Vegetable Stock and Potato Leek Soup

Stock-making is one of those things that makes me feel all pioneer-woman. It makes me feel industrious and thrifty and swarthy...ok, maybe not swarthy. But it's the perfect wintry weekend activity when you don't feel like leaving the house.

I've made chicken stock a few times before and loved the results, but this time I decided to try vegetable stock. You can pretty much substitute veggie stock for chicken stock in any given recipe, except maybe Chicken Noodle Soup, where I'd recommend using only chicken stock. The ATK recipe for Potato Leek Soup calls for 6 cups of chicken stock, but I substituted my homemade veggie stock and loved the results.

Vegetable Stock
*I used an 8 qt pot for this recipe

Ingredients:
approx 4 quarts water (or whatever fits into your pot)
any veggies you have on hand!
salt and pepper

Note: If you want to be a true pioneer woman, you can save the tops of carrots and onions and such and freeze or refridgerate them for later stock use. If you've done this, dump all these into the pot. It's also a good idea to use items from your veggie drawer that are on their way out - not spoiled, of course, but those that you might not necessarily want to eat raw. We used the tops of the leeks for the Potato Leek Soup, some carrots, celery, and onions.

Directions:

Put all your veggies into the stock pot and fill with cold water. Add about 2 tsps salt and some pepper (freshly ground if you're so inclined). Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 2 hours. Strain out the vegetables and pour into quart containers.

Then you're ready to make soup!

Potato Leek Soup
adapted from ATK

sweat those leeks!

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (you could substitute olive oil to make this a vegan recipe, but i don't think it would have quite the right flavor profile of this soup with French roots)
4 to 5 lbs leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced and rinsed thoroughly
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups low sodium chicken broth (I substituted homemade veggie stock)
1 and 3/4 lbs red potatoes (5 medium) scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I peeled mine as well)
1 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp dried (I used dried)
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

1. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium low heat. Stir in the leeks and garlic. Cover and cook until the leeks are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the broth, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

2. This is where I changed things up a bit - ATK recommends leaving the soup chunky and merely smashing some of the potatoes against the side of the pot to thicken it. (Don't forget to discard the bay leaves). While I think this might be good, I really wanted my soup a bit creamier and smoother. I used my immersion blender (top 5 favorite wedding gifts) to blend the soup to a creamy texture, leaving a few chunky potatoes here and there.

A delicious light dinner

It keeps beautifully in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. I've been eating it for lunches this week - grate a little fresh Parmesan on top and it's heaven. And if you already have the stock on hand, it's a very fast recipe - done in under an hour.

Tossing a Salad

So, I'm not exactly the world's biggest fan of salads, especially as a main event. Usually, I just don't find myself satisfied by eating a bed of greens for a meal unless it's covered in meat and french fries (thank you, Western Pennsylvania). However, I cannot deny how easy a salad can be to throw together and it does make for a refreshing break in your afternoon.

If I'm going to be eating a salad for lunch, it's going to be packed full of as many little bits as possible. I encourage using as a base whatever you already have in the kitchen. This is what I threw together, the amounts are up to you:

Organic Baby Spinach

Clementine Slices (because we happened to have clementines in the fridge)

Red Bell Pepper, sliced into bite sized pieces

Cannellini Beans

Toasted Hazelnuts

Crumbled Goat Cheese

Nice combo, right? I only bought the spinach and the goat cheese. But what really made it special was the vinaigrette I made. Make sure you keep it separate from the salad until you're ready to enjoy!

Tbsp finely diced shallots

3/4 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

All of those measurements are ROUGHT estimates.... I have no idea what I actually put into the bowl. Anyway, just whisk all those ingredients together until it looks like a vinaigrette... add more oil or vinegar as you see fit.

Simple, delicious, healthy, nutritious, and (with a side of freshly baked bread) filling!

A Hearty Vegan Lunch

Many of you who know me well may scoff at my advertising a vegan dish, as not too long ago the thought of even a purposely vegetarian dish would make my eyes roll to the back of my bacon and butter filled head. However, as a true omnivore and a great lover of both animals and their meat, I acknowledge the fact that we have to be more aware of how our meat gets to our plate. I'm not a PETA person, and I can't say that I really believe in "animal rights" or anything, I'm just a human who doesn't like to see unnecessary suffering inflicted on animals. I think that they should be treated well for the nourishment they provide, not brutalized in factory farms. I know, I know... I'm going to be a hypocrite about this at some point (hence, fallible), but I'm certainly going to avoid any burger that is selling nation-wide for only $1...

But I digress. Lunch!!! Lunch is probably going to be the easiest part of this challenge, as I try to pack something for work almost every day. And it's really not too much of a hassle to make something in advance that will last for a few days... it's like left-overs of something you never ate in the beginning.

I decided to try a recipe from Cat Cora's Cooking from the Hip (thanks Mom!). This is a great cookbook that strongly encourages recipe tampering. Above is a picture of Curried Lentils with Butternut Squash, and yes it looks like baby food... I think I see why she didn't include a picture of this dish in her book... but it tasted great! It's nice to have a warm filling meal that doesn't weigh you down. This made a good 5 portions, served with a side of brown rice.

1.5 cups lentils

3 lbs butternut squash (I used half a GIANT squash), peeled and chunked

1.5 Tbs EVOO (God Damn you, Rachel Ray!)

1.5 Tbs Curry Powder (or more)

1.5 Tsp Fresh Grated Ginger

1.5 Tsp Chilli Powder (or more)

Salt and Pepper as you like it

In a pot, cover the lentils with water and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, throw in your squash, cover, and simmer until the squash is squishable (about 25 mins). Drain, then dig out the squash and throw it in a bowl. Mash it up, then add the lentils and the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 20-30 at 375 (or however long you feel like it) in whatever you have lying around... I just used an 8x8 Pyrex.

Below is my tupperware... Taste: 10, Looks: 3. Well!....