FRUGAL FRIDAY #5

Right now it is so cold here. I know it isn't as bad as what most of the country is going through but it is THAT bad for me. Tonight will be the third night in a row with the temps at 20 or the high teens. Brrrrrr. This cold weather really makes me want to eat hot and delicious soups. I got an email from a healthy eating group with links to allrecipe for these different types of soups. It is like the mother lode of soup recipes. I hope you can find one that you enjoy. I use that site regularly but I have never searched for a soup recipe. Soup is a great way to stretch your food dollar especially if you make your own vegetable, chicken or beef broths. It is so much healthier for you as well since you control what goes into the broth such as sodium.

I want to thank Shirl4116@aol.com with HealthyCooking-GreenLiving for sending me this email. Some of these sound so yummy like Spinach and Leek and White Bean Soup, Miso Soup, love it but have never made it.

Bean Soups
More Bean Soup Recipes
Black Bean Vegetable Soup
Grandma B's Bean Soup
Spinach and Leek White Bean Soup
Escarole and Bean Soup
Pea Soups
Moong Dal
Vegan Split Pea Soup I
Yellow Split Pea and Frankfurter Soup
Split Pea Soup with Rosemary
Lentil Soups
Indian Dahl with Spinach
Rhinelander Lentil Soup
Moroccan Lentil Soup
Vegan Red Lentil Soup
Lentil Soup

First-Course Soups
Most of these soups have fewer than 100 calories per serving.
Miso Soup I
Tortilla Soup I
Japanese Onion Soup
Delicious Mushroom Soup
Garden-Fresh Tomato Soup
Main-Dish Meat Soups
Make your own stock, or use low-sodium canned broths as the base of these soups.
Peanut Butter Vegetable Chicken Soup
Caldo De Res (Beef Soup)
Vietnamese Beef Pho
Chicken Vegetable-Barley Soup
White Wine Chicken Soup
Main-Dish Vegetarian Soups
(If you are a vegetarian, omit the Worcestershire sauce from your recipe or check the label, as some brands contain anchovies.)
African Peanut Soup
Butternut Squash Bisque
Bissara
Corrigan's Minestrone
Beaker's Vegetable Barley Soup
Hearty Lentil Soup

Low-Fat Substitutions
Here are a few tricks for upping the flavor of your soups while lowering their fat content:

If your recipe calls for pre-cooked vegetables--such as onions, celery, or carrots--use a very small quantity of oil or cooking spray. If the vegetables start to stick to the pan, add a tablespoon or so of water, wine or broth to keep them from burning.

Brown meats in a separate pan. Discard fat, and pat meat dry before adding to your stock pot.

Miso--fermented soybean paste--adds savor to soup stocks, especially vegetarian broths. Add a tablespoon or so per quart of water, or to taste.

Fry your spices for a minute or so over medium heat before adding them to your soup. Add dried herbs at the beginning of the cooking time, and fresh herbs right before serving.

If your recipe calls for a heavy cream, use pureed cooked potatoes instead. Or remove about two cups of your cooked soup and blend until smooth. (Use a stick hand blender for best results, or puree it one cup at a time in a blender. Hold the lid on tight with a kitchen towel to protect yourself from burns.) Stir the puree back into the soup to thicken it.

To add real cream flavor, stir in a few tablespoons of heavy cream when the recipe calls for 1 cup--a little cream will go a long way.

Note: because cream is an emulsion, it doesn't "break" or curdle--like milk or sour cream can do--if the soup starts to boil. Use the real thing, but in small amounts, if you're watching your saturated fat intake.

Quote of the Day

"Character is simply habit long enough continued."– Plutarch

About Plutarch
Plutarch, the Greek historian who penned more than 46 anecdote-laced biographies of famous Greek and Roman figures in his Parallel Lives series of books, was more interested in exploring the influence of character on a man's personal destiny than in writing dry histories. He was born in Greece during Roman rule, most likely in the year 46. He traveled extensively through the Roman Empire, finally returning home to become a priest of Apollo at the Oracle of Delphi. He died in the year 120.