The Joy of Soup

2002-12-05T10:42:00.000-05:00

importing

2002-11-25T20:58:00.000-05:00

AND SO WE BID A FOND GOODBYE... ... to Blogger as The Soup moves to a new web address: joyofsoup.com Thanks for the start, Blogger. It's been fun. Come over to the new place and say hello. There's a comment function over there.

2002-11-07T22:08:00.000-05:00

:: Business Lunch Soup ::

Navy Bean Soup at the Gateway Cafe Today the Soup Lady broke away from the terrible drudgery of the office to indulge in a little fresh air and a good lunch. The destination was an unassuming little place in a strip mall. It's a family-owned restaurant done up in a red leatherette/pseudo-50's/Betty Boop theme - an almost unbearable decor that is saved by the white lace cafe curtains - but the sandwiches are great and they have specials to make your mouth water. Today's special was Pulled Pork on a kaiser roll with Navy Bean Soup. How could you go wrong? While the pork was tender and moist and heavily seasoned with sage, the soup had no flavor at all. Oh, it looked good - all thick and colorful with shredded carrots in it, and it smelled good - little wisps of steam carrying the aroma right up to you - but the beans tasted as if they had been cooked seperately and then dumped into the broth. A great disappointment. We won't be falling for that one again.

2002-11-03T20:07:00.000-05:00

A: HOT AND SOUR Q: NAME A SOUP AND A SOUP LADY OK, here's my plan to maintain good health throughourt the coming winter: Frequent ingestion of Hot and Sour soup. Why not? It's filled with good things - vinegar and hot pepper to purge the germs from your system, soybean curd to infuse a little estrogen, plus everybody's favorite health food: pork. How could you go wrong? After an extensive search through all of the surrounding suburban stripmalls, I found that the best version comes from Wing Hing in the Strathmore Town Center mall, but even they sometimes use those vile canned mushroom slices. Which I preteniously prefer to call tinned mushroom slices. And so I have set off on a quest to see if this is something I could produce in my test kitchen. I googled "hot and Sour Soup" and got this. So I took a look, and the first three recipes that I opened had plenty of sour, but nothing hot. Maybe they weren't paying attention to the name. The next recipe had hot ingredients (I think), but seemed to be just a tad too exotic for a first go-round, what with it's bruised lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, prik ki nu and coconut shoots. The next listing calls for rehydrated woodears and how about the one that requires tiger lily buds, which I just happen to have. Woodears seem to be a common ingredient in many of the recipes, but here is one where the plagarist must have been copying in a hurry and scribbled down "cloudears". Really, all I want is hot and sour soup that contains fresh mushrooms. Is that so much to ask? It looks like a fairly big job to work one's way through all of these recipes. Maybe a whole winter's occupation. Stay tuned.

2002-10-31T10:45:00.000-05:00

NOW THAT'S JUST SPOOKY

: : Food Impostor : :

Happy Halloween, dears! What a delightful holiday this is - an abundance of recipes for the "Food Impostors" section. You may remember that "Food Impostors" started out as a showcase for "food that is trying to look like other food", but too many gems were overlooked by that strict definition, so now it has broadened to "food that tries to look like something else." Now while the Soup Lady does not approve of the vulgarities known as "Cat Litter Casserole" or the equally disgusting "Boogers on a Stick", there's no harm in having a little holiday fun with some festive seasonal concotions such as Cheese Eyeballs or Witch's Finger Cookies.

The link for the cookies came from that closet Domestic Goddess known as Michele at a small victory. Who would have guessed? These fingers are the Disney version of Halloween witch fingers. Here is someone who forces the issue of "is it a trick or a treat?" when she offers up one of these: The Soup Lady shamefully confesses that she has a horrible fascination with these and cannot stop admiring them. You have my permission to go here for other Halloween Food Impostors, but please, be don't let me down. Try to make your menu tasteful as well as tasty.

2002-10-23T08:57:00.000-04:00

:: From The Mailbag ::
It must be getting cold in Chicago, because they are thinking about hot soup there. The inimitable Dargie ( whose motto is: "If life gives you lemons, squeeze those suckers hard enough to squirt life in the eye!") sends us a recipe anyone can follow. DARGIE'S ONION SOUP Dear Soup Lady, This is the way I cook. Measurements are for baking where they matter. Slice up a lot of white and/or yellow onions or a combination thereof (I don't like red ones in this soup because of the color, and I don't like very strong ones in my soup either. BTW, for anyone who doesn't know, the rounder an onion is, the stronger it will be. Flatter onions are sweeter. ) I don't know how many. What's a lot for you? Good, that's how many you slice up. Throw a nice-size lump of butter into your soup pot, and add some olive oil. When the butter is melted and swirling around, making nice with the oil, throw your onions in and caramelize them. Sprinkle them with a bit of sugar (not much, this isn't dessert you know. Just a teaspoon or so to help with the caramelization. Don't hurry this part because it takes time - as much as half an hour - to make the onions beautiful and golden, and to get them to release their sugars. Once they've achieved this pinnacle of onion perfection, fill the pot with stock. How much you use depends on the balance of onion to broth you like. I like a bowl loaded with onions, but you may prefer a bowl of broth with onions as a kind of condiment. Either way, add stock accordingly. I like to use a combination of stocks because I think it adds depth to the soup. Try a combo of beef and chicken. If you're really daring, a touch of fish stock really is wonderful. Just a touch. This isn't bouillibaise. Be careful not to make the stock too salty. Bring to a boil and add a tot of wine. I kind of like port because it's got some body to it, but any good red or white will do. Again, not a lot, but just enough to add to the complexity. This would be a good time to add a bouquet garni, or a few herbs. Whatever you like. I'm partial to a bit of thyme in this, or a Provencale mix. Reduce heat. Simmer for an hour or so, until the onions are lovely and tender, and all the flavors have had a chance to blend. While it's cooking, you want to toast some slices of French or Italian bread, and grate some cheese. A mix is best. I like parmesan and swiss, but I've used romano, cheddar or anything that's been at hand (No, not cottage cheese or Velveeta! Behave yourself.) and it's all been great. put a slice or two of bread at the bottom of your bowl. Sprinkle generously with cheese, and ladle the hot soup over it. You could do the whole bowl-under-the-broiler thing if you want a toasted effect, but I like my cheese gooey, so I never bother. If you do broil it, be sure you've got your soup in ovenproof bowls, and put the bread and cheese on top of the soup, not under it. Eat it. Stop when you've had enough or the soup runs out.

Best regards, Dargie Oh, that Dargie! I do belive this is the first recipe posted here that calls for a tot of wine.

2002-10-19T23:52:00.000-04:00

FOR THIS, YOU DON'T EVEN NEED A BRIDE The very best version of this classic soup that I have ever had was made by my friend Joellen, a redhead of the I Love Lucy variety, who claims to be Italian. If this soup could be used as evidence, it must be true. She says the secret is in the broth and often spends 2 or 3 days getting it just right. When she is satisfied, she moves on to the rest.

:: Recipe :: ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP 1. The chicken stock: 2 pounds chicken parts 2 large onion s 3 stalks celery, including leaves 3 large carrots 3 cloves of garlic 2 teaspoons salt 4 - 5 peppercorns 3 whole cloves 12 cups water Quarter the onions. Chop scrubbed celery and carrots into 1 inch chunks. Place chicken pieces, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, salt, and cloves in large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1- 2 hours. Remove chicken and vegetables. Strain stock through cheesecloth to remove solids. Skim fat off the surface. 2. The meatballs: Combine 1/2 pound lean ground beef, 1 egg (slightly beaten), 4 tablespoons bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons parmesean cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil. Shape into 3/4 inch balls. Drop into boiling water and cook until they float to the top. Drain and set aside. 3. The escarole: In a large pot of boiling water, add 2 heads of escarole which has been cleaned and chopped. Blanch for 3 minutes to remove the bitterness from the greens. Drain. When cooled, squeeze out all extra liquid. 4. Put it all together: Bring stock to a boil; add chopped escarole, 1 1/2 cups acini de pepe, and 3 eggs (slightly beaten) combined with 1 cup of parmesean cheese. Stirring continuously until the egg is fully cooked and the pasta is al dente. Add the meatballs, adjust seasoning and heat through. For those less dedicated to authenticity, canned chicken broth and frozen chopped spinach can be substituted. The acini de pepe floating around gives it the look of the real thing. And looks, as you all know, are half the battle.

2002-10-18T11:55:00.000-04:00

AN OPEN LETTER TO HELEN WATERS (reprinted from January 2002) Dear Helen Waters, Your website is a model for us all - a cross-stitched dung beetle! - an entire section devoted to the sharp crease of a well-made trouser! - And, of course, a food section that makes me realize that my own weird jello department is only a pretender to the throne on which you are already seated. I bow before you. Jello forever! Best regards, The Soup Lady Behold! From the "I Can't Believe It's Food!" section of the Family Indigestion department: THE BOSTON BEANIE RING 1 pkg. lemon flavoured gelatin 1/3 cup ketchup 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon prepared mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 can baked beans in tomato sauce 1/2 cup diced celery 1/4 cup drained sweet-pickle relish small, inner romain leaves Heat tomato juice to boiling in a small saucepan; pour over gelatin in a medium-sized bowl; stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in ketchup, lemon juice, mustard and salt. Chill 30 minutes, or until as thick as unbeaten egg white. Fold in baked beans, celery and pickle relish; spoon into a 5-cup ring mold. Chill several hours, or until firm (overnight is best). When ready to serve, run a sharp-tip thin-blade knife around top of salad, then dip mold very quickly in and out of pan of hot water. Cover mold with a serving plate; turn upside down; carefully lift off mold. Stand romaine leaves in center of ring. Who would actually dare to make this, let alone serve it? At least the Molded Pork Loaf has a horrible kind of beauty about it, which the Boston Beanie Ring cannot claim.

2002-10-18T06:51:00.000-04:00

HELP ME, SOUP LADY! Oh, you poor dears! So chilly now that autumn is here and dampness is in the air! Chilly? Chili? Hey, that's a good idea ... Here is a recipe for White Chicken Chili from Suzi Q, who lives in the north country and knows about cold. She says: " I based this on the white chicken chili that they serve at Ruby Tuesday's, and I use inexact measurements, and lots more veggies, as you can see! I like a lot of peppers - you can use less.You can used dried navy beans if you soak overnight, discard water and then simmer for 1 hour per package directions. Serve with a dollop of FF sour cream and thinly sliced green onions. Tortilla strips are good for garnish, too -- but I can hardly find them in MN. Experiment with the seasonings you like the best........... and a variety of white beans. ENJOY!!"

:: Recipe ::

LOW FAT WHITE CHICKEN CHILI 4 or 5 cans of white beans with their liquid (navy, white, butter,etc) 1 can stewed or chopped tomatoes 1 each red, yellow, and green pepper, diced 1 large onion, diced 4 cloves garlic, minced 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 2 large cans of chicken broth (fat free) 1/2 cup chopped carrots 1/2 cup chopped celery lots of celery leaves add chopped jalapenos to taste Seasoning to taste: coarsely ground pepper salt bay leaf celery salt or beau monde Tabasco rosemary parsley Garnish: a dollop of fat free sour cream thinly sliced green onions In large soup pot, Simmer chicken breasts 15 mins. or until done, in 1 cup of chicken broth and the seasonings you prefer. Remove from liquid, cut into bite sized cubes, and set aside. If you are using frozen chicken breasts, it is easier to cube them prior to cooking. To the liquid in the pan, add the garlic, peppers, and onions. Simmer about 10 - 15 minutes, adding more liquid (chicken broth) if needed. Don't let them get all mushy -- just translucent and juicy. Add the canned or pre-cooked beans, carrots, celery, tomatoes, cubed chicken and remainder of seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 mins. stirring if needed. Remove about 2 cups of mostly beans from the pot and mash them with a fork, then return to the pot and simmer for about 15 more minutes -- this thickens the chili. Adjust seasoning to taste. ONGOING RESEARCH The Soup Lady can't help but notice that there is no actual chili in this chili recipe. By great good fortune, I had the opportunity to have the White Chicken Chil at another mall-linked chain restaurant called Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grille. The White Chicken Chili very, very spicy (maybe it has chili in it!) and quite tasty, too.

2002-10-16T12:33:00.000-04:00

HELLO DEARS! My, my, my - the Soup Lady has certainly been busy with other things besides soup. So busy that my little Joy Of Soup has quite fallen apart, hasn't it? Oh, the places I've been and the soup I've had! -White Chili Queso in Jillian's sports Bar in Minneapolis -popcorn afloat on top of it - abomination! -Tom Ka Guy in north Berkeley - whole button mushrooms bobbing about in coconut milk broth, served just the way I like it from a large tureen at the table. -Cheesy Cream of Spinach Soup in a dark basement cafe in Bucks County. Divinity itself. - Vicchyssoise - served chilled over a sterling silver icer in a former brothel in Florida. The.Very. Best. Ever. -Italian wedding Soup at an actual Italian wedding in Philadelphia - trucked in by the bride's relatives. It doesn't get any better than that. - Pasta e Fagioli made with pancetta right here in my own kitchen! An all around success except with those who rebuke pig in any shape or form (50% of the Panel of Judges. I should have known better!) So many opportuinities to promote soup gone by. Well, not to worry, dears. The weather has turned chilly and everyone will be looking for soup. The Soup Lady will be here for you once again.

2002-04-07T08:10:00.000-04:00

MERCY ME! WHAT A NAUGHTY NAME! The Soup Lady spent her first 10 visits to the Lotus Inn ordering the miso soup, and then fell under the spell of the wonder that is Hot and Sour. A more devoted miso fan writes at the site with the naughty name and provides us with a clever method to get the lunchtime miso fix.

2002-04-07T07:21:00.000-04:00

NETCOMMENTS SAVED MY BACON or Confessions of a Soup Lady Gone Bad Well, I don't know how it happened, but things got all mixed up here. I had to reset the template to straighten things out, and when I did, the YACCS comments went away. Just my luck that YACCS had closed up. Thank goodness for NetComments. There they are right after each post. Leave a comment and try them out. Now, if I can only figure out where the images went off to.

2002-04-06T17:04:00.000-05:00

:: From The Mailbag :: While the Soup Lady was away, the mailbag has been filling up. Here is a letter fromAva South, for a soup that is her particular favorite: Dear SL, Here is a recipe that was originally in my Mama's church group cookbook, but I modified for my own use. I love it, but I don't make it too often because I tend to overindulge, if you know what I mean.

:: Recipe :: CREAM GARDEN SOUP 3 cups of peeled, diced potatoes, preferably red or Yukon gold 1 cup water 1/2 cup celery, chopped 1/2 cup carrots, sliced 1/4 cup chopped onions 1 tsp. parsley flakes 1 chicken boullion cube 1/2 tsp. salt Dash of pepper 1 1/2 cups skim milk 2 tsp. flour 1/2 cup lof-fat Velveeta, cubed Combine first 9 ingredients. Mix well. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or till tender. Gradually add milk to flour, stirring till smooth. Add milk mixture to vegetables. Cook till thickened. Add cheese. Stir till melted. Serves 6 to 8. Note: I also add frozen green beans and green peas. When I made the most recent batch I made the recipe about half again. It made a BIG pot of soup. Ava South Nice touch with the low-fat bit at the end there, Ava. As if.

2002-04-03T17:21:00.000-05:00

Well, what a lot of action has been going on without me! New recipe sites aplenty, soup recipes in the mailbag, requests for soup recipes, soup for lunch, new old cookbooks waiting to be discussed. Recipe sites: The Mixing Bowl - Lee, Shelagh and the gang have worked together to produce a friendly, easy-on-the-eyes group recipe site. Stop by and say hello. What's cookin'? - a new group blog that seems to have already found it's voice. Too bad I happened by there after Easter, it looks like they had an entire celebration going on over there. the Bitchin' Kitchen, self-proclaimed recipe globe trotters. Saute Wednesday. for the record, a little bit of cork in the wine glass has never stopped the Soup Lady. Or even slowed her down. Jaz's Quick Cooking . That Jaz is a girl after my own heart. An entire April Fool's Day dinner made of Food Impostors. Coming soon, from the mailbag, a recipe from Ava for Cream Garden Soup and a request from a reader for Cream of Cabbage Soup. Also, our next book review will be of that most delightful and practical relic of the sixties, the "I Hate To Cookbook" by Peg Bracken. I seem to remember her appearance on the Mike Douglas show touting this book. Did she just say the Mike Douglas show? Hey, if it was good enough for John and Yoko, then it should be good enough for you, too. [4/3/2002 1:07:12 PM | the soup lady] LOOK AT ALL THIS DUST! Hello, dears! The Soup Lady has been away for a while and just look what has happened around here. The images are gone (how did that happen?), the link list is out of date for Friends of The Soup, even the prestigious and coveted awards have gone missing. It looks like there is a lot of cleaning up to be done here. Not to worry. The Soup Babe is in the house.

2002-02-10T07:45:00.000-05:00

AND THEN WE ALL HAD SOUP Hang onto your hats, dears! - the Soup Lady is a modern woman and works outside the home! It is quite true and it is a good thing. This increases the opportunity for exposure to soup at varied restaurants durning business-related lunches. An emerging trend seems to be that if one party orders soup, the rest of the table does as well. Last week, our party of four did just this thing, and the soup ordered was: Seven Onion Soup - This appeared to be the garden-variety cheese-topped French Onion, but once the topping was pushed aside, there was evidence that shallots and scallions were part of the recipe. It was over-whelmingly scented by bay leaves. Chosen by two members of the party. Cream of Portabello Mushroom with Lemon Thyme - What a color this was! Kind of greenish/taupe. But the mushrom bits were of a good size and the cream base was rich in flavor, not pasty. Spicy New England Clam Chowder with Chorizo Sausage and Chiopotle Peppers - this was the selection of the Soup Lady. Although it was promising in description and appearance, it was most bland and a major disapointment. Not to worry, dears. The Soup Lady plans to cover the entire length and breadth of Buck's County in search of blog-worthy soups. Report to follow.

2002-02-02T04:09:00.000-05:00

:: From The Mailbag :: TOTO, I DON'T THINK WE'RE IN KANSAS ANYMORE Soup Fever sweeps through Europe as the ultra-talented web-design genius, D. writes from the U.K.about a soup he frequently mentions: Souplady, O Souplady, Here is my recipe for lime steak soup. I no longer remember where it came from or what it is really called. Best regards, D.

:: Recipe :: LIME STEAK SOUP Ingredients : 6 cups water 1 pound of .steak sliced or diced into thin strips or cubes 1 chopped onion 4 pounded cloves garlic 8 sliced dried red chilies 1 stalk of sliced lemongrass 1-inch of galangal 1/2 cup lime juice 4 tbsp fish sauce 3 tsp brown sugar 4 tbsp vegetable oil 4 tbsp coriander, chopped 4 tbsp spring onion, chopped Directions : 1. Heat oil in pot and fry garlic and onion till golden. 2. Add beef and fry for 1 more min. 3. Add water, lime juice, fish sauce, chilies, galangal, lemongrass and sugar, and simmer for 20 mins or until beef is tender. 4. Garnish with coriander and spring onion.

Serves 4-6 . . . It sounds like a major flavor experience, doesn't it? The Soup Lady likes the looks of this and will produce it for the panel of judges as soon as they can all be rounded up into the test kitchens. (I wonder if he really meant 8 chilies? )

2002-01-31T20:49:00.000-05:00

:: From The Mailbag :: Mary Beth - maker of quilts, herder of cats, guardian of fruitcake, owner of the OXO peeler - writes about soup: Dear Soup Lady, I've been enjoying some recipes from other websites, and thought I'd share the soup I made today. Use whatever sort of meat you'd like for the ham. Sure to be OK.

:: Recipe :: HEARTY VEGGIE LENTIL SOUP In a big soup pot, saute: vegetable oil two onions, diced 4-5 cloves garlic, mashed 1.5" thick slice of ham diced (I used turkey ham) When onions start to turn golden, add: 2-3 quarts of water 1 one pound bag of lentils 5 carrots, diced (about 1/4"") 5 stalks celery (ditto) 1 bay leaf salt and pepper to taste fines herbes dried parsley Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until the lentils are cooked. Add: one 28 oz can of pureed tomatoes one small can ,b>beef stock if desired more water if needed 4-5 large leaves of kale, large stems removed. Stack the leaves and slice into 1/4" ribbons, simmer until the kale is cooked. Leave uncovered to reduce stock slightly. Just before serving, add a good bit of grated fresh parmasean cheese to each bowl and ladle soup into the bowl.

. . . I like that image: "... slice into 1/4" ribbons ..."

2002-01-29T21:56:00.000-05:00

ANNOUCING A NEW FEATURE - FOOD IMPOSTERS! I have long had a fascination with foods that are meant to look like other foods. As I was mulling this over today, someone offered me a candy called an Irish Potato. This is a no-bake coconut and cream cheese confection that is rolled in cinnamon and shaped by hand. Faith and begora if it doesn't look like a wee spud!

:: FOOD IMPOSTERS :: IRISH POTATO CANDY 1/4 cup butter, softened 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 cups confectioners' sugar 2 1/2 cups flaked coconut 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon Directions: 1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. 2. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar; beat until smooth. 3. Using your hands if necessary, mix in the coconut. 4. Roll into balls or potato shapes, and roll in the cinnamon. 5. Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set. 6. If desired, roll potatoes in cinnamon again for darker color.

Enjoy the complexity of this experience. Once you adjust your brain to the idea that this is candy, then you begin to expect marzipan. What a surprise to find the coconutty goodness inside. And it's not overly sweet, either. The Soup Lady regrets to announce that the panel of judges is becoming very uncooperative. Maybe I can lure them back into the test kitchens with this one. (Note: While doing research for this entry, I came across some recipes that included real mashed potatos in the ingredients, but who the hell wants to eat that? That is not the point, anyway.)

2002-01-26T15:04:00.000-05:00

AN OPEN LETTER TO HELEN WATERS Dear Helen Waters, Your website is a model for us all - a cross-stitched dung beetle! - an entire section devoted to the sharp crease of a well-made trouser! - And, of course, a food section that makes me realize that my own weird jello department is only a pretender to the throne on which you are already seated. I bow before you. Jello forever! Best regards, The Soup Lady Behold! From the "I Can't Believe It's Food!" section of the Family Indigestiondepartment: THE BOSTON BEANIE RING

:: Recipe :: 1 pkg. lemon flavoured gelatin 1/3 cup ketchup 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon prepared mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 can baked beans in tomato sauce 1/2 cup diced celery 1/4 cup drained sweet-pickle relish small, inner romain leaves Heat tomato juice to boiling in a small saucepan; pour over gelatin in a medium-sized bowl; stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in ketchup, lemon juice, mustard and salt. Chill 30 minutes, or until as thick as unbeaten egg white. Fold in baked beans, celery and pickle relish; spoon into a 5-cup ring mold. Chill several hours, or until firm (overnight is best). When ready to serve, run a sharp-tip thin-blade knife around top of salad, then dip mold very quickly in and out of pan of hot water. Cover mold with a serving plate; turn upside down; carefully lift off mold. Stand romaine leaves in center of ring. Who would actually dare to make this, let alone serve it? At least the Molded Pork Loaf has a horrible kind of beauty about it, which the Boston Beanie Ring cannot claim.

2002-01-13T09:14:00.000-05:00

:: From The Mailbag :: Ok, I confess. It's really it's From The Comment Bag: Jessamyn sends along The! Science! Of! Vegetable! Soup! Good advice.Take a look.

2002-01-13T07:13:00.000-05:00

:: From The Mailbag :: Inspired by the Congress Cooks! entry, Steve from Hawaii writes: Dear Soup Lady, I was surprised to find that none of the Hawaii Congresspeople mentioned this staple of Island parties in the Congress Cooks recipe listings, so I thought I'd submit it for your kitchen tests. Please note it contains cabbage. This one is pretty standard; as you might guess, there are lots of variations. It's quite ono (good, in the local language). Enjoy! Steve ( aka Linkmeister ) There's a reason they call him The Linkmeister.

:: Recipe :: PORTUGUESE BEAN SOUP Ingredients: 2 cups (1 lb) red or pink beans 2 quarts boiling water 2 lb Portuguese sausage 1 onion, sliced 2 carrots, diced 3 potatoes, diced 1 small cabbage, chopped 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce 2 tablespoons salt 1 quart water Procedure: Wash beans and put in a large saucepot. Cover with boiling water and let stand one hour. Cut sausage into 1/4-inch slice; add with onion to the undrained beans. Cook on low heat for 1 hour or until beans are tender. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 1 1/2 more hours, adding more water if necessary. Makes 12 servings. Source: http://www.hawaii.edu/recipes/pork/portbeansoup.html Submitted by: Residential Services Division Organization: Hawaiian Electric Company

2002-01-12T11:16:00.000-05:00

:: Cookbooks ::
CONGRESS COOKS! - An Internet Cookbook From Our Elected Officials found via blog and toad are friends Heaven only knows the motivation behind it, but this is an uneven collection of folksy recipes from US senators, congressmen and governors. The recipes seem to be chosen to highlight state speciality foods or ethinic background of the contributors and but some are downright unexplainable. I find it interesting that the majority of the recipes are from the lowly congressman, who might have actually had some contact with the business end of a kitchen stove. Adds believability to the entire venture. I still can't figure the motive, though. Nevertheless, there are some soup recipies: Avoglemono Soup Clam Chowder Burgoo Potato Dill Soup and, of course: Famous Senate Navy Bean Soup Please do not venture anywhere near this site unless you are willing at look at cheesey publicity photos of politicians. Consider yourself warned.

2001-12-27T20:47:00.000-05:00

:: From The Mailbag :: Charles from sixdifferentways writes about his Spanish Stew: The Soup Lady said I could send a stew recipe and it would still count as soup. I lost the recipe for this stew long ago, but make it often enough that I basically have it memorized by now. I call it “Spanish stew.” I think the original recipe was in some magazine or something, as being typical of a dish made in Spain. The Southern region near the French border. This was discovered in college. It’s the best kind of meal: delicious, easy, one-dish, freezes well for those times when you are short on time, and relatively cheap. Some of the ingredients are a bit pricey, but you have to figure this recipe makes two dinners for two and a couple of lunches. I still bring leftovers of this for lunch. It is better than anything you can buy out.

:: Recipe :: SPANISH STEW - footnotes included* 1 – 1 ½ pounds of beef or lamb stew meat, cut into cubes [1] ¼ cup of flour olive oil 1 – 1 ½ heads of garlic (not cloves and NOT chopped) 4-5 whole shallots (NOT chopped) 1 – ½ cups good dry red wine [2] 2-3 carrots, sliced 2-3 stalks of celery, sliced (I like including some of the leafy parts) ½ cup mushrooms, sliced (optional) 5 or 6 WHOLE new or small white or red potatoes 7 or 8 whole cloves 1-tablespoon oregano 2 tablespoons other dried herbs [3] ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or a few dashes of hot sauce (optional, but I am from Texas) ½ cup fresh-grated Parmesan-Reggiano (pricey but so worth it) 1/2 cup good quality fresh black olives (i.e., not in a jar or tin) (optional) 2 pinches of saffron (optional) 1 baguette or other fresh bread – this is really part of the stew, a necessity and not “on the side”, even though it’s on the side. Salt [4] and fresh-ground pepper. a few tablespoons of European butter To make this, you need a slow cooker, sometimes called a “crock pot.” (I suppose you could use a pan over low heat, but a crock-pot is one of the best inventions of the 20th Century. Everyone should own one. You can make stuff and forget about it. It won’t overcook. It won’t heat up the kitchen in the summer. It is idiot-proof.) You will also need a food processor of some sort or maybe a blender. Toss the cubes of meat in the flour. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and brown the meat until slightly browned all over. Spoon all this into your crock-pot. Stick the whole cloves into the potatoes. Add all of the vegetables and herbs except the saffron, and wine to cover. Turn the crock-pot on for several hours (6 hours or less turn on “high”, 8-12 hours on “low.”) After this time, you need to take a slotted spoon and carefully remove the potatoes, garlic cloves, and shallots. Remove the cloves from the potatoes best you can. Chop the potatoes a bit and add them back in. Here is the essential trick: This stew is not thickened by flour or anything like that. The mashed garlic and shallots thicken it. So take the whole garlic cloves and shallots, and add them to the food processor with a bit of the juice and the saffron. Process until you have a thick paste. Use a spatula and scoop every bit back into the pot. Continue to cook on “high” for another 2 hours or more. Taste for seasoning. You may want to add a tablespoon or so of extra virgin Olive oil to finish if you use no olives.Serve in bowls with a sprinkling of the parmesan and the sliced bread. If you want to be really decadent, finish each bowl with about 1/2 a teaspoon of the butter, in the French manner. The butter is good on the bread, too - but the stew is rich enough you don't really need it if you want to cut back on the fat a bit. I think that’s it. I may have forgotten something, I’m just writing off-the-cuff. However, it should be very good. It's stew, you can add other vegetables or seasonigs or whatever you like or have around. Play around. You’ll like it. Note: This is really good if you keep it in the refrigerator overnight after you cook it. It also freezes wonderfully. In fact, if you have a big enough crock-pot, make double the recipe and freeze some for a quick meal later. * Footnotes: [1] Being Spanish, you could probably also use some seafood instead – shrimp, crabs, etc. Just don’t add it until about the last 15 minutes of cooking – and maybe use white wine instead of red. [2] You should always cook with wine that is, at least, drinkable. “Cooking wine” is an abomination and should be banned. This is cheap, leftover wine that is salted so much it can be sold as cooking wine and not a beverage. You see no cooking wine on grocery shelves in France. There is a reason for this. You don't have to use great wine for cooking, but it should be decent. [3] I like to use a quality fines herbes or “Herbs from Provence” mix, from Morton and Bassett in San Francisco. They sell it at a lot of markets here or http://www.mortonbassett.com - which has chervil, rosemary, tarragon, lavender, marjoram, savory, tyme, and parsley. Use whatever you like, but some rosemary and tarragon in the mix are recommended. [4] Like a lot of slow-cooked dishes, one trick is to season this throughout the cooking stages if possible. I like to add a bit of kosher salt in the beginning. After processing the garlic and shallots, I’ll add a pinch of pink Alaea Hawaiian sea salt, Tinged pinkish from contact with iron oxide inherent in that region’s waters, large crystals of this unique Hawaiian sea salt add complexity to the dish (it’s great on any grilled meat or vegetables, too.). Right before serving, a sprinkling of snow-white a French fleur de sel, in particular that gathered only in the Summer from the ile de Re. Yes, I have eight different salts in my cupboard and none is a cardboard cylinder of iodized stuff with the slogan “when it rains it pours.” Though that will work, too. I am just a saltophile. Cheers, Charles of sixdifferentways

2001-12-16T02:35:00.000-05:00

:: Cookbooks ::
IN THE KITCHEN WITH MISS PIGGY - Fabulous Recipes from My Celebrity Friends - 1996 This cookbook is a compilation of the prized personal recipes of the friends of Miss Piggy. I am suspicious. I find it entirely believeable that Liz Taylor knows about Spicy Chicken or that Willard Scott has spent years perfecting the recipe for Brown Sugar Pound Cake. But one must suspend reality to fall for Ivana Trump cooking Goulash or Robin Leach making Chicken and Pasta Salad. Or is that just me? Yo-Yo Ma's Barbequed Spareribs with Beer and Honey or Barbara Bush's Bologna for a Cocktail Buffet - the jury's still out. In a failed attempt to broaden the Teen Queen's list of acceptable foods, this book was a gift to her. The first recipe she chose to make was Frank Oz's Glop, a concoction of zucchini, spinach and broccoli steamed together, run through a food processor and baked after adding butter and mozzarella cheese. Did she eat it? She declined. What we have here is a book containing 50 recipes that are clearly written and easy to follow using common ingredients. Each offering includes a beautiful color photo of the finished dish, and Miss Piggy appears in a fabulous outfit on each page with tips and enhancements of her own. Originally produced as part of a fund-raising effort for Citymeals-On-Wheels, a private program that feeds homebound elderly people, it can hold it's own against many other cookbooks on the shelf and definately outshines the pretentious Williams-Sonoma series. It includes four recipes for soup, only one of which is worth mentioning:

:: Recipe :: KATIE COURIC'S ZESTY TOMATO-THYME SOUP The Description This is a chunky soup with a light, fresh taste. The Recipe 1. Coarsely chop one medium onion and two cloves of garlic in a food processor. Remove the mixture; set aside. Chop two stalks of celery and 1/4 cup (packed) of fresh parsley. Remove and set aside. 2. In a large saucepan, warm one tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and garlic and stir-fry until the mixture begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 16-oz. cans of crushed tomatoes and their juice, 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth, two tablespoons of tomato paste, two tablespoons of grated orange zest, one teaspoon of dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and the celery and parsley. 3. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for at least 10 minutes. 4. Serve hot, at room temperature or slightly chilled, but not cold. Offer with a dollop of sour cream on top. Microwave Version: To save time, you could make this in the microwave. Here's how: Combine the oil, chopped onion, garlic, celery, and parsley in a 3-Qt. microwave-safe casserole. Cover loosley and cook at 100% for 4 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and their juice, the chicken broth, tomato paste, orange zest, thyme and pepper. Cover and cook at 100% for 6 minutes, then at 50% for another 7 minutes. The Review Our panel of judges went to the test-kitchen and came back with this report: The College Man "This is great." He had two servings and used light rye bread to mop the bowl. That is the sign of a tasy broth. The Teen Queen Declined to partcipate. The Girlfriend She doesn't usually care for canned tomatoes, but in this case, she admitted she was pleasantly surprised. She said she wouldn't make it in her own home, but retracted her statement within a week. The Cook I liked the microwave version better on this one. It didn't seem so dark and heavy as the stove-top version and the orange zest was a little brighter this way. Easy to make for a quick lunch of soup and sandwich. Whenever a recipe calls for canned crushed tomatoes, I use canned whole tomatoes and squeeze them through my fingers. They have a much better texture.

2001-12-08T08:35:00.000-05:00

:: Recipe :: PERSIAN ONION SOUP The Description A very different onion soup from the restaurant fare you are used to. Tart and spicy. The Recipe Saute 4 medium onions, sliced in 5 tablespoons of oil for about 10 minutes. Mix 3 tablespoons of flour with one cup of water and add it to the sauteed onions. Add 5 more cups of water, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of tumeric. Simmer over low heat for 35 to 40 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of sugar, and 1/2 cup each of lemon juice and lime juice to the soup and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more. Stir in the soup spice mixture: one tablespoon of dried mint, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and remove from heat. In a seperate bowl, beat 2 eggs. Add a ladle of soup to the eggs, beat again and add to the soup. The Review Our panel of judges went to the test kitchens ( and boy, I had to drag them in there this time ) and came back with this report: The Mister He liked it. I served this soup with tabouleh, plain yougurt, and pita bread and it was a wild festival of extraordinary taste sensations. It also gave him the added opportunity of claiming that no mid-eastern country except Egypt knows how to cook, which always veers off into how the Syrians ruin everything they touch in the kitchen. He feels he is entitled to do this becaue he is half Egyptian and half Syrian. The College Man This soup got a rave review from him - he likes tart things and the flood of citus in this soup provides a burst of flavor. The tartness is countered by the sugar in such a way that neither taste type takes over. The Teen Queen Declined to participate. The Cook A very nice soup. The temptation at the start is to veer away from the recipe towards the usual French onion, but stick with it...it is a unique offering. Something sweet and creamy for dessert, such as coffee ice cream or creme caramel, would be a good finish for this meal.