Ahhh SomeSoups

French Farmers Soup

2009-02-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

I found French Farmers Soup in a magazine...Fine cooking Magazine, October/November 2007. It was included in the article "How to make Hearty bean & Vegetable soups" Without a recipe. This article gives you a "method" for making a soup.

First of all, one must start with dried beans. So, you do need to include some soaking time in your plan. Soaking 6-12 hours is a standard for most dry beans. I soaked mine all day on Tuesday, cooked them Tuesday night and refrigerated them. (I thought Wednesday would be a snap and I would be able to get them out in no time while getting ready for my bookclub. And if truth be told, it wasn't that hard. I just didn't get good photos because I was busy making a cheese and fruit and bread tray for the bookclub)

(You can find more pictures of the soup process on my other blog here )

The article told me to "create" a flavor foundation.

It gave me choices for the meat: bacon, pancetta, smoked sausage, Italian sausage.

For the aromatics: celery, leeks, onions, shallots

Seasonings: too many to chose from (You have to add the seasonings the compliment the rest of your ingredients and the ones you like)

Then veggie choices: you can choose from any vegetable you want to.

Add a broth, beef, vegetable or chicken.

And a finishing touch! An acid-- wine, lemon juice, vinegr orhot sauce.

A sprinkling of a fresh herb

And a topping: olive oil, croutons, orgrated parmigiano cheese

and there you have it!

The recipe also gave you "measuring" guidelines to follow.

3 cups of veggies

1 tbs of seasonings

1 1/2 cups aromatics

1/4 pound of meat.

It was up to me to decide what to mix and match and make for the soup. But...they had a picture of French Farmers Soup in the article and it looked delicious. I decided to make that one.

I chose baby lima beans. I was a bit hesitant, because my memories of frozen lima beans during my growing up years are not that pleasant. I didn't like the texture of them. but using dried baby ones in this soup....I loved the texture. They were so good! I think it would be a good soup with chickpeas also.

This soup was really good. And my husband, who is also not a fan of lima beans (he swears that's all his stepmother made) liked it very much.

It is said that soup is actually better in a day or two. And I actually have some of this left in my fridge. mmmmm.... SuperBowl food? Pfftt....let's have soup!

French Farmers Soup

8oz dried baby lima beans

1 med. clove garlic1 bay leaf

3/4 tsp kosher salt

Sort thru your beans and discard any little stones or clumps of dirt, and then give them a quick rinse. Transfer to a bowl and cover them with enough cold water to go 3 inches above the beans. Soak for 4-12 hours.Drain and rinse the beans and transfer them to a 3-4 quart saucepan. (I just used my red soup pot--much bigger than that)

Add 1 medium (or 2) garlic clove, smashed and peeled, 1 bay leaf and 6 cups of cold water.

Partially cover to limit evaporation and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and almost creamy inside. The cooking time will vary depending on how long they have soaked and how old they are. Approximately 1 hour.Season with salt.Drain the beans, reserving the liquid and discard the bay leaf.

Heat 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil or unsalted butter in a soup pot. To give the soup a more savory, meaty flavor add some bacon or smoked sausage. (I used bacon) Cook until the fat is rendered, 5-8 minutes. Drain off fat and set bacon aside.

Add the 1 1/2 cups celery, leeks and onion chopped ( 1/2 cup of each).

Season with kosher salt and fresh pepper.

Cook until they begin to soften, 4-6 minutes.

Add the seasonings of your choice. I used thyme, about 3/4 -1 tsp.

Add the vegetables, stirring to incorporate with the seasonings and aromatics.

I used a mixture of diced/sliced carrots and a turnip to equal 3 cups.

Add 2 cups of broth. Partially cover and simmer until the veggies are just barely tender, about 20 minutes.

Add the beans and 3 cups more of stock/broth and 1 cup of the reserved bean liquid.

Return the cooked bacon to the pot.

Stir to combine and cook for another 10-20 minutes to meld the flavors.

Taste the soup and adjust seasonings.

Finish your soup with an acid.I chose white wine ---just a splash.

And when I ladled it into a bowl, I sprinkled on some croutons.

Over all, we really liked this soup. It was a good choice

Chicken Tortellini Soup for Souper Sundays

2009-01-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

We've had strange weather this January. It started out snowy and cold, cold, cold. Then it soared up into the 50's and stayed there for over a week, as we watched our heavy snow pack melt off. Then Mother Nature threw in a few foggy days, cold and damp, which is unusual for us, the damp, that is. Now we're back to sunshine, but we have wind. A cold, bitter, biting wind.
Good Soup weather.

My post is short today.... we've had a busy week, but I wanted to get this in in time for "Souper Sundays" hosted by Deb at Kahakai Kitchen. Lucky for me, she goes by Hawaii time. (Usually I feel as if I'm running behind on PST, so this is a sigh of relief for me. )

A few days ago, I made this Chicken Tortellini soup. I have a few different recipes for tortellini soup, but this is a good one. It's easy, it's warm, it's good. You could use leftover chicken even-- if you had any. You can throw it together in nothing flat. Add a salad and some french bread and you have a meal.
This is one recipe I've made for years. An old standby, and everyone seems to enjoy it. You can change it around a bit by changing your tortellini. Three Cheese, meat, spinach, etc. The soup is your canvas.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

6 cups water (the recipe says water, but I use about half chicken broth...more than the 3 cans listed right below here. It's a taste thing)
3 10-oz cans chicken broth
1 10-oz can cream of chicken soup
2 cups cubed cooked chicken (or shredded)
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 -oz package tortellini
1 10-oz package frozen chopped broccoli
Parmesan cheese

Combine water, chicken broth, soup, onions, carrots, wine, garlic and seasonings in a soup pot; mix well and bring to a boil. Simmer until carrots are tender. Add broccoli and simmer for 15 minutes. Add tortellini and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

And there you have it.
Simple and good.

Shrimp and Corn Chowder/Souper Sundays

2009-01-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Sunday! And it's "Souper Sunday" today---my first entry with Deb at Kahakai Kitchen. (I'm so excited to be in the company of these awesome soup makers)

This is an "Almost Homemade" soup, and you can make it in a snap.
Every January, I host a party, which has come to be known as my "soup supper". (see the slideshow to the left? 2008 Jan Soup supper ) I invite friends and ask them to bring a soup, a bread or a dessert to my house and we taste the night away. It's January, cold and snowy and it's just a good night. My friend Julie's husband Dave told me it's his favorite night of the year...I've been doing it for quite a few years now... what a compliment! It comes across as such a "lame" party when describing it...soup! How much fun can eating soup be? But with good friends and lots of laughter... it's so much fun, to brighten the middle of a cold winter.

We're such party animals. Mmmmm....give me some more of that fish stew, it's made with WINE. Oh now, I want some of that lentil soup, oh yeah... bring on the broccoli cheese baby!
We usually end the night with a game. (and then we get really wild)

There are usually 4 or 5 different soups. There have been up to 8 which is too many, because we want to taste them all...but if 8 or 9 show up, we'll struggle thru. I usually buy bowls at the dollar store, or truth be told, there have been a couple of years when I do purchase disposable bowls, but I don't like it very much. It's not just something I like, eating soup from disposable bowls. We just have so many soups to chose from and sometimes we don't want to mix flavors.

There is some good bread too. My sister in law Meghan is well known for her "World famous Cheesy Garlic Bread" but little does she know, in these parts of Northern Nevada, Shelly has taken that over and now it is known as "Shelly's" World Famous Cheesy Garlic Bread.

One year, my friend Lisa brought this Shrimp and Corn Chowder. It's so good and cream and warm. And EASY. It's "almost homemade"....

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tablespoons butter
2 10-oz cans cream of potato soup
1 1/2 soup cans milk
1 16-oz can whole kernel corn, drained
8-oz cream cheese, cubed
2 cups fresh shrimp, peeled, deviened. (big salad shrimp is good)
salt and pepper to taste
dash of paprika

Saute the green onions and garlic in the butter in a medium soup pot over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the soup, milk, corn, cream cheese. Simmer until the cream cheese is melted, add the shrimp, salt, pepper, paprika and bring to a soft boil. Cook for 1 minute.
Serve with a green salad and fresh buns.

It's the best!!

And let's not forget...

Shelly's World Famous Cheesy Garlic Bread/Meghan Stone's World Famous Cheesy Garlic Bread

(recipe courtesy of Meghan, but the photo is of Shelly's bread)

1 loaf crusty French Bread--preferably Parisian brand if you can get it.

1 cube of butter

3/4 cup Best Foods Mayonnaise

2-3 T. minced garlic

8-oz shredded Parmesan Cheese

8-oz shredded Romano Cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Fresh chopped parsley

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add garlic, saute till brown--about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Using wire whisk, blend in mayo. Add cheeses, mix together. You may add more or less cheese to your liking. Add parsley.

Cut loaf of bread in half--lengthwise. Rub with garlic cloves if desired. Spread on the cheese mixture.

Bake in oven about 10-15 minutes at 375. Adjust time with oven temps.

You can hit the broiler, but watch carefully.

ENJOY!

Surfing for Soup

2009-01-07T16:32:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited today, for while surfing thru some of my favorite blogs, I noticed there were quite a few with soup recipes.
These are some awesome blogs. I love their blogs... and when I get a soup recipe as a bonus, well, it couldn't get any better for me.

There are a couple of chili's and a couple of cauliflower soups, which I thought was interesting, since cauliflower is not a common soup. Not one you hear about every day anyway.

But the thing I'm most excited about is "Souper Sundays" from Debbie at Kahakai Kitchen. She has a standing invitation for people to link to her Souper Sunday posts, and she'll show-off all our soups.
I'm waiting patiently for a "logo" from her. It should be here within a few days and then, it will be on my sidebar.

All of these are worthwhile blogs and I think you'll enjoy them. I know I do.
Check them out.

Kitchen Clique
with a great "cheese and broccoli" soup. We love Velveeta. (it's good in soups! and chili-cheese dips. Yep, I'm sophisticated. )

A Good Appetite
has a wonderful looking "ham and bean" soup, that I cant' wait to try. I have a ham bone frozen in my freezer. (where else would it be frozen?)

Once upon a Plate
has a beautiful "one-two-three-tortellini-vegetable" soup. And her blog is so...nice. I just love it. It makes me feel calm after a hard day at work.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks
has one of the cauliflower soups. Her blog is funny and exciting. If Once upon a plate is calming, the Pioneer woman revs me up!

Audrey's Favorite Recipes
has the second cauliflower soup recipe this week. I'm wondering if there is a cauliflower conspiracy that I'm not in on.

Wives with Knives
has a good looking and sounding chili recipe. With Mole!

Karen Cooks
has not only a good chili recipe, but she's giving away a soup cookbook!!! By random number. Darn it, I want to be that random number. Oh...I gotta go comment on her blog to be entered. You go too.

Kahakai Kitchen
has "Souper Sundays". I'm so excited for this.

Turkey and Noodle Soup

2008-12-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

Turkey and Noodle soup.

Is there really a recipe for it? Doesn't most everyone just take their turkey and boil it down to make a good stock and add vegetables and noodles and it's good to go?

I froze my turkey bones on Thanksgiving and brought them out today, while my son and daughter-in-law are here visiting. It seemed like a good lazy day soup.
And to answer the question above, I realize that some people really do have actual recipes for Turkey and Noodle soup.
I don't. Because here at our house, it's all about the noodles. The noodles are the star. And these are very rustic noodles. We like them thicker than the average noodle lover. And the shape doesn't really matter either.
If I had the time, I might have made spirals or curly cues, but as it is at our house, we take what we can get.

I brought the frozen bones in today and stuck them on the stove in the big red pot. (I love my big red pots) and....well.....boiled the heck out of it. It smelled so good, just simmering away on the stove.
When that was done, I took out all the bones and pulled the meat off the carcass, once it had cooled some. Added minimal vegetables and then made my noodles.

Everyone who makes pasta knows that you are supposed to let the noodles dry out before added them to the broth. I don't. I let them dry a bit....we ran to the store to pick up a few things, but when we got back, I went ahead and dropped them one by one into the big red pot.
And then we ate.

Turkey and Noodle Soup with Rustic Noodles

turkey bones
onion, chopped
carrots chopped
celery chopped

Boil your turkey bones/carcass down to make a good stock. Some salt and pepper may need to be added. Take bones out and let cool for a bit. Pull off meat and and back to the pot, which has been strained of any bones, skin and fat.
Add the onions, carrots and celery. However much you want. Make it how you like it. You could add garlic too if you wanted.
Let simmer until the vegetables are tender.

Rustic Noodles

2 cups flour
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk

Mix all together and roll out on a floured board to the thickness of noodles you want.
Cut noodles...however many you want, however thick you want, however long you want.
Let them dry. Or not.

Add to the soup pot and cook for a while. Sprinkle with parsley.
Then eat!

So easy.

My cousin Linda has a good turkey soup she calls Thanksgiving Soup.

Thanksgiving Soup

After you've had your Thanksgiving dinner and a day of leftovers, cut whatever turkey you can get off the bones for sandwiches. Then boil the heck out of the carcass. Drain (save broth), throw away bones, any fat and skin. Return broth to pot add in the meat you boiled off of the bones.

Now add in any left over mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, veggies you might have had. Cook until everything has heated clear through.

You can serve as is, OR you can add noodles, OR rice, OR dumplings.
It's good.
*******

I have a book by Jacqueline Heriteau, "A Feast of Soups". In her introduction she talks about a summer spent in France when she rented a cottage from a couple in the country. The main house was close by and she would often wander over to visit and watch the madam of the house prepare a soup. She said, "Madame Bertrand never made her soup twice with the same ingredients, and there wasn't a cookbook in her house. Sometimes there were drippings from a roast, a bit of curried beef, a tail end of fish, leftover mussels, meat sauce from a pasta meal, wilting salad and it's dressing, bits of beef, a roasted lamb shank or baked chicken....."

My point being, that soup started out not having a recipe, so just go for it.
Make that Turkey noodle soup by just tossing in what you have in your fridge. Leftover Thanksgiving dinner or whatever.

Good soup!

Soups to Try

2008-12-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

It's snowing outside right now, (Christmas Eve morning) and isn't supposed to let up until after Christmas Day. I'm going to make a pot of potato soup for my daughter in law this afternoon, so we can just have it whenever we want for the next few days. It's the "loaded potato soup" that you can find here.

Because I am so unbelievably slow with this blog...this soup blog, I've decided to give you some links to some really good soups. I search food blogs almost every day because I so enjoy them and am so in awe of what awesome cooks there are out there. It's also fun to get a little peak at our lives thru what we eat, how we cook, what we write about. I've noticed some really good soup recipes lately, so I thought, that throughout this long cold winter, I could at least keep you updated on "soups" whether they be mine or not.

Tomorrow while everyone is busy making their Christmas feasts, I will be making a brunch instead. And then having soup in the evening, while watching a movie, listening to my grown children playing cards or a board game and looking around my house at all the opened gifts, discarded wrapping paper and boxes, half drank cups of hot buttered rum and eggnog, pine needles scattered on the floor, and be thinking....how lucky I am.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. And now...on to good soups links.

Wives with Knives is a new blog that I have found recently. I'm always on the search for West Coast bloggers, which she is. Cathy grew up on the "Mighty" Columbia River, as did I. Yay for us!
Here is her recipe for Fisherman's Chowder with Herb Oyster Crackers.
I can't wait to try it. You'll have to check out her blog. I'm enjoying it very much.

Another new blog to me is "For the Love of Cooking". In fact, this blog led me to Wives with knives. I love this blog, she makes just the kinds of dishes I want to make. And this soup? It looks delicious. I might give it a try for my annual Soup Supper party in January.

And Ali at "Home of the Lazy Dog" has an amazing Toscana Soup recipe. I can see what January has in store for me. Soups!

All three of these blogs are fairly new to me, but I am so excited at having found them, and looking forward to not only making their soups, but trying some more of their recipes too.

good soups!!

Go To Soup

2008-11-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

Hamburger "Go To" Soup

In 1983, I lived in Elko, Nevada, far away from my home state of Washington. Far away from my mom or any family for that matter, far away from my friends. I was pregnant and all alone...except for my husband and our 3 year old son, Lucas, We had moved for a job, but it was hard to leave our hometown. We lived in Elko for 8 years and by the time we left, we were heartbroken to leave behind what good friends we had made. Some of them remain our friends to this day. It was good place for us to have landed for a while.
When our 2nd son, Dustin was born, a lady from our church brought over a meal; Hamburger Soup, spiced Jell-o and a loaf of French bread.
It was the best meal I had ever had.
Well, okay...at the time, it was the nicest gesture, because we were without family (my mom did come down later in the week) and it was really, really good. A homecooked meal brought to me and my family.
Ever since then, it's been my 'go to' soup in case of emergency. It's quick, it's easy and most of all...it's good.
My friend April had her gallbladder out this morning. Earlier this afternoon I took them a pot of Hamburger soup.
I just got the phone call.... it was a hit....as I knew it would be.

Hamburger Soup

1 to 1 1/2 pound lean ground beef
4 cups beef broth
4 cups water
16 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 medium onion--chopped
2 carrots--sliced
2 ribs of celery--sliced
1/3 cup pearl barley
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tsp. season salt
1 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf

Brown the ground beef, drain off the grease. Add water and remaining ingredients in order given. Simmer for 2 hours or until the vegetables are tender.

Italian Sausage and Squash Soup

2008-11-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

Italian Sausage and Squash Soup.

adapted from the editors of Cusine at home's Soups, Stews and Chilies.

Nothing says fall like a good squash. Even if you don't care for squash to eat, how can you not just love the pumpkins and squashes and gourds that line produce aisles at the markets this time of year.
They look so....autumny. I know, I know...it's not really a word, but what best describes it, besides autumny.

In a few short weeks, they will be replaced by poinsettia's and pinecones, so for now, just enjoy it. And the weather has definitely turned. it is breezy and damp and it just feels like a good soup! Soup and autumn kind of go together, right? So, here we go, my attempt at a good "autumnal" (is that a better word than autumny?) soup.... Butternut squash soup.
Now, you might go.....ewww gross! But try it... you just might like it. To be fair, my husband didn't, but I did. It's a 50-50 chance you're taking, right? (ya gotta like squash, and if you do...it's a hit!)

Here we go...

first you need to
brown in 1T. olive oil
1 lb bulk Italian Sausage

Sweat in 1T. olive oil
1 1/2 cup chopped onion
2 T. minced garlic
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1" chunks
1/4 red pepper flakes

Stir in:
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups cold water
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 t. ground dried sage
1 t. sugar
2 cups packed baby spinach
3 T. brandy
salt and pepper to taste

Brown sausage in olive oil over med-high heat until cooked through. Drain on a paper towel lined plate; set aside.
Sweat onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat about 5 minutes. Increase heat to med-high; add squash and pepper flakes, and sauté for about 5 more minutes.
Stir in broth and water, bring to a boil and simmer until squash is very soft--about 15 minutes. Puree soup with hand blender, then add cream, bell pepper, sage and sugar; simmer until pepper is tender. Stir in spinach, brandy and sausage, and simmer until spinach is wilted and sausage is heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

sausage tip:
Don't stir the sausage too often during browning. The less it's stirred, the crispier the edges will become. (too bad no one told me this before....cuz that sausage is not looking too crispy in the later photos)

and then the chopping....

onion....okay, it's a cinch. I do it all the time. I can cut an onion and mince some garlic

the squash...
It's big. It's tuff..... I need a hatchet. Or meat cleaver (hint, hint...Christmas idea!)

This picture has nothing to do with the soup, in the middle of making it I got hungry and decided to have an apple with peanut butter...have you ever tried it? It's good.

sauté .... ( I just used the same pot that I browned the sausage in. I figured a good sausage flavor was, well, good!)

add the broth....

puree

add cream and red pepper and seasonings ---no pic of cream and seasonings, the pepper is just so pretty!

and Brandy. I've had this brandy for quite some time. It had dust on it. Seriously I had to dust the bottle. It smelled really, really good when I opened the bottle. I should have tested it, but I didn't. What was wrong with me?!

add the sausage back in

and add the spinach

wah-LA---soup.

and sandwiches.

Another good find

2008-11-10T11:01:00.000-08:00

I must be a Monday thing for me.... to link to other bloggers who made soup in the past week....
http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com/2008/11/08/soup-di-napoli/

I like her blog. It's usually about books tho.
I made soup this weekend.... I'll get right back with that post.

Simple Soup Suppers

2008-11-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

Hey....check this out......

http://noe847.blogspot.com/2008/10/introducing-simple-soup-supper.html

I like her blog and now she's added one of my favorite things too!! I plan on visiting it often and trying some of her great recipes!

Time for Chili

2008-11-02T07:35:00.000-08:00

Time for Chilie.....
This is the trouble with having 3 blogs.....you really can't do any of them justice. Such as soup... have I really not made soup in over a month? This just doesn't seem possible to tell you the truth.
I made some "chili" on Halloween night.... to satisfy the crowds. It seems as if we are the stopping point...the end of the evening, for a lot of our friends with small trick-or-treaters. So, what better than a pot of hot chili on a cold October night?
I made two of them. A traditional "red" and then a "white" chili. My husband shook his head as he think I "overkill" when I'm cooking sometimes, but with 10 adults and a handful of children eating throughout the night, we only had enough left for lunch on Saturday.

Chili is an interesting dish.... Jane and Michael Stern, who wrote "Chili Nation...the Ultimate Chili Cookbook with recipes from every state in the union", say that Chili is fun---easy to make and simple to serve.
Well, I guess that is true, you can make it early in the day and not have to worry about it. Most everyone likes it....in varying degrees. And that's why I made two different chili's. I wanted anyone who stopped by to have something they liked... not too hot, not too mild, but just right.
I own the cookbook "Chili Nation" but I didn't use a recipe from it, nor did I use my "Gramma's Chili" recipe, which makes my cousin Linda shake her head in wonder, as it is very good, and it is her one and only choice of chili's. Linda is a good cook and sticks with a proven recipe. We've thought often of having a restaurant. I want to do soup, she wants to do everything else. We need to think of a catchy "cousin" name. And maybe we need to live less than 450 miles from each other. We can always dream tho.
I didn't use any of these tried and true, proven recipes.
I searched the inter-net for my "red" and found the 1997 ICS World's Champion Chili, made by Stephen Falkowski of Hopewell Junction, NY.
It always amazes me that someone from New York can win a chili cook-off. I love New York, don't get me wrong, but when I think of chili, I always think of Texas or New Mexico.
I've made the Gold Miners Chili before... it is one I printed out and put in my very own "Tried and True" recipe notebook.
For my "white" I have recipe from my sister in law, Cherrie. It's called "Mt. Rainier Chili". Cherrie lives close to Mt. Rainier.

QUICK POP QUIZ! Which state is Mt. Rainier in?

This chili can be much milder than a red chili, not always, but it's one of my family's favorites.

And now, as the Stern's say:
Chili is a delight to share with family and friends...which is what I did on Halloween night.

Chili

GOLD MINERS CHILI

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 pounds beef, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups white onion, finely minced
8 garlic cloves, finely minced
3/4 teaspoons garlic powder
2 14.5 oz cans chicken broth
4 ounces tomato sauce
3 tablespoons ground cumin
10 1/2 tablespoons Gebhardt chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon meat tenderizer
1/2 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

optional (and this isn't in the award winning recipe).....kidney beans and/or pinto beans, however many you like. I also added a can of mild Rotel tomatoes. I strayed.....

Brown the meat in the oil and drain well. Set aside.

In a large pot, simmer the onion, garlic and garlic powder in 2 cups of the chicken broth for 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, cumin, salt, and the chili powder. Mix well.

Sprinkle the browned meat with the tenderizer. Add the meat to the pot. Add the remaining broth and simmer for 2 1/2 hours. Mix in the brown sugar and the hot pepper sauce just before serving.

I doubled this recipe. And to be honest, I didn't use the meat tenderizer. I used a chuck roast, but had to cut away a lot of fat. So you can use what cut of beef you might like...and this would also be good with ground beef.
I do add the beans....because my family thinks chili should have some beans.
and of course, shredded cheese on top.

********************

MOUNT RAINIER CHILI

1 pound dry great northern beans
8 cups water

Rinse beans. In a Dutch oven, combine beans and water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1hour. Drain and rinse beans. Set aside.

OR....
Use 1 16oz can of great northern beans (or any white bean)

1 T. cooking oil
2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cans green chili peppers
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
8 cups chicken broth
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded, or 4 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken.
1 12oz can beer
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapenos or plain if you prefer.
sour cream--optional
salsa--optional
snipped fresh cilantro--optional
more shredded jack cheese--optional

In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat; add onion and cook for 5-8 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic, green chilies, cumin, oregano, cloves and ground red pepper. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Stir in beans and chicken broth. Bring to boil; reduce heat.C over and simmer for 2 hours or until beans are very tender.
Meanwhile, place chicken breasts in large skillet; add enough water to cover. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken in tender and no longer pink. Drain; cool slightly. Shred or coarsely chop chicken.
Stir in chopped chicken, beer, and 1 cup of cheese into bean mixture, cook and stir until cheese is melted.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream, salsa, cilantro and cheese.

Gazpacho

2008-09-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

Gazpacho

I broke my own rules. Or maybe I didn't. I usually do tho, so....

There is no recipe for Gazpacho in the Friday Friend book of soups cookbook. Maybe I'll just type this up and add it real quick.
I had to make gazpacho tho.... I was listening to "The Splendid Table" http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/

and Lynne Rossetto Kasper, said that there is NOTHING better than Gazpacho and corn bread for a great simple supper. NOTHING BETTER! And I couldn't get it out of my mind! Just listening to Lynne on her radio show....she makes food sound sensual. Seriously. And I just bought her book "How to eat Supper", and reading the book is just like listening to her. It's food porn, I tell ya. I mean, it makes you want to stay in the kitchen and cook...and then eat. Eat, EAT, EAT!
But....she doesn't have a gazpacho recipe in this book. It's sad.

Gazpacho is a cold vegatable soup. Yes, cold. My husband says that soups are cold, it's not natural....but he loves this soup.
And I once made gazpacho and it was good.
The problem was....finding the cookbook I used ten years ago, when I made it.
You might think this is an easy thing to do... but have you seen my cookbook collection? No, I didn't think so.... I have over 200 cookbooks. I didn't have time to look thru ...every. Single. One.
So, I took a recipe that I found in one of them, and added a few things. My own creation!! And it was good.

These are the veggies I used. Fresh veggies are so pretty.

You cut/dice/chop them as fine as you want, but you really do want a diced vegetable and not a chopped vegetable.

Put them all in a bowl and cover with tomato juice and spices.

In a "traditional" gazpacho, it's mostly tomatoes and bread. But I like the crunchiness of the veggies.

And then the corn bread....dripping with butter (and honey)

You have to let it set in the fridge and marry for a few hours at least. To me, it tastes even better the next day. Although one of the recipes I found said to only add "shredded" cucumber at the very end. I didn't listen to that recipe, I added them right away to let them marry.
And I also added avocados. This is not traditional at all!! Purists would say "no way" to that. But they are good. You could add a jalapeno` too, I suppose...but then, it's getting to be too much like a salsa, so best to leave it out.

Debbie's Gazpacho (not traditional by any means)

2 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used plum)
1 stalk celery finely chopped
1/4 cup purple onion finely chopped
1/2 cup cucumber finely chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup red pepper finely chopped
1/4 cup green pepper finely chopped
1 avocado finely diced
juice of 1 whole lemon
juice of 1 whole lime
2 tsp honey
2 1/2 cups tomato juice
a few leaves of fresh basil, chopped fine.

to taste:
salt
pepper
paprika
cumin--just a sprinkle
croutons to sprinkle on top

Loaded Potato Soup

2008-09-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

Loaded Potato Soup....mmmmmm (and a good sandwich to go with)

I'm back! It's only been a month, but in that month, I've put the down comforter on our bed, so autum has finally arrived! Well, okay, I just did it last night, but it felt good to sleep with that warmth again. We leave our window open and here in Northern Nevada it has begun to cool down at night...into the high 30's or low 40's. Perfect soup weather!

My daughter-in-law, Sadie, loves potato soup. She loves easy meals. This is about as easy as it can get.... "Loaded Potato Soup", so this is for her.

(Sadie actually makes a good potato-cheese soup that is great, but maybe she'll like this one too)

I paired this with a warm sandwich the "Pepper Special". You can check that out at

http://thefridayfriends.blogspot.com/2008/09/fast-fall-food.html

The weather is turning cooler...and this is just a good "autumn, football combo", soup and sandwiches.
And the soup, it's an easy crockpot recipe too. So, no fuss.

LOADED POTATO SOUP

4 lb. new potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices
1 small onion, chopped
2 14oz cans chicken broth
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 pt. half and half
Toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, cooked and crumbled bacon, green onion slices.

Layer sliced potatoes in a lightly greased 6-quart slow-cooker, top with chopped onion.
Stir together chicken broth, salt and pepper; pour over potatoes and onion. Broth will not completely cover potatoes.
Cover with lid and cook on HIGH 3-5 hours or until potatoes are tender. Mash mixture with a potato masher, stir in half and half. Cover with lid and cook for 20 minutes more.
Ladle into bowls and serve with toppings.

It's so good!! Warm and "comforty"
(if I'm going to describe soup all winter, I better learn better adjectives than "comforty")

This is what you use..... very simple.
potatoes, onion, chicken broth, cheese, bacon and green onions

(not pictured: salt and pepper) (I forgot)

peel and slice the potatoes (it says new, but you can use any kind of potato you want)

put into the crock-pot
and add chicken broth and salt and pepper

dang...I forgot the onion

added onion

I kind of pureed, in lieu of mashing.....it's a new puree-er and I wanted to try it out. (Thank you Barb)

then you add the half and half.

The toppings

Wa-LAH! little cups of great soup!!

with Pepper Special Sandwiches.

postponed

2008-08-26T10:22:00.001-07:00

I love soup. I love soup. I want to make soup...all the time. EXCEPT, it's been so darn hot lately, and even tho it is what I love, I have to postpone this blog for a few weeks. Until it really feels like "fall" around here.

Is that okay with everyone?

HA....everyone exists of my family and a handful of friends, who can't figure out what I'm doing anyway. LOL
BUT....that next soup is a creamy, yummy potato soup from Jolina. :~) Mid-September, if you don't mind waiting.

Soup is Souper!

2008-08-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

Finally a day that is below 90 degrees! It's " a bit" hard to think in soup terms when the temps are soaring near 100.
But think in soup terms I did this past Sunday!
I made my mother in law, Teresa Belcher's, famous "Beef and Barley" Soup.
I don't know if she knows it's famous, but it will be one day soon, when I open my soup restaurant.

On the menu it will say:

Teresa's famous Beef and Barley Soup or My Mother-in-law's answer to chicken soup. Or some such clever thing.

For now tho... enjoy!

BEEF AND BARLEY SOUP

1 1/2 pounds beef round steak, trim and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tblsp vegetable oil--divided
2 cups finely chopped onion
1 cup carrots--diced
1/2 cup celery--diced
1 pound mushrooms--sliced
1 tsp garlic--minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 14 1/2 oz can beef broth
1 14 1/2 oz can chicken broth
1/2 cup pearl barley
3 tblsp fresh parsley--chopped

Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Place 1 tblsp oil in Dutch oven and brown beef until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl. Heat remaining oil in same pot, add onion, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring until veggies are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, garlic and thyme; cook 5 minutes more. Combine beef and chicken broths with enough water to equal 6 cups. Add to soup pot along with barley and beef. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add more water if necessary, during this cooking time. Sprinkle with parsley just before serving

The Cast of Characters!!!

The action.....Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Place 1 tblsp oil in Dutch oven and brown beef until no longer pink.

chop your veggies....

take a good look at these three ingredients! Soup loves them. They love soup. In some circles they are called the "Holy Trinity" of soups. But Emril uses green pepper in lieu of one of them....

Add the trinity to the soup pot! Heat remaining oil in same pot, add onion, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring until veggies are softened, about 5 minutes. (notice the sunlight coming in from the window? It will fade as we progress )

Add more.... Stir in mushrooms, garlic and thyme; cook 5 minutes more.

Combine beef and chicken broths with enough water to equal 6 cups. Add to soup pot along with barley and beef.

Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add more water if necessary, during this cooking time.

Sprinkle with parsley just before serving. Yes Indeed, I did forget the parsley. oops. :~)
We had bread and salad and wine with soup..... yummy!

Soup's On!

2008-08-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

The launching of the soup blog. (sigh)

Long ago, I collected soup recipes from my friends--the Friday Friends, a group, MY group, of friends, whom I had an e-mail club (for lack of a better word) long before people knew about "blogs"
We were blogging before blogging was cool.

As I said, I've been collecting soup recipes from them for years. I have a lot. It was for my soup restaurant. The one I plan on having some day.
Homemade Soup, homemade cookies/desserts and books, used and new.
That's my dream!! Well, that and a million bucks.
I used to want to use the name "Stone-Soup" (after the children's book and Stone is my last name) but my cousin informed me that there are a couple of "Stone-Soups" in Southern Washington. So, I've decided on Ahhh...SomeSoups.

Now....to find the perfect place.....

But until then, I thought I'd make the soup recipes my friends have so kindly given to me for my "core" recipes for the restaurant.
I'm going to make a soup a week. I'll probably blog more than that, but a soup a week.
I'll showcase a Friday Friend. ~grins~

I plan on starting at the beginning and going to the end--EXCEPT for today. Today, I thought I'd begin with my favorite soup of all time.

Meghan's Minestrone

Sent in by my sister in law, Meghan.
I love this soup. Love this soup. Did I say that I love this soup?
It has tons of fresh veggies and a spicy Italian sausage...and it's so DARN GOOD!!!
At the end we grate a tad bit of parmiganio on top and serve with a good crusty bread.
mmmmm.......

Meghan's Minestrone
1 lb Italian Sausage (I prefer spicy)
1 large onion
2-3 carrots, sliced
2-3 celery ribs, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8-10 cups beef stock
1 leek, chopped
2-3 zucchini, sliced
2 cups green beans
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 28oz chopped tomatoes w/juice
1 cup pasta (elbow or shells)
basil, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper

Sauté sausage (remove from casing and crumble) in large pot. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic--sauté about 5 minutes. Add beef stock, leeks, zucchini, green beans, cabbage and tomatoes. Simmer, covered for one hour. Add pasta and spices, simmer additional 30 minutes.

here is what we do...
get your soup pot and the Italian Sausages

put a bit of EVOO in the bottom of the soup pot, just to discourage sticking

squeeze the sausage out of the casings (not an attractive picture)

this is how the sausages look in the casing and then there is the casing with no sausage. LOL

get your first set of veggies
carrots, celery, onion and garlic

chop them up

add them to the soup pot

Sometimes I have to take the sausages out and chop them a bit, as they don't crumble as well as I would like them too.

add your beef broth and tomatoes. I KNOW that some purists will say ONLY broth or stock made from scratch will do, but come on, most of us are "home" cooks with little time on our hands. Not to say that I won't do a stock from scratch sometimes, but most of the time, a store bought broth will do.

get your 2nd set of veggies
zucchini, cabbage, green beans and a leek

the leeks hold a lot of dirt.

this is how I clean them.....slice and put in a bowl of water. the dirt sinks to the bottom of the bowl and the leek floats.

they are all chopped

add to the soup pot

stir and let simmer for one hour. Looks good.

After an hour, add the pasta. I put in sea-shells and cook for 30 minutes more.

Wah-La!!!!

First Day

2008-08-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Just the beginning.....getting the title I wanted. It will be the same name as my "soup shop".