Elderflower Liqueur (Low Carb)

Not a soup nor a side, but post-worthy. I promise. You can also find my updated post/recipe for Sugar-Free Elderflower Liqueur over at my other site, Keto Rat.

Most times when I’m eating or drinking something delicious, I’ll pound my fist on the nearest table and exclaim, “Ooooh SHIT this is fucking GOOOOOOOOOD!” followed by spiralling into deep thought about how I can 1) replicate the recipe and 2) create a low carb version. Frantic internet research ensues. Multiple tabs open as I mix and match recipe upon recipe until I have a general formula in my brain for what I want to create. This happens with just about every stupidly delicious thing I encounter. I become obsessed with the idea until I have time to make it happen. It feels so empowering when I’m able to reproduce something like this successfully.

The Ultimate Meat Chili (Low Carb)

One time I was a jalapeño burn-victim. An jalapeño burn-victim? I guess we’ll never know. Moving on, this came about from mincing around one dozen jalapeños. When I noticed my hands were on fire, my partner ran to the store to grab milk so I could soak my hands. Still burning. He ran back to the store to grab rubbing alcohol because we read it helped. Nothing. He ran back to the store to grab vaseline. Hands still engulfed in flames. The only thing that gave me a bit relief was plunging my hands into a bowl of ice water. However, as soon as the ice started to melt, the burning would flare up again. I would start to fall asleep with my hands in the bowl, the ice would melt, and the pain would jolt me awake. We replenished the bowl with ice and repeated this process for a long and torturous TEN HOURS.

Roasted Beet and Dill Soup (Low Carb, Vegetarian)

What is this winter hellscape that continues to follow me from city to city? I’ve been trying to lose it since I left the last of my long five Ottawa winters in 2010.

Cream of Chicken and Leek Soup (Low Carb)

Using mostly leftovers and things I had on hand, I was able to whip this soup up for poor, sick Doug and myself quite quickly on a dreary weekend morning. It’s been a while since I’ve used cauliflower to thicken a cream soup and I needed to use up the half head that I had in the fridge, so it was fate.

Fall Harvest Beef Stew (Low Carb)

I’m a bit of a daydreamer. It’s what gets me through the week sometimes.

A recurring daydream of mine is that I own and run a mom and pop cafe. Something similar to a place in Victoria called Hot and Cold Cafe. A point of reference for my Ottawa friends would be The Wild Oat; for my Toronto St. Clair West friends, Baker & Scone. Small menus, few tables, creative and ever-changing recipes. Baked goods, hot soups, maybe salads, probably sandwiches. Everything would be relatively low in carbs. I could market it as gluten-free, vegetarian-friendly, and low-glycemic for diabetics.

Chicken Noodle Soup (Low Carb)

I’m slowly getting back into the soup game. Sometimes all it takes is cooler weather, but other times it takes a motivational push from a visiting pal that wants to collaborate on a recipe. Often one of the first things Dan will ask me upon his arrival is, “Should we do a soup for the blog?”.

Pho-Inspired Beef Soup (Low Carb)

I quit my job last week.

I realized a change needed to happen when I was eating my dinner between sobs on my 30 minute break and asking my boyfriend for reassurance in my other skills.

Chicken, Scotch Bonnet, and Beer Stew (Low Carb)

Back in 2013 when I started this blog, I was still incorporating a lot of carbohydrates into my life. The common theme of my life was potatoes. They are the epitome of comfort and I generally need a lot of comfort to coax myself through the winter. This year I’ve decided to give some old favourites a low carb makeover, starting with my Chicken Barley and Beer Stew.

Purple Cabbage Roll Soup

I was excited to hear from Helena over at Low Carb Lovelies when I found out she wanted to feature me as a guest poster on her very impressive and dedicated blog. We were lucky enough to find each other in the world of WordPress and she was looking for a soup to warm her bones. Just as a chill has been settling in where she lives in Australia, it has been heating up here in Toronto. Normally this is where I put a pause on all things soup for the summer, yet I excitedly accepted the offer, as I had loads of chicken stock in my freezer to use up before summer truly sets in here.

Chicken Fajita Soup (Low Carb)

Most of my soup recipes start as a quick thought I’ll jot down and then save in my gmail account draft folder as an unsent email entitled “recipes”. I usually have a few soup ideas written down at a time and I’ll slowly add ingredients to each idea when I think of what would work well.