A few years ago when my husband and I had a long layover in Singapore, one of the first things we did was go in search of food. We ended up in a small restaurant in the airport that had a wide variety of noodles and soups. I forget what I had, but my husband ordered the laksa, and I was hooked. A fiery bowl of coconut milk-based broth with noodles and seafood, what’s not to like?

A few months after returning home, I was flipping through old articles in a Martha Stewart magazine, and I came upon a recipe for Malaysian Prawn Laksa. Laksa is one of those things that everyone does differently, and I’m pretty sure this isn’t the most authentic recipe, but it’s easy to make, easy to procure the ingredients at your local supermarket, and best of all it tastes great! (more…)

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Asian, Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Lunch, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

The weekend before Thanksgiving, as I was preparing my shopping lists and getting prepared for the holiday feast, I made a bit of chicken stock to use in my gravy and stuffing. The house filled with the wonderful aroma and had me craving chicken noodle soup. So after I portioned out what I needed for Thanksgiving dinner, I set aside enough to make a pot of chicken noodle soup for my husband and I to enjoy. Not content to only have soup, I used a leftover baguette and some frozen Velveeta cheese to make mini grilled cheeses for us.

Lucky for me, I froze a few bowls of the soup, because I knew they would go to waste in the refrigerator with the impending Thanksgiving feast. This past week, instead of enjoying my vacation, I’ve been in bed with the flu, and I have to say the chicken noodle soup does indeed make you feel better. (more…)

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Comfort food, Dairy free, Lunch, Soups by Courtney

Today I awoke to gray skies. While the temperature wasn’t too cold, there’s something about a gray day that makes you want to snuggle back under the covers and hibernate, watching old movies and keeping warm. So that’s basically what I did, only the covers were on the couch, so I could enjoy all of the Christmas decorations around the house.

I decided it would be the perfect day to feed the craving I’d been having for a vegetable soup in Lidia Bastianich’s book, Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy. I had made the recipe last year, and it was so full of flavor and so easy that it has stuck out in my mind as a “must make as soon as the weather turns cold” meal. (more…)

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Comfort food, Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Italian, Lunch, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

It’s been a while since I posted a recipe that uses the vegetable stock that is so easy to make. This is one of those recipes that I throw together when I’m really not in the mood to do anything, and it’s a great way to use up leftover vegetables you have in the refrigerator. The basics are vegetable stock, soy sauce, and frozen Chinese dumplings, and you can build on the soup from there.

Start with enough vegetable stock for your soup. For me and my husband, I used a 4 cup frozen cube, which I melted while pulling out everything else I wanted to throw in. (more…)

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Dinner, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Soups by Courtney

I know, I know. That’s such a cheesy title for a blog post. I stumbled upon this recipe at the Kitchn and the picture looked so good, I had to make it. As I got into making this, I changed the proportions and the steps to make this, so below is my version of the recipe. (more…)

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Asian, Dinner, Gluten free, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney