When a recipe comes from a reputable source, if it’s good it ends up on countless food blogs. That’s the case with this tomato soup recipe, which I recently found on America’s Test Kitchen’s web site. They’re an arm of Cooks Illustrated.

Their test cooks have devised a method for making a rich, creamy soup with no cream. I was skeptical, but as I said, the recipe has been floating around the blogosphere for awhile now so I decided that it must be worth a try, and indeed it was.

They use sliced white sandwich bread to thicken the soup. Now before you get all squeamish, consider this: bread has been used as a thickener in Italy for generations in their Italian Bread Soup, otherwise known as Ribollita.

If you’re a fan of Nordstrom’s Tomato Basil Soup but don’t like the fact that it’s laden with cream,  make this and you won’t have to feel guilty when you accompany it with grilled cheese sandwiches. By the way, the original recipe does not call for basil, which is one of the predominant flavors in the Nordie soup. If you like basil, top each bowl with some slivers before serving.

Creamless Tomato Soup

2 T. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 (28-oz.) can tomatoes with their juice
1 t. brown sugar
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed and bread torn into small pieces
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 T. brandy (optional)
salt and pepper
fresh basil or chives

Heat oil in a Dutch oven, add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes and bay leaf and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and their juice and break up tomatoes with a potato masher or fork into pieces no bigger than 2 inches. Add brown sugar and bread and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until bread is beginning to break down, about 5 minutes.

Transfer soup to a blender and blend until smooth. (You can also use an immersion blender.) Return to pot and stir in chicken broth and optional brandy. Bring to a simmer, add salt and pepper to taste along with basil or chives. Drizzle each serving with extra virgin olive oil.

Serves 4

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I’ve been experimenting with quinoa so much lately that I’ve almost emptied my large bag of Costco quinoa. This high-quality source of complete protein has been a revelation, one which I will henceforth be unable to abandon as a mere culinary trend.

Where has quinoa been all my life? I certainly didn’t eat it when I was growing up in Sacramento, California. Indeed, quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) didn’t appear on my radar screen until several years ago, when a vegetarian Weight Watcher member mentioned it at our meeting. I was hesitant, obviously, because it’s taken me these two years to finally give it a try. As I said, it will be a kitchen staple from now on.

Here is a meatless (since it is a complete protein, there’s no need for meat!) adaptation from Bon Appetit, which I only slightly tinkered with. Believe it or not, I simplified it, which, when you read the list of ingredients, may seem implausible. Yes, the list is long, but take a good look–it’s mostly spices.

If you opt for the full 1/2 t. cayenne, you’ll be in for a very spicy treat. For a tamer version, cut it down or out altogether. The remaining combination of spices is absolutely brilliant. I’ve made this twice already, it was so good!

Stew

2 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. sweet paprika
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. turmeric
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 to 1/2 t. cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 t. but beware, that makes this dish pretty fabulously hot)
1 cup water
1 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 T. fresh lemon juice
3 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into 1-in. cubes
2 cups peeled carrots, cut into 3/4-in. cubes

Quinoa

1 cup quinoa (I buy pre-rinsed quinoa at Costco)
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1/2 c.onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. carrots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. turmeric
2 c. water
1/2 c. chopped cilantro

For the stew: heat oil in a large pot and add onion; saute until soft, about 5 min. Add garlic and cook 1 min. Mix in paprika, salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger and cayenne pepper.

Add water, tomatoes and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add squash and carrots. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 min. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (You can prepare this a day ahead and reheat it.)

For the quinoa: Rinse quinoa and drain. Melt butter with oil in a large saucepan; add onion and carrot. Cover and cook until vegetables being to brown, about 10 min. Add garlic, salt and turmeric. Cook 1 min. Add quinoa and cook another 1 min. Add 2 cups water; bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 15 min.

If you’ve refrigerated the stew, re-heat it and stir in half of the cilantro. Spoon quinoa onto a platter, forming a well in the center. Spoon the stew into the center and sprinkle with remaining cilantro.

Serves 4

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I’ve said this before but it can’t be stated too many times: there is no magic pill for weight loss. There is no program, whether it offers pre-made meals or arm bands that register how many calories you’ve burned, that can do the hard work for you. Furthermore, very few diet plans provide the skills that lead to sustained weight loss (maintenance) over the long haul (a lifetime).

So, what’s an overweight person to do? It’s not glamorous: you’ve got to change the way you eat, not for the time it takes to lose the weight but for the rest of your life. Ouch. That hurt, didn’t it?

This beef stew bucks tradition by featuring zucchini instead of potatoes.

Along with all the ads for weight loss programs, there’s also been a lot of press regarding the virtues of eating more fruits and vegetables. And it’s no surprise that these are the very foods that aid in weight loss and maintenance. Because of their abundance of fiber and water, they fill you up, and they’re healthy to  boot.

One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2011 has been to climb aboard the fruit and vegetable bandwagon, and to that end I’ve decided to highlight more fruity, vegetably recipes on Hungry Poodle. Don’t worry, I won’t go crazy in this endeavor. Following is an example of the type of recipe I will focus on. It’s a Provencal beef stew adapted from Cooking Light, and it’s loaded with onions, carrots and zucchini rather than heavier, starchier vegetables. Think of if as a kinder, gentler beef stew, if you will.

Yes, it’s yet another slow cooker concoction. I’m still in the throes of my new slow cooker. The original recipe called for adding the zucchini at the beginning, but I chose to add it halfway through to keep the zucchini from disintegrating during the long cooking process.

Because it has no potatoes, this is a lighter version of stew that goes down easily. I actually preferred it because I was able to enjoy a crusty roll with my portion and not feel like I’d overindulged in carbs.

2 t. olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. boneless chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
2 T. tomato paste (I buy mine in a tube and keep it in the fridge)
3 bay leaves
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 (14-1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
3 cups sliced zucchini (I sliced mine fairly thick)
2 cups sliced carrots

Heat oil in a large, nonstick skillet. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 t. salt and pepper and coat with flour. Brown beef in skillet on all sides. Place beef into slow cooker. Add onions and garlic to skillet and saute 5 minutes. Add wine to pan and scrape to loosen browned bits. Place onion mixture in slow cooker. Add broth, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme and tomatoes to slow cooker; top with carrots. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Uncover and add zucchini and cook until beef is tender, another 2 to 4 hours. Stir in remaining salt (or to taste) and pepper. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

Serves: 6 (each serving is 1 1/3 cups)

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In the interest of civility, I will segue to the vegetable chili I made yesterday in the slow cooker, from a recipe I adapted from myrecipes.com. The original version called for double the amounts I used here. If you want that much chili, go for it.

It’s a good counterpart to the beef chili I posted last week, plus it features an interesting variety of vegetables. I don’t usually add mushrooms to chili but they lent a meaty taste that I really liked.

As we gear up for a plethora of fat-laden holiday meals and treats, it’s a good idea to have some low fat, delicious recipes under our belts to help keep us more or less on track. This chili comes in at only 124 calories for a one-and-one-half cup serving. Whew. Something that doesn’t break the calorie bank. Nice.

1 large carrot, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 (8-oz.) package mushrooms, sliced (I used baby bellas)
1 zucchini, chopped
1 T. chili powder
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. pepper
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (6-oz.) can tomato juice
1 (14 1/2-oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (15-oz.) cans white, black or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn

Saute carrot, celery and onion in a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray until onions are tender. Add mushrooms and zucchini and continue to saute for about 3 minutes. Add chili powder, basil and pepper. Transfer to slow cooker.

Add tomato sauce, tomato juice, diced tomatoes, beans and corn. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. Season to taste with salt.

Leftovers can be frozen for up to two months.

Serves: 6

* Slow Cooker

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I’m going to make a vegetable chili tomorrow, so both sin and virtue will reside together in the slow cooker category on hungry poodle.

Champ likes chili with sweet gherkins and saltines

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup dry red wine, or water
1 T. chili powder
1 t. sugar
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 16-oz. can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I used a 27-oz. can Bush’s Kidney beans)
1 14-1/2 oz. can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeno peppers

In a large nonstick skillet, brown ground beef. Add onions, bell pepper, red wine, chili powder, cumin, salt and garlic to skillet and cook until onion is tender. Place mixture into a slow cooker and stir in beans and tomatoes. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours.

I altered this recipe and used 1 1/4 lbs. ground beef and a larger 27-oz. can of kidney beans. I also added extra spices (1 1/2 T. chili powder and 1 1/2 t. cumin) and two cans of tomatoes instead of one, to accommodate the larger quantities of beef and beans.

If you use Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeno peppers, be sure to  cut up the large tomato chunks with a pair of kitchen scissors when you pour them into the slow cooker. If you like hotter chili, you can use Rotel tomatoes instead.

What I’m getting at here is that you can alter the amounts of this chili according to your tastes, either using more or less beef, and more or fewer beans.

Condiments? Shredded cheddar cheese, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, jarred pickled jalapenos (for those who like it spicier) and chopped green onions.

Serves: 6 (each serving is 1 1/4 cups)

* Slow Cooker

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Julia, you are NOT an approved condiment!

Fall leaves, cool weather, poodles in the chili.

Wait. That wasn’t in the script. Julia, get out of there, you pesky poodle pup!

We now have a Slow Cooker category on hungry poodle, owing to the fact that, due to my limited kitchen access with the house painting et al, (We’re waiting for Godot to come and finish it up!) I’ve been focusing on slow cooker recipes. This is a good thing, as I’m learning the pros and cons of slow cookers and I can pass along my suggestions for what I think works, and what doesn’t.

Here is a another recipe that made the cut. This is the second white chicken chili recipe I’ve posted, and I think this one is better than the first. In this one you puree a can of hominy with beans and broth, which gives the chili a subtle corn flavor and thickens it at the same time. It’s adapted from Cooks Country, a division of Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen.

I’ve made a few changes, such as using boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs, and adding some corn to the finished chili. I also added the diced tomatoes with chilies. Be sure to drain the tomatoes before adding them to avoid turning the chili pink. As is the case with most stews, this tastes better the second and third day out.

If you don’t have an asbestos-lined mouth, you may want to decrease the number of jalapenos, but they do tame down during the long cooking process.

3 16-oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 16-oz. can hominy, drained and rinsed
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 10-oz. can Rotel diced tomatoes with chilies, well drained
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 T. olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 T. ground cumin
2 t. ground coriander
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 T. jarred pickled jalapenos, chopped
1 cup frozen, thawed corn

Puree 1 can of cannellini beans, hominy, broth, and ¾ teaspoon salt in blender or food processor until completely smooth. Pour into slow cooker.

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in nonstick skillet and lightly brown chicken breasts. Add to slow cooker.

Cook onions, chiles, and ½ teaspoon salt in skillet until golden brown. Add garlic, cumin, and coriander and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to slow cooker.

Add remaining two cans of beans and drained tomatoes to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW until chicken is tender, about 3 to 4 hours. Transfer chicken to bowl. When cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. Stir cilantro, pickled jalapeños, shredded chicken and corn into chili.

Serve topped with more cilantro, avocado and plain Greek yogurt.

Serves 6 to 8

*Slow Cooker

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I love fruitcake, perhaps not so much the thing itself as the seasonal ritual of gathering the long list of ingredients and macerating dried fruit in brandy for several days beforehand. (The kitchen takes on a boozy, fruity aroma that wafts through the entire house and is as enticing as the scent of a freshly cut Christmas tree.)

It is not yet fruitcake weather here. However, soup season is in full swing. Finally, after a long, inordinately hot Midwest summer during which the thought of consuming anything hot was inconceivable, we can return to steamy bowls of veggies, beans and pasta.

Here is the minestrone I make when I want a soup-bowl full of healthy comfort food at its best. It’s adapted from Cooking Light’s “Slow Cooker” cookbook. Over time I’ve made minor changes according to my tastes and what was on hand. For instance, I don’t use flavored canned tomatoes (Cooking Light calls for diced tomatoes with garlic, whereas I like to add my own seasonings.) Also, the recipe calls for a 10-oz. package of frozen chopped spinach; I prefer to toss in chopped fresh spinach near the end of cooking time. Choose your poison.

This is a soup that you can devour humongous quantities of without suffering any qualms that you’re overindulging. Go ahead–eat your soup! It’s good for you!

Anne arose one cool morning in late October and declared, "It's soup weather!"

2 t. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 baking potato, peeled and chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
3 14-oz. cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes and their juice
1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 t. dried Italian seasoning
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup uncooked small pasta (I used shells)
1 5-oz. package fresh baby spinach, chopped
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

In a nonstick skillet heat olive oil and cook onions and garlic until they begin to soften. Add to slow cooker along with all ingredients except pasta and spinach and cook on LOW for 5 hours. Add pasta and spinach and cook on LOW for 30 minutes or until pasta is cooked. Add water if soup is too thick. Serve with grated cheese.

Serves: 6 (each serving is 2 cups)

*Slow Cooker

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It also has an innate sweetness that you’re either going to like or not. The recipe calls for two tablespoons of brown sugar that I would omit next time as we found it to be just a tad bit too sweet. Otherwise, it’s a nice change from standard beef chili, and the vegetables give you your five-a-day in one bowlful!

2 leeks,washed and trimmed to white and light-green parts, chopped
1 large zucchini, diced
1 15-oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I used pinto beans)
1 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes with jalapenos
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
2 1/2 T. chili powder
2 T. packed light brown sugar (I would leave this out next time)
1 1/2 t. curry powder
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. cinnamon
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 lb. green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 T. red wine vinegar

Place leeks, zucchini, beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, brown sugar, curry powder, cumin, pepper and cinnamon in a slow cooker and stir to combine.

With the back of a spoon, gently press the vegetables so that they form an even layer. Place the sweet potatoes on top, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge of the slow cooker. Place the green beans on top of the potatoes. Cover and cook until the vegetables are fork-tender, 4 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW. I cooked this on LOW for only 6 hours, as the vegetables were cooked in that amount of time. Stir in the vinegar.

Serves 4
*Slow Cooker

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To say that it didn’t work is another euphemism. The pork was so overdone that it fell apart into dry shards when I tried to slice it. And the butternut squash dissolved when I even gently stirred it with a spoon. In short, we had to eat it in bowls with spoons, not exactly what I had in mind for this particular dish.

Herein lies a limit to what slow cookers can and cannot do. They cannot cook dissimilar ingredients at the same time without overcooking some of them, which is why I think it’s a good idea to stick with recipes from actual slow cooker cookbooks written by bona fide authors/cooks who know how to use this convenient appliance properly.

Fall dinner on the patio.

I turned once again to Michele Scicolone, author of, “The Italian Slow Cooker”. My second attempt from her new cookbook (See “How to Kill a Chicken Twice…”) was this hearty vegetable-based soup, and it was spot-on in directions and taste. Delicious!  The pork fiasco is quickly fading from memory.

Here’s an adaptation of her Milan-Style Pasta and Bean Soup. This makes a lot of thick, rich-tasting soup, but fear not, you can freeze single or double portions for later.

2 T. olive oil
6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
4 medium celery stalks, chopped
3 medium boiling potatoes, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
3 16-oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus extra if soup becomes too thick
4 oz. dried soup pasta, such as elbows or tubetti

In a large pot, heat oil. Stir in sage, rosemary, carrots, celery, potatoes and onions. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a slow cooker.

Stir in tomatoes and beans. Add the broth and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on LOW about 6 hours, or until all ingredients are very tender.

Turn slow cooker to HIGH. Remove half of the soup and puree it in a food processor or blender. Return it to the slow cooker, add the dried pasta, cover and cook until pasta is tender, about 30 minutes.

Serves 8

If soup becomes too thick, add additional broth.

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Hungry Poodle reader Jean was kind enough to share this recipe with me recently, and I jumped on it immediately. It’s turned out to be a great introduction to our 2010 soup collection! Jean writes that it was published in Parade Magazine two years ago. She made the recipe her own by substituting butternut squash for the parsnips originally called for and adapting it for her slow cooker. The result is a silky, elegant soup that tastes rich yet has no cream.

When my mom was alive she loved going to Nordstrom’s for lunch. Their cafe serves two soups daily; my mom’s favorite was their Carrot Ginger Soup, which I’m sure is made with lots of cream. This soup tastes very much like that one, but with far fewer calories. Again, what’s not to love?

Soup. It’s what’s for dinner.

All you need are some whole grain crackers and a glass of wine!

1 1/2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut in large chunks
1 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 large onion, quartered and sliced
1 3-in. piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 T. butter
3 T. dark brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 t. kosher salt
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
large pinch cayenne pepper
Nonfat plain Greek yogurt for serving

In a slow cooker combine all of the ingredients except the yogurt and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Process until smooth in either a food processor or with an immersion blender. Adjust seasonings and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

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