{Recipe} Hot & Sour Soup

Hot & Sour Soup

I promised you some meatless recipes for Lent, and even though it’s taken me a while, I’m delivering on that promise! One of my favorite Chinese take-out dishes is hot & sour soup. But sometimes it just doesn’t make sense to make the 30-minute round-trip to the Chinese restaurant. A few years ago I figured out a pretty good homemade version and I’ve since tweaked it further. I can’t say it’s exactly “restaurant quality” (of course, it doesn’t include MSG) but my family certainly enjoys it.

mushrooms

tofu

crushed red pepper

egg

This recipe comes together very quickly. I’m not really supposed to eat a lot of soy due to my thyroid condition, but I love the tofu here, so I cheat. Some people have substituted chicken or even pork in their versions, so feel free to try that out if you are soy-free. (And let me know if it’s good!) Obviously, also use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce if that’s a concern. And feel free to use fancy mushrooms. In order to stick to my budget, I use a mixture of regular white and cremini mushrooms and I’m happy with that. Also, be sure to garnish with a healthy handful of scallions (I re-grow mine on my kitchen windowsill) and a squirt or two of sriracha if you want to turn up the heat.

scallions

sriracha

 

Hot & Sour Soup
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Ingredients
  1. 4 cups of chicken broth (preferably homemade)
  2. 2 cups of water
  3. 2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
  4. 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
  5. 2 cups of cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced (I used a 3.5 oz. package)
  6. 2 cups of white mushrooms, thinly sliced (or other mushroom of your choosing)
  7. 4 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
  8. 2 Tbsp. corn starch
  9. 1 large egg, slightly beaten
  10. 1 package extra-firm tofu, well-drained and sliced into small rectangles or squares (I like a mix of both)
  11. 2 Tbsp. fresh finely grated ginger
  12. salt
  13. scallions
  14. Sriracha (optional)
Instructions
  1. In a large stock pot, combine the chicken broth, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add all of the mushrooms and simmer for about 10 minutes. Next, whisk together 3 Tbsp. of rice wine vinegar and the cornstarch. Add the slurry to the pot and stir for one minute.
  2. Next, add the egg to the soup through a slotted spoon and stir. This will create pretty egg ribbons throughout the soup. Finally, stir in the tofu and remove the soup from the heat. Cover the pot and let it stand for a couple minutes. Season with salt, to taste.
  3. Put the grated ginger in a small sieve, and squeeze the juice into soup. Add the remaining Tbsp. of vinegar. Serve with scallions. For a little extra heat, add a few drops of Sriracha.
Notes
  1. You can easily substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth in this recipe.
Pure Sugar https://www.puresugar.net/

5 Delicious Meatless Meals for Lent

lenten meals

I’m not ashamed to admit that I am an unabashed carnivore. I love meat. There. I said it. I love my veggies, too, but I have a hard time making them the star of the show. However, every year I see Lent as a challenge to ramp it up. I’m hoping to have a lot more meatless meals to share with you over the next few weeks, but in the meantime, here are a few of my favorites. If you’re stuck for a dinner idea tonight, any one of these is perfect. Just pair it with a salad and BAM! (as Emeril might say)… dinner is served.

 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

butternut squash soup

Tomato and Squash Tart with Gorgonzola

summer vegetable tart

Indian Potatoes and Peas

Indian Potatoes & Peas

Creamy Indian-Spiced Lentils

indian-spiced lentils (dal)

Spicy Black Bean Soup

spicy black bean soup

{My Erin Condren Planner 2014} Weeks 6-9 PLUS a video!

My 2014 Erin Condren Life Planner

Life is crazy. Luckily, my planner keeps me in check, even when that means I don’t have the time to blog like I wanted. <<Ahem>>

Anyway! The first thing I want to share with you guys is a quick video I made. This video shows some of the changes I made to my planner (hacks, if you will) and how I have repurposed a couple of the sections. Maybe I’m weird, but I love watching YouTube videos that show all the different ways people use their planners. Here’s mine! 

Here’s my February Monthly Spread:

my erin condren planner - february

OK, now back to the weekly spreads. Week 6:

my erin condren planner

Week 7. We were on vacation most of this week, so there really wasn’t a whole lot to keep track of, thankfully!

my erin condren planner

Week 8. As you can see, life started to ramp back up. I got my hands on the “Plan It” stamps from Studio L2E so I used a few of those stamps on this week’s spread. I tried my idea of recording something from the day on those lines at the bottom. I like the idea in theory, but so far I haven’t kept up with it.

my erin condren planner

Week 9. Didn’t really have time to do too much decoration/journalling/whatever last week. I felt like I was a little crazed, so it just wasn’t a priority.

my erin condren planner

 

If you are a new Erin Condren customer and are interested in ordering, you can use my referral link to save $10 off your first purchase (you’ll get a code via e-mail after you register).