Spicy Sausage Soup

Ingredients 

Sausage as much as you like (chopped into bite size pieces) (I used 10 breakfast sausages a d 4 maple sausages)

1 can of field peas and snaps

2 tomatoes (pureed)

1 stick of celery (Ground into paste)

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp black pepper

Salt to taste

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp whipping cream (optional)

1 tbsp butter

Method

1) Heat butter in a wok. Add garlic, sausage and fry on medium high till sausages turn golden in color. 

2) Add tomato puree, celery paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, black pepper, field peas and snaps and cook for 10-12 minutes covered on medium high, stirring occasionally.

3) Add 1 cup of water and salt and cook for 5-6 more minutes. 

4) Add whipping cream and turn the heat off. 

5) Serve hot with bread. 

Chicken and Oat Dumpling Soup

Some people treat you in such a manner as if you owe them something. If you forget to call them, they will remind you saying "hey you don't call me these days" when they themselves don't take any initiative to keep in touch. Any message sent to them on Facebook most of the time goes unanswered but if you fail to respond to them on time, they feel offended and make it obvious to you that they are offended. They make comments without sparing a thought if the comments hurt your sentiments or not, but if you accidentally make any comment hurting them even the slightest, they make a huge issue out of it either insulting you or behaving in ways making you feel that you have barked up the wrong tree. I have an ex-colleague I used to be quite close to while working together, but in recent times all the attempts of conversation on FB were made from my side. She sometimes replied and sometimes didn't but what irked me most when while wishing me on my b'day she said "Happy B'day to you. Hope you still remember me."

 

Now I should not be the one always supposed to take initiative to keep in touch. Any friendship or any relationship for that matter is a two way affair. When I am making time out of my schedule to drop a line to a friend, I can expect my friend to treat me with respect replying to my message, no matter how late, but when I see that friend liking and sharing status messages every now and then on FB while my message goes unanswered, after a couple of attempts, I choose never to bother that friend with any means of communication. And when I suddenly stop communicating with her, she comes back wishing me on my b'day with this kind of message as if implying keeping in touch with her is my obligation and when I don't do that, my memory is accused of being challenged. What can you do in certain situation? Either you can ignore the taunting intonation hidden in her message completely and end up the note with mere 'thanks' or you may be little expressive like I had been with a reply sending the same vibe back " I was about to tell you the same "you still remember me" and thanks for your wishes."

In a recent study on human behavior I came to learn of the term "Entitlement Mentality". It is a word meant for people behaving as if they are entitled to something without any effort. This kind of mentality is staggering in number, commonly found in work place and in personal life among friends, spouses and children. Lots of studies are being done on the subject and there are a lot of syndromes explained for easy recognition of this kind of mentality. Some of the articles that I really loved reading are linked below:

http://unhappyemployee.com/2006/12/12/the-entitlement-mentality/

http://www.joywithlove.com/?p=1168

 

http://rikv.blogspot.com/2010/10/suffering-from-ems-entitlement.html

 

(Disclaimer: The above websites didn't pay me anything to publish their links on my website. I am doing it because I liked the message conveyed in the articles linked above.)

 

Back to the recipe, Chicken and dumpling soup is a tasty treat to be relished. Dumplings are usually made with either flour entirely or through a mixture of different flours, but to add a health quotient I used oats in making the dumplings and they came out to be so tasty that you cannot actually differentiate it with the ones made completely of flour.

Chicken Rice Soup

I used to be quite an avid fan of the soap Balika Vadhu. I had started watching it almost a week after the show was first put on air back in 2008; gradually I grew quite attached with the odyssey of the child bride. Even amidst the busy work schedule and to and fro journey of about 4 hours from office to home in Bangalore, I never grew weary of the serial, making sure not to miss an episode. Most of the days I used to return home past the show time after 8 or 8.30 pm and hence I would catch up the repeat telecast at 11 pm, sometimes staying awake just for viewing the soap. Both my mother and sister stopped watching the show following one another on the ground of the story moving at slow pace, but I didn't. In US too, I ensure to catch up the episodes on You Tube regularly, bearing with the scowls my husband casts my way every time I stream the soap from laptop to the wide screen of the idiot box. I like this serial because unlike most of the other Indian soap dramas where women are made to look insubstantial without husband, clinging on to the better-half (or bitter-half) even when he engages in an act of infidelity, berates and repulses her as if the very existence of the woman is centered around the male entity, this soap showed its lead heroine moving forward with her life carving a niche for herself where she came to be known for her work and contribution to the society.

 

 

But after Pratuyusha, the lead actress playing the central character 'Anandi' has been replaced by a new face, I finally have stopped watching it, not being able to accept the chemistry between Shiddharth Shukla (Anandi's second husband) and Toral Rashputra (the new face). Toral looks quite mature for the role she is playing, a 24 years old woman and beside Shiddharth's good looks and charms, she looks banally average. All the excitement I had for viewing the growing affection between Anandi and Shiv has worn off. At least while casting the new lead, the casting directors should have paid a bit of heed to selecting someone who would match Shiddharth's charm. I wonder why he is not offered a role in movies; with his well-built physique and cute smile he looks no less than heroes.

 

 

As regards the recipe at hand, this one I made last night successfully winning out a compliment from my otherwise reticent hubby. "This is one of the best soups I have had", my husband exclaimed; so I am sure your friends and near and dear ones too would drool over this soup.

Chicken Stew

 

Slurp it or sop it, you are gonna love it. I am yet to meet one who doesn't love chicken stew and it is mind-bogglingly delicious, albeit healthy. Contrary to traditional belief that chicken stew is worth consumption when one is sick, it is actually a hearty soup teeming with nutrition that can be taken daily. What I most like about this soup is its versatility, you may use whatever vegetables you wish to and still bring out the same heartwarming taste. Personally, I like to use green papaya, radish, carrots, green beans, turnips, potato, corns and so much as green peas. This time while cooking the stew, I didn't have green papaya handy, my husband bought a Caribbean papaya from the store though which turned out to be sweet in texture and hence not use worthy. The papaya has to be young and raw for adding taste.

As I said, you may use whatever vegetables you like, but take care not to clutter the soup. Keep the number of veggies limited to 3 or 4 types only.

 

 

Corn and Crab Soup

 

Just when yesterday I felt hopeful upon seeing the Sun up in the air dazzling in the evening glow of twilight for an advent of spring, all my hopes are dashed today with the sky wearing a dismal weary look throughout the day and a constant humming of a strong gust of wind resonating through the air. Spring seems to be a distant dream now. My husband called me today in the evening, while he was on his way towards home from office, telling me to come outside so as to go to the market together for grocery shopping. I was just out for 2 minutes waiting for my hubby in the midst of heavy wind and those 2 minutes were sufficient to make me feel the wave of cold penetrating my bone and chilling it from inside. It was that bad; standing in the open for 2 minutes has become, for all intents and purposes, a nightmare. East coast is facing a storm warning in effect from Wednesday through Thursday and just as we faced during Sandy, the feel of the imminent storm is tangible in the wind even in Ohio. The very moment I begin to feel that we have had enough of snowing for this season; another round of snow falling comes to greet us. Pathetic truly!!

As readers regular to my blog might know that in order to spread consciousness about healthy eating habit among people I am celebrating a health week, and to serve the purpose an array of soup and salad recipes will preoccupy my blog throughout this week. So here goes another delightful soup recipe made with corn and crab. Very light yet fulfilling, this soup is ideal to spike your appetite.

 

 

Spicy Turkey and Red Lentil Soup

Me and a bunch of my female friends are playing an interesting game on FB to spread Breast Cancer Awareness. The game involves some code words that have only been shared among females and throughout the week we are posting weird status messages using the codes. It's amazing to see how people react to the status messages for half of them, especially guys having no inkling of what's going on.

 

 

Since our food habit contributes, to a large extent, to our immunity and catching of any infection or diseases, nurturing of healthy food habits is imperative that coupled with healthy life style and daily physical exercise enriches us from deep within, body and mind. With the noble intent to promote good health and good food habit, I have decided to post soup and salad recipes throughout this week. Now some of us believe that soup is a bland fare, but friends soup can be made in thousands of ways from very bland to very spicy, from very thin to very thick in consistency and I know soups that are in itself a meal; 2 bowls of those soups and you don't need anything else. Soup further works a miracle in controlling or bringing down weight, and whenever I feel like giving my tummy rest for a day or two especially after a week of gastronomic adventures, soup is the only thing I rely on.

 

Garlic Soup

 

On Valentine's Day we went to a nearby Thai restaurant for dinner and the food, though lip-smacking, was very spicy. The next day my hubby went on complete austerity in terms of food intake and I had to make something light keeping in mind the upsetting condition of his stomach. I made garlic soup which is a meal in itself for being fulfilling, yet tasty. It served the rightful purpose of keeping my hubby filled without adding to his further woes. But just because I cooked the soup for my sick hubby doesn't mean that the soup is edible for the ailing only, it is very tasty and I like it a lot, more so, because a bowl of this soup suffices for dinner.
 

Tomato Soup with Cheddar Cheese

Tomato soup with Cheddar Cheese is an exciting variation of Tomato Soup posted earlier in my blog. I have few packets of cheese, the variety including cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, goat stacked up in the refrigerator for some months. Ever since I have been putting some serious efforts to weight reduction, some of the items that were regular in consumption at my home have been salted away for occasional use. Now that I have successfully shed some kgs and the change in appearance is conspicuous, I feel encouraged to try some cheese into my food.

I love tomato soup as it is, with or without cheese. But an addition of cheese boosts up the flavour noticeably. Teamed up with garlic bread or a bowl of salad, this is a great treat for dinner.

Chicken Tom Yum Soup

One staple order whenever we visited any Thai restaurant in Mumbai used to be Chicken Tom Yum Soup or simple Tom Yum Soup.  My taste for Thai food took its shape in Mumbai only. Then when we visited Bangkok and Pattaya, we relished to the utmost satisfaction of our heart various Thai delicacies among which Egg Fu Yong or Chicken Fu Yong, stir fried Thai noodles caught my fancy.
 

Yesterday night for dinner I was in a mood to concoct a Thai dish. It's been years precisely when I last had Tom Yum Soup anywhere. So I combed the cyber world vigorously in search of an authentic Tom Yum Soup. Some of the ingredients mentioned in the recipes were to be found only in exclusive Thai retail stores, like galangal, a sort of Thai ginger which is not easily available in World Churchill Market or Wal-Mart. So I had to list such ingredients off my list due to the difficulty in availability and finally I came up with my own recipe putting together whatever I managed to get in hand. Nevertheless, even with limited ingredients, the taste of the soup was not compromised and the turnout was really delectable and savoury. Me and my hubby thoroughly relished it.

Oat Soup

Oats is rich with fibre content. Hence it works miraculously on people working on their weight. A cup of oats gives a feeling of fulfillment of a heavy meal curbing the desire to eat anything more. Hence it should be a mandatory item added to the menu of those considering weight loss, like me. After putting myself through an hour long grind of workouts, I feel very hungry in the evening. Oats seem very useful in satiating my hunger within minutes. This lovely mouth-watering oats soup makes dinner a heavenly experience. You can take breadstick as accompaniment or you may choose to have it on its own.

I usually prepare the oats soup very simply without any embellishment. But to boost up the taste, you may add shredded chicken to the soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup

I have taken a kind of fascination for soup these days. Soup is not only light and healthy, it's extremely fulfilling and I just love to have one bowl of soup prior to dinner. In the coming days, you can watch out my space for more and more soup recipes.

Chicken Pumpkin Crab Mushroom Soup

At a time when I am giving some serious thoughts to keep weight under control, this soup is a true savior. A concoction of a variety of ingredients, it is fulfilling and if taken in good portion, it becomes a meal in itself.

Carrot, Apple and Celery Soup

The other day when I was baking Vanilla Apple Pear Cake, my hubby brought home a carton full of apples while I needed only two for baking the cake. So there are a bunch of apples still in the refrigerator waiting for their turn to be used. With intent to put the apples to some good use, I thought of incorporating them in my soup. Besides, as some serious endeavors to shed weight are underway, this carrot apple soup is exactly what I need to feel my tummy filled without any guilt afterwards.

Addition of butter into this soup is absolutely discretional. It will taste yummy regardless of butter or any other taste boosting agent.

Tomato Soup

We all love tomato soup, but do we know that tomato is actually a fruit and not a vegetable as the popular belief is. Tomatoes attribute to a slew of health benefits fighting cancer being one of them. It is rich with a vital anti-oxidant called Lycopene that prevents harmful formation of cancerous cells within the body. Tomatoes are full with fibers which help regulate the blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Another interesting fact about tomato is that it is available in every color possible save blue. Indeed, inclusion of tomato in your daily diet solves many of your health concerns.

Carrot Coriander Soup

Carrots are very good for eyesight. I recall when I got my first pair of spectacles due to migraine; I was so paranoid that I started eating bunch of carrots raw on the advice of my father. My eyesight was perfectly normal even few years before until I weakened it by involving in excessive embroidery works.

Anyway, this Carrot Coriander Soup is instrumental in increasing your appetite if taken before a meal. With only a hint of oil, this is perfectly healthy concoction for anyone working on weight loss.

Minestrone Soup

I love minestrone soup. It is an amalgam of lot of vegetables cooked together with less or no spices at all. Yet it tastes just heavenly. One bowl of this soup coupled with bread toast and scrambled eggs makes a fulfilling meal fitting for dinner.

Chicken Mushroom Soup

Finally, we have the beautiful summer months setting in, in USA. It is strange that the season agonizing for some could be a thing for others to look forward to. Summer climate in US is beautiful with shades of green popping up everywhere whereas in Kolkata, amidst insufferable humidity and the soaring temperature, the beauty of greenery goes unnoticed. My mother was telling me how badly the weather is there now with heat waves wearing out the last bit of strength from everyone.

I am lucky in a way to be able to escape one more summer season of Kolkata. Summer in Bangalore, however, was beautiful. Whenever the temperature soars beyond the tolerance limit, showers of rain cool the environment giving all a moment of respite. Infact, it's very uncommon in Bangalore to have A/C at home. The A/C of ours which we bought in Kolkata and used for about 2 years was of no use in Bangalore when we shifted there. Finally, before flying to US, we packed the A/C and put it on for sale.

Anyway, hope the below chicken mushroom soup recipe takes some of the heat away leaving a savory taste in your mouth.

Asparagus Soup

I am an avid player of Gardens of time on Facebook. In order to acquire neighbors to top the game, I randomly added rank strangers, equally fond of the game, from all corners of the world. During the course of playing, many neighbors caught my interest by their riveting status messages and snaps. One of them was C.P. (I am using the initials as I don't want to disclose the name.) who used to amuse his friends regularly through his poems and anecdotes on his dates fixed by his family.

For couple of weeks, however, I didn't spot any status update posted by him. Today someone calling himself 'Rahul' posted a status update from C.P's account informing his friends that C.P has died in a fatal car accident one and half month ago and that he shared his password with Rahul allowing him to play Gardens of time on C.P.'s behalf. It was true shocking to believe because if the news is true, it's heart-rending. C.P is a young fellow in his early thirties, full of life. It is so hard to believe that he is dead. But the follow-up messages from his friends, one of whom claimed that she talked to his mother to confirm the news said it's true.

Incidents like this forces one to believe in the uncertainty of life. One moment we are alive and the next we are just turned into memories.

Chicken Red Lentil Soup

It makes you feel very depressed when you are away from your hometown and your loved ones fall sick. The helplessness of not being able to be physically present by their side grows a subtle guilt inside your mind. My father is not well. He is suffering from acute sinus problem which has caused cataract in his both eyes. He has been advised to go for an immediate cataract operation or else he might develop glaucoma. Fortunately, my elder bro and sis live in Kolkata. I know they will take good care of him. But still, you cannot stop worrying.

Red lentil is highly nutritious, as we all know. It aids to control blood sugar disorder, lower bad cholesterol and provides a host of minerals, vitamins and proteins to your body. What more is it is less in calorie, so undoubtedly good for people struggling on their weight. A cup of soup before a meal functions as a good appetizer and also helps you keep your appetite in check as soup makes you feel filled.

Chicken Corn Soup

Today is Saraswati Pujo. Even few years back before shifting to Bangalore, I used to actively partake in the celebration and merriment surrounding the pujo. Saraswati being a goddess of education and academics, many schools and colleges in West Bengal observe this pujo religiously every year amid a lot of pomp and splendour. Since I was serving as a teacher in a school then, I had to stay involved with a host of things starting from decoration to catering food to students. Besides academics, Saraswati pujo holds its attraction among students and youngsters for another reason. All the women and young girls, on this auspicious occasion, drape the 12 yards of sarees looking their prettiest selves. Naturally, romance takes on the air with lot of young people choosing this occasion to express love for their beloved.

When I was young, I used to start pleading to my mother for allowing me to wear one of her gorgeous sarees months before the pujo as we all girls wanted to look our best on this special day. With all the books and papers amassed in a heap in front of the idol, we after offering our prayers used to indulge in the mighty 'pet puja' that followed with khichuri, labda, narkel nadu and many such traditional delicacies.

Now in Karnataka, hardly any trace of pujo is felt anywhere. The noise created by the loud music in different pandals heralding the arrival of yet another occasion to celebrate, the clamour of young boys and girls, an array of delectable cuisines on offering to the deity, getting together with friends and family in rejoicing the feast...all are missing here. On special moments like this, I miss being in Kolkata a lot.