Recipe Tags: Afternoon Nap, Dental Work, Divina Cucina, Early Afternoon, Flavors, General Hospital, Haa, Late Afternoon, Ode To Mom, Purse, Returning Home, Ricer, Sleepless Night, Sleepy Sunday, Soapnet, Sur La Table, Turkey Soup, Tuscan Cookbook, Unthinkable, Work Tomorrow
Chunky Tomato Turkey Soup
con pezzi/chunky
This was a fun weekend. First….I won something. That never, ever happens! Paula was having a giveaway and I commented because of the awesome soup. It so happened that my comment came up as the winner for Divina Cucina’s cookbook (which you can order from Judy, too!). How cool!? And, an Italian/Tuscan cookbook? My birthday in January! Thanks girls!
Saturday was also fun catching up and hanging out with Sharon. I hadn’t seen her since returning to Atlanta. Sunday was a busy “get things done” day! There was fun involved, but busy. The busy part really was just waking up early to straighten and clean my house for an early afternoon showing.
The fun was Sur La Table with a gift certificate I had burning in my purse for months.
my new ricer
After returning home and eating lunch, I did the unthinkable. I took a late afternoon nap . Why unthinkable? Normally, a leisurely, sleepy Sunday would be ideal! However, sleep has been a stranger to me the last couple of months, and when and if I can scrounge up some that is not interrupted, I need it to be at night. That way, I can keep to a normal schedule. So, my two hour, knocked out, REM stage nap not only caused me to sleep through two re-aired General Hospital episodes on SoapNet from this week (simply horrible! haa!), but inevitably caused me to come to grips with knowing a sleepless night would occur.
Regrouping and making sure I got up/stopped sleeping included a project/dinner… Project “throw anything/everything in a pan, cook it, and hope it works”. Come on…you know you’ve worked on similar projects!
The unique aspect of this project, for no one else but me really, was the combo of flavors. The dish was kind of an “ode to mom”. She’s having some dental work tomorrow that will cause a good deal of discomfort. I hate that I won’t be there until later in the week. So, since I can’t be there, I figured a dish inspired by the flavors my mom enjoys will be my way of keeping her in my thoughts.
One of the staple side dishes we had growing up in our house was zucchini in tomato sauce. I loathed it as a youngin‘. And now? I am not too fond of the two by themselves, but when combined with other items? I am okay with that. The Project “throw anything/everything in a pan, cook it, and hope it works”, which included zucchini, is my spin on mom’s tomato sauce zucchini.
You’re in my thoughts mom! Be careful, let Nina help you home, and don’t worry about anything except for healing up strong. Love you!
Chunky Tomato Turkey Soup
1 pound turkey breast, diced in bite sized pieces
2 Tbsp. spelt flour (regular flour works well, too), seasoned as preferred*
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 small-medium zucchini
1-2 large shallot(s), diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red or yellow bell pepper
2 can (14 ½ ounces) petit cut tomatoes (or diced)
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
¼-½ cup diced black olives
Salt/Pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese (optional)
First, prepare the zucchini. Finely dice one and slice the second in rounds. Set aside separately.
In a ziplock bag (or bowl) add flour and turkey. Toss to coat. (*I seasoned the flour will salt/pepper and Italian seasoning, to catch the flavors in the rest of the dish.) In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the turkey, garlic, diced zucchini, and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain, if necessary.
Add tomatoes and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add olives; simmer, uncovered, for 13-15 minutes or until the juices begin to reduce. (I added a little diluted arrowroot or thicken.) Serve in bowls and garnish with cheese (if desired). Serves 4-6.
I like using arrowroot in savory dishes, rather than cornstarch. What is it? According to WiseGeek, “Arrowroot is an easily digested starch extracted from the roots of the arrowroot plant, Maranta arundinacea. The starch is used as a thickener in many foods such as puddings and sauces, and is also used in cookies and other baked goods. Arrowroot is extremely bland, making it suitable for neutral diets, especially for people who are feeling nauseous. It is not terribly nutritious, but some people believe that it helps to soothe upset stomachs, which is why many health food stores carry arrowroot cookies.”
When using arrowroot, don’t add too early during the cooking process, as overheating tends to destroy its thickening property. * You can substitute arrowroot for cornstarch on a 2-to-3 basis; 2 teaspoons of arrowroot equals 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) of cornstarch.
