{"id":8848,"date":"2010-11-21T09:42:10","date_gmt":"2010-11-21T17:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.110pounds.com\/?p=8848"},"modified":"2010-11-21T09:42:10","modified_gmt":"2010-11-21T17:42:10","slug":"cookbook-review-and-west-african-cashew-soup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.110pounds.com\/?p=8848","title":{"rendered":"Cookbook Review and West African Cashew Soup"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was contacted about reviewing a cookbook called “The Real Food Diet Cookbook” by Dr. Josh Axe.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I said yes immediately because it is something I can get behind: Real Food. You can read his bio here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Saturday night I created this recipe:<\/p>\n

West African Cashew Soup<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil<\/span><\/p>\n

1 cup cooked, diced chicken breast<\/span><\/p>\n

2\/3 cup onion, diced<\/span><\/p>\n

1 1\/2 teaspoon minced garlic<\/span><\/p>\n

1 1\/2 teaspoon curry powder<\/span><\/p>\n

1\/2 teaspoon sea salt<\/span><\/p>\n

1\/2 teaspoon ground black pepper<\/span><\/p>\n

1\/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes<\/span><\/p>\n

3 cups free-range chicken broth<\/span><\/p>\n

1 6 ounce can tomato paste<\/span><\/p>\n

1 can stewed tomatoes<\/span><\/p>\n

1\/2 cup cashew butter<\/span><\/p>\n

Directions:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Heat sesame oil in large stock pot over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Add all seasonings and cook 1 minute more.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Add chicken, broth, tomato paste, stewed tomatoes and cashew butter. Stir until well combined.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Continue cooking until heated through.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When I was flipping through the cookbook this was the first recipe that jumped out at me. I have no idea why because honestly the Cashew Butter would have deterred me. I don’t cook with peanut butter much (unless in baking). But this recipe spoke to me and I wanted to do it. I am so glad I did, too! It was probably one of the best things I’ve made in a long time.<\/p>\n

Michael wasn’t feeling well so he wasn’t going to eat any of the soup (which was a shame because it was amazing). He did try a spoonful to taste it and said it was fantastic. Anyway, back to the kitchen..I set up some mood music for my cooking adventure.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I got out all the ingredients and then realized I didn’t have stewed tomatoes–just diced. I wasn’t sure if that was considered the same, so back to the grocery store I went (for a 79 cent item). The sesame oil was surprisingly expensive, too, which I wasn’t expecting. I lucked out and found curry powder on sale (50% off) because that was also pricey. We had leftover rotisserie chicken from Friday night’s dinner so that’s what I used in the recipe instead of the plain chicken breast.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The sesame oil smelled wonderful in the hot pot. It reminded me of Chinese food. I added the diced onion to the pot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>There is nothing better than the aroma of onion and spices sauteeing in a pan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The recipe didn’t call for zucchini but I wanted to add a vegetable to the soup so I improvised. I also learned from past errors when cooking and made sure everything was chopped, minced, prepped, and measured out BEFORE I started cooking! Progress!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The cashew butter was creamier and more liquidy than peanut butter and was so much easier to measure. I’ve never tried cashew butter but it was a pretty tasty alternative to peanut butter. (I can see me trying the cashew butter with apples in my near future.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I minced the garlic and added it to the onions. As I moved it all around the pot to coat evenly with Sesame Oil, I added the spices. Curry Powder:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Salt, Pepper and the zucchini:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I mixed it all around. I should have added the zucchini at the same time as the onion but it was still mostly cooked by the time the soup was done. Live and learn. I added red pepper flakes:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It smelled so amazing by this point. I was feeling really confident about the recipe. Next up, added the chicken:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The recipe could have used a little bit more chicken.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I added the chicken broth and tomato paste, plus the can of stewed tomatoes (don’t drain the liquid).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I was a bit worried at this point…the confidence I had for the recipe was faltering. It was too liquidy! I had hoped it would be a creamier soup. I decided to just let it be and not alter the recipe in any way. I added the cashew butter and mixed it all together.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Once the cashew butter started to melt it thickened up the soup very nicely. I added a little more salt and pepper and a dash of more curry powder and continued to taste it to see if it needed anything more.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I poured myself a glass of red zinfandel wine while it cooked. I toasted a piece of Dave’s Killer bread to go with dinner.<\/p>\n

Finally the soup was ready.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It’s probably the most delicious meal I’ve ever made.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I can’t get over how tasty the soup is! It’s creamy and spicy and the rotisserie chicken went really well as a substitute for the chicken breast. I’m also glad I added the zucchini. Having the vegetable in the soup made it heartier.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This is the first recipe I’ve tried from the cookbook. So far the cookbook is a success based on the West African Cashew Soup alone!<\/p>\n

A few things I DON’T like about the cookbook:<\/strong><\/p>\n