Gazpacho

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

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

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!

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!

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

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