Do the Mashed Potato... Soup - Sister's Soft, Moist Sunday XVI

 I made this soup while at my sister's last month.  It was my attempt to use up the leftovers in her fridge.  I had made chicken pie, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli for dinner the night before.  The potatoes and broccoli were items I thought my sister could eat after her jaw surgery.  Unfortunately, she was having swallowing problems that night, so she went with a smoothie instead.  As a result, we had a lot of potatoes and broccoli left over.  I just can't stand to let food go to waste, thus the Mashed Potato Soup.  It turned out quite well, and my sister was able to eat it.  Bonus.  She liked it too.  Double bonus, particularly since the leftovers made a lot of soup!

This Week's Soft Moist Selection

Mashed Potato Soup

(There are no measurements for this one, as I don't know how many leftover mashed potatoes you have.  I just went with what looked right when I made mine.  At the time, I thought I was making something truly original.  I felt like the queen of the kitchen. Since then I've discovered several recipes for mashed potato soup on the webbernet.  If you need measurements, go have a look at one of them.  Otherwise, wing it, and imagine you're the queen of your kitchen.)


Butter or oil
Chopped onion
Minced garlic
Leftover mashed potatoes
Leftover steamed broccoli
Broth
Salt and pepper Your favorite cheese (gouda or cheddar work well.)

• Heat butter/oil in your soup pot.
• Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent.
• Add mashed potatoes, broccoli, salt and pepper.  Add enough broth to cover the veggies.   Simmer for a while.
• Blend with immersion blender until smooth.
• Add cheese and heat.

Using Up Leftovers - Sister's Soft, Moist Sunday XII

It's Thanksgiving weekend here in the Great White North.  To celebrate, Hubby spent all day yesterday cooking a turkey.   I know, tomorrow is actually Thanksgiving Day, but his cooking yesterday means that there are enough leftovers to see us through the rest of the weekend.  You can read that as "no more cooking for the rest of the weekend".  Sounds good to me. 

Because I'm still in the clutches of a turkey-filled stupor, I'm going to keep today's post brief.  This week's Soft, Moist Selection was inspired by leftovers.  An appropriate choice considering what's currently in our fridge.  Before you click away from the page, let me assure you that there's no turkey in today's recipe.  I'm not going to subject you to a turkey smoothie.  At least not yet.



This Week's Soft, Moist Selection

Lovely Leftovers Smoothie

(There was green tea left in the pot and a half a can of coconut milk in the fridge.  They came together with a banana and some chard in this smoothie.  I love it when nothing goes to waste.)

Makes 3 1/2 cups


1/2 cup green tea 
1/2 can coconut milk (about 1 cup)
1 1/2 - 2 cups water
1 large leaf of Swiss chard (about 1 1/2 cups) stem removed, torn into pieces 
1 banana
honey - to taste
pinch of nutmeg

- Blend tea, coconut milk and chard
- Add banana, water, honey and nutmeg and blend

 

Fridge Foraging and Farmer's Market

I woke yesterday morning to the sound of the furnace running. Yes, the furnace. How wrong is that? It's July for crying out loud. It shouldn't be cold enough for the furnace to run, but it is. I truly didn't want to get out of bed after hearing that. After much stalling and snoozing I eventually pried myself out from under the covers and slogged off to the Farmer's Market.

I'm glad the market is open on Wednesdays again. There aren't as many vendors as on Saturday, but there aren't as many shoppers either. It gives me a chance to browse and chat a bit with our local growers. On Saturday I feel I have to dart into the booths, snag my items, pay and get the heck out of the way for the next person. Wednesday is much more relaxed, and though the vendors aren't as numerous, the selection is still wonderful. Look at all the beautiful stuff I bought:


I finally had to stop shopping, as I had run out of room in my bags. It's a good thing I had cleaned out the fridge on Tuesday. I barely managed to squeeze all my purchases in as it was.

Tuesday morning's fridge clean-out wasn't really a planned thing. It was more an act of desperation. I was getting ready for work, and I needed to pack something for lunch. I just started throwing things together until I had used up many of the leftovers and other odds-and-ends in the fridge. Oddly enough, I had fun packing my lunch. Generally I'm rushing around trying to get myself together. Packing my lunch is just one more chore to get through so I can get out the door. Fun doesn't enter into it, but the creativity involved in Tuesday's lunch prep pushed the act from mundane to something much more satisfying. I couldn't wait to eat my lunch.

Tuesday's Foraging-in-the-Fridge Experimental Lunch

Salad Course

1 generous tsp of home made bean dip
2 generous tsp of plain yogurt
2 smallish cooked potatoes, cubed
3 radishes
handful of sprouts
chopped cucumber (about 3/4 cup)
shredded lettuce (about 1/3 cup)
Salt and pepper

Mix bean dip and yogurt until smooth. Add all the other ingredients and toss until coated with bean dip dressing.

Smoothie Course

3 cups greens (spinach, beet greens, kale)
2 cups green tea
1 peach - peeled, sliced
1 cup strawberries

Blend greens and tea until smooth
Add peach and blend.
Add strawberries and blend.

Ok, I realize there's nothing original about potato salad and a smoothie. (Though I was rather pleased with my idea to mix bean dip and yogurt for a salad dressing.) It wasn't the uniqueness of the lunch that I found so satisfying, it was the spontaneous creativity involved in preparing it. That, and the fact that it kept the leftovers and the odds-and-ends in my fridge from going to waste. Not bad work for someone who generally isn't a morning person.