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Hearty, Healthy Vegetable Soup

Hearty, Healthy Vegetable Soup

This hearty, healthy vegetable soup will get you through until the farmers’ markets are cranking out peak of the season produce again. A dollop of pesto will brighten the flavors and get you jonesin’ for sweet summer corn and tomatoes. 

Hearty, Healthy Vegetable Soup

It probably seems like it’s way past soup season but bear with me. It’s about time that we take a second to think again about food waste and making a difference in the way we take advantage of the bounty of the season. If you have been following me for a while, you know that I am a big fan of taking any produce that you overbought and saving it in the freezer until you can use it. Ziplock it fresh, oven-dry it or sauté it and cover in broth before freezing…all to add to sauces, salads, pastas and soups through out the year. Now that we are looking down the barrel of summer, it’s time to clean the freezer and put all last season’s produce to good use. Healthy vegetable soup to the rescue!

Unfortunately we are still wasting 40% of the products that our hardworking farmers produce every year. Some are deemed too ugly to make it onto our supermarket shelves. Some are past their use by date. I love this campaign by the Ad Council. Best if used. Period. Look closely. $1500. That’s how much a family of four spends on food that goes into the trash every year. How great would that extra cash be? 

Chicken breast on deli tray with label saying "best if used" and price of $1500. A family of four spends $1500 a year on food they don't eat.

And landfills filled with rotting food result in higher greenhouse gas emissions than US beef production. All that wasted food AND it is bad for the environment? No bueno!! So think about ways to re-purpose this produce and extend its life.

How to Save Vegetables

  • Fresh corn: cut it off the cob and ziplock it to freeze
  • Tomatoes: oven-dry and once cooled, ziplock and freeze
  • Zucchini, peppers: sauté and cover with broth, then freeze to add to soups and stews
  • Leafy greens: steam and squeeze out the excess liquid, then ziplock and freeze
  • Peas: shell and ziplock raw and freeze
  • Winter squashes: peel, seed and cube, then ziplock and freeze

Here are some of the things coming your way soon, so start thinking about it now. Of course, try to buy the right amount, but don’t throw out your excess. Respect the food and preserve it. Or if you are like me and know the corn will never be better, do buy extra and save it for the long, cold winter. 

Sweet corn
Sweet corn and sweet peas. 
Sweet peas
Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes
Heirloom cherry tomatoes definitely worthy of oven-drying to preserve for winter. 
Crazy Greens
If you think this Kale is Krazy, wait until you see the farmer.
Krazy Kale and the Farmer
Told ya!

Best Ever Healthy Vegetable Soup

This soup takes advantage of many things I had in my freezer. I just made a big batch this weekend. I will put a few quarts away in the freezer for upcoming long days, but much I will eat this week. Saturday I start eating like a Syrian refugee as part of the Ration Challenge. More on that in the next post, but suffice it to say I am in a full-on panic about no fresh veggies for a week. Whole lotta rice and beans, with a sardine here and there. 

You can customize this yummy, healthy vegetable soup to your own palate, but I found corn, butternut squash, edamame, and spinach all in the freezer. The canned cannellini and diced tomatoes I had in the pantry. And the remaining ingredients consisted of only a few fresh vegetables – leeks, zucchini, summer squash, and potatoes. In fact, this soup started as a leek and potato soup and then became a runaway vegetable extravaganza! You could even go so far as to add some chicken – either leftover roasted, poached or a rotiserrie chicken – to add a little lean protein. 

How to Clean a Leek
Photo credit: Heather Gill for Unsplash

How to Clean a Leek

Sidebar note on cooking with leeks: LOVE THEM!!! They always seem to be available because they scare people and they get left behind. They add all the depth of flavor of an onion, with none of the bite. And they are really easy to use. However, they retain a lot of dirt, so they need a thorough wash first. Trim off the woody dark green leaves at the top (and save them for a stock pot), but leave the hairy root end intact for now. Once the top is trimmed, slice lengthwise down toward the root (without cutting through), first in half, then in quarters, using two long cuts. Now holding onto the root end, run it under cold water, fanning it out to remove all the grit. It’s a bit like a brush with long bristles. Shake, shake, shake. Once thoroughly cleaned, towel off excess water and cut crosswise in desired slices. Discard the root end when you get there. Some prefer to slice and then clean and here is a quick video on that. 

I finish it off with a dollop of pesto – homemade or store-bought. That is how I finished it off on our spring vegetable soup with pistou on the very first menu at New World Grill. The vegetables were very precisely and finely minced. That’s a far cry from the hearty chunky way I cook today. Gone are the tedious and tiny tidbits. Welcome, chunky and hearty veg. 

What Vegetables are best?

While I am tempted to say you can’t go wrong, I can actually think of a couple that I might pass on. I love all vegetables that keep their shape and color. With this being a relatively quick cooking time, that would include most. Eggplant probably deserves a pass. It can get bitter and breaks down to a seedy, gummy mess. And I would avoid certain mushrooms that will absorb too much liquid and get squeaky. Know what I mean? Like a portabello. Tiny enoki might be nice in here though. In general, I prefer mushrooms in a more dry sauté dish or when pureed. Lastly, beets are going to bleed and will overly flavor the broth. But you do you, I’ll do me. Give it a whirl and see how you like it. 

Veggie Soup

A Note on Prep Time Listed

In spite of 3 decades of foodstyling for television, where every ingredient is in its ramekin for a dump and stir demo, and despite 15 years as a chef/restaurateur, where all mise en place (prepped ingredients) are ready in the reach-in for cooking during service, I do not cook that way at home, nor should you. It takes a lot more time to get everything ready for dump and stir. I’m not saying you shouldn’t pull all your ingredients together in advance. However, if an onion is going to cook until golden for 12 minutes, I don’t chop the next ingredients until I get that on the burner cooking. I prep as I go. Multi-task anyone? The prep time I give in a recipe is just the minimal prep time required in order to start cooking. Once cooking commences, I start the count-up clock to track how long it takes to finish the recipe. There will be some prep during the cooking time. You may note that the ingredient list calls for the items to be already prepped (e.g., 1 cup diced zucchini). I have detailed it this way simply to space-save on a recipe printout. Don’t think you need to get it all done before you start. The more you know 🙂

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Healthy Vegetable Soup: white bowl with edamame, chicken, carrots, peppers, corn, zucchini and pesto

Hearty, Healthy Vegetable Soup


  • Author: Katy Keck
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 5 1/2 quarts 1x

Description

This hearty, healthy vegetable soup will get you through until the farmers’ markets are cranking out peak of the season produce again. A dollop of pesto will brighten the flavors and get you jonesin’ for sweet summer corn and tomatoes.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided per below
  • 2 leeks, cleaned and sliced
  • 3/4 pounds mini potatoes, such as Boomer Gold, cut in half or quarters depending on size
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 pounded winter squash, such as butternut or acorn, peeled and diced
  • 2 32-ounce chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 medium zucchini, trimmed and diced
  • 1 medium yellow squash, trimmed and diced
  • 1 15.5-ounce can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1 pound shelled edamame, lima beans, or peas
  • 1 pound frozen, chopped spinach
  • 1 pound sweet corn
  • 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • Optional Garnish: Dollop with pesto

Instructions

In an 8-quart stock pot, heat two Tablespoons olive oil over high heat. Add the leeks and cook until wilted and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Push to the side and add the remaining Tablespoon of olive oil. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Stir potatoes and leeks to combine.

Add the carrots and winter squash. Stir to combine.

Add about one cup of the stock, to deglaze the pan, scraping up the brown bits.  Add the zucchini and yellow squash and remaining stock. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat.  Simmer for 30 minutes. Check the doneness, especially for potatoes and squash.

Add the cannellini beans, tomatoes, edamame (or lima or peas), spinach and corn. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Top with a dollop of pesto (recipes linked below).

Notes

  • Optional:  add 1 pound cooked chopped chicken, about 2 cups. Yield will be higher, if chicken is added.
  • Recipes for pesto available here, here and here.
  • If any of the vegetables you are using are commercially frozen, check to see if they are par-cooked. If so, you may want to add them toward the end with the quick cooking ingredients like corn and spinach.
  • If freezing, I like to wait to add seasoning until later when I serve it. I also find I may need to add a bit more stock if it’s been frozen.
  • Prep time in the recipe includes only the time needed to get cooking. You can continue prepping while the first step is cooking. While total time accurately reflects the total time required, the prep time is the shortest time til you fire up the stove, not the time required to prep all ingredients to their ready-to-use state.
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Cooktop
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: healthy vegetable soup

More Favorite Soups:

Roasted Blueberry Mulligatawny

CaribBean One Pot Wonder

Mexican Pork Posole

Three Onion Soup with Prosciutto Parmesan Crust

Kicked Up Chili

Veggie Soup

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2019. All rights reserved.

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Hunger: Breaking (and Sharing) Bread

Hunger: Breaking (and Sharing) Bread

Harry Truman on the back of a train

I’m struck once again by the cyclical nature of the universe. Different times, different responses, same problem – a world full of hunger. This month marks seventy years since Harry Truman broadcast the first televised address from the White House. Since most households still didn’t have television in that post-war era, the story came across the airwaves as well. Truman’s request was basic, yet eloquent:

  1. Use no meat on Tuesdays
  2. Use no poultry or eggs on Thursdays
  3. Save a slice of bread every day
  4. Public eating places will serve bread and butter only on request

Food Rations post from the 40s: save wheat, meat, fats and sugar

“It is simple and straightforward,” said the President. “It can be understood by all. Learn it – memorize it – keep it always in mind.” (NY Times, Oct 6, 1947) Winter was settling in and Americans cutting their consumption of proteins and grains would help hungry Europeans struggling to rebuild.  Church World Service (I’m a board member) started with Friendship Trains that crisscrossed the country picking up food donations for transport to Europe. The last stop was New York City where a ticker tape parade sent these cars on their way, while celebrating Americans’ proud role in this hunger effort.

Eat Less Bread poster from WWII

Truman went on to say “If the peace should be lost because we failed to share our food with hungry people, there would be no more tragic example in all history of a peace needlessly lost” … ” the food-saving program announced tonight offers an opportunity to each of you to make a contribution to the peace.”

The White House menus for that Tuesday and Thursday?

Tuesday luncheon

–grapefruit, cheese soufflé, buttered peas, grilled tomatoes, chocolate pudding

Tuesday dinner

–clear chicken soup, broiled salmon steak, scalloped potatoes, string beans, sautéed eggplant, perfection salad, sliced peaches

Thursday luncheon

–corn soup, peppers stuffed with rice and mushrooms, lima beans, glazed carrots, baked apples

Thursday dinner

–melon balls, baked ham, baked sweet potatoes, asparagus, cauliflower, green salad, coffee mallow

Got a hankering for perfection salad? Mrs. Truman would be so proud!

Perfection Salad

perfection salad recipe

That was then; this is now!

If only those efforts ended world hunger. With the earth’s population tripling in those 70 years (while the planet has pretty much stayed the same size!), hunger continues to persist. Obviously, I’m be dramatic and grossly simplifying what is a complicated situation. There are many factors at play, but there ARE also a few things we can all do to be part of the solution.

Sharing is Caring

The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization marks World Food Day each year on October 16, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945. Despite many gains over the last decade, global hunger is unfortunately on the rise again. The newest numbers show an estimated 815 million people around the world are hungry and malnourished, especially those living in rural areas. Even here in the US, 85% of those in rural counties report persistent poverty – with many also suffering from food insecurity and childhood hunger.  How can you help??? I thought you’d never ask!

Hunger and Malnutrition: more than 815 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition

Walk for the Cause

All year long, but especially in the fall, walkers from all faiths recruit pledges to support their walks to benefit the CROP program. Over the past 25 years, more than $300 million has been raised to benefit those in need both in the local community and around the world. People of all ages join to form teams and raise awareness to the plight of so many who are hungry. You too can organize a team. What a great way to enjoy this weather and help a brother out! If you are not a walker, but still want to help raise awareness and funds, you can add your financial support to my hunger campaign at TeamCWS.

Be Less Wasteful

In the US, we are still wasting 40% of our food supply. That’s a crying shame.  About a year ago when I first started writing about food waste, I took on two very simple habits and have not only saved food, but saved a stash of cash while doing so.

40% Food Waste infographic; food waste could feed 25 million Americans

  1. Before I lose any fruit that is about to spoil, I trim, peel, chop or whatever is needed and put it in Ziplocs in the freezer. Ripe bananas ready for banana bread? Check! Blueberries for my smoothie. You bet!! I sometimes find multiple things going at once and make smoothie packs…. like one cup blueberries, 1/2 pear and 1/4 avocado in one Ziploc ready for my chia smoothie. Just add coconut milk and chia. (Thanks Lyn-Genet!)
  2. And before I lose vegetables, I make soup. If I don’t have time to make a full batch, I will sauté the vegetables and cover them in stock and then freeze, so I have a soup starter when I do have time.

You can thank me later!

Feeding the Future

As all this waste was churning through my mind, I happened upon a food truck on Columbus Avenue one Sunday afternoon. Or was it? No, despite handing out burgers (or were they?), it was not a food truck. It was The Economist. They were wrangling subscribers, but by highlighting a very real issue, while handing out pea burgers. How do our culinary trends and food production impact our planet? I have to say this graphic caught my eye.

Cost of Livestock infographic - Cost of Livestock trillion industry

Their campaign Feeding the Future (please, please, please check out the amazing info here!) raises very real questions about everyday decisions that have meaningful impact on climate change.  Meatless Monday does more than cut your own cholesterol. It reduces methane gases. More greenhouse emissions from agriculture than all motorized transport combined? Color me surprised.

Half of a Pea Burger in cardboard server

I tried their pea-based burger and it surprisingly tasted and felt like beef. I am not sure that is a good thing. I usually like alternatives that are a replacement with a whole new concept. Innovate don’t mimic. But the point was well taken – you can have a meaty burger without killing a cow. Don’t worry – I’m not going all veg-head on you, but if we sub a few alternatives here and there, those drops in a bucket across millions of people will add up to positive impact. I swear it!

#RealSchoolFood

And if none of this is for you, here is something that you can do for school children with virtually no effort. Everybody is for healthy food for schoolchildren, right?

Real School Food infographic: 1 in 3 American kids are overweight or obese

Snap a photo of yourself/your friend/your dog holding a sign that is tagged #RealSchoolFood and post on social media. Make sure it is public (if posting on Facebook) and tag my friend Chef Ann! (Facebook: @Chef Ann Foundation, Twitter: @ChefAnnFnd, Instagram: @chefannfoundation). And for that tiny little effort on your part, the sponsors of #RealSchoolFood will donate a $1 to improve school meals for all our kids. I call that a winner!

Find a way to make a difference. And help spread the word. Here’s to better eating for all!!

Katy Keck for #RealSchoolFood

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2017. All rights reserved.

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Dumping Cherries – What Happens When the Harvest is Too Big?

Dumping Cherries – What Happens When the Harvest is Too Big?

Dumping Cherries

The above photo has been shared more than 60,000 times. And on so many levels it is heartbreaking. Santucci Farms in Traverse City, Michigan is dumping cherries…more than 14% of this year’s bumper crop, some 40,000 perfectly good cherries. And to add insult to injury this paves the way for 200 million pounds of imports. Say what?? Just shake the trees and let the gorgeous bright reds fall and rot?

 

But like most things, there are complex factors at play. The agricultural marketing order driving this action dates back to the 1930s, but the growers and processors willingly opted in only 20 years ago. The goal was to stabilize the market for a very volatile crop. Not to go all micro-economics on you but – supply meet demand?  This marketing order favors the farmers in lean years and will limit sales in banner years.   And when prices are propped up domestically, that will open the door for cheaper foreign competition.

But even that is not the full story.  While it might seem shocking that we are importing while wasting, Michigan (and other domestic) farmers focus primarily on the retail market, while foreign importers (primarily Turkey and Eastern Europe) focus on industrial markets.  The industrial market demand exceeds the entire US production, so there is no real way to be competitive there anyway.

Tarts cherries on the Tree

Additionally yields vary drastically from year to year, one of the primary motivators behind accepting the USDA plan, with this year boasting a 100 million pound surplus. To complicate matters, this particular crop – the tart cherry – has a very short shelf life – only a couple days, requiring processing right away.  But processing capacity is finite, sufficient for average not banner years.  Processors are unable to keep up with surplus crops. While there are options for donating surplus, via the Michigan Agricultural Surplus System, an organization that works with 70 farmers to rescue food “too ugly for retail”, the extremely short shelf life of tarts is a big challenge, compared to say potatoes with much greater stability.  All this to say, that while that photo reveals a truly tragic waste, the issues are much more complex than rotting cherries.

And the tragic waste is not limited to tart cherries.  Food waste in the US is more than 40% of  all agricultural production.  That is a fact.  And each year about 7% of what is produced is not even harvested.  So yes there is work to be done.  While there are a number of agendas underway to address  this epic fail, much of the problem happens at home, and we can make a difference on our own without a global agenda.  70 Billion tons of rotting methane-producing food goes into landfills while 49 million people go hungry.  It’s time we all put heads together to #stopfoodwaste.  I say: Eat Your Leftovers!!!

America Wastes 40% of its Food infographic

Top photo and video courtesy of Santucci Farms.   Infographic courtesy of Sustainable America.

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2016. All rights reserved.

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Food Waste – an update

Food Waste – an update

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Some of you are still taking the food waste quiz (how YOU doin?) and some are asking for more recipes and tips on how to keep from wasting food (duly noted).  But even bigger and better, late Monday GrubStreet reported that Shark Tank  investor Robert Herjavec put $100,000 into Hungry Harvest, a delivery start up rescuing deformed produce. #loveuglyfood   I feel better already!

Show Ugly Produce Some Love - misshapen lemon, peppers, potato and eggplant - they taste the same as their pretty friends

Since this Shark Tank exposure, 1,000 people have signed up for this delivery service –  in just 5 days.   Each delivery, on average, reduces 10 pounds of produce from going to waste, and they also donate 1.5 pounds of produce to the needy, per week. Multiply that by 1,000 – and they’ll recover 10,000 pounds and donate 1,500 pounds of produce per week.  Not to be too computational and all, but that’s 43,000 pounds recovered and 6,450 pounds donated per month. And 520,000 pounds recovered and 78,000 pounds donated per year.

Hungry Harvest currently delivers to the Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia area, but Philly and NYC are coming soon.

Stay tuned for more tips from me on how you can cut waste by re-purposing produce into delicious recipes………..coming soon.  And give an ugly eggplant a hug, will ya?

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2016. All rights reserved.

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Food (waste) for Thought

Food (waste) for Thought

Well hello there!! You’re back. Fantastic to see you again. Hope you enjoyed all seasonal festivities!  This time of year most everyone is thinking about healthy eating for the New Year and making lots of resolutions. Being a bit of a rebel – always – I want to take a sec to talk about what you are NOT eating. The folks at Sustainable America have made this frightening infographic about food waste. 40? I knew there was a lot but this is pretty damn shocking. 40% of all food in America gets discarded. Adding insult to injury, not only does it not go to hungry mouths – 49 million Americans each night are going to bed hungry – this discarded food ends up rotting in landfills and further adds to greenhouse gasses. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, has 26 times the heat-trapping capacity of carbon dioxide. Global warming, HELLOOOOO!!!!

America Wastes 40% of its Food infographic

It’s a complicated problem and heavily impacts other parts of our survival. 32% of freshwater used in the US goes to produce food that is never eaten. Americans throw away more than 1.5 pounds of food per person daily. And it’s not just limited to the USA.  Wasted worldwide annually?? 1.3 BILLION pounds of food! Damn, Skippy!!

It sounds like a really big problem – IT IS – so how can one person or one family make a difference. You’re busy, right? Wrong!!! Well, you probably are busy, but not TOO busy.

Show Ugly Produce Some Love - misshapen lemon, peppers, potato and eggplant - they taste the same as their pretty friends

Look at this simple list that will truly make a difference:

  • Inventory your fridge before shopping
  • Plan better/throw away less
  • Store food optimally (don’t put potatoes and onions together)
  • Show some love to ugly produce #loveuglyfood
  • Turn food ripening too quickly into freezer staples: breads, soups, purees (remember that pesto?), oven-dried fruits and vegs, frozen smoothie mise, ice cube trays filled with juiced fruits and vegs
  • Eat your leftovers!!
  • Compost
  • Support restaurants that are involved in food recovery

Take the quiz to see where you rank as a food waster! And for more tips on storage and cutting waste, check out the IValueFood website.

What’s your NEW new year’s resolution? How will you help?  It’s not just good for the planet; your wallet will thank you, too! Let me know what change you plan to make.  I’m starting off by putting that flabby zucchini to good use. Yumsters!

Using old zucchinis; zucchini bread wrapped with twineBaking for the freezer: making zucchini last!

Source: Sustainable America

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