Thursday, March 16, 2006

Clean out the Fridge Soup


Yesterday when I opened the fridge at lunchtime, I saw a lot of little tupperware containers, all with just a few spoons of food. I was hungry, and dd was STARVING TO DEATH as she informed me, so lunch had to be quick and filling. I made soup from the leftovers.

This is what I did: I sauteed an onion in a dab of olive oil, with about 2 cloves of garlic, minced. While that was going, I took out all the little containers, and one by one, added them to the pot. They included about a cup of the tomato soup from last week, about 3/4 of a cup of the gado gado veggies (I chopped these up further so they would fit on a spoon, and a cup of a pasta-rice pilaf. The tomato soup didn't give enough liquid, so I added "enough", maybe a cup or two of part water and part wine. Then I added a few cubes of Knorr vegetarian bouillion (I'll be glad when these are gone because I like another brand better and the little cubes are a pain to unwrap), some salt and pepper, and a heaping teaspoon of Herbes de Provence. I let it all simmer for about 10 minutes or so.

While I was foraging in the fridge, I noticed that there was a half loaf of the maple oatmeal bread tightly wrapped, so we had slices of this yummy bread with the soup. What a yummy meal it made - we both had one huge bowl and a slice or two of bread. There was about 1/3 cup left, and our little doggie really enjoyed it for lunch as well!

For dinner, we ate the Arabic pilaf from the night before. There is still some more of that in the fridge - I think I'll probably use it to stuff something, once my check clears and I can go food shopping, that is!

Four stars!

Don't waste!

2 comments:

The Semi-Pro Chef said...

THANK YOU! for the recipes! i've been also checking out a lot of vegan recipe sights but its nice to have an Orthodox-oriented recipe collection :) Wow, so much support from so many strangers - this is great. Thank you and God bless! Enjoy your food!

ps. I work long hours. And at the end of the day its easy to "fall" and be tempted to slip. An easy filling Orthodox-OK meal is opening a can of black beans, a can of corn, and a can of diced tomatoes and letting them simmer. toast a few tortillas over a flame (or warm in the microwave if you don't have a gas burner), add a dollop of fresh guacamole (no sour cream) and wrap the bean/corn/tomato mixture in the warm tortilla. Maybe takes 10 minutes to make and is really tasty and healthy. I've had it at least once a week since I started fasting. My prayers go out to you in thanks for your post and your wonderful recipes!

Anonymous said...

Here's one from our house! Love to both of you! Mat. Elizabeth

***

Potato and Greens Soup, Lenten Style

Vegetable Stock – homemade or canned
2 Lg. Onions, Chopped
1 Head Garlic, Minced
½ C. Celery, Chopped
Olive Oil or other oil
Potatoes, Cut into Bite-sized Pieces
Fresh or Dried Thyme, Dill and Oregano, to taste
Kale, Chard, Collards or other mild greens, Chopped
Fresh, Frozen or Canned Mild Green Chile Peppers, Chopped, Optional
Fresh Parsley, Chopped
Leftover or Dry Mashed Potato Flakes, Optional
Juice of 1 Large Lemon
Salt & Black Pepper, to taste

Make or have on hand plenty of good vegetable stock. In a large soup pot, add oil and sauté onions, until they are browned and caramelized. Add garlic and celery and continue to sauté until they are limp. Add vegetable stock. When it has heated up to nearly a boil, add potatoes and herbs. When the potatoes begin to soften, add fresh parsley, green chiles and chopped fresh greens. If you prefer a thicker soup, add leftover mashed potatoes, potato flakes, or slightly mash some of the potatoes in the soup. Just before serving, add lemon juice and salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with warm, crusty bread on the side. Perfect for a cool evening!

Mat. Elizabeth Perdomo