Happy Friday friends! It's cold and dreary here in Atlanta today, so what better time to break out another soup recipe? Like many other cooks I know, I rarely make the same exact combination twice, but it's always fun to share all kinds of variations in case one inspires someone to get in the kitchen and make something yummy. I have also learned the hard way that when I forget to write a variation up, that's when it's something delicious enough to make again!
After being under the weather last week, I'm still doing my best to boost my immune system back up. This time of year it is definitely not a bad tactic to try to consume as many immune boosting ingredients as you can anyway. You never know when you might get exposed to some funk and need a little extra bit of support from your dinner plate. Ginger is always an amazing ingredient to incorporate daily as it can help not only support your immune system but also help your body deal with inflammation in general. The best thing about it is I love the flavor anyway! That little bit of spicy heat warms me up on a cold day and adds a wonderful taste to so many meals. I also added plenty of fresh lime juice, celery leaves and green onion at the finish for added nutrients and a bright, fresh flavor.
This particular soup I loaded up with a huge amount of fresh ginger, but you can easily tone it down a bit for your preference. We are lucky enough to still have some of the turmeric we harvested a few months back to use in meals, as well. It pairs so well with ginger to also pack a huge nutrient boost. We are going to try to grow more of both in the garden after the winter to keep plenty in stock. An inexpensive, delicious set of plants for the kitchen medicine cabinet. If you don't have access to any fresh, feel free to use some dried in your soup. Just make sure to use a good deal less lest you REALLY pack a punch in one spoonful!
As usual, pretty much all of the ingredients came from the farmers market, so the refrigerator is getting bare in time to stock back up tomorrow morning! We are down to the last few markets of the year before they close up for a few weeks during the holidays. I need to make it count and load up for the extra time. You all know I'm going to have some withdrawals on those few Saturday mornings until my farmers come back in the new year. π
Until then, I'll enjoy every fresh, nutritious bite! Soup's on!!
Napa Cabbage Soup
- 1/2 cup sliced green onion, white portion (trim the roots and stick them in your garden to grow some more!)
- 1/2 cup sliced celery stalks
- 1/2 cup sliced carrots
- 2-3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh turmeric
- 5 cloves peeled, minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon vegan gochujang (optional, can also add red pepper flakes for a bit of heat)
- 1/2-ounce dried sliced mushrooms
- 1 medium head Napa cabbage, roughly chopped
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 8 cups water or veggie broth
- 2 tablespoons mild white miso
- 1 lime
- celery leaves and sliced green onion tops to garnish
In a large stock pot warmed over medium heat add the onion, celery and carrots. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften. Add a few tablespoons of water as needed to prevent sticking.
Next add the ginger, turmeric, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, then add the cabbage. Continue to cook over medium just until the cabbage starts to wilt before adding the lentils and the liquid. Raise the heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes.
Test to make sure the lentils are cooked through, then remove from heat. Take out about 1/2 cup of the broth and mix in the miso. Return to the pot to evenly distribute. Squeeze in the lime juice and taste. Adjust the seasonings to your liking. You can also go ahead and stir in the celery leaves and green onions if you are lazy and don't feel like getting fancy with your garnish. π
Serve warm and refrigerate the leftovers for healthy lunches all week (or weekend)!
I used multi-colored carrots this time, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the purple actually retained a lot of the color! Usually as soon as you cook them they all look the same. It's always fun to have that extra pop of brightness in your bowl to get excited about your meal!
I told @dandays I would do my best to show up for the @foodfightfriday after an absence of a few rounds. Always fun to jump in the ring with a veggie-packed punch! Have a great weekend my friends!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://plantstoplanks.com/napa-cabbage-soup-with-lots-of-ginger-%f0%9f%98%89/
Delicious soup for real foodies yummy
Delicious and super easy to make for anyone!
I approve of this plant-based posts.
Upvote π
Appreciate the plant-powered support!
That's awesome π
Tasty
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Thanks!
Foodgasm achieved! If you have enough time i'd appreciate your review on my latest posts. All about plant-based nutrition
Haha, happy to have that effect. ;) Somehow I thought I was already following you, but I rectified that now! I'll try to pop over for some comments later on!
you're truly awesome!
Both healthy and looks so good, with how I am feeling right now that is a dish I would love ;)
It is definitely a good one for this time of year! Hoping you are on the backside of the funk now. No fun to be sick during the holidays.
Ohh yes for sure I am not craving for Soup again today LOL
I will be back to speed by the Holiday s:)
Youβve been visited by @porters on behalf of Natural Medicine. M-m-m! That looks delicious and perfect for the cold days we've having! Delicious, nutritious and some health benefits to boot! Thanks for sharing!
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Hey, I know someone who often wishes sheβd written down measurements too! π€ Hey.. and sheβs sick, too, not just in her guts, either, but she just brought on a head cold. Cuz itβs Fβing freezing in Rome and itβs been raining for two days straight. Us Californianβs have a rough time in the cold. You know what?!? Now that Iβm talking about her.... She doesnβt use one of those cup things butβnevermind! π€ Talk about a trifecta.
Thanks for throwing down, chef, itβs always a pleasure to have you around. Have a great weekend. Dude, check out this rarely mentioned iconic symbol she parked us right down the street from. Giveβer a little zoom, this is standing right outside our current front door.
Jeez, you couldn't pick a better neighborhood than that? Looks like a dump. π
Boo to the head funk and the gut funk. One is rough, two is just ridiculous. Sending some more of that good healing juju right over...
Looking very fresh, hope this are very healthy. Thanks for share your recipe.
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Packed full of nutrients, you can't go wrong! :)
Good looking soup!
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Thanks @cindyhartz! Turned out too good not to share. :)
That looks delicious. I have to get over my cabbage thing, and ginger and lime will do that, I think. Any time. After last night's market, I think I have about 2 litres of Asian slaw. It's dressed with lemon and lime juice, a bit of chilli and olive oil. So, I'm thinking about how we might wade through all of that and your soup is giving me an idea.
Oh, and although your fridge will be sad when the market closes, I know you have quite a full pantry, and after having languished in bed until after 09h00, I was glad there was no market this morning.
Normal programming resumes next week, so it'll be out early and back at it!
That slaw sounds sooo delicious! I would put that on top of just about anything. Looking forward to seeing how you finish it off, and put all those delicious carrots to use.
You know I would be there bright and early at your stall if we lived in the same part of the world. I know getting all the goodies together to bring and lugging it all there to set up truly is a labor of love. That's why I'm always so vocal in supporting my farmers because I know they appreciate it! Enjoy the rest of your downtime, as I know you'll be back into the usual frenzy all too soon!
Ginger is my fav! Be it ginger cake, ginger biscuit, ginger beer, ginger in curries, ginger in soup I bloody looovve ginger. I will be making this and won't tone it down at all :D
It is the best, isn't it? So good for soooo many applications. I have another good one coming up shortly when I get a chance to write it up. ;)
This looks and sounds mouthwatering! Love the fact that you can find veggies in different colors.
I am eating soup almost every night, these days ( especially since I dove into ayurveda. My dosha needs a lot of warm food and a lighter meal in the night. Soup is the best way to warm myself, also because it makes me eat slower and be more mindful.
P.S. I recently learnt about a so called instant pot and was then reminded of slow cookers. I am considering buying a machine that makes cooking even easier, possibly tastier and minimizes dishes. Do you have any experience with such a tool?
Big hug from Portugal!
I am a fun of a warming, light meal to end the day, as well. I have found I feel best when I eat my dinner some time around 5pm to finish out the day then start my fast until breakfast. Soup is something that features on my menu year-round!
I have both an instant pot and two slow cookers. There have been times when I'm really deep into meal prepping that I've had all three going! I still prefer the slow cooker if I had to choose one, though most instant pots have a slow cooking feature so that might be the better option if you are interested in just one item. I feel like the instant pot had a bit of a learning curve to figure out how not to overcook certain things and turn them into total mush, but the more I use it the more I enjoy it. I especially like it for cooking winter squashes, beets and other hearty vegetables as it keeps them moist while still getting them soft and cooked through. I'm going to make a potato and sweet turnip soup in mine today with a fennel pesto to top it off. The slow cooker I use really often as well--soups, chili, a big pot of steel cut oats for the week. It can definitely make meal prepping a breeze, as well.
Sending those positive vibes right back to you!
Thanks for the extensive answer.
I still have difficulty not eating anymore after dinner, as my metabolism is quite fast but I usually make do with just a piece of fruit. I am realizing more and more that the main thing is to listen to my body ( so I shouldn't ignore it, when I feel actual hunger ).
An instant pot and two slow cookers, wow! Quite a collection. My parents sent me a nice unexpected Xmas gift and now I'm doubting whether I should invest in an oven ( still not sure about gas or electric ) or just go for an instant pot / slow cooker first and wait for my crypto to rise some more, before I spend a lot of money.
Slow cooker sounds more like my thing. It's not like I have a job to go to and there's no time for cooking, checking on my food. It's just that electricity is a little instable here, especially this time of the year. Solar panels are on my wish list though.
A big hug from Portugal!
Oh yes, I full agree with listening to our bodies. We are all so unique, that I don't think there is a one-size fits all approach. I tend to have a fast metabolism, as well, but I am a morning person so I think that's why I prefer to eat more earlier in the day--it's when I'm most active! I've seen some people enjoy only a few meals a day, but I think I would have trouble eating enough that way so I still like a good 4 or even 5 meals a day that are smaller but abundant in nutrients. :) Though even that may change as I enter different seasons of life. It is fun to just pay attention and adjust when I feel the need, and not focus on what everyone else out there is doing.
So I have something else to add to your consideration of cooking products. π I just got a Wonderbag as a holiday gift! One of my dear clients gave it to me after I had expressed an interest in them. I haven't cooked with it yet, but the idea is that you get a pot of food started over heat, then put it in the bag and it slow cooks with the insulated residual heat. No additional energy needed! They were created in Africa as a way for women to not be so tied to the cooking process and breathing in toxic fumes from cooking fires all day. It frees them up to do other things and not have to use so much precious resources for cooking, as well. It sounds like it would be a great option for you if you lose power, too. I think it is a great option for conserving energy all around, really, and the company supports many great initiatives to give away their product and support different philanthropic efforts. Definitely check it out!
Can you tell I get excited about cooking? Thanks for humoring me with a good conversation. Happy holidays from Atlanta! :)
Your Food Fight Friday Contender has been entered into Round 73
May your contender make it out alive and not be placed in a permanent
Food Coma
source
Good Luck
and
Have a
!BEER
Woohoo! Happy to join in this round!
View or trade
BEER.Hey @plantstoplanks, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @foodfightfriday for you. Enjoy it!I love cabbage soup and the fact that it is so good for you is only a bonus! It's such a pain when the farmers take time off! Yikes!
I love how well you take care of yourself. Honestly. Cooking the way you do takes time and well, more time. So, it is wonderful that you make it a top priority!
!tip
Well I suppose "absence makes the heart grow fonder", as they say. I'm sure those veggies I get that first market in the new year will taste even better, if that's even possible. It is definitely an investment in time, but what better way to invest in ourselves, right? :) Speaking of, time to get started on yesterday's haul...
Cracks the whip
LOL
π Hi @plantstoplanks! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
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Oh my goddess it's Monday! Clearly I'm already in holiday mode. Funnily enough I suppose my last post counts as vegan, though I didn't intend for it to be a FVW one - I'll post it later with the tag lol. Do you reckon this helped you win your race? I get absolute cabbage cravings - with ginger to give it a kick, this looks totally divine! It's going to be hot tomorrow - but I still fancy your cabbage soup!!! - @riverflows xx
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The good nutrition for sure helps keep me going and working hard in my training! Gotta love that veggie power for speed and recovery. Just got up my post-race post now! ;)
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Are you bored? Play Rock,Paper,Scissors game with me!SHOPPlease go to steem-engine.com.Looks healthy and good.
Looks delicious. Any food that can boost your immune system this time of year is a must. The ginger and turmeric will surely do just that, who wants to be sick for the holidays. You mentioned that you will grow more of the turmeric and ginger next year so that you don't run out. We have never tried to grow either one, but we will be adding both to our garden next year @plantstoplanks.