Dans Gourmet Restoration

Potato Leek Soup, with Pan Roasted Garlic, Wine, and Bacon So Lynne and I went to a totally cool winter Farmers Market, at the old Velvet Mill in Stonington, Connecticut. ( I HIGHLY recommend this if you live here – everything from fresh local meat, eggs, produce, sauces, jellies, jams, artwork….. a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.)  We picked up some fresh, organic sweet leeks, and a loaf of fresh sour dough bread…. And I thought…. Well – what else besides potato leek soup?  We also picked up a bottle of green curry pineapple satay hot sauce from Dragon’s Blood Elixir hot sauce – dragonsbloodelixir.com.  This guy had awesome hot sauces – I really liked the sweet potato hot sauce!  I had Lynne try some – forgetting that her tolerance for heat is infinitely lower than mine…… oops)  We had the grand daughter with us – no I didn’t have her try any!  It was a nice morning for sure!  Anyway… the soup. Most tater soup recipes are pretty similar – potato’s, celery, thyme, chicken stock

Just made this again tonight - was really good!  I made a few changes to the following recipe: I used baby bok choy instead of spinach.  I chopped the leaves, and added to the broth, and I pre roasted the stems, after quartering them.  I also added a can of coconut milk to it.....  I used fresh made chicken broth, made from the bones, wings and thighs of a roasted chicken we made the night before last.  Great recipe - kind of a kitchen sink thing - you can add whatever you want to it and it still tastes good! Thai Lime Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients: 4 cups chicken broth 2 cups water 1 sm pkg Shitaki mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 2 tsp fresh ground ginger root ( to taste - a little goes a long way) 3 tbs fish sauce ( to taste - again, a little goes a long way) 1/4 tsp yellow curry powder 1 tsp Thai seasoning (totally optional - I keep this around normally) zest and juice from 2 limes 2 tbs fresh rough chopped cilantro 3 tbs fresh rough chopped basil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 seeded, s

Yummy and relatively low calorie! Ok, time to loose the weight!!  Been saying that for years, and been cooking like Paula Dean for years..... and I am still fat.  Trying to make some..... healthier..... recipes that still taste good. This was quite tasty, and only about 600 calories per serving.... mostly because it has about 4 tbs of olive oil in it.  But NO butter!!!  This was pretty much a "whats in the pantry" dish - feel free to change things around!  Olive oil, basil and garlic powder measurements are..... approximate... lol. Ingredients: 3 hot turkey Italian sausage sliced into 1 inch chunks...( Ok, kind of an oxymoron, I know.. but .... think HEALTHY) about 2 cups frozen tri color peppers 2 heads of garlic, tops cut off ( about 3/4 from the bottom) 4 tbs olive oil, reserved about 1 inch around, whole wheat spaghetti garlic powder - 1 tsp dried basil 2 tbs, reserved 1 tsp salt fresh shredded Parmesan cheese Directions: Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.  When up to heat, pl