Pureed White Beans-Tomatoes with Halibut

Before I had the need to puree my food, one of my favorite recipes was Halibut with White Beans in Tomato-Rosemary Broth.   So I experimented with this recipe and pureed the tomatoes and beans after they were cooked, and was delighted with the taste, the texture, and the vibrant color!  (Nice to have a change from my usual green soups.)  The tomatoes were a mix of golden and plum heirloom tomatoes from Tom's vegetable garden. The golden tomatoes are lower in acidity than usual tomatoes and are YUMMY!  

Ingredients:


Tomatoes, beans, broth and rosemary



1 Tablespoon olive oil

4 (6 oz) halibut fillets

1/4 teaspoon sea salt



1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper                                                 



2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped plum tomatoes 

1 cup chopped golden tomatoes        

1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 (16 oz.) can cannelini  beans, or other white beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Preparation:



Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.   Sprinkle fish evenly with salt and pepper.  Add fish to the pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. 

Remove fish from pan; keep warm in a large casserole dish.  Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Stir in tomato, broth, beans, and rosemary.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Puree to desired consistency.  Ladle into bowls and add halibut.  Serve immediately.



Beautiful finished soup!

Nutrition:

Servings per recipe: 6

Serving Size: 1 halibut fillet plus approx. 1 1/4 cup puree

Calories: 293                                                                             

Total Fat: 6 g

Cholesterol: 46 mg

Sodium: 203 mg

Total Carbs: 21 g

Dietary Fiber: 5 g

Protein: 37 g

Curried Zucchini Soup

I previously posted a recipe for Chilled Curried Zucchini Soup, that I had adapted from the Soup Bible (2007, Penguin Books).   Two nights ago, I modified it again by omitting the buttermilk and serving it warm.  I liked it even better this way, though that might have been partly because the cold weather influenced my desire for a warm soup.  If you like curry and other Indian spices, this soup is for you.  It  was incredibly simple and quick to make. 

Ingredients for the Curried Zucchini Soup

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped

1 teaspoon shredded fresh ginger root               
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 cups Pacific Natural Foods Organic Low-Sodium Chicken Broth

Preparation:
Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, coriander, and cumin and cook over gently heat for 3 - 4 minutes.  Add zucchini and cook for 5 minutes, covered, until zucchini begins to soften.  Pour in chicken broth, and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, until zucchini is cooked.  Remove from heat and cool a little.

Blend contents of pan until smooth.  Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with a dollop of plain yogurt.  (Yogurt is not included in nutritional analysis.)

Nutrition:

Servings per recipe: 4

Serving Size: 1 cup

Calories:  68

Total Fat: 4 g                                                              
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 40  mg
Total Carbs: 8 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 2 g

Chili Chickpea Mash

I have been having more intestinal tract blockages recently and an abdominal ct scan last week showed the reason for this is because the pancreatic tumor has shifted position is now pressing on my duodenum, though it hasn't grown in size. But it requires that I eat more soluble fiber and less insoluble fiber.  This recipe for chickpea mash is a good example of the type of soluble fiber that works well for me.  Most importantly, it is delicious!  Hummus is another good example of a dip that has the type of soluble fiber that works well for me, but variety in my diet is important for taste, fun and nutrition. 

Ingredients:
1 15.5 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 small fresh red chili pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup boiling water                                                                             
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper, if desired

Preparation:

Put the chickpeas in a food processor with the chili pepper slices, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil.  Puree to preferred consistency, adding just enough of the boiling water to make a smooth, creamy texture.  Season with salt and pepper, and cayenne pepper, if desired. 

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 6

Serving Size: 3.3 Tablespoons

Calories: 110

Total Fat: 2 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 240 mg
Total Carbs: 19 g
Dietary Fiber:  4 g
Protein: 4 g

"Tomatoland" by Barry Estabrook

More tomatoes from Tom's vegetable garden in our yard

In a previous post for a tomato soup recipe, I commented on an interview with Barry Estabrook I heard on National Public Radio a few weeks ago.  Here is a link to that interview. 

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/28/137371975/how-industrial-farming-destroyed-the-tasty-tomato

Tomatoland: How Modern Industrialized Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit is the title of the book by Barry Estabrook that exposes the agricultural practices used in Florida to produce tomatoes.  He documents the use of nearly 110 pesticides, fungicides and insecticides to produce the tomatoes, and how the durability of a tomato for cross-country transport is the top priority rather than taste.  He also exposes the abject slavery of workers used in the tomato industry in Florida.   

I look at the tomatoes my husband lovingly grew from heirloom seeds and admire their lack of uniformity, along with their lack of pesticides and insecticides and chemicals.  I will savor each one as I puree them into delicious soup!  We have several more ripening in paper bags that will soon be ready to use. 




Heirloom tomatoes and an onion



Spinach and Yogurt Soup

This recipe is from the Joslin Diabetes Healthy Carbohydrate Cookbook, with slight modifications.  I made it for the first time in March, 2011, and loved it. Swiss chard can easily be substituted for the spinach. 

Ingredients:

Olive oil cooking spray

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 10-oz. package frozen leaf spinach, thawed and well drained

1 cup water

3/4 cup canned low-fat, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth             
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried
2 cups plain non-fat yogurt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Thyme sprigs for garnish

Preparation:
Lightly coat a nonstick pot with cooking spray and add the onion.  Cook over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes.  Add the spinach and water.  Raise the heat to high and cook until the water has evaporated.  Remove from the heat  Puree the mixture to desired consistency.  Stir in the yogurt, and heat gently but do not allow the soup to boil. (Boiling would cause the yogurt to curdle.)  Season the soup with pepper.  Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with thyme sprigs. 

Nutrition:

Servings per recipe: 4

Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup                                                            

Calories: 93

Total Fat: 1 g

Cholesterol: 3 mg

Sodium: 152 mg

Total Carbs: 16 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 9 g

Dilled Carrot Tomato Soup

Tom grew heirloom tomatoes this year and they are gorgeous!  They aren't uniform in size or shape, which is the way "real" tomatoes grow as opposed to ones that are mass produced with slave labor in Florida.  (Ugh..I recently heard a report on Minnesota Public Radio about tomato growing operations in Florida and their abuse of migrant workers and other horticultural practices that convinced me to never buy a commerically produced tomato again!)  Anyway, this soup is an exquisite way to enjoy those tomatoes from the garden.  We had a hard freeze a couple of weeks ago, so Tom had to pull all of the green tomatoes off  the vines.  But tomatoes quickly ripen if placed in a brown paper bag with an apple. 

Golden and red heirloom tomatoes

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 cup water

3/4 lb. carrots, peeled and finely diced         
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
1 bay leaf
5 sprigs fresh dill, to taste

Preparation:
Heat the oil in a soup pot.  Add the onions and saute over medium-low heat until golden.
Add the broth, water, carrots and tomatoes.  Stir in the bay leaves.  Bring to a rapid simmer, and then lower the heat.  Cover and simmer gently until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.  Add the fresh dill.  Puree to desired consistency.  Add salt as desired (not included in nutritional analysis).  Garnish with a drizzle of kefir.

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 4

Serving Size: 1 cup                                           
Calories: 94
Total Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 134 mg
Total Carbs: 15 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 2 g

Favorite Green Soup

The kale and Swiss chard are still abundant in my garden and I haven't grown tired of them yet.  So here is another of my favorite "green soups".  This recipe was given to me by my good friend, Tahirih. Yes, many of the soups start to look alike, which is why I almost named this blog "UGH - Ugly, Great Taste, and Healthy".  But I didn't think it would attract many people. Because the appearance of many of my green soups is similar, it has become a priority for me to make up for the loss in appearance with zesty taste.  I am also learning to be more creative with garnishing soups with a swirl of kefir, yogurt, or similar. 




Garden Kale


Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups water
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
7 cups chopped fresh kale, Swiss chard, or other greens such as mustard greens, collards, or spinach
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper



Preparation:
Saute onion in oil.  Add potatoes and water.  Cook until potatoes are tender.  Add greens and the broth, salt and pepper and simmer until tender.  Puree to desired consistency. 

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 6


Swiss Chard

 Serving Size: 1 cup                                   
Calories: 97
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 2 mg
Sodium: 544 mg
Total Carbs: 16 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 4 g