Friday, September 7, 2012

Zucchini Pok Choy Soup


Harvest from a single day from Tom's vegetable garden!

Here is the harvest from Tom's vegetable garden in just a single day. WOW!   It is definitely a banner year for the vegetables.  It is the last of the beans (purple and yellow), but just the beginning of the many varieties of heirloom tomatoes, more suyo long cucumbers (nearly 50 cucumbers from a single plant),  the second harvest of pok choy,  and.........more zucchini!  Some people might be glad when their gardens stop producing zucchini, but not me....bring it on!!  I can always find more ways to prepare it.  

View of the garden from the deck

And today's lunch was a good example.  Just a simple zucchini/pok choy soup.   Is it spelled Pok choy or pac choi???? I posted an earlier recipe for a Pok Choy Broccoli Soup, but as I looked at the seed packet Tom had ordered from Territorial Seed, I realized that it was spelled "pac choi", so there are apparently a few different spellings.    "Pac choi".  "Pok Choy". It's fun to say, isn't it?  And doesn't it conjure up images of all things Asian and exotic?  If you aren't familiar with pok choy, it is a member of the brassica rapa family and a dwarf version of the more familiar bok choy.   Bok choy is Asian cabbage and delicious.  Pok choy is simply an extra tender version of it.  And like bok choy, it is filled with high amounts of beta-caratene, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, calcium and iron.  Pok choy is also a great source of vitamin K.  


Zucchini Pok Choy Soup
Garden Pok Choy ready to be washed.


I wanted a quick and simple lunch and so skipped doing the usual saute of onions and garlic that is the most often prelude to many of my creations, and opted instead for the addition of garlic powder, onion powder and Chinese 5-Spice Powder.  It took no more than 20 minutes to make it,  and probably not much more to eat it, either!  I enjoyed it with left-over tofu from last night that I had sauteed with Asian spices.  For supper last night, we enjoyed a stir fry of pok choy, baby bella mushrooms, garden peppers, onions, celery, garlic, ginger, and garden carrots.  After it was all stir fried in coconut oil,  I took out a portion for me and put it in the Magic Bullet and Pok Choy Pzazz!  Try saying that three times in a row! 

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 cup pok choy leaves, chopped
Sauteeing zucchini and pok choy
(wash and drain pok choy before chopping)
1/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
garlic powder to taste
onion powder to taste
5-Spice Chinese Powder 


Preparation:
Thoroughly wash and drain the pok choy, then chop it.  Heat the oil in a pan and add the sliced zucchini.  Saute it until it is nearly tender.  Add the chopped pok choy and cook until the leaves are wilted.  Add the vegetable broth and continue to cook over medium heat until the zucchini is tender.  Add the seasonings and blitz it with Pzazz in a Magic Bullet or similar gadget to puree.  

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1
Zucchini Pok Choy Soup with Tofu
Serving Size: Approximately 3/4  cup                        
Calories: 163
Total Fat: 14 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg                                        
Sodium: 86 mg
Total Carbs: 10 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 2 g