Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘emulsion blender’

Baby Bok Choy and Spinach Soup

Posted by terrepruitt on April 12, 2011

I was going off the “recipe” for Green Garlic and Spinach Soup, but I was not measuring and making it up as I went along so the measurements are not exact.

When I served it I put some mozzarella in it.  For hubby I put some raw onions and mozzarella.  But I made him taste it BEFORE I added anything and he thought is was good without the added onions and cheese.  I would imagine if you like pepper it would be a GREAT addition to this soup.  I was going to serve it with hot sauce to my hubby because originally I thought it was going to be rather flavorless, but it turned out not to be flavorless and he liked it.

Keep in mind that I made this up, never having made a soup like this and never having used the immersion blender.  So you might want to read my “Experimental Soup” post so that you know some of the issues if you haven’t done something like this before.  Basically keep an eye on things because this post is not a step by step, “turn stove on, turn stove off” kind of recipe.
Baby Bok Choy and Spinach Soup

–olive oil
–1/2 (ish) of a medium sized onion chopped
–some chopped onion (for garnish)
–2 bundles of baby bok choy
(chopped, bottom portion separate from leafy portion)
–2 or 3 tsp of minced garlic
–garlic powder
–garlic salt
–48 oz of chicken broth
–some beer
–shake or two of teriyaki
–1 6-oz bag of spinach
–1.5 (ish) wooden spoonful of cream cheese
–mozzarella

Sautee onions in the olive oil.  When the onions look tender add in the chopped bottom portion of the bok choy. Let it cook a minute, then add the garlic.  While the bok choy is cooking, add garlic powder and garlic salt to help the veggies sweat.  Sautee until tender.  Then pour in the broth.  Added some beer and teriyaki.

Stir it as you feel necessary throughout the entire process.

Bring to boil. Add the cream cheese if you are going to use it.  Add leafy portion of the bok choy and bag of spinach.  Gently boil for a few minutes or until the veggies are wilted.

Once the veggies looked wilted use the blender to mix it all up.

Ok, so if you try this let me know.  If you make changes let me know.  Sometimes I just stick to what I have tried because I don’t wanna ruin a good thing so you can do the experimenting for me and let me know what you’ve done that works!  😉

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments »

Experimental Soup

Posted by terrepruitt on April 9, 2011

On the way to teach my Los Gatos Nia Class on Friday I thought that I would be making soup on a warm day.  By the time Nia class was over it was getting cloudy.  I was thinking it might turn into a good day for soup.  I was going to attempt the Green Garlic Spinach Soup.  On the way to class I decided to shop at the store somewhat on the way home from the fitness place.  I had never been there and was hopeful they would have green garlic.  Since it looks like a scallion I was thinking that I had seen it in stores before and I just didn’t know what it was.  Well, some of the produce at the store was less than desirable.  I passed on the collard greens and I couldn’t find the green garlic.  I had my mind made up that I was going to make soup using my emulsion blender.  I decided that I would make baby bok choy and spinach soup.  I am going to share about the soup making process and issues in this post.  My next post (Tuesday) will be the “recipe”.

I bought the basic ingredients I would use.  By the time I left the store it was cold and cloudy.  Perfect day for soup. When I got home I decided to get out the blender to figure out what blade to use and to wash the blade.  I neglected to look at the blade my friend used.  In looking at the instructions I was thinking “blade C” would be the right blade.

Since I’ve never cooked bok choy before and I didn’t really know if it would work, I decided to sauté the bottom portion of the stalk and save the leafy part to add to the soup at the same time as the spinach. I sautéed the veggies.  When I finally added the broth I was thinking this soup was going to be pretty flavorless so I added some of a beer that was open in the fridge.  It was a Hefeweizen.  So it was going to add some heartiness.  I also put in a dash or two of teryiaki.  I let it boil then added the leafy part of the bok choy and the spinach.  I thought my friend had just let it cook long enough to wilt it.

Oh, I didn’t yet mention that I don’t have a stock pot.  Maybe some of you know where this is going.  🙂

The instructions for the blender said that when you use blade C use it in a chopping motion.  Ok.  So I stuck the blender in the pot with one little pulse I thought, “Hmmm . . . . I should cover this.”  With the next “whrrrrr”, I thanked God because I was going to heat some bread in the oven on foil but decided not to and I think that having the piece of foil out already is what kind of made me think to use it.  Even with the foil it made a mess.  I used blade C but it wasn’t getting creamy.  So I added some cream cheese.  Not part of the original soup plan.  I tried blending again.  Still not creamy, I added the rest of the spinach. Still not as creamy as my friend’s soup.

I decided to use a different blade.  Blade B.  I put it on and put the blender in the pot and it did absolutely nothing.  So I decided to go back to blade C.  Now mind you, I was very careful to unplug the blender, and detach the stick from the motor.  So I walk over to the place where I have to blade removal tool and there is no blade.  Well, no wonder it wasn’t doing anything!  So I fished the blade out of the soup.  I put it back on and it still didn’t do anything. So I was going to change back to blade C and guess what?  Blade B was back in the soup.

I tried blade C again.  By now, I am using a portion of a lid and foil (I have this half metal half plastic lid and the plastic always falls out leaving the metal “rim” — so I was using that to help keep the mess down).  There was still green soup dripped all over the sides of the pot and all over the burner.  So I decided to use yet a different blade, the Raw Meat blade.

I never really got ALL the secondary spinach chopped up clean and the soup never got creamy.  But my hubby said over and over again it was good.  He said it was a keeper.  The next day (today) he was still talking about it and said I had to post the recipe on my blog.  I thought that those of you that make soup and those of you that use an immersion blender would enjoy hearing about how I made soup a mess by not using a stock pot or the correct blade.

Do you know which blade I should be using to blend the veggies and have it come out creamy?  Also, tell me how to use the blender.  Do I move it around like a hand mixer or set it at the bottom of the pot, then blend, then pick it up and set it back down, etc.?

Posted in Just stuff, Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Terre-yaki Sauce

Posted by terrepruitt on April 7, 2011

Ok, so I haven’t made it yet, and I didn’t make up the recipe, but I plan on making it.  I found my instructions for my immersion blender.  It is an old one.  It is a Thane Thunder Stick Pro.  I can’t find the year on the instructions, but I know that I bought it since I’ve lived here.  That has been within the last 12 years.  Ha!  I know they have improved since then.  If I end up using it as much as I hope I will just have to get a new one.

Anyway, the recipe for teriyaki sauce is as follows:

 

I will definitely experiment with this because I will avoid the “artificial sweetener” and MSG.  I might just try the below recipe from allrecipes.com.

2/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cooking sherry
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced

I am sure someone has mentioned to me to make my own teriyaki because I LOVE teriyaki and I don’t like the High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) used in the brand I normally by.  I had a friend call me recently to tell me of a brand that didn’t have HFCS but the choices were spicy and ginger or something.

So, I will just try to make my own.  Not that I have to use the blender, but why not?

Do you like teriyaki?

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Creamy soup without Cream

Posted by terrepruitt on April 5, 2011

Last week one of my friends posted something on her Facebook page about green garlic.  I meant to ask her about it when I talked to her but I forgot.  Then she visited my blog and made a comment that included green garlic.  She said she had posted a recipe of green garlic and spinach soup.  She has many things that she makes that I want to try and I told her I put that on my list, well, I can cross it off.  She had me over to lunch and she made green garlic soup.

First of call green garlic is somewhat what it sounds like.  It is not GREEN so much as it is “new’ or not yet read to be mature garlic garlic.  It looks like a scallion, but it is the garlic before it starts changing into cloves and a bulb.

I was able to witness this being made and she made it look so easy.  Much easier than the recipe looked.  She made a creamy soup without any cream.  It is awesome.  I need to find my immersion blender and start using it and I too will be able to make creamy soups and sauces without cream.

She cut up the green garlic.  Sautéed it in olive oil.  She used a little bit of butter, maybe a teaspoon or two.  She cooked it until it was tender.  Then she poured in a box of stock.  I spotted the recipe and it called for vegetable stock, but as we were dining she said she used chicken.  So I am going to use whichever one I can find without Canola Oil.  🙂  Then she put in a huge bunch of spinach.  It wilted quickly then she blended it all in the pot.

It was gorgeous.  It was delicious.  It has to be nutritious because it was garlic, olive oil, spinach, and low sodium chicken stock.    Oh, she did add crème fraîche to the bottom of our bowls, but that could be left out.

I can’t wait to find my blender’s directions so I can change the blade and get to making soups.  I sure it will happen just in time as the weather changes.

If my friend happens to read this and wants to correct, add, or change anything in my notes on her recipe please do.  Also, if you are here . . . . thank you so much.  Thank you for visiting and thank you for having me over for your yummy soup and closet shopping!

Soup?  Do you make your own soup?  What is your favorite recipe?

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments »