Corn Soup with Pork Ribs

This is a pretty simple soup to make. You just need to get 2 sticks of fresh sweet corn, 300g of fresh pork ribs (nearer to the spine), 2 liters of water and 2 teaspoon of salt. I manage to get the bicolor (yellow and white) sweet corn. It is taste sweeter but it is more expensive than the yellow sweet corn.





Here is the making process:

1. Remove corn husks and clean corn with water. Cut corn into halves.
2. Rinse and clean pork ribs with water.
3. To remove pork smell and excess fat, boil a pot of water just enough to cover the pork ribs.
4. Once the water boil, place pork ribs into boiling water for 1min. Drain ribs and put aside.
5. At medium to high heat, boil 2 liters of water. Put in the pork ribs.
6. Once the water with ribs boils, put in the corns.
7. Wait for about 5 mins or once the water boils, reduce heat to low to medium. Leave soup to boil for 40mins.
8. Add salt last and turn off the heat.

That's it. It is that simple !

Mushroom Soup & Spinach Pesto Toast

I reasoned, that the difference in my cooking between my early twenties and, ahem, not-so-late twenties is that I challenge myself to use more natural produce. Sure, I cheat once in a while - cubed chicken stock here, canned fruits there... but these days, I prefer wholesome, fresh, straight-from-the-cow stuff. It could do well because I've got time on my hands but I'm also valuing my health more.

We're all guilty of the instant food days - instant noodles, instant rice, instant coffee - it's no wonder we're instantly losing our minds. All rush and no fresh food makes Jane quite insane. Perhaps, my one of my values in this blog is to inspire every twenty-something out there to take the time and simply enjoy your food.

Food is not just food. It's not just to fill up. It's about nourishing your soul in the company of friends, family, partners, lovers and even your self. It's about the process. Cutting, stirring, kneading, dicing... putting energy and love into making the food... it's a relationship. It's a dance. It's therapy.

Today's food for thought: Life's short. Take time and smell the pesto.

P.S.: If you're wondering about the Baked Caramel Custard. It was beautiful, thanks.
Okay, okay, Mr. G and I finished it all up before I could take any photos of it. I'll make them again and shoot them just for your sake.

Mushroom Soup (serves 4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 tablespoons olive oil
20g butter, chopped
1 large onion, chopped roughly
5 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
2 cups flat mushrooms diced
4 cubes vegetable stock (3.8g each)
4 cups of water
1 cup thickened cream
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat oil and butter in a saucepan.
2. Throw in onion and garlic. Cook, stir until tender.
3. Add mushrooms. Stir often and leave to cook until soft.
4. Pour in water. Partially simmer for 20 minutes. Add cubes of vegetable stock.
5. Remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly.
6. Process soup in batches until well combined. Return to stove.
7. Add thickened cream under low heat.
8. Season with salt and pepper and finally, serve.

Spinach Pesto Toast
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 cloves of garlic, chopped (if you're afraid of garlic breath, reduce to *4 cloves)
4 tbsp of water
225g spinach, blanched
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup of natural seed mix with pine nuts
25g grated Parmesan cheese
sour dough bread

Method

1. Process nuts, garlic and water until nuts are chopped.
2. Add small amounts of basil and spinach alternately with oil. Process until smooth.
3. Slather a slice (or how many you'd prefer) of sour dough bread with some butter. Put in the griller for about a minute.
4. Spread the pesto on the bread. Add some cheese. Return to grill.
5. Remove bread when cheese has fully melted.

Note: Store leftover pesto sauce in a screw-top jar and cover with a little olive oil and sea salt for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

*Chicken

Spicy Vegetable Soup

A couple of months ago I took up a friend's invitation to go on a 10-day meditation retreat. If you've never been to one, and might be thinking about it, I suggest that you try it. It was the most mentally and physically challenging exercise I've done in a long time and I've discovered that many of us don't like our own company very much. (After ten days, you'll have a whole different perspective about your self - in a really good way).

We were served two meals a day with simple, wholesome dishes. The simplicity of the food brought out the flavours of the ingredients. It tasted alive! It might have been the fresh air or the peace that surrounded us but everything was vibrant and delicious. (My taste buds was at its happiest).

One of the dishes I enjoyed (and thought most about) was the vegetable soup. The original recipe wasn't spicy but I've made it hot and perfect for a cold autumn's night. The can tomatoes adds a sour tang to the soup while the vegetables gives it some natural sweetness. What you'll get is a rustic and hearty hot, sour and sweet soup.

I'm extremely pleased with this recipe and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Spicy Vegetable Soup (serves 6)
----------------------------------------------------------
8 cups of water
2 cubes of vegetable stock (10g each)
1 tbsp of sea salt
2 fistful of barlotti beans; 2 fistful of lentils; 2 fistful of black eye beans; 2 fistful of red kidney beans
3 large spuds, cubed
1/4 of butternut pumpkin, cubed
1 leafy vegetable
1 large onion, diced
1 zucchini
1 can (400g) diced tomatoes
1 tsp rosemary; 1 tsp thyme; 1 tsp cumin; *1 tsp hot paprika
1 tbsp of olive oil

Method
1. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and saute until tender for a couple of minutes.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, lentils, beans and water and continue cooking for a few more minutes, letting the soup come back up to a simmer.
3. When the soup boils, throw in the vegetable stock and sea salt.
4. Stir in pumpkin and spuds. Wait for approx. 15 minutes.
5. Stir in the chopped greens and zucchini. Wait another minute.
6. Throw the spices in. Let the soup simmer for approx. 10 minutes.
7. Ladle into bowls, and serve with crunchy, fried shallots.

*Note: If you're not too keen on the heat, reduce the amount of hot paprika to half.