The Shuttle Chef is a technological miracle akin in convenience to the food processor and hands-free mixer. It makes my cooking life AWESOME.
I thought I might as well do a special on it, since I use it all the time and love it. Of course, there are probably other brands of the same thing, but this is the one I use and it's never done me wrong.
The website:
http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Shuttle-Liter-Thermal-Cookware/dp/B000MGEEC2
**There's also one twice as big, that fits two pots.
So here's the skinny!
WHO: You, in your kitchen less often
WHAT: The Shuttle Chef, this huge thermos thing you put your Shuttle Chef pot in
WHEN: Anytime.
WHERE: Store it anywhere -- it's not tall and I put it under my bed in my tiny single!
HOW: You bring something to a boil, then simmer 5-10 mins, then put in to keep EXACTLY that temperature for hours!!
Things I make with the Shuttle Chef:
1) Rice porridge - bring to a boil, cover, put immediately in & ready in 3 hours!
2) Mung bean dessert soup w/ winter gourd block sugar - bring to boil, put immediately in & it's ready in 30 minutes!
3) Hearty & Healthy Lentil Soup (Feb 13th, 2011)
4) Boeuf Bourguignon - prepare the stew at night, simmer 10 mins and put in overnight. Wake up, put solids in another pot, boil down the juice to make the sauce, and you're done! Or just eat it as a stew.
It's perfect for making stuff in the morning and coming home to a delicious and STILL WARM meal! Plus, it will never boil over, burn on the bottom, and all your veggies and potatoes will stay intact because the water isn't constantly roiling.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Hearty (& Healthy!) Lentil Soup
Lentils are a legume I was not introduced to until I was almost 18, and they're something I've been trying to familiarize myself with. THE PROS: They cook in less time than many beans, and they go great with so many vegetables and meats!
This recipe is based on the one in Mireille Guiliano's fantastic (& realistic!!) book, "French Women Don't Get Fat" -- it's not a diet book, it's a practical guide to eating & living "French" with simple, delicious recipes and French wisdom sprinkled in.
http://mireilleguiliano.com/
***DON'T ADD SALT until the end, because the lentils will disintegrate!
This is a great soup for vegetarians, as well, if you leave out the sausage.
HEARTY & HEALTHY LENTIL SOUP
=Ingredients=
1/2 lb lentils (if you're not sure about lentils, find a store with a "bulk foods" section and get just 1 lb)
2-3 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced (cut in half, cut halves in half lengthwise, then chop widthwise)
EITHER 1 onion, chopped
OR 1 leek, chopped (trim off roots & top inch of greens, YES, use the greens!)
freshly grated pepper
1/2-1 tsp dried thyme
OPTIONAL: 1 can Strasbourg sausages (or 2 fancy hot dog-type sausages that won't break apart when chopped)
=Instructions=
1. A note on preparation: After cutting up the leeks, place in a large bowl/your sink with water to cover and WASH WELL!!! Swish, swish, put in a colander and rinse, turn, rinse! Leeks are infamous for being sandy, so give them a soak and a rinse!
2. Sautee the onion/leek in 1 Tb oil + 1/2 Tb butter until soft and the smell mellows.
3. Add carrots and celery and sautee another few minutes.
4. Sprinkle on thyme and grate on pepper.
5. Add boiling water to within 1" of the rim. Add lentils and bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer.
6. Simmer covered with a vent for a while, around 2 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning to preference.
7. Slice the sausages and drop in carefully. Allow to heat through and ladle into soup bowls.
GARNISH: Add some chopped parsley right before serving to get maximum fresh flavor and add a cheerful green hint!
This is the most basic recipe, but you could add all sorts of other ingredients, like chopped potato, curry powder, or caraway seeds. Experiment with remixes!
This recipe is based on the one in Mireille Guiliano's fantastic (& realistic!!) book, "French Women Don't Get Fat" -- it's not a diet book, it's a practical guide to eating & living "French" with simple, delicious recipes and French wisdom sprinkled in.
http://mireilleguiliano.com/
***DON'T ADD SALT until the end, because the lentils will disintegrate!
This is a great soup for vegetarians, as well, if you leave out the sausage.
HEARTY & HEALTHY LENTIL SOUP
=Ingredients=
1/2 lb lentils (if you're not sure about lentils, find a store with a "bulk foods" section and get just 1 lb)
2-3 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced (cut in half, cut halves in half lengthwise, then chop widthwise)
EITHER 1 onion, chopped
OR 1 leek, chopped (trim off roots & top inch of greens, YES, use the greens!)
freshly grated pepper
1/2-1 tsp dried thyme
OPTIONAL: 1 can Strasbourg sausages (or 2 fancy hot dog-type sausages that won't break apart when chopped)
=Instructions=
1. A note on preparation: After cutting up the leeks, place in a large bowl/your sink with water to cover and WASH WELL!!! Swish, swish, put in a colander and rinse, turn, rinse! Leeks are infamous for being sandy, so give them a soak and a rinse!
2. Sautee the onion/leek in 1 Tb oil + 1/2 Tb butter until soft and the smell mellows.
3. Add carrots and celery and sautee another few minutes.
4. Sprinkle on thyme and grate on pepper.
5. Add boiling water to within 1" of the rim. Add lentils and bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer.
6. Simmer covered with a vent for a while, around 2 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning to preference.
7. Slice the sausages and drop in carefully. Allow to heat through and ladle into soup bowls.
GARNISH: Add some chopped parsley right before serving to get maximum fresh flavor and add a cheerful green hint!
This is the most basic recipe, but you could add all sorts of other ingredients, like chopped potato, curry powder, or caraway seeds. Experiment with remixes!
Simpler "Cioppino" (Saffron Fish Soup)
I had my first and AMAZING cioppino while visiting my college friend in Boston. It's an Italian-style seafood soup with a delightful saffron aroma. Usually, a cioppino includes two or more kinds of fish, and more shellfish than most of us can afford, so I stuck with just cod, a wonderful fish for hearty soups.
Here's a simplier version inspired by that delicious dinner. Mmmm, the memories...
This is also the perfect way to get into using saffron in your cooking -- It's one of the spices I keep around for years, coveting and refusing to use for anything less than royalty...but the truth is that you've just got to start using it! Saffron whipped cake filling, saffron scones, paella, do yourself a favor, already!
SIMPLER "CIOPPINO"
=Ingredients=
1 M onion, halved and sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced or minced
1 M yellow/green/orange bell pepper, chopped
1 M red bell pepper, cut into larger pieces (I like this for variety in presentation)
1 pint cherry/grape tomatoes, halved
1 M carrot, halved and sliced on a diagonal bias
1/4 c white rice
1 c frozen corn
1 filet of cod (~4-6 oz)
SAFFRON! (Trader Joe's has reasonably priced saffron. If you get it in bulk it's cheaper/lb.)
freshly grated pepper (I love Trader Joe's $1.99 rainbow pepper mix!)
dried herbs, like thyme, oregano or savory
optional: 1 c dry white wine
1 organic lemon
salt
=Instructions=
1. Put the kettle on to boil, with as much water as you want in your soup.
2. Heat 1 Tb oil + 1/2 Tb butter in a soup pot. Sautee the onions and garlic until onions are translucent. Grate on some pepper and add 1/2 tsp dried thyme/savory/oregano if you like.
2. Add the carrots and sautee another minute. Add bell peppers, tomatoes and a good pinch of saffron.
3. Pour in boiling water until 1-2" below the rim. Add white wine and rice; bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. COVER with a vent so it doesn't boil over!
4. Let that simmer and get nice and flavorful for a few hours. I would say at least two.
(At this point, I used my SHUTTLECHEF, which is a huge thermos I put my pot into, and which keeps the pot's contents the same temperature for hours. Highly recommended for people who have to walk away from their cooking for hours.)
5. When the soup is done (this is essentially your vegetable broth), put in the corn and your cod filet and simmer it for a few minutes, until the cod is cooked through. Break it up into large chunks with your spatula.
***A NOTE ON SALT: I did NOT add any salt to this soup until serving, so as to let the natural flavors come through and have salt as a light garnish. As somebody said, "The salt you add last is the salt you taste first!"
SERVE:
Ladle into bowls and squeeze on some fresh lemon juice for that extra tartness and zing! You can cut one wedge per serving. Offer a grater of salt for those who like it.
Serve with the wine you used to cook the soup.
Here's a simplier version inspired by that delicious dinner. Mmmm, the memories...
This is also the perfect way to get into using saffron in your cooking -- It's one of the spices I keep around for years, coveting and refusing to use for anything less than royalty...but the truth is that you've just got to start using it! Saffron whipped cake filling, saffron scones, paella, do yourself a favor, already!
SIMPLER "CIOPPINO"
=Ingredients=
1 M onion, halved and sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced or minced
1 M yellow/green/orange bell pepper, chopped
1 M red bell pepper, cut into larger pieces (I like this for variety in presentation)
1 pint cherry/grape tomatoes, halved
1 M carrot, halved and sliced on a diagonal bias
1/4 c white rice
1 c frozen corn
1 filet of cod (~4-6 oz)
SAFFRON! (Trader Joe's has reasonably priced saffron. If you get it in bulk it's cheaper/lb.)
freshly grated pepper (I love Trader Joe's $1.99 rainbow pepper mix!)
dried herbs, like thyme, oregano or savory
optional: 1 c dry white wine
1 organic lemon
salt
=Instructions=
1. Put the kettle on to boil, with as much water as you want in your soup.
2. Heat 1 Tb oil + 1/2 Tb butter in a soup pot. Sautee the onions and garlic until onions are translucent. Grate on some pepper and add 1/2 tsp dried thyme/savory/oregano if you like.
2. Add the carrots and sautee another minute. Add bell peppers, tomatoes and a good pinch of saffron.
3. Pour in boiling water until 1-2" below the rim. Add white wine and rice; bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. COVER with a vent so it doesn't boil over!
4. Let that simmer and get nice and flavorful for a few hours. I would say at least two.
(At this point, I used my SHUTTLECHEF, which is a huge thermos I put my pot into, and which keeps the pot's contents the same temperature for hours. Highly recommended for people who have to walk away from their cooking for hours.)
5. When the soup is done (this is essentially your vegetable broth), put in the corn and your cod filet and simmer it for a few minutes, until the cod is cooked through. Break it up into large chunks with your spatula.
***A NOTE ON SALT: I did NOT add any salt to this soup until serving, so as to let the natural flavors come through and have salt as a light garnish. As somebody said, "The salt you add last is the salt you taste first!"
SERVE:
Ladle into bowls and squeeze on some fresh lemon juice for that extra tartness and zing! You can cut one wedge per serving. Offer a grater of salt for those who like it.
Serve with the wine you used to cook the soup.
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