Amish Chicken and Corn Soup

One of our favorite foods of summer is fresh corn. We can't wait until those golden ears of corn start showing up at our local vegetable market. One way, we enjoy the wonderful flavor of corn through the months we use frozen corn is Amish Chicken and Corn Soup. It is a warm delight of corn, celery, carrots brought together with the earth flavor of saffron.

This recipe is one of our favorites from The Culinary Institute of America's Book of Soups. My family loves the flavor of saffron combined with the corn. The corn noodles are extra layer of taste enhancement.

If you are going to make this soup ahead of time, keep the noodles in a separate container until it is time to reheat it. To serve left overs have a little extra chicken broth on hand, since the corn noodles will soak up some of the broth.

Recipe

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

2 qts. chicken broth

3/4 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup carrot, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/2 tsp crushed saffron threads

1 cup corn kernals

1 TB parsley, finely chopped

3 oz gluten free corn noodles, cooked *

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

1. In a large Dutch oven combine the first six ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.

2. Then add the noodles and corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 8.

Note: I used Mrs. Leepers Corn Spaghetti. They are available from Glutenfree.com and Allergygrocer.com.

French Lentil Soup - Gluten Free

Cooler weather causes me to hibernate in my warm kitchen, maybe it's due to a biological need to gather food and build body fat resources to survive the upcoming winter. On the other hand, it could be my need to hide in warm places so that I don't have to wear multiple layers of insulating clothing. Or maybe it's just my excuse to make hearty bone warming food like French Lentil Soup.

French Lentil Soup is an aromatic dish that will have everyone in your house gravitating towards the kitchen. Traditionally built on a base of vegetable broth, lentils and tomatoes, I needed to adjust the ingredients for the nightshade (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers) allergic crew at my house. The recipe I began to work with was from one of my favorite chefs, Alton Brown.

Prior to the advent of allergies and gluten sensitivity, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed lentil soup. Alton's recipe is where I started with my substitution for the tomatoes. I used celeriac in place of the tomatoes. Since I didn't have an onion on hand, I substituted shallots and leeks for the onion.

The French Lentil Soup turned out wonderfully. A soul satisfying medley of vegetables, this soup will have your taste buds demanding for more.

Recipe

4 Tb olive oil
2 medium leeks, whites only chopped
1/2 shallot, chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped celeriac
2 tsp sea salt
1 pound french lentils, pricked through and rinsed
2 quarts vegetable broth
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Optional: 1/2 tsp ground grains of paradise*

1. In a 6-quart Dutch oven, dump in the first seven ingredients. Then sweat the vegetables until the shallots are translucent.

2. Pour in the lentils, broth and spices, then bring to a boil. Once it has begun to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the lentils are tender, approximately 40 minutes.

3. Serve the soup warm. The next day the soup will have thickened, so add a little vegetable broth to the soup while reheating it.

What did my family think about the French Lentil soup? All of us thought this version of French Lentil soup was a winner. My children liked it so much, they keep asking me to make it again.

* Where can you find grains of paradise? I found mine in the spice area of my local Whole Foods, but you can also buy it from the Spice House.

Pumpkin Leek Soup - Gluten Free

The leaves have begun to change and are showering the landscape with their bright colors. Pumpkins are covering the ground all around the vegetable market along with yellow, orange and burgundy Chrysanthemums. The Fall vegetables are arriving at the market, leeks, spinach, and squashes. With Fall all around me and my chilly toes talking to me, I wanted to make a warm hearty soup for my family to enjoy.

I had brought home a number of leeks as they have a delicate and sweeter flavor than onions. Leeks have manganese, Vitamin C, iron, folate, Vitamin B6 and very few calories. Leeks can be used a wide variety of ways from chips, soup or tarts.

Leeks are relatively new to the Americas where they were only in use by 1775 by both the colonists and natives, but they have been used throughout history. There is evidence from tomb paintings that the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians cooked with them. Notably, they were a favorite of the Emperor Nero, who liked them in his soup and ate so many he became known as Porrophagus or leek eater. They are so beloved by the people of Wales that they are one of their national emblems.

To prepare your leeks, trim away the wilted or damaged leaves from the outside. Trim away the tops of the leaves. Then cut the leek in half beginning at the end of the white part and going all the way to the end of the leaves. Next, turn the leek over and repeat the last step so that the green leaves are cut into quarters. Fan out the leaves and wash the leek under running water to remove the dirt. After chopping the leek you may find dirt in between the white layers. Place the chopped leeks in a colander and rinse well to remove the dirt. If you would like to see how this is done, visit Jacques Pepin's website for a video on how to clean leeks.

I made the Pumpkin Leek Soup recipe from Colavita, but I needed to make a couple of adjustments for time and personal flavor preferences. This is a robust soup, filled with the flavors of leeks, pumpkin and spices. I served it with warm gluten free rolls and a light salad of mixed baby greens. It was a delightful meal to sit down to on a cool fall evening.

Recipe

1 Tb butter
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 medium leek chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tb dry white wine
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground sage
pinch rosemary leaves
1 Tb chopped pecans

1. In a skillet, saute the chopped leek in the butter and olive oil until they have softened. Pour in 1 cup of the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and allow the leeks to cook for about 10 minutes.

2. In a stock pot, pour in the rest of the ingredients and the leek broth mixture. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped pecans and serve warm.

What did my family think? My children weren't fond of the flavor of the soup, as they didn't like the spices. My husband and I thought it was warm and delightful.

Chestnut and Celeriac Soup

Rich and hearty soups are staple fare at my home when fall weather arrives. Warming you from the inside out, these types of soups can chase the chill from your body just like a toasty radiator. I'm always looking for ways to stay warm when chilly weather hits and new soups for us to try.

While I was at the vegetable stand, I picked up a celeriac, some parsley roots and sweet potatoes that I thought would be wonderful together in a soup. After looking through my collection of cookbooks, I was inspired by a recipe for sweet potato and celeriac soup in Vegetables: from Amaranth to Zucchini by Elizabeth Schneider. I used celeriac, parsley root, sweet potatoes, shallots, celery and chestnuts to create a delightful fall soup.

Recipe

2 cups chopped celeriac
1/2 cup chopped parsley root
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped sweet potato
1/2 cup chopped shallot
3/4 cup chopped roasted chestnuts
1 quart vegetable broth
2 1/4 cups water
2 tsp sea salt
dash black pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1. In a stock pot, pour in the first ten ingredients. Cook until the vegetables are tender.

2. Puree the soup in a food processor and then return it to the stock pot to keep warm.

3. Add the nutmeg then stir. Garnish with celery leaves and chopped roasted chestnuts.

What did my family think about the soup? My husband and I thought it was delicious. My children didn't really enjoy it, but they said it wasn't too bad. My husband and I enjoyed it for lunch the next day with toasted ham and cheese open faced sandwiches.

Chicken Noodle Soup - Gluten Free

One of my children's favorite soup is Chicken Noodle. When my son was little it was the only way I could get him to eat carrots. He loved to eat the soft carrots, the warm broth and the slurpy noodles. Creating a gluten-free version of Chicken Noodle soup that my children enjoyed has been a long standing challenge.

Over the last several years, I've made different versions of chicken noodle soup, but my kids have always disliked the results. Two months ago, I made this soup with Quinoa noodles in my crock pot. I wanted the soup to be ready to serve by the time we got home from gymnastics. So, I added the dry noodles to the soup to cook for the hour we were going to be gone. My mistake...I made a murky chicken and quinoa dumpling soup. The kids wouldn't eat it. Try...try...again.

I've found a wonderful substitute for the pasta noodles in the soup. Trader Joe's is now carrying brown rice pasta spaghetti noodles. They are made of brown rice flour and water. They will maintain their shape and don't dissolve in the leftover broth.

I kept trying and I've come up with a winner. It's a quick recipe for your crock pot.

Recipe

1 can (12.5 oz) of canned chicken
8 cups water or 6 cups chicken broth & 2 cups vegetable broth
4-5 fresh celery leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme (or more if you like your broth spicier)
2/3 cup sliced celery
3/4 cup sliced carrot
2 Tb minced dried parsley
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp black pepper
sea salt to taste
brown rice noodles

In a crock pot, add all the ingredients except for the noodles. Set the crock pot to simmer and allow it to cook for 1 to 1/2 hours. Cook the brown rice noodles according to the package directions. Just before serving the soup, add the noodles to the crock pot and stir. Make sure to separate any noodles that are stuck together.

My judges are always enthusiastic about this recipe. It is one of our favorite winter meals. The brown rice noodles are the real hit with my kids. More like wheat noodles, they hold together and have a milder flavor than noodles made of quinoa. This recipe is a keeper at our house.

Split Pea Soup - Gluten Free

I love having crock pot meals on cold winter days. After playing hard in the cold and snow, you come inside to wonderful and inviting smells. Split Pea Soup is a family favorite and I wanted to develop a version that was healthier and gluten-free.

Our old crock pot was 17 years old and had reached the end of it's useful life. I decided to replace with with a cinnamon red Kitchen Aid slow cooker. I needed a family pleasing meal for it's maiden voyage. Since winter has finally arrived in New York, a nice body warming soup is in order. I found a bag of green peas in the pantry and a petite Niman Ranch ham in the freezer. Yes, split pea soup would be wonderful on a cold day.

This recipe makes enough for left overs. These came in handy after we came inside from trying to double dutch in 26 degree weather in our winter gear. The kids hugged the radiator in the kitchen while I warmed up the soup. This is perfect body warming food.

Recipe

1 (16 oz) bag of dried split green peas
2 quarts of water
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped ham
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups diced carrot
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 tsp salt or to taste
Optional: 1 potato peeled & chopped

Wash the peas and remove any debris. Place peas in a bowl of water to soak overnight. Drain the water off and put the peas in the slow cooker.

Add the other ingredients to the slow cooker. Set on low heat in the morning the soup will be finished cooking by the end of the day. Take a potato masher and mash the vegetables in the soup. This will yield a chunkier soup. If you prefer a smoother soup, cool the soup and blend in batches in your food processer or blender.

Split pea soup is a family favorite at my house and this recipe gets rave reviews from both kids and parents.

Black Bean Soup - Gluten Free & Vegetarian

I've been looking for some nice hearty gluten-free soup recipes for the winter. Soups that can slowly cook in the crock pot, while we're out building things in the snow or going to activities. My kids will eat a wider variety of vegetables in soup, so I was thinking this would be a great place to start. Plus, I've wanted to find tasty vegetarian or low meat soup options.

I've found a couple of soup recipes that are pretty good, but for some reason they haven been what we wanted to add our to family cookbook. Either my family hasn't enjoyed some of them or some recipes are too high on the Glycemic Index and need to be modified before I cook them again.

One of my crock pot soup successes was a gluten free Black Bean Soup, although this version does have green salsa, a nightshade plant, in it. It's very easy and makes enough for left overs.

Black Bean Soup Recipe

2 cans Black Beans
1 1/2 boxes of Vegetable Broth
1 chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
2 Tb grapeseed or olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup green salsa
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
Optional: sour cream as a garnish

I put all the ingredients in the crock pot and set it to 250 degrees. At this temperature, you can start it to cook in the morning and serve in the evening.

So as to my goal with broadening my children's vegetable horizon...didn't happen. They said it had too many onions. (Insert - parental sigh) My husband and I thought it tasted great. We added blue corn tortilla chips and Monterey Jack cheese and it tasted wonderful. I had some Gouda cheese that we tried on our left overs and that was a nice option too.