Spiced Coconut Spinach

The perfect simple, spinach side dish – toast a few spices, add a pile of shredded spinach to the skillet, and finish things off with a burst of lemon juice and some shredded coconut.

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This is a quick post for an easy, fast and spinach-packed side dish. It’s the type of thing I get excited about – simple, but bold on flavor. Even better, all the ingredients come together in one pan. I stumbled on this recipe for Coconut-laced Spiced Spinach as I was flipping through Anjum Anand’s book new book, in early 2011. Not much more than ten minutes later, we were sitting down to the table with it as part of our meal. I’ve cooked variations of in endlessly in the years since.
Coconut Spiced Spinach Recipe

Spiced Coconut Spinach: The Technique

The key here is having all your ingredients cleaned, prepped and ready to go. You toast a few spices, add a pile of shredded spinach to the skillet, and finish things off with a burst of lemon juice and golden-toasted coconut.
Coconut Spiced Spinach Recipe

A Few Ideas

I think I’m so excited about this in part because it is so versatile. While it makes a great side – I also like it in, on and under lots of things. Case in point, alongside one of these special quesadillas. It’s also great on an open-faced veggie burger, in tacos, in a wrap, over brown rice or farro, etc. I also like to make a meal of it with some grilled tofu, paneer, or fried egg. Let me know if you end up making it, and what you do with it! 
Coconut Spiced Spinach Recipe

The Spice Profile & Variations

The cumin is really nice here, I’ve dialed it up over the years. My advice? Don’t skimp. The same goes for the red pepper profile. I’ve added more over time, but it’s one of those things where you really just want to add it to your liking. I talk through some other ideas in this list of variations as well.

  • Add-ins: I often add other extra quick-cooking vegetables to the skillet along with my spinach. Segments of thin asparagus work well, as does small broccoli or cauliflower florets.
  • Herb It Up: If I have any fresh herbs on hand – chopped cilantro, basil, chives, and/or dill – adding them after the spinach has cooked is a nice way to experiment with the flavor profile.
  • Swap your chiles: Use a chopped serrano chile in place of the red chile flakes for a greener spiciness.
  • Burst of Ginger: Mince a small knob of peeled ginger along with the garlic-shallot paste if you love ginger.

Coconut Spiced Spinach Recipe

Cooking Spinach

The main thing to remember – resist the urge to overcook the spinach. You want to cook it just long enough for it to collapse, cook through, and brighten up. And keep in mind it continues to cook after you pull it from the heat.

Hope you like this as much as I do. And thank you Anjum for the inspiration – I’m really enjoying the Ayurvedic angle of this book.

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Feel-good Lunch Ideas

Leveling up lunch on-the-go with lots of color, clever use of leftovers, and feel-good ingredients. These are two lunchboxes I packed recently.

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One of the things I’ve been trying to be better about is lunches on-the-go. Coming up with inspired lunch ideas takes some effort. Often times, let’s be honest, it’s re-marketing leftovers. Too often, if we’re not going to be home for the day, we just wing it. And I’m nearly always sorry we didn’t make the effort to pack a good lunch. This is especially true if we’re on some sort of trip, towing the Airstream. Because on those days parking dictates where you’re lunching. And just thinking about it is making me cringe. So yeah, we’re trying to do better over here and I thought I’d share some recent wins.
An Assortment of lunch ideas arranged on a table including hard-boiled egg, pickled cauliflower, edamame and a wedge of orange

Lunch Ideas #1 

These lunch boxes (above) came together pretty quickly. Nearly everything was a leftover, or component of a previous meal. To pull it together I peeled and chile-dusted the hard-boiled egg, sliced the avocado and sliced the mandarin.

1. Spicy Sesame Coleslaw: You’ve seen it before, you’ll see it again. Lol. It’s my favorite coleslaw, and I’ll basically tuck in anywhere. Feathery green and red cabbages along with carrots, apples, and scallions tossed with a spicy, creamy sesame dressing.

2. Pickled Cauliflower: The pop of color you need in your lunch. This quick pickled cauliflower delivers a good amount of tang and crunch in the midst of less structured components. I make mine with chiles, mustard seeds and slivered onion, but you can play around.

3. Chile-dusted Hard-boiled Egg: Here’s how to make these. Combine equal parts chile powder and MDH chana masala powder in a small bowl. I like to use this Kashmiri chillie powder, but use what you have (and like). Peel your egg, rinse it, dab it a bit on a clean towel to take off excess water, then roll it around in the spice mixture until completely covered. Slice and serve, or pack into lunch.

4. Turmeric-Scallion Tofu Spread: This is actually leftover wonton filling from my last round of wonton soup. But it’s also great as a lettuce wrap filling, cracker and sandwich spread, and on its own. Here, I nestle it into a stack of 2-3 little gem leaves. Get the recipe – it’s the first part of the recipe on this page, minus the wrappers.

5. Red-spiced Edamame: I’ll write this up as its own recipe soon, it’s a homemade spice blend made by crushing Kashmiri chillies, smoked paprika, brown sugar, sesame, dried onion flakes, salt, and a kiss of cardamom together. Sprinkle generously. There are a lot of other spice blend ideas in the Spice / Herb / Flower / Zest PDF that members get. Just about any of those are great here. Experiment!

6. Pepita & Curry Leaf Tadka: I’ve definitely over-stripped my young curry tree making this lately. Toast a cup of pepitas and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stir in 50-ish fresh curry leaves. Continue to stir and when the leaves begin to crisp up add 2 teaspoons black mustard seeds. Keep stirring and when the seeds have toasted a bit and stopped popping, add 1/2 teaspoon chile powder. Pour this over your pepitas, toss well, and salt to taste. good on everything, Including the soba in the next lunch.

Also: purple rice, sliced avocado, mandarin wedge, nutritional yeast kale chips

An assortment of lunch ideas arranged on a table including soba noodles, tamagoyaki, coleslaw, and spiced seeds

Lunch Ideas #2 

The one component of the lunch boxes (above) that wasn’t made ahead of time, was the soba noodles. I boiled them, and ran them under cold water just before packing up. 

6+. Soba with Pepita & Curry Leaf Tadka:  The same pepitas as above (lunch ideas #1), this time tangled with cold soba.

7. Vegan Tamagoyaki: This is a vegan version of tamagoyaki, the much-loved Japanese rolled omelette. I like to make chickpea-tofu version, and this one is lined with nori and seasoned with scallions and herbs. They’re fantastic lunchbox heroes because you can make and roll them ahead of time. They’ll keep for a few day so you can slice and go.

8. Blistered Artichoke Hearts: Leftovers from dinner the previous night. I cooked these from frozen. So easy, so good. I wrote a long post about how to cook artichokes – both fresh and frozen. So, if you love artichokes, but think they’re too much work, read this. Same goes if you think the frozen ones are going to be bad. They aren’t and they’re great in scenarios like this one, quick pastas, casseroles, etc.

9. Fava Beans Tossed with Citrus Olive Oil: These are fava beans that have been shelled, boiled for a flash, shelled again, and then splashed with a bit of lemon olive oil, and tossed with a pinch of salt. From previous dinner. I do the same with edamame, but favas are in season and I they’re worth all the shelling and peeling drama.

10. Kale Chips: Some extra crushed kale chips tossed with the remaining pepitas. My method for epic kale chips is this: buy curly kale, make sure it’s dry if you recently washed it. Toss the kale with olive oil and scrunch it all up with your hands, be sure it’s all coated. Toss with a lot of nutritional yeast, get a good coating going. Season with salt and bake at 375F-ish until the chips at the edges start browning. Toss well. Continue to bake until crispy but still mostly green.

Also: blood orange wedges for dessert

Two bento boxes filled with lunch

A Couple Pro-tips

There’s actually just one main tip, but I’ll add more as I think of them. Line your bentos with parchment paper for easy clean-up.  This isn’t as important with stainless steel containers, they clean up quite quickly. Bentos, often made of cedar, are a bit more fragile and take more care if you want them to last for many years. Also, clean up as soon as you get home. The reset is key to looking forward to your next special box lunch.
Close-up of soba noodles and coleslaw

Favorite Lunchbox Containers

Bentos: I have (and love) my small collection of bento boxes. They’re beautifully crafted and fit the perfect amount of food. They often come with small dividers to create separation between food, but you can also use lettuce, or other small containers to divide things up. 

Tiffins (or dhabbas): These containers have long been used in India to enable healthful, homemade meals outside the home. I have a circular, triple-stack stainless steel version I love for a number of reasons including durability, compactness, and security. The tiers nestle tightly making spills and accidents unlikely. I have my eye on a rectangular version as well.

Both bentos and tiffins have a tradition of enabling meals made with care and love. And continuing this tradition is something I try to channel when I’m packing a lunch for myself or someone I care about.

Lunch arranged and ready to eat
I don’t mind mixing different types of lunch containers. And sometimes I’ll make an individual lunch for each person, each in its own container. But, other times I think it’s fine to load up a few family-style containers and do it that way. I think that works great for components that can be more communal, like edamame, or a bunch of dumplings, a stack of paratha, vegan sushi or quesadillas, quinoa patties, etc.

Hot Lunch!

Use a thermos to bring hot miso soup or tea or rasam or whatever else you can think of. This is always the icing on the cake and unfailingly makes me happy (or happier!) When I really have things lined up, I’ll bring green tea, miso soup, or soba tea and a durable glass or two wrapped in cloth. Simply rewrap when you’re finished.
A sampling of lunch ideas arranged on a marble table
I hope this provides a bit of inspiration! It’s really wonderful to take a bit of time to sit down to a thoughtfully prepared, healthful homemade lunch and I’m never sorry about making the extra effort (in the long run). Even if it can make a morning a bit more demanding than usual, I know when I do it, I’ll eat better, feel better, and get excited about sitting down to lunch. Enjoy! -h

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Pickled Cauliflower

Step by step instructions for how to make quick pickled cauliflower. Cauliflower is combined with slivered onions, mustard seeds and dried chiles and covered in a hot vinegar. The florets are tangy with a kiss of salty sweetness and super good!

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Pickled cauliflower is great to have on hand. You can make it with any color cauliflower you like, although I can’t resist purple cauliflower because the compounds in it react with the hot vinegar solution to turn the florets a beautiful neon. The perfect punctuation to any plate. Keep a jar on hand and serve these alongside tacos and spring rolls, inside bentos and as an accent in salads.
Quick Pickled Cauliflower in a Mason Jar
Here (below) you can see the pickled cauliflower as part of a bento lunch situation. The cauliflower is nestled between a chile-coated hard-boiled egg, spicy sesame coleslaw, purple rice, a curry leaf and pepita tadka, and a bunch of kale chips. It delivers a good amount of tang and crunch in the midst of less structured components.
Pickled Cauliflower in a bowl along with other lunch food

Pickled Cauliflower: The Process

It’s possible to have a jar full of pickled cauliflower done in ten minutes. The steps are straight-forward and quick. The first thing to do is toss your florets with any other ingredients and seasonings you might be using. I like to use onions, mustard seeds, and dried chiles – reflected in the recipe below. You can do the same or play around. Sometimes I’ll add carrot coins, other times I’ll substitute shallots for the onions, etc. 
Cauliflower florets, onions, mustard seeds and chile in a glass mason jar

Pack the Jar

The next step is transferring the mixture to a quart-sized Mason jar. Fill nearly all the way to the top as you can see pictured below.Side view of a jar filled with cauliflower florets, onions, mustard seeds and chiles

Make A Hot Vinegar Solution

The last stage in the process is heating a mixture of vinegar, salt, and sugar in a small saucepan. It simmers until the grains of sugar and salt have dissolved. The hot vinegar is poured over the cauliflower until it is completely covered. This is when you’ll see the color shift if using purple cauliflower.Quick Pickled Cauliflower in a Mason Jar

A Great Make-ahead Component

I love making pickled cauliflower this way because you can enjoy a crunchy hot bite just a few minutes after the hot vinegar hits. And then things get even better in the days following. I tend to try to use any quick pickles within about a week, but they usually are enjoyed before then.
Pickled Cauliflower as a part of lunch spread
If you’re interested in more of the feel-good lunch ideas pictured, here’s where you can find the spicy sesame coleslaw, and the tofu salad is actually just my favorite wonton filling from this wonton soup recipe. Enjoy!


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Vegan Tamagoyaki

A vegan version of tamagoyaki, the much-loved Japanese rolled omelette. This chickpea-tofu version is seasoned with scallions and herbs.

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Tamagoyaki are Japanese rolled omelettes, a favorite bento component and, around here, a lunchtime heavy lifter. Sometimes I like to make them the classic way, using beaten eggs. I also, often, make a vegan version using a blended chickpea and tofu mixture. I’ve been working on a post about feel-good lunch ideas (coming soon) and the vegan tamagoyaki are a cornerstone component. You can season these tamagoyaki endless ways, make them ahead of time, and enjoy tamagoyaki on the go. The perfect protein-rich player.
Vegan Tamagoyaki in a Bento Box on a Marble Table

Vegan Tamagoyaki: Inspiration

There used to be a vegan frittata I loved at Go Get Em Tiger in Los Feliz, Los Angeles made from a rich batter of chickpea flour and a lot of olive oil – I don’t see it on the current menu. It was streaked with kale and dotted with cherry tomatoes, shallots were involved, and the “egg” component was fluffy and fantastic. There’s a lot of olive oil in that vegan frittata, more than I like to use in an everyday-type recipe, so I go with a chickpea flour base blended with silken tofu and less oil. It works out great, cooks up (and browns) beautifully, and is a great plant-based alternative to classic tamagoyaki. This recipe makes other big leaps from traditional tamagoyaki recipes which tend to be sweetened with mirin or sugar, and seasoned with dashi and soy sauce. That said, once you finesse your technique, you can play with all the seasoning variables and make yours as classic or experimental as you like. A blender of chickpea and tofu tamagoyaki batter
The chickpea, tofu, and seasoning mixture is simple to make by using a blender (or hand blender). It will keep refrigerated for days, which is great for on-the-fly rolls.
Rolled tamagoyaki cooking in rectangular pan

Choosing a Tamagoyaki Pan

You have a number of options when it comes to pans here. I have a simple, rectangular, classic, small cast iron tamagoyaki pan that makes wonderful egg-based tamagoyaki (not pictured). It really doesn’t do as well with vegan tamagoyaki. The batter sears and sticks and honestly, its a big mess. So, I have a ceramic pan that I use for these, and it’s great. It’s super slippery, responsive, and generally easy to use. The front edge is sloped for easier rolling. It’s this one – highly recommend.

Can I make Tamagoyaki Without the Special Pan?

Yes, and no. It’s exceptionally difficult to establish the classic rectangular shape without using a pan with four corners. But, if you have a small, round skillet there’s no reason not to go for a round version. Simply pour enough of your tamagoyaki mixture into the middle of the pan, and quickly swirl until you have thin coverage across the flat bottom of the pan – avoiding the sides. And proceed from there. Keep in mind this mixture loves a slippery surface, and it’s one of the few occasions I break out a non-stick pan.
Vegan Tamagoyaki in a Bento Box on a Marble Table

Make-ahead Considerations

Tamagoyaki are great because you can do multiple levels of “make-ahead.” The vegan tamagoyaki mixture fits in a quart-sized jar and will keep refrigerated for 5-6 days. Then, when you have a window of time, you can cook all (or some) of your tamagoyaki and once. Allow them to cool, wrap individually, for example, tightly in parchment paper – they will keep refrigerated for 3-4 days. When you’re ready to pack a lunch or make a meal, slice and enjoy.
Two vegan Tamagoyaki on a Cutting Board to Cool

Variations

Nori-lined Tamagoyaki: Trim sheets of nori so they’re just a bit smaller than the base of your pan. Immediately after coating the pan with the tamagoyaki mixture, place a sheet of nori on top of the wet mixture. It will shrink up a bit and sometimes starts curling at the edges a bit. Proceed with rolling per the recipe. If you’re doing a double thick tamagoyaki, through down a second sheet of nori after your second allocation of tamagoyaki mixture has spread across the pan. Once it has set, roll and proceed with the recipe.
Vegan Tamagoyaki in a Bento Box
Caramellized Onion Tamagoyaki: If you have any jammy, deeply caramelized onions on hand – this is a great way to use them. Drop some of the onions onto still-wet tamagoyaki mixture just after it hits the pan. It works really well with this chickpea-tofu combination.

Water vs. broth: This recipe call for 1 3/4 cups of water, but you can absolutely play around with other liquids. I’ve made this tamagoyaki using strong mushroom tea in place of the water, or a favorite herby vegetable broth. Play around!
Vegan Tamagoyaki in a Bento Box on a Marble Table
Here’s another example of vegan tamagoyaki as a component in a simple rice bowl for lunch. There’s purple rice, sliced avocado, chana masala spice-dusted hard-boiled egg, and peanuts. I drizzled it with a spicy sesame soy sauce. All the components here were pre-made (aka leftovers). To pull together lunch I heated the rice, and pulled the other components from the refrigerator an hour or so ahead of time to bring them up to room temperature. Have fun experimenting, and enjoy!

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Ribollita

Ribollita, a beautifully thick Tuscan stew made with dark greens, lots of beans, vegetables, olive oil, and thickened with day-old bread. One of my favorites.

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Ribollita is a thick Tuscan stew – dark greens, lots of beans, vegetables, olive oil, thickened with day-old bread. It is hearty, filling, infinitely nourishing, and flat-out, the sort of food I crave. The amount of kale you collapse into each pot is impressive, and you’ll be patting yourself on the back before, during, and after you eat. Here are the details – it’s a soup I make constantly this time of year.
Ribollita, a beautifully thick Tuscan stew with dark greens, lots of beans, vegetables, olive oil, and thickened with day-old bread
I should mention, with ribollita, it’s one of those things where there are as many ways to make it as there are cooks. I normally use whole canned tomatoes this time of year – torn up. But had crushed tomatoes on hand, and they worked out nicely. You can use canned beans, beans cooked from dried, or cooked beans you’ve frozen and thawed. As far as guidelines go? Your ribollita should be thick – eventually. A sloppy sounding, bread stew. Use day old bread, preferably a rustic loaf cut (or torn) into big chunks. The bread absorbs the broth and simmers into beautifully plump zones of pillowy dumplings.
Ribollita, a beautifully thick Tuscan stew with dark greens, lots of beans, vegetables, olive oil, and thickened with day-old bread

Ribollita Shortcuts

This isn’t a difficult soup to cook, although it does require some chopping. If you’re looking for a few ways to shave off some prep time. Use canned beans, and buy pre-washed & chopped kale. Also keep in mind, this recipe results in a large pot of soup. Enough for a couple days of leftovers, or more, depending on the size of your family.
Ribollita, a beautifully thick Tuscan stew with dark greens, lots of beans, vegetables, olive oil, and thickened with day-old bread

Ribollita Adaptations

There are a bunch! In addition to the tweaks I mentioned up above, I suspect a number of you will want to know how to make it GF. Yes, you can absolutely make it without the bread. it’s not the same stew, and not really ribollita, but it is still wonderful. Bump up the amount of beans you use (both the whole & mashed). I’ve also taken to substituting a cup of the white beans with 1 cup of uncooked French lentils (added with the tomatoes). Once the lentils are fully cooked proceed with the addition of the kale, beans, etc.

Toppings!

I like to add a bit of lemon zest to each bowl for a bit of brightness, and because I can’t help myself. And I also like the saltiness of a few olives alongside the kale, so that’s a little bonus as well. I’ll also drizzle a little thinned out pesto on top if I have it on hand, or, an herb oil made by pureeing olive oil, a couple garlic cloves, parsley, and marjoram together. This bowl was topped with a shallot and chiles oil.
Ribollita, a beautifully thick Tuscan stew with dark greens, lots of beans, vegetables, olive oil, and thickened with day-old bread

Freezer-friendly Ribollita

This is an excellent freezer friendly stew. I like to make an extra-large pot of it, let it cool, and transfer it to freezer-safe containers. It’s good for a month or so frozen. If I know it’s a pot primarily bound for the freezer, I sometimes hold off on adding the bread. I’ll add it when I reheat later. But really, you can do it either way.

I hope you love this, and I hope you make it. It has all the good stuff in one pot. It’s what I like to make when I feel like I need a bit of a re-boot.

This is the place if you’re looking for more soup recipes, and I included this recipe in my list of best bean recipes, so be sure to check it out if you’re looking for more bean-centric inspiration. Enjoy! -h

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Rustic Cabbage Soup

Hearty, healthy, and satisfying – this cabbage soup recipe is super simple to make. Slice a cabbage into thin ribbons and cook it down in a simple pot of sautéed potatoes, onions, beans, garlic and flavorful broth. Finish each bowl with a generous drizzle of great olive oil, a couple dollops of sour cream and a jolt of something spicy.

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Today’s cabbage soup recipe was inspired by the a mystery box delivery from Mariquita Farm in Watsonville, Ca. I show up to a designated pick-up spot, pay $25 and in turn get what feels like twenty pounds of beautiful produce direct from the farm. This time of year I might see the eyes of impossibly petite potatoes peering back at me, they could be nestled alongside a kaleidoscope of vibrantly colored carrots, or shouldered up against a of pile of parsnips.
Soup and Sourdough Bread on a Table

Cabbage Soup Ingredients

Taking inspiration from a beautiful moon-shaped cabbage and potatoes in the mystery box, I sliced a the cabbage into thin ribbons and cooked it down in a simple pot of sautéed potatoes, beans, onions, garlic and flavorful broth. Each bowl was finished with a generous drizzle of great olive oil, a couple dabs of sour cream and a jolt of something spicy – in this case a bit of Calabrian chile paste. Couldn’t be more simple.
Soup Bowls on a Marble Table Near a Window

But before I get too far ahead of myself on the soup front, let me tell you a bit more about Mariquita Farm and what Andy and Julia are doing. There’s a bit of back story. I used to buy produce from Mariquita at the farmers market on Saturdays. After many years they decided not to do the market anymore. Mariquita sells my favorite rainbow carrots, and I was convinced I was going to have to find a new source. Not the case, Julia emailed some of her regulars last summer mentioning that she would be making the occasional delivery to San Francisco…“would we be interested in doing a pick-up?” She also mentioned the option of buying one of Andy’s specially curated mystery boxes – which have since become very popular.

This isn’t a CSA, it’s more guerilla than that. As it stands now, every other week(ish) Julia and Andy pack a huge delivery truck with many, many mystery boxes. Julia then climbs into the big truck and navigates her way over the Santa Cruz mountains down into Silicon Valley and then north toward San Francisco. She parks the truck in front of a previously designated neighborhood restaurant and people come from all over the city to trade cash for mystery crops. It’s great. I end up trying all manner of ingredients I might not buy otherwise. The crops are beautiful and bright because Andy takes such care in growing and handling them.

With out sounding too mushy, this is just one more reason I love living in San Francisco. On a good night, not only do I go home with the box (er, bag – the boxes get reused), but sometimes I even get to sit down for a drink or slice of pizza and catch up with Julia. It’s a real treat.

A few related links:

Rustic Cabbage Soup

Cabbage Soup Variations

Back to the soup – there are a bunch of variations I’ve made over the years cooking this. Here are a few stand-outs.

  • Parmesan Cabbage Soup: There are nights when I keep this super simple, finishing things off with a generous dusting of Parmesan cheese and a few chopped herbs.
  • Curried Cabbage Soup: Add a scant tablespoon of curry powder to the pot prior to stirring in the broth.
  • Lemony Cabbage Soup: Make the soup as written but serve each bowl topped with freshly grated lemon zest and a generous drizzle of lemon olive oil.

Rustic Cabbage Soup

Cabbage Soup Leftovers

This is a great next-day soup. So keep that in mind. Generally speaking, there are a couple ways to deal with leftovers here (like, if you make a double pot). Cabbage soup freezes well, so eat your fill of the soup for a couple days, and freeze the remaining. You’ll want to make sure it is room-temperature or cold prior to freezing. Allow to thaw before reheating.

I suspect many of you have all the ingredients needed on hand – aside from the cabbage. I’m going to encourage you to give this a try! It’s a great staple recipe to have in your back pocket. This recipe was posted in early 2008, and I’ve cooked it many times in the years since. Enjoy! -h
Rustic Cabbage Soup

More Favorite Soup Recipes

Here’s where you can browse all the soup recipes. I love this broccoli cheddar soup, and this coconut red lentil soup is much loved by everyone who tries it. This ribollita is a reliable winter warmer, and if you enjoy making soups as much as I do, you’ll want to start making your own homemade bouillon powder. Oh! And this wonton soup has been a favorite this year. I also love make-ahead soups like this Tortellini Soup ,these Spicy Coconut Curry Noodles, and this Italian Barley Soup

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Homemade Ponzu Sauce

Ponzu is a much loved Japanese sauce appreciated for its tangy, salty, citrus profile. It’s simple to make at home and a great way to use your favorite citrus.

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Ponzu sauce is one of the ways I like to put a dent in the steady supply of off-beat citrus growing on our patio this time of year. Ponzu is often used in Japanese (and Japanese-influenced) dishes and making your own allows for some citrus-centric experimentation. If you’re aiming to make a better version of a grocery store ponzu sauce you’ll likely hit the citrus note by using lemon, but I love to make it with Meyer lemons, yuzu, makrut lime or oro blanco grapefruit (or a blend). My favorite is ponzu sauce made with Rangpur lime. It’s a bit tangy, plenty salty, perfumed with citrus – perfect in and on so many things.Homemade Ponzu Sauce

The Origins of Ponzu

This can be a bit confusing, but let’s dive it. If you want to geek out on ponzu, poke around on the internet a bit, and then read this and this. They’re the most interesting articles I’ve read about ponzu. That said, when you buy ponzu in the U.S. or see it called for in English-language cookbooks, the assumption is that ponzu is made with soy sauce, citrus, vinegar, etc. That’s the recipe on this page, but there is more to know.

According to Sceaphierde’s article, ponzu was introduced by the Dutch to Nagasaki during the Edo period. Nearly every other page about ponzu will deliver a boilerplate about how the word ponzu can be broken down into two parts: pon, related to the Dutch word pons, meaning punch (the beverage); and the Japanese word su meaning vinegar. But what those pages tend to leave out is this – that ponzu was yellow (or not dark). It seems like it may have been a citrus alcohol beverage of the Dutch – no soy sauce. Over time ponzu has evolved. The ponzu you’re likely imagining, or the recipe you’re looking for, is probably more along the lines of “true” ponzu combined with soy sauce – ajipon – flavor (aji) and (pon) ponzu. Or ponzu shoyu – according to Naoko Takei Moore in her Donabe cookbook, “it’s more commonly referred to as ponzu.” That’s what we’re rolling with here.

 

How To Make Ponzu Sauce

I like to make ponzu using the technique I learned from Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat’s The Japanese Grill (Ten Speed Press 2011). I’ve landed on a ratio of ingredients that I’ve tweaked to my liking over the years. The version you’ll see below tends to be a bit citrus-forward, pulled back on the vinegar a shade. To make ponzu sauce you combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, citrus juice, water, kombu, and shaved bonito flakes (katsuobushi). You allow the ingredients to steep for a period of time. Then strain and bottle.

Vegetarian Ponzu Sauce

To make the vegetarian ponzu sauce we use here at home, I omit the bonito flakes and instead use dried mushrooms. Dried shiitake are the obvious choice here for their sea-forward flavor notes, but I typically reach for dried porcini mushrooms. They’re a powerhouse of flavor, umami, and I feel like they round out the ponzu nicely. Play around to see what you like!Homemade Ponzu Sauce

To Cook or Not?

A lot of ponzu sauce recipes you’ll see will have you cook all (or most) of the ingredients together. That’s not what you’ll see here and it’s part of what I’ve always liked about the approach Harris and Tadashi take. The only ingredients you cook together are the sake and mirin. The two ingredients cool to room temperature before they are combined with the citrus juice, vinegar, seaweed, etc. It results in a ponzu with clean lines and a directness that can be muddled with a cooked version. Imagine hot, cooked orange or lemon juice compared to freshly squeezed – they’re just different beasts altogether. So I stick with this version, not hot plus an overnight steeping. You can, of course, play around – do a gentle steeping with a warmed version, etc. Or cook everything and hold back the citrus until late. And you can, of course, experiment with how long you leave the ingredients to co-mingle. I like to go overnight.
Baked Mushrooms with Ponzu Sauce

Ways to Use Ponzu

Ponzu can be used in so many dishes – imagine tart, tangy, and salt accents all at play together. It makes a great marinade for tofu and mushrooms. Splashed over noodles or rice is a no-brainer. I also love it as a component in salad dressings, skip the salt and add ponzu to taste to your favorite vinaigrette.

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Coconut Red Lentil Soup (Esalen Ayurvedic Dal)

A vibrant red lentil soup (or stew) that is always hugely popular. A friend turned me onto this Ayurvedic dal recipe from the Esalen Cookbook years ago. Red lentil based, curry-spiced coconut broth with back notes of ginger and tomato, with slivered green onions, and a finish of cilantro or kale.

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Let’s talk through the story of my favorite red lentil soup. Years ago, two of my neighbors hosted a soup party. It was an inspiring affair – big pots of simmering soups and stews, house full of chatty, friendly people. Part of what I liked was the simple premise. The hosts (David & Holly) made a number of soups, guests were asked to arrive with their drink of choice and one thing to share – salad, appetizer, or something sweet.
Coconut Red Lentil Soup in a Bowl

The Inspiration:

One of the vegetarian soups that night was a beautiful shade of yellow-orange. It was a light-bodied, curry-spiced coconut broth thickened with cooked red lentils and structured with yellow split peas. It appeared to be a beautiful take on lentil soup. When I asked Holly to tell me about it, she mentioned it was based on an Ayurvedic dal recipe in the Esalen Cookbook, a favorite of hers. I suspect that recipe might have been inspired by the Bengali-style cholar dal where you see chana dal punctuated with raisins in many preparations.
Ingredients for Soup on a Marble Counter

Holly happened to have an extra copy of the Esalen book, and sent me home with my belly full, a new cookbook tucked under my arm, and a few suggestions related to the soup. I still make this soup regularly, love it (so much!), and thought it might be fun to revisit it today in video form – enjoy! I’ve also included some notes related to adapting this soup to the Instant Pot.

 

What Makes this so Special?

The method used to bring this soup together caught my attention. While your lentils are boiling, you saute lots of scallions in butter (or ghee, coconut oil, or olive oil) in another pan. Add to those scallions a fat dollop of thick tomato paste along with plenty of toasted spices and you’re on your way. This flavor bomb is what you stir into the lentil base. Golden raisins plump up with curry broth. There are beautiful back notes of ginger, and depth from that tomato paste. It all comes together in one amazing bowl of restorative, lentil soup goodness. To be honest, I consider the raisins optional and make this often without – or sometimes I swap in some chopped dates.
Red Lentil Soup

Topping Ideas:

I’ve cooked this soup countless times over the years and tend to finish it with what I have on hand. The original recipe has you go big on cilantro. But you can see in these photos I sometimes pile it high with extra scallions and freshly-baked kale chips. Other ideas:

  • finish with a few big handfuls of finely shredded green cabbage
  • stir in a few big handfuls of chopped kale
  • fry 30-40 fresh curry leaves in a few tablespoons of oil adding some chile flakes (or torn chiles), mustard seeds and cumin seeds in the last 15 seconds or so. Pour generously over each bowl
  • finish with deeply roasted tomatoes and omit the raisins

Coconut Red Lentil Soup in a Bowl

A Variation

There was one variation that I noted after cooking this because it stuck out to me as particularly delicious. I was out of scallions and ginger but still wanted to make something along these lines. Instead I used a strong paste made of chopped garlic and serrano peppers – probably a 50/50 blend. I added a few tablespoons of the mixture in place of the scallions in the recipe. The end result was feisty, strong and really wonderful.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we have over the last decade or so! Here’s where you can find all the soup recipes, if you want to explore more. And there are lots of lentil recipes in the archives as well.

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Walnut Miso Noodles

A hearty noodle bowl recipe. Whole grain noodles and asparagus are tossed with a creamy, walnut-miso dressing plus a dollop of chile paste.

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The markets here are full of color right now. Gold, red, and orange beets. Pink-fleshed pomelos. Tiny purple-streaked artichokes. Deep, dark leafy greens. This week I filled my basket with my favorite eggs, a loaf of whole wheat seed bread, fresh tofu, lots of leeks and spring onions, chard with electric-pink stems, and one bunch of pencil-thin asparagus. I bought a small bouquet of sunset-colored flowers with the change in my pocket and made my way home. A few of my finds when straight into my lunch, this hearty noodle bowl.
Walnut Miso Noodles in a Bowl
I made a quick, creamy walnut-miso dressing and used it to coat whole wheat noodles, plenty of sliced asparagus, leftover tofu, and a few other ingredients I had within reach. I was quite hungry or I might have taken the time to top off with a poached egg or two. Something I’ve done many times in the years since I first made this.

Ingredients for Noodle Bowls
The main components here are whole wheat noodles tossed in a walnut-miso dressing. To make this seasonal I added the asparagus, scallions, and a big dollop of warming chile paste. I tossed some leftover tofu on top as well. The noodles and dressing are the foundation here, play around with all the different ways you can finish off the bowl to make a balanced meal of it.

Two Bowls of Noodles on a Table
For example, in the past I’ve used vibrant chard leaves and stems (pictured below), and another version using caramelized onions, roasted squash, greens, and a bit of cheese. If you’re looking for a summer or early fall version try roasted tomatoes, basil, and roasted peppers.
Noodles in a Bowl with Chard

The Ingredients

Noodles: you can use a range of noodles here. My favorite for this recipe is this farro spaghetti but use whatever whole wheat, or whole grain pasta you like. Soba noodles are another good option!

Chard leaves

Toppings: Blanched (grilled or roasted) seasonal vegetables, herbs and scallions, something spicy (Calabrian chile paste, sesame chile paste, or sriracha), a poached egg, sliced avocado

Miso: Feel free to experiment with the type of miso you use in the dressing. I started off using a mild white miso paste, but now tend to use red miso.
Walnut Miso Noodles in a Bowl

Nuts: I nearly always use toasted walnuts here, but toasted cashew or almonds are also fair game if that’s what you have.

The name of the game here is flexibility. Once you have the pasta and dressing dialed in, really focus on making the vegetables and other toppings great. And if you like this recipe, here’s where you can find many more pasta recipes

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Broccoli Cheddar Soup

A simple, everyday broccoli soup made special with crusty, mustardy croutons and cheddar. Perfect for those days when you need some extra nutritional punch.

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I’m going to argue that broccoli cheddar soup is best made to order. While many soups and stews get more complex and enticing after a day or so in the refrigerator, I don’t find that to be true when it comes to soup of the broccoli variety. Am I alone here? The good news is this version couldn’t be simpler. It’s quick to make and perfect for those times when you need something with a serious nutritional punch. The soup gets a bit of an unexpected twist by topping it with golden, crunchy, mustardy croutons. Which you can skip, but I wouldn’t.
A Favorite Broccoli Cheddar Soup

The Recipe: A Better Version of Broccoli Cheddar Soup

One of the things you notice when you look at a lot of the broccoli cheddar soup recipes out there is the stunning amount of dairy in them. There is often so much milk, heavy cream and grated cheese that the soup is nearly white in color. I totally get it, if you’re trying to make a version styled after Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup (and it seems like a lot of people are), you’ll likely go that route. The Panera Copycat Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipes tend to have a ratio of more cream/milk than broth and multiple cups of grated cheese. I’m going to argue you don’t need all that. You can make a creamy, wonderful broccoli cheese soup with a fraction of the dairy, a good blender, and a couple techniques to keep things creamy, bright, and smooth.

Key Ingredients for Good Broccoli Cheddar Soup

  • Broccoli: Look for deeply green, tight heads of broccoli. Avoid any heads that have yellowing florets, discoloration or seem dried out.
  • Vegetable Broth: Use a good-tasting vegetable broth you would drink on its own. I like to make my own broth and freeze it, or make a quick broth from vegetable bouillon cubes or my homemade bouillon powder. Another delicious option would be to use a quick miso broth. You have some options here!
  • Cheese: I call for freshly grated aged cheddar here. Something sharp with a lot of flavor. You can also use a gruyere if you wanted to switch things up a bit.
  • Mustard: The mustard is my secret weapon ingredient in this soup. It pairs perfectly with the broccoli and cheddar and pulls everything together. If you don’t have a whole grain mustard on hand, a Dijon-style mustard is 100% fine to swap.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe

Troubleshooting: How Do You Keep Broccoli a Vibrant Green?

Broccoli (and your broccoli soup) can turn a sad, dull, unappetizing green color when over cooked. For this soup you’ll cook it until bright and tender. Keep an eye on things is my advice on this front.

Troubleshooting: Why is My Broccoli Cheddar Soup So Grainy?

One of the most common problems cooks run into when they make broccoli cheddar soup is a gritty or grainy texture. Your soup may become grainy if the cheese or dairy curdles. With a recipe like the one that follow you shouldn’t have trouble because the cheese is added as a finishing component, off heat. But to avoid “breaking” the dairy while reheating (or with other dairy-rich soups), take it low and slow. Heating the pot over medium-low and avoiding a boil.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe

Broccoli Cheddar Soup: Topping Ideas

Aside from the croutons, this soup likes crusty, toasted walnut bread, or olive bread. It likes a good sheep feta in place of cheddar if that’s what you happen to have on hand, or a kiss of harissa whisked into a bit of olive oil. I know people like to pair broccoli with blue cheese. Personally, I find that to be over-powering, but if you really love blue cheese, it might be another direction to explore. A finishing drizzle of chile oil or a citrus olive oil is always welcome. If you have any other ideas, let me hear them – I make this soup often enough that I need fresh angles to work!

What to serve with Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I don’t think you need much more than big shards of the mustard croutons included in the recipe, no bread bowl needed. Lol. That said,  but you can certainly take other approaches or layer up! A poached egg would be a way to make a meal of things. Or a simple quesadilla, grilled cheese or egg salad sandwich on the side. Or, something like this TLT. 

More Broccoli Recipes & Ideas

Poke around the archives for more broccoli recipes and inspiration. There are a lot of great recipes from past years worth revisiting. I love a broccoli-centric version of this vegetable stir-fry, this double broccoli quinoa, this orzo super salad, and this is another broccoli soup with coconut milk is another favorite.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe

More Creamy Soups

There are also a bunch of simple, creamy, blended soups in the archives! Or browse all the soups.

 

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