Here are all the reasons I have made this curry three times in the last two weeks:

1. The temperatures have finally dropped.
2. I bought 40 pounds of sweet potatoes from a farmer.
3. It’s a fulfilling vegetarian meal option!
4. All the colors make it so pretty.
5. Curry leftovers for lunch are my favorite.
6. Everyone in my family loves it except for one person.
7. If we keep eating it surely we will convert that one person to our collective Chino love for curry. Right? Ok maybe not.

Here’s the recipe so you can enjoy it too! XOXO

Cauliflower, Chickpea, Sweet Potato and Kale Curry

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons curry paste
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons freshly minced ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 sweet potatoes, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
2 cans crushed tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can chickpeas (including liquid)
1 bunch kale, leaves torn from the stems
salt + pepper
Optional toppings: cilantro, chutney, lime pickle

Directions:

Heat the oil in a heavy + large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook slowly, lowering heat if necessary. Cook until very soft, 5-10 minutes. Add the curry powder, curry paste and cayenne, stirring often, for 1 more minute. Add the garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the potatoes and cauliflower to the pot and stir. Season with lots of salt and pepper. Add the crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat on the stove to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are just-tender, about 40 minutes. Add the chickpeas and kale. Cook just until the greens have become soft.

Serve hot with rice and toppings. Enjoy!

The post Cauliflower, Chickpea, Sweet Potato and Kale Curry appeared first on Alison Chino.

This past winter I engaged in a form of torture for thirty days.

I did it in the name of health and post-holiday cleansing and camaraderie.

Also, I hoped I would lose a few pounds.

I did not lose weight. I did not feel great. I actually got really sick.

Needless to say, I did not decide at the end of thirty days that I would continue to live a life without bread (or wine).

I know that lots of folks have real allergies to gluten, but I think I have the exact opposite.

I’m allergic to not eating bread.

I might be wrong, but I think my cravings for bread and beans and grains (all things that were eliminated from my life during #whole30) are my body begging for nutrition. They are different from my sugar cravings in that I really need them. I don’t just want to eat them. I want to bathe in them.

Henceforth, I will always have piles of various grains and beans in my cupboards.

However, there is one small practice in which I engaged throughout the month of torture that made it more bearable. One little beacon of light in my dark January eating days was this: perfectly poached eggs.

After I grew tired of eating eggs in all the other ways you can think of to eat them, I began to poach them in sauces. Deb at Smitten Kitchen suggests many delish ways of poaching eggs in various tomato concoctions, and they are all wonderful.

But I began to notice that at the end of cooking almost any soup or sauce, I could throw an egg in and let it poach.

And voila, added protein.

Recently, I made this Minestrone Verde from Theo Randall’s My Simple Italian and I threw in some eggs at the end. And now I want to eat this every night.

With bread and wine of course.

Poached Eggs in Minestrone Verde

olive oil

2 red onions

4 cloves garlic

2 sticks celery

2 medium carrots

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

2 cans chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

1 can borletti beans (or great northern beans or any white bean)

4 cups freshly chopped spinach

splash of red wine vinegar

4-5 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

Pour olive oil in a deep heavy-bottomed pot and throw in the onions, garlic, celery and carrots. Let them soften a bit before adding the mushrooms. Allow to cook about ten more minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked to your liking. Add tomatoes, herbs and beans. Let everything come to a simmer for a bit (15-20 minutes) and add the spinach and red wine vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste and just before serving, crack eggs separately into the sauce. Allow eggs to poach for 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately.

The post Poached Eggs in Minestrone Verde appeared first on Alison Chino.

Remember that amazing Spicy Roasted Eggplant Soup I had while I was walking St Cuthbert’s Way?

Well, after two attempts, here’s my best guess on how to make it.

The best bit about this recipe is that the eggplant is pureed which means my kids slurped this soup down without blinking.

Shhhh! Don’t tell.

Spicy Roasted Eggplant (or Aubergine) Soup

4 eggplants

3 red peppers

6 cloves garlic

3 onions

2 red (hot) chili peppers

1 quart vegetable broth

1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes

olive oil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons chopped, fresh basil (plus extra leaves for serving)

cayenne pepper to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Slice eggplants longways.

On two well-oiled baking sheets, place eggplants face down. Put all other veggies on the baking sheets whole. (Leave onions and garlic cloves in their skins)

Bake at 425 degrees F for 45 minutes, or until eggplant is soft and peppers are charred. Turn onions and peppers once or twice while baking.

Let veggies cool. Peel red peppers. Pop onions and garlic cloves out of their skins and scrape eggplant out of skins with a spoon. Put all the roasted vegetables in a large pot and add vegetable broth and tomatoes and herbs. Use an emulsifying hand held blender to puree soup as you bring it to a simmer.

Note: Because all chili peppers are not created equal, taste your soup to see if it has enough heat. Add a little cayenne if it does not seem spicy enough. We like it with a good little bit of kick!

Serve immediately with fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil and brown bread.

The post Spicy Roasted Eggplant Soup appeared first on Alison Chino.

I kind of pride myself on being able to make a peasant soup out of the groceries that are left at the end of the week. Just a few days ago I turned some cans of beans into dinner, and no one went hungry.

This French Peasant Soup recipe is perhaps my favorite version of turning the vegetables in the fridge into dinner. I make it often in autumn and winter, but it is almost never the same.

If I have garbonzo beans, a green vegetable and tomatoes, I call it Italian Peasant Soup and serve it with a spoonful of pasta, but this version with leeks and French lentils feels like what I would make if we lived in Provence. Not that we ever have, but if you add Herbes de Provence to something, it becomes French, oui?

Mainly what I’m saying is that you don’t have to trouble yourself about having the exact vegetables for this recipe, or even the exact kind of legume, although I am partial to French lentils and the way they don’t turn to mush like brown ones.

You can make a version of this soup out of whatever is in your cupboard. You can use cans of cannelloni beans or frozen squash if you want.  Substitute spinach for kale or onions in place of leeks. Just pour in the broth and call it dinner.

Add homemade bread, and all of a sudden your peasant dinner is fit for a vegetarian king.

French Peasant Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large leeks, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
8 ounces sliced mushrooms (225 grams)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon herbes de provence
1 cup french lentils (250 grams)
3 medium zucchini/courgettes
8 cups chopped Kale (200 grams)
1 1/2 quarts vegetable stock (around 1500 ml)
1 1/2 cups pasta, cooked and drained (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In your heavy bottomed pot, Dutch oven or Le Crueset, pour in the olive oil and bring to medium heat.

Add the leeks and garlic. Cook for about five minutes. Add mushrooms, thyme and herbes de provence.

Cook about 10 more minutes until vegetables are soft.

Add stock and bring to a simmer. Pour in lentils and cook for about 30 minutes or until lentils are done.

Add zucchini/courgettes and Kale leaves. Cook about ten more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm with hearty bread or over pasta (kid-friendly option).

Enjoy!

The post French Peasant Soup appeared first on Alison Chino.

I had been dreading spending my 40th alone so I was so happy to have my mama here and it turned out to be a quietly beautiful sort of day. Mother and I started the day by going out for breakfast and then walked to the shops and the Aberdeen Art Gallery, which has a great collection and is free to visit. (I can’t wait to take Mary Polly!)

We also had lunch last week at Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant in Aberdeen, which was such a treat! I’ve been introduced to Jamie Oliver by some precious folk here who hosted Taido upon his arrival and who’ve had us for the most delicious curry! I skimmed a cookbook of theirs and then searched it out on my own (found half off at TKMaxx), so Taido and the kids cooked recipes from it for our birthday dinner. (My mom’s birthday is just two days after mine.)

My favorite was this divine apple and squash soup! I know it’s quite warm back home in Arkansas but it is definitely fall here in Scotland. The weather is already cold for these southern girls, so a comforting soup was absolutely delightful. I’m sure we’ll make it often this year as it was a favorite (favourite) with the whole family!

Here’s the recipe.  I left the instructions in Jamie’s language from the cookbook with conversions/translations in parentheses.

Roasted Apple & Squash Soup

from Jamie Oliver (Jamie’s Great Britain)

Ingredients

1 butternut squash

3 cox or braeburn apples

1 onion

4 garlic cloves

2 red chilies

Olive oil

A pinch of coriander seeds

A pinch of rosemary

3 heaping tablespoons pumpkin seeds

a pinch of sweet cayenne pepper

800 ml (27 ounces or a little less than a quart) vegetable or chicken stock

150 ml (5 ounces or about 1/2 a cup) single cream (half and half)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200° C (400 ° F )

Slice the squash lengthways and scoop out the seeds.  Cut in to 25cm chunks and put them into your largest roasted tray.

Peel the apples, then quarter them and remove the core.  Peel and roughly chop the onion and add the apples and onion to the roasting tray.  Half the chilies and remove the seeds and add to the tray with the unpeeled and bashed garlic cloves.

Drizzle a good amount of olive oil over the whole tray, as well as salt and pepper.  Add coriander and rosemary.

Toss everything together so it’s all evenly coated with oil and seasoning.  Cook for around 45 minutes, until everything is cooked through and intensely golden.

Toss the pumpkin seeds with salt, pepper, olive oil and cayenne.  Spread on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10 minutes until nicely toasted.  Set aside

Put some of the roasted vegetables in a liquidizer (blender), making sure you squeeze the garlic out of it’s skin.  Add a swig of stock, then place a tea towel over the lid and gently blitz (blend) until smooth and lovely.  Put this into a large pan and repeat with the rest.  Pour in most of the cream and bring to a simmer over a medium ot low heat.

Have a taste.  Season to perfection.

To serve, divide between warm soup bowls and add a swirl of cream and a sprinkling of toasted seeds.  Serve with warm crusty bread.

Hope your week has been lovely!  Thanks for all the kind birthday wishes!

Did you enjoy this post ? Maybe you’d like to subscribe to the Chino House via RSS feed or by email.

The post Roasted Apple & Squash Soup appeared first on Alison Chino.

This potato kale soup with Italian sausage is a standby at our house for years since a friendly neighbor gave me the recipe.

The kids request it if it’s been several weeks since it’s been on the table.  It mimics Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana, but they also add bacon to their soup.  I added the bacon to the recipe, but we usually leave it out, because the sausage gives the soup plenty of flavor.

Potato Kale Soup with Italian Sausage

1 pound Italian sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled

1/2 pound Petit Jean bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled

2 quarts chicken broth

5 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 garlic cloves. peeled and crushed

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

2 bunches chopped kale, torn into small pieces

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt and pepper – to taste

Add broth, potatoes, garlic, and onion in a heavy bottomed stock pot; bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender.

Add cooked sausage and bacon (if using) to potatoes.

Add kale and cream to pot; season with salt and pepper; heat through.

Serve and enjoy!

The post Potato Kale Soup with Italian Sausage appeared first on Alison Chino.

You throw everything in the crockpot in the morning, including the raw chicken and dinner is ready when you walk in the door in the afternoon.  How easy is that?

I served it with rice and homemade cornbread, which are both simple enough to throw together, but if you need to eat and go, use instant rice and just make a meal of the soup.

The second time I made this recipe, I doubled it and did it in my Dutch oven on the stove with another soup (Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili) for my book club.  I drew hosting in January this year, so I made it a hearty soup and cornbread night.

I used Petit Jean Meats sausage for this recipe, which we love, but you could use another smoked sausage or andouille sausage if you don’t have this available.  Also, I have yet to add the shrimp to this recipe because I like it fine with just the chicken and sausage, but I left it in the recipe as an option because I am sure it would be a yummy addition.

Crockpot Jumbalaya

Ingredients:

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (14.5 ounces)

1 can chicken broth (14.5 ounces)

1 can tomato paste (6 ounces)

2 medium green peppers, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

3 teaspoons dried parsley

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 package Petit Jean Hickory Smoked sausage (14 ounces), halved and cut into 1/4 inch slices

1/2 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined (optional)

Directions:

Put everything in slow cooker except shrimp.  Cook for 4-6 hours on low or until chicken is no longer pink.  Add shrimp (if using) and cook 30 minutes more.  Serve with rice.

Notes: The original recipe said to cut the chicken into chunks before cooking, but my chicken was frozen so I put it in whole and then shredded it in the soup with two forks before serving.  I thought this worked well, but you can certainly cut it up before hand if you want to.

Enjoy!

The post Crockpot Jumbalaya appeared first on Alison Chino.

My sister introduced me to the wonders of a roasted tomato years ago, and we’ve been making this roasted tomato basil soup in huge batches ever since.

It is such a consistent family favorite that recently my mom, Whitney and I all made it within the space of a week.

Usually we use a large #10 can of whole tomatoes from Sam’s (or 4 28-oz cans), the same one we use for salsa.

But I have also found it to be delish with fresh tomatoes.  This is especially true if you can find fresh tomatoes for $1 a bag at the local farmer’s market.  At my market (BJ’s Plants and Produce), there is a table with older produce that is past it’s prime.  Every bag is $1 and I use them for making all kinds of soups and stocks.

The recipe for this soup is one of those that you don’t even have to write down.  You just drizzle a roasting pan with olive oil, pile on the veggies, sprinkle with salt and basil and roast at 400 degrees F for about an hour.

You can use any veggies that you want but I throw in carrots, garlic, celery and onions.  I use peppers if I have them.

Then you use a blender to puree the entire pan of veggies.  Pour them in a soup pot and add a little milk or cream (1/2 cup or so).  Serve hot with Parmesan cheese.  If you have fresh basil, it is delectable, but in the winter I use dried and it still tastes great.

I love to eat the leftovers for lunch with cheese toast. Yum.

Did you enjoy this post?  You can subscribe to the Chino House via RSS feed or by email and never miss a recipe!

The post Roasted Tomato Basil Soup appeared first on Alison Chino.

For several years I have used the same chili recipe that I hunted down from a friend after we had it at an event at church.  I have made several alterations to it so now my recipe is scribbled on quite a bit, plus it is drizzled with red spots.  I added garlic (of course) and peppers, as well as different kinds of beans.  Also, sometimes I add corn.

Chino House Chili

2-3 pounds ground beef (or vegetarian mince)

2 onions, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2-4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 cans stewed tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

4 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

4 cups beef broth (or vegetable broth if making vegetarian)

1 can pinto beans

1 can black beans

12 ounces frozen corn (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the meat with the onions, peppers and garlic in the bottom of a large Dutch oven or a heavy bottomed stockpot.

When the meat is done, drain off the fat.

(Note: I use really lean meat, often deer meat instead of ground beef, so there isn’t much fat to drain. Or if you are using frozen vegetarian mince then you are just heating it up and it doesn’t need to cook as long.)

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth and spices to meat.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer on low for 1-2 hours. Add beans and corn (if using) for the last 20-30 minutes. (This step can also take place in a crockpot on low for the whole day.)

Serve hot with any number of toppings or sides.

Optional choices for serving: rice, baked potatoes, cornbread, corn chips, chopped onions, cheese, sour cream or chunks of avocado.

The post Chino House Chili appeared first on Alison Chino.

While Simon was under the weather over the school break, he requested a chicken soup with rice.  Like in the book Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak.

When I served this one to him, he said that it was good, but it wasn’t really what he was thinking of.  I’m pretty sure he was looking for a little Lipton packet or a Campbell’s can of Chicken and Rice Soup.  Oh well, it was a hit with everyone else and we polished off this pot of soup in a hurry, plus I sneaked in a little extra garlic to boost everyone’s immune system.

For this soup (and many others), I boiled the chicken, pulled it out when it was cooked, diced it for the soup and set it aside, reserving the broth for the soup.  If something calls for cooked chicken and for chicken broth, I usually try to make both together.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 large carrots, finely chopped

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence

1 teaspoon thyme

1 quart chicken broth

6 cups water

1 1/2 cups wild rice

2 cups broccoli florets (frozen or fresh)

4 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced

1 10 3/4 ounce can cream of chicken soup

salt and pepper to taste

I used a food processor to finely chop the onions, carrots, celery and garlic, so they would be in very small pieces for my littlest eater, but you could also chop them by hand.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven.  Saute onions, garlic, carrots and celery in oil for 10 minutes.  Mix in herbs.  Add water and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and add wild rice.  Turn heat down and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes.  When rice is tender, add broccoli, cream of chicken soup and cooked chicken.  Cook 10 more minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

The post Chicken and Wild Rice Soup appeared first on Alison Chino.