Tomato soup with salmon salad on pumpernickle makes a tasty lunch
With a bumper crop this fall from my tiny COVID garden of five tomato plants, I needed to find some tasty ways to put tomatoes to good use. I love soup, so I decided to make some.
My highest yielding plants were for heritage tomatoes. They were slower to ripen, so I took a whole lot of green tomatoes off them in October. I was surprised to see that by November they had all ripened to a lovely bright yellow, not a red one among them.
The flavor is similar to what I remember tomato soup as tasting, but decidedly different. However, the taste is fresh, tangy, and satisfying. Use whatever fresh tomatoes you have at your disposal. The flavorings in the last step of this recipe can be added in either as little or as much as you might like. Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor!
Tomato soup – basil and other seasonings added at the end
Fresh tomato soup Makes about 8 cups
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, coursely chopped
1 large onion, coursely chopped
6 cups fresh tomatoes, coursely chopped
4 whole cloves
4 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Flavorings (Optional)
2 tablespoons chopped basil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
a few shakes cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon homemade liquid stevia, coconut palm sugar, or white sugar
Red onions and yellow heritage tomatoes were what I had on hand
In a stockpot, over medium heat, saute the garlic with chopped onion until limp, about 10 minutes.
Add the coursely chopped tomatoes, with skin and seeds, and bring to a sizzle. Allow them to cook until the tomatoes soften.
Add chicken broth and cloves. Bring to a boil, and gently boil for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree with an immersion hand-held blender. Strain into a bowl, using a large sieve. Use a spoon to force as much pulp through the strainer as you can. Discard the cloves and fiber left in the strainer.
In the now empty stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a paste, cooking until the roux is a medium brown, at least 5 minutes.
Gradually whisk in a bit of the tomato puree, so that no lumps form, then stir in the rest.
Season with vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and salt, and adjust to taste. Instead of salt and cayenne, I added a teaspoon of TexMex seasoning, which is basically salt and cayenne… Next time, I’ll try it without the vinegar. I found it a touch on the sour side. See what you think before going ahead with the vinegar. I did love the basil, though. And I enjoyed the nip from the TexMex.
Serve very hot with some cream on the side for people to add if they choose. The nutrition count below is for the soup without any cream.
I like to serve soup piping hot, in pretty mugs or cups
Nutrition
Studies show that tomatoes and tomato products may reduce your risk of heart disease and several cancers. This fruit is also beneficial for skin health, as it may protect against sunburns. These effects are likely due to high concentrations of antioxidants, especially lycopene and beta carotene. But tomatoes also contain several useful vitamins and minerals, namely vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and vitamin C.
A one-cup serving of this soup provides 100 calories; 4 grams protein, 7% RDV (recommended daily value); 4 grams carbohydrates, 1% RDV (just 1 gram sugar); 3 grams fat, 5% RDV; 81 mg sodium, 3% RDV; vitamin A 9% RDV; Ca 7% RDV.
Dishes drying in sink after making a pot of soup
As an aside: No pain, no gain
Just thought I’d point out that it may be easier to open a can of soup. But for pure personal satisfation, nothing beats growing your own food and making your own soup. For me, the only down side is the washing up!
But I’ve learned to enjoy the feel of warm water on my hands and the pleasure of seeing tidy work surfaces. I use the wait times between steps in the cooking process to wash utensils used to that point. There is far less to contend with at the end.
Now, I just have to put all these dishes away, and my kitchen will be spick and span again. Whistle while you work!
A tasty coffee cake that needs no extra sweetness can be had by making up this moist snacking cake. A wonderful treat if you have some green tomatoes on hand, a strong possibility if you were growing tomatoes at home this year, like Vinny was. It calls for 200 grams of green tomatoes, which is about two medium-sized ones.
Ginger is the healthiest spice in your pantry. It is one food that earns its reputation as a “super food” whole-heartedly, as has been proven by science. This recipe uses lots of ginger.
A Bundt cake studded with green tomato pieces and candied ginger, then spiced with masala tadka powder, is perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, or even with a glass of milk.
Spiced green tomato and candied ginger coffee cake Makes 12 modest slices
1 cup green tomatoes, chopped (200 grams, about 2 medium)
1 teaspoon masala chai powder or tadka masala spice*
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350F (180C)
Prepare a small Bundt pan (6 cups or 7.5 x 3 inches) by lightly coating the sides, bottom and center spindle with canola oil or other flavorless oil. Sprinkled some flour liberally around the sides and turn upside down over the sink to tap off any excess. Make sure the spindle is coated with flour too.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes. Keep your fingers away from the beaters while they are beating, or else you might catch your fingers in the blades and faint! Vinny knows this from personal experience. No bones were broken, though…
Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well.
In a smaller bowl mix the chopped tomatoes and chopped ginger together well. Add the 1/2 cup (50 grams) of the flour and toss with a wooden spoon, till the flour has coated the veggie pieces.
Sift 1 cup (100 grams) of the flour together with the baking soda, baking powder, and masala powder in another smaller bowl. Add this to the butter mixture in the large bowl in three parts and beat on medium speed after each addition till well mixed.
Add the green tomato mixture to the batter in the large bowl and fold in till well mixed using a wooden spoon. The mixture will be thick.
Scrape this mixture into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top.
Turn the oven setting to Bake and cook the cake for 45 to 50 minutes till a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for about 10 minutes. Then unmold the cake onto a rack to cool.
To Serve
No need to use a sugar glaze. Leave it plain and enjoy the moist delicious flavor of this spicy cake.
Note
If you don’t have a prepared masala spice mix on hand, add these to the flour mixture: ½ teaspoon cardemom and 1/8 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, and coriander. If you like a highly spiced cake, you can double these quantities.
Ginger and green tomatoes
Nutrition
A serving size of one-twelfth of the cake has 150 calories and 10 grams of sugar. It provides 11% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin A and 5% of each of protein, vitamin C, calcium, and iron.
Ginger is high in gingerol, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is said to help prevent nausea, improve osteoarthritis, and promote weight loss, among other things.
Spices add way more than flavor to foods. I like to add them liberally every time I cook.
Halloween doesn’t have to be all about candy. Having gained a very bad 15 pounds between March and August in this year of the coronovirus, and now being well on the way to shedding it all again, I wanted to celebrate a sugar-free evening with the ghosts and goblins.
The powers that be have decreed that it’s not safe for children to go door to door this year… and rightly so, with numbers of covid-19 cases soaring in a second scary wave. So we have not bought the usual crazy amount of mini chocolate bars this year.
Instead of candy, I nominate the color orange to be our celebration vehicle for Halloween in our house.
Pumpkins are a bit cliche… so I chose to make a delicious dinner-time dish from the gorgeous, sweet, orange carrots available in the market these days.
The recipe is modified from one I published earlier for a big crowd. The recipe here provides eight servings as a veggie side dish for dinner. It has enough tangy sweetness to make you forget that there is no candy for you to gorge on, after all the little ones stop knocking on your door on October 31st. Happy Halloween!
Halloween cooked-carrot and tomato salad Makes eight 4-ounce servings
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
0.5 – 1 inch fresh ginger, skin scraped and finely chopped (I like lots)
5 ounces tomato sauce (I used roasted red pepper pasta sauce)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil (optional)
1/4 cup vinegar (preferably apple cider vinegar)
2 teaspoons curry powder
8-16 ounces tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 large green onion, sliced, or a handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped, for garnish (optional)
Slice carrots into coins, then cook in slightly salted boiling water until tender yet crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, then submerge in cold water to cool.
Combine tomato sauce, oil, vinegar, ginger, and curry powder in a small sauce pan and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes to the carrots and the cooled tomato dressing (sweetened if you wish with 1 tablespoon of my homemade liquid stevia or 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar). Mix well.
Chill until serving time. Garnish with the chopped green onion or the chopped basil leaves. Stays fresh for 3 days in the fridge.
Carrots are sweet enough for Halloween treats
Nutrition summary
Total calories per 4-ounce serving is 234. If you go easy on the dressing that pools in the bottom of the bowl, the calories are reduced somewhat.
Carrots are a sweet veggie, containing a significant amount of sugar. So there is no need for additional sugar. But I did use a little stevia sweetener, to take the edge off the vinegar. You might not need any sweetener at all.
One serving contains 6 times the vitamin A and 33% of the fiber, vitamin C, and potassium you need every day. This salad is also a good source of iron, calcium, and even protein, providing about 10% of the recommended daily amounts.
If you are diabetic, know that one serving provides 11 grams of sugar, twice the suggested amount per dish.
This is a delicious tangy side dish that can serve as your starch portion, as well as your veggie, in one single serving. Trick or treat? I hope you find this recipe more on the treat side of the equation. Boo!
Reviewing Michael Pollan’s book “In Defense of Food”
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Michael Pollan has distilled much of the research into the Western diet over recent years into this simple formula. It’s that easy to eat well for better health.
For several years now, ever since I discovered that the mystery shrub on my property at the end of our hedge was a red current bush, I’ve been trying to make jelly from the berries. And every year I’ve ended up with a lovely syrup, instead.
Until this year. Finally, I’ve succeeded in making three small jars of ruby red, sweetly tart jelly.
Yogurt bowl with rhubarb, ginger, cinnamon, and walnuts
The foods you choose affect your mood. And what is mood but your brain’s reactions to the world around you. Vinny’s yogurt bowl is a treat filled with probiotics and flavenoids to calm your brain and keep it firing on all cylinders.
Vinny’s grandparents have told him that living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is one of the scarier prospects of growing older. So he has decided to do a series of posts about some lifestyle choices that could make a positive difference to our mental health in later years. He’s all for starting these habits early, for a longer and more active life. Read on for his first installment.
Scallops, broccoli, and black beans are full of magnesium. Scroll down for easy recipe.
Vinny’s grandparents are getting on, so nobody will blame them if they are starting to look a little worn around the edges. Relying on fast food and maybe even cigarettes over the years to make life easy could be part of the problem. With these sorts of habits, Vinny worried that his family could be setting itself up for medical catastrophes… stroke for example. Holy smokes! Is there anything we can do to help?
Here we are in the midst of week 6 of self isolation. What began as an adventure is turning into a drudge. Solace comes in knowing that in comparison to other world disasters people have had to face, this one is fairly tame… as long as you can dodge COVID-19, that is. Plus, we can use the extra time at home to experiment in the kitchen! More
This delicious egg cassarole is easier than a quiche and twice as tasty. It sometimes goes by the name “Strata”, probably because it is a layered approach to eggy goodness. But as Shakespeare once noted, “a rose by any other name is just as sweet.” More
Have you ever craved a silky soufflé but hesitated to try? I certainly have. The eggy concoction seemed too finicky and prone to failure. Also, I thought it had to be baked at the last minute. So how would it ever work as a make-ahead dessert for company?
Well, with all the time in the world available these days for experimenting, and as the corona virus pandemic is demanding that no company cross our threshold, this seemed the perfect time to try. More
Is your family is feeling a little low what with all this social distancing we are having to endure for the public good these days? Cheer them up with a batch of hearty banana cookies. So easy! With just two key ingredients and a few optional add-ons for extra flavor and happiness, these cookies are sure to please your family. More
If you are looking for a low-sugar double-chocolate brownie that your children will devour, look no further. Each moist chocolatey square satisfies with two kinds of chocolate. The squares are sweetened with only 1/4 cup maple syrup and the sugar from the semisweet chocolate chips, plus one secret ingredient. No, it’s not marijuana. More
Books, friends, and food – a recipe for a pleasant afternoon
Having volunteered to host our bookclub this week with only a few days notice, Vinny and I decided to make a cake we had attempted once before for Canada Day. It was a recipe that Queen Elizabeth had popularized immediately after the Second World War. Food was being rationed in Britain and there was little sugar to spare. At that time Elizabeth was still a princess, not yet 20. She wanted to do her part for the war effort and, as one of her many projects, she came up with a cake that was sweetened not with sugar but with dates and honey. More
One rainy day at the cottage this summer, Vinny and his crew decided to make a cooking video. This is our first attempt at doing such a thing.
Vinny’s cousin Sage will take you through the bread-making process, completely unscripted. Watch it full screen – fun!
This artisanal method of bread-making is so easy, even your kids can do it…. Just like Sage does. There’s no kneading, no waiting over night, and only about 10 or 15 minutes of prep time.
You end up with freshly baked deliciousness for only pennies a loaf. That’s really cheap eats. So lets get baking!
Caution: An adult must supervise children when putting the pot in the hot oven and taking it out again. Always use oven mitts. Pull out the rack for easy access.
On a beautiful family farm near Silver Lake Provincial Park (Ontario), where my parents used to take my sister and I to camp every weekend during the summer, I discovered an intriguingly large vegetable new to me. It goes by the name banana squash. More
The idea for our Dracula-themed dinner party this year stemmed from a bottle of wine we received at Christmas. Tāmâioasā is an indiginous grape variety from Romania, the Eastern European country that harbors Dracula’s castle in the province of Transylvania.
Have you been afraid to make your own bread, thinking about how it used to take Grandma all day to bake a loaf? Well, here’s a recipe you can serve the day you make it.
This is a standard pie crust recipe. But I have never made a pie crust in my life. So I decided to start with an easy, classic recipe and see where it takes me. Here it goes.
Make a delicious tea loaf with just three ingredients.
Here’s something fun to try with your mini chefs. Bake a sweet loaf using just ice cream, cereal, and flour, and enjoy it warm from the oven. Or slice it and make an awesome peanut butter and jam sandwich. You can also use a slice as a base for strawberries and whipped cream or bananas and chocolate sauce. Let your imagination take you on a taste safari! More
Mardi Gras colors are purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. Beads are thrown from elaborate floats and costumed people riding the floats must disguise their faces, by law.
Mardi Gras is coming soon, offering a fun way to celebrate Spring with friends or to welcome Lent as a prelude to Easter. Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, has its origins in the French Catholic church. The custom was brought to the French colonies in North America in the 1700s, specifically New Orleans, and is now a legal holiday in Louisiana.
Over the years specific dishes featuring Cajun and Creole cuisine have become traditions. More
Vinny loves all things “eggs,” but a morning omelet is one of his favorites. So when he found a recipe for a truffle omelet from Bruno, Chief of Police of the fictional village of St. Denis in the heart of the Dordogne in France, Vinny couldn’t resist. More
Robbie Burns Day is an annual tradition in our house. Falling on the Scottish bard’s birthday, January 25th, the day is usually marked by a savory steamed pudding called haggis, which at one time came wrapped inside a sheep’s stomach. Bagpipes, Scotch whiskey, kilts, and an “address to a Haggis” are all part of the celebrations. More
Family traditions are especially important at Christmas. Tourtière is one of them. Vinny just wouldn’t feel right without this savory meat pie for the holidays. More
That idea sounds almost miraculous. But it might just be possible. Here’s the theory.
At night, our body burns the fat we have accumulated during the day. We can speed up that process while we sleep by stimulating the digestive system and increasing our metabolism. Drinking in some of nature’s stronger metabolism boosters can prod our digestion system to be more efficient. More
This delicious dessert owes its existence to Hannah Rothchild’s comic novel The Improbability of Love, a satire of the art world served up as a sensory experience fit for royalty. I was presenting this novel to our neighborhood book club. More
Vinny has invited the whole family for Chrisrmas. They all said YES!
That’s when his sleepless nights and bad dreams began. He had never in his life before tackled a humungous roast turkey. Vinny’s nightmares starred dry stringy white meat and rubbery drumsticks as a centerpiece for his big night.
Where does butter come from? Milk, of course. People discovered butter thousands of years ago. Methods for making butter all involve some kind of whipping or churning to separate the fat from the liquids in milk. We can make butter easily for ourselves at home. Seeing is believing! More
Try our homemade liquid stevia solution to make these sweet little cheesecakes and you might become hooked on stevia forever. The cakes are moist, creamy, and flavorful. But most of all, without adding any sugar at all to the cheese filling, they taste sweet and tangy. More
Crab is a mild-tasting shellfish that most people like, even the kids. It is low in fat, containing only 82 calories in a 3-ounce serving, while supplying a third of your daily protein needs. Crab is a brain food, More
With much fanfare this morning, Prince Harry married an American woman whom he met in Toronto, Canada… the beautiful Meghan Markle. In honor of this marriage, a blending of two cultures, Vinny presents the traditional British scone with a twist. We’ve added a little color and lots of spirit to create a delicious breakfast treat that represents the best of both worlds. Easy to make, I whipped this up between hymns, while taking in the Royal wedding. Best wishes to the bride and groom! More
Vinny wanted to make an Easter treat he could use to fill the pretty hollow Easter egg-shells he found at the dollar store. “I’d like something without any chemical additives, but sweet and chocolatey, and filled with fiber and nutrients that make eating them as good for a kid’s health as they are sweet on the tongue,” he said. More
Vinny seems to have abandoned his post in the past months. This has meant a noticeable dearth on this site of healthy but delicious recipes for growing families. In his wake, there is only… me.
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras recipes were featured in my most recent cooking class in the run-up to Lent. I served some of what we learned at our annual gourmet evening, celebrating Mardi Gras style. I think Vinny would approve, though. Cajun cooking in New Orleans is rife with fresh seafood, hot spices, garlic, and a wild array of fresh veggies. Chicken is also an option. More
They say third-time lucky. I admit I’ve posted this recipe twice before. But this time, I’ve deviated from the simple instructions found in an old French cook book intended for experienced chefs. Here, I’ve set out all the ingredients off the top. Then I’ve broken down the steps in a sensible order.
You can find my reworked recipe in my post of November 11, 2013, sadly, a few weeks late for Remembrance Day 2017. Better late than never. More
Vinny’s come up with a yummy way to use left-over Halloween candy that helps keep sugar spikes at bay. We’re borrowing from Harry Potter, Bertie Botts in particular, to create a treat that offers a surprise in every bite. More
Try this delicious glassful of nutrition with your little tricksters on Halloween this year. It’s a treat that can’t be beat!
Instead of adding sugar, I use stevia in the whipped cream topping, a natural no-calorie sweetener that won’t add a single gram to your little one’s sugar load this Halloween season. More
Sadly, I haven’t had much time of late to devote to my blog. But as Vinny loves sweet potatoes for their healthy goodness, I thought I’d share this simple recipe that I’m serving tonight in honor of our Canadian Thanksgiving… More
Our traditional family birthday cake is chalk-full of chocolate. But thrown in are other flavors like raspberry and coffee that make it a hit with young and old alike. I use healthy ingredients besides chocolate, like coconut palm sugar, coconut oil and eggs. More
If you love sweets, this natural, no-cal sweetener from the leaf of the stevia plant is incredibly good for you. Unlike sugar, it doesn’t create an insulin response. Whereas sugar damages your pancreas, the organ that regulates blood sugar, stevia’s sterols and antioxidants actually nourish this essential organ. More
This dessert is so good, people call it Nice Cream. The riper the banana, the sweeter the dessert.
Ripe bananas also have higher levels of antioxidants, which as any frequent reader of Vinny’s blog will know, fight chronic disease and inflammation.
One interesting thing about fully ripened bananas is that they also produce a substance called tumor necrosis factor (TNF). TNF combats abnormal cells to help shrink cancer tumors. The more dark patches a banana has, More
I like to set a pretty table, especially for family celebrations. It adds to the festivities and sets off all the hard work in the kitchen. I have some silverware I inherited from my mother, which I love but rarely use. That’s because whenever I go to use it, I discover it has tarnished. Black silver tends to spoil the presentation. More
March in Ontario has us all looking forward to spring. And along with that comes a welcome school break – a whole week of free time!
Let’s help Mom and Dad survive March madness by getting creative. We’ll make them lunch!
Start with a loaf of fresh whole-grain bread. Add eggs, low-fat milk and some nice seasonings. Then fill with fruit or low-sugar jams, and cheese or nut butter. More
Oregano grows like crazy in my garden. I use it as an ornamental ground cover. Then I discovered you can make a tea from it that is useful in curing sore, bothersome throats. Since that is what I have, I’ve given this drink a shot. I love herbal teas and this is a pleasant one. Only time will tell as to whether it heals my sore throat. More
Readers will know how much I’ve been struggling with miso. It’s been a challenge finding flavor combinations that compliment a miso soup base and are both healthy and delicious. But I think I’ve now got something that works for me. The health benefits of miso are worth the effort. Maybe you should give this a try? More
Vinny suspected something was amiss when he began to smell a decidedly strong odor of apples, wafting from the cupboard whenever he opened the door. He pulled out his brand new bag of apples for inspection. Alas, three of the apples were already beginning to, well, rot. Out they went into the compost. But what to do with all the rest? More
Vinny and I have a lot in common. I’ve heard that kids often need to taste a food 10 times before they learn to like it. That’s me to a T with miso. More
I enjoyed participating in a few holiday craft sales this year, showing off my book Cook Up A Story. I met many wonderful people who bought up most of my stock and all of my aprons and chef hats.
I only have a few copies left. In Canadian dollars I can offer a better price than that at the Blurb Book store, which quotes American dollars. Because of the current exchange rate, Canadian prices are lower than those quoted on Blurb Bookstore on-line. And conversely prices are 33% lower yet if you are paying in US dollars. As of Dec 17, I’m down to my last three copies:More
