Shani is a food and wine nerd

Especially when you are feeling icky, there’s nothing that makes you feel as great as good ol’ comfort food.

My version does not use cream, and the cheese is optional, so it’s much more low-cal!

The general idea is to steam the broccoli in a flavorful broth. I like adding a roux to make it creamy, but there’s not so much to make it heavy. It’s also a great base for mixing with other veggies, or add chicken to it, whatever.

Another cool thing to do, when you’re able to chew, is set aside some of the broccoli florets and serve them whole instead of pureed.

- 2 lbs of broccoli
- 2 sweet onions
- 2-3 tbs of soy sauce
- fresh thyme
- fresh sage
- bay leaf
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

optional:
- 2 tbs butter or butter + olive oil mixture
- 2 tbs flour
- 1 c milk
- cheese (even more optional, use a sharp hard cheese, example include: cheddar, parmesan, gruyere)

Put a large pot on medium/high heat
Warm up some olive oil
Loosely chop onions (this will be a puree so large pieces are fine, but you want to make them even so they cook evenly
Saute onions until translucent or starting to caramelize
Deglaze pot with soy sauce
Add stock and herbs
Cover, and bring to a boil
Chop broccoli into even chunks. Definitely use the stems!
When water boils, add broccoli.
Cook until broccoli is tender
Allow to cool and puree

Optional:
Melt butter in saute pan (don’t use a non-stick unless you have a plastic whisk)
Add oil if you’re mixing them
Sprinkle flour
Whisk constantly to form a roux
Add milk and continue to mix constantly
Option within option: add cheese and melt
Add this sauce to the pureed broccoli soup and mix

Note: this recipe can is vegan if you use vegetable stock, and omit the “optional” part

Black Bean soup

dry black beans
dried red peppers or red pepper flakes
buillion
bay leaves
salt
pepper

garnish suggestions:
tomatoes
onions
corn
cheese
sour cream
tortilla chips or strips

soak black beans over night, make sure there’s twice as much water as there are beans.

Pour soaked beans, with the soaking water into medium saucepan. Add more water to cover the beans (if needed).
Add spices.

Cover.
Simmer for four-five hours or until beans are tender.

– stop here if you just want black beans, continue if you want to make soup –

Remove bay leaves.
Blend or mash the black beans with the water in the saucepan until desired consistency is reached.

Serve hot!

ps… experiment with spices and garnishes

Cardamom Hot Mocha

2 cups of coffee
1 cup of milk
2 cardamom pods
2-3 oz of dark chocolate

Warm 1/2 cup of milk over low-med heat.
Whisk occasionally.
When milk is warm, add cardamom.
Let cardamom steep in milk at least 10 minutes, but do not let milk boil.
Add chocolate, whisk into milk as it melts.
Add coffee and stir.
Serve hot in a big mug.

Makes 2 cups

This Napa Valley Sav is super-fragrant, with a strong scent of grapefruit and some floral notes. It’s light but not watery and went very well with seafood.

It put a smile on my face.

Around $30 at the restaurant

Ingredients:
Stock (to keep the recipe vegetarian, use vegetable or mushroom stock, if you’re not vegetarian, any stock will be fine)
Kale (kale usually comes in bunches and one bunch makes 2-4 servings. It’s a green so it will wilt away to about 1/10th the volume)
Salt + pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 F
Clean kale in cold water
Remove the inside vein and cut into 1/4 inch strips
Boil 2-3 cups of stock, or about an inch and a half in the bottom of a large pot.
Add kale, cover and allow to steam/boil for 10 minutes. If you don’t have room in the pot, you can do 2/3 for 5 minutes and then add the last third. Otherwise do two batches in the pot, and transfer to one baking pan.
(Stock does not need to cover kale in the pot)

Transfer wilted kale and the stock into a 9×13″ baking sheet. Make sure stock covers kale.
Add salt and pepper to taste (different stocks have different salt content, so make sure to taste first)
Cover with aluminum foil and braise in the oven for 30-40 minutes, stirring once.

Drain and serve.

Carmenere is one of my favorite grapes because it is versatile and luscious. It pairs beautifully with many foods from heavy fish like Salmon & Tuna, to pastas, to poultry (I love serving it with duck or for Thanksgiving with Turkey) as well as meats.

Carmenere also holds its own.

It is native to Chile, and often used as the dominant grapes in Chilean blends. Most have a medium body, with fruit and earthliness on the palate.

My favorite Carmenere story is from Thanksgiving 2008. I brought a bottle, and it was one of several we had with the meal. I have a relation who is in his 80s and not very experimental in his wine purchases. He did of course taste my offering, and later even asked for the name of it so he could have some at home.

It’s a great alternative to Merlot, since the two wines have a similar body and flavor profile. But many Merlots, especially in the under-$20 range tend to be very flat, whereas a Carmenere is going to have a longer finish.

$7 at DeKalb Farmers Market 11/09

This Mendoza, Argentina Malbec is lighter and fruitier than many of its counterparts. It’s very easy to drink, both alone and with food. Pairs with anything, just like a good Pinot Noir.

And considering the price tag, it’s really worth buying by the case!

The first thing I smell is cherry, though it’s not super-fruity on the tongue. There are flavors of tobacco and plum. Medium-bodied with a long a finish.

It’s versatile for foods, and easily drinkable by itself. I would not pair it with white fish or shellfish, but chicken could hold it’s own.

Overall, I would say it’s great for a party, especially since it’s much less pricey than most French wines, guests might be impressed.

If you told me this 2006 was a Pinot Noir, you’d throw me for a loop. But then I take another sip… It has the body of a Pinot Noir, but a surprisingly unique flavor profile.

Flavors of sour cherry and blackberry with some, hello… spice! And if that wasn’t strange enough, it had a pleasantly long finish.

Overall, a little more umph than the average Pinot, but still the same go-alone-or-with-basically-anything body. This Chilean is much closer to Oregon than California.

Muscadet is a white wine from the Alsace region of France. It is a DRY wine, not to be confused with Muscat, which is commonly used for making dessert wines, or Muscadine.

Muscadet is light bodied, citrusy and a little bit earthy. The multi-dimensionality of this wine is more subtle than some others, so I definitely suggest taking a sip and letting it sit for a few moments.

Pairs well with seafood, and can also stand alone.

For more reading, here is the Wikipedia article on Muscadet.