Get Your Food On Issue 9
Tomato Egg Drop Soup + Green Pineapple Smoothie + Hot Food "Winter" Meal Prep
GET YOUR FOOD ONÂ //Â ISSUE 9 //Â June 16, 2021
Hello guys!
Winter has truly set in here in Sydney. It is 6:00 am and a very brisk 4C. My fingers are frozen as I type this newsletter. But I am thrilled by your response to the last couple of meal prep newsletters and excited to share some delicious new recipes with you today. This week we are upping the ante by cooking enough meals to last us 3 full days and then some. So, let's get going! Also, please let me know how you are doing with the meal prep, what you find useful and what you would like to see in future newsletters :)
TOMATO EGG DROP SOUP
After the success of last week's Sweetcorn Chicken Egg Drop Soup, I had to share my favourite Vegetarian Egg Drop Soup version. For all you lovers of silky egg ribbons in a bowl, this Tomato Egg Drop Soup is an Indo-Chinese take on the famous Chinese Tomato Egg Drop Soup. A 10-minute recipe, bursting with umami flavour and hearty enough to be a complete meal.
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Why You Should Salt Tomatoes Before Cooking And Eating?
When I first started researching the Chinese version of this Tomato Egg Drop Soup, I came across countless recipes that first started by salting tomatoes. Why salt tomatoes if you were going to add salt/soy sauce to the soup later, I wondered? A deep dive on Instagram and a thorough read of cooking compendiums like Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat taught me that when you salt a tomato, science happens!
When you salt a tomato, it starts the process of osmosis that draws out the inner concentrated tomato liquid/flavour through the cell membranes into the outer layer (probably the reason why you see tomatoes sweating in your salad after you have seasoned them!). Not only does it make the tomato less watery and more concentrated in flavour, it also activated your salivary glands causing saliva to distribute flavour in the far reaches of your mouth. So that the minute the salted tomato touches your lips, your brain explodes with the flavour and it tastes even sweeter. This probably explains why a chopped Indian salad of tomato and onion rings is always salted and sprinkled with pepper (try it, it is divine!)
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A Really Good Indo Chinese Vegetarian Soup
So, I started salting my tomatoes at the start of this soup and I swear the umami boost was exponential. The concept of this Indo Chinese soup ....
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This green smoothie inspired by a cocktail I once had – a creamy pineapple concoction topped with green foam is absolutely delicious and utterly healthy. A whole punnet of baby spinach leaves and an avocado form the creamy green base while lime and pineapple slices from a can add that tropical sweetness.
When pineapple is in season, I use fresh pineapple but using canned pineapple means that I can make this smoothie year-round. This smoothie is super low-sugar so for my younger boy who .....
Today's meal prep will focus on "Soups & Dals & Hot Sauces - Food that can be easily reheated or used to cook something hot and warming for the cold weather".
Continuing with the concept of having as many colours in our meals every week, I have used seasonal produce to build the colour wheel. Mandarins bought at a local farm stall were a bit dry, so I juiced them. Just pure mandarin goodness, so delicious! With orange/citrus needs taken care of, I made some Strawberry Nut milk and Green Smoothies. Dals, soups and pasta sauces are fantastic for reheating. Made those and lots of extra chicken and veggie broth for sipping! I like to add a cup of this nourishing, life-giving broth to after-school snacks of dumplings/noodles/okonomiyakis. Just an extra boost!
MAINS
Tomato Garlic Dal (For 4-6/ serve with steamed rice/crusty bread or naans)
Tomato Egg Drop Soup (For 4)
Pumpkin & Sage Pasta Sauce (For 4/ Recipe Coming This Week)
Baingan Bharta (Smoky Indian Spiced Eggplant)Â (For 4)
Oven Baked Miso Salmon (For 4/ Recipe Coming Tomorrow)
Turmeric Chicken Broth (Enough for A Soup For 4 AND Sipping Jars for 2)Â / Market Veggie Broth (for Vego needs!)
EXTRAS
Mandarin Juice
Strawberry Cashew Milk
RAW PREP
Carrots & Potatoes
Steamed Rice
Asian Stir-Fry Veggies
Things To Do This Week (Thursday & Friday)
1. Print out all the recipes you plan to cook
2. Make a shopping list of things you don't already have and buy them before the weekend.
WEEKEND MEAL PREP SESSION (1 hour 50 minutes)
>> Before you begin, get a large plastic/enamel tub to catch all your scraps and rubbish (multiples if you are saving scraps for chooks/compost). I cannot stress how much time you will save and keep the bench tidy if you are not going to the rubbish bin every few minutes.
>> For Part II of the meal prep, I make sure the kitchen sink is clean and empty. This allows me to quickly wash my Breville juicer and Vitamix which is easiest to clean right after making the juice/smoothies. I also have 7-8 300ml capacity lidded glass jars ready.
 Part IÂ
1. Grab 6 hard veggies (veggies that don't go soft or soggy after cutting). I am using green cabbage, red cabbage, onion, broccoli, carrot and snow peas. You only need about a big handful of each or in case of carrot (1-2), onion (1-2). Slice and shred them finely for stir-fries. Mix them up in a bowl. Pack 2 cups of the mix in each lidded glass containers. This is your Asian Stir-Fry veggie mix ready for quick 5-10 minute meals throughout the week. Keeps fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days. I make noodles, fritters or fried rice.(10 minutes)
2. Wash and cook rice in the rice cooker (2 cups raw rice will give you 5 cups cooked rice) (5 minutes)
3. Soak a cup of raw cashew nuts. (2 minutes)
4. Put on a big pot of Turmeric Chicken Broth/ Veggie Broth to simmer. (5 minutes)
5. Pop a big eggplant on an open fire/in the oven to slow roast over 1 hour. Watch it while you do other things, turning occasionally (5 minutes)
6. Gather ingredients for Cashew Milk, Green Smoothie, Citrus Juice (5 minutes)
Store stir-fry veggies in the fridge, store cooked rice in containers in the fridge.
Active Time -Â 27 minutes
 Part IIÂ
6. Make Cashew Milk from the soaked cashews. (10 minutes)
7. Make Green Smoothie. (5 minutes)
8. Make Strawberry Cashew Milk in a blender with cashew milk, a punnet of strawberries, vanilla, pinch of salt and a handful of dates. (5 minutes)
9. Juice 3 kilos of mandarins or your favourite citrus. (10 minutes)
10. Cut pumpkin, gather ingredients for pumpkin pasta sauce and Tomato Garlic Dal.
Pack away Cashew milk, juices and smoothies in glass jars. The actual juice and smoothies only take a couple of minutes to make but I am allowing time for clean-up and washing of the appliances. I use my Breville Juice Maker to extract the cold-pressed juice and my Vitamix to make the smoothies.Â
Active Time -Â 25 minutes
 Part IIIÂ
11. Cook Pumpkin & Sage Pasta Sauce (15 minutes)/ Recipe coming this week.
12. Put on a Pot of Tomato Garlic Dal to cook (10 Minutes)
13. Chop Carrot & Potato. Store in water in glass jars in the fridge. Make Miso Dressing. This will be used for Oven Baked Miso Salmon (Recipe coming tomorrow). (10 Minutes)
14. Gather ingredients for Tomato Egg Drop Soup and Baingan Bharta.
Pack away Pumpkin Pasta Sauce, Tomato Garlic Dal and prepped veggies/dressing.
Active Time -Â 35 minutes
BREAK 10 minutes - We are almost in the home stretch now. Make yourself a cup of tea/coffee or pour a glass of wine. I like to load the dishwasher at this point to reduce my work later.Â
 Part IV
16. Make Tomato Egg Drop Soup (10 minutes)
16. Make Baingan Bharta (Indian Roasted Spiced Eggplant) (10 minutes)
Pack away soup and the eggplant dish. Strain and pack away chicken/veggie broths.
Active Time - 20 minutes
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I have limited copies of my cookbook Tasty Express - a labour of love filled with over 100 of our family's most tried and tested and exciting 30-minute recipes inspired by street foods of the world. Mostly Vegetarian recipes that go from breakfast to quick dinners in a heartbeat. They make great gifts for you or a friend!
