Inner Realm Nourish Yourself |
‘Tis the Season…A Celebration of
Seasonal Foods
By Donna Maggio
In January, winter is in its’ full glory, the days are short and nights long. The holidays
are over and sometimes life becomes, well, dull. I think of winter, as a time to move
inward, to reflect and maybe get a new perspective on things.. Our New Year’s
resolutions may help give us a new direction or a new discipline. What can contribute
to these thoughts and pleasant new ideals? Perhaps a cozy cup of a hot beverage
with a good friend will stimulate conversation. Is there anyone who does not like a
hearty bowl of soup, with some crusty bread, to warm the soul? My vote is an
emphatic, “yes!” to soup. One good pot of stock can be made into an endless variety
of soups. Basically, a ‘stock’, is the strained liquid that is the result of cooking
vegetables, meat or fish. Here is a recipe for a winter vegetable stock. “Winter’,
because it has added some winter vegetable to the basic vegetable stock
ingredients. It is so easy to make your own soup. Maybe cooking homemade stock
will be your New Year’s Resolution?
Winter Vegetable Stock
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, coarsely chopped
4 carrots, peeled & coarsely chopped
4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2 leeks, cleaned & coarsely chopped, (white part only)
1 medium celery root, scrubbed & coarsely chopped
1 large white turnip, scrubbed & coarsely chopped
1 medium rutabaga, scrubbed & coarsely chopped
2 medium parsnips, scrubbed & coarsely chopped
2 dried bay leaves
2 or 3 fresh thyme sprigs (or ? tsp. dried)
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves (or ? tsp. dried)
12-15 sprigs of parsley.
1 - In a stock pot, heat olive oil. Add onion, carrots, celery, and leeks; sweat until
softened.
2 - Add remaining vegetables and aromatics and enough water to cove the
vegetables by 3 inches (approximately 3 quarts)
3 - Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer. Skim any foam that may develop. Simmer
for 1 hour.
4 - Cool. Strain stock. Discard solids. Refrigerated vegetable stock can be stored for
a week in the refrigerator, or freeze for later use.
Use this stock a base for any soup, rice, béchamel sauce.
Seasonal Foods
By Donna Maggio
In January, winter is in its’ full glory, the days are short and nights long. The holidays
are over and sometimes life becomes, well, dull. I think of winter, as a time to move
inward, to reflect and maybe get a new perspective on things.. Our New Year’s
resolutions may help give us a new direction or a new discipline. What can contribute
to these thoughts and pleasant new ideals? Perhaps a cozy cup of a hot beverage
with a good friend will stimulate conversation. Is there anyone who does not like a
hearty bowl of soup, with some crusty bread, to warm the soul? My vote is an
emphatic, “yes!” to soup. One good pot of stock can be made into an endless variety
of soups. Basically, a ‘stock’, is the strained liquid that is the result of cooking
vegetables, meat or fish. Here is a recipe for a winter vegetable stock. “Winter’,
because it has added some winter vegetable to the basic vegetable stock
ingredients. It is so easy to make your own soup. Maybe cooking homemade stock
will be your New Year’s Resolution?
Winter Vegetable Stock
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, coarsely chopped
4 carrots, peeled & coarsely chopped
4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2 leeks, cleaned & coarsely chopped, (white part only)
1 medium celery root, scrubbed & coarsely chopped
1 large white turnip, scrubbed & coarsely chopped
1 medium rutabaga, scrubbed & coarsely chopped
2 medium parsnips, scrubbed & coarsely chopped
2 dried bay leaves
2 or 3 fresh thyme sprigs (or ? tsp. dried)
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves (or ? tsp. dried)
12-15 sprigs of parsley.
1 - In a stock pot, heat olive oil. Add onion, carrots, celery, and leeks; sweat until
softened.
2 - Add remaining vegetables and aromatics and enough water to cove the
vegetables by 3 inches (approximately 3 quarts)
3 - Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer. Skim any foam that may develop. Simmer
for 1 hour.
4 - Cool. Strain stock. Discard solids. Refrigerated vegetable stock can be stored for
a week in the refrigerator, or freeze for later use.
Use this stock a base for any soup, rice, béchamel sauce.
| Donna Maggio is a vegetarian chef and holistic health counselor. She is available for cooking lessons and nutritional consultations. Contact her at djmciao@aol.com |
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