The Soup Queen

Just a quick one: you can now bookmark this blog at www.SoupQueen.net If you type in SoupQueen.net, you will reach this blog of mine on Blogspot. I know many of you probably have bookmarked this site at Blogspot, but a shorter domain name is always preferable. I know how confusing it is to have a long URL! As I run a web design business, I always aim to walk the talk whenever I can. Of course I wanted to get the SoupQueen.com domain but that's already taken up! So what can a soup queen do but buy the next available one, even though it's a .net I know you come to SoupQueen for soup recipes. I'm a big experimenter in the kitchen and always look out for ways to cook tasty, simple and nutritious meals even if it's only for me and my husband. I'm not the type to resort to instant Cintan or Mamee noodles. No way. Cooking for me is also a way to spend time with myself. I can talk to myself while I'm stir-frying vegetables or chopping garlic. It helps me unwind and rela...

OK, OK, I keep going to Than Hsiang Temple for vegetarian meals BUT I also go to check out what vegetarian soups they have. I mean, that's like killing 2 birds with one stone right? On one end, I get to be healthy (by focusing less on meat and more on tofu and greens). On the other, I get some ideas for my vegetarian soup series. Hmmm, what could be better than that? I always thought that soups made purely with vegetables tasted bland. For the longest time, I thought meat/chicken gave soup such robust tastes. They still do but they also can be oily (skim the oil off before you serve) and for non-meat eaters, a definite put-off if they want a vegetarian version. I deduced that any soup made with carrot as its core ingredient will be light, clear and delightfully tasty (I opt out of using 'sweet' but that's how we Cantonese describe a light and tasty soup - it's "sweet". The meaning for "sweet" is very distinct from the "sweet" one gets f...

Here's a super simple recipe to reduce heatiness and prevent colds. I got this recipe from a Taiwanese TV programme today - yes, so it's fresh! This dessert soup is not suitable for people with gastric ulcers or weak stomachs as it contains hawthorn, which can be too acidic. If you are serving this to the elderly folk, you can reduce the amount of hawthorn too. Chrysanthemum Dessert Soup 25 gm honeysuckle or jin yin hua 5 gm licorice 25 gm dried chrysanthemum flowers 15 gm hawthorn 6 bowls of water Place water and all ingredients into pot of water. Simmer closed for 15 minutes on low heat. Serve warm, sweetened with honey. * Honey is also a good remedy for constipation. Drink honey if you are constipated.