
• 1 pinch dried oregano
• 1 pinch crushed dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon olive oil, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, or to taste (optional)
• 1 tablespoon organic chicken bullion (optional)

Source: South Arm Community Kitchen

Green Peas Soup

The South Arm Community Kitchen met again on a Wednesday. We made three recipes as usual.

The first recipe is Green Peas Soup. A dollop of sour cream adds creaminess to the soup.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, or more to coat the bottom of pan
• 1 medium leek, whites and light green parts only, halved and sliced thin
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large potato, peeled, cut into small cubes
• 2 cups (16 oz) frozen peas
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (we used 4 teaspoons of organic chicken powder to make the chicken broth)
• a couple sprigs of fresh thyme, tied in a bundle (or 1 tablespoon of dried thyme)
• 1/3 cup sour cream, plus more for serving

Source: South Arm Community Kitchen