Hearty Egg Drop Soup

When I was a kid, my mum made egg drop soup when we were sick, which makes sense. It's a very mild soup with, at it's essence, nothing but vegetable broth and eggs in it. I was feeling in the mood for some last night--I haven't had it in years--but I knew that the only way it would fly with Mike was if there was a lot more than broth and eggs. So I scrounged the fridge and came up with carrots, cabbage, and green onions, which was lucky 'cause I don't typically have green onions on hand. So, here's a heartier version of the typical soup.

Serves 4

2 T. oil
4 small carrots, diced
1/4 head of cabbage, shredded
7 c. vegetable broth (or chicken--I didn't have any broth or base, so I had to make my own a little earlier in the day and I only had veggies)
3 or 4 eggs--I like a lot in mine so I used 4, but you could just use 2 or 3 I guess.
4 green onions, diced

Directions:
1. Put oil in the bottom of a medium to large sauce pan, warm over medium heat. Add diced carrots and cook covered until carrots are tender. Add cabbage and cook, stirring frequently until cabbage is tender.
2. Add broth and turn up high. While the broth is warming, beat eggs until well mixed. When broth is at a rolling boil, slowly pour the egg in a thin stream into the broth. (You could also use a fork to stream it in, but I get impatient with that.) Be careful not to let the soup boil over while you're adding the egg. It will start foaming, so stop pouring, give it a gentle stir, and continue. You can also turn the heat down if you need to, but it need to keep boiling to cook the egg.
3. Serve warm and garnish with green onions.

Pumpkin Curry Soup

I whipped this up tonight in the amount of time it took me to bake a couple loaves of bread (which, for those of you who haven't made my bread, takes 30 minutes). It was delicious! I could tell my husband was skeptical but one bite and he was sold! SO! Here goes.

Ingredients:
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 can light coconut milk
2/3 c. chicken broth
1 t. ginger
1 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. curry powder
dash salt
feta cheese (optional, but highly recommended)

Directions:
1. Put carrots in a sauce pan with about an 1/8 cup water. Steam until soft enough to mash (about 10 minutes). Use potato masher to mash in pan. (If you don't want any lumps at all, you can puree it in a blender, but I like a little substance personally.)
2. Add pumpkin, coconut milk, and broth. Stir to incorporate. Add seasoning. Turn burner to low and allow the soup to warm completely through.
3. Serve with feta crumbles for a sweet-salty scrumptiousness.

Chicken and Dumplings

• The ultimate in comfort foods from www.food.com.

CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS-- 4-6 servings

1 large broiler/fryer

• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
  2 celery ribs, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon pepper
• water

DUMPLINGS

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons oil

1 Combine chicken, celery, carrots, onion, chicken broth, parsley, chicken bouillon granules, salt and pepper in a large pan or dutch oven; add enough water to cover chicken.


2 Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until chicken is done.

3 Remove chicken and let stand until cool enough to handle.

4 Remove skin and bones from chicken. 

6 Add more salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

5 Return meat to soup.

7 In a mixing bowl, combine dumpling ingredients and mix well to form a stiff dough.

8  Return chicken to soup and return to a simmer.

9 Drop dumplings by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup.

10 Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove cover and simmer 10 more minutes.

11 Serve immediately.

 *SOUTHERN STYLE DUMPLINGS (heavier and chewier) 2 cups flour, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 beaten eggs. Combine flour, broth, baking powder and eggs; mix well to form a stiff batter. Drop by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Lentil Soup

I never measure this too carefully, but I'll make it as accurate as possible. (The truth is, soups are usually all to taste anyway, so it measurements don't matter all that much.)

Ingredients:
1 medium carrot - diced
about a 1/4 c. of onion - diced
a little tomato sauce/paste/freshly chopped
1-2 c. chicken broth
1 lb. lentils
lime juice
cumin

Directions:
1. In medium sauce pan, saute carrot, onion, and tomato (if fresh) in a little butter until tender. Add chicken broth (and tomato sauce/paste if using).
2. Add lentils and bring to soft boil. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally. IF AT ANY TIME THE WATER BOILS DOWN BELOW THE TOP OF THE LENTILS, ADD MORE. (This may happen multiple times.)
3. After simmering for a matter of minutes, add a good squirt of lime juice. Allow to continue simmering. Sprinkle cumin over top of lentils and stir. Let simmer continue.
4. The lentils will simmer for about 25 minutes. There should be plenty of liquid still in the pot when you serve.

We like to eat it plain or with sour cream on top. We also eat it with bread or corn bread.