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Friday, October 19, 2012

Comfort Food - GF Style.

After a brief (and mostly missed by me) break in the Gray Condition, it's back.  This endless grayness called for some serious Comfort Food.  While the 'old' me would have whipped up a turkey-roaster full of mac and cheese/heavy on the cheese, the 'new' me sat in deep thought last night and noodled it over.  Noodles!  I made one of my new favorite comfort foods, full-on comfort low-on fat and no gluten.  I did not take pictures, of course.  If I thought my photography skills were rocky before spending a few days with a professional photographer, the aftermath may find me never lifting my camera again.  Kidding!  I'm not that intimidated.  But, I do now try to look at what is in the viewer with a more careful eye.  I will need a few thousand more lessons.

Pork, Apple and Miso Noodle Soup

(based, albeit loosely, on a recipe from the September 2012 issue of Eating Well Magazine)

Approx 10 oz of ground pork
2 tart, crisp apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
pkg rice noodles
1/4 cup of white miso (and, yes, I have two kinds of miso lurking in my fridge...)

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, cook the pork until there is no pink on the outside, stirring to break the larger pieces up.  If the pork is not lean (and mine never is), pour off most of the fat.  Your dogs will thank you when it appears on their breakfast kibble.  Stir in the apples and cook until slightly tender, stirring occassionally - about 2-3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil.  Add the noodles and cook according to package directions or to your own taste.  Just before the noodles are done, carefully scoop out about a half-cup of the cooking liquid and stir it into the miso in a small bowl.  Return the miso mixture to the soup and stir in.  Remove from heat and serve.  You'll want to wrap your arms around your soup bowl and give it a great, big hug!

12 comments:

Carolyn said...

Well, I have to admit to having ZERO miso in the cupboards. And I think the only miso-ish thing I've ever eaten was miso soup at the Japanese restaurant in town (and who knows if it was actually miso - they could have served me opossum soup and I wouldn't have known the difference).
Other than knowing nothing of miso....the rest of it sounds yummy!

Susan said...

CR - What??! Does not everyone have a tub 'o miso in their fridge?? I would think you could use any seasoning you wanted in this soup - and any kind of noodle. The key to it's comfort is its slurpiness.

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

And now you made me hungry for rice noodles. I forgot about them and I used to make a good vegetarian pad thai. Drats, now I am gonna want that all day now!

Susan said...

Jane - I love vegetarian pad thai! I used to love udon noodles, but rice noodles are good any time, anywhere!

Mama Pea said...

Miso-greeso, noodles-poodles! It sounds wonderful and when we all (are you up for this, bloggy gals?) descend upon you for the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, you can serve us this wonderful comfort soup, GF style, every day.

P.S. Like your new look!

Susan said...

Mama Pea - Oh, if ONLY! That would be the best Thanksgiving weekend EVER in the history of the planet! And it would be fun, too... :-) But, is the world ready for all of us to gather in the same place, at the same time? We could solve the world's problems, I tell you.

Unknown said...

Funny, I had japanese food out tonite! I LOVE miso soup, and had a bunch of sushi and sashimi. Life is good :)

Candy C. said...

Dang, I'm must be missing something somewhere, or maybe it's just this little jerk-water town I live in! (Not really IN, just NEAR!) Never had miso and wouldn't know it if it knocked on the door! Anything with pork, apples and noodles HAS to be good though!! :)

Susan said...

Nancy - Lucky you!! There is not a Japanese restaurant in my vicinity. Life is good, indeed.

Susan said...

Candy - If it knocked on your door, it would be in a little tub, heehee. It's great to have in the fridge, as it lasts a looong time. Which is good because I don't remember to use it often. Which is now making me wonder if it IS gluten free - where is Kim when I need her???

SweetLand Farm said...

Mmmmmm pork and apples!! Sounds good. and (sniff, sniff) I should have plenty of pork in my freezer soon.

Leigh said...

I love your new blog look! And the soup sounds fantastic. It's been ages since I cooked with miso. Sounds like a good excuse to go buy some. :)