Sweet Potato Soup with Homemade Herb Butter Toasts

With the lowest temperature around 4c to 7c this week, it would be nice to snuggle in and enjoying a warm bowl of soup. This soup is similar to pumpkin soup. I had it in a French restaurant where the owner came from the Bresse region. The whole place is decorated with chicken that Bresse is famous for.  I like the flavour of the sweet potato with the addition of cream served with herb butter toasts. This could be a light meal for my vegetarian day or a nice entree to serve before the main meal.

Sweet Potato Soup with Homemade Herb Butter Toasts

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato

4 medium washed potatoes

1/4 of a small onion

2 cups water

1/4 cup light cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Italian parsley to sprinkle

For the herb butter

250g butter, softened

4 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

Method:

Mix the butter with the parsley till combined. Lay a piece of glad wrap onto the kitchen bench and add the butter mixture on top. Roll the butter mixture into a sausage shape and tighten the ends. Fridge until harden and slice into discs. Left over can be frozen until ready to be used.

Peel the potatoes and cut into chucks. Boil the potatoes and onion with 2 cups water until cooked. Leave cool a little.

Reserve half of the water. Blend the soup till smooth and return to the pan. Add the reserve  water bit by bit and add the cream to the soup until it has a smooth consistency. Seasoned with 

        salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with herb butter toasts.

 Cut 1/2 of the french stick into 3 cm thick, Place 1/2 of the butter disc on each bread. Place them

        into a hot grill until golden. (It shouldn't take too long to grill, so don't leave your grill)

Enjoy!

Red Lentils & Sweet Potatoes Dahl

I hope you love Indian food as much as I do. I always feel very excited when I smell the spice and herbs tossing in the pan. This dahl is ideal to serve with curry and rice with roti as I like to substitute some plant protein for animal protein these days. Sweet potato is low GI and turmeric is good for preventing cancer so this is a meal for anyone looking for good health.

It's long weekend of Queen's Birthday in Australia. Have a lovely weekend!

Red Lentils & Sweet Potatoes Dahl

Ingredients:
3 cups water
1 small sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 tomato, diced
1/4 small onion
1/3 cup red lentils
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste

Method:

1. Rinse and drain the lentils. 
2. Add a little oil and add the onion and turmeric. Then add water and the remaining ingredients. Simmer until the lentil and sweet potatoes are cooked.
3. When the water evaporate and the dahl starts to thicken, seasoned with salt.  Serve with roti or rice.

Agar Agar Jelly Cake with Coconut and Pandan

Chinese New Year is coming up on 19 February. This year my in-laws from Malaysia is coming to spend CNY with us making it extra special. As usual for any Chinese celebration, there will be lots of cooking and eating. Agar Agar jelly is a popular sweet you would see in any Malaysian party. It is made from sea vegetable which is a good substitute for gelatine for vegetarian.  It also helps to create many colourful and healthy dessert. It is a great last minute dessert that is very simple to prepare.

I finally find the frozen pandan leaves from Yuen's Market at Sunnybank in Brisbane. I usually use the pandan essence which is very bright green in colour and taste not as good as the real one. I normally make this dessert using coconut milk, evaporated milk and mung bean.  As I don't want to over power the taste of the pandan, I have omitted the evaporate milk here. After discovering this Asian vanilla essence, surely there will be more pandan recipes to come. If mung bean is not your thing, you can omit it as well.

Have a great Chinese New Year!

Agar Agar Jelly Cake with Coconut and Panda

Ingredients:

A:
1/4 cup split mung beans or yellow split peas
1 cup water

B:
3 pandan leaves
1 cup boiled water at room temperature

C:
20g agar agar leaves
2 litres water
1 3/4 cup sugar or more to taste
1 1/2 cup coconut cream

Method:

1. A: Cook mung beans with water till boil, turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the beans are cooked. Strain and put the bean aside.
2. B: Cut the pandan leaves into pieces. Add into the blender with water and blend till the juice is green. Strain and preserve the water and discard the leaves.
3. Place agar agar into boiling water and let it dissolves. Add sugar and stir till sugar dissolves.
4. Pour about 1/3 of the agar agar sugar mixture into a large baking tray (25cmx30cm). Keep in fridge for about 15 minutes.
5. Add coconut cream and pandan juice to the remaining agar agar sugar mixture. ( If not using pandan juice, you can add 1/4 cup evaporated milk here) Spread mung bean over the 1st layer of the cake. Then use a ladle to pour the coconut mixture into the tray.  Keep in fridge for at least 1 hour before cutting into slices. It is best to consume the jelly slices within one or two days.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Leek and Potato Soup with Prosciutto

It must be crazy to dream of soup when it is 37c in the last month of spring.

I made this soup a few months ago when the weather was a lot cooler. My daughter and I both sharing the love of smoothies, juicing and soup. I got inspired by her after her trip back from France where she first tried prosciutto at her France family. She told me the "raw meat" was very nice so we went to the supermarket and got some "raw meat" under her description. Apparently you don't need to cook prosciutto but I prefer my meat cooked so I lightly pan-fried it to have a bit of a crisp.

Enjoy!

Leek and Potato Soup with Prosciutto
(serve 4)

Ingredients:

4 Carisma Low GI potatoes from Coles, about 700g
1 leek, white part only
water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup evaporated milk or cream
1/2 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
2 thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into pieces
Salt & pepper
Method:

1. Peel and cut potatoes into chucks. Cover the saucepan with enough water and boil the potatoes till cooked.  Leave cool a little.
2. Finely cut the leek into small pieces.  Heat a little oil in a frypan and saute the leek till soft.
3. Reserve some of the water from the potatoes. Blend the potatoes with water and leek into a blender till smooth.  I did that in 2 batches.
4. Return the soup into the pan, heat gently and add the milk, evaporated milk, stock powder. Add the reserved water bit by bit until you get a nice smooth consistency. Seasoned with salt and pepper.
5. Topped the soup with panfried prosciutto or serve with croutons.

Homemade Almond Butter

My frist time making almond butter was more liked making a coarse paste as I really didn't know what "oil comes out" meant.  After reading detoxinista step-by-step instructions, I finally get a success making smooth almond butter.  I was only using an old model of blender and it worked well even I was a little worry when steam came out after 20 minutes of blending.  It's a stage of the heat generated cooking the almonds and the whole process takes about 30 minutes. So be patients and the final product  is delicious as a dip for crackers or put into beverages.

Almond Butter

Ingredient:

2 cups raw almond kernels

Method:

Put the kernels into the blender with the S blade, blend until the oil comes out and smooth. You may stop the blender in between to scope down the side and let the blender has a little rest.

Getting ready

Pour almonds into the blender

After 15 seconds, coarse almond meal formed

5 minutes later, almond meal starts to form into a rough paste

10 minutes later, a thick paste is formed, you also notice the butter is heated with little steam

10 more minutes, the butter is nearly ready to form a smooth, light texture

5 more minutes, the butter is ready

Homemade Cumquat Marmalade

There is this very cute 90 years old lady selling jam and homegrown fruit for the church every week.  The fruit of the jam is donated by local farmers and made by volunteers with lots of love and kindness.  Their specialities are rosella jam in March, strawberry jam and cumquat marmalade in August, mango chutney in December. The day I went to visit her, her little store was full with bottles of cumquat marmalade and she was saying delightfully, "there is cumquat everywhere!"

I bought a bottle of marmalade and 1 kg of cumquat from her.  I didn't expect there would so many seeds in cumquat so it took me a while to cut up the fruit.  But it really worth the effort because the jam is tasty (as good as the one I bought) and I am pleased that I finally make jam without using the bread machine. And now, I have jam everywhere in my fridge and pantry!

Cumquat Marmalade
(make about 5x500g bottles)

Ingredients:
1 kg cumquats
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1.25L water
6 cups raw sugar
1 tablespoon jam setta (optional)

Method:

1. Wash cumquats, drain.  Quarter cumquats with knife but not cutting all the way through. Remove seeds and cut off the hard pitt from the centre if needed.  Don't worry if you do not remove all the seeds, it would float out later. 
2. Process cumquats in a blender then combine the cumquats mixture, lemon juice and water in a large saucepan.  Stand for at least 2 hours.
3. Bring the mixture to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Spoon out any seeds if you see them floating at the surface.
4. Add sugar to the mixture and boil for another 30 minutes. Skim scum with a metal spoon if necessary. 
5. The jam should turn thick and bubbling. Test the jam if it is set by dropping 1 tablespoon of hot jam onto a chilled plate, move it with finger after 40 seconds.  If it crinkles and thicken, its done.  If not, add 1 tablespoon jam setta and boil for another 5-10 minutes and repeat the test until the jam is set. 
6. Pour hot jam into sterilised jars, covered with transparent papers that have been dashed with lemon juice then tighten the jars with lids and rubber bands.

Adopted and modified from the cookbook "Classic Preserves Jams Chutneys Relishes" from the Australian Women's Weekly.

Green Smoothie (Dairy Free)

After making the green juice, I want to make a recipe for green smoothie. Looking around at my fruit tray and the fridge, picking up all the seasonal green fruit and vegetable, this is my new addition of a healthy drink! It involves the juicer and the blender so there is a bit of washing to do, maybe a dishwasher can be my best friend after all!

Green Smoothie
(serve 1)

1 stalk of celery
1 green apple
couple of lettuce
1 kiwi fruit
1/2 small avocado
squeeze of lemon juice

Method:

1. Cut and core the apple, skin the kiwi fruit, wash the vegetable.
2. Put the first 3 ingredients into a juicer. 
3. Pour the green juice into a blender, then add the rest of the ingredients and blend till smooth. Enjoy!

Papaya Chia Seeds Smoothie and Chocolate Banana Shake (dairy free)

It is in the middle of winter and it is a bit cold to have smoothie and shake using frozen fruit.  These two drinks use fresh fruit and needless to say they are packed with goodness!  In Taiwan, papaya smoothie is a very popular drink and this is my version of a dairy free one.  It is also my first time making shake with avocado, it gives a thick shake texture and very filling as well. Raw cacao powder has more anti-oxidents than cocoa powder that you must give it a try! You are allowed to get addicted to it without guilt!

Papaya Chia Seeds Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 cup sweetened almond milk
1x 2cm thick wedge of red papaya
1 teaspoon chia seeds, soaked with 1/4 water till transparent

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend till smooth. Enjoy!

Chocolate Banana Shake

Ingredients:
1 cup sweetened almond milk
1 banana
1/4 large avocado
1 teaspoon chia seeds, soaked with 1/4 water till transparent
1 heap tablespoon raw cacao powder

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend till smooth. Enjoy!

Chocolate Bliss Balls

These bliss balls are packed with nutritions and I can pop three or four into my mouth without guilt.  And yet, they are so easy to make, just blend everything and roll it into the coconut.  It keeps very well for a few days.

Chocolate Bliss Balls
(make about 18-20)

Ingredients:

1 cup medjool dates, pitted
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup organic cacao powder
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon organic extra virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon goji berries
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
desiccated coconut for coating

1. Blend almonds and walnuts until starting to become paste, add chopped date, cacao power, chai seeds, salt and coconut oil.  
2. Blend until it becomes sticky to shape.  Put into a bowl, add goji berries. 
3. Use hand to shape into ball shape, roll into coconut.

Roasted Capsicum and Pumpkin Soup

After having a warm autumn, winter finally comes. I learnt about this soup from my son's friend, his mother was a very good cook and I enjoyed this soup a lot. The aroma of the garlic and the sweetness of the roasted capsicum enhance the flavour of this soup, making it a perfect winter warmer.  Pumpkin soup is one of the most versatile kind of soup, I have done a Thai style pumpkin soup before and now I've added this soup to my favourite soup list.

Pumpkin soup also has a very special meaning to me. During my course of chemo, my neighbour cooked me a big pot of pumpkin soup as a nice gesture of helping. From her Italian background, she put parsley into her soup and I would never forget how tasty her soup was.

I really think pumpkin can bring magic!


Roasted Capsicum and Pumpkin Soup
(serve 4)

800g pumpkin
2 medium potatoes
1/2 small onion
1 red capsicum
1 garlic gloves, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
water

Method:

1. Peel potatoes, chop pumpkin and onion into chucks.  Place enough water to cover the vegetable in a saucepan and cook until vegetable are cooked. Leave to cool.
2. Meanwhile, cut capsicum into half.  With the cut size facing down, sprinkle oil and garlic.  Bake in a moderate oven until the skin are wrinkled, about 20 minutes. If the garlic burns, spoon it under the capsicum. 
3. Place the capsicum into a zip bag and let cool.  When it is cooled, peel off the skin from the capsicum and chop into chuck.
4. Pour the vegetable into a blender, reserve the water.  Blend all ingredients until smooth.
5. Return the puree into a saucepan and heat up the soup.  Add enough reserved water till you have a nice consistency.  Seasoned with salt and pepper.

Berry Smoothies (Dairy free)

This is another of my favourite drink in the morning, it's especially good to have after the morning walk.  Coming home with sweat and feeling thirsty, the coldness of the smoothies melt you down with goodness. I enjoy looking at the ingredients blending into thick shake and using the spoon to eat the frozen fruit.  I couldn't ask for a better life to sit down on the sofa and enjoying this!

Berry Smoothies

Ingredients:

1 kale leaf

few lettuce leaves

1 frozen banana

1 handful of frozen organic berries

1 tablespoon goji berries

1 cup organic coconut water

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.  Serve straight away.

Spiced Chia Seeds Bubble Shake

This is my favourite breakfast drink which is full of goodies. It's liked the Taiwanese bubble tea but I use chai seeds instead of the tapioca balls.  I keep the left over into the fridge and drink it whenever I want it.

In cold weather, you can heat up the milk to serve warm!


Spiced Chia Seeds Bubble Shake

Ingredients:

2 cups almond milk (sweetened)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon chia seeds (soaked with 1/3 cup water until transparent)
1-2 tablespoon maple syrup

Pour all ingredients into a jar, shake well.  Keep in the fridge to keep fresh.
If you're using unsweetened almond milk, add more maple syrup.

Good Morning Green Juice

The fun of juicing and blending smoothies is that they are so colourful, the awesome green, red, purple or orange and you know that it provides you with loads of goodies! Having one in the morning helps to cleanse your body and give it a kick start. These days I don't buy bottled juice as making your own is healthier and you can be creative to create your own favourite! This is what I call FRESH!


Green Juice
(make 1 tall glass)

Ingredients:
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 cup lettuce
2 celery stalks
1/3 continental cucumber
1 green apple, cored
1 piece ginger

Method:
Process all ingredients in a juicer and drink right away.

Chocolate Chia Seeds Cupcake (Gluten Free)

Chia seeds has been regarded as a superfood with its nutrients value.  It was introduced by one of my friend and she asked me to put it into drinking water and consume it daily for well being.  I have been trying to find out more use with this little seeds by adding it to smoothies, salad and cereal. Last week I celebrated with my girl friends for finishing my chemo and I ordered a chocolate chia seeds cake which was quite delicious! When I got home, I got onto the computer to search for a recipe straight away.  These days I don't bake very often for trying to cut down sweet food and have more veggie and fruit for good health. But sweet food makes you happy and it is OK to have a once in a while!

These cupcakes taste quite different with the cinnamon added to the chocolate.  If you have had many chocolate cake and prefer something special, you may like this recipe. The cake is moist and strong in chocolate taste and not too sweet.  This is my first baking for gluten free cake and I'm very please with the result!

Chocolate Chai Seeds Cupcake
(make 10)

Ingredients:
5 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup raw sugar (3/4 cup if you want it sweeter)
2 heaps tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons chia seeds
pinch of salt

Chocolate frosting:
1/2 cup dark choc chips
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon coconut oil
few drops of vanilla essence
2 heaps tablespoons icing sugar

Methods:

1. Soak chia seeds with 1 cup of water for 15 minutes then drain.
2. Beaten eggs with oil, sugar and honey in a mixing bowl until well mixed.  Sift in almond meal, cocoa powder, bicarbonate soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir well, then add the soaked chia seeds. Mix sell.
3. Divide the mixture into a muffin pan, lined with muffin case. Fill the unused muffin holes with water to ensure even heating for baking. Bake for 20 minutes at 180c.
4. For the frosting: microwave the choc chips, milk and coconut oil in medium heat at 20 seconds, then 30 seconds until the chocolate melted. Add in vanilla essence and sifted icing sugar. Mix well, then place into the fridge to harden the frosting until it is spreadable.

Thai Style King Crab Salad

One year we went to Japan, our tour guide helped us to order some snow crab from Hokkaido express down to Tokyo.  We had watched many travel shows talking about how tasty the crab was so we didn't want to miss the chance while we were in Japan.  The crab was cooked and came with a pair of scissor to help cutting the shell.  It was one of the unforgettable moment we had in our trip.

I'd seen live Australian king crab in some Asian restaurants or in the aquarium but I'd never tasted it.  
The first time I saw it selling at Coles, I was wondering it would taste as good as the snow crab as both of them live in the cold region.  This crab salad hadn't disappointed us, the meat was not as strong as the mud crab but had more flavour than sand crab, it's flaky and sweet.  I like to serve mud crab as a hot dish and king crab is better to serve cold.

The importance of cooking Thai food is to balance the sweet and sour flavour, I do not have an exact measurement for this recipe as it's all up to your taste buds to tell you what to put in.

Thai Style King Crab Salad

King Crab claws (cooked)
cucumber
onion
chilli
coriander
mint
lime
salt & pepper
fish sauce

Method:
Remove crab meat from the shell.  Finely cut cucumber and onion, marinate with salt, then rinse and drain.  Squeeze out juice and add to the crab meat.  Add the chopped up the coriander, mint and chilli, seasoned with fish sauce, pepper, lime juice and sugar.  Serve cold.


   

Beetroot Chutney

After making several bottles of jam a few months ago, I want to try making chutney and preserve.  Beetroot is one of my favourite purple vegetable, however it does stain your hand after handling.  So if I only get my hands dirty for once and enjoy the chutney for a few months in a bottle, that's not a bad idea! It's also a nice gift for Christmas.

I serve it with turkey minced burger and it is tasty enough that you can skip the tomato sauce!

Beetroot Chutney
(make 2 bottles, about 3 cups)

3 beetroot (500g)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 cardamon pods, bruised
2 green apples (400g), chopped
1/2 red onion (85g), finely chopped
1 cm ginger, chopped
1 garlic glove, finely chopped
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Keep the skin on the beetroot and cook with boiling water in pan or microwave till cook.  Use a fork to poke into the beetroot, if it gets in then it's ready.  Drain.
2. Cool then peel the skin off.  You can wear gloves to prevent the juice stain on you hands.
3. Chop half the beetroot into fine dice, blend the remaining beetroot till smooth.
4. Put the beetroot puree, apple, onion, ginger, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice and salt in a saucepan.  Add in spices (you can tie spices in muslin bag), make it to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.  Add chopped beetroot and simmer for 10 minutes more.
5. Store chutney in sterilised jar and it can keep in the fridge for 3 months.

Source: modified and adopted from the cookbook, "The Australian Women's Weekly: Classic Preserves Jams Chutneys Relishes"

  

Strawberry Granita

You wouldn't believe that the temperature had gone up to 28c over the weekend.  It felt like summer rather than early spring.  I tried to make granita for the first time and I could tell you that it was the best thing to cool down the heat.  You don't need a big bowl of it as a few spoonful is enough to make you feel good.  My son told me to make more and I'm sure I'll try different fruit in the future.  How about watermelon granita or honeydew granita with midori?  It's natural fruit blended with water and a bit of sugar with only 4 ingredients.  You can add some cointreau into it to make it a gourmet dessert.   

The kids has started their spring holidays, we're taking ourselves off the line from computer for 2 weeks and do some outdoor activities.  I've been blogging regularly for 6 months and it's a good excuse to take a break.  See you when I get back!

Strawberry Water Ice
(serve 4-6)

Ingredients:
250g fresh strawberry
1 cup boiled water (cooled)
1/2 cup castor sugar
2 tablespoon passionfruit juice or lemon juice

Method:

1. Put water, sugar, passionfruit juice into electric blender.  Wash and hulled strawberries.  Blend on medium speed for 2 minutes.
2. Push strawberry mixture through fine sieve into a 28cm x 18cm lamington tin.  Freeze until well frozen.
3. Brush the side of the glass with egg white, then roll along a plate with sugar.  When ready to serve, run fork across ice so that it flakes and separates.  Fork into individual glasses and decorate with extra strawberries.

Source: "Best Ever Recipes' from the Australian Women's Weekly, Home Library.

Juicing with Purple Carrot

It's great to have my daring girl back from her school camp, the house is so quiet without her.  She slept 5 hours straight after she came home.  Her gift to me from the trip was loads and loads of washing!  Hahaha...

I would make some fresh juice at least once a week during winter to help boosting our immunity.  My favourite choice includes apple, orange, pear, lettuce, carrot, celery, cucumber, tomato and capsicum.  I  usually put in 4-5 varieties with half and half portions of fruit and vegetable.  I also throw in some parsley or wheatgrass if they come in handy.  I find this Dutch carrot at the supermarket and it makes a really nice colour and taste good in juicing.  In an actual fact, carrot is originally purple and it is changed to orange colour by Dutch about 300 years old.  Whether it's purple or orange, carrot is a good for our health.

I am joining the Guardian Angel Knitting Program for the first time.  Over the past 12 years, more than 2 million knitted garments have been donated to families in needs.  This year the program is supported by Variety, the children's charity to give warmth to the children in need not only in Australia but Christchurch in New Zealand where children are affected by the earthquake.  I am planning to make 2-3 garments by 31 August, that's about 6 weeks left.  My sister joins the program every year and she is so good at knitting.  For more information, visit their website Guardian Angel Knitting Program 

 My marble cake topped with profiteroles is listed in Petitchef's daily menu.  Yay!

Purple Carrot Juice

(make 2 glasses)

Ingredients:
2 small purple carrots
2 small carrots
2 stalks of celery
2 apples
2 pears
1/2 green capsicum
handful of baby spinach leaves

Method:
Cut the fruit and vegetables into small pieces and put into the juicer.  Enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Soup

For being a carnivore, red lentil sounds like the food from Mars to me.  One day at soccer training, we have been chatting about dinner and one of the soccer mum says she is having red lentil bolognese.  I don't have much cooking ideas for red lentil besides making patties or soup.  Later, I look at my dusty vegetarian cookbook trying to find a recipe of it.  This sweet potato and red lentil soup is similar to pumpkin soup but filled with the goodness of protein due to the lentil.  It is nice to have a warm thick soup to fill up the tummy on a cold day or if you are like me, love soup for all seasons, this soup should warm your soul.

Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Soup
(serve 4)


Ingredients:
2 teaspoons oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, chopped
1 cup red lentils
6 cups water
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

Methods:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onion and spices stir for a few minutes until it is soft.  Add the potato, lentils and water last and bring it to boil.  Then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until the potato is soft and the lentil is dissolved.
2. Blend the soup mixture with a handhold soup mixer until smooth or blend it in the food processor in several batches.  Add more water if needed and season it with salt and pepper.  Reheat it before serving.

This recipe is adopted and modified from the cookbook Vegetarian Cooking published by The Australian Women's Weekly.

Vegetables Soup

The weather in September is quite unpredictable.  It could be sunny and warm one day then it could be cool and windy the next day.  The rain keeps the garden growing very well.  My pansies are all smiling at me in the flower pots.  Even though the weather is getting warm, I still feel like having soup to keep me warm and to increase the fluid intake.  The western style soup is very different to the Asian's.  It is thick and chunky that can be serve as a meal whereas the Asian soup is usually very thin.  The first time I tasted the vegetable soup was at my friend's cafe many years ago.  It was located in a country tourist area where you could look over the farm view from the dinning area.  It made you feel very natural and relax by having something so simple and nice.  After a few trial and error, I create this recipe as my best vegetable soup.  I can fool my kids to eat the vegetables that they don't like.

3 Litres of water
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1/2 red capsicum, chopped
1/4 sugar loaf cabbage, chopped
kernels cut from a cob of corn
1/2 cup soup mix (red lentil, yellow spilt peas, green peas and barley)
1/4 cup brown rice
chives for garnish
bread rolls to serve

Method:

1. Wash and rinse the soup mix and the brown rice.
2. Boil water in a large saucepan.  Add the soup mix and brown rice.  Then add in the rest of the vegetables and boil for about 1 hour 30 minutes in moderate and slow heat.  Use the back of the soup laddle to mess some the chuck of the vegetables to get a thicker soup.  Garnish with chives and serve with bread rolls.  

Note: The left over soup may be a bit thick, simply add in some water to thinning it during reheat.