Fall means a few things to me: cool nights with warm wool socks and delicious homemade soups. Last night encompassed both of these things. My co-worker, Amy and I recently became a member of a localcrop share, splitting a plentiful box of weekly veg* from
Somerset Farms.Saturday was our first pick up where we delighted in butternut squash,eggplant, field greens, bok choy, garlic, and radishes. Here’s a photo of my share:
Yes, that is only half. Amy delighted in the other half of this bounty.
Being a part of a CSA not only forces me to eat more veg* (and eat it on a daily basis), but it also forces me to get creative in my cooking. Ilove to cook, but by no means am I overly skilled in the kitchen. Some people have their Mom’s and Grandma’s to thank for their skills, growing up with matching aprons and learning secret family recipes, but as an accident pronechild (I had my fingers slammed in a door or dislocated at least once a month),I wasn’t often allowed in the kitchen. Thanksgiving was the rare occasion where Mom would station me in front of the stove to stir the gravy. And to this day, I still make a mean gravy, but slicing, chopping, boiling, frying, not exactly my expertise. That is until college, when Thursday night “family” dinners withmy roommates consisted of empting the contents of our fridge into elaborate recipesand delicious creations. This is where I learned how to chop a carrot without chopping off a finger, that accidents happen less often with sharp knifes than dull, andthat practically anything (and I mean anything) can go in to a stir-fry (I thank Molly for that one). I learned to cook not from bloodline family, but from the family of friends I made in school. And, in fact, I am still learning each and every time I cook a meal with someone. That's what cookin's all about!
Last night I relished in these memories as I made the most delicious egg drop bok choy soup. This soup is what I like to describe as chicken noodle soup with an Asian flair. Adam even liked it, which was rare considering it has mushrooms in it!
Ingredients**
Egg Drop soup packet (the yellow one)
4 ½ cups of water
2 cups reduced sodium chicken stock
8 small mushrooms, chopped
1 head of bok choy, sliced (See picture below for the size Iused. Not really a great picture, but I used only one of those heads, and that is a butternut squash next to it for comparison.)
Red pepper flakes
¼ box Thai noodles (I used Thai Kitchen Stir Fry Rice Noodles Orginal Pad Thai)
A splash of soy sauce
1 egg, whipped
Combine egg drop soup packet, water, chicken broth,mushrooms, bok choi, red pepper flakes bring to a boil. Once boiling addwhipped egg. Follow the same directions as egg drop soup packet (The onlydifference is I have added more water/chicken stock and other ingredients).
Prepare thai noodles as directed on box. Add to above. Add asplash of soy sauce, as desired.
Eat and enjoy!**
If you don’t like spice, tone down the red pepper flakes.
*Vegetable(s): I don’t abbreviate many words in myvocabulary, but you can be sure that vegetable is one of the few I do. Mostly I’ll use veg(s) and veggie(s) as my replacement.
**Please note my recipes may not be exact, as I mentionedearlier I am not a professional chef and I often cook based on appearance,taste, smell or desire - - meaning I never follow a recipe exactly.
