Category Archives: Soups & Salads

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Snacks & Appetizers, Soups & Salads

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2            avocados
  • 1            cup cooked shrimps
  • 1/4         cup diced cucumber
  • 1/4         cup diced carrots
  • 1/4         cup diced tomatoes
  • 1/4         cup diced celery
  • 2            tbsp mayonnaise
  • 2            tbsp sour cream
  • 1/4         tsp salt
  • 1/4         tsp Black pepper
  • 1            lime (zest and juice)
  • 1            lime for decoration
  •               Parsley sprigs  for decoration

Direction

  1. Cut the avocado in half.  Remove the pip and dice the avocado.  Save the skin.
  2. Take the shrimps and rinse them in cold water.  Drain the water
  3. In a bowl add avocado, shrimps, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, celery, mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, pepper, lime zest and juice.  Mix everything.
  4. Fill the avocado skin with the salad mix, decorate with lime wedges and chopped parsley

Salad Roll

Poultry, Soups & Salads

Ingredients

  • 1              chicken breast, boneless and skinless
  • 1              tbsp oil
  • 1              tbsp green masala
  • 1/2           tsp salt
  • 1              carrot
  • 1/2           green mango
  • 1/4           English cucumber
  • 1/2           red bell pepper
  • 2              tbsp finely chopped cilantro
  • 1              tbsp finely chopped mint
  • 1              pkg rice paper wrappers

Instructions

  1. Rinse and cut the chicken into half inch cubes. Add the green masala and salt.
  2. Heat the oil and stir fry the chicken for about 5 minutes. The chicken should be dry. Let it cool completely.
  3. Peel and grate the carrots, mango, and cucumber. finely cut the red pepper in thin strips.
  4. Add the chicken to the vegetables and add cilantro and mint and mix well.
  5. Soak 1 sheet of rice paper in hot water for a minute. Transfer it onto a towel. Place about a teaspoon of the mix on the centre of the wrap, fold the other half over, turn both the sides in and roll it up.

Serve it with dipping sauce or peanut sauce.

Vegetable Soup

Soups & Salads

Soup is generally a warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another  liquid.  There are a few different kinds of soup such as  clear soups, bisque, and chowder. Soups are similar to stews but have more liquid in them.

You can add grains, rice and lentils and paste to make it more filling.

When I was growing up, we only used fresh vegetables.  We did not have frozen foods. If we had to use beans and peas when they were not in season, we would use dried beans, soaking them overnight and boiling them in the morning and then using them. You can add any vegetable of your choice for this soup. 

Ingredients

  • 2                  tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 1                  med onion finely chopped
  • 2                  med tomatoes finely chopped
  • 2                  med potatoes peeled and cubed to 1/2 inch
  • 1/4               tsp dried Oregano
  • 1/2               tsp Salt
  • 1/2               tsp Black Pepper
  • 3                   cups frozen Mixed Vegetables
  • 4                   cups Water

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan heat the oil.  Add the onions and fry them till they are light brown in color(about 3 minutes)..
  2. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them for a minute.
  3. Add the potatoes, oregano, salt and black pepper and  cook  for another minute. 
  4. Add the frozen vegetables and water. When the water starts to boil, turn the heat down to medium and let it simmer for about half an hour.

Serve with toast or crackers.

Mung Soup

Poultry, Soups & Salads

It is cold and rainy outside and we have all had rich foods in the last few days, so I am making a soup.  This is a good healthy soup with no fat added and it is very filling.  This soup is very good if you are on a diet.

Mung Beans are:

  • Low in Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Cholesterol
  • High in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Folate, Copper, Manganese, Protein, Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Potassium

The nutritional value of mung beans makes them ideal for:

  • Weight loss
  • Maintaining optimum health

Mung Beans are a native of India.

They are small egg shaped and green in color.  They are commonly used in India, Pakistan, and southeast Asia.

Whole beans are generally prepared from dried beans by soaking in water for 5 hours and then boiling them until soft.  If you do not soak them, they will take longer to cook.

Makes 4 serving.

Ingredients

  • 1                  cup Mung beans
  • 4                  cups water
  • 1/2               chicken breast deboned and skinned.
  • 1                  small onion
  • 1                  small tomato
  • 1                  tbsp crushed ginger
  • 1/2               pkg frozen  spinach (3 oz)
  • 1/2               tsp salt(or to taste)
  • 1/4               cup chopped cilantro

 Instructions

  1. Soak Mung in 3 cups of water for about 5 hours.  If you do not soak the mung, they will take longer to cook.
  2. Rinse the chicken and cut it into very thin 1 inch strips.
  3. Finely chop the onions and tomatoes.
  4. Drain the water.  In a medium pot put the mung, add 4 cups of water, chicken, chopped onions and tomatoes, ginger, spinach and salt and cook this on med for 1/2 hour.
  5. Sprinkle the cilantro before serving.

Caribbean Chicken Soup

Soups & Salads


It is cold and miserable outside today so I made a soup to warm me up.   I decided to make Caribbean Chicken Soup, something I tried on a recent trip to Miami.

The soup has cassava in it, one of my favorite root vegetables. (More on cassava- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassava). Cassava is very common in Uganda, where I was born. We were served boiled cassava as a snack at recess when I was in school.  Cassava can be cooked in many different ways:  curried, boiled or fried among others.

Cassava is also known as Mogo, and Yucca.

I first tried Caribbean Chicken Soup at a restaurant called Pollo Tropicana, a chain restaurant in Florida. I found a version of the soup in Martha Stewart Living. Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

  • 1                       Chicken Breast boneless and skinless
  • 4                       cups water
  •                          Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 2                       medium onions thinly sliced
  • 4                       cloves garlic
  • 1                       inch piece fresh Ginger
  • 4                       fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes
  • 1                       cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1                       jalapeño chilly thinly sliced
  • 4                       medium carrots, thinly sliced
  • 4                       stalks celery, thinly sliced                    
  • 8                       oz Cassava (Mogo or Yucca)  peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1                       lime

Directions

  1. In a saucepan heat oil and add the onions. Fry the onions till they are soft and transparant.
  2. In a blender blend, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. Add this to the onions, and cook stirring it for 2 minutes. Slice the chicken into thin slices and add this to the tomato mix. Add the water, carrots, and celery and Cassava (Mogo, Yucca).   When the water starts to boil add the salt and black pepper, lime rind, lime juice and cilantro. Turn the heat to med and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Serve it hot.

Note:

You can make this into a Vegetarian soup by omitting the chicken.
You can substitute yams for Yucca.