- Posts tagged easy
- Explore easy on posterous
Potato garlic soup
Sometimes on a cold winter day I feel like curling up on my Comfy Sack with a cup of thick soup and a book. The feeling intensifies after I've put in a full day's work, and just want to relax after fighting the traffic on the way home.
For times like that, I like to make a quick soup that doesn't require much maintenance or thought. Just cut the ingredients, throw them in the pot, wait for them to soften, add some broth, wait until it's hot, and then eat it. Done. (The dishwasher can handle the dishes.)
Below is one of those soups. All you really need are potatoes, garlic, water/broth, and salt and pepper. You can fry the garlic a little bit to bring out a little more flavor, but if you're feeling REALLY lazy, you can just smash the cloves and drop them in with the cut potatoes.
Potato garlic soup
For times like that, I like to make a quick soup that doesn't require much maintenance or thought. Just cut the ingredients, throw them in the pot, wait for them to soften, add some broth, wait until it's hot, and then eat it. Done. (The dishwasher can handle the dishes.)
Below is one of those soups. All you really need are potatoes, garlic, water/broth, and salt and pepper. You can fry the garlic a little bit to bring out a little more flavor, but if you're feeling REALLY lazy, you can just smash the cloves and drop them in with the cut potatoes.
Potato garlic soup
1/2 tsp oil
4 potatoes, diced, peeled if desired
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 quart (4 cups) vegetable broth
herbs, salt, and pepper to taste
4 potatoes, diced, peeled if desired
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 quart (4 cups) vegetable broth
herbs, salt, and pepper to taste
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a 3-quart pot or soup pot.
2. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Drop in potatoes and fry until they have some color on them, about 5 minutes. You can leave them alone and sort your mail if you like.
4. Pour in broth and herbs (rosemary works well here). Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
5. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste (and whatever other herbs and spices you like with your potatoes).
7. Turn off the heat. Get your immersion blender and blend the soup until it is smooth, or whatever consistency you like your potato soup. For me, the creamier, the better. If you want it to be perfectly smooth, you can push it through a chinois, but that defeats the purpose of a no-fuss, quick, easy soup.
8. Serve hot with some bread (cheese bread works well here).
2. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Drop in potatoes and fry until they have some color on them, about 5 minutes. You can leave them alone and sort your mail if you like.
4. Pour in broth and herbs (rosemary works well here). Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
5. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste (and whatever other herbs and spices you like with your potatoes).
7. Turn off the heat. Get your immersion blender and blend the soup until it is smooth, or whatever consistency you like your potato soup. For me, the creamier, the better. If you want it to be perfectly smooth, you can push it through a chinois, but that defeats the purpose of a no-fuss, quick, easy soup.
8. Serve hot with some bread (cheese bread works well here).
Vegetarian apritada
Of the many Filipino dishes that are boiled (adobo, sinigang, tinola, just to name a few), apritada is a favorite in my family. I like to make it in fall because potatoes and tomatoes reach their peak freshness and its warmth helps combat the rainy days.
When my siblings and I were still small, my dad made it often when it was his turn to cook. While I preferred his baking (he taught me how to make french toast, cookies, and cakes) to his cooking, it was one of his better dishes. Vegetarian apritada
1 tbsp oil (my dad used olive)
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1/2 pound (8 oz.) seitan, tofu, or other mock meat, cut into bite-sized pieces or dices (consider marinating the tofu in something savory, like adobo marinade)
3 potatoes, cubed
4 tomatoes, diced, or a can of crushed tomatoes with the juice
1 quart vegetable broth
2 Tbsp - 1/4 cup vinegar (white vinegar works fine, as does rice vinegar or wine vinegar), if needed
salt, pepper, herbs to taste (my dad added a little Italian flair with basil and thyme; I like a little dash of Angostura bitters)
1. Heat a 2 or 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil.
2. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
3. Add onion and saute until transparent, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add seitan/tofu/mock meat and stir-fry until the pieces begin to brown.
5. Add potatoes, tomatoes, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer over medium to medium-low heat. Add herbs (or bitters), if using. (This would be a good time to start cooking the rice.) Cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 30 minutes.
6. Just before it's done, add enough vinegar to give it a little sour note. This depends on how you like it. If the tomatoes are sour enough, it may not need the vinegar.
7. Season with salt and pepper, and serve hot over rice. Serves around 4.
Carrot salad
It seems that carrot salad, and other root vegetables like potatoes, is a common side dish in the cuisine here. I got a particularly delicious carrot salad on the side with my vegetarian(!) goulash soup a few days ago in Vienna that I've attempted to replicate below.
If you have a box grater, or a food processor, this will be a snap to make.
The following makes about one side for two people. If you want to be Viennese about it, serve it alongside some Wiener schnitzel. (To make that, all you have to do is bread and deep-fry some veg'n cutlets. Seriously. Serve with ketchup.)
Carrot salad
1 carrot, peeled and grated into 1-inch long by 1/8-inch thick gratings (use the fine grater on your box grater)
1 Tbsp really good extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar, or balsamic vinegar
Pinch of salt
Toss carrots in olive oil and vinegar. Sprinkle a little salt on and serve.
Fried rice
When faced with a mountain of leftovers in the fridge, get rid of most of them with fried rice.As with other dishes like siopao steamed buns and siumai dumplings, fried rice was brought over by Chinese traders centuries ago.
A versatile combination of myriad vegetables, protein, and rice, fried rice takes maybe 30 minutes to make and requires no other cooking skills other than being able to chop and stir.
After she taught me how to chop an onion and mince garlic, my mother taught me how to make her version of it. She cooked it whenever she needed to whip up a quick meal for all six of us. The traditional version incorporates shrimp, sausage, peas, carrots, onions and garlic with eggs, soy sauce, and day-old rice.
You can make it kosher by substituting chicken for the sausage and shrimp, or by making a vegetarian one. (So many kosher problems are solved by making the dish vegetarian!)Day-old rice is preferable to just-cooked rice because its slightly firmer texture holds up much better in stir-frying, but just-cooked rice can be used if it's made a little drier than usual. The actual vegetables you use don't matter as long as they're easy to stir-fry. If you're using green leafy veggies that wilt easily like bok choy or chard, add them towards the end (with the eggs); if using hardier stuff like kale and cabbage, add them towards the beginning (with the veggie meats). As long as you follow the basic principle of stir-fry cooking, by adding ingredients in the order of how long it takes them to cook, it'll turn out fine.Below is a basic fried rice recipe. Feel free to substitute or omit any of the vegetables and soy meats. Fried rice at its essence is a simple combination of eggs, soy sauce, and rice.Peanut oil gives the best flavor and crispness to the rice, but any kind of oil will work.Vegetarian Filipino fried rice1 tsp to 1 Tbsp peanut oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
4 summer squashes, diced
1/2 cup diced vegetarian ham
1/2 cup chopped vegetarian shrimp
2 cups day-old rice, slightly mashed with a little cold water, or slightly dry just-cooked rice
4 eggs
1/2 to 1 cup soy sauce1. Heat a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil.
2. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
3. Add onion and saute until almost transparent, about 2 minutes.
4. Add carrots, squash, and veggie meats and saute until almost soft.
5. Break up large chunks in rice. Add rice and stir until well mixed.
6. Create a well in the rice and crack in eggs. You can omit the yolks to reduce the cholesterol and fat content.
7. Gradually stir in soy sauce. You don't have to pour in enough to change the color of the rice, but it tastes better if you do.
8. Taste to correct seasonings. Serve hot.I like to top my rice with furikake for an added crunch and dash of umami. Enjoy! Share your variations in the comments.
A versatile combination of myriad vegetables, protein, and rice, fried rice takes maybe 30 minutes to make and requires no other cooking skills other than being able to chop and stir.
After she taught me how to chop an onion and mince garlic, my mother taught me how to make her version of it. She cooked it whenever she needed to whip up a quick meal for all six of us. The traditional version incorporates shrimp, sausage, peas, carrots, onions and garlic with eggs, soy sauce, and day-old rice.
You can make it kosher by substituting chicken for the sausage and shrimp, or by making a vegetarian one. (So many kosher problems are solved by making the dish vegetarian!)Day-old rice is preferable to just-cooked rice because its slightly firmer texture holds up much better in stir-frying, but just-cooked rice can be used if it's made a little drier than usual. The actual vegetables you use don't matter as long as they're easy to stir-fry. If you're using green leafy veggies that wilt easily like bok choy or chard, add them towards the end (with the eggs); if using hardier stuff like kale and cabbage, add them towards the beginning (with the veggie meats). As long as you follow the basic principle of stir-fry cooking, by adding ingredients in the order of how long it takes them to cook, it'll turn out fine.Below is a basic fried rice recipe. Feel free to substitute or omit any of the vegetables and soy meats. Fried rice at its essence is a simple combination of eggs, soy sauce, and rice.Peanut oil gives the best flavor and crispness to the rice, but any kind of oil will work.Vegetarian Filipino fried rice1 tsp to 1 Tbsp peanut oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
4 summer squashes, diced
1/2 cup diced vegetarian ham
1/2 cup chopped vegetarian shrimp
2 cups day-old rice, slightly mashed with a little cold water, or slightly dry just-cooked rice
4 eggs
1/2 to 1 cup soy sauce1. Heat a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil.
2. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
3. Add onion and saute until almost transparent, about 2 minutes.
4. Add carrots, squash, and veggie meats and saute until almost soft.
5. Break up large chunks in rice. Add rice and stir until well mixed.
6. Create a well in the rice and crack in eggs. You can omit the yolks to reduce the cholesterol and fat content.
7. Gradually stir in soy sauce. You don't have to pour in enough to change the color of the rice, but it tastes better if you do.
8. Taste to correct seasonings. Serve hot.I like to top my rice with furikake for an added crunch and dash of umami. Enjoy! Share your variations in the comments.
