"Give Your Fridge & Pantry A Make Over!"

             
               "Susan, I miss your soup!"


Fill your kitchen with wholesome ingredients and you can cook awesome meals in no time!

Make a weekly shopping list of these key ingredients and keep them on hand, so your kitchen will be set to serve you well. 

The dry grains don't spoil and the veggies can be used in almost any dish to add a complexity of flavors.

Soup, Ooup, Zoup, however you say the word, it translates to pure Delight for soup lovers!  So much that, it is one of the first words that our lil luv bugs learn here with us.

It melts my heart when my lil' luv bugs say " Susan, I love your soup!" with every mouthful.

And they are the reason I love to cook! 

Spices

Make sure all of your spices are whole and grind them as needed or use them whole. If you purchase ground up spices, remember they have been sitting on a shelf for a long time and will continue to sit in your kitchen for a while longer. Once spices are ground they loose their flavor and potency. When you grind spices, you release the oils, and they begin to dissipate. In two weeks to a month after grinding, you have the sharpest drop in flavor, a rapid loss of oils. But then, it plateaus, losing its flavor at a more gradual rate. So to avoid any loss, we buy whole seeds and grind as needed or in most recipes use whole seeds.

All salts are not just salt. Read the ingredients label and make sure it is just salt. We use Real Salt, Sea Salt and Pink Himalayan Salt.

All the ingredients listed should always be organic if you want to make sure that your soup tastes like the ones you have had here with us. And believe me when I tell you this, "Your Lil one will know the difference."  

Allspice, Black or Rainbow Peppercorn, Cumin Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Fenugreek Seeds, Garlic Powder or Granules to start. 

 (Hint: Store all the spices away from hot areas near and around your stove to keep them fresh.)


Herbs and Veggies

Herbs and Veggies 101- leave them in the green bags that you get at the grocery store but make sure they are dry and remove all rubber bands before storing in the fridge at eye level.

( Hint: Keep all your greens at eye level in the fridge so you can see what you have to work with every time you open the fridge.)

(Cilantro, Parsley, Mint, Carrots and Celery)

(Onion, Garlic, and Potato's do not need to be stored in the fridge.)


Grains, Beans and Legumes

Brown Lentils, Red Lentils, White Beans, Black Beans, Green Split Peas, Arborio Rice, Brown Rice, Orzo Pasta or any long thin pasta noodles cut into small bite size pieces.

(Hint: Store all of these in glass jars away from sunlight in your kitchen. Put them on a shelf where you will see the beautiful array of colors and will be encouraged use them.)

Frozen Veggies

Frozen Corn and Peas are great for texture and can be added at the end when your soup is done cooking, since they are already cooked.

Your Good Fats

Ghee, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Coconut Oil and Butter

All can be stored at room temp except for the butter.



  Lemongrass Chicken Corn Chowder

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed                             
2 cups of brown rice
4 cups of frozen corn
1 large white or yellow onion chopped
3 whole cloves of garlic
2 celery stalks diced
1 whole lemongrass or 2 drops of lemongrass oil
1 tbsp. of sea salt or to taste
1 tbsp. of fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp. of extra virgin coconut oil

16 cups of filtered water

Heat coconut oil in (8 Quart) stainless steel pot. Add onions, garlic, fenugreek and chicken.
Sauté until the ingredients begin to sizzle a bit, add brown rice,
celery, sea salt, lemongrass and filtered water. Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes or until you are sure the chicken and brown rice are fully cooked. Remove the lemongrass if you are using actual lemongrass. 
( It is important that you remove the lemongrass before blending the soup or else you will
have inedible lemongrass strands in your soup. They are not fun to pick out!)

Once you have removed the lemongrass, turn off the heat, add half of the frozen corn, and blend the soup. After blending you may add the remainder of the corn to add bits of sweetness and crunch.

If you are using lemongrass oil, turn off the heat then add 2 drops of lemongrass oil to the pot, stir and taste. 

You will be going for a second helping, so fill up your bowl.

Take your time and Enjoy!