Southeast Asian Coconut Zucchini Soup

The funky round zucchini in the basket served as the basis for this soup today.  This unique and delicious soup is from The Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cookbook.  Several years ago, I purchased this cookbook in an antique store for a mere $3 and have never been disappointed by any of the recipes I have tried from it.  This one was no exception.  The recipe was really created as a vegetable side dish of zucchini, but it lent itself to a pureed soup incredibly well. 

 I was quite impressed that Tom's garden supplied so many of the ingredients : the zucchini, the mint, the basil, and the fresh chili pepper. Tom has two types of peppers in the garden this year:  "Jimmy Nardalo's" and "Some Like It Hot".  For this soup, I used the first one, which is on the mild side of a medium hot chili pepper.    For the scallions, I used "walking onions" (Allium cepa) from the garden.  These easy-care shallotlike bulblets are also known as Welsh, or Egyptian onions and provide an easy care green onion for the entire summer.  The mint was part of the lettuce mix that Tom had planted in the deck pot and he decided he doesn't really like mint in his garden salads.  That's ok because I can find many uses for it. 

Jimmy Nardalo's and Some Like It Hot Chili Peppers
from Tom's garden 

If you turn your back on your garden for a day and the zucchini sneaks up behind you, this recipe will provide something new for you to try.  Combining it with the Asian-inspired coconut and lime creates a whole new flavor that will surprise and delight you.  If you serve this as a side dish to others in your family without pureeing it, I think it would be great with Jasmine rice.  

Mint in Tom's salad mix

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
(or olive oil if you prefer)
4 cups cubed zucchini
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2  fresh chili, minced, seeds removed for a milder "hot"
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 green onions, chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup reduced-fat coconut milk

Potted sweet basil, purple basil and lemon basil

Preparation:

In a skillet, heat the oil and saute the zucchini, garlic, chili and turmeric for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the scallions, lime juice, basil, mint and coconut milk.  Cover and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, until the zucchini is tender.  Stir occasionally and if necessary add a splash of water to prevent sticking.  Add salt to taste. Puree in a blender or other device.  The zucchini has enough water in it naturally that the blender was adequate to puree this soup.  

Adding fresh mint and basil to the saute of zucchini, garlic, chili and turmeric

Southeast Asian Coconut Zucchini Soup

Nutrition:    
As a vegetable side dish without pureeing it, the cookbook said it serves 4, and provided a nutritional analysis.  But when I  pureed it, the yield was 2 cups, so this made two one-cup servings.  So I simply doubled the amounts in the nutritional analysis from the cookbook for this pureed version.  
Servings per recipe: 2
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 112                                            
Total Fat: 5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg                                                        
Sodium: 106 mg
Total Carbs: 16   g
Dietary Fiber: 5 g
Protein: 3 g

Suyo Long Cucumber Gazpacho

Upon the recommendation of a friend,  Tom planted a new variety of cucumber in his garden this year - Suyo Long. These heirloom Asian seed can be purchased from  Fedco Seeds or Baker Creek Heirloom Seed.   Definitely a find! Each plant yields an abundance of mild, burpless, scrumptious, crunchy cukes. The length of some of the cucumbers are up to 15", with curly twisted tops.  The green rippled skin is remarkably thin and tender so there is no need to peel them.

Tom was eager to try them in gazpacho so he quickly whipped up this batch last night, similar to what I have made and posted before as my Easiest Ever Gazpacho.    His differed from mine by not including any celery, adding V-8 juice, and adding a dash of smoked sea salt.  He is as good of a cook as he is a gardener.  Lucky me!

Suyo Long Cucumbers from Tom's garden

Ingredients:
1 1/2 long, unpeeled cucumber (about 2 cups sliced) Any variety of long, seedless cucumber can be used
1 cup fresh salsa (purchase a variety as hot or as mild as you prefer.  Tom used Italian Rose Fresh Salsa.)
3/4 cup low-sodium V-8 vegetable juice
Dash of smoked sea salt

Preparation:
Blend all ingredients to desired consistency in a blender.  The ingredients have enough liquid that a blender is sufficient for this task.  Tom added a splash of hot sauce to his serving for additional Pzazz.

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 2
Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup                                    
Calories: 49
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol:  0mg
Sodium: 642 mg
Total Carbs: 10 g
Dietary Fiber: 6g
Protein: 5 g

Peach Smoothie

Peach- Yogurt Smoothie

As much as I am committed to eat  "locally grown" fruits and vegetables as much as possible, the peaches in the market were too delectable for me to resist.  And when I pureed one with a small amount of goat yogurt, I knew I had found Pzazz!  You can use any type of yogurt for this smoothie.  The tart goat yogurt from my friend, Christal, complimented the peach remarkably well.  

Ingredients:
1 small peach, peeled
1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt

Preparation:
Puree with Pzazz in a Magic Bullet or other food processor.  I am now the proud owner of my very own Magic Bullet, thanks to my friend, Diane.  When I returned hers last week, she gave me a gift card to use toward the purchase of my own Magic Bullet.  What a generous friend!  Thank you Diane!!!!

Nutrition:  (using low-fat cow yogurt)
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Calories: 73
Total Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 4 mg
Sodium: 43 mg
Total Carbs: 13 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 4 g

Lemon Basil Summer Squash Soup

Varieties of Summer Squash with Lemon Basil
 Kamo-Kamo, Zucchini, Yellow crookneck, White Scallop 

Sorry, but there is no photo of this soup because I have been so busy cleaning and cooking the produce that Tom has harvested that I simply haven't had the time or energy to take any photos!  So today I took a photo of the several varieties of summer squash that Tom has been busy harvesting from his luscious garden.  I thought the lemon basil growing in the deck container of herbs would compliment the taste of the yellow crookneck squash perfectly, and I was so right. Any type of summer squash would work well for this soup, but I really love the creamy texture of the yellow crookneck squash.  Summer Pzazz!

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
4 cups cubed yellow summer squash (no need to peel, as the skin is very soft and is full of nutrients!)
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
5 -10 leaves of  lemon basil
1/2 cup vegetable broth

Preparation:
Melt coconut oil in large saute pan.  Add onion and garlic and brown till fragrant.  Add squash and saute 5 to 6 minutes, until browned.  Add vegetable broth and lemon basil and cook till the squash is tender. You may need to add a bit of water.    Puree with Pzazz!   

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 2
Serving Size: Approx 1 1/4 cup (depends on how much water is added)
Calories: 140
Total Fat: 7 g
Cholesterol: mg
Sodium: 48 mg
Total Carbs: 19 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Protein: 3 g

Green Awakening Kale Puree

Green Awakening Kale Puree with Quinoa

Galactic green and outstanding! This simple puree is as versatile as it is nutritious.  Toss it with pasta.  Drizzle it on chicken or fish.  Mix it with quinoa.  Drench your eggs with it. Toss it with sauteed tofu. Mix it with goat yogurt to create a cold soup.  I have had it all of these ways in the past week.  Think of it as a sauce, or a dressing, or a dollop. Think of it as your Green Awakening. It will keep for 3 - 4 days in the refrigerator, waiting for you to discover a new way to ramp up your green vibes.   Washing and de-stemming the kale required enough of my energy, so I used onion powder and garlic powder rather than expending any more energy on chopping onions and garlic.  But maybe after a week of two or three servings of kale daily, I'll have energy to spare! 

The photograph above is the Green Awakening Kale Puree mixed with quinoa with a bit of white balsamic vinegar added for Pzazz!

Red Russian kale from Tom's garden 

Ingredients:
4 cups rinsed,chopped kale leaves
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon onion powder                            
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
sea salt to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon or less)

Preparation:
Remove kale leaves from the tough stems.  Rinse thoroughly and chop.  Place in a large saucepan with the water and seasoning and put the lid on the pot. Cook over medium heat until tender, adding more water if needed.  When slightly cooled, puree till smooth and creamy.   When making a double or triple batch, I use the VitaMix to puree it.   To make a single batch, the Magic Bullet will do the trick.

Nutrition:  (for the puree only)  
Servings per recipe: 4
Serving Size: 1/4 cup (approx.,  depending on how much liquid you add)
Calories: 39
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 175  mg
Total Carbs: 8 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 3 g

Mango Lime Cilantro Smoothie

Mango Lime Cilantro Puree

Yesterday I was making the Quinoa Avocado Mango Salad that I posted on this blog a couple of weeks ago to bring to a gathering of friends for dinner last night.  Some days my brain is tired of thinking about what I can bring to such events that I can actually eat, but I thought of this salad and decided others might like it, too.  As I was making it, I remembered that last time I made it I hadn't chopped the cilantro quite small enough for me and had to pick some of it out. So this time, I decided to puree the cilantro with the mango and lime juice.  Well  --- wow!  I loved the neon-green color and the Pzazzy taste and realized I could use this as a smoothie puree, so I indulged immediately. Then I went on to mix the puree that I hadn't gulped down with cooked quinoa and a small amount of chopped very soft avocado to make the salad to bring to share with others. The salad was a definite hit with most people.  More Pzazz for my day!

Another part of this story:   A friend, Diane,  shared her Magic Bullet with me and I have been incredibly impressed with the versatility, portability, efficiency, quietness and ease of cleaning this single portion processing tool.  (My kitchen is beginning to look like a test kitchen for gadgets that puree!)  What I really like about this Magic Bullet is that there is no waste of the puree in the bottom of the container.  And it is a snap to clean.  Also, it effiectively purees even kale and blueberries for my Mud Slide  (posted a couple of weeks ago), and it is so small that it doesn't require much counter space and easily travels with me.  Thanks for letting me try out this new gadget, Diane! I'm definitely purchasing my own when it goes on sale.  Now, everyone, please go make this delectable summer smoothie!


Ingredients:
1 cup fresh mango slices
juice from one lime
1/4 cup cilantro leaves (stems removed)

Preparation:
Place all ingredients into the container of a Magic Bullet or similar and puree until smooth, frothy, and delectably Pzazzed! Garnish as desired, but please keep it looking fresh and snappy!

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 2
Serving Size: About 1/2 cup
Calories: 58
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 2 mg
Total Carbs: 16 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 0 g

Cold Cucumber Avocado Soup with Watercress

Cold Cucumber Avocado Soup with Watercress

Another cold cucumber soup by Anna Thomas from her cookbook, Love Soup, spiced up my hot, humid day in Duluth.  Tom had planted watercress in a pot on the deck and this recipe was a good one to use it.  Watercress has an almost peppery, zippy taste and it Pzazzed up this soup just right.  Watercress also has great nutritional benefit as it is another member of the brassicacea family, so it contains many phytonutrients helpful for cancer inhibition.     

Watercress

Ingredients:
2 lbs soft-skinned cucumbers
6 oz. watercress
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 small jalepeno pepper
1 large Haas avocado
1 - 2 teaspoons sea salt

Preparation:
Trim the ends off the cucumbers; taste each end, and trim off any bitter part.  Cut the cucumbers into cubes.  Wash the watercress, remove any heavy stems, and chop it roughly.  Combine half the cucumbers and most of the lemon juice in the container of a blender and puree.  The cucumbers will soon be a liquid, and you can then easily add the remaining cucumbers, the watercress, garlic and jalepeno.  Puree until everything is smooth.  Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, peel the avocado and the cut the flesh into cubes; you should have not quite 1 cup of diced avocado.  Add the avocado to the cucumber puree, along with a teaspoon of sea salt and process again.  The mixture will become thicker and creamier.  Stir everything in a bowl and taste.  Add more lemon juice and more salt, a bit at a time and stirring thoroughly each time, until the balance tastes right to you.  Chill the soup well.  Garnish as desired.

Note:   Anna Thomas suggests that this soup could be made with cilantro rather than watercress.  I think that would give it a very different, but still delightful taste.  I think I'll try that next time!


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 5
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 106
Total Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol:  0 mg
Sodium: 486 mg
Total Carbs: 13 g
Dietary Fiber: 5 g
Protein: 3 g