Tag: liquid

Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham

When I want a hearty bowl of split pea soup in a hurry, my pressure cooker is my best friend! Split pea soup is loaded with fiber, and it’s a comforting meal on a chilly night. I usually serve this with a slice of crusty bread, toasted and rubbed with a little garlic.

This soup is also my favorite way to use up leftover ham or a ham bone. It’s super easy, but not always super quick… unless you use a pressure cooker!

Using a pressure cooker cuts the cooking time by less than half and everything always tastes better for some reason. I’ve been using my pressure cooker for years; in South America it is widely popular to make soups, beans, and stews because it’s quick and saves on gas. I own a fancy electric one, but for some reason I still rather use my old stove top Presto.

When making soups and stews in the pressure cooker, very little liquid evaporates, so I usually cut the liquid down a bit. I found a great Pressure Cooker Cheat Sheet^[1] on Pressure Cooker For Dummies, if you own one and are scared of it, you might find this interesting.

I used Better than Bouillon, I love the flavor it adds to soups, but you can use chicken broth in it’s place if you prefer.

A few notes: Today is my 3rd day doing the Holiday Runner’s Streak (run at least 1 mile everyday until the Holidays, see 2012 Holiday Running Streak from Runner’s World^[2]). It was really hard to get out of bed this morning, but I am happy I got it out of the way. How are you doing, still with me?

Also, now until Dec 2nd, Heather K Jones, RD created a One Month Skinnytaste meal plan (so many of you asked for this!) and is offering a fabulous health tool that will help you tap into the power of your own personality and arm you with the insight you need for ultimate weight loss success. Check out the Diet Type offer on Skinny Bits^[3] this week! The offer includes a jump start meal plan featuring Skinnytaste recipes, and a FREE copy the awesome healthy grocery shopping guide, The Grocery Cart Makeover.

By the way, this soup freezes well, leftovers are perfect for lunch or make a batch for once a month cooking.

Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 6 • Size: 1 1/4 cups • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 7
Calories: 254 • Fat: 2 g • Carb: 51.5 g • Fiber: 20 g • Protein: 24 g • Sugar: 5 g
Sodium: 694.5 mg (to reduce the sodium use less bouillon)

Ingredients:

1 lb dry green split peas
1 tsp olive oil
2 large carrots, peeled
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
7 oz reduced sodium ham steak, diced (Boar’s Head)
6 cups water
1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon or 1 cube*
1 bay leaf

Directions:

Rinse peas under cold water.

In a pressure cooker, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes. Add ham, peas, water, chicken bouillon and bay leaf and bring to a boil. When the liquid boils, cover and lock the lid and continue cooking until the pot reaches pressure, then reduce heat to low and set a timer for 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes, shut the stove off and let the pressure cooker release the steam on it’s own. When the lid unlocks, adjust liquid if needed, taste for salt and pepper and remove bay leaf. If the soup looks like it should cook a little longer, you can let it simmer covered (unlocked) until it has reached your desired thickness.

To make without a pressure cooker, add 2 more cups water and simmer covered on low for 2 hours.
*Check labels for Gluten Free

References

^{^} Pressure Cooker Cheat Sheet (www.dummies.com)
^{^} 2012 Holiday Running Streak from Runner’s World (www.runnersworld.com)
^{^} Diet Type offer on Skinny Bits (www.skinny-bits.com)

How to do the liquid detox – Italian Cuisine

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Three days of detoxification of the body, bringing to the table extracts, smoothies and vegetable soups. Tips for a purifying break after the extravagances of the holidays

And the Epiphany has also gone. Now we look in the mirror and, without making a tragedy of it, we are confronted with the classic 2-3 kilos acquired during the holidays. No panic and no guilt:
the solution exists and consists of a 3 day liquid detox. With the recommendation not to overdo it in this time frame, thus giving up the gym and strong workouts, here's how to set up your January detox. Which, among other advantages, will allow you to strengthen your immune defenses (a considerable plus these days). Word to the expert.

It starts with the preparatory phase (very important)

Abdominal swelling, water retention, fat, or what's left of Christmas and New Year's food addictions. According to Sandra Nassima, specialist in nutrition science and founder of Depuravita, "the ideal would be to approach the" hard and pure "liquid detox, anticipating it with preparatory days, to avoid traumatizing the body, making it pass from the rich winter dishes of parties with extracts and light soups. 3-4 days before starting the liquid detox, cut alcohol, foods containing gluten, sugars and products of animal origin, increasing the portions of fruit and vegetables (organic) at the same time and drinking at least 2 liters of water a day. In this way the body will begin to lighten, getting used to the slow and progressive caloric restriction in view of the liquid detox in the program .

3 days of liquid detox, the guidelines

New to a liquid detox program? "Don't worry, because it's all extremely simple and rational," Nassima reassures. «In fact, it is a question of alternating between breakfast, lunch and dinner, without forgetting the two snacks in the morning and afternoon, extracts, smoothies, soups. With the addition, when and if you feel the need to munch on solid foods, of
raw and natural seasonal vegetables. In this way you will fill up with water, fiber, minerals and vitamins, avoiding feeling weak and hungry . Here we come to the example of a typical day with liquid detox. The expert explains: "For breakfast, squeeze a grapefruit and a lemon, add a pinch of chilli pepper, a tablespoon of raw olive oil, a handful of flax seeds, 5 grams of ginger and 3 cloves of garlic, blending everything with 125 ml of water. You should get a smoothie with a soft texture, not too liquid. Ideal for purifying the liver, it is also a booster for the immune system. Pair it with a ginger extract and you'll get your fill of antioxidants. In the middle of the morning you can eat an apple with a small portion of nuts. For lunch, a green extract of spinach, kale, ginger, fennel and celery, perhaps adding spirulina powder or chlorella algae to implement the detox action. For a snack a mix of carrot and fennel crudité with oil-free guacamole, while for dinner a cup of vegetable broth or pumpkin soup . And that's it.

What mistakes to avoid when doing liquid detox

"More than anything else, I think we can run the risk of mistaking the detox for a diet," notes Nassima. “If your goal is to lose weight only, the 3-day detox may not be for you. I'll explain why: the goal is not to deprive yourself of food and lose weight, but to detoxify the body after a period of excess, but also to help it perform a beneficial reset following severe psycho-physical stress. Another mistake: do not drink water, thinking that extracts are enough. This is not the case and the body needs pure water during the detox, otherwise a severe headache. It is forbidden to drink coffee at this stage, which must coincide with a rest of mind and body. Yes, on the other hand, with hot herbal teas of moringa and tulsi, excellent for purifying the liver, an excretory organ that is most fatigued by the caloric foods of the holidays. If intense sports activities are not recommended, do not forget to do mild daily physical exercise to keep muscles and joints active, not to mention the stimulating effect on mood. From pilates to yoga, from stretching to walking. Finally, if you buy ready-made extracts and juices, I invite you to carefully read the labels, making sure that among the ingredients there is always at least 70% of vegetables. Perhaps on the palate these juices will initially seem bitter, but it is vegetables such as kale, cucumber, spinach and celery that stimulate the body's purifying processes. And if you suffer from sluggish metabolism, remember that the most stimulating ingredients in this sense are citrus fruits, chilli, ginger and pineapple . Happy New Year Detox!

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Marinated fish: dry or with a liquid? – Italian Cuisine

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How to prepare marinated fish with two different techniques: dry marinating and liquid marinating. Here are the recommendations of La Scuola de La Cucina Italiana

There marinating is a technique that allows one to cook is to preserve foods, at the same time enriching them with aromas and flavors. Marinating fish is an excellent idea to be exploited in summer so as not to light the stove and to enjoy the raw fish, but it is always very important bring it down previously to prevent any risk and eliminate any parasites.

There are two different methods: the dry marinating and the marinating with a liquid acid. The first fundamental step in both cases remains that of clean the fish well, depriving it of scales, skin and bones and finally filleting it (or buy it already filleted). At this point you can proceed with marinating: let's see when and how to marinate dry or with a liquid.

Marinate the fish with a liquid

The marinating with a liquid is performed with an acid base, such as vinegar, wine or lemon juice, lime or grapefruit which allow the ingredient to cook. This technique can be used with the tuna, the salmon, the branzino or the swordfish, but also with shellfish is blue fish. For every kg of fish, about 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a citrus fruit, aromatic herbs and spices should be used.

The marinating times vary depending on the preparation: they may suffice 30 minutes for shellfish or thin fish slices, ideal for a carpaccio; 1-2 hours for the diced fish of the tartare; about 5 hours for the anchovies or for a whole slice; until to 10-12 hours necessary for a larger fish.
Marinated fish can be tasted raw, but you can also cook: grilled, continuing to brush it with the marinating liquid even during cooking, or baked, ensuring the fish to remain tender and juicy and not to dry.

Marinate the fish dry

For dry marinating are necessary salt, sugar is aromas. Marinating the dry fish ensures an important advantage: marinating with salt deprives the fish of part of the water, increasing its shelf life. storage. Before the refrigerator was released, the fish was stored in this way.

Usually this technique is used for larger sized fish slices, such as tuna or salmon. It is necessary to mix salt and sugar (usually the proportion is 60-70% of salt and the rest of sugar): this will exploit the salt's ability to cook food and balance the flavor with sugar. Then add the aromas to taste, including fennel, bay leaves, basil, mint, thyme, sage or rosemary and pepper. In a container a layer is created with this mating, the fish is placed there and completely covered with the rest of the compound. The fish must then rest in the refrigerator: a couple of hours may suffice for one small fillet, while you can get there up to 10-12 hours for a bigger slice.

Once the marinade is over, salt and excess sugar are eliminated. Also in this case you can consume a raw, cut into thin slices or tartare and seasoned with oil and lemon, or grilled quickly, getting more consistency Crisp.

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