Sweet and Sour Pork Chops with Vegetables

Easy dinners are my jam! I love these Sweet and Sour Pork Chops because they’re a super fast alternative to take out, they require NO chopping, you need only a few pantry staples to make the sauce, and it meal preps well. What else could I want? Avoid Hockey Puck Pork Chops If you’ve avoided […]

The post Sweet and Sour Pork Chops with Vegetables appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Easy dinners are my jam! I love these Sweet and Sour Pork Chops because they’re a super fast alternative to take out, they require NO chopping, you need only a few pantry staples to make the sauce, and it meal preps well. What else could I want?

Close up view from the front of Sweet and Sour Pork Chops with Vegetables in the skillet

Avoid Hockey Puck Pork Chops

If you’ve avoided making pork chops in the past because they turn out dry and tough, you’ve got to give this method a try. Giving them a quick sear in a hot skillet then finishing them off later in the sauce allows the the outside to brown and heats them through before the pork chops have a chance to dry out.

If you’re new to cooking meat or pork in particular, I always suggest investing in an instant read thermometer so you know as soon as your meat has reached a safe temperature. Cooking meat beyond that point is how you usually end up with a dry, tough hockey puck. For pork chops, the safe internal temperature is 145ºF. I use this Digital Instant Read Thermometer, which retails for under $15, but is absolutely priceless in the kitchen.

Can I Reduce The Sugar in the Sweet and Sour Pork Chops?

Sweet and sour sauce is a sugar based sauce, by nature. You might be able to get away with reducing it by a tablespoon or two, depending on your taste buds (the sauce will be a lot more tangy that way), but this just isn’t a recipe to make if you’re living a low-sugar lifestyle. Unfortunately I don’t cook with sugar substitutes, so I’m not sure how they would perform here.

Close up overhead view of pork chops in the skillet with vegetables, covered with sweet and sour sauce.

Sauce Options:

This is a SUPER simple sauce, but if you want to spruce it up a bit you can add a little grated fresh ginger, a pinch of red pepper flakes, or even a dab of sriracha or chili garlic sauce. Another option is to use my Homemade Teriyaki Sauce in place of the sweet and sour sauce.

What Kind of Pork Chops Should I Use?

This recipe is designed for use with boneless center cut pork chops, approximately 1-inch thick. If you use thinner pork chops they will cook faster. If you use thicker pork chops or bone-in pork chops, they will take much longer to cook through. Again, an instant read meat thermometer is invaluable! 

Close up of Sweet and Sour Sauce being spooned over a pork chop in the skillet, surrounded by vegetables and sauce.

 

Sweet and Sour Pork Chops with Vegetables

A few pantry staples are needed for these juicy Sweet and Sour Pork Chops with Vegetables, making them a quick and easy alternative to take-out.

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar ($0.32)
  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar ($0.96)
  • 1/4 cup ketchup ($0.20)
  • 1/4 cup water ($0.00)
  • 2 tsp soy sauce ($0.08)
  • 2 tsp cornstarch ($0.02)
  • 4 boneless, center cut pork chops, 1-inch thick (about 1.5 lbs. total) ($5.50)
  • 1 pinch salt and pepper ($0.05)
  • 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
  • 12 oz. frozen stir fry vegetables ($1.65)
  1. Add the brown sugar, rice vinegar, ketchup, water, soy sauce, and cornstarch to a bowl and whisk until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. Set the sauce aside.

  2. Season the pork chops with a pinch of salt and pepper on each side.

  3. Preheat a large skillet over medium, or just slightly above medium. Once the skillet is nice and hot, add the cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface. Add the pork chops and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until they are nicely browned. Remove the pork chops to a clean plate and cover with a second plate (turned upside down) to keep them warm.

  4. Add the frozen vegetables to the skillet and continue to cook and stir over medium for about two minutes, or just long enough to take some of the ice off (they may still be icy in the center). Give the sauce a brief stir in case any of the cornstarch has settled, then add it to the skillet with the vegetables. Continue to cook and stir until the sauce begins to simmer, at which point it will thicken and go from a cloudy brown to a shiny glaze.

  5. Add the cooked pork chops back to the skillet with the vegetables and sauce. Let the pork chops simmer in the sauce for 2-3 minutes more, or until the internal temperature reaches 145ºF. Serve hot, over rice or noodles.

Scroll down for the step by step photos!

A plate with rice and sweet and sour pork chops with vegetables, a black fork on the side of the plate.

Step by Step Photos

Sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl, unmixed.

Make the sweet and sour sauce first, so it’s ready to add to the skillet when you need it. Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup water, 2 tsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp cornstarch in a bowl. If you want to jazz this up a bit you can always add some grated fresh ginger or even some crushed red pepper.

Whisk the sweet and sour sauce ingredients

Whisk the sweet and sour sauce ingredients together until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. The uncooked sauce will have a cloudy brown appearance.

Season center cut pork chops with salt and pepper

Season four boneless center cut pork chops (about 1-inch thick, 1.5 pounds total for all four) with a pinch of salt and pepper on each side. 

Browned Pork Chops

Heat a large skillet over medium, or just slightly above medium. Once hot, add 2 Tbsp cooking oil (your preferred type) and swirl to coat the skillet. Add the pork chops and cook on each side for about 5 minutes, or until they are browned. The pork will return to the skillet later, so they don’t need to be all the way up to 145ºF at this point. Remove the pork chops to a clean plate and cover with a second plate to keep them warm.

Add frozen vegetables and sweet and sour sauce to the skillet.

Add a 12oz. bag of frozen stir fry vegetables to the skillet and continue to cook over medium for about 2 minutes, or just until they begin to thaw. Give the sweet and sour sauce a brief stir, then add it to the skillet with the vegetables.

Cooked stir fry vegetables and sweet and sour sauce in the skillet

Continue to cook the vegetables and sauce, stirring often, until the sauce begins to simmer. Once it reaches a simmer, the cornstarch will thicken the sauce and it will go from cloudy to a shiny glaze. 

Pork Chops added back to the skillet with the vegetables and sauce.

Add the pork chops back to the skillet with the sauce and vegetables, and let them simmer in the sauce for a few minutes more, or until they reach an internal temperature of 145ºF. Serve hot over rice or noodles!

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Green Harissa Grilled Cheese

Do you ever have days when you just need a grilled cheese sandwich? This green harissa grilled cheese recipe is what I make when nothing but a grilled cheese will do. It has all the essentials of a good grilled cheese sandwich – crunchy, toasty b…


Do you ever have days when you just need a grilled cheese sandwich? This green harissa grilled cheese recipe is what I make when nothing but a grilled cheese will do. It has all the essentials of a good grilled cheese sandwich – crunchy, toasty bread and gooey cheese – but a handful of spinach and a slather of green harissa add an extra dimension of freshness and flavor. It’s lightly spicy and totally delicious – hands down the best grilled cheese I’ve had! The green harissa is really the star of the show here. Made with charred peppers, garlic, […]

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Baked Pizza Chicken

One of the coolest things about having been blogging for over ten years is seeing how my cooking style and skills have changed through this experience. One of my first recipes to go viral was my Pepperoni Stuffed Chicken. It was a tasty recipe for sure, but way too much work for current day Beth. […]

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One of the coolest things about having been blogging for over ten years is seeing how my cooking style and skills have changed through this experience. One of my first recipes to go viral was my Pepperoni Stuffed Chicken. It was a tasty recipe for sure, but way too much work for current day Beth. ? This Baked Pepperoni Chicken is an easier, just as delicious interpretation of pizza-style chicken. It’s perfect for weeknight dinners and holds up in the refrigerator for meal preps. Hopefully you’ll appreciate the lack of breading, stuffing, and frying in this newer version as much as I did.

Close up of Baked Pizza Chicken on a plate with salad and garlic bread, the chicken cut into pieces.

How to Serve Baked Pizza Chicken

I plated my Baked Pizza Chicken with some Homemade Garlic Bread and simple salad of spring mix with light coating of Italian dressing. I like to keep my side dishes simple so that dinner doesn’t get over complicated. Bonus: you can bake the garlic bread in the oven during the last 5 minutes or so that the chicken cooks.

You could also serve your pizza chicken over a bed of pasta with red sauce. 

Another fun way to eat this Baked Pizza Chicken would be to make a sort of chicken sandwich out of it. Put it on a roll with a little extra pizza sauce, maybe some sliced red onion, and treat it like a meatball sandwich!

Is Fresh Mozzarella a Must?

Fresh mozzarella (the type packed in water) definitely works best because it melts so beautifully, but it can be pricey. If you’re lucky enough to live near an Aldi, you can get it for a steal, like I did. If you can’t get fresh mozzarella for a good price the next best is full-fat mozzarella (not packed in water). And as a last resort, you can use part-skim mozzarella. Part-skim is dryer and does not melt as smoothly, but it will work in a pinch.

Can I Add Other Toppings?

Sure! If you want to add more than just pepperoni, I suggest chopping the toppings up in to very small pieces so they kind of get stuck in the cheese and don’t fall off. Red onion would be awesome, as would black olives and maybe some finely diced bell pepper.

Front view of a piece of Baked Pizza Chicken on a plate with salad and garlic bread.

 

Baked Pizza Chicken

This easy Baked Pizza Chicken is the perfect fast and easy weeknight dinner. The chicken cooks quickly and always stays tender and juicy!

  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning blend ($0.30)
  • 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
  • 1/8 tsp salt ($0.01)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2/3 lb. each) ($7.64)
  • 1/4 cup pizza sauce ($0.17)
  • 4 oz. fresh mozzarella ($1.33)
  • 8 slices pepperoni ($0.23)
  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a small bowl, stir together the Italian seasoning blend, garlic powder, salt, and olive oil.

  2. Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board and cover with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent splatter. Use a mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken to an even thickness, about 3/4-inch thick. Cut each chicken breast in half to make two equal sized pieces.

  3. Place the chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish or on a baking sheet, making sure they have at least an inch of space around them. Spread the oil and herb mixture over the surface of each piece of chicken.

  4. Bake the chicken in the fully preheated 400ºF oven for 15 minutes. While the chicken in baking, slice the mozzarella.

  5. After 15 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven. Spread 1 Tbsp pizza sauce over the surface of each piece. Next top each piece with about 1oz. mozzarella and two slices of pepperoni.

  6. Return the chicken to the oven and bake for 5-7 minutes more, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165ºF. Remove from the oven and serve.

Scroll down to see the step by step photos!

A fork taking a piece of Baked Pizza Chicken from the plate with chicken, garlic bread, and salad.

Step by Step Photos

Italian herb and oil mixture

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a small bowl, combine 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning blend, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp salt, and 2 Tbsp olive oil.

Chicken breasts on a cutting board covered with plastic with a rolling pin on the side.

Place two boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2/3 lb. each)on a cutting board and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Use a mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken to an even thickness, about 3/4-inch thick. This helps the chicken cook quickly and evenly in the oven.

Chicken breasts cut into two pieces

Since 2/3 pound is a LOT of chicken per serving, I always cut my chicken breasts in half. I like to cut on a diagonal to make two pieces that are similar in shape to the original piece.

Chicken coated in herbs and oil in a baking dish.

Place the chicken pieces in a shallow baking dish or baking sheet, making sure there’s about an inch of space all around. Coat the chicken pieces in the Italian herb and oil mixture. Bake the chicken for 15 minutes in the preheated 400ºF oven. While the chicken is baking, slice 4 oz. of fresh mozzarella.

Pizza sauce being spread over the baked chicken pieces.

After 15 minutes, take the chicken out and add about 1 Tbsp pizza sauce to each piece. Spread the sauce over the surface of the chicken.

Mozzarella and pepperoni added to the chicken pieces.

Next, add about 1 oz. fresh mozzarella to each piece of chicken, then finish each with two slices of pepperoni. 

Baked Pizza Chicken with melted mozzarella and an instant read thermometer showing 163 degrees.

Return the chicken to the oven and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes, or until the mozzarella is melted and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165ºF. Mine was at 163ºF after 5 minutes, so I gave it 1-2 more minutes in the oven. The total cooking time will depend on the size of your chicken pieces and how long the chicken was out of the oven while adding the toppings. 

Two plates with Baked Chicken Pizza, salad, and garlic bread next to a cutting board with more garlic bread.

Then your Baked Pizza Chicken is ready to serve! Dig in and enjoy that juicy chicken, melty mozzarella, flavorful Italian herbs, and spicy pepperoni!

Front view of a piece of Baked Pizza Chicken cut into pieces on a plate.

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Mushroom “Scallops” in a Warm Pesto Pool

  When we committed to going to the ocean, I immediately felt the thrilling sensation that washes over me when I stand at the intersection of land meeting water. I smelled brine and dampness. I saw certain patterns and colours; light sand against dark water, […]

The post Mushroom “Scallops” in a Warm Pesto Pool appeared first on My New Roots.

 

When we committed to going to the ocean, I immediately felt the thrilling sensation that washes over me when I stand at the intersection of land meeting water. I smelled brine and dampness. I saw certain patterns and colours; light sand against dark water, wet stones, seaweed, driftwood, and feathers.

This was the second recipe I created for the dreamy on-location photoshoot with Christiann Koepke back in October (you can see the first one here). The inspiration for this dish came first in fact, fast and furiously. Just thinking about the seaside brought this recipe to me in a wave of total inspiration. I wanted the ingredients to reflect the elements in this environment, and for the final result to be a visual meeting of land and sea.

Now I’m not super into “fake meat”, but there is something undeniably satisfying about tricking someone into thinking a vegetable is flesh. Tee hee. Plus, Rene Redzepi does it all the time, so maybe it puts me in the cool cooking club too? Yes? Anyway, I knew something on the plate had to look like seafood, and I had my sights set on scallops. In my first cookbook, I made “scallops” out of leeks, and wanted to try something different, so going through the rolodex of tube-shaped white veggies in my mind, I fell upon king oyster mushroom stems. Naturally. Browned in ghee and well-seasoned, I knew that these morsels would look exactly like mollusks, and taste deceptively meaty.

A pool of herbaceous, vibrant green pesto, would be the land, and the perfect resting place for my mushroom medallions. I combined flat-leaf parsley and spinach to create a bright yet balanced sauce that complimented – rather than overwhelmed – the rest of the dish. But with all this creaminess, I knew that I also needed to include something for textural contrast, so toasted hazelnuts became the beach stones, along with fried capers, which added a bite of seaside brine.

This dish is surprisingly easy to make, and it is the prefect main to serve for family and friends that you want to spoil a little. It looks impressive, but it’s a cinch to get on the table without gluing you to the stove. The pesto can be made a week in advance (although the fresher, the better), so that the only thing you need to do before serving is cook the mushroom and capers, and warm the pesto a little. I love cooking the capers and mushrooms in ghee (recipe here) because it’s just so darn delicious, but the pesto is vegan and if you want the entire meal to be so, simply swap out the ghee for expeller-pressed coconut oil, which is refined for high heat cooking and has no tropical aroma.


Beta-glucan Goodness

Edible mushrooms are both medical and nutritional dynamos. Collectively, they not only provide us with plant-based protein, vitamin D, and a whole host of minerals, but most excitingly a group of polysaccharides called beta-glucans. These complex, hemicellulose sugar molecules enhance the functioning of the immune system by activating immune cell response and stimulating the production of white blood cells. These compounds also effectively mobilize immune stem cells in your bone marrow, and exhibit anti-tumor properties, so they’re often used supplementally in cancer treatment protocols.

Beta-glucans help to lower cholesterol, as this type of fiber forms a viscous gel during digestion, which grabs a hold of excess dietary cholesterol, prevents absorption by moving it through your digestive tract, and eliminates it. Through your poop! This same gel also slows down your digestion, which in turn stabilizes blood sugar, and minimizes the release of insulin.

King oyster mushrooms are of course a good source of beta-glucans, but you can get them in other places too: barley, oats, sorghum, mushrooms like shiitake, reishi and maitake, as well as seaweed, algae, and dates.

 

I wouldn’t put king oyster mushrooms in the “specialty” category of fungi, but I also know that they’re not available at every grocery store, so if you can’t find them, substitute with any other kind of mushroom you like and forgo the whole “scallop” charade. The dish will still turn out delicious, I promise.

If you want to change up the herb in the pesto, try basil instead of flat-leaf parsley. Cilantro could also be delicious, but potentially overwhelming, so use more spinach in that case. And instead of hazelnuts in the pesto and garnish, try almonds, pecans or walnuts. Yummm.

I like to serve this with a big hunk of crusty bread on the side to mop up any leftover pesto in the bowl. It also helps to have some good olive oil and flaky salt around for this situation, just sayin’. If you’d prefer the grain route, steamed brown rice, quinoa, or millet could be a decent accompaniment too. And if you want to go completely grain-free, roasted sweet potato, winter squash, or pumpkin would be totally lovely.


We’re home from Bali now, settling back into life in the cold Canadian winter. It feels good to be here, especially after a satisfying few weeks in the sunshine, hosting two glorious retreats. Now it’s time to ground and focus on the year ahead. I’m very excited for 2019 – so many exciting things to share with you, just on the horizon.

I hope you’re all well out there, and enjoying a vibrant start to the new year. Sending love and gratitude out to you all, always.

xo, Sarah B

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The Epic Travel Salad

  When I saw the number, I couldn’t believe it: 29 hours. It was undoubtedly going to be one of the longest travel days of my life. I’ve been to Bali twice before, but always from Copenhagen, which is about half the distance from Toronto. […]

The post The Epic Travel Salad appeared first on My New Roots.

 
When I saw the number, I couldn’t believe it: 29 hours. It was undoubtedly going to be one of the longest travel days of my life. I’ve been to Bali twice before, but always from Copenhagen, which is about half the distance from Toronto. I almost gave it a second thought since spending that amount of time sitting upright just felt like it might end me, but the retreats were booked, and there was no backing out!

I knew what would get me through, and that was food. Lots and lots of delicious, nourishing, consciously-created food. I always always make a point of preparing meals for traveling, since eating mini, microwaved mystery munch seriously kills my vibe. Plus, the amount of calories in one of those airplane trays is barely enough to get me through one romcom and you know that I’m watching at least five in a row.

When you’re about to face any length of time on an airplane, there are a few things to take into consideration. First, fill your snack pack with foods that are hydrating: cucumbers, romaine, bell peppers, carrots, apples, oranges, celery, berries, grapes, and melon. Depending on where you’re traveling to, it can help to have the fruits and veggies already prepared or sliced, since some countries won’t let you bring in whole fruits and veg, but they will let you bring them in if they look ready to eat. It sounds nonsensical, but it works!

I love having huge vegetable salads with lentils and / or whole grains to keep me full too, since I have a tendency to stress-eat when I’m in transit and will totally mow down a bag of chips if they’re put in front of me (okay, sometimes I also eat those chips, and that is okay too, but I notice that it always prolongs my jetlag). For other filling munchies, I like my almond flour cookies, nuts like pistachios or walnuts, and granola – especially crossing so many timezones, which requires breakfast-y things. Veggie sticks are also nice, light fare that keep my crunch cravings under control.

 

 

As you can see from the photo, I bring my food in reusable containers, use washable wooden cutlery and a straw, all of which are convenient to have once I’m at my destination to use for my own cooking and storage. I also always have my 800-ml water bottle with me when I travel. I’ve mentioned it in previous posts, but it begs repeating: jetlag is exacerbated by dehydration, and drinking about half a liter (16 oz.) per hour of flight will make such an immense difference, you may never experience jetlag again. I used to suffer terribly from exhaustion for days post-travel (which really ruined my trip when it was a short one), and now it’s no big deal. I arrive, wait until a mildly appropriate time to go to bed, and wake up feeling about as normal as one could hope to. Yes, you’ll have to make friends with the flight attendants, since they are the keepers of the water, but go visit them at the back of the plane every so often for a refill, treat them like humans, and you’d be amazed at how accommodating and helpful they are. Make sure you fill your bottle before landing as well, since you never know how long it will take for you to get through customs, baggage claim and the taxi line. It always pays to have hydration close at hand.

Avoid the plane food if you can, since it is overly salted and often has added sugar. Our taste buds are actually less receptive at high altitudes, due to low air pressure, low humidity, and high levels of white noise. Yup – that is an actual thing. The way our brains interpret flavour signals is impaired, therefore, things taste different, so airlines pump up the levels of salt and sugar in their food to make them taste the way they would at ground level. If you ate that travel-sized “chicken or pasta” at your dining room table you’d be surprised at how exaggerated the flavours were.

 

 
Why is this the most epic travel salad? Because it’s got All. The. Things. Rich, hearty beets, protein-rich and satiating lentils, so it’s filling, but it’s not going to leave you feeling stuffed. And because of that whole flavours-being-less-powerful-at-high-altitudes thing, I endeavoured to add as many potent tastes as possible. Lemon, pomegranate, parsley, cumin seeds, and olives are like flavour fireworks that you can safely ignite at 30,000 feet. There is a Middle Eastern vibe going on for sure, and the multitude of textures tick every single box. You don’t want your mouth getting bored while you’re hurtling through the sky, and this combination will ensure that each bite is a surprise party.

Olives that come without their pits are often mushy and less flavourful, so I always opt to remove them myself, or leave them in until I eat them. The problem with leaving the pits in the olives in this situation, is finding a place to put them on your teeny table real estate (the airsick bag is a great option, just sayin’…and yes, I’ve really thought of everything). If you do want to remove them beforehand, it’s easiest to do so by smashing the olive with the flat side of a knife blade, then simply pulling the pit out. You can roughly chop the olives from there.

If you don’t have any black lentils, Du Puy or French lentils work just as well, with green and brown lentils as a passable fallback. I don’t dig these types of lentils in salads since they tend to be water-y and dilute the flavour of the dressing, but if it keeps you from making a special trip to the store, by all means just use them.

And normally I wouldn’t include alliums in a plane salad since your neighbours might give you the stink eye when you pop open your lunch box, but I’ve tempered their potency by pickling them ever-so-slightly. This is done in the same container that you’re going to put your salad in, preceded by mixing up the dressing right in there too. Easy peasy!

I guess I should mention that this salad is not just delicious on a plane – it’s also fabulous enjoyed at ground level. Perfect for road trips, picnics, school or office lunches, just make sure you make it the day before so that all the ingredients are cool. If you travel with this salad on the warm side, it could spoil in transit.

 

 
Maybe it’s a bit strange to have a travel salad as the first post of the year, but I’m a bit tired of the whole “new year, new you” rant. People expect me to talk about cleansing or detoxing in January, and although I’m all for reflecting and re-evaluating one’s lifestyle choices, I’m a bit bored of the narrative saying that the first day of the new year is the time to atone for all our dietary sins. Why do we need a specific day to act as a reason to start treat ourselves well?

If there a New Year’s resolution to pull out of this post, it should be to resolve to make yourself delicious food when you go anywhere. Avoid the overpriced convenience food, no matter how healthy it is, since nothing sold in a package will ever compare to the freshness, or high-vibrational energy of food you’ve lovingly prepared for yourself. Case closed!

If you’d like more travel food recipes, tips, and inspiration, check out my two previous articles here and here.

 

The Wild Heart High Spirit Retreats are starting tomorrow, and I cannot wait to embrace each of the women who have traveled from every corner of the earth to join us here in Bali. We are going to eat the most delicious food, practice yoga, dance, laugh, learn, and celebrate the joy of being alive together! We have one space left for the second week, so if you’re interested in joining us in tropical paradise, please visit our site for more information.

Peace and blessings for an abundant, healthy, vibrant year ahead. Thank you for being here. I love you.

xo, Sarah B

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Butternut Miso Soup with Arame and Wasabi

  You know that game where you give someone a word and they have to make up a story with that word in it? I’m like that, except with food. Give me an ingredient, and magically, as if out of nowhere, an entire recipe (or […]

The post Butternut Miso Soup with Arame and Wasabi appeared first on My New Roots.

 

You know that game where you give someone a word and they have to make up a story with that word in it? I’m like that, except with food. Give me an ingredient, and magically, as if out of nowhere, an entire recipe (or several!) will appear in my head. I could even give you the amount of salt it needs, how the vegetables should be sliced, the oven temp, and what it should be garnished with. It’s a tad psycho, but my best party trick hands down.

When my friend Christiann Koepke emailed me about coming to visit her in Portland, driving to the Pacific coast, and photographing some recipes together, I was all in. And then when she suggested we put seaweed into something (because ocean) it was like someone had opened the flood gates in my brain and alllll the ideas came rushing to me. Neat! And very convenient.

But what do we really want to eat at the beach when it’s chilly and maybe windy, maybe raining, maybe freezing-raining (it is the Pacific Northwest, after all)? The answer is soup. And I knew it was going to be a creamy, dreamy, sea veggie-kissed broth with all the tasty toppings.

 

 

When seaweed is a featured ingredient in a recipe, I tend to channel Asian flavours like miso, ginger, wasabi, toasted sesame, to compliment to the unmistakably briny, salty, ocean-y flavour of seaweed. Eaten as a staple food throughout China and Japan for thousands of years, sea vegetables are rich in essential minerals, trace minerals, chlorophyll, iodine, fiber, and lots of protein. Some sea vegetables even contain vitamin B12 – a rare element for a plant!

Sea vegetables are less complex than their land-dwelling relatives. Without intricate root systems or tissues, seaweeds get their nutrients from the waters they grow in. To survive, they form root-like parts to attach themselves to rocks or other stable elements. There are three categories of sea vegetables; brown, red, and green. Brown algae thrive in cool water at depths of around 50 feet. The most commonly known brown seaweed is kelp, which can grow up to 1,500 feet (500 meters) long! Red algae, like dulse, contain elements that can gel foods. Green sea vegetables bridge the gap between land and sea plants, as they can store food as starch, just like vegetation found out of the water. The most popular kind of green algae is nori, which is what your sushi comes wrapped in.   

 


Seaweeds range in flavours from mild to wild. Some are sweet and nutty, while others are pungent, funky, and an acquired taste. If you’re a seaweed newb (which most Westerners are), I suggest starting out with a less challenging one, like arame.
Arame is in the “brown” category of sea vegetables, but when you buy it, it will appear closer to jet black. It has a stringy texture, and almost looks like wiry hair, but will soften into tender, noodle-y strands after being soaked. Before it is packaged, arame must be cooked for seven hours, and then dried in the sun. To use, simply re-hydrate by soaking it in room temperature water for 10-15 minutes until it is soft and has doubled in volume. Arame is very high in calcium, rich in iron, potassium, vitamin A and the B vitamins. And like other brown seaweeds, arame contains sodium alginate, a compound that helps to convert heavy metals in the body into harmless salt, which is easily excreted.

Besides soup, I like to put arame in stews, stir fries, and salads (here’s a great recipe from the archives…check out that incredible food photography!). The flavor of arame is saline and a bit funky, but mostly sweet. The texture is like an al dente pasta, and I think it adds amazing “meaty-ness” to a dish, with its satisfying chew.

 

 

This soup is well balanced, and hits all the notes: sweet and creamy from the butternut, savoury from miso, chewy from the arame, warming from the ginger, spicy from the wasabi, and nutty and crunchy from the toasted sesame. You could theoretically use any kind of winter squash here, like a Hokkaido pumpkin, acorn or delicate squash. Scale back on the ginger and perhaps leave out the wasabi if you’re making this for kiddos. And if you don’t have arame, or you’re simply not into sea vegetables, leave it out, or replace with some coconut bacon. It should be noted that once you’ve added the miso to the soup base, it’s important that you don’t let it boil if you reheat it. Miso is contains delicate probiotics and enzymes that will be destroyed by high heat. The soup freezes well, but leave the wasabi out until you serve it since the flavour will fade if once it’s frozen.

 

 

 

 


 

Christiann and I had such an incredible time at the ocean, pulling this whole miracle off together. The weather – although abysmal every other day that week – was beyond beautiful from the moment we set foot on the sand, to the second we decided it was time to call it a night (and then it started pouring, ha!). We caught an epic sunset by the fire, exhausted and so grateful for the stars aligning in every way possible, to make this day possible. And it was such an honour to work alongside a photographer that has inspired me for years – if you haven’t checked out her genius yet, here is a link to her website and Instagram.

Thank you, Christiann for making this dream a reality! I had such a blast! We have another post coming up in the New Year I cannot wait to share it with you, dear friends.

Big love to all and I hope autumn is treating you well. Happy American Thanksgiving to all my loves stateside!
xo, Sarah B

photo credits: images 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 Christiann Koepke

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The post Butternut Miso Soup with Arame and Wasabi appeared first on My New Roots.