Be sure to have both freezer containers and labels on hand.
If your container supply is running low, once the soup is frozen, turn it out into a freezer-strength plastic bag and put back into the freezer.
Mushroom Barley Soup
Makes eight servings:
1 ounce (30 g) dried mushrooms (such as porcini)
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) boiling water
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vegetable oil
1 large onion,
chopped2 large celery stalks, diced
1 cup (250 ml) diced carrots
1 parsnip, diced
2 cups (500 ml) sliced button mushrooms (about 1/2 pound/ 500 g)
3/4 cup (175 ml) pearl barley
8 cups (2 L) low-salt beef, chicken or vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper
In a medium bowl, pour boiling water over dried mushrooms. Soak for 25 minutes.
Chop soaked mushrooms and set aside. Strain soaking liquid through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or a coffee filter and set aside the liquid.
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about five to seven minutes. Add celery, carrots, parsnip and mushrooms and sauté another five minutes. Add barley, chicken or vegetable broth and reserved mushroom liquid.
Bring to a boil and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, for about one hour, or until barley is tender. If a thicker soup is preferred, cook for an extra half-hour. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Per serving nutritional information:
Calories: 150
Protein: 10 grams
Fat: 2 grams
Carbohydrate: 24 grams
Dietary Fibre: 5 grams
Rosie Schwartz is a Toronto-based consulting dietitian and is author of the 10th anniversary edition of The Enlightened Eater
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Vegetable Broths
Here are a few tips for your stockpot:
Rather than purchasing boneless chicken breasts, remove the bones yourself and accumulate them in the freezer for stock making.
If you're less skilled with the boning knife, keep in mind that leaving a little meat on the bones will only add to the taste.
When you've collected enough chicken bones, cook up a batch of chicken stock by adding flavour-boosting additions like carrots, parsnips, celery, onions and fresh herbs.
If the taste seems to be diluted, rather than adding salt, remove the lid from the pot, allowing the broth to concentrate and become more flavourful.
Freeze and use as needed. If you are cooking for a small family or for two or just yourself, freeze in smaller proportions with the date and the name of the broth on the frezzer package. This way you can whip up a meal in no time.
Making vegetable broths is a terrific way to empty your vegetable bin. Carrots, celery, parsnips, onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes -- along with herbs like parsley and dill -- are just a few examples of those foods that can be simmered together for a rich-tasting broth.
Avoid those with strong tastes or aromas, such as cabbage. Save the trimmings or odds and ends from different vegetables such as Shiitake or Portabello mushrooms in a container in the freezer and add to the stockpot.
For a meatier vegetable broth, add a few black Chinese mushrooms. Soak them first in boiling water to remove any grit.
Strain the soaking liquid and then add to the broth as well. These mushrooms, found in Asian grocery stores, are cheaper than other dried mushrooms.
Simmer the broth over a low heat for a few hours and cool slightly before straining and store.
Roasting vegetables on a baking sheet until they're tender and then adding them to a broth can produce a soup to savour.
Don't waste valuable cooking time preparing only small amounts of long cooking soups. In some cases, where small amounts of various vegetables may be called for, cook up a second pot at the same time.
Rather than purchasing boneless chicken breasts, remove the bones yourself and accumulate them in the freezer for stock making.
If you're less skilled with the boning knife, keep in mind that leaving a little meat on the bones will only add to the taste.
When you've collected enough chicken bones, cook up a batch of chicken stock by adding flavour-boosting additions like carrots, parsnips, celery, onions and fresh herbs.
If the taste seems to be diluted, rather than adding salt, remove the lid from the pot, allowing the broth to concentrate and become more flavourful.
Freeze and use as needed. If you are cooking for a small family or for two or just yourself, freeze in smaller proportions with the date and the name of the broth on the frezzer package. This way you can whip up a meal in no time.
Making vegetable broths is a terrific way to empty your vegetable bin. Carrots, celery, parsnips, onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes -- along with herbs like parsley and dill -- are just a few examples of those foods that can be simmered together for a rich-tasting broth.
Avoid those with strong tastes or aromas, such as cabbage. Save the trimmings or odds and ends from different vegetables such as Shiitake or Portabello mushrooms in a container in the freezer and add to the stockpot.
For a meatier vegetable broth, add a few black Chinese mushrooms. Soak them first in boiling water to remove any grit.
Strain the soaking liquid and then add to the broth as well. These mushrooms, found in Asian grocery stores, are cheaper than other dried mushrooms.
Simmer the broth over a low heat for a few hours and cool slightly before straining and store.
Roasting vegetables on a baking sheet until they're tender and then adding them to a broth can produce a soup to savour.
Don't waste valuable cooking time preparing only small amounts of long cooking soups. In some cases, where small amounts of various vegetables may be called for, cook up a second pot at the same time.
Soup Making
Soup making is fast becoming a disappearing art.
These days, there's nary a sign of a stockpot in many kitchens. Packages with dry ingredients along with their canned cousins have replaced the standard aromatic, long-simmering homemade soup of yesteryear.
Reclaiming the stockpot will not only pleasure the palate, it may also provide a number of health perks. In the cold, dark months of winter when stick-to-the ribs fare is most appealing, avoiding the accumulation of excess body padding can be tough.
Soup, however, can kill two nutritional birds with one stone.
Soup tames appetite:
Research from Pennsylvania State University shows that soup is a super way to tame hearty appetites.
In the study, scientists compared the effect of three meals containing the same number of calories and ingredients on the amount of food eaten later in the day.
Having a chicken rice casserole with or without water resulted in the same number of calories being consumed later in the day.
When the water was incorporated into the casserole to make a soup, the result was less food being eaten.
Adding chunky vegetables may make the job even easier according to French research. Strained or pureed soups were found to have less of an effect on curbing appetites than those with larger pieces.
If you're looking for help with waist management, put away your food processor when cooking up soup.
Less salt content
Homemade options offer other advantages as well, especially when it comes to sodium counts. Many commercial offerings are laden with salt and may lack intense flavours. And all too often selections labelled 'sodium- reduced' are anything but low in sodium.
But they can be used as a foundation. For example, simmering a cup of broth and adding a cup of chopped vegetables results in less sodium per cup serving. It's also a tasty way of boosting your vegetable intake.
When making chicken, beef or vegetable broths or stocks, use a variety of ingredients to provide a complexity of taste, making the lesser amounts of sodium less noticeable.
These days, there's nary a sign of a stockpot in many kitchens. Packages with dry ingredients along with their canned cousins have replaced the standard aromatic, long-simmering homemade soup of yesteryear.
Reclaiming the stockpot will not only pleasure the palate, it may also provide a number of health perks. In the cold, dark months of winter when stick-to-the ribs fare is most appealing, avoiding the accumulation of excess body padding can be tough.
Soup, however, can kill two nutritional birds with one stone.
Soup tames appetite:
Research from Pennsylvania State University shows that soup is a super way to tame hearty appetites.
In the study, scientists compared the effect of three meals containing the same number of calories and ingredients on the amount of food eaten later in the day.
Having a chicken rice casserole with or without water resulted in the same number of calories being consumed later in the day.
When the water was incorporated into the casserole to make a soup, the result was less food being eaten.
Adding chunky vegetables may make the job even easier according to French research. Strained or pureed soups were found to have less of an effect on curbing appetites than those with larger pieces.
If you're looking for help with waist management, put away your food processor when cooking up soup.
Less salt content
Homemade options offer other advantages as well, especially when it comes to sodium counts. Many commercial offerings are laden with salt and may lack intense flavours. And all too often selections labelled 'sodium- reduced' are anything but low in sodium.
But they can be used as a foundation. For example, simmering a cup of broth and adding a cup of chopped vegetables results in less sodium per cup serving. It's also a tasty way of boosting your vegetable intake.
When making chicken, beef or vegetable broths or stocks, use a variety of ingredients to provide a complexity of taste, making the lesser amounts of sodium less noticeable.
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