Thai Vegetable soup; Or, Becoming a Vegetarian

On Sunday I got violently sick. I though it was from a homemade burger I had had that night for dinner. I felt so nauseous after eating. After a medicinal solution from the BF, I felt slightly better but got hungry again and housed some canned (ugh) chicken soup. Fast forward to the middle of the night and let’s just say it was coming out both ends. Ok that wasn’t so subtle…but it wasn’t pretty. I’m traumatized.

I made Veg soup the next day. Plain old veggies and broth, no noodles, rice or trimmings, soup. It lasted for a couple days, over which time I realized I had probably caught a bug (as opposed to food poisoning) as BF’s cousin had had the same thing a few days earlier.

I threw the burger patties I made out the window for the stray cats nonetheless, moved to waves of nausea every time I thought of meat. Talk about negative association.

I have now made the tentative decision, after a successful week of vegetarian subsistence, to try and become and actual vegetarian. Why? I feel healthier, my skin feels better, and I have lost 3 pounds. Nice, right?

I remade my veg soup after I ran out, and added extra lemon, cilantro and coconut milk for a Thai twist. I also threw in curry powder, cumin, coriander and ginger. Turned out quite well. A whole pot that lasts me days (BF is not a healthy eater) may have been a bit much, but still, I like it:

Recipe:
Around 12 cups of water (I usually use enough for whatever amount of veggies I have to cover, and adjust other ingredients accordingly. I never measure, I throw sh*t in).
Some bouillon cubes of your choice (or powder, or nothing)
Approx 1t of cumin, coriander, ginger and curry powder. Omit any of these you don’t like.
Veggies I had in the house:
Cabbage
Carrots
Potatoes
Onion
Green beans
(leeks are a great addition)
red lentils (adds amazing texture, I always add these to my Veg soup).
Tomatoes (2 or 3)
Salt and pepper
Half can of coconut milk
cilantro

Boil all ingredients, adding cilantro/coco milk towards the end. Boil till flavours are combined and veggies are cooked through. Salt through to taste.

Remember you can add ANY veggies you like. To make regular veggie soup, omit cilantro, coco milk, coriander, cumin and ginger. I like to keep the curry powder in, it adds a nice depth of flavour.
The pics are my thai veg soup both:

Regular



and blended

Crepes

Cripes!

I watched Senior Skip Day last night and in this theatrical masterpiece there was a scene involving crepes. The wonder pancake that goes with anything, it’s music to my ears. I’ve never made them before so I decided to go to my life instruction website (i.e. the Food Network) and look up an easy looking recipe. I found one, and it goes as follows:

CREPE BATTER:

* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
* 1/2 cup milk
* 3 large eggs
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a blender of food processor blend the flour, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, the milk, the eggs, the butter, and the salt for 5 seconds. Turn off the motor, with a rubber spatula scrape down the sides of the container, and blend the batter for 20 seconds more. Transfer the batter to a bowl and let it stand, covered, for 1 hour. (The batter may be made up to 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled)

Yield: Enough batter for about 20 crepes

TO MAKE CREPES: Melted unsalted butter for brushing the pan Crepe batter (recipe above)

Heat a crepe pan or non-stick skillet measuring 6 to 7 inches across the bottom over moderate heat until it is hot. Brush the pan lightly with the butter, heat the pan until it is hot but now smoking, and remove it from the heat. Stir the batter, half fill a 1/4 cup measure with it, and pour the batter into the pan. Tilt and rotate the pan quickly to cover the bottom with a thin layer of batter and then turn the pan to the heat, loosen the edge of the crepe until the underside is browned lightly. Turn the crepe, brown the other side lightly and transfer the crepe to a plate. Make crepes with remaining batter in the same manner, brushing with butter as necessary. (The crepes may be made in advance, stacked, wrapped in plastic wrap, and chilled for up to 3 days or frozen.)

I’m off to make them, and I will update you with what they look like. Hopefully they turn out something like above.


Thin, light and fluffy but crisp at the edges.

mm.