Julia’s Basic Vegetable Soup

chopped up alliums (leeks, green garlic, onions, green onions, garlic, etc.)

chopped up vegetables (turnips, tomatoes, leeks, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, most vegetables work here!)
S & P
Stock or water
other spices as you wish
vegetable oil

Sauté the vegetables and alliums in the oil in a soup pan till they are rather browned. Add stock/water. Cook until all vegetables (you can mix vegetables here too) are well cooked. Season with S & P. Blend with a hand blender (or food processor or blender). Thin with milk, water, more stock, or cream if desired. Garnishes are endless: croutons, grated cheese, curled carrots, strips of lemon zest, etc.

The recipe below was found at www.seasonalchef.com:

Turnip Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS

· 6 Tbsp unsalted butter

· 4 medium onions, thinly sliced

· 3 pounds fresh, young turnips, peeled and thinly sliced

· 1 1/2 pounds of Russet baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

· Salt

· 6 Cups of chicken stock*

· 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

· 1/4 cup finely shredded basil for garnish

*If cooking gluten-free, use homemade stock or gluten-free packaged stock.

METHOD

1 In a large heavy stockpot or casserole, melt the butter until it foams. When the foam subsides, add the onions and cook over moderate heat until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the turnips and potatoes and stir to coat with the butter. Add 2 teaspoons of salt, cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

2 Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cover partially and cook over moderate heat until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes.

3 Working in batches, purée the soup in a blender until perfectly smooth. Return the soup to the pot and season with salt and the nutmeg. Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and garnish with the basil before serving.

Serves 8.

This recipe found at www.thaifood.about.com:

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

· SERVES 4 (as a Side Dish)

· 5-6 "heads" of bok choy or baby bok choy (OR substitute broccoli, or any Chinese-style vegetable)

· 1 Tbsp. oil for stir-frying

· STIR-FRY SAUCE:

· 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce)

· 2 Tbsp. soy sauce

· 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (or vegetarian fish sauce - available at Vietnamese food stores)

· 2 Tbsp. sweet Thai chili sauce (available by the bottle at larger grocery stores OR Asian/Chinese foods stores)

· 2 Tbsp. brown sugar

· Squeeze of lime juice (about 2 tsp.)

· 1 Tbsp. pureed garlic, OR 7-8 cloves minced garlic

Preparation:

1. Rinse the bok choy and cut off the white stem section at the base of each head (if there is one). Separate the heads into individual leaves. If the white sections of these leaves are very wide or large, you can slice them in half lengthwise, or into thirds.

If stir-frying larger Chinese cabbage than bok choy or baby bok choy: Slice off the green leaves. Add the thicker white sections to the wok first, and then throw in the leaves at the end (these will cook very fast).

2. Mix all the stir-fry sauce ingredients together in a bowl or cup. Stir well to dissolve the sugar.

3. Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high to high heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add oil and swirl around.

4. Now add the bok choy plus 2-3 Tbsp. stir-fry sauce. Stir-fry 1-2 minutes, or until pan/wok starts to become dry.

5. Now add another 2-3 Tbsp. sauce and continue stir-frying another 2-3 minutes, or until the bok choy is bright green and the white stems are softened but still crunchy.

6. Taste-test the bok choy with the sauce. Add more sugar if too sour for your taste, or more lime juice if too salty. Also, fresh minced chili or dried chili can be added if you prefer it spicier. If you prefer more sauce, add a little more, as desired.

7. To serve, lift out the bok choy and place on a serving platter or in a serving bowl, then pour the sauce (from the bottom of the wok or pan) over. Serve immediately with plenty of Thai jasmine-scented rice. ENJOY!

Tip: Keep extra stir-fry sauce (in a covered jar or container) in your refrigerator for up to 1 month. This sauce is excellent with many different kinds of stir-fried vegetables, as well as with chicken, tofu or wheat gluten, pork, and seafood. Enjoy!

Turnip and Potato Patties

The following recipe from www.simplyrecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound turnips, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 1 1/3 cups)
6 oz potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 cup)
2 1/2 Tbsp thinly sliced scallion greens
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Grape seed oil, peanut oil, or canola oil (high smoke point vegetable oils)
Salt and pepper

METHOD

1 In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the turnip and potato cubes for 15 to 17 minutes, until they are tender, and drain them. In a bowl, mash them with a fork and stir in the scallions, the egg, flour, and salt and pepper to taste.

2 Coat the bottom of a large, heavy bottomed skillet with about 1/4-inch of the oil. Heat the pan on medium high heat until the surface of the oil begins to shimmer, but not smoke. Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of the turnip potato batter into the pan, flattening them into 1/2-inch thick patties with the back of a spatula. Fry the patties until they are golden, turning them once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the patties to paper towels to drain off excess oil.

Makes six patties.