Archives for February 2010

Twenty Tips to Avoid Soup Powder or Canned Broth

It’s funny to be writing a post about substitutes for soup powder or canned broth. Soup powder was invented as a shortcut to making soup the good old-fashioned way. With apologies to my vegetarian readers, the best soup is made by simmering bones or meat in water for a good long time.

Why not use powder or cans? Processed soup may contain monosodium glutumate, starches, artificial flavors and preservatives and excessive amounts of salt. Monosodium glutumate adds flavor but gives some people stomach problems. And while we do need starch and sodium in our diet, it’s better to have control over how much and in what form.

Soup powder is meant to add flavor and texture. But we can do that with simple foods that we have at home. Try one of two of these techniques the next time you make soup. Adjust flavors along the way, write down your successes, and soon you will find yourself making great soup from scratch.

Lentil Bake

Wednesday is Recipe Day at Cooking Manager.

Reader Aviva-Hadass sent me a recipe for a vegetarian lentil casserole that can be mixed right in the baking pan. It bakes 70 minutes, or use your oven for something else at the same time. Or make it in the crockpot.
Lentil Bake

Converting Commercial Yeast Recipes to Sourdough

Laurie Ashton is a Twitter friend who caught my attention with her recipe for sourdough challah. When Aleeza asked how to convert regular yeast recipes to sourdough I thought of Laurie, and sure enough, she came through with a clear and thorough explanation. Her guest post is below.
Convert Standard Yeast Recipes to Sourdough

Guest post by Laurie Ashton

I’m not a long-time sourdough baker – I’ve only been baking sourdough (wild yeast) bread for the last couple of years. Since I don’t digest commercial-yeasted bread well, I use sourdough exclusively, which also means trial and error in converting recipes to sourdough.

Reader Ruth and Roast Vegetable Soup

Please welcome reader Ruth Kilner for this week’s interview. Name, location, family: Ruth Kilner, originally from Scotland, currently from Jerusalem, married to James and mother of 3 adorable girlies: Esther (6), Shira (4 1/2) and Tehilla (3). Tell me about your mother’s cooking style and your family meals as a child. Meals were always eaten […]