Hot and Sour Soup {Everyday Dinners}

   I love Hot and Sour Soup. When I was growing up my Mom and Granny took me to get Chinese at least once a week. Egg Drop was my soup of choice, every once in a while I would get Wonton Soup, which is my egg hating Mom's soup of choice. It wasn't until I was an adult that my Dad convinced me to try Hot and Sour Soup. My first time I was hooked.

   Here is the funny thing about my Dad and Chinese food, when he dated my Mom she tried to get him to eat it all the time. He, being a very picky eater at the time, refused. It wasn't until he started dating my Step-Mom that she forced him to eat it. He was hooked after he almost died by covering his egg roll in hot mustard. Now that is a funny story! My little brother did the same thing with wasbi about five years ago. Their genius clearly runs in the family. Yeah, they will never live it down. That's what family is for right?

   When I first married my husband he and I went out for Chinese often. We had a favorite restaurant we ate at at least twice a month. Once cold night the owner gave us a complimentary bowl of hot and sour soup to share. I didn't get a drop. My husband was now hooked. He had no clue he was eating tofu. Now that kind of thing doesn't bother him, but back then, he would have never, ever even tried it knowing there was tofu in it. It's amazing what being married for six years to a woman constantly forcing new things on him can do. I had no clue how easy it is to make. It is a new staple around here! I may have to make a second batch to send to my Dad. When I updated my Facebook status sounding my victory over producing a winning Hot and Sour Soup he dropped a not so subtle hint that he was in need of a bowl of the liquid gold. 

Hot and Sour Soup

serves 4 full sized portions or 8 appetizer portions

1 tablespoon seasme oil
2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon grated garlic

4 cups chicken or beef broth

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon Sriracha* or Red Pepper Flakes

2 tablespoons corn starch

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 package of tofu, diced

2 eggs, beaten

In a stock pot or large wok over medium high heat oil and saute mushrooms after a couple of minutes add ginger and garlic. Once the mushrooms begin soften add broth, soy sauce and Sriracha. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl whisk corn starch and vinegar. Stir into soup and let thicken, it should only take a couple minutes. Add in tofu. Bring back to a boil. Add the eggs through a slotted spoon making ribbons. Give a stir and taste, season accordingly. Serve warm.

*I made my own and used this recipe.

Sweet Potato, Pineapple, Orange, Carrot, Ginger and Coconut Water Juice {Orange You Happy Juice}

Another post of an orange juice? Do I have a new favorite color? Maybe. While I was preggo I hate hate hated sweet potato juice. The husband LOVED it so he convinced me to try it again and SURPRISE! I like it! Sounds crazy, but paired with the right fruits and veg it is wonderful. Today's orange beauty was sweet potato, pineapple, orange, carrot and ginger topped off with coconut water to get my good and hydrated after this morning's doozy of a work out. I sipped on it while I cooled off and relaxed on my porch. 

Orange You Happy Juice
(makes two full glasses this size, perfect for breakfast or an after workout pick me up)
1/2 a sweet potato
2 med/large carrots
1/4 of a fresh pineapple
2 large oranges
a hunk of ginger
coconut water

Juice your fruit and veggies and strain. Pour into two glasses and top off with Coconut Water to fill your glasses. Chill and enjoy.

*No matter how much you strain this juice it is going to be slightly pulpy due to the orange and sweet potato. For juices like these I prefer to use the "blender cups" that have little wire ball that resembles a whisk in the bottom. When it settles you can shake it up and all is wonderful and no longer gritty feeling. 

**I don't think that using these juices as a meal replacement is a way of life however I do enjoy for breakfast often and lunch from time to time. They are filling and healthy. I give them to my my oldest to drink between meals. 

Blood Orange, Carrot and Pineapple

I know, I know, a juice that isn't green, you must think I've gone nutty! And it is gooooooood! Of course I have been on a major blood orange kick recently, somethings never change. It was a bit too spicy for the Mr. but I like the major ginger kick. He only likes ginger since he started juicing last year, before that he HATED it. Now he loves it and will even drink ginger ale and I don't have to lie bout if it is in food now. But this juice might have been over the line for him, I just happen to really like the spice from it. Maybe its because my Grandpa used to sneak a very strong spicy ginger ale to me in my sippy cup. My Mom would get so mad at him but he kept doing it anyway. He was a rebel like that. Even though I rarely drink ginger ale now I still love that bright heat that you get from fresh ginger. If you think its too much either use less ginger or toss in a frozen banana and blend it up and make it into a smoothie. 

This juice makes 2 to 3 meal replacement servings

Blood Orange, Carrot and Pineapple Juice

3 large or 4 small blood oranges
5 carrots
1/3 of a pineapple
1 apple
a 3 inch chunk of ginger

Process everything through the fjuicer, or blender then strain and drink. Or refrigerate first, I often do.

Yet Another Green Juice

Can you tell I'm infatuated with green juice? I can't help myself. I love to juice spinach. This particular juice is very clear and light colored because I was very careful to skim the pulp off the top when pouring it into my glass then I poured it through a very fine mesh strainer. I froze the pulp for a later use in a smoothie, can't  waste all those vitamins. I find that if I take too long drinking one of the pulpier juices that it gets a bit icky towards the end and I simply was not in the mood for that today. I really wish I had fresh mint or basil on hand for this juice, it would have been amazing. Maybe next time. This juice is very light refreshing and a bit tart at the same time.

Yet Another Green Juice:
4-5 Granny Smith Apple
2 Kiwi
1 cup Spinach and Arugula Mix
4 celery stalks
a large knob of Ginger

Juice your produce. Strain the mixture with a fine mesh strainer. Refrigerate and Drink.

Tropical Green Juice

I have created, okay, well I picked the stuff but the hubs actually made, the BEST JUICE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!  True story y'all! I could drink this everyday. Not too tart, not too sweet with a hint of peppery spice in the background. I  LOVE IT! I want to drink this everyday, forever! It totally rocked my socks off, well not technically since I wasn't wearing socks when I drank it, but it totally would have. For reals! It is a bit tart, of course the tartness/sweetness can vary depending on the ripeness of your fruit. I prefer it tart, but if it is too tart for you, add more kiwi or cut back on the pineapple. You could also stir in some agave nectar if you prefer.

This recipe should serve two people one 12 oz juice each or one person two portions as meal replacement. If you are juicing along with eating healthy then 4 portions are easy what I would expect to get out of this recipe. It was my breakfast and lunch today. Of course there is no way to predict the exact amount of juice you will get from your fruit but this make quite a lot.

Juice
1/2 of a pineapple
1 mango
2 kiwi
2-3 cups of spinach arugula mix
2 stalks of celery
1/2 inch knob of ginger
Refrigerate and enjoy. :-)

Green Goodness Juice

I cheated. I skipped juicing for two days and boy was it a mistake. Juicing is work, it is not easy and I missed chewing so I skipped a couple of days. Because I stopped I felt like poo. I felt like I had a plague. So I'm back to juicing and being healthy. I have chicken thawing for a nice mostly healthy dinner and I'm enjoying this lovely beverage while I get to cracking on cleaning and rearranging the living room.

Green Goodness Juice

2 apples

2 pears

2 cups of fresh (not frozen) spinach

2 plums

a hunk of fresh ginger

Juice and enjoy!

You really really need the ginger, otherwise the juice is way too sweet. This is my favorite juice I have made so far this time around.