Photo: esimpraim
By: Allana Mortell
While many of us are starting to get into the festive Easter mood, our houses start to fill up of bunnies and candies. One ingredient that also seems to pop up a lot during this holiday season is the carrot. While carrots can be grown all-year round, the tastiest are always found in the spring, making it a great option to use for an Easter meal side dish.
This Roasted Carrot and Ginger Soup has just the perfect amount of sweetness to the tang of ginger. With the addition of another root vegetable that is slowly going out of season, the parsnip, this soup is the perfect combination of winter and spring. This goes great as a starter for your Easter meal or as that last warm meal for those still slightly chilly days. [click to continue…]
By: Cyndi Amaya
When the Peanut Soup was first introduced to Red Rooster, it was a dish that highlighted African flavors and was supposed to only last during our Kwanzaa holiday menu. But that short week-long menu item pretty soon became a new staple dish at Red Rooster Harlem on our current menu and served at special events.
So we caught up with the two ladies who helped create the dish for Rooster’s menu, Chefs Maame Boakye and Rachel Hien and they offered us some background on Peanut Soup and even an easy version of it for readers to prepare at home! [click to continue…]
There’s no craving quite like a craving for Mexican food. Unlike some other cravings, no substitute will do. My stomach isn’t satisfied until it’s placated with a tortilla full of beans, veggies and cheese. This chicken enchilada soup satisfies this craving almost as well as the real thing, and leaves you satisfied but not overstuffed.
Though chicken breasts are easier to shred, I prefer the dark meat of the drumstick and found that adding the chicken with the bone in, infused the soup with even more chicken flavor. As much as I hate using frozen vegetables, it seemed like the best option for the winter season – if you are making this dish in the summer, use fresh corn! If ripe avocados are available, they would be an excellent topping to your enchilada, adding creaminess to the soup’s hearty spice. [click to continue…]
Photo: Cinnamon Girl Recipes
By: Kristin Braswell
Winter will be behind us before we know it, but, no matter the season, soup is always a filling and flavorful option. Sweet potato and black bean soup is not only hearty, it’s also chock-full of healthy ingredients.
Sweet potatoes are high in Vitamin D, B6 and C, which all aid in healthy immunity and strong bones. They also contain beta-carotene, which aid in the glowing skin that many of us seek during the colder months. Black beans are rich in protein and fiber. What I love most about this soup is the balancing of flavors; the sweetness of the sweet potato paired with the tartness of cumin-flavored beans sit in a peppery brew. Perfect as a cold day’s remedy! [click to continue…]
A lot of people rave over the smell of warm apple pie permeating their kitchen. It’s pretty great, but in a “been there, done that” kind of way.
Let’s be rebels. Roast some garlic instead. Its smell is equally aromatic but the finished product is much more hip-friendly, especially when we puree it with some cauliflower and turn it into soup. Now that is just a healthy addiction waiting to happen. (And it’ll make our kitchens smell like an Italian bistro. Bet an apple pie can’t do that!) [click to continue…]
Photo: Nisha A
By: Michele Wolfson
The days are cold and short this time of year, but at least we have one bright and exciting occasion to look forward to in this dark month: Valentine’s Day. But with Valentine’s Day as commercialized as it is, there is a good chance that if you dine out, the joint will be packed like sardines with couples trying to enjoy a romantic dinner.
Another reason to avoid going to a restaurant is because often eateries will forgo their usual options for a choice between two or three courses, which means that unless you’re going to a specialty vegan/vegetarian restaurant, you’re almost certain to find mainly meat or dairy products on every menu. So, just forget about it and impress your loved one by cooking! Besides, a home-cooked meal is much more romantic and you can choose whatever veg dishes your vegetarian-influenced little heart desires.
If you’re having a hard time coming up with ideas (or if you just started dating a vegetarian and are completely lost), fear no more: we’ve got you covered. We are featuring a 3-Part Series for the perfect vegetarian V-Day menu. Below is course #1. Stay tuned for courses 2 and 3! [click to continue…]
Last week, online magazine Grantland offered a Super Bowl alternative for those who are more culinarily and less athletically inclined: the Souper Bowl. Thirty-two soups went head to head in a bracket whose results were determined by readers’ votes on their favorite soups, from Borscht to Alphabet to Cream of Broccoli.* Like any good tournament, the race to the Final Four was dramatic, culminating in number 4 seeded French Onion’s upset over top-seeded Pho.
Though the soups strike different appetites and moods, the rich comfort of French Onion is tough to beat. Thinly sliced onions are slowly sautéed in butter and herbs, developing a sweet and creamy consistency. Once the onions are caramelized, they simmer in beef stock and dry wine, forming a sweetened silky broth. A floating crust of bread covered in a blanket of melted Gruyère cheese seals in the sweet onion flavor and the soup’s heat. Take your first bite with caution – burnt tongues are a common hazard of this irresistible soup.
*Patriots fans still smarting from Sunday’s game might be comforted to know that New England Clam Chowder took the championship. Manhattan didn’t even come close. [click to continue…]
It’s so great to see how interested people are in my vegan diet. Not judgmental, not confused but genuinely intrigued. It tickles me when they ask; “what exactly do you eat?” and I take great pleasure in listing the many amazing meals I’ve had and yet to have – because I’m always planning my next meal Can we say, ‘food obsessed’?
Just so you know, bread is most definitely allowed – which can be a slight problem because a diet containing copious amounts of it is not particularly great and so I treat myself to it two sometimes three times a week tops. This way I appreciate and enjoy it even more. [click to continue…]
Let’s not judge our root vegetables by their beta carotene levels, okay? I know it’s so tempting to just not give parsnip a second look because they’re all…anemic…and just too…white. But underneath that pale exterior, there’s a sweet nutty delicious root just waiting to be eaten.
While you can certainly simply roast parsnips with a hint of olive oil, salt and pepper, as you would just about any root vegetable, I love it pureed into soups. This soup in particular pairs parsnips with carrots, sun-dried tomatoes, oregano and basil, giving it a bit of Italian flair. Topped with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, it is anything but anemic, whether we’re talking flavor or complexion. [click to continue…]
By: Michele Wolfson
In an effort to stick to New Year’s Resolutions of eating healthy and shedding a few pounds, I made a lemon lentil vegan soup last night and it was outrageously delicious! Did you know that red lentils turn yellow when they cook? Lentils are small but a nutritionally mighty member of the legume family. Compared to other types of dried beans, lentils are relatively quick and easy to prepare.
Lentils are a fiber all star because they contain a good amount of cholesterol-lowering fiber. [click to continue…]
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