Egg Drop Soup, Celeriac Slaw and other Delicacies

Our cup runneth over on Wednesday at the Suppers luncheon with some delicious choices: egg drop soup, celeriac slaw, sauteed broccoli and bok choy and antibiotic and hormone free flank steak stir fry. As an added treat, Karen dropped by with some almond flour cheese bread, a boon to those of us who have gluten sensitivity.

We started by chopping up the shitake mushrooms to add to the soup.

That is my work, slivering the mushrooms so they are thin but will still be a presence in the egg drop soup. I used Dorothy's kyocera knife and extremely sharp and efficient it was too. I have some terrific Henckel knives from William-Sonoma that weren't as sharp as this knife.

Meanwhile, thinly-sliced  beef was stir frying on the stove with a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil and some olive oil.

 

Along with the beef, broccoli and bok choy were stir frying in some coconut fat and grated ginger.

One of the surprising treats was the egg drop soup - surprising in how easy it was to make. If you are in the habit of only eating this soup in a restaurant or as takeout, you will be pleased to know how quickly you can whip up a batch of this soup.

We boiled up some organic Better than Bouillon chicken broth (you certainly can use vegetarian broth as well) and then got a lesson from Dorothy on how to best make the egg drop "flowerettes" in the broth. Beat the eggs until they are completely blended and slightly frothy, then pour a bit of the beaten eggs in a steady stream into the hot broth:

Keep making different "flowerettes" by pouring intermittently until all of the beaten egg mixture is finished. Voila, egg drop soup!

And if that wasn't enough, we also had a fennel, celeriac and daikon slaw with Amy's delectable vinaigrette.

Plus we also had some gluten-free almond bread that Karen brought to the luncheon:

Another delicious and nutritious Suppers luncheon!  Next week we will be making our own curry paste according to Dorothy's recipe and taking some home to create our own healthful concoctions.

   
Egg Drop Soup

This recipe can be made vegan or ovo-vegetarian.
Following is the basic recipe with chicken stock.

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth (we used Better than Bouillon organic)
4 scallions, sliced on the diagonal and using much of the green
1 egg, whipped

1. Heat the stock and simmer the scallions for about 3 minutes.

2. In a slow, thin stream, add the egg to the gently simmering stock and gently stir so that threads of egg form. 

3. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Variations:

• Use a vegetarian broth.
• Add one thinly sliced shiitake mushroom per serving.
• Add seaweed, re-hydrated according to the package directions
• Add diced tofu.
• Flavor it with tamari or sesame oil.

Vegetable Stir Fry

Ingredients:

3 stalks of broccoli
1 bok choy
Coconut fat (available at most health food stores)
2" piece of ginger
Tamari
Toasted sesame oil

1. Cut up broccoli and bok choy into bite-size pieces.
2. Heat up about a tablespoon of coconut fat.
3. Add the grated ginger. Saute until golden.
4. Add the broccoli and bok choy and saute until done (approximately 5-10 minutes).

Fennel, Celeriac and Daikon Slaw

Ingredients:

Large Celeriac (size of a grapefruit)
Large Fennel bulb
1 Daikon radish

Dressing

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/9 cup white balsamic vinegar (1:3 ration of oil to vinegar)
1 TBS diijon mustard
1/2 lemon juiced
Pinch of sea salt
4 drops of stevia 

1. Shred the celeriac, fennel bulb and daikon radish in food processor.
2. Toss with dressing and serve.

Almond Bread (Very Low Carb)

Note: This recipe contains dairy products but no gluten.  The result is a sliceable, toast-able loaf, like a heavy pound cake.  It can be made sweet or savory.

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups almond flour

3 eggs

¼ cup melted butter

1 cup ricotta or dry curd cottage cheese

1 scant teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place all ingredients except the almond flour in the food processor and process until thick and uniform.

3. Add the almond flour and blend well.

4. Butter and flour (with almond flour)  a 4 x 8 loaf pan.

5. Use wet hands to shape the dough into a loaf and place in the pan.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until it is a little brown on top and a knife inserted comes out clean.  The top will crack a little.

7. Allow to cool thoroughly.  You can loosen the sides by moving a knife or spatula long the sides.

8. Remove and finish cooling on a rack. The texture will not be right if you slice it before it is done cooling.

Variations:

• For the cheese, try ½ cup plain Greek yogurt & ½ cup soft goat cheese, or goat Cheddar
• Add a ¼-1/2 tsp dry stevia or 5 to 10 drops liquid stevia (to taste) and some lemon zest, food-grade lemon oil, vanilla or almond extract.
• Add minced herbs such as rosemary or sage.
• Add ½ cup chopped dry fruit like raisins or apricots. (not low carb 
• Add caraway seeds for a result more like rye bread.
• Add 2 TBS Chia seeds for added fiber and protein.

Total loaf makes about 72 grams carbs with 36 grams fiber = 36 NET carbs

For 12 slices/loaf = 3 grams NET carbs/slice