{"id":1706,"date":"2009-02-12T05:28:48","date_gmt":"2009-02-12T10:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/?p=1706"},"modified":"2009-02-12T05:28:48","modified_gmt":"2009-02-12T10:28:48","slug":"ive-been-making-little-micro-soups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/ive-been-making-little-micro-soups\/","title":{"rendered":"I’ve been making little micro soups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thursday February 12, 2009<\/em> I’ve been on an experiment making little micro soups.\u00a0 It’s part of my self-reprogramming routine.\u00a0 In the past, I always ended up making too much soup and so now I’m training myself to make smaller portions.\u00a0 Plus that means I can make a new soup each day and not have to eat the same one for a week until it’s gone or freeze it.\u00a0 At first it wasn’t easy, but I quickly got the hang of it and acquired some good cooking habits at the same time.<\/p>\n

First I analyzed. what was causing me to make way too much soup each time?\u00a0 Usually I start by carmelizing 2 chopped onions, 2 carrots and 2 stalks of celery with 6 cloves of garlic while I decide what else will go in the soup.\u00a0 Ok, right there is one problem.\u00a0 So what I do now is chop and saute only one onion, half a carrot and half a stalk of celery.\u00a0 Instead of an entire can of chopped tomatoes, I add only 1\/4 to 1\/3 of a can.\u00a0 I add 2 cups of broth, not an entire 4 cup can.\u00a0 If I am adding beans, or corn or potato, I add only 1\/4 cup.<\/p>\n

Ok, I hear you, what are you going to do with this other half a carrot and half a celery stalk and the rest of the can of tomatoes, etc?\u00a0 Well this is the fun part.\u00a0 The tomatoes and broth you’ll use in tomorrow’s new soup.\u00a0 If I’m doing a soup, it’s likely I’m making a veggie fried rice as well.\u00a0 The other half of the carrot and celery stalk can go in there.\u00a0 I’ve also learned to make a small pot of rice, with 1\/2 cup or 1 cup of rice and the same amount of water.\u00a0 I like jasmine rice but will also mix rices.\u00a0 I used to think I had to fill the rice cooker each time I used it, then I discovered I could make just a one meal amount each time and not feel guilty about it.\u00a0 Here are the recipes for last night’s dinner:<\/p>\n

Savory Root Vegetable Micro Soup<\/strong>
\nPut 1 tsp olive oil in a small saucepan and saute:
\none chopped onion
\n1\/2 chopped carrot (set other half aside)
\n1\/2 chopped celery stalk (set other half aside)
\n1\/2 small chopped turnip
\n3 chopped cloves of garlic<\/p>\n

Saute until the onions carmelize.
\nAdd 1 tsp sea salt
\n1\/2 tsp coarse ground pepper
\n1 shake of coriander powder
\n1 shake of cumino powder
\nA pinch each of dried basil and tarragon<\/p>\n

1\/3 can fire roasted canned tomatoes
\n2 cups of Swanson chicken broth<\/p>\n

I set my timer to 45 minutes and set the soup on a rolling simmer while I prepared my rice.<\/p>\n

My rice cooker gives me rice in about 25 minutes.\u00a0 I like to add a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce to my rice as it cooks.\u00a0 I don’t use salt in the rice water if I use the soy sauce.<\/p>\n

Mini Veggie Fried Rice <\/strong>
\nPut 1 cup jasmine rice and 1 cup of water in rice cooker with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.<\/p>\n

While that cooks, I chop up and saute in 1 tsp olive oil in a large frypan:
\none chopped onion
\n8 chopped mushrooms
\n1\/2 chopped carrot
\n1\/2 chopped celery stalk
\n2 tsp minced fresh ginger
\n1 cup chopped parsley<\/p>\n

When the vegetables are getting tender, toss in the rice.\u00a0 it will be a little crusty on the bottom where the soy sauce will have settled.\u00a0 Just toss everything together and you have 2 good portions.\u00a0 In the past, I’d end up with 4-5 good portions, so this is a streamlined recipe.<\/p>\n

I find that making micro soups and mini fried rices are good ways for me to incorporate more fresh vegetables into my diet.\u00a0 Sure I take daily vitamins also, but when I eat fresh organic fruits and vegetables daily, I feel my system just gets an extra boost of vitality.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
<\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t