Whenever my daughter gets sick, she asks for soup. She loves most types of soup but she especially loves soups with noodles and without meat. I am always concerned that she gets enough vegetables though so I always try to sneak them in whenever I can.

The last time she got sick she was also afflicted with a very sore throat and lost her appetite for most things. That is, until I made this soup which is a cross of everything she had and everything that is good for her.

The soup base contains all the usual ingredients for Filipino chicken soup called Tinola and since I didn't plan on using any chicken, I used chicken broth for the soup.

The recipe starts by sauteeing garlic, onions and garlic in about a tablespoon of oil. Add the chicken broth and let it come to a boil. Then add (as in this case) mustard greens, turnip root and rice noodles. Cook until the turnip and noodles are tender at which point the greens should be too. This should take about 8-10 minutes. If your chicken broth is not seasoned already, season the soup with salt and pepper.

I didn't put any proportions because it all depends on how much soup you're making. By adjusting the proportions to your taste, you can make this soup for two or two hundred :)

My daughter loves miso soup. You know, the kind they give you at the Japanese restaurant that usually has cubes of tofu and slivers of seaweed? Well my daughter who swears to hate anything seafood loves miso soup. She tolerates the seaweed or just picks them out when she sees them. But I haven't told her that the stock base for miso soup is made of fish stock. Or rather, flavored with dried bonito flakes. Did you know that?

Did you also know that the main ingredient of the soup, MISO, is made of fermented soy beans? My daughter does not mind this so much. She loves edamame! Salt and koji fungus are also added to fascilitate the fermentation process along.

The final product that I buy is a tub like the one pictured below at the Asian market. It's usually in the refrigerated section.



It is a thick paste, golden in color, has a slightly sour, fermented smell and very salty. I have been buying it mainly to make my daughter's miso soup. Then a few weeks ago, I ran across this recipe for Miso Dip, and I just fell in love with it!

MISO DIP

It's so simple, I don't know why I never thought of doing it before. The dip, which is really more of a condiment that you can use to accompany a variety of dishes, is simply miso paste sauteed with garlic, onions and tomatoes. Nothing could be simpler! But oh the possibilities of using this condiment is endless!

So far, we've used it as a flavor enhancer for soups, a dip for fried fish and pork chops, added it to curried dishes, and my favorite, as a pasta sauce!

I'll post more photos and recipes of miso dip inspired dishes as I get to them.
Now if you would like to learn more specific and detailed information about Miso, check out this page about Hatcho Miso for some very interesting facts.

The weather has turned cold in the Carolinas alright! We even got snow on Christmas day! Amazing. That was the first snow on Christmas we've had since moving here 16 years ago. Actually, the whole area hadn't seen snow since 1947!

So what's good when there's snow and it's cold outside? Why soup of course! And what better soup to stave off the cold than something that sticks to the bones like this chicken soup with rice!

Click here for the recipe for Arroz Caldo or Chicken Soup with Rice

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I call this a healthy meatball soup because of the abundance of vegetables in it. It is hard to believe that this Albondigas Soup can be at your table within an hour.

This one is made from pre-made frozen Italian Style meatballs from Costco, our newest favorite item to buy. See my previous post for Four Foods For Friday. The addition of chayote squash and carrots to this recipe gives it a refreshing taste which sets it apart from the creamy heaviness of most meatball soups you run into. Try it out, you just might light it! (Click on the photo for the recipe) BTW, we served this up with some homemade pupusas which we will post a recipe for later.



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I ran across a delicious sounding recipe for turkey chili, which I have never tried before, so I ran to the market and got the stuff together. I really liked the turkey chili recipe because it was much lower in fat than the one made with beef. I didn't even have to add any oil and there was hardly any rendered from the turkey. The original recipe was super spicy though so I had to cut it down a bit for the girls. The result was delicious and just perfect for a cold night. The chili was still spicier than what I usually make, but surprisingly, the girls loved it spice and all!

The cornbread with cheese and jalapeno was a perfect pair to the spicy chili. It was slightly sweet but scented with the aroma of jalapeno. It didn't get spicy at all.



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My youngest daughter loves soups; yep, even in the heat of summer, she'll eat soup just like her momma. Whereas her momma loves meaty and spicy soups, she leans more on the creamy and meatless side. We cooked this one up together one afternoon when she was craving something soupy.

Here's the easy peasy recipe for this Potato, Carrots and Peas Soup...


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My youngest daughter loves soups, especially blended soups lately, so you’ll be seeing more of these type of soups until she gets out of this phase She also doesn’t want any meat in her soups. This was her latest favorite. I used cremini mushrooms for this but you can use any variety of fresh mushroom available.

Click here for the recipe to this Mushroom Soup.



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Soup in the summer time. Who would have thought, right? Actually, there is a very good rationale why soup is good for you when the weather is hot. One, if keeps you hydrated. Two, when you drink lots of water or eat lots of soupy and juicy foods, you have more to sweat out therefore cooling your body down. Third and best of all, this soup takes no time to cook! Sparing you from heating up your kitchen and slaving over a hot stove :) Because you know how we moms like to do that, you know?

This is an easy peasy soup with some new short cuts but still keeping it healthy for the kids.

Click here for the recipe for Wonton Soup.



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We love soups in our house, whatever kind. Some of us like it meaty and chunky, and some of us like it light and smooth. The Clone, my youngest daughter, usually does not like mushrooms; but when blended into a soup like this one, she'll eat it! The girls loves soup! The great thing about this kind of soup is that you can sneak in all kinds of veggies in there and they will never know it :)

Get the recipe for Potato, Mushrooms and Leeks Soup.


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We cooked up some Carrot Soup in Our New Kitchen at the request of The Clone who, like the rest of us, has been suffering from the cold lately. She loves anything soupy and while she's never had carrot soup before, and I was a little unsure whether she would like it or not, I didn't have to worry. This soup was gone in no time! If you're not into pumpkin soup, this might be a good starter dish for Thanksgiving.



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This is another dish where there are as many variations as there are regions in the Philippines. From the region that I come from, it is called "balatong". Some prefer it thick some like it soupy. Some like to put different types of vegetables with it. Me, I happen to like mine on the soupy side and I like it best with bittermelon (ampalaya) leaves. I had a couple of bittermelon plants come up in our garden this year, one was scrawny but the other one was lush and full of big pretty leaves. I just had to make this soup to use some of the leaves before the frost beats me to it.

Want to cook mung bean soup?

Not too long ago, Rowena had an obsession with oxtail soup that also piqued my own obsession. Our local Costco just started carrying oxtails in their meat section and I immediately snagged a pack with this particular soup in mind. Whenever I can get ahold of some oxtails I inevitably plan on cooking kare-kare, a peanut butter based stew with vegetables. Now with this soup, I have added to my oxtail prep repertoir.

Whenever I visit my sisters in Los Angeles, one of our stops is King's Hawaiian Restaurant and Bakery in Torrance where one of us (mostly me) would almost always order the oxtail soup. The Hawaiian oxtail soup, I learned is a Chinese recipe adapted by the Hawaiians. My version, admittedly, is not half as good as King's; I don't know what their secret is but their soup is just wonderfully flavorful.

This was quite flavorful too, what with the addition of the herbs and spices, the smell was delicious. Rowena provided two links for recipes, here and here, which I combined to make this version. I was intrigued by the addition of whiskey but unfortunately it was a Sunday when I decided to cook this soup and the state run liquor stores were closed (that's a law here, no liquor sold on Sundays).

INGREDIENTS:
2-3 pounds of oxtails
1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms, soak in hot water for 10 minutes
1 piece gow pee(Chinese dried tangerine peel), soak in hot water for 10 minutes
1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns (wrap in cheese cloth)
2 inch fresh ginger peeled and sliced into rounds
2 whole star anise
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 lb. mustard cabbage, cut in 1-2 inch lengths

Garnishes:
Thinly sliced green onions
Chopped cilantro
Chopped serrano chilis

Dipping Sauce:
Grated fresh ginger
Soy Sauce

In a stock pot, parboil oxtails for 30 minutes. Rinse the oxtails and the pot and add more clean water to the pot. Bring the water back to boil and add oxtails back in along with the Szechuan peppers (wrapped in cheesecloth so they are not floating all over the soup), shiitake mushrooms, gow pee, star anise, and ginger. Salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer until the oxtails are falling off the bone tender, about 2-3 hours. Replenish the soup with additional broth or water if it starts getting too low. Skim as much fat as you can from the surface as the soup cooks. Just before serving, add the mustard cabbage and cook just until it wilts and changes color.

Serve with the garnishes to be sprinkled on top and rice.

I was dreaming of summer the other day and discovered this unposted photo of last summer's tomato gazpacho. Gazpacho is a Spanish derived cold soup which is just the thing when you have perfectly ripened tomatoes that are just brimming with natural sweetness. My girls, upon seeing this dish, exclaimed, but that's just watery salsa, mom! But upon tasting it, they have become gazpacho addicts. They can drink up this stuff.

I make a very basic blend to start with. In a blender or food processor, combine ripe tomatoes, sweet onion, 1 clove of garlic, a sprig of basil, salt and pepper to taste. Blend until everything is crushed together. If the tomatoes are not juicy enough and you would like a 'soupier' mix add some broth or just plain water to loosen it.

When you serve, you can plate it as is, or you can embelish with any of the following: sour cream, chopped cilantro, chopped chili peppers, cubed avocado, crispy fried tortillas, cubed cucumbers, or anything else that suits your fancy.

This is a quick, easy and vegetarian version of the Chicken & Corn Chowder we cooked previously which was meant to have some leeks in it. This is the Clone's new favorite soup because it doesn't have any meat and it has leeks which she planted herself, so it's her new favorite vegetable.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup chopped onions
1 cup leeks, sliced thin
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
6 cups vegetable broth
3 cups diced potatoes
1 cup corn
Salt & Pepper

Start by melting the butter in a hot pan and cooking the flour in it for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic, onions, leeks, carrots, celery, corn and potatoes and let it saute' until it is fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender and the broth has thickened up a bit. Season with salt and pepper and serve.






Filipino Cookbooks

This recipe was adapted from the Evil Jungle Prince. This is a spicy soup, perfect for cold nights and perfect for using up the okra we had in the freezer from our summer bounty. I adjusted the proportions a bit to serve 4. I also used fresh herbs because I still have some, but you can use dried too, you just may have to reduce the amounts. I believe dried herbs have a stronger flavor than fresh.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup Olive oil
1/2 cup Flour
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup onions, chopped
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 lg. bell pepper, diced
5 small bird peppers, diced
2 medium jalapeno peppers, diced
1 cup tomatoes, diced
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. fresh dill
2 bay leaves
7 cups chicken broth
3 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 cups corn
2-3 cups okra, cut into 1/4 inch length
2 lbs. shrimps, peeled
Salt & Pepper to taste

Start making a roux by heating the olive oil then add the flour. Stir and cook until the the flour is browned but not burnt.

Next saute' the aromatics: garlic, onions, carrots, celery, and peppers. Let them cook in the roux until they are fragrant and starting to soften. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute. Add the herbs: basil, thyme, dill, bay leaves. Stir. Add the broth, worcestershire sauce, and a bit of salt and pepper. Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the corn and okra and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes. About 10 minutes before serving, add the shrimps and cook just until they are done. Adjust the seasonings and serve in a bowl over rice.

I added additional spiciness with some hot sauce, but I only did that with my bowl.

With the weather turning cold once more, what better way to welcome fall than chowder. The clone really wanted to use some of the leeks from the garden, but they aren't quite ready yet so we settled on using scallions and corn instead. I wish I could say the corn came from our garden, but unfortunately our corn didn't do so well this year and we only got a couple of ears. The potatoes used for this soup was from our garden though.

4 T butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 med onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
Scallions (green onions), separate white end from green, set green ends aside for garnish
3 carrots
2 cups corn
6 med potatoes
4 deboned chicken thighs or 2 chicken breasts, cubed
1/4 c. flour
salt and pepper
2 cups milk
3 cups chicken broth

Melt butter in hot pan and sautee garlic onion, celery and white part of scallions until fragrant and onions are translucent. About 5 min. Add chicken and sautee until opaque. Add flour and sautee with the chicken and veggies for another minute. Add potatoes and carrots, broth; and milk. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until potatoes are done and broth is slightly thickened. Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the green onions, stir through and serve.

This dish was cooked by Jade sometime ago. She got the recipe from a cookbook that she gave me for my birthday last year, One Pot - simple & delicious easy to make recipes. She knows I just love one-pot meals that are also quick and easy. This dish, she cooked for us one day. It was so nice to come home and do nothing but eat dinner. Thanks, Jade :-D

INGREDIENTS:
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 potato, diced
1 sweet potato, diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 or 2 green chiles, seeded and chopped
7 oz (1 can) canned chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups chicken stock

Heat oil in a skillet and lightly brown the chicken. Add the onion, bell pepper, potato and sweet potato. Saute' for a minute or two until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the garlic and chilies and stir for a minute until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, oregano, salt & pepper, and half the cilantro. Stir. Pour in the stock and let it simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.

Sprinkle with the remaining cilantro just before serving.

I know I've mentioned before how ramen noodles are a staple in our house. It is the Clone's meal when we are serving fish or any other dish she does not care for or when I am feeling lazy and don't feel much like cooking but still want something warm and comforting anyway, we turn to ramen noodles. Luckily, the Clone has developed a taste for sinigang or sour soup and I managed to slip in some vegetables in her by making her this bowl of soup during another one of our seafood inspired meals.

For this version, I omitted the packet that comes with the noodles and instead flavored the soup with a couple of tablespoons of tamarind powder, a few slices of onion and seasoned with salt. Added the noodles and collard greens and cooked until the greens are tender. Voila! instant meal for the Clone :)

How do you dress up your ramen noodles?

We had just come in from the garden and I was in a mood for a quick and light lunch. I thought what better way to use up some of the bounty we just picked from the garden than to lightly blanch them in a soup.
I was a bit disappointed when I looked in the pantry and discovered that I was out of my usual sinigang mix with tamarind and all I had was this pack of sinigang sa miso mix.
I decided to go ahead and use this mix instead anyway. What we ended up with was another pleasant surprise.
All I did for this soup is to boil about 6 cups of water and add about half of the pack of mix, then added the shrimps and vegetables. As soon as the vegetables were cooked, we had our delicious and healthy soup! Lunch in less than 30 minutes.

Vegetables we used: swiss chard, turnip greens, green beans and topped with sprigs of cilantro or coriander.


Filipino Cookbooks

This is a very simple soup, similar to the packaged ramen noodles the clone likes, but is a lot healthier and has less sodium. You just have to start with a hearty homemade chicken stock, which is also a great way of sneaking in needed vitamins and minerals. If you don't have a vegetable infused stock, you can always add any vegetable you want to this dish. You will need:

6 cups Chicken Stock
1 Bundle of Somen Noodles
1 egg, scrambled
1 to 2 tablespoons of Miso (fermented soybeans), depending on how salty your stock is

Bring the chicken stock to a boil and add the miso to flavor, then the noodles. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the noodles are cooked. Lower the heat and slowly add the beaten egg while gently stirring the soup. Remove from heat and serve.