Thai Style Soup with Shrimp/Tofu

You could substitute tofu for shrimp.


1 teaspoon oil
3 stalks lemon grass, tough outer leaves removed, bottom 5 inches halved lengthwise and sliced thin crosswise
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
8 sprigs fresh cilantro leaves, chopped coarse
3 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
4 cups broth
1 tablespoon sugar
½ pound white mushrooms, cleaned, stems trimmed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1 pound raw shrimp, if frozen thaw before cooking
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice from 2 to 3 limes
2 teaspoons red curry paste (Thai)

Garnish
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 Serrano chilies or one jalapeno, sliced thin
2 scallions, sliced thin on bias
1 lime, cut into wedges

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until just shimmering. Add lemon grass, shallots, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon fish sauce; cook, stirring frequently, until just softened, 2 to 5 minutes (vegetables should not brown). Stir in chicken broth; bring to simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until flavors have blended, 10 minutes. Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer and discard solids in strainer. Rinse saucepan and return broth mixture to pan.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Stir sugar into broth mixture and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms, and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, until no longer translucent, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove soup from heat.

Combine lime juice, curry paste, and remaining 2 tablespoons fish sauce in small bowl; stir into soup. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro, chilies, and scallions. Serve immediately with lime wedges.

2-4 servings

20 minutes

Julia Child Chicken

Adapted from Julia Child

1 chicken breast with skin and bone (grocer will package just one if you want)
½ cup flour in plastic bag with salt and pepper
2 TBS Butter
1 or 2 garlic cloves
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup broth

Preheat oven to 375.

Melt butter in pan over moderate heat.

Place chicken in bag with flour and shake to coat. Shake off excess flour and sauté breast in pan. Sauté 3-4 minutes on each side until nicely browned.

Bake chicken in oven for 20 minutes, basting with butter from pan with spoon every 5 minutes. Set on plate to rest.

Add garlic to pan and sauté for 1 minute. Add wine and boil off winey smell. Add broth and reduce by half.

Pour over chicken and serve.


1 serving

Half hour

Ribollita

Serves 4
1/2 cup cooking olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped (salad bar)
4 carrots, peeled chopped (salad bar)
2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and chopped
2 yellow squash, halved lengthwise chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
1 small Napa or Savoy cabbage, roughly chopped
Broth
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans
1 14-ounce can peeled whole tomatoes
Rosemary
Sage
Parsley
Bay leaf
1 bunch spinach
Red-pepper flakes
Extra-virgin olive oil
Parmesan
Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil. When hot, stir in the onion, garlic, celery, carrots, zucchini, squash, fennel and cabbage. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the beans, tomatoes, herbs and broth. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour.
Fold in the spinach and simmer until wilted. Stir in salt and red-pepper flakes to taste.
Serve with Extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.
Good with Crusty bread

Kinda Sesame Noodles

Serves 2-4
½ pound cold cooked spaghetti
¼ cup sesame oil
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1½ tablespoons white or rice vinegar
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup broth or water
1 minced jalapeno, seeds and veins removed
2 cucumbers, chopped (salad bar)
2 scallions, trimmed and minced
¼ cup minced cilantro
Toss spaghetti with the sesame oil. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
In a large bowl, combine remaining non-vegetable ingredients. Add the cold spaghetti and toss well. Add the cucumbers, scallions, and cilantro, toss and serve.
You could add cold shredded chicken and or thinly sliced cabbage or lettuce.
Add hot sauce or more red pepper flakes, if it’s not spicy enough

Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup with homemade Chicken stock

Serves 4 to 6.
Stock
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground chicken
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 celery rib chopped
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 chicken breasts

Soup

1 onion chopped
2 carrots chopped
1 celery rib chopped
8 ounces tagliatelle
Salt and Pepper
Dried English mustard


For the stock:
Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ground chicken, onion, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is no longer pink, 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add broth, bay leaves, and chicken breasts; cover and cook for 30 minutes. Remove chicken breasts and set aside. Continue to simmer stock for 20 minutes. Strain stock through fine-mesh strainer into large pot.
For the soup:
Brown onion, carrots,and celery in oil. Add broth to vegetables. Add pasta and continue to cook until pasta is cooked. Shred chicken meat with fingers or 2 forks. Add shredded chicken, Season with salt and pepper; in the bottom of each owl put 1/2 teaspoon or so of dried mustard. spoon soup over mustard and serve.

Eggplant “sandwiches”

1 small eggplant
Garlic
Feta Cheese
Cherry tomatoes
Olive oil for cooking
Good olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350

Slice “hips” off opposite sides of eggplant and then slice lengthwise into three or four sections.

Chop garlic

Chop cherry tomatoes in half and salt them.

Heat pan over medium heat and sauté

Eggplant in olive oil until tender. Drain on paper towels.

Sauté garlic for one minute then add tomatoes and stir until they start to break up

In oven proof dish or sauté pan, layer eggplant slice, top with garlic and tomato and then crumbled feta. Top with eggplant slice

Once all are assembled, place in oven for 15 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes

Serve with salad

1-2 servings

half hour

Pasta with Eggplant Sauce

Easy but exotic

1 or 2 eggplant(s)
Salt for salting eggplant
Lots of cooking Olive oil
1 recipe worth of Lonely Guy Sauce
1 pound pasta

If you have not already made Lonely Guy Sauce, do it now.

Slice eggplant lengthwise into 1½" slices. Salt well and stand in colander of sink for ½ hour. Rinse well and dry on paper towels.

Put water on to boil for pasta. Add oil to skillet and sauté eggplant all on sides until well browned (even blackened). Don’t crowd the pan, so this may take several batches. Drain on paper towels.

When cool enough to handle, cut eggplant slices into 1 1’2" cubes and add to fully cooked warm sauce.

When pasta is done drain, return to pan, pour sauce over pasta. blend and serve.

I don’t like parmesan with this recipe.

2-4 servings

45 minutes

You could add red pepper flakes. You could add Anchovy paste.