Recipe Renovation : Italian-Inspired Vegetable Soup

I know, I know....it's been ages. I have my reasons, though - honest !

About a year and a half ago, I made the very difficult decision to leave a job I loved. Leaving was absolutely heart-wrenching, but I had no choice - it had become imperative that I focus on my family and my health, both mental and physical.  The job, while interesting and exciting and challenging and something I daresay I was pretty good at (and full of people who I loved dearly - still do, in fact) was too demanding, insanely stressful, and just took up way too much of my time...I was working nights and weekends, and even when I wasn't there I was working via my phone or thinking about working or feeling bad that I wasn't working. I couldn't focus on anything else; I quit my chorus, never saw my family, and just focused on getting through each day. So - with plenty of tears and not a small amount of fear - I walked out the door. And somehow, incredibly, against all odds I walked into another job that I love, with new people I adore, exploring a part of my field I hadn't really worked in much that turned out to be really interesting and a great challenge - but something I could definitely do. The new job not only gave me back my nights and weekends, but left me with enough mental energy to enjoy them. My family prospered, my chorus welcomed me back with open arms, and I was living more of the kind of life I had always envisioned for myself. Well, except for one little thing...actually, not so little.

My weight.

When I walked out that door so reluctantly my weight was the highest it has ever been in my life - including when I was pregnant. (Yes, 9 months pregnant me was smaller than new job and newly minted family woman me. ) I have always struggled with my weight; most members of my family are not small, and I'm definitely an emotional eater - and my emotions were in overdrive. Food was my main comfort - something that made me feel better, something I was good at making and talking about, and something I could use to make others around me feel good too. So I walked through another scary door..,,into a Weight Watchers meeting. I had done WW before and knew it worked; it's pretty much the only plan where you can eat absolutely anything as long as you keep track of it all...with my foodie predilections I have to have that flexibility or I can't do it. (No, I am no Oprah and this is not turning into a WW ad...the program has definite issues, especially with the newest revamp...but the basic premise is sound. The thing just works.)

I already knew how to cook and eat healthy...it just that I didn't. I ate (and drank) all the time, like there was never going to be enough to fill me. Occasionally I made good choices, but not consistently enough to matter, I was going to need the accountability of someone weighing me every week...so last April I finally took the plunge and walked in to my local meeting, I  cried hard when I got on the scale because I couldn't believe it really had gotten to that point, and I think I cried through my first few meetings too. But somehow, incredibly, my lucky streak with scary life choices was still with me. The meeting I walked into was not only full of supportive people with the same issues I had, but was led by an absolute dynamo of a woman who has cheered me on every step of the way. Her  no-nonsense take on what the program does and does not do is exactly my cup of (unsweetened) tea. And with her support, I have now lost over 80 pounds, Eighty. It's a ridiculous number, isn't it ? I barely recognize pictures of sad, stressed out me, I'm a new, happy woman - with knees and a back that don't hurt anymore - who has energy to get things done. And one of the things I want to get done is writing in my blog about all the exciting cooking I'm doing, And that, dear readers, is why we're here :)

If you've made it this far (yeah, I do go on :) ) you're probably thinking "Well, no wonder she was approaching maximum density - look at these recipes !! Butter ! Cream ! Cheese ! Pork fat !!" I assure you, I have not given up on any of these lovely things. I just keep track of how much of them I eat....and I don't eat them all the time. (And I definitely haven't quit drinking !)  I plan to keep blogging all the good things we love, as well as the good things that are good for us. Today's recipe is definitely in the latter category.

Each week at WW we get a weekly handout - usually consisting of some sort of pithy "yay us" articles and tips (this week's was all about an app with 1 minute workouts that we can download...of course, it didn't mention that it isn't available for Android. Because apparently screw us if we're not drinking the Apple Kool-Aid...wonder how many points that is ? See, I told you they have issues ! But I digress...). It also usually has a WW recipe...and herein lies the problem. While I cook a lot of Cooking Light recipes (for the most part they are pretty flavorful , filling, and work well with minimum tweaking) , I find most of the WW ones lacking - way too watered down, not enough flavor, too many points for not enough of a serving, This week's actually looked promising, though -a 0 point Italian-ish veggie soup that looked like it would actually work. With me spending most of Valentine's weekend alone I thought I might need the extra points for treats (and sure enough I woke up to caviar and chocolate...mmm !) , so I figured a pot of 0 point soup would fit the bill perfectly...I just had to fix it a little, Lose the fennel (personally can't stand the stuff), add in some other filling 0 point veggies to replace it...eggplant and mushrooms, that would be just the thing, Oh, and cook the onions a little first (really, WW - that's a soup making basic !) , and cook the firmer vegetables a little longer than the greens. Yup - minimal fuss, maximum taste...this stuff is awesome, Excellent flavor, perfect broth to veg ratio, just the thing for the sub-zero weather this weekend.. Eating a bowl while I blog, actually :)

The great thing about a soup like this is that it's so adaptable. As written, it truly is 0 points - meaning you can really eat your fill, as much as you want - and it's actually pretty satisfying just as is. You can definitely change around the vegetables - go ahead and put the fennel bulb in (thinly sliced), add some leeks, use up the green pepper you have hanging around - whatever you like. You can also add pretty much anything as a garnish or mix in and it would work; the bowl in the picture had 2 oz of cubed cooked polenta stirred in at the end (2 points - you can get it ready made in tubes, though we happened to have some made already) and 1 tsp of grated Parmesan sprinkled on top (0 points). Cooked white beans would be outstanding (nothing wrong with canned - 1/4 cup is 2 points), as would your favorite cooked pasta (points vary); adding some fish with the greens or adding cooked chicken or shrimp at the end would turn this into a main course for not a lot of points. Bread would of course be wonderful - just make sure you know what and how much you're eating if you're tracking,

Bottom line : eat what you like; then it isn't a diet, and that's the only way it works (for me, anyway),

So...if you've really really made it this far...thank you for reading, and staying with me, I promise moving forward I won't be quite so...soul-baring; not that there's anything wrong with that, this is just not that kind of blog. Usually :)

Enjoy !

Italian-Inspired Vegetable Soup 
loosely based on "Weight Watchers Weekly" recipe of Jan 24-30

1 cup chopped onion
olive oil spray to lightly coat bottom of pot (or use 2 tsp of olive oil - adds 3 points)
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
couple grinds black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 small zucchini or yellow squash )or both), cubed
2 small eggplant, cubed
1 medium red pepper, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp (or to taste) crushed red pepper
2 cups chopped escarole or kale, chopped (packed tightly)
2 cups fresh baby spinach (packed tightly)
28 oz fire roasted chopped tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat; lightly spray with cooking spray. Add onion and cook until it starts to get soft and a little translucent, stirring occasionally - 10 minutes is plenty. Add the salt and pepper after it's been on about 5 minutes,

Add the garlic, zucchini, eggplant, red pepper, mushrooms and stock; bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add the thyme, oregano, basil and red pepper. Let simmer for 10 minutes; add the escarole and simmer another 5 minutes, then add the spinach and tomatoes. Simmer another 5 or 10 minutes, or until all the vegetables are done to your liking, Stir in the parsley and additional salt and pepper to taste.

Grilled Swordfish with Tzatziki

This one has a little bit of a backstory, if you'll indulge me...don't worry, it will eventually get there !

Even though I grew up surrounded by fantastic cooks, there were quite a few dishes that I never got around to trying (or appreciating - exhibit a, corned beef) until I met my husband. One of these, surprisingly, was lamb. I'm guessing this was because of some combination of the good stuff being expensive, and the cheap stuff being...not so good (and therefore not something anyone in my family wanted to eat). Whatever the reason, it wasn't until I met Mark that I beheld the wonder that was lamb...specifically, lamb gyros. Fluffy pita bread, filled with deliciously grilled lamb marinated in something I couldn't quite identify...this was takeout food like I'd never seen before. And the sauce...oh, the sauce. Cool, creamy, garlicky goodness. I had no idea what it was, but that didn't stop me from gobbling it up whenever I got the chance.

Fast forward a few years, and I had the good fortune of working down the street from a great little Greek food spot in my own hometown - the Farm Grill . Despite the name, which makes it sound like - well - "farm" food, this is actually a counter-serve Greek restaurant with some seriously delicious food - and, from what my actual Greek friends tell me, the stuff is pretty legit. I remember we used to get our Greek coworker to call whenever we ordered lunch from there, figuring they would be nicer to her...not really known for their warm and fuzzy service, but the food is worth it (even if you don't have an obliging Greek coworker...Effie, I miss you ! ). When you walk in, you immediately see - and smell - the gyro meat, rotating on tall vertical rotisseries. I could write a whole post about Farm Grill, but the important bit for this story is the gyro - for this is where I discovered this delicious sauce was called "tzatziki" At this point I still wasn't quite the crazy foodie I am today, but I was definitely on my way...a little knowledge can be a scary thing !

My next flirtation with tzatziki was in the early days of this blog...well it wasn't actually tzatziki, it was a cucumber raita - the Indian version which is a close cousin (but without the dill and garlic seen above). As noted in that entry, the guys weren't really enamored of it, so I didn't make it again...but I didn't stop thinking about tzatziki.

And then, there was the bluefish.

Earlier this summer, the guys went on a fishing trip for striper...except no one caught any keeper striper. They did, however, catch tons of bluefish - and my guys being enterprising, resourceful boys decided to bring all of it home...not only theirs, but their boatmates as well. Unfortunately, what they didn't know at the time was that you really can't freeze bluefish - bluefish at its best takes a little work to achieve Culinary Orgasm status, but frozen is just no good - it turns into an unappetizing mush. I, however, did know this - and slightly panicked at the sight of 10 pounds of bluefish fillets that had to pretty much be cooked in 24 hours ! Half of it immediately went into brine for smoking (delicious - will try and get that on the blog at some point), some was transformed into Vietnamese Caramel Bluefish that night ( also delicious and in need of some blog love; I based mine on this recipe ) The rest was destined for the grill the next day. I knew it was going to need some sort of sauce, and mustard sauce  - my traditional favorite on blues -  was out as my husband hates that particular combination.(Okay, full disclosure - I did make a little mustard sauce just for me :) ) . The time was ripe for me to get a good tzatziki under my belt...not that I'd ever had it with bluefish before, but I somehow knew that it would be a match made in heaven. And oh man...was it ever !

Bluefish is such a strongly flavored, oily fish that it needs something bright to cut it...and tzatziki is definitely that; lemony, garlicky, herby brightness. That's why it works so well with lamb...but really, it good on all kinds of stuff. Any kind of meat or fish you can think of (burgers ! chicken breast ! the mind boggles)...killer on a baked potato...spread on pita bread...or just eaten with a spoon.  I think the main difference with the version I make now is the yogurt; real Greek yogurt is essential to this dish, the runny American stuff just won't cut it. That, and make sure you use fresh minced garlic; I was out the day I photographed this, so I used the paste...not nearly as good. (How the heck does a foodie run out of garlic ! grrrr...)

Since I don't have pictures of the bluefish dinner, you're getting the next best thing - a simple grilled swordfish that we did tonight. Nothing fancy here, just marinated it in a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and dill; grilled on a super hot fire about 5 - 6 minutes a side. The tzatziki is the real star here - true Culinary Orgasm !

Tzatziki

Fat content on the yogurt is personal preference, but I personally find this work best with 2%.  

1 English cucumber or 2 - 3 mini cucumbers, very finely chopped ( no need to peel unless you prefer; remove seeds if large).          
2 - 4 garlic cloves, minced          
1 cup plain Greek yogurt    
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil    
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste at the end. Let sit about an hour to really let the flavors blend.

Lighten Up : Poached Eggs with Caponata and Polenta

And now for something completely different...

Yes, even your intrepid blogger needs to lighten up from time to time. I firmly believe in the "all things in moderation" approach: paleo, gluten free, raw vegan diets are definitely not the thing for me... I love food way too much, and I never want to lose that. The problem (or my problem, anyway) is when you don't practice the "moderation" part; it becomes far too easy to slip from "curvaceous"  to "cowabunga".  The solution (again, this is just for me; I don't presume to know your life !) is to lean more towards the lighter side of the "all things" approach. And so, a new feature on this blog: food that is definitely worthy of the "Culinary Orgasm" title, but won't leave you lying on the couch gasping for air.

Eggs in custard cups are something I'm rather fond of; there's a fantastic recipe here for Baked Eggs with Creamy Leeks that I really love (end of one of my Irish entries : A Full Irish Breakfast, Culinary Orgasm Style ...this recipe can also easily be lightened by substituting pan spray for butter and fat free half-and-half for heavy cream. No one will be the wiser; part of the magic of leeks). Whilst perusing my fridge this morning my eye lit upon some leftover caponata and polenta; this, I thought, would be the perfect first entry for my new feature. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day ! And it was perfect; indulgent and satisfying enough for a weekend breakfast, but light enough not to weigh me down for the rest of the day. (Bad pun not intended !)

Caponata  (a Sicilian eggplant dish, sort of a sweet and sour relish) is something that's readily available in stores, along with tubes of ready-made polenta. Look for both in the refrigerated section, usually near where you'd find hummus and/or fresh pastas (in my usual supermarket that's actually the same place). Caponata can also sometimes be found in jars, though the fresh kind is usually better. Both caponata and polenta can also easily be made at home; the caponata I used here is a lighter, less sweet version of my own making, I've included the recipe here, though I'm still in the process of tweaking it. Polenta cooking instructions are on the box; in order to slice it like I have here, you'll need to chill it in a loaf pan until firm enough to slice (preferably overnight). This is just the good ol' tube kind from the store. A few blackberries on the plate...and we have achieved Culinary Orgasm.

Poached Eggs with Caponata and Polenta

These can be baked in a water bath, per the leek recipe above; for one or two servings, the microwave actually works pretty well, so those are the directions I'm giving here.

For one serving :

1 egg
2 tablespoons caponata (purchased, or recipe below)
1 slice polenta, warmed (this can also be microwaved, but for extra polenta goodness sear the slices in a pan with pan spray until a little toasted on both sides)
Salt and pepper to taste
Pan spray

Spray a custard cup (or oven-safe mug, or small bowl) with pan spray. Spoon the caponata into the cup, then carefully crack the egg on top, Microwave until the egg is done to your liking; I suggest starting with 30 seconds, then adding time in 15 second intervals until its cooked just how you like it,

Slide the egg onto the slice of warmed polenta, and enjoy !



Light + Simple Caponata 
(loosely based on a Weight Watchers version, not linkable - sorry !!)

Pan spray  
1 small uncooked red onion, chopped  
1 small eggplant, diced (small  cubes)
1 Tbsp capers, drained and chopped  
1 tsp minced garlic  
14 oz can fire roasted chopped tomatoes, undrained  
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano  (or 1 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1 tsp dried)
2 Tbsp vinegar  
1/4 cup water, if needed
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste


Spray a large sauté pan or a high-sided skillet with cooking spray. Set over medium heat, add onion, and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes, or until softened.  Add eggplant and continue cooking, stirring often, for 4 minutes, or until eggplant softens at edges. Stir in capers and garlic; cook for a few seconds, until fragrant.

Stir in tomatoes, oregano, basil and vinegar; add water if it seems dry. Bring to a full simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer slowly for 30 minutes, until slightly reduced and the eggplant is nice and soft.

This will make more than you need; caponata is tasty with all sorts of things. Serve it as a side dish, use it to top chicken or fish before baking, spread it on bread...whatever floats your boat !