Kapusnyak ... Or is that Kartoplyanka?

 

The chill is coming back in the air, and that means it's soup, stew or as I like to call it, schtoop season!  It doesn't look all that great, and I wasn't going for presentation, but the soup above is a take on Ukranian sauerkraut soup:  Kapusnyak.  (Kapusta = cabbage).  I ended up making an almost full 8 quart Dutch oven full of this.  The traditional soup has one potato diced up for starch -- perhaps to cut the tang of the sauerkraut?  I added quite a lot more potato, hence the ? on whether or not to call this potato soup, Kartoplyanka!  It doesn't look too pretty, but it's delish!

Thai Veggie Soup from Asiana

The Asiana restaurant at The Royal in Cancun has AMAZING food.  My favorites are the sushi and the Thai veggie soup.  I asked for the recipe and here it is:

Sorry for the bad cellphone shot but I figured something is better than nothing!

• Purple onion (this appears to be coarsely chopped)
• Straw mushrooms
• Chicken broth
• Chicken breast - diced
• Coconut milk
• Herbs of Limon (lemongrass?)
• Basil (looked more like cilantro)
• Chile ancho (appears to be just garnish, this is not a spicy soup)
• Jalapeno (one or two slices, I can pick out the flavor but not the heat)
• Fish sauce

OK so I really wanted to get this somewhere besides written on the back of a flimsy receipt.   This would fit in most meal plans.  I suspect just a little more chicken broth and less coconut milk would even fit it into a low fat plan.

"Ham Surprise"

This is a recipe that has been with me since high school.  It is so non-traditional I hesitate to post it, but I will anyway.  The non-traditional part is funny because I learned this in high school -- I think it was social studies -- we did some sort of ethnic dish sharing/party thing.  Someone bought "Chinese rice" which I recognized to be white rice with green peas, ham, egg bits and soy sauce.  I used to make this for myself in single days -- easy, relatively cheap.  I've since added different things to it.

So I'm going to share this.  The low carbers can leave out the rice.  If you don't like ham, you can use chicken or other meat or tofu I suppose.  All ingredients are optional, and sorry, no pics.

Ingredients:

• Rice:  My favorite these days is Trader Joe's white basmati rice
• About 1 lb ham:  I buy a prepackaged steak, or in a pinch have the deli make me a thick slice or two. 
• 3-4 eggs, more if you like eggs and/or don't like meat
• 1 can each: sliced water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby corn
• Fresh snap peas and sprouts
• Butter
• Soy Sauce:   I like San J Gluten Free Tamari.

Prep:

• Drain canned veggies and dump into a container that has a good seal.  Add a liberal amount of "soy sauce".  Do this a couple hours ahead of time, seal the container, and  flip upside down periodically  so they all get soyed.
• Start rice cooking*  (I do this now so it's hot and ready when everything else is)
• Slice ham into strips (or cubes if you prefer),  I like them ~1/4"x1/2".  Fry the ham to brown.  Set aside.   
• Scramble eggs and fry up scrambles.  Set aside.  
• Throw the canned veggies and snap pea pods and sprouts into a HOT pan with the liquid.  This will steam the raw veggies and warm the canned ones.  
• Add ham & eggs and mix

Serve:   I like to just mix everything and serve like a fried rice.  My husband prefers  the above mixture over buttered rice.  

I won't lie to you, this isn't Chinese fried rice, but it's quick, yummy and not at all a bad alternative if I should say so myself!  It can be pretty LC w/o the rice, low fat if you go easy on the butter. 

Crisp Coleslaw

I serve this almost every time we entertain outside in the summer, and it's also a dish I'll bring with me to functions.  It is always well received and very different from the standard coleslaw you might pick up at the deli.  I usually prepare this at least 12 hours before first serving, 24 hours seems to be optimal, but it is good even a few hours after mixing together.  I can almost guarantee someone will remark how "fresh" this tastes!