Week of October 23rd, 2022
I had almost forgotten what rain looked like, but I was quickly reminded last weekend and grateful for the change in air quality. I even went hunting for my rain gear to layer up for 3 soccer games that the grand boys were playing. I hadn’t donned them for half a year and after a few minutes of scratching my chin, I was able to track them down and enjoy the weather and the games. I have been involved in soccer at some level for over 50 years and truth be told, I relish soccer in the rain. Probably because I have only known the NW weather during this season and so it is familiar to me.
I also like the weather change because it beckons me to the kitchen with more time to cook. Take this week’s box; I will be using green beans, cauliflower and carrots in a curry served over rice. I may or may not add chicken, but if I were, I would dice it up and lightly cook it and set it aside. Then add onions and garlic and a little oil to my pan. I’d sauté them then add the green beans, cauliflower and carrots all diced up to uniform sizes. Sauté a little more, and then add a cup of broth and add in a curry paste, add back in the chicken and simmer this for an hour. At this point when I start to simmer the veggies in the curry and broth, I will add rice to boiling water or broth and then set it to cook the same time as the veggies. Somewhere around when the rice is finishing up (40 minutes), I would ribbon cut the kale or spinach and add it, along with some coconut milk to the curry and finish simmer for another 10 minutes.
Technically this is not a one pot meal, but it could easily be all made in one pot. However, my goal is to create two meals, so I am making considerably more than our family can eat. Once we have eaten the curry and rice dish, I will add more broth and water plus the remaining rice to the curry dish and turn it into a soup.
This is an easy way to eat for a few days and it also happens to be a great way to bless your friends and family with extra meals because this type of nutritious veggie heavy dishes freezes and stores well.
But true to the title, I could have added the rice, curry, chicken and broth and brought it all to a boil and then simmered the whole recipe and served it as a standalone hearty dish.
What are your favorite fall soups?
Bon Appetit,
- Tristan