Pretty Corny

Corn soup and grilled cheese sandwich with tomato:

Corn soup:

4 slices center cut bacon, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed
2 cups 2% milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the bacon in a large skillet until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Remove bacon and set aside.

Add the celery and onion to the skillet and saute in the bacon fat for about 10 minutes, then add corn kernels, reserving 1 cup of kernels, and saute for 10 minutes more.

While the vegetables are sauteeing, simmer the corn cobs in the milk (break cobs in half if necessary to fit in pot.)

Discard corn cobs, and add sauteed vegetables, bacon, and milk to blender. Puree until smooth. Pour the soup into a pot, add the reserved corn kernels, and simmer until heated through. Season to taste.

Makes 4 servings, 175 calories each

Out to Lunch: Malaya Kitchen

I had an errand to run at the Arboretum yesterday, so ended up at Malaya Kitchen for lunch. They had a special on the menu I couldn't resist: Hong Kong style duck soup with baby bok choy and egg noodles.

This was spectacular - the broth was rich and sweet, and the duck was tender and tasty. My only quibble was that it was kind of challenging to eat, as the pieces of duck included bones. A very hearty meal - I had to leave half of it behind.

Lentil Soup

So what do you have for dinner when you were too lazy to go to the grocery store during the day, but by dinnertime it's 40 degrees and raining so you don't want to go out, and you have to eat something but there isn't even bread left for sandwiches, so you have to make something out of whatever you can scrounge from the fridge and the pantry?

Lentil soup.

1/2 cup each chopped carrots, celery and onions
6 cups water
2 chicken boullion cubes
1/2 pound dried lentils

6 servings, 150 calories per serving

Chicken soup, Asian style

We all have a cold that we picked up this weekend - the only thing for it was some spicy chicken noodle soup.

I simmered store-bought chicken broth with star anise, cinnamon, onions, ginger, and red pepper flakes for about 45 minutes, then strained it. I cooked udon noodles separately. I sliced half a chicken breast thinly and simmered it in the strained broth for a few minutes until it was cooked through. Then I put some cooked noodles into a bowl and added broth with chicken on top.

Added to the bowl from this plate of garnishes:

I can't say it cured the cold, but it made it much easier to live with.

1/2 cup udon noodles, 2 oz. chicken breast, broth and herbs: 175 calories

Dinner gets lazy

With the onslaught of Thanksgiving cooking on the way, I'm relying a bit more on prepared foods for other meals:

Goya brand black bean soup, 1 cup: 130 calories
1 tbsp. light sour cream: 20 calories
1 tbsp. shredded mozzarella: 20 calories
Corn muffin (made from Jiffy corn muffin mix): 150 calories