Posted on 02/19/2015 3:27:45 PM PST by Jamestown1630
This week, it's Soup and "Bread"
(It's freezing here; and Soup's my favorite thing to cook anyway!)
When I first developed a serious interest in cooking, my favorite cookbooks were the original 'Laurel's Kitchen' and a Shaker cookbook whose name I've forgotten and can't seem to find cited anywhere.
One soup recipe that has stuck with me and remained a favorite is the "Favorite Green Soup" from 'Laurel's Kitchen.' Here is an adaptation of it, a really great soup, very nutritious, with plenty of room for variations.
(In our house, it has the undignified name of 'Green Slime Soup' because it looks like the stuff at the bottom of a creek bed; but don't let that bother you ;-)
Favorite Green Soup
2 T. Olive or other oil
1 Onion, chopped
2 Stalks Celery, diced
6 cups Vegetable Stock
¾ C. split peas, rinsed
6 C. diced Zucchini
1/2 lb. Kale, washed & torn
1 or 2 Bay leaves
1/2 lb. Spinach, washed and torn
¼ C. chopped fresh Parsley
2 tsps. Salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Basil to taste
Opt: Pinch of crushed Red Pepper
Opt: Granulated Garlic
Saute onion and celery in the oil until soft. Add 4 cups vegetable stock, split peas, and bay leaf.
Bring to boil; then lower heat and simmer about 40 minutes, or until the peas are soft. Remove bay leaves.
Add zucchini, remaining stock, and seasonings. Cook until the zucchini is soft, and then add kale and simmer until the kale cooks down. (You may want to add more water or stock here.) Add spinach and parsley and cook until wilted.
Puree in blender, in small batches (hot soup will explode in the blender if you do too much at once.)
Return to medium heat for several minutes; adjust seasonings.
(Granulated garlic and crushed red pepper can be added to taste.)
For the 'Bread', from the Shaker cookbook came a recipe for homemade crackers that have also become a staple:
Whole Wheat Crackers
Preheat oven to 375
2 C. whole wheat Flour
2 tsps. Baking powder
½ tsp. Salt
1 Cup Butter
6 T. Milk
Mix and dry ingredients. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until dough is 'grainy'. (Dough will be stiff.)
On floured surface, roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness and cut into rounds (diamonds are nice, too, for a party.)
Place on greased baking sheet or a parchment- lined sheet. Pierce crackers with fork and bake until golden.
I would sometimes sprinkle sesame seeds on top before baking.
-JT
Gosh; can I come live with you for a few days? They’re calling for a temperature of 1, when we wake up in the morning.
(I know, some folks in other places will call us ‘wimps’; but this is really weird for the Metro DC area. We’re not acclimated to it.)
We’ve been shoveling the so-called ‘global warming’, for weeks, now.
O, Come, Spring!
(And, Thanks for the Sticky Chicken!)
-JT
Absolutely! And the cooked bird has been nicely seasoned as well.
A trick for chicken soup is to add a little turmeric to give it a golden color a la Campbell’s.
Got a recipe for that?
A favorite here would be gumbo. Definitely not the canned stuff from Campbells kids, but a hearty homemade shrimp gumbo, a seafood gumbo, or even a chicken/sausage gumbo. Served with rice rather than bread. But what the hay! A nice chunk of cornbread wouldn’t be turned down. For those looking for SOUTHERN RECIPES, this would be one trademark of the south. From The Carolinas to Louisiana and all points in between, a staple in southern cooking. Tomatoes, okra, and file’ (a spice) are all common in gumbo recipes. The challange in gumbo is making the roux...but it seems more intimating than it actually is. Try it, you’ll like it. CAUTION: add the file’ spice in the last few minutes of cooking. The longer it cooks, the more spicy it becomes.
CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE GUMBO
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/chicken-and-smoked-sausage-gumbo-with-white-rice-recipe.html
SEAFOOD GUMBO
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/seafood-gumbo-241194
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Soup/GumboSeafood.htm
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/seafood-gumbo
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/seafood-gumbo-recipe.html
CHICKEN AND OKRA GUMBO
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/seafood-gumbo
SHRIMP GUMBO
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/shrimp-gumbo-recipe.html
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I had a meet and greet in Tucson after a Freeper had a showing his documentary on the influence of the falling of the Berlin Wall. So if you are in town, email me. I would be very happy to make your acquaintance.
I admire all the stalwarts that can withstand such cold temperatures. I hope the heat stays on for you. But I do hope the civil servants can’t get to their make-work bureaucratic jobs and give the rest of us a break from their mischief.
We just finished dinner and the sticky chicken. We are grateful God provides.
Have a blessed Lenten season, JT.
Oh, Why Worry?
Eat what you need, save for later what you don’t.
-JT
That went over my head, whatever you meant.
Yes!
We can buy chicken feet at the local ethnic store. We use them routinely in soups, especially the Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken-Corn Chowder that we make for the husband’s folks..
Just buy a bunch and stick them in the freezer; pull a few out when you want to make stock.
(I think that ‘gelatinous’ product contains a lot of stuff that is very nutritious.)
(Gosh, you reminded me that I have to clip all the pets’ claws..)
-JT
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1.5 cups frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1 Tbsp parsley
Chicken stock, or water and bullion
1/2 tsp low-sodium salt (the potassium kind)
Simmer the potatoes and carrots until tender. Puree peas and sunflower seeds in a blender until smooth, using the cooking liquid from the vegetables as needed. Return everything to the saucepan and simmer gently until the color changes, stirring frequently so it doesn't stick.
Ok, anybody reading that is thinking this looks weird, so let me explain. I've been playing with nutritional spreadsheets for almost a year now, trying to find ways to get all the necessary macro- and micro-nutrients from food, because I can't take supplements and I've had serious trouble with deficiencies in various things. This soup is just one of the recipes I came up with. If you also add an egg and a couple glasses of milk, and an ounce or two of meat, plus the soup above it will give you 100% of everything needed. Admittedly, I usually have something different for dinner just because of the logistics of family life, but by having my egg and milk for breakfast and a bowl of this soup for lunch, I'm at least getting close.
Oh, and I like using frozen peas instead of dried because I think it tastes better that way, and it's faster to make. You can use fresh, frozen, canned, or dried, whichever you choose.
I LOVE soup.... I make it at least once a week. I also cook for an army, so the extra either goes to the freezer or to friends and neighbors.
My normal mode of operation is to save all the flavor things that normally get pitched..... chicken carcasses, beef bones, fond from the bottom of the pan. When I trim a chicken breast the scraps go in. If I’m not using the chicken skin or bones I will bake it until browned and add that. Raw or cooked doesn’t matter, though browned things have more depth of flavor. Even after I make hamburgers I will add some water to the pan to get the fond from the bottom of the pan. All these things get put into zip lock bags in the freezer. If you want to you can separate beef and chicken, but it isn’t necessary. (I have family that doesn’t eat beef, so I do).
I will also add the last half cup of stew before it spoils, a bit of leftover tomato sauce or paste, bits of leftover gravy or mashed potatoes. Fresh parsley that won’t get used. Whatever is full of flavor, but not anything from the cabbage or broccoli family. Those would dominate too much.
When I have several bags full I plop them into my 8 qt. pasta pot, with the strainer, and cover with water. Simmer for several hours. When all the flavor is cooked out simply lift the pasta strainer and remove all the stuff that isn’t stock. Simple! Check the flavor. If it needs reducing, continue cooking. If not, proceed with soup or cool for packaging for the freezer. Or you can refrigerate it to degrease it and make soup the next day.
When I make soup I start by sautéing celery, carrot and onion. Add whatever meat is leftover in the fridge or some that you have saved separately in the freezer just for soup. Add a handful of starch... potatoes, beans, lentils, rice or noodles. If there is something left over in the fridge this is a good way to use it. Add any additional veggies that might go well with your base... green beans, squash, tomato. Cabbage works here but not for the stock. Add whatever herb you like.... bay leaf, thyme, rosemary and parsley all work well.
Simmer until the veggies are cooked to your liking. We fondly call this “garbage soup”. Mixing beef and chicken gives an interesting depth to the stock. But separate they are also delicious.
I made this yesterday with fresh bread:
Trillian’s Cream of Cheesy Potato Soup
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
5-6 medium potatoes, skinned and cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
Enough homemade chicken stock and water to fill pot
1- 1/1/2 cups of half & half or whole milk to taste (you can also use cream if you want)
1 stick of butter and equal parts flour to make roux
2 cups of shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 lb of cooked bacon, minced
In a large soup pot (mine holds 18 cups) saute onions in butter and olive oil for a few minutes.
Add garlic, carrots and celery and saute for a few minutes more. Add potatoes and then saute for a few minutes constantly stirring.
Add a mixture of chicken stock and water to taste until the liquid reaches about 1-2 inches from top of pot.
Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium and simmer for 45 minutes.
Stir in milk or cream until well blended.
In a medium saucepan melt stick of butter and slowly mix in flour with whisk. It should form a thick paste.
Slowly start to ladle the soup into the medium pan continuing to mix with whisk until it starts to thicken. Pour it into the big soup pot and continue stirring with whisk until all the soup starts thickening. It should have the consistency between soup and gravy, not too thick.
Add cheese and stir until completely melted. Take off heat and stir in bacon.
Serve with homemade bread toasted in the oven.
A few days before that was zucchini and potato soup.
There is a way to decrease hotness of a soup as well, which I tried once after accidentally pouring way too much cayenne pepper into a pot of soup. (The little jar had an open top, but I thought it had a shaker top and didn’t look.) Whisk about 1/2 cup of cooking oil into the soup, getting it all through the pot, then let the oil rise to the surface and skim it off. The capsaicin from the pepper is much more soluble in oil than in water, so it concentrates in the oil and can be removed.
The one I had had a spiral binding. I looked for it but could not find it yet. I will look some more. I have been giving away so many books in the last ten years and do not know if that was one.
Southwestern Corn and Cheese Chowder
This is from “Cold Weather Cooking” by Sarah Leah Chase
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2” cubes
4 oz. thick-sliced bacon,
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced green chiles (4oz)
1 can creamed corn (16oz)
1 Mexican bottle beer (12 oz)
6 cups Chicken broth
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 Bay leaf
2 tsp. Chili powder
2 tsp. Ground cumin
2 cups milk
1/2 cup whipping cream or half and half.
1 lb Monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Preparation
Place the sweet potatoes, 3 cups of chicken broth, the beer, cumin, and bay leaf in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes are crisp-tender, 12-15 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp in a large stockpot. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels; when it is cool, chop or crumble it. Add the onion and garlic to the fat remaining in the pot; saute over medium-high heat until quite soft, about 10 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes with the cooking liquid to the onion and stir in the remaining 3 cups broth as well. Add the creamed corn and green chiles to the soup and season with the chili powder and cayenne. Gradually stir in the milk and cream. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Shred 12 ounces of the cheese and cut the remaining 4 ounces into small dice. Reduce the heat under the soup to low and add the shredded cheese, stirring just until melted. Season the soup with salt and stir in the cilantro. Ladle into bowls, stirring a tablespoon of diced cheese into each.
++Please note: I decreased cheese to 8 oz. I have tried this with low fat milk..it isn’t as good. It does need whole milk and that bit of cream or half and half.
Butternut Squash and Sundried Tomato soup is wonderful. I’ve been laid up with a concussion so my husband is taking care of meals...no homemade broth for soup or homemade anything right now. I’m breaking the rules just being on the computer!
“The capsaicin from the pepper is much more soluble in oil than in water, so it concentrates in the oil and can be removed.”
That’s why I don’t skim the grease off the top of the chili like some recipes say, you lose half the flavor :)
He says he’s still perfecting it, but here’s the latest.
BBQ Pulled Pork Meatloaf
1 lb. of good pulled pork (cooked, we buy ours by the lb. at a local BBQ joint)
2 lbs. of ground beef (85/15 raw)
1 cup of BBQ sauce (your favorite, but pick a thick one)
1 to 1.5 cups Saltine cracker crumbs
2 or 3 raw eggs
1 medium onion finely diced
Preheat oven to 375. Grind or chop pork until it is the same consistency as the beef. Mix all the ingredients and shape into loaf about 5 inches across. Cover with more BBQ sauce. Bake on a rack or pan that allows the loaf to drain out the juices. Bake at 375 until internal temperature of 145 degrees is reached or about 40 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.
So much for Globull Warming!!!!
The good thing is it doesn't snow here, well except for the 1 year we got a record high of 8 inches, and a couple of dusting in other years of the 10 years I have been here now. According to the extended forecast, next Monday looks like we may get snow or worse, ice. But hey, at least it's not the couple of feet we used to get in Virginia. Needless to say though, I am waiting anxiously for March as it should be over by then. Knock on wood.
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