Earth Day and "Recycled" Brat Soup

Happy Earth Day! There are lots of ways to be Earthy-savvy in the kitchen. The most obvious thing that comes to mind is recycling. Depending on where you live, you can recycle a lot of food packaging (here, we're only allowed to recycle glass, aluminum cans and two kinds of plastic. It's heartbreaking). Another idea is to reduce the amount of packaging on the food you buy. Is it necessary to put every bunch of cilantro or lettuce into a plastic bag at the grocery store? Absolutely not. Have you ever purchased grains, beans or flour in bulk foods section? The best part about bulk buying (besides the price) is that you can reuse the same bag over and over again and by taking the empty bag with you to the grocery store, you'll remember what you need. Speaking of bags, you can switch from paper or plastic to canvas or another type of reusable shopping bag (Hawaii was doing this for years before it caught on in the mainland).

What about ways to reduce energy consumption in the kitchen? Make sure to use the appropriate sized burners for each of your pots and pans to reduce the energy lost to the atmosphere. Forgo the oven on hot days. Instead, eat something fresh. The oven uses energy plus your air conditioner will have to work harder to maintain the air temperature. Do the opposite in the winter. Bake a lot of pizza on a hot pizza stone at 500 degrees. Once you're done, leave the oven door open. The heat from the oven and the stone won't take long to warm up the kitchen so your heater won't have to work as hard.

You can also save energy with your fridge or freezer. Keep the door open for the shortest amount of time needed. Cool your food on the counter before putting it in the fridge otherwise you'll warm up the internal temperature of the fridge (this is also important for food safety). Be sure to leave space between items in both the fridge and freezer. As tempting as it is, don't jam it full. Airflow is important for food safety and quality (no one likes find frozen lettuce or icy milk) and it helps make the appliance more efficient. You'll not only reduce energy waste, but  also the organic waste you'd make by throwing away that soggy lettuce.

Some people don't care about organic waste because it decomposes. Sure, it decomposes, but it still takes up space in the landfill and it takes time to decompose. Instead, consider composting. It's amazing to see how much organic waste you produce and watch it decompose. Some things shouldn't be composted--like meat. Who hasn't had to throw away the chicken breasts that got pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten? Eliminating wasted food is important. The amount of energy and resources that go into producing food is incredible. Have you heard of the Haber-Bosch process? It's the reaction that converts atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia. It requires a lot of energy to break the triple bond between the Nitrogen atoms.  This process uses an entire percentage of the world's annual energy supply to produce nitrogen fertilizer for farming. (There's one reason to consider organic foods.)

I live with two guys. You wouldn't believe the amount of food I throw away because I found it rotting in the crisper. It breaks my heart every time. So, today, I'll share a recipe for reusing leftovers. For Earth Day, we'll call it "Recycled Brat Soup." 

I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe before. I first made this soup on a Sunday when C was working in the hospital. I don't know if it was a post-call day or post-nights or why he was so tired (besides residency in general), but when he came home from work, he was about to pass out without having eaten breakfast or lunch (this is typical). I sat him up in bed and forced him to eat soup. He loved it, had a second bowl, thanked me and passed out for the rest of the day.

It quickly became my go-to soup recipe because we usually have all of the ingredients in the fridge, pantry, and freezer. To clarify--we don't usually have leftover brats in the fridge. Brats are a luxury in my house. For some reason, whenever we grill and I ask for brats, C ends up making some sort of chicken sausage or Italian sausage. He's from Iowa. He doesn't understand that serving sausage when I asked for brats is like me serving him peas when he asked for corn. Luckily, we do tend to have a few stray sausages in the freezer at any given time.

I feel like its sacrilegious to eat brats in any way other than [boiled in beer,] grilled and served on a brat bun. (Yes, there are special buns to for brats that taste so much better than hotdog buns). However, this soup is really good. Plus, I live in Texas now. It's my right to do whatever the heck I want to do (or so I've been lead to believe).

Spinach and "Recycled" Brats Soup
Adapted from Elements by Jason Roberts
Serves 4

Materials
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 leftover [cooked] brats (or your favorite sausage), 1/4-1/2" slices
1 med. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup orzo (or other small pasta)
1/2 bunch spinach, stems removed and chopped
1 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper, to taste

Methods
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage, onion and garlic. Cook until the sausage has browned and the onions are translucent.
2. Add the chicken broth and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
3. Add the orzo to the boiling soup. Cook 5 minutes or so, until the pasta is al dente.
4. Stir in the spinach and peas. Cook two minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve with fresh bread. Soup is alright leftover, but be aware that the pasta will absorb liquid and it will become less of a soup and more of a goulash.

Creamy Roasted Asparagus Soup (without the cream)

Love it or hate it, it's asparagus season! Asparagus reminds me of my childhood and of Easter. Our family celebrates Easter at my maternal grandma's house. Grandma Betty serves scalloped ham and potatoes, crescent rolls or dinner rolls, asparagus (white when she can find it), and a huge bowl of fruit salad adorned with whole strawberries and slices of kiwi. For dessert, she used to serve a chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting but more recently has started serving pie. In honor of my grandma (today is not only Easter but also her birthday), I'll share a recipe for that one food I always hated to see on her Easter table: asparagus!

Before we proceed, a fun fact about me is that I can't stand foods that, for whatever reason, remind me that I've eaten them once I'm done eating them. Examples include garlic, corn, kidney beans, Chipotle's regrettably delicious hot salsa, and last but not least, asparagus. People get uncomfortable talking about asparagus-pee, but it's serious and it caused me to abstain from eating asparagus for a long time. However, C's two favorite vegetables are asparagus and Brussels sprouts, so I've had to get past my aversion to asparagus.

Thankfully, I no longer have to hold my breath in the bathroom. For those of you who, like me, were blessed with the ability to smell asparagus-pee, I'm going to let you in on my little sciencey-secret, Dilution. Dilution, dilution, dilution! The more water you drink, the more you dilute your urine. The lower the concentration of the volatile compounds, the harder it is to smell. Also, I've noted that the tip with the buds is the culprit. If I just eat the shoot, I have no problems. Now, I challenge you to eat enough asparagus this spring to test my theory and report back so that I can expand my data set from an 'n' of one.

With a bunch of asparagus in the fridge and red potatoes that were starting to turn, I decided to make soup. One of the links I gave you in my VegOut! Challenge post was for Kathryn Hill's Rutabaga Chipotle Soup (I made it as stated, but with 2 oz. cream cheese instead of 2 cups of cream). That recipe was my inspiration for this soup: an asparagus soup that's creamy from a starchy tuber instead of fatty cream!

Objective
Make a creamy asparagus soup without cream.

Materials
1/2 lb. asparagus, washed and trimmed (or use a full pound)
olive oil
1 tbsp. butter (or olive oil)
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 small red potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper

Garlic toasts, to serve (optional):
baguette
large clove of garlic

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Lay the asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 8-10 minutes or until the asparagus shoots begin to soften. When the asparagus is done cooking, cut off the top inch and set aside. Cut the remaining shoots into one inch-long pieces to add to the broth.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook a few minutes longer. Add the potatoes, asparagus shoots, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are soft.
3. Ladle most of the broth into the jar of a blender. Add half of the potato chunks, onion, and asparagus. Puree until smooth. Pour back into the pot. Stir in the asparagus tops. Stir in the cumin and season to taste with salt and pepper. If you feel like it's missing something, try adding a pinch of garlic powder. Keep warm while you prepare the garlic toasts.
4. To prepare the garlic toasts, turn the oven to broil. Slice the baguette into 1/2" thick rounds. On a broiler safe sheet, toast the baguettes. Slice of clove of garlic in half and rub each toast with the cut edge. Serve warm with the soup.

Results
Incredibly creamy or maybe better described as velvety.  Tastes like asparagus with a hint of garlic.

Discussion and Future Directions
This isn't a spectacular recipe for wowing guests. Rather, this is a recipe for warming up on a cold spring day. It's a way to savor spring's bounty on those miserably cold days that in your heart you know to expect but nevertheless hope won't ever come. If you want to make it spectacular, stir in an ounce or two of cream cheese before you puree the soup. That will make it richer.

I like my soups a little chunkier so that there is some texture. Feel free to puree the whole soup if you prefer smooth cream soups. If you're going to puree it, feel free to add all of the asparagus to the pot at the beginning (or save just a few tips for garnish). Now, be sure to drink a full glass of water (a tall glass, not a short one) with your soup. See if my dilution method worked, and report back!

Vinegar Pie (or Lemon-Free Lemon Pie)

By now, you've probably realized how expensive limes have gotten. You probably know that it's due to a poor growing season and if you're really up on what's been happening in Mexico, particularly in Michoacán where limes are big business, you might know that the problem has been exacerbated by violence and the drug cartels. To avoid a rant about drug-related violence, let's talk about limes.

In our household, we go through limes like you wouldn't believe. We're the weird people who go to the grocery store every day (sometimes multiple times a day) because we can walk there. Many a trip has been made solely for limes, sometimes for pico de gallo, sometimes for whatever variation of Moscow Mules we're craving. Because of lime prices (we buy them so often we have a special coupon at the grocery store for 17 cent limes that now cost 54 cents), I've been forced to substitute lemons.

Now, in case lemon prices ever sky rocket, let's talk about a substitute for lemons. Have you ever had vinegar pie? Sounds weird, right? Here's a recipe for a dairy-free, lemon-free pie that tastes just like lemon meringue pie (without the meringue). Thank the pioneers. Not only did they settle our country, they discovered that water, sugar, flour, egg, and apple cider could be made into a faux-fruit pie!

Objective
Make a crust-less vinegar pie in ramekins based on this Vinegar Pie from the Township of Springwater, CA. Shout out to Underbelly restaurant for the inspiration (they serve theirs in a thick pastry shell with salt brittle on top).

Materials
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten until frothy
1-3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (start with 1 tbsp and taste before adding more)
1 tsp. citrus extract (optional, I used orange)
candied lemon slices (for garnish, see supplementary materials)

Methods
1. Bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour until well-incorporated. Whisk the flour-sugar into the boiling water and continue whisking until thickened (like a custard, you want it to coat the back of a wooden spoon and not drip when you swipe it). Remove from heat.
2. Temper the eggs by whisking a little bit of the sugar-water mixture into the frothy eggs. Then whisk the tempered eggs into the rest of the sugar-water mixture. Continue whisking until the mixture looks smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in the apple cider vinegar. Feel free to give it a taste (careful it's hot) to see if you need to add any extract.
4. Pour into four 4.5 oz. ramekins (if you have smaller ramekins, use them! If you want to make tarts, use baked mini tart shells). Chill the "custards" approximately 3 hours until set. Garnish with candied lemon slices before serving.

Results
The color is subtly yellow from the egg yolk. The aroma is a bit acidic (read: vinegar). To me, it tastes like citrus but to C, it tastes like vinegar.

Discussion and Future Directions
First off, let's be honest. This should be way more than 4 servings (unless you like a dessert with ~45g of sugar). Plus, without a crust, the flavor is strong. I suggest sharing one ramekin. A better idea would be to chill the custard in pre-baked single-serving tart pastries. That would make the custard a thin layer and therefore decrease the serving. Or you could make a pie (I would make 1.5x this recipe for a 9" pie). A shortbread crust would be perfect.

Now, let' talk about the vinegar. I used the full 3 tablespoons which made it unpalatable for C. Clearly, a little less vinegar would be ok. A lot less vinegar would probably be fine. The original recipe calls for 3 tablespoons (technically 6, but I halved the recipe). If I were you, I would try adding the apple cider vinegar tablespoon by tablespoon until it has enough flavor without tasting too vinegary. Alternatively, just go for 1 tbsp. of vinegar with 1-2 tbsp. lemon juice.

This unique little dessert is something to try when you're in the mood for something new and different. It's probably not the best dessert to try for the first time on guests. (Or depending on the guests, it may be the perfect dessert...)

Supplementary Materials

Candied Lemon Slices: Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Stir in 3/4 cup sugar until dissolved. Cut 1 small-medium lemon in 1/4" thick slices. Add the lemons in a single layer floating on the top of the syrup. Boil until the pulp of the lemon is translucent, about 10 minutes, flipping the slices half way through. Drain and move to a wire rack to cool. Want to know the best part? If you cool the syrup and put it in a glass jar, you get the added bonus of having just made homemade lemon simple syrup! (Just add vodka and some lemon juice and you've got yourself a lemon drop martini. Or, add gin and lemon juice and muddle some blackberries for a blackberry bramble)

Coleslaw, Two Ways

I just told you about my experience taking the VegOut! Challenge to eat 30 vegetables in 30 days. Did you find it a little annoying that I didn't share any recipes for all those vegetables? I did. Sure, I gave you links to a few good ones, but that's not the same. I felt a little guilty telling you how great of an experience it was to eat 30 vegetables without giving you suggestions for eating 30 vegetables on your own! My food blog has started to morph into a dessert or baking blog, so my new goal is to post more recipes for main dishes and sides. Bring on the veges!

I'll start by sharing recipes for cabbage and fennel which I made into coleslaw, two ways. At the end of our 30 vegetables challenge, we had red, green, and Chinese cabbage in the fridge plus a giant jar of sauerkraut. I figured coleslaw would be the easiest way to use cabbage. Both of the recipes that I'm about to share make a reasonable amount that could easily serve 6-8 people. For a larger crowd (it's almost BBQ season), scale up. You won't mind having leftovers.

The first slaw is coleslaw with fennel. Fennel is an anise-flavored bulb-like stem supporting bushy leaves and tiny yellow flowers. Fennel seed is commonly used in Middle-Eastern and Asian cooking. You've probably bitten down into a fennel seed while eating sausage pizza. I thinly sliced the bulb-like stem and added it to my shredded cabbage and onion. The bulb provides a crunch and a sweet, licorice-like flavor. I left fennel seeds out of the dressing (I've never liked the texture), but feel free to add them for additional flavor.

Coleslaw with Fennel
(adapted from Simply in Season)
1/4 green cabbage, shredded
1/4 red cabbage, shredded
1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced, pieces of core removed
1/2 white onion, chopped
4 carrots, shredded

Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. cilantro
1/2 tbsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. fennel seed (optional)
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions: Whisk together the dressing and pour over the salad. Toss to mix. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The second slaw is a family favorite. It's calls for a boiling oil-and-vinegar dressing that was originally poured over just two ingredients: green cabbage and onion. I added red cabbage and carrots for color and added nutrition (bring on the antioxidants and vitamin-A precursors!). My grandma got this recipe from Cam Hubanks at the Avenue Bar in Madison, Wisconsin, one of our family's favorite spots to go for a Friday fish fry.  

Oil-and-Vinegar Coleslaw
(Adapted from Cam's Coleslaw)
1 small green cabbage, shredded
1 small red cabbage, shredded
1/2 onion, finely sliced
2 carrots, shredded

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. celery seed
1  tbsp. sugar

Directions: Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar over the cabbage and vegetables. Set aside. Combine vinegar, oil and spices in a saucepan. Heat until boiling. Pour over the cabbage. Stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate. Keeps well. Please note that if you use red cabbage, the color will bleed.

The Avenue Bar no longer serves Cam's oil-and-vinegar coleslaw. Instead, they serve a traditional creamy, celery seedy coleslaw that's also very good.  Regrettably, I don't have that recipe to share with you. Instead, you'll have to try these two non-traditional versions. Enjoy!

Almond Milk Horchata

Horchata is that thick, sweet, cinnamony drink you'll find in a large jug at most Mexican restaurants. It's generally  made with ground rice or sometimes nuts like almonds. It often has a thick, chalky texture (kind of like Pepto-Bismol), especially when made with rice. I keep trying to order it, but have finally given up. For me, horchata is too hard to drink. It's a little too sweet and thick to swallow.

Have you heard of RumChata? RumChata is a delightful rum-based cream liqueur from Wisconsin that tastes like horchata. Unlike traditional horchata, RumChata is made with real cream. (Of course it's made with real cream! It's produced in the state that has previously banned the use of margarine to protect butter/dairy sales). I don't know if RumChata has become popular throughout the United States, but it's definitely a popular drink among my friends and family back in Wisconsin. One of my friends even used it to make RumChata cupcakes, which she said were delicious!

I first learned about RumChata from my mom when I went home to visit during graduate school. After dark, with our bare feet resting on the bricks of the firepit, gazing over the placid lake, we chatted and drank RumChata on ice out of yellow plastic cups with smiley faces that my mom bought "to make you feel happy in the morning!" A few months later, she gave me a bottle of RumChata as a gift. It was mostly full when I moved to Houston, but I finished it a few months ago. I contemplated buying another bottle but decided against it because I didn't want the pressure to finish it by August and it definitely won't last in storage for a year. So, I decided to try to make my own. That was a failure (to me, rum, even high quality rum, kind of tastes like plastic, so it was not at all enjoyable), but the horchata alone was delicious. I'll leave the RumChata to the experts.

Objective
Make a simple horchata with less sugar than the real thing.

Materials
4 cups vanilla almond milk* (or plain + 1 tsp vanilla)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
splash of vanilla
ice cubes
cinnamon (for garnish)

Methods
1. In a blender, combine the almond milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pulse a few times to mix or until the sugar dissolves. Alternatively, whisk until the sugar dissolves (this works particularly well for a single serving so that there is less cleanup).
2. Pour 1 cup into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Strain into a glass with a fresh ice cube. Repeat with 3 more glasses to serve 4 or store the rest in the fridge.
3. If desired, sprinkle with cinnamon prior to serving. To be extra fancy, garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Results
Yum! This is not at all thick. As you would expect it's the consistency of almond milk. The flavor isn't too sweet with a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. Though a little more creaminess would be ok, this is my ideal horchata!

Discussion and Future Directions
I've definitely had my fair share of horchata since I first made this recipe. I've also been good about sharing it with others. C was skeptical to try it after our first attempt at homemade horchata (we started with rice) failed miserably. This one, he was happy to sip!

I used almond milk because I like the flavor and texture. This could easily be made with other alternative milks like soy or rice. To make it richer and creamer, you could use dairy (maybe 2 cups almond milk and 2 cups whole milk or  3 cups almond milk and 1 cup half-and-half). Use whatever you've got on hand. Cheers!

*Update 5/4/14: I recommend using Almond Breeze almond milk. I just tried Silk's vanilla almond milk and it's incredibly sweet. If you are using Silk, you might want to omit the sugar...