Curried Squash Soup

Gluten Free Curried Squash Soup

We love squash in our house. I like it roasted with butter, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice but my husband prefers it slathered in butter alone. Our little guy, who is just starting solids, is a big fan of squash too. My favourite squash to eat on its own is acorn, but butternut is a close second. For soup, however, butternut squash is the way to go!

This soup is creamy, nutty and sweet with a hint of curry spice and coconut milk. Roasting the veggies brings out a great depth of flavour, but if you don't have the time you could chop them up raw and cook them in the soup instead.

serves 3-4 ppl
Ingredients

1 medium Butternut Squash (2-3lbs)
1 Onion
1/2 Head of Garlic
3 cups Vegetable or Chicken Broth (make sure it's GF!)
1 tsp Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Indian Curry Powder (or sub Thai Curry Paste for a different flavour)
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice (or substitute 1 chopped granny smith apple - add in with squash)
1/2 cup Coconut Milk
Plain Yogurt (or sour cream) and Parsley as a garnish

Directions

Cut squash in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds and fibres with a spoon.
Peel the onion and cut into quarters
Wrap the half head garlic in tin foil
Roast squash cut side down on a foil lined roasting pan along with onion and garlic for 45-50 mins at 350.
When cooked, scrape out squash and squeeze out garlic into a medium pot with onion and 2 cups of broth.
Using a hand/stick blender, puree until smooth. (or you can blend in a food processor)
Add remaining broth, coconut milk and seasonings (not lemon juice) and simmer for 10-20 mins, stirring occasionally.
Stir in lemon juice at the end and season to taste.
Serve hot with parsley and yogurt/sour cream.

Cut and remove seeds from squash (you only need one)

 

Roast squash, onion and garlic (garlic is missing from picture)

 

Combine roasted veggies in a pot

 

Add 2 cups of stock and blend until smooth

 

Add remaining broth, coconut milk and seasonings and simmer for 10-20 mins 

 

Garnish with yogurt/sour cream and parsley if desired

Hot and Sour Soup

Gluten Free Hot and Sour Soup

I am almost 16 weeks pregnant and am just starting to enjoy food again (thank goodness)! I haven't been cooking or blogging much lately because I've been feeling so crappy. Today I am at home sick and am trying to stick to natural remedies as much as possible. I just made a pot of this soothing soup for lunch!

This soup is great for when you have a cold. The spice and steam will help to clear out your nose and the broth will help you get those much needed fluids. The fresh ginger and garlic are great for your immune system too. It's super quick to make, so you don't have to spend too much time standing over the stove when you feel crappy.

You can adjust the spice level to suit your family's preferences. I would say my version of the soup has a medium level of spice. The noodles give the soup a bit more substance, but you can leave them out if you want a very light, brothy soup (It would make a great appetizer).  The recipe only makes 3 servings but can be easily doubled.

serves 3
Ingredients

1 1/3 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, minced or finely grated
3 Cloves Fresh Garlic, minced or finely grated
1/2 tsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Carrot, grated
1 Egg, well beaten
1 1/2 Tbsp GF Beef Soup Base/Boullion (use more if needed)
5 Cups Water (or omit beef soup base and use 5 cups prepared beef broth)
2 tsp Sriracha Hot Sauce (or your favourite hot sauce)
1 Square Rice Noodles (or enough to make around 1 1/4 cups cooked)
1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Directions

In medium sauce pan, saute garlic and ginger in olive oil for 1 minute.
Add water, beef soup base, grated carrot and hot sauce.
Bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
Add uncooked rice noodles and boil for another minute or 2. (you could also cook noodles separately and add them at the end)
Beat 1 egg and slowly pour into soup while stirring slowly (it should cook instantly)
Add lemon juice.
Taste and make adjustments (more broth, lemon juice, hot sauce, etc)
Serve and breath in the theraputic steam!

ginger, garlic and beef broth

Add carrots, boil 5 minutes and add rice noodles

Drop in egg while stirring slowly and finish with lemon juice

Thai Soup

Gluten Free Thai Soup with Rice Noodles

Both my husband and I love Thai food. I love the ginger, coconut milk and lemony flavours. One of our favourite restaurants in Saskatoon is Thai (Keo's). We like it so much that I sometimes try to recreate their menu items. To this point my (re)creations have been unsatisfactory and rather unidentifiable. My tamarind is too sour (maybe I used too much?), I don't have any lemon grass, I have no idea what kind of curry they use and where to get it, and I am receiving most of my Thai cooking classes from Google. So I gave up trying to recreate, and instead started to create. Using my new found knowledge of basic Thai flavours (yes, from Google), I got cooking. (I really doubt that I had this all planned out like I'm making it sound, and I'm pretty sure this recipe was more of a delicious accident than anything, but I'll still take the credit!)
This delightful Thai soup recipe is what I came up with. My husband literally jumps for joy when I announce I am making it for supper.It's a little labour intensive with all the julienning of the veggies, but it's totally worth it. The secret (Thai) ingredients are fresh ginger, Asian fish sauce (which sounds and kind of smells disgusting, but trust me, it adds the perfect flavour), peanut butter, and lime or lemon juice (I think Thai food usually uses lemon grass, but I don't really know where to get it). You can substitute different vegetables based on what you like and what you have on hand.

This is what I had on hand

I hope you love this soup as much as we do!

(serves 3-4 people)
Ingredients

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Cloves Fresh Garlic, minced
1 Small Onion, minced
1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, grated or minced
1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
1 cup Coconut Milk
1 Tbsp Asian Fish Sauce (you could probably sub soy sauce but it wouldn't be the same)
2 Tbsp lime juice (or lemon juice)
3/4 cup Water
2 Carrots, julienned
1 cup Bean Sprouts (or Cabbage, julienned)
1/2 Red Pepper, julienned
2 tsp Chili Flakes
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp Lime Zest (optional)
Salt to taste
1-2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, chopped into bite sized pieces (Tofu works good here too)
3-4 cups Cooked Thin Rice Noodles

Garnishes:
  Cilantro
  Chopped Peanuts

get your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking

Directions

Cook rice noodles according to package directions and divide between 3 or 4 bowls.

Heat oil on medium heat in a large pot.
Saute minced onions until translucent.
Add garlic, ginger and pepper. Saute for another minute or two.
Add chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce and water. Bring to a boil.
Bring soup down to a simmer and add carrots, chili flakes, chicken. Cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
Add cabbage or bean sprouts, red pepper and peanut butter. Let cook for another 3 minutes.
Add lime juice and zest (if using). Salt to taste.

Serve soup over cooked rice noodles.
Garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro.

onions, garlic, ginger and pepper

coconut milk and chicken stock added

Add chicken and firmer veggies

cover and simmer for 5-7 mins

serve over rice noodles and garnish with peanuts and cilantro... i didn't have any :(

Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder

My husband loves chicken corn chowder... well the campbell's chunky soup version anyway. I try to keep some on hand for quick bag lunches. Of course, canned chicken corn chowder contains wheat flour, so I have actually never tried it. To be honest, chicken corn chowder doesn't sound that amazing to me, so I was never really all that jealous. But I thought that if my husband was such a big fan, maybe I should give it a try.

I had some leftover chicken breast from a bought rotisserie chicken, and I was planning on making some chicken tacos for supper, but then I came across a recipe for chicken corn chowder and I had an idea: What if I make a Mexican/taco style chicken corn chowder? I knew my husband would love it, and I was excited to finally try a version of the famous chicken corn chowder. So I threw together some vegetables, salsa and taco seasonings, and topped it off with grated cheese and crushed corn chips. It was a hit! If this is anything like regular chicken corn chowder, I can now say that I am a fan too.

I know most chowders have more of a white broth, but we can blame the salsa and the chili powder for the red colour. This is a Mexican chowder... if that even exists... I guess you're just gonna have to work with me on this one!

(serves 6-7 people)

Ingredients

1 medium Onion Chopped

4 cloves Garlic Chopped
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 1/2- 2 cups Chopped Cooked Chicken
1/2 tsp Celery Salt (or 2 stalks chopped celery)
3 T Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Season Salt
1 tsp crushed chili peppers
1/2 tsp Ground Pepper
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger (or fresh if you have it)
3 T Water
(if you like it spicy, add some cayenne pepper)

5 cups Water
1/2 cup Diced Carrot or Yam
4 Potatoes peeled and Diced
1/2 tsp Thyme
2 cups Frozen Corn
2/3 cup Salsa

1/2 cup Half and Half Cream (gives it some colour without adding too much fat) - can substitute milk
1/2 cup Milk
(or substitute 1 cup evaporated milk for cream and milk)

Toppings (optional)
Grated Cheese 
Corn Chips

Directions

In largest pot, saute onions and garlic in olive oil for 2 mins.

Add in chicken, spices and 3 T water and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add 5 cups water, yam/carrot, potatoes, Thyme, corn and salsa. Bring to a boil then simmer on medium to low heat for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

With an immersion hand blender, puree a little bit of the soup to help thicken it. (optional)

Stir in cream and milk (you can add more or less depending on your preferences)
Taste and add more salt/pepper if needed.
Reheat the soup to almost boiling. Serve.

with milk and cream added

 Top with crushed corn chips and grated cheese.

Tomato Soup

I wasn't a big fan of tomato soup when I was young, so I didn't really miss it when I was first diagnosed with celiac. It was only a few years ago that I started to crave tomato soup. This was probably because my husband (then boyfriend), who was on the university diet of canned foods and instant noodles, ate it quite frequently. As you probably know, campbell's tomato soup containes wheat, and I wasn't able to find any canned tomato soup I could eat. So I started looking for ideas online and eventually came up with this recipe. I'm sure it's much healthier than canned soup, mainly because you can control the sodium content and add extra vegetables, and I'm positive it tastes better!

You can make a double recipe if you're feeding more than about 3 people, or if you want to freeze some for future lunches. I like to sprinkle some grated cheddar on top and eat along side grilled cheese. 

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 sticks celery chopped (can be omitted)
1/2-1 tsp dried basil (or fresh chopped)
1 large can diced tomatoes (or you can use 2-3 cups fresh tomatoes, but you might need a bit more liquid)
3/4 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
you can add any other vegetable you like.

Directions

Saute garlic, olive oil, celery and onion in a sauce pan for a few minutes.
Stir in salt, pepper and basil. Add tomatoes with juices and broth.
Boil for 10-15 minutes or until onions and celery are soft. Add sugar.
Puree mixture with a hand blender until no chunks remain. (unless you like it chunky)
Add milk and reheat but don't let it boil.
Serve with grated cheese and garlic bread or grilled cheese sandwiches.

sautee onions and garlic

chunky soup

after blending