Mouth on Fire Minestrone [The Veggie-Lover's Sriracha Cookbook]

I'm easing into the vegan Sriracha cookbook with their minestrone recipe. Minestrone is pretty flexible, though this one is interesting as they omit pasta completely, it's just beans and veggies. They offer the liberty of switching up for whatever veggies are in season, but that's not the name of the game here.

Cookbook Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup Sriracha
• 6 Roma tomatoes, diced (due to some cosmic joke, my grocery store only had 5 Roma tomatoes, so I made the necessary substitution of adding one small non-Roma tomato)
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise and diced (zucchini options were limited at the grocery store, I think this one's been in a fight)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp minced fresh oregano or 1 1/2 tsp dried. I went with dried.
• 1 3/4 cups cooked canned cannellini beans or 1 undrained 443 ml / 15 oz can (I could only find a larger can, so I've saved extra beans some for a salad or pasta later)
• 1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and fresh ground pepper

Following the cookbook recipe exactly:

1. Basically, into a big pot on high heat, chuck most of the ingredients: the stock, Sriracha, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onion, zucchini, garlic, bay leaves, and oregano. Bring it to a boil, lower heat, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Thank god kale boils down.

2. Remove the bay leaves and add the kale and beans. Simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes more.

3. Stir in the lemon juice, season, and serve.

The Outcome:

This is a pretty tasty soup - it's at a right juncture of hearty and healthy where you feel full without feeling gross. The Sriracha gives it a bit of zing but doesn't overwhelm (my mouth definitely isn't on fire, though). It's a pretty straightforward recipe, and really easy - plus it helps you get your veggies in! The only problem I would have with it is adding the lemon juice at the very end - it comes off a bit too strong and distinct. I would give the lemon time to really combine in, maybe add it a minute before you stop cooking. The lemon does meld in nicely when you let the soup sit and then reheat it. I would definitely use this as a good base recipe, it makes a lot of soup and the author is right - it's minestrone, you can add pretty much whatever veggies you want.

Vietnamese Chicken Salad [Quick From Scratch Chicken, Turkey & Cornish Hens]

What caught my eye with Quick From Scratch's Vietnamese Chicken Salad was the combination of fresh cilantro and mint, plus the inclusion of some reasonably authentic flavours. This is still a westernized recipe (I mean, it's from the 90s), but I think it turned out pretty well.

Cookbook Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 - I got a value pack and stashed the extras in the freezer)
• 1 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
• 4 scallions, including green tops, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 lbs green cabbage, shredded (I got lucky at the grocery store, there was only one half-head of cabbage and it weighed that amount exactly)
• 3 carrots, grated
• 6 tbsp chopped fresh mint and/or cilantro (the cookbook says you can use one or the other if necessary, but they work great together)
• 1/4 cup lime juice (2 limes worth)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce or fish sauce (I went with soy sauce since it was on hand)
• 4 tsp sugar (that's a lot of sugar)
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (that's not a lot of pepper flakes)
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Following the cookbook recipe exactly:

1. Cut each breast into five diagonal pieces. In a saucepan, bring the broth, 1/4 of the scallions, and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer, add chicken, stir and cover. The recipe says to cook over a low heat for 5 minutes, but I found a medium heat was needed to make sure the chicken cooked. Turn the heat off and let the chicken steam for 5 minutes. I think this step is also to let it cool down for shredding, but it's still scalding hot when it comes out of the pan. Remove the chicken and shred it.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, rest of the scallions, chicken, and 4 tbsp of the mint and cilantro.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, pepper flakes, and 1/4 tsp salt. Toss dressing in with salad. Top with the remaining herbs and the peanuts.

The Outcome:

This is pretty good! The flavours come together pretty well, though I think the lime juice comes through a bit sharp, though I have a feeling it will probably gel better after sitting in the fridge for a bit. While it's not a truly authentic Vietnamese recipe, it does have a lot of Vietnamese flavours, especially with the lime, soy sauce, cilantro, and peanuts. The mint adds some interesting depth, and it's generally a pretty healthy salad too. I could see myself making this again, especially for a potluck.

Of course, as always, it could use more chili.

1/4 tsp for the entire salad. Really.