Homemade Hamburger Soup

Now when you think of health food, hamburger soup may not be the first thing that pops into your head but by my definition of 'health food' (whole, real foods) I think we can make it fit.  For you veteran cooks this may be old hat but I figured for those young GB folks that have recently moved out on their own - this may provide some inspiration.  Especially when they see how easy making soup from scratch can be.

Homemade Hamburger Soup

1 onion (med to large) diced

2-3 cloves of garlic crushed and minced

1 tbsp olive oil

Start to saute the onion and garlic over med heat until the onions are translucent and begin to brown

Add and brown

1 lb extra lean ground beef

Now normally (especially if using anything other than extra lean beef) you would drain the beef but I keep all the juices in the pot to help flavour the soup stock.

I then add virtually any and all veggies that I may have around.  This last soup I added

2 carrots diced

2 celery stocks diced

1 green pepper diced

1 red pepper diced

3 Roma tomatoes roughly cut

(get creative at this point!! I often add black beans as well but didn't have them on hand this time. If you have a favourite ingredient add a comment at the bottom of this post and share your inspirations!)

I saute all the veggies in the hamburger mixture starting with 'hardest' veggies and working my way up to the softest.  Usually its a minute or two between adding the next textured veggie.  This isn't mandatory, I just make this a practice so that my carrots are equally cooked with my peppers ext.

Next I fill the pot with water and calculate how much 

Beef Bullion (For my pot I use two containers but read the directions on your bullion)

And lastly I add seasonings!

This last part is really by taste so I hesitate to give measurements and such but I ALWAYS taste the soup broth after adding the bullion.  From there you can gauge if you will even need to add salt (usually not...)  As a side note try to find a bullion that is not just salt and food colouring ;) I have found a condensed gelatin bullion that is not as salty as others I have tried and adds some nice flavour.

Anyway back to spices...

For this soup I added oregano and rosemary with a pinch of sage as well as shake or two of my Montreal steak rub (Epicure has some great spice mixes that do not have any preservatives)

Good Luck!

I just realized that I didn't take a picture of the finished soup :( It was awesome though!

Hearty Oatmeal

Morning Folks!

Oatmeal is such a great way to start the day on these cold, damp mornings. Here is a contribution from Laura G, GB Vancouver.

Hi Kate,

This oatmeal recipe is my "go to" before a hard training session. I typically eat this recipe in conjunction with some sauteed spinach and 2 scrambled eggs. 

Souped up Oatmeal

1/4 c. rolled oats 
1 tbsp quinoa flakes
1 tbsp hemp hearts
1 tbsp flax seed meal
1 pinch of salt (optional)
1 pinch of cinnamon (optional)
1 small pinch of cayenne pepper (optional; I am a Louisianian and cayenne goes with EVERYTHING)
1 tsp of pure maple syrup (optional)
handful of fruit (I like raspberries, blueberries, and banana)

Add water and cook until it is the consistency you like.

Happy Eating, Happy Training :)

Peanut Butter Smoothie

2 tablespoons of Peanutbutter or almond butter
4 cups of vanilla almond milk
6 ice cubes
1 banana
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Pretty simple, just blend on high and you got a great midafternoon snack. Ive been stuck on this one for a couple of weeks now.

Spelt Buns

In our household  - I am attempting to wean my family off of wheat and onto more ancient grains.  The grain I have been playing around with the most has been Spelt.  You can find it at several of the local grocery stores as well we have some local farmers who are growing organic spelt and actually sell the mills so you can grind your own flour.  Pretty fancy.

I tried using this recipe for a loaf of spelt bread but I found it didn't work quite right; for buns though, this recipe is great. This is actually one of my Grandmothers recipes that I just tweaked a little.

Spelt Buns

Step One: 

Heat (either on stove top or microwave)
 3/4 c milk or water
 1/3 c sugar
 1/2 c butter
 1/2 tsp salt

Then cool to lukewarm

All three steps ready to combine.

Step Two:

While this above mixture is cooling: mix the sugar in to the lukewarm water and then add the yeast.
Tip: For best results the water cannot be too cool (it won't fully bloom or it will take forever to do so) and it cannot be too hot (it kills the yeast).  What I find works well is allowing the water to get hot enough out of the tap that I can feel the heat on my fingers but not so hot I cannot keep my fingers in the water.

2Tbsp yeast (dry active)
1tsp sugar
1/2 c lukewarm water

Allow the yeast to bloom for at least 5 minutes

First cup shows what yeast should look like after a minute - second cup shows what it should like after 5 minutes.

Step Three:

Beat 3 eggs
add lukewarm milk mixture
and add the yeast mixture all into one bowl
mix together and  then add

4 1/2 c - 5 c Spelt flour

Mix until smooth and elastic-y.

This is right before I put the saran wrap over everything for the first rise.

Leave in a warm place with saran wrap over the bowl until it has doubled in size.
Then punch it down (you will need more flour for this as the dough is still sticky)

Add enough flour and kneed it in so that the dough is manageable. Keep in mind this is a very light dough and that spelt does not rise as much as regular wheat flour so use enough flour to handle the dough but not so much that the dough become dense or heavy.

Portion into golf ball size balls and place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Brush them lightly with olive oil and cover again with saran wrap.  Let them rise again until they double in size and then place them directly in the oven. Bake at 425F for approximately 20 minutes.

This picture makes them look like biscuits but they are buns in texture and flavour.
I will have to try to get better pictures next time I make them.