Avgolemono (Greek Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup)

So my question today was what do I want for dinner?  Completely uninspired and close to grabbing take-out, I asked a co-worker and he suggested Egg Drop Soup….which got me thinking that I haven’t had Avgolemono (Greek lemon orzo soup) –also has eggs in it- in years.  I’ve been a vegetarian for 13 years so it has been at least that long, as it’s usually made with a whole chicken as the base for the broth.  I started this recipe by looking online at recipes and really didn’t find one I liked.  So, I called my mom and she and I worked out a new recipe while on the phone for a good hour.  Here is what we came up with, enjoy!

Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup (Avgolemono)

Ingredients

o   2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

o   1 large onion, chopped

o   3-4 large carrots, chopped

o   A head of celery, chopped

o   8 cups of water

o   1 tablespoon dried dill weed

o   ½ tablespoon dried oregano

o   1 cup orzo

o   3 eggs

o   The juice of 2 lemons

o   Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

1.    Heat EVOO in large soup pot, add veggies and sweat them out for a few minutes.

2.   Add 8 cups of water and bring to slow boil.  The longer you cook this, the better broth you will end up with.

3.   While veggies are cooking, prepare 1 cup of orzo according to directions on the box.

4.   Use immersion blender or food processor to break down big pieces of veggies when broth is ready (broth should cook for at least ½ hour).

5.   Add orzo to prepared vegetable broth.

6.   In separate bowl, whip eggs and add lemon juice.  Slowly add a few tablespoons of the broth to the lemon egg mixture at a time, to avoid curdling the eggs.  Do this until the lemon mixture is hot enough to add to soup pot without cooking the eggs.

7.   Add salt to taste and enjoy!

Overall

At first I wasn’t sure about this recipe, I was going for a very specific taste when I set out to make this.  Once the soup cooled down and I added enough salt to take the place of the missing chicken, it was divine!  I will absolutely make this again.  Next time I might consider roasting the veggies before adding the water for a richer flavor.

Frugality

The onion was probably about $.50, the carrots were $.44, and the celery was $.88 all from Sprouts.  I had the spices and eggs on hand.  The lemons were $.84 and the orzo was $1.50 from Fresh and Easy.  The total for this big pot of soup came out to $4.16.  A great deal!!

Look Forward To

Doing something with all of these plums, nectarines and tomatoes…I’m thinking of plum oat muffins and maybe a homemade tomato sauce but that could change with my mood. 

Baked Yams and Dilled Green Beans

I have never cooked with or even tasted a yam.  So when they came in my co-op basket this weekend, I wasn’t sure what to make of them.  Since September is National Honey Month, I thought I would try a recipe that incorporated honey as well.  I used a recipe from www.allrecipes.com and adjusted it according to other people’s comments and recommendations.  This is the recipe I ended up with.

Camotes al Horno (Baked Yams)

Ingredients

• 6 small yams
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 teaspoons honey
• 3 teaspoons white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Place yams in a large pot of lightly salted, boiling water and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain.
3. Arrange the yams in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cut a slit down the middle of each one and dab 1 tablespoon of butter in each.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for an hour, or until golden. Spoon 1 teaspoon honey into each yam, sprinkle each with sugar and serve.

Overall

Since this was my first time working with yams, I thought that overall they turned out pretty good.  They remind me of not-so-sweet sweet potatoes.  They are no doubt firmer than sweet potatoes, which warranted the longer cook time.  The yams were pretty good but the long cook time makes me not want to buy them again.  If I did make them again I think I would try to use brown sugar instead of white for a better flavor combination.  Also when I cut them to put the butter in some of them cut in half and therefore the butter  seeped through to the pan and didn’t cook into the yams as desired.

Frugality

The yams cost me about $1.65 through my food co-op (www.bountifulbaskets.org), the honey, butter and sugar were on hand.  For $1.65 this is a great side dish but for an hour and a half of my time, not really worth it.

This second recipe is one of my favorite ways to prepare fresh green beans.  This is a recipe I adapted from my mother’s cooking. 

Dilled Green Beans

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh, cleaned, trimmed green beans
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed

Directions

1. Place trimmed green beans in medium sized bowl.  Add about ½ inch of water.  Seal with plastic wrap.  Microwave about 6 minutes, or until desired consistency.
2. Add butter, salt and dill, stir and serve as side dish.

Overall

As always with this recipe, it turned out great.  The dill gives the green beans a very fresh taste.  This is my go-to recipe for green beans and even tastes good on canned green beans if you don’t have fresh available. A delicious, low-cost side dish that could be served along side anything from meat to pasta.  If you don’t have butter on hand olive oil can easily be substituted.

Frugality

The green beans cost me about $1.65 through my food co-op (www.bountifulbaskets.org), the dill, butter and salt were on hand.  This is a cheap but yummy side dish that takes only minutes to prepare.

Look forward to:

I still have a cauliflower, a head of green leaf lettuce, a bunch of spinach and a head of broccoli to cook this week.