Creamy Sweet Potato, Kale and Smoked Turkey Soup

I have been gone from around here for nearly two months, and I'm sorry if you all came looking and I wasn't here. My husband was diagnosed with cancer beck in November and it has changed everything. Everything. More time spent in hospitals, and OR waiting rooms. I miss you. I've missed writing this blog, and especially, I've missed cooking. But since his ability to eat much is limited right now, cooking has taken a back seat to simple snacks like stewed fruit, grilled cheese and the occasional bowl of cereal. Not particularly interesting for a food blog.

A few weeks ago I had a lot of meals in the hospital cafeteria; while there are plenty of restaurants around Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, the weather was mostly in the single digits during the daytime, and only a crazy woman would venture out. I'm crazy, but not that kind of crazy. One day, after some sad and disappointing news from the surgeon, I went down to the cafeteria to drown my sorrows in soup.

They have pretty good food at Jeff; if you don't think so, you should try the dismal stuff they have at our local community hospital cafeteria, if you can ever find it open. Did I mention I've spent an awful amount of time hanging around hospitals? Anyway, the soup of the day was billed as Sweet Potato and Smoked Turkey Soup. Smelled wonderful and the color was gorgeous. The sweet potatoes were pureed into a creamy soup, and there were enough bits of smoky turkey and vegetables to keep it interesting. Soothing, satisfying and warming.  Good enough to know I could make a still better version. So here it is.

Please try to use organic vegetables in this if possible. More love in them. Fewer carcinogens, hopefully.  The easiest way to puree this soup is with an immersion blender. I use a Bamix. I've blown out practically every other brand until I got this Bamix. They invented the immersion blender, and they're made in Switzerland. Mine has lasted 8 years so far...Oh, and if you don't eat that piece of bread I have on the side of my bowl there, this soup is Paleo, dairy free, grain free, and gluten free, as long as your curry powder is gluten free. If you do dairy, a dollop of Greek yogurt, or sour cream on top would be nice.

Soothing creamy sweet potato, kale and smoked turkey soup.

Beautiful Creamy Sweet Potato, Kale and Smoked Turkey Soup

Two smoked turkey drumsticks (naturally smoked, free range if possible)
1 peeled large onion, studded with a single whole clove
1 bay leaf
1 large peeled carrot, sliced thick
1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled
water
2 lb. sweet potatoes or orange yams, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 Tbsp curry powder, sweet or hot as desired
1 small bunch of Lacinato (Dinosaur) kale, sliced into ribbons (about 4 cups, packed)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the turkey drumsticks, the onion studded with the clove,  bay leaf, carrot, onion garlic and celery into a deep soup pot and fill with water until everything is covered by about 2" to3". Will probably be about 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, turn down to medium heat, partially cover and let simmer until the turkey is about to fall off the bone, about 45 minutes.

2. Remove the turkey, and set aside to cool. Remove the bay leaf, and the onion from the smoky stock. Remove the clove from the onion and discard the clove. Toss the onion back into the stock, along with the sweet potatoes, and the curry powder. Bring back to a boil, uncovered, and cook about 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are falling apart tender.

3. Puree your soup smooth in the pot with your immersion blender (or carefully in a regular blender); you should have about 1-1/2 quarts of pureed soup. Shred the turkey meat into bite sized bits, and add it, plus the kale to the pureed soup. Simmer about 15 minutes until the kale is tender and the flavors meld. Taste for salt and pepper, then serve.

Makes about 6 hearty servings.

Almost Chuck's Sausage with Mushrooms & Peppers

Almost Chuck's Sausage with Mushrooms & Peppers

You ever have people tell you how much better their version is of one of your dishes? I live with one of them. He who shall not be named, nearly always has something to say about how much better his Sausage and Peppers with Mushrooms is compared to mine, but has yet to prove it. We've been married nearly 8 years and except for a few batches of Italian meat sauce and a few steaks, my retired husband has never put his money where his mouth is. Granted, he is a wonderful baker and is responsible for much of the extra 10 pounds I can't seem to budge,  but its all big talk.

He's told me so many times that in his dish, he uses sweet Italian pork sausage, and canned stewed tomatoes. My original version of this dish uses pork sausage, too, but never stewed tomatoes because I think they're much too sweet with the added sugar. But since I'm trying to cut a few calories here and there, this one uses chicken or turkey sausage. And in an effort to appease him, half of the tomatoes added are stewed. To play up the sweetness, I added basil and a bit of ground fennel. And it's delicious. Really delicious. Beat that, buddy.

Note: Different brands of diced and stewed tomatoes tend to have more or less juice in them. You may need to simmer a few minutes longer if yours are very juicy. This dish is gluten free, and dairy free as prepared; if you want to serve it with a starchy food, like a bread or grain, choose according to your dietary needs.

Almost Chuck's Sausage with Mushrooms & Peppers

Serves 4

1-1/2 pounds of sweet (or hot) Italian chicken or turkey sausage links
2T extra virgin olive oil
1 med. yellow onion, 1/2" dice
10 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
1 red bell pepper, 1" dice
1 green bell pepper, 1" dice
Kosher salt
2 large garlic cloves minced
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup red or white wine
1T dried basil
1/2 tsp. ground fennel
Fresh ground black pepper

In a large, 12" frypan, heat the oil over medium heat, and then brown the sausage links about 5 minutes per side. Remove the browned sausages to a plate to cool slightly, and into the pan add the onion. paper, mushrooms and garlic, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and sauté until the onions and peppers soften.

Slice the slightly cooled sausage links into approx. 1" chunks and add to the pepper and mushroom mixture. Add the stewed tomatoes, the diced tomatoes, the wine and the basil and fennel and stir well.

Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to simmer about 10 minutes longer until the tomato juices no longer look watery.

Serve over pasta, artisan bread or rice.    

Remembering Hanscom's: Baked Pineapple Dessert Squares

Can't wait until it cools!

Back in the Stone Age of my youth, there used to be a bakery chain in the Philadelphia area called Hanscom's. My father used to pass one on his way home from work, and at least once a week, some sort of deliciousness from Hanscom's would appear for dessert after dinner. They went out of business in the early 1980s, but the memory of their goodies lives on. My favorite was something my mother called "Hanscom's pineapple cheese pie", which I don't think was the correct name, but, boy was that good. It  was square, with a bottom crust, a layer of pineapple and a layer of a tender,  sweet, custardy cheese topping. It was dusted with cinnamon. It was divine. Sad that another Philadelphia icon is gone.

About 5 years ago, here I am hanging around a Weight Watcher's recipe board, and I found posted a recipe for a bake pineapple dessert that everyone is raving about. It used sugar free pudding mix that you had to cook with other ingredients, and then bake. I tried it, and it was quite tasty. Even Chuck liked it. The good thing was that the flavor somehow reminded me of that wonderful Hanscom's pineapple cheese thing. The bad thing is that using pudding mix adds artificial sweeteners and various other additives to my food that I would prefer to avoid. 

I came across canned crushed pineapple in juice on sale last week at the market, and it dawned on me that I could make a naturally sugar free, dairy and gluten free version, and that dusted with cinnamon, it would be awfully close to the pineapple pie of my childhood dreams. It turned out perfect. While this is a crustless version, I am not willing to forego serving it with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Even if you are not dieting, avoiding sugar, dairy or gluten, and were not lucky enough to grow up within range of a Hanscom's Bakery, I think you'll just love this sweet treat.

As good as I remember!

Baked Pineapple Dessert Squares
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple in juice, drained well and juice reserved
2T cornstarch
2 large eggs
pinch of salt
1/4 cup soy or coconut based coffee creamer (or 1/2 &1/2)
1/2 cup granular erythritol
1/8 tsp. powdered stevia
1/4 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
1T vanilla extract

Cinnamon to dust over top, about 1 tsp.

Instructions:

1. Spray an 8" or 9" square pottery or glass baking dish with cooking oil spray. Set aside, and preheat the oven to 325ºF.

2. To a blender container, add the pineapple juice, the cornstarch, eggs, creamer, erythritol, stevia, nutmeg and vanilla. Whirl until well mixed. 

3. Place the juice mixture into a medium saucepan, add the reserved pineapple, and cook over medium heat, stirring, until it just begins to boil, and thickens.

4. Carefully pour the hot pineapple mixture into the prepared baking dish, and sift the cinnamon evenly over the top.

5. Place the an in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, until the middle is slightly firm and no longer jiggly. Cool on a rack, and then cover and chill. Serve cut into squares, topped with whipped cream, or the dairy-free topping of your choice.

The Beautiful Bowl: Shrimp & Asparagus Soup

Shrimp & Asparagus Soup

There is a collection of recipes, each neatly written out by hand on card, in plastic sleeves, in a box in the hallway bookcase.  Old School. Quaint. They’re mine. I wrote them out, one by one, as I tried the recipes as a bride, back in the last century. It just kills me to say that.

If I hadn’t accidently knocked the box over, and picked this recipe for Shrimp and Asparagus soup up off the floor, I’d have probably passed from the planet without having made it again. That would have been a loss, we loved it so much, I probably served it as a first course for every holiday meal for two years straight.

The original version of this uses frozen asparagus cuts, half & half, and two cans of Cream of Asparagus soup. I have no idea where I found the original recipe (it has to date from the late 70’s) but it was so delicious, I knew I could remake it and still get all of the flavor. Actually, this version is better, and the flavor is brighter since it uses fresh asparagus, and doesn’t have that pasty taste you get from canned cream soup. I’ve replaced the canned soup, and the half & half with silken tofu. It adds no taste, but makes a thick, creamy substitute for the dairy and the flour. This soup is dairy free, gluten free, and if you want to leave out the shrimp (and its good!) vegetarian / vegan.

The big thing here is making a quick stock from the scraps and trimmings of the ingredients. There is HUGE flavor in them, and it really boosts the taste into the stratosphere. I do it all the time with vegetable bits and keep some in the fridge to use to pump up the flavor of soups, sauces or just to cook rice, pasta or other vegetables in it.

Shrimp & Asparagus Soup

Serves 4

Two Versions: the slightly fussy, pretty version, and the less pretty, less fussy version. The first version actually doesn’t take long to make, and the result is a gorgeous spring green soup studded with pink shrimp. You do eat with your eyes, after all. It makes for a beautiful bowl.  The less fussy version isn’t a really pretty green as is the version with the blanched asparagus. Both taste great!

1 lb. fresh asparagus, woody ends broken off, and reserved

¾ lb. Extra-Large Shrimp, cleaned, shells and tails reserved

1 bunch scallions, keeping the white and light green part, reserve the green tops and roots

1 Tblsp kosher salt

1 Tblsp safflower or canola oil

2 tsp mild curry powder

1/2 cup dry sherry

1 box shelf stable silken tofu (firm or x-firm)

Kosher salt

1. Make the stock from the trimmings: Place the woody asparagus ends, the shrimp shells and tails, the salt and the scallion trimmings in a small saucepan. Add water to just barely cover the ingredients. Bring to a boil, stir well, and then lower the heat to a simmer. Let cook for about 10 minutes.

Flavor boost: Quick stock from shrimp and vegetable trimmings

2. In the meantime, trim the tips off the asparagus, and set aside in a small bowl, then cut the remaining stalks into 1/3” to ½” pieces. Set aside in a separate bowl. Cut the scallions into ¼” rounds and set aside in another small bowl. 

3. Bring about 6 cups of water in it to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Salt it heavily— 2-3 tablespoons. Fill a medium bowl with half ice, half water and set near the stove. Drop the asparagus tips into the boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or a skimmer to the bowl of ice water. Now drop the cut asparagus stalks into the boiling pot and cook for 3 minutes. While it cooks remove the tips from the ice water and put back into their bowl. This is your pretty bright green garnish for your soup.  Remove the asparagus cuts from the boiling pot, and shock in the ice bath. Remove the asparagus cuts to another bowl, and cook the shrimp in the salt water for 3-4 minutes, until they turn pink and opaque. Remove to a separate bowl and set aside.

4. Drain the hot salt water, rinse and dry the pan, and place over medium heat. Add the safflower oil and heat for a moment or two then add the scallion rings and the curry powder. Cook until fragrant and the scallions begin to soften. Add the sherry. Bring to a simmer.

5. Carefully strain in the stock from the pot with the shrimp shells into a bowl, and measure out 2-1/2 cups (add a little water if needed). Add to the scallions. Put in the asparagus cuts and cook until they begin to soften, also about 3-4 minutes. Carefully put the mixture into a blender container and add the drained box of tofu, and puree until smooth. You may also use a stick blender in the pan if you have one.

6. Taste for seasoning, add the shrimp, and serve immediately, garnished with the reserved asparagus tips. If you must reheat this soup, heat it very gently, just to serving temperature-- do not boil, or the tofu will curdle.

Note: You can “rescue” the soup if it curdles by skimming out the shrimp and asparagus tips, puree the hot soup again, and then add the shrimp and asparagus tips back in.

Serves 6

The much less fussy version:

Do steps 1 and 2 as above. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, and cook the scallions and curry powder, add the sherry, and 2-1/2 cups of the shrimp shell stock.

Bring to a simmer, and add  the shrimp. Remove the shrimp when they are pink and opaque and set aside. Put in all the asparagus, tips and all and cook until it’s softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add in the tofu, drained and broken up, and puree either in a blender or with a stick blender in the pot.

Taste for seasoning, place the shrimp in the bowls and pour over the pureed soup. If you must reheat this, do not boil or the tofu will curdle. If it does curdle, see the Note above about rescuing the soup.