Unique Vegetable Soup

 By Artem Lebedev 

Photo: vegetariansrecipes.org
 
You are probably wondering about the perfect food that is quick and easy to prepare, has myriads of choices of ingredients, benefits you with better health, and is cost effective to make? Then, the answer to all your questions is vegetable soup.
Why is vegetable soup so important?
For starters, this soup is very easy to prepare. With just few easy steps, anyone can prepare it.
There are plenty of soups recipes available. You can try out different vegetables every time you prepare it.
Although for most recipes, the method of preparation remains the same, it may vary a little depending on the ingredients you choose.
You may not have adequate vegetables in your diet at the moment. For instance, most American diets have a lesser vegetable content. So, with vegetable soup, you can boost your vegetable intake to meet your five-a-day recommended portion.
Consuming this soup is advantageous to your health, as vegetables reduce the chances of heart disease, hypertension, Diabetes, it protects you against specific type of cancers, and, in general, it leads to an increase in the body's resistance against many diseases and aliments through improving the body's immune system.
If you are weight conscious, vegetable soup acts like a diet soup, which limits unwanted calories and fat build-up in your body unlike other foods. It can help you reduce and maintain the required weight.
If you are sick, vegetable soup acts like a healthy soup that improves your health by providing you with the necessary nutrients.
Here are some ingredients to prepare vegetable soup:
50 grams each of any two vegetables. They can be carrots, onions, potatoes, cauliflower, etc. They can be scraped and chopped depending on your choice.
200 grams of tomatoes.
20 grams of butter.
1 tablespoon of oats
2 teaspoons of ginger and garlic paste
50 milliliters of fresh skimmed milk
2 teaspoons of oil
1 tablespoon of flour (all purpose)
1 teaspoon of pepper powder
Salt as per your taste
1 - 2 green chilies
5 - 6 cups of water
5 - 6 neatly chopped Coriander leaves.
Method of preparation of vegetable soup:
You have to ignite or switch on your stove, and place a pan on it.
Put 5 - 10 grams of butter in the pan, and heat it. You have to let the butter span across the pan as it melts.
Put the ginger and garlic paste into the pan, and fry it for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring it so that it does not stick to the pan.
Put in the vegetables and tomatoes into the pan.
Put in 5 - 8 cups of water, and let it boil. Time is dependent on the flame intensity.
When you feel the vegetables are cooked, you can sprinkle some pepper powder upon it depending on your taste.
Now, you have to mix milk, flour, and oats in a jug, and then add the mixture to the pan.
Now, you can decrease the flame intensity to a simmer.
Fry oil with a mixture of the Coriander leaves and green chilies for about 1 - 2 minutes in another pan, and then transfer it to the vegetable soup pan. Take care to protect yourself from the oil if it spurts when you transfer it to the soup.
Simmer for 2 more minutes, and stir the contents well.
Now your vegetable soup is ready.

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Easy Linguine Recipe - Dandelion Feta Linguine

 By Virginia Brown Wright 

Photo: mealplanningmoms.files.wordpress.com
 
This is an easy pasta recipe to make that will wow your guests as you serve them linguine that is cooked al dente, with a common edible weed that adds a bit of a gourmet taste-- especially when topped with a generous portion of feta cheese! Dandelion greens, weeds that grow on lawns, are easy to fix, and you can make them as tasty as you wish-- it doesn't have to be a bitter, plain green, lying tasteless on a plate. These wild greens are definitely a powerhouse of antioxidants and a super nutritious food! So I got in the test kitchen and started experimenting with various ways to fix dandelions. The recipe below is our family's favorite dandelion green recipe. Enjoy!
Dandelion Feta Linguine Recipe
Ingredients:
4 cups of cooked dandelion greens
1/2 lb. of bacon, cut in 1-inch pieces, fried to crisp
1 lb. linguine, cooked "Al dente"
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Gather a plastic shopping bag full of dandelion greens, wash in kitchen sink filled with water, then cook in a large pot; drain well. Do not overcook greens. The quick and easy way to cook greens is noted below, following these instructions. Once drained, a shopping bag will equal about 4-cups cooked down dandelion greens. Cut-up bacon in 1-inch pieces, fry to crisp. In a large pot cook linguine according to package directions, drain well. Lightly mix bacon and greens together; add to cooked linguine and toss.
I buy feta cheese in a solid piece, and I slice off the cheese and then break that up in pieces to put on top of the linguine and greens. I prefer that, over buying feta that is crumbled. For me, it always seems that the crumbled feta is dryer than the feta I purchase in solid chunks.
Once you have added the feta, salt and pepper to taste.
Fixing the greens Greek style with the feta cheese was definitely a surprise treat!
The quick and easy way to cook dandelion greens is to cut greens in small pieces, place in large pot, pour hot boiling water over the top, gently stir and let sit until cooked. No need to even turn on the burner. Once greens are cooked, drain well, serve with a drizzle of olive oil or a pat of butter and dash of salt & pepper. You can also sprinkle a dash of hot red pepper flakes on top, or fix the way I've suggested in this recipe with bacon and feta cheese.

Need help adapting your favorite recipe to a healthier version? Go to Recipe Submission at ( http://www.therecipeweekly.com/submission-guidelines ) and email it. Please include your full name, and what specifically you need help with. Your recipe will be evaluated, and suggestions on an adapted version will be emailed back to you
Have a writing question? Go to ( http://www.virginiawright.com/blog ) click on "Contact Me." Email me your question.
(c) Copyright - Virginia Brown Wright - All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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How to Make an Authentic Mexican Pozole Soup

 By Philip Albert Edmonds-Hunt 

Photo: urbanepicurious.com
 
A wonderful smell comes from the kitchen when Pozole is on the menu. It is a traditional Mexican dish that is cooked in three different styles, depending on which State of Mexico it comes from. White Pozole comes from the State of Guerrero, which can be found in the Southern part of Mexico, and is considered to be the most tasty of the three different styles.
Ingredients
1 Kilo of Boneless Chopped Pork
1/2 a Kilo of Pork on the Bone
3 Kilos of Fresh Large White Sweet Corn (Maize)
2 Large Onions
Garlic to taste
2 Large Avocados
1/2 a Lettuce
12 Large Radishes
6 Chiles (Serrano)
Oregano
Pork Scratchings
2-3 Packets of Corn Tortillas (Mexican Tostadas)
Salt to taste
Preparation for 12 Large Portions
Wash the maize, and put it into a large metal stock pot together with one onion, the squeezed garlic (to taste), and enough water to cover. Place the stock pot on a high gas flame for about one hour, checking so as not to allow the water to boil dry. Put both the boneless pork, and the pork on the bone into the stock pot (add more water if necessary). Continue cooking on a high flame for a further two hours, until the pork is completely cooked together with the maize. Half of an hour before the cooking time has finished, add three or four large pinches of salt (to taste).
The maize should be soft when it is chewed (pre-cooked tinned maize will cook a lot quicker, so the cooking time will need to be adjusted, if used).
Meanwhile the maize and pork are cooking, wash and finely chop the half lettuce together with one onion and 6 chiles. Wash the radishes and finely slice them.
Serving Instructions
Serve the Pozole into large soup bowls. Place two to three large pieces of sliced avocado into each soup bowl, together with a few small pieces of pork scratchings. Place the finely chopped lettuce on top, together with two to three teaspoons of chopped onion, a sliced radish, half of a chopped chile, and finish by sprinkling oregano over the top.
Eat served with the corn tortillas (tostadas).
Pozole can be prepared with chicken rather than pork if required, although the cooking time for the chicken will need to be reduced. Like wise, it may also be prepared without meat for a tasty vegetarian dish. Although Pozole can be eaten directly after it has been cooked, it is best left for 24 hours and thoroughly reheated the next day for a true authentic Mexican taste.
Pozole may be eaten for breakfast or throughout the day, usually with a cold drink.

Philip Albert Edmonds-Hunt is from the County of Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. He has travelled most of Europe, and he has lived in Spain on more than one occasion. Philip has also travelled much of the USA and now lives and works as a Freelance Writer and English Teacher in Mexico. He is the owner of The Oxford Quill, a small but reliable business offering a range of services such as Professional Article Writing, Proofreading, and Website Design. If you would like to learn more about how to prepare traditional Mexican food, check out: https://sites.google.com/site/theoxfordquill/how-to-make-mexican-egg-tacos

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How to Make a Pizza - Step by Step

By Piotr Michalowski  

Photo: everydayhomemaking.com
 
Pizza bases are very easily available in the market these days, however if you want to make them at home, here is the recipe.
Preparation Time: 25 mins
Baking Time: 5 to 7 minutes.
Baking Temperature: 150ºC
Makes 2 bases
Ingredients
2 cups plain flour (maida)
2 tsp fresh yeast, crumbled
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil or any other
1 tsp salt
Method
Combine all the ingredients except the olive oil in a bowl and knead into a soft and pliable dough using enough water.
Add the olive oil and knead again.
Cover the dough with a wet muslin cloth and allow it to prove till it doubles in volume (approx. 15 to 20 minutes).
Press the dough lightly to remove the air. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts.
Roll each portion into a circle of 250 mm. (10") diameter and 6 mm. (1/4") thickness.
Prick each circle 4 to 5 times with a fork. If you wish to make your pizza in a pan on the gas, use at this stage.
Bake at 150ºc for about 5 to 7 minutes.
Tips
Fresh yeast can be easily purchased from your local bakery in small quantities.
You can also use half the quantity of dry yeast instead of fresh yeast for the above recipe and follow the instructions on the packet.
You can also use a ready pizza base for any pizza.
NOTE: This pizza base can be topped with your favourite toppings.
Ingredients (serves 4)
160ml (2/3 cup) passata (tomato pasta sauce)
2 x 225g pkts Boboli 97.2% fat-free pizza bases
2 zucchini
16 (about 450g) green prawns, peeled leaving tails intact, deveined
120g fresh low-fat ricotta, drained on paper towel
20 small fresh basil leaves
Preheat oven to 220°C. Place 2 baking trays in oven to heat. Spread the passata evenly over the pizza bases.
Use a vegetable peeler to slice the zucchini lengthways into long, thin ribbons. Place the zucchini on the pizza bases. Arrange the prawns among the zucchini. Crumble the ricotta into large pieces and scatter over the pizzas.
Remove the baking trays from oven. Place the pizzas on the baking trays and bake in oven, swapping trays halfway through cooking, for 15-20 minutes or until the prawns curl and change colour and the bases are crisp and light brown.
Scatter the basil over the pizzas and serve immediately.

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