Tortilla Soup

Cooking the new house has been great and also a bit of an adventure.

Great because I'm really enjoying all of the new to me that is the kitchen.

An adventure because just when I think I've unpacked and put away all of my tools and pantry items, I reach for something that is so not there.  Like with the cornstarch I swore I had last night until I reached for it and remembered running out of it before we moved AND decided to wait until we moved to buy more.  Too bad I didn't remember that until I absolutely needed it.  

Yeah, that was fun.

Or not.

French Onion Soup

I stink at planning ahead for the week's meals, you'd think with No ReEATS I'd have to be better at it, but I'm not.  I end up at the grocery store a few times a week grabbing ingredients I don't have for my most recent cooking craving or "science fair experiment" as the boy calls it.  I keep telling myself I'll be better, I'll plan buy everything in one trip and make it all work regardless of what I forget.  I haven't gotten there yet.

One day last week, early on the in the day when I started to think about what to make for dinner, I made a conscious decision that whatever I made had to utilize ingredients I already had.  That truly shouldn't ever be a problem as I have a very well stocked pantry, I generally buy more produce than I need when I do shop and I have a freezer with all kinds of meat in it.  With that in mind I knew I could do it, and remembered the huge bag of onions I have on our back porch (also known as our extended refrigerator in the winter).  I had also been meaning to make a beef stock and had all the bones and stew beef in the freezer waiting to be transformed in a flavorful stock.  At that point I knew I'd be trying my hand at French Onion Soup.  You may notice that I used dried thyme in this recipe, I normally would use fresh but since I didn't have any dry it was and honestly they thyme is so cooked into the onions and soup that you don't even miss the fresh.

Slow Cooker Chicken Pho

Earlier this week the boy and I weren't feeling so great, he was much worse off than me though.  We were supposed to go to a very special dinner, that you might have seen all over twitter under the #LLLSecret.  We decided that with the hardcore stomach flu the Boy had and the fact that I could feel it coming on we couldn't attend the event.  We were heartbroken, check out the newly launched facebook page for the event and you might understand a bit why we were so bummed.

Anyway, I knew that even though my sickness I needed to make something tasty for dinner to try to make up for missing the event.  Obviously we couldn't have something as delicious and rich since our tummys' couldn't take it.  But then I remembered I had saved a recipe I saw a few months ago for Chicken Pho, or Pho Ga as it is traditionally known.  It was from Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen and I had been wanting to try this or her slow cooker Beef Pho recipe for quite some time.  It seemed like there'd be no better time especially since moving to Toronto my sick soup craving had to adjust from the Matzo Ball Soup that I lived on in LA to Rare Beef Pho from Pho Saigon, a Vietnamese Restaurant near our house.  I thought that this Chicken Pho might actually be the perfect marriage of the two

Meatless Monday: Roasted Brussel Sprout Soup with Hazelnut Pesto

Even though I was out at a foodie event tonight, I have had this soup on my list of things to make for quite sometime and to dissuade the Boy from ordering in pizza, especially after last nights Superbowl pigout, I decided to make it this afternoon.  Without planning ahead I managed to have all of the ingredients on hand, which is what sealed the deal for me.  Generally if I'm going to make a meatless meal that I hope the boy will eat whether I serve it to him or not, it has to include pasta or potatoes and lots of cheese.  But this recipe stood out because he loves brussel sprouts and with the cream and the nutty pesto I knew I could get him to heat this up and eat pretty easily.

The original recipe called for vegetable or chicken stock, but since this is a Meatless Monday post I knew I'd be making it with veggie stock.  I've never made vegetable stock and for this soup, since I wanted it to be quick, I used my goto brand for stock, Kitchen Basics.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the rich color and flavor of the stock.  It was so dark that it looked like beef stock and if you buy the all-natural box it comes without salt, which is great for me since I prefer to exercise alot of control over the amount of salt I add while cooking.

CCC: Italian Stracciatella

It's been almost two years since I last participated in a FoodNetwork.ca Cooking Club Challenge.  I figured with the New Year I'd start to get into it again, I love the community over at FoodNetwork.ca, they've given me pic of the week twice in the last few months and I felt that taking part in the challenge was another way to participate and support it.  It didn't hurt that January's recipe was a delicious sounding Italian soup, I mean we all know how much I love Italian food.  Stracciatella comes from the Italian word stracciato which means "torn apart."  The name references the eggs, which have been torn apart in the soup.  Nadia G also had us add some mini meatballs and tortellini to the soup.

As it's often difficult for me to follow a recipe exactly below is how I did it.  Nadia recommended making her liquid gold, but I had some of my own personal chicken stock made so I went with that.  For my standard chicken stock I use the carcass from a 5 lb roaster, two celery stalks, two onions, two carrots, a tsp whole black peppercorns, 3 whole cloves, 3 sprigs of parsley, 2 bay leaves.  I cover the whole thing with water bring to a boil then cover to simmer for about 5 hours.  Strain the stock a few times and then reduce down to 3/4 to 2/3.  You can either freeze it in 1 cup measures or in ice cub trays or use immediately.  Those are the veggies I generally have on hand but I'll also throw in some fennel or parsnips if I have them when I make stock.

Meatless Monday & Unprocessed: Tomato & White Bean Soup

With the brisk weather and the coming of fall I've been on a bit of a soup kick lately.  The last few days have been particularly grey which only intensified my soup craving.  I so didn't feel like leaving the house to put together the week's Meatless Monday so I came up with this soup using simple items I always have on hand.  It is inspired by one of my favorite Tuscan dishes, Fagioli all'Uccelletto.

The ingredients in this soup are pantry staples that I think everyone should keep since they make throwing together a quick meal infinitely easier.  Carrots, celery, onions and garlic are the perfect base for soups and canned white beans are great on their own or in salad or soups or stews.  Since starting Unprocessed October I've made them from dried and keep them in the fridge the way I would keep cans in my pantry.  They are so easy to make fresh and have so much more flavor that I don't know if I will ever buy canned beans again.  

I used to buy and keep commercially canned tomatoes, but at the end of August the boy and I decided to can 2 bushels of farm fresh Roma tomatoes.  It was pretty grueling and took a whole day, but seeing my 40+ jars line up on a shelf in the basement makes it all worth it.  Being able to just pull from that shelf whenever I want to make sauce or soup and know where the tomatoes came from and exactly what is each jar is so satisfying.   Upon opening a new jar I am immediately hit with the smell of summer and sun-kissed tomatoes fresh off the vine.  It bring me back to childhood and eating a big juicy tomato like an apple while swinging on my blue and white swing set outside of our home in Shelburne, VT.  

Meatless Monday & Unprocessed: Zuppa di Verdura & Ribollita

Years ago I was given a cookbook, The Flavors of Tuscany from a friend I has studied with in Florence with who was as much of a foodie as me.  One thing we both really enjoyed during our time was Ribollita which translated means re-boiled.  To the uninitiated that doesn't sound like much, but to those with a love of Tuscan fare as I do, it makes you swoon.  It brings to mind a thick and hearty vegetable and bread soups with gorgeous ribbons of cavolo nero.  Cut to last week when I was at the farmer's market, Zephyr Farms had gorgeous organic black kale.  Now gorgeous and kale are not two words I generally would put in the same sentence.  I am the first to admit, I'm so not a kale person.  While I love the idea of it, the look of it when it's fresh, I've just not been able to get over the flavor.  But when I saw the kale (or cavolo nero) at the market I was instantly reminded that the only time I have enjoyed it was when I was in Florence eating Ribollita.  At that moment I realized I had no other choice but to finally after more than 10 years attempt Ribollita.

The thing about Ribollita is that each person or restaurant's is just a bit different from the next.  The reason it is called reboiled is that you take leftover vegetable soup, "reboil" it on the stove and layer it with stale bread rubbed with garlic.  If you don't have stale bread just toast it up to get it all crispy, rub the cut side of a clove of garlic on the bread and let it soak up the delicious veggie soup.    Each ribollita is different because each person's vegetable soup  is made differently.  I went with the Flavors of Tuscany Zuppa di Verdura as everything I've ever made from this book has been a perfect reminder of my time in Tuscany.

Meatless Monday: Tomato Gazpacho with Manchengo Cheese

This past week has been so obnoxiously hot that cooking was just not an option.  I was reminded of the Melon Cucumber soup I made last summer and decided that a more classic take in the form of a Gazpacho would be perfect and super simple.  It also felt like the perfect end of summer soup, chock full of all of the fresh vegetables available right now.  And perfect for my second Meatless Monday recipe. 

Taking inspiration from the saltiness of the Serrano crisps in the melon soup, but wanting to keep it meatless, I decided to add curls of Manchego cheese.  The hard salty cheese seemed like the perfect foil to the spicy freshness of the soup.  The extra virgin olive oil added just the right bit of richness to complete the dish.

Superbowl Turkey Chili

OK folks, as many of you know I'm engaged. Well our date is set for this summer and I have a dress, planning is going swimmingly. It's all good. Except for this whole dress thing. While I'm perfectly happy with how I look in it know. I am completely buying into the hype that this is the most photographed day of your life, blah, blah. That being said I'm working out and modifying my diet to get to where I want to be. I'm going to use you my dear readers to help keep me honest. This all came about because I had a less than good food weekend, as can be seen in my recent Beer Bistro review. While I know I'm the type of person that needs to be able to taste things, I think I need to get better at only taking one bite of something bad and learning to moderate what I'm eating better. Case in point, the corn dogs and frites I had at Beer Bistro. The point is, I'll be writing a bit about the food I'm eating as well as what I'm cooking in a effort to help me be more mindful of what I put into my mouth, in a effort to better fit into my fabulous dress.

Now on to why you are reading this post, a fabulously tasty and easy chili for your Superbowl Celebration this weekend . Last week, a co-worker asked me last week for a slow cooker chili recipe to make for a Superbowl gather she is attending. I've made plenty of chili's this winter so far, but haven't ever really written down what I did. In an effort give her an accurate recipe and because I love having chili around for quick and easy dinners after a long day in the office. I set out to make some this weekend. Plus using turkey and lots of beans makes chili a protein and fiber rich option that paired with a green salad is a very well-rounded meal. I'm also trying to counter balance the bad from the weekend with some good this week. But for the good also has to be tasty and full of flavor.

Cucumber Melon Soup with Serrano Ham Crisps

It has been impossible muggy here in Toronto for the past week or so and while I grew up with this kind of weather in Boston, I've become accustomed to the dry heat in Southern California. Because of this insane mugginess I've had very little desire to cook and to be completely honest have been weeding through and posting recipes I've stored up just to keep things rolling here. All it took to inspire me was a trip to the grocery store last night. I went to pick up some ingredients for tonight's dinner and got happened upon some beautiful organic cantaloupes. I've been wanting to make gazpacho, a deliciously tomato-y cold soup, but decided that the melon would pair beautifully with the organic hot house cucumber I had waiting for me in my newest Mama Earth box. Thus this deliciously refreshing soup came about.

Cucumber Melon Soup
serves 6

1 organic cantaloupe
2 hot house cucumbers
1 shallot
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon zest
6 slices Serrano ham
1 large handful flat leaf parsley

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and lay the slices of Serrano ham on the prepared sheet. Place in the oven to crisp up about 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven to cool.
2. Remove rind and seeds from cantaloupe and cut into 1-2" chunks. Peel cucumbers, slice in half and remove seed with a spoon. Cut into chunks. Peel and roughly chop the shallot. Place all the fruit and vegetable into a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until everything has begun to break down. Add in vinegar, lemon zest and salt. Pulse to combine.
3. Turn the food processor on and stream in the olive oil until all combined, you may adjust the amount of oil to your preference. Place finished soup in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
4. Roughly chop the flat leaf parsley and crumble the ham into large pieces. Serve soup cold topped with crumbles and chopped parsley.


This soup is a breeze to put together and incredibly savory, considering it's made with fruit. The shallot and olive oil really round out the flavor, with the vinegar adding just the right amount of acid and the ham and parsley adding texture. The boy, who generally turns his nose up at these kinds of healthy things, even liked it and appreciated it with the humid weather. If you don't eat meat you could top it with veggie bacon crumbles or even a nice manchego cheese. The purpose for the crispy ham was texture and salt, so if you chose not to add anything it may need a bit more salt. Enjoy!

Domestic Diva's Corn "Chowder" with Fresh Shucked Oysters and Crispy Bacon

The Domestic Diva coming to you with a guest blog for Jen H.'s divalicious Piccante Dolce! My BDFF Jen H. is the queen of whipping up mouth-watering comfort food, but with a healthy twist! We'll be regularly guesting on each other's blogs, so stay tuned for more great recipes and culinary inspiration!

Who doesn't love things that are piccante and dolce? We all need a little bit of spice and sweetness in our lives, whether it's in the bedroom, or the kitchen! In the spirit of hitting all flavor profiles, I made one of my favorite recipes: Domestic Diva's Corn "Chowder" with Fresh Shucked Oysters & Crispy Bacon. This dish has it all: spice, sweetness, tartness, salt and BACON! Now, I call it a chowder, but the soup is dairy-free, rendering this a healthier dish. The key to this recipe is the way all of the components come together harmoniously to give the soup great depth of flavor, from the sweet corn, to the fresh oysters, to the tart lemon, to the rich, meaty bacon. This soup is hearty enough to be served as a meal unto itself, especially when you pair it with thick sliced, toasted bread and a great salad (see picture above) like I did last night!

A few tips for making this recipe. First, using homemade chicken stock will make a huge difference! For a quick way to make stock, check out my recipe for Domestic Diva's Crock Pot Chicken Stock (click here)! Second, to coax extra corn flavor into the broth, I reserve two of the corn cobs and simmer them in the soup. Third, the fresh oysters are key to this dish! If you're worried about shucking them, usually they'll do it for you at the seafood counter of your local store, but try to preserve the oyster juices. Finally, special kudos goes to my Top Chef Brother for inspiring this soup - his restaurant has the most amazing oysters!! So without further ado, let's get down to business and start cooking!


Domestic Diva's Corn "Chowder" with Fresh Shucked Oysters & Crispy Bacon

2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion - diced
1 garlic clove - chopped
pinch of chili flakes
3 ears of corn kernels removed and two cobs reserved
8 small Yukon gold potatoes - diced
4 cups homemade chicken stock (store bought will work too)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp tarragon - chopped
2 slices bacon
2 tbsp lemon juice
6 oysters - shucked and juices reserved
salt and pepper


To make the soup, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Then, add the garlic and chili flakes, cooking for an additional minute.


Add the corn kernels and potatoes and saute for three more minutes.


Add the corn cobs, stock and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover, simmering for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through.


Once the soup is cooked, remove the two corn cobs and salt and pepper to taste.

To prepare the oysters, in a small pot, add the oysters and their reserved juices. Lightly poach the oysters in their own juices over medium heat for a few minutes. Add a dash of lemon juice and then salt and pepper to taste.


To prepare the crispy bacon, throw the two strips down in a frying pan over medium high heat, cooking until crispy. Remove from the pan and place on paper towels to drain the fat.


To plate the dish, ladle some soup into the bottom of a bowl.


Then, add two oysters and some of their juices to the center of the soup.


Crumble crispy bacon on top and sprinkle with tarragon. Finish with a squeeze for fresh lemon juice. Enjoy!




Wine Pairing Notes: Saxum 2006 Broken Stones

Diva Rating: 3 1/2 stars

There's something about a great bottle of wine that makes me salivate! We paired this fabulous wine, a combination of 63% syrah, 24% grenache and 13% mourvedre, with this soup! My boyfriend, Kuzak calls it, "a backwards Rhone," based on the unique blending of grapes. We love Saxum Winery (click here for their website), a superstar Paso Robles winery, and this wine met our every expectation. Full of great fruit (raspberry, blackberry) and plenty of backbone, this opulent wine gave great early on and drank well throughout the night. I gave it a Diva Rating of 3 1/2 stars, a strong score if you know how selective I am about my wine. Broken Stones is a big wine that will no doubt drink well for many years to come! If you've never tried Saxum, seek them out. I promise that you won't be disappointed!

Gotta love some Cajun

In honor of this this season's Top Chef finale taking place in New Orleans and Mardi Gras being yesterday I decided to make my own Cajun-inspired meal. I say Cajun-inspired because neither of these recipes are specifically labeled as Cajun, but for the soup I took into account alot of the spices that are used in Cajun cuisine and the shrimp are just something my family calls Cajun Shrimp and the first time dad made them we had them on our version of Po'Boys. Now in the event that anyone who actually know Cajun cuisine intimately reads this, please know that this is just a Northern Girl's interpretation of what I have learned are Cajun flavors.

Now that that's out of the way, onto the food. I made a slow cooker Black Bean & Corn Soup and Spicy Cajun Shrimp. Because I knew I wanted to incorporate some Cajun flavors I did some research. The most important component in Cajun & Creole cuisine is "the holy trinity" which is onions, bell pepper and celery all chopped up and sauteed in oil or fat. This is the base of many of the traditional dishes and where I decided to start my soup. I also used cayenne and bay leaf because according to the write up on Cajun cuisine on Wikipedia, they are spice commonly used as well

Black Bean & Corn soup

1 lb dry black bean
10 oz frozen corn
2 stalks celery - chopped
1 small white onion - chopped
1 green bell pepper - chopped
6 cups chicken stock - this can also be made in the slow cooker I loosely followed this recipe to make mine)
1 can tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 bay leaves
salt & pepper

1. Let beans sit covered in water overnight. In the morning drain beans. Put chopped vegetables at the bottom of slow cooker. Pour drained beans on top and add in frozen corn.
2. In a bowl mix together tomato sauce, salt, pepper & cayenne. Pour onto of vegetables in slow cooker. Add in chicken stock and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hrs.
3. Enjoy topped with chopped scallion and creme fraiche



This soup was one of those throw everything in the slow cooker and see what happens and what happened was very tasty. The broth was amazing! Heat with just the right amout of sweet from the corn. It's definitely a brothy soup, but if you prefer something thicker you can either mash up some of the beans in this recipe or use 1/2 lb of dried black beans and 1 can of refried black beans. You can also tailor the amount of cayenne to your liking. I like spice and this has a nice heat that comes at the end of each bite. If you are sensitive to spice I'd cut pack to 1 tsp or maybe even 1/2 tsp.

Onto a family crowd pleaser Spicy Cajun Shrimp. My dad first made these years ago and they have become a go to in our family ever since.

Spicy Cajun Shrimp

1 lb of shrimp - shelled & deveined
4 cloves garlic - finely minced
1/4 olive oil
1 tsp paprika or Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic
1 tsp crushed red pepper flake
2 Tbsp dry sherry or dry white wine (I used dry white wine)
1 Tbsp lemon juice

1. Place the oven rack in the top position, just a few inches from the broiler. Preheat broiler. While preheating place an oven safe skillet or a boiler pan in the oven to heat.
2. While the oven is heating mix together all ingredients. Carefully pour into heated pan and broil for 4-5 minutes until shrimp are pink and golden.
3. Serve with crusty bread and spicy mayo (I mixed some mayonnaise with chipotle puree and a few pinches of sugar)

I love these shrimp they are a great appetizer or great with a meal. Had the soup been thicker I may have even served them on top of the soup and not used the bread or spicy mayo. I did cut back a bit on the red pepper flake, simply because I knew the soup had some heat and I didn't want everything to be really spicy.

The boy gave both dishes a thumbs up which was impressive since I knew going in that he's not a huge black bean fan. It was a nice low-key Mardi Gras inspired feast. Enjoy!

White Chicken Chipotle Chili

Last week I decided to make a big pot of chili because the leftovers are always tastier than when you first make it and are great to bring to work for lunch. Also this is a completely South Beach friendly recipe, which you would never guess by tasting it. And what's a better entree into Fall than a big pot of chili? Enjoy!

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 ¾ lb), cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tsp chili powder (we were out of regular chili powder, so I used chipotle chili power giving it an extra smokey flavor)
2 tsp ground cumin
Salt and black pepper
3 cans (14.5-oz size) white kidney or cannellini beans, drained (save ½ cup draining liquid) and rinsed
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 tsp canned chipotle chili, seeded and minced
½ cup nonfat half-and-half
Garnishes: Shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese, chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1. Warm oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onion; cook 4 minutes, stirring. Push onion mixture to one side; add chicken to skillet; sprinkle mixture with chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring.
2. Increase heat to medium-high. Add 2 cans of the beans and draining liquid, 1 ¼ cups broth, and chipotle; bring to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, combine remaining 1 can beans and ¾ cup broth in bowl of food processor. Puree until smooth. Add to soup in pot, along with half-and-half. Simmer a few minutes, stirring, until warmed through and flavors incorporated. Serve hot; garnish with cheese and cilantro.

This has become one of our go-to South Beach recipes for ease, taste and leftovers. I highly recommend giving it a try. It's also great for a Sunday football get together.

My Favorite Tomato Soup

For as long as I can remember I have always loved grilled cheese and tomato soup. When I moved to LA, I discovered Doughboy's (long before Oprah named it as the place with the best Red Velvet Cake in the US) and my favorite menu item there was their "After School Special" - delicious creamy tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich with Gruyere, Swiss and cheddar on their own bakery fresh bread. Well grilled cheese I have mastered and will make for you all in the future. But tomato soup not so much. Because of all of my traveling over the last year and the fact that my local Doughboy's closed and relocated over to Hollywood, I hadn't been in awhile. A few month ago I got a craving only to find that they had closed their doors completely! Imagine how disappointed I was to hear that I would never have their delicious tomato soup again. I went to the Doughboy's website to see if they had a new location opening anytime soon and instead found that they were closed due to all kinds of bureaucratic red tape. If you are interested check out their site here. Anyway, the owner, Frank, had his email on the site and I decided to get in touch to see if by any small chance he'd be willing to share his delicious soup recipe. He was willing and despite being extremely busy eventually sent the recipe along. His recipe was somewhat imprecise, which is actually my favorite way to cook, but I tried to get more exact measurements as I made my soup. Here you go!