Winter Season's Soups for Thought

If you lisp the title is totally alliteration!

I love Chowder, so today's test recipe is from the Seafood Bounty cookbook. It's probably safe to say I didn't follow the recipe.

What I used:

250g of mixed seafood (you can just buy the generic marinara mix from Coles/Woolies)

150g of snapper fillet (chopped to approx same size as fish in marinara mix. I like fish so I put more in, could've used salmon... or any other white fish)

1 small brown onion
30g butter
300g milk (low fat)
100g thickened cream or double cream
1/2 tblspn of TM Vegetable paste
2 medium carrots (cubed/roughly chopped - can do in TM or hand chop)
3 baby potatoes (cubed, ensure larger than chopped carrot size)
Pepper & fresh Parsley (garnish/taste)

Method to my madness:
1. Add Onion to bowl, chop Speed 5, 5 seconds.

2. Add chopped carrots, and butter. Fry on 100C, Speed1 for 3 minutes.

3. Add cubed potato, TMstock paste & milk. Cook on Varoma temperature, Speed 1 reverse, for 10 minutes.

4. Place seafood in steaming basket. Varoma temperature, Speed 1 reverse, 6 minutes.
5. Use spatula to remove basket ingredients into Thermoserver. Pour on soup.

Serve: Add hand chopped fresh parsley for garnish, and a dash of cracked pepper upon serving to bowls. If you made breadrolls - perfect. If you had left over bread? grill / bake it a bit and have homemade croutons! I put garlic butter on mine and oven bake it bit before adding to soups.

You can also cook shell pasta al dente in the mix - I'd recommend add extra milk (100g-200g) Add your pasta in the bowl and steam your seafood in the Varoma (like the cookbook suggests). Pasat measure, 100g is plenty! Your chowder already has potatoes and carrots to buff it up.

Taste test - I used penne pasta (gluten free for it) - absorbs the soup better. It's not as thick as restaurant chowder but then again I didn't use flour or anything that contained gluten to thicken it. To thicken can also use the garlic croutons I mentioned? make that into crumbs and add to soup in Step 5.

I used low fat milk because I had it on hand and also thougth if I used 200g of cream I'd have to declog my arteries afterwards.

This recipe made me nearly 5 bowls of soup. Imagine what the full recipe in the Seafood Bounty cookbook makes?

Winter Exploration: Pineapple, Red Capsicum & Gochujang Pork Ribs.

Receipe I worked on is here.

Ingredient sources: 

• Gochujang (Korea Chilli Paste, can be found in your local Asian grocers along William St, Northbridge, or Korean grocers on either/both Newcastle St, Northbridge or Pier St in city.)
• Kecap manis (again, local Asian grocers, such as Viet Thien/Lucky/Kongs etc all will stock this).

You can choose to not add pineapple. But I like think the fruit/fructose taste is a more natural a sweetener . Apple pieces work too! Pick the golden delicious apples, they're sweeter. (yeah I know there's already 30 grams of sugar and kecap manis... that is enough).

I did use a Pemberton Lost Lakes, Honey Merlot as my wine of choice. I'm thinking sweet sherry or dolcetto syrah will do. The dish tastes sweeter the next day.

I'm thinking this will work with beef ribs. But I haven't tested that yet. I will soon.

I have also had a request to do "Coca cola sticky ribs". Not really sure that's healthy... but then again, I'm in it for the food not the health benefits.

Want to make this a 1 pot, 1 hour all done deal?

Follow below steps:

1. chop 1 glove of garlic in TM bowl, Speed 3-4 is sufficent for a few seconds.

2. Stir fry in 30 g of olive oil, Varoma, 3 minutes, Speed soft.

3. Toss in roughly chopped greens (bak choy or kailan), do a 10 second, Reverse Speed 2 stir to coat in garlic/oils.

4. Remove and set aside in Varoma receptacle/tray.  

5. Follow receipe to cook the ribs.

6. But at Step 3, pop on the Varoma receptacle/tray as well.

7. Pour all into Thermoserver.

8. Soak / wash rice.

9. Steam rice on Varoma temperature (120g/16minutes or 400g/25minutes) Speed 2-4. Time depends on how much rice you used, and how soft you want your rice. I find anything under 20 minutes is too chewy for me personally.

10. Leave it in the bowl to rest for 2-5 minutes with MC on to 'soak in the steam'!

Note: I used medium grained Jasmine rice. For bismati/wild/brown, you may need more time or liquid.

For presentation (other than chucking it in a bowl like I did). Scoop rice into a round mug, tip over to form a nice dome shaped rice mound on plate, place pieces of ribs and then vegetables on. Looks pretty when you bring over to table.

Chilli Mussels - Variation

EDC recipe with adjustments: I doubled it (some stuff) & substituted a few fresh items from pantry.

Step 1 - Additional whole onion, halved. 4 pcs garlic & 2 medium red chillis (1 with seeds inclusive). Basil leaves, two sticks of rosemary. Choppe on Speed 5, 5 seconds.
Step 2 - Add 2 cans of tomatoes (I purchased the one with pre mixed basil & oregano - adds extra flavor). Add 1 Tbspn of TM vegetable paste. Add 1 Tbspn of pizza base tomato paste.
Step 3 - Then place Varoma receptacle filled with cleaned mussels (2kg) on top of locked in lid).
Step 4 - Add 200 mL of white wine by drizzling it over mussels.
Step 5 - Cook for 20 mins on Varoma temp, at Speed 1.
Step 6 - At 16 mins, pick out the opened mussels, keep cooking the rest.
Step 7 - most mussels will have opens by 20 mins mark. Serve with sauce poured on top, garnish with chopped parsley / lemon rind / finely chopped spring onions.

Note: upon testing different branded & variation (diced, whole) cans of tomatoes. Coles or the generic brand canned vegetables will be more watery. So reduce the wine accordingly.