395 replies to this topic

[maggiethecat]

Soup, beautiful soup. What a fabulous thread for us Northerners. As it happens, we're having black bean soup from the freezer tonight topped with some leftover salsa from Taco Night on Saturday. In lieu of your gorgeous bread, I'm thawing some leftover pigs-in-blankies we made awhile back.

My nomination for Recipe Gullet soup recipe is NeroW's One of Each Soup. It is mysterious and astonishing and the ingredients are easy. C'mon, you've never used a banana in soup before, have you? (You can't place the banana flavor, by the way. As I said, it's mysterious.)

For you warm-weather folks, it's wonderful cold .

[snowangel]

The paper for my list tomorrow:



Today's list (note the stuff crossed off!) and tomorrow's list:



If anyone has any questions about the items on the list, let me know. Oh, and these sheets arrive splatted from Heidi's school; my counters are clean!

And, I'm aiming for a kitchen shot or two every day:



Comments:

I really love my kids and family. They are my life.
We did see the ruby slippers. They look much more tarnished in real life than in this picture.
The timer. The poor thing is on it's last legs. My dad gave it to me right after I got out of college (some 25+ years ago). I love this timer. What I really like about it is that when it hits zero, it chirps for 30-60 seconds, and then starts counting the other way, so that if you are outside and don't hear it, you know just how long whatever is in the oven has been over-baked, or whether the sprinkler has been on for 4 hours and flooded the basement. Plus, it fits nicely in a pocket (handy for grilling; a timer my single most essential grilling tool). Anyone know of another timer that counts backwards once it hits zero and you miss it?

[Pam R]

It took me ages to upload dinner pictures, because I went into the kitchen to skim the beef stock, and ended up unloading, then loading the dishwasher. Phew.

Dinner started with beer cheese soup. I used a mixture of two cheddars - and I'm thinking I didn't like one of them for the soup. Don't get me wrong - it was good. But I've made better. I started by sweating some onion, carrots and celery in olive oil - added some flour, then beer, milk and half and half. Simmered for 10 minutes or so, until thickened, then whisked in the shredded cheese. Garnish with popcorn.


It's a rich soup - and I had a small bowl. Followed it up with a quiche and salad.
Quiche photo melange:


Phyllo crust, filled with sauteed leek, onion, cauliflower, mushrooms and spinach and a list custard of eggs, milk, half and half, salt, pepper and a little grated parmesan. Salad was baby romaine, orange segments (supremes), red onion and toasted pine nuts with a dressing of fresh oj, balsamic, dijon, s&p, and olive oil. Good dinner.

[phatj]

The timer.  The poor thing is on it's last legs.  My dad gave it to me right after I got out of college (some 25+ years ago).  I love this timer.  What I really like about it is that when it hits zero, it chirps for 30-60 seconds, and then starts counting the other way, so that if you are outside and don't hear it, you know just how long whatever is in the oven has been over-baked, or whether the sprinkler has been on for 4 hours and flooded the basement.  Plus, it fits nicely in a pocket (handy for grilling; a timer my single most essential grilling tool).  Anyone know of another timer that counts backwards once it hits zero and you miss it?

My favorite timer: Amazon (I actually bought this at a discount store, for about $5 if I remember correctly.)

Set the time quickly and easily by spinning the bezel -- so much better than having to push a button over and over for long-cooking stuff. And it does count up after it goes off.

My only complaint with it is that the magnet could be stronger, and the glue that holds the magnet to the back of the timer could be stronger. I lost mine through dropping on the floor, because the glue failed. Ah, well.

[Pam R]

My nomination for Recipe Gullet soup recipe is NeroW's One of Each Soup. It is mysterious and  astonishing  and the ingredients are easy.  C'mon, you've never used a banana in soup before, have you?  (You can't place the banana flavor, by the way. As I said, it's mysterious.)

You may say that you can't place the banana flavour... I don't know Maggie.

[prasantrin]

Anyone know of another timer that counts backwards once it hits zero and you miss it?

I actually have one of those! I can't remember the name off-hand, but I'll check and let you know. It's not very old, but it's not new, either (it's probably 4-ish years old). It's made by Pyrex or some similar cooking utensil brand that you wouldn't think of as making timers.

It is made by Pyrex! you can find it on Amazon here. The reviews are not good, and quite honestly I think it's more difficult to use than it looks (the buttons on mine don't press easily, etc.), but it has the count up function you're looking for.

Edited by prasantrin, 29 January 2007 - 09:12 PM.

[Dejah]

Need an asian suggesions and would prefer something other than Tom Yam or the chicken/curry/coconut milk suggestion. 

Congee.
Wonton soup with shrimp roe noodles.
Hot 'n' Sour soup - pushing it?

edited to add: Way ta go - PamR. Do Manitoba proud!

Edited by Dejah, 29 January 2007 - 09:10 PM.

[maggiethecat]

I do say! C'mon c'mon c'mon. (I was a doubter too.)

My nomination for Recipe Gullet soup recipe is NeroW's One of Each Soup. It is mysterious and  astonishing  and the ingredients are easy.  C'mon, you've never used a banana in soup before, have you?  (You can't place the banana flavor, by the way. As I said, it's mysterious.)

You may say that you can't place the banana flavour... I don't know Maggie.

[snowangel]

maggie, I'm about to take one for the team with the soup with banana, but I will do it on Souper Bowl Sunday when I have a mess of guests with other food to nosh on (and this is a group that is used to my experiements). It's the banana quite frankly that's the problem. I hate banana, and I think this dislike stems from the amount of banana ick I've wiped up from floors, faces, etc. of kids. Plus, I can't stand even looking at a banana that has any black spots or stripes on the skin. Give 'em to me firm and ever so sligltly green, please, if you must.

[Pam R]

Last big post for today.
Generally, my fridge looks something like this:


Drinks, some saucey things, homemade salad dressings and butter in the door. A weird collection of margarines (I'm really not sure why they are all there. I use one type - Earth Balance - for non-dairy cooking/baking. I think the other ones may be years old. . .) There is usually some assortment of vegetables, and I have to have a bin full of assorted fruit.

Now, let's admit that blog week is not a normal week. I've been shopping twice, and it only started today. First shopping trip:

Second shopping trip:

Which resulted in a slightly fuller fridge:

With a drawer full of citrus and apples (Pink Lady - the best):


I'm almost set for the week. I was going through recipes today, and of course I need to go shopping again - but I've got the basics.

[jeniac42]

OK.  Seeking suggestions for soup this week!  For some reason, I have a hankering for mussels, and there is a recipe in "150 Best American Recipes" for a mussel thing with bacon ( ), but other suggestions are welcome, and Costco usually has mussels.

Need an asian suggesions and would prefer something other than Tom Yam or the chicken/curry/coconut milk suggestion. 

I have made this coconut and miso soup a few times and I love it; in fact, I think I need to make it again soon. Props to Maki for creating that. Thinking about it is kind of making me drool. I reckon it might be good with mussels instead of monkfish (I've subbed other meats and fish and veg in).

Otherwise, for mussels, would cioppino or similar count?

The failed potato-corn soup already has worcestershire and smoked paprika. I think I might throw some curry paste or powder in and puree it - maybe I'd like it better as a smooth soup. Otherwise it's sriracha, the cure-all for everything IMO.

[snowangel]

The failed potato-corn soup already has worcestershire and smoked paprika.  I think I might throw some curry paste or powder in and puree it - maybe I'd like it better as a smooth soup.  Otherwise it's sriracha, the cure-all for everything IMO.

Siracha, and perhaps an over easy egg cures most everything.

Photos of my chicken stock tomorrow. Said stock is chilling rapidly in the outdoor fridge (deck) as the temps plummet and the "breeze" approaches gale force.

OK. Need further help here. It appears that the natives (meaning the famil) are expecting something other than just soup and bread or soup and rice (which would be fine with me, and what I was planning on). Ideas for meals that have soup, but where soup is not the focal point? I've got some ideas, but thought I'd to to the pros here on eGullet.

I'm going to clean the fridge before I dare to post any photos!

[maggiethecat]

maggie, I'm about to take one for the team with the soup with banana, but I will do it on Souper Bowl Sunday when I have a mess of guests with other food to nosh on (and this is a group that is used to my experiements).  It's the banana quite frankly that's the problem.  I hate banana, and I think this dislike stems from the amount of banana ick I've wiped up from floors, faces, etc. of kids.  Plus, I can't stand even looking at a banana that has any black spots or stripes on the skin.  Give 'em to me firm and ever so sligltly green, please, if you must.

Bless you! And I am in your camp, banana wise: don't like them much, and hate them speckled. But, as I said, you won't think "'Nanas!" when you taste the soup.

[Sentiamo]

OK.  Seeking suggestions for soup this week!  For some reason, I have a hankering for mussels, and there is a recipe in "150 Best American Recipes" for a mussel thing with bacon ( ), but other suggestions are welcome, and Costco usually has mussels.

Need an asian suggesions and would prefer something other than Tom Yam or the chicken/curry/coconut milk suggestion. 

Other suggestions welcome and appreciated as I come up with my daily lists.  (Reminder, I am not an organized meal planner like Bruce, and often shop on a daily basis, or on a whim).

Great blog! We are a few months away from soups just yet but I am following the ideas with much interest.

My favourite Asian mussel soup is with coconut, lime, fish sauce etc so I wont post that, but if you have a chance, and have never tried, do give a mussel chowder a fair hearing and also mussel and saffron soup is wondrous. If you would like ingredients/methods etc let me know.
We are so fortunate in NZ to have ginormous green lipped mussels, they are cheap and are to be found fresh, in every supermarket in the country. I have a passion for asian mussel fritters but thats for another day!

[Shaya]

Great blog, all. It's warming my cold bones just reading about all the great soups you are creating.

Pam, your quiche dinner looks perfect. I love the idea of using phyllo as a crust. I definitely don't use phyllo enough. Your kreplach are beautiful too. I've never had them, it's not part of our sephardic culture, but now I know why I'm always drawn to making piles of tortellini (or as Hathor re-named them, shaya-llini). Your kreplach look a lot like my tortellini!

I was also looking at the color of your chicken stock - you make it look so easy, I love the pictorial format you are using - and notice it looks a lot more yellow than mine. With the meaty version you seem to leave the skin on (I remove it) - do you think this is the reason for the bright yellow color? Did your version with only bones have a paler color?

Snowangel, you are running a busy household while cooking all the while. Very impressive. It's nice to see your method for making lists - using yesterday's list to create today's. My problem is I can never find yesterday's list after I've taken it out shopping.

I also love the Bread Baker's Apprentice. Peter Reinhart is brilliant at explaining the process of breadmaking. Good for you for mastering sourdough.

I absolutely love Thailand and Thai food. Regarding your time spent in Thailand, do you cook much Thai food these days? Might we see a thai soup on the table this week? I have a hankering for one and could use some inspiration!

[snowangel]

Good morning! I'm fortifying with coffee before I get Heidi up and the household has it's morning buzz of activity.

It's zero and windy, and as soon as I find my gloves, Ill retrieve my stock from the outdoor fridge. It chilled rapidly last night. Chilled as in frozen.

Shaya, Diana has requested Kao Soi, and I have a hankering for ba mi, so one of those will be on the menu this week (I think!).

[snowangel]

What does everyone do with that layer of fat they remove from the chilled chicken stock?

[CaliPoutine]

What does everyone do with that layer of fat they remove from the chilled chicken stock?

Thats is the beautiful shmaltz. I save it for Matza Balls( I put it in a small canning jar and chuck it in the freezer). Its great for frying potatoes too.

[Priscilla]

[...]Plus, I can't stand even looking at a banana that has any black spots or stripes on the skin.  Give 'em to me firm and ever so sligltly green, please, if you must.

Bless you! And I am in your camp, banana wise: don't like them much, and hate them speckled. But, as I said, you won't think "'Nanas!" when you taste the soup.

Who will speak for ripe, speckled bananas? Me! Although I am a lone voice on this even in my own household.

I've made Nero's One of Each Soup many times, and it is not identifiably bananey -- the banana just supports the overall sweet veg flavor of the other one of eaches, I find.

[lancastermike]

What does everyone do with that layer of fat they remove from the chilled chicken stock?

Perfect stuff for frying spuds. Susan Fahning, my favorite blogger!!! Go get them Susan. Your bread is great. Sourdough can be such a pain. And the wetter you dough the better. This is the single most important thing I have learned from Rinehart. And minimal kneading and long rests give great bread. It goes against everything I thought I knew about bread.

The frigid northland will never be cold in your home with that great soup and great bread.

[Pam R]

Good morning. It's a very bright, very frigid day today. When I left the house it was -25 C (-13 F) - factoring in the wind it's -37 (-34.6 F).
eta: But it's a dry cold!

Before I left the house, I put all of the borscht ingredients into the slow cooker. I'll have full photo coverage later on. Breakfast was leftover quiche and the other half of yesterday's grapefruit.

Great blog, all.  It's warming my cold bones just reading about all the great soups you are creating.

Pam, your quiche dinner looks perfect.  I love the idea of using phyllo as a crust.   I definitely don't use phyllo enough.  Your kreplach are beautiful too.  I've never had them, it's not part of our sephardic culture, but now I know why I'm always drawn to making piles of tortellini (or as Hathor re-named them, shaya-llini).  Your kreplach look a lot like my tortellini!

Thanks for the comments Shaya. The phyllo is a great way to get it in the oven quickly. I started dinner prep at about 5:30 and the quiche had to bake for 45-50 minutes. With no pre-baking it comes out really crisp and golden brown. Very easy.

You should make kreplach. Your tortellini are beautiful, and these will be a snap for you.

I was also looking at the color of your chicken stock - you make it look so easy, I love the pictorial format you are using - and notice it looks a lot more yellow than mine.  With the meaty version you seem to leave the skin on (I remove it) - do you think this is the reason for the bright yellow color?  Did your version with only bones have a paler color?

It is easy. Really. I do leave the skin on - I think it adds flavour. But the colour of both stocks was comparable. I'm not sure why I get the yellow colour - but it happens all the time (carrots? fat?). I know some people will add the yellow onion skins to their soup to add colour, but I don't.

What does everyone do with that layer of fat they remove from the chilled chicken stock?

Fry onions.

Who will speak for ripe, speckled bananas?  Me!  Although I am a lone voice on this even in my own household.

I've made Nero's One of Each Soup many times, and it is not identifiably bananey -- the banana just supports the overall sweet veg flavor of the other one of eaches, I find.

Don't get me wrong. I think a ripe, speckled banana is great - for banana bread. Or banana muffins. Soup? I'm not so sure...

[snowangel]

Hmmm. Never occurred to me to leave the skins on the onions. I'll have to do that next time.

My stock has thawed, and been defatted (do I just freeze that fat or do I have to do something to it first?).

Stock making (I did this yesterday) and the stock is reducing now (to save on container/freezer space). I'll post photos of the reduced stock later:

While I normally use stewing chickens from Whole Farm Coop, I neglected to order any in time for the blog. What I love about these chickens is that many times, the label has the name of the kid who grew it for a 4-H or FFA project! But, this time, chickens from Costco. They were $.69/lb, and they come in two-packs, and this month there was a BOGO coupon. I had raided the breast off of one of the chickens for chicken pot pie on Saturday.




There are the feet! plus a bag with some gizzards and a neck that I found in the freezer (that's another story). I also added a package of gizzards that fell on my foot when I opened the freezer door.



The boys in the 'hood get such a kick out of seeing a chicken foot poking out of the stock (almost as big a kick as they get out of smoking butt conversations). Time to skim!



I hate skimming stock. And, it was at this point that I remembered to add celery.

I never add carrots to stock. In fact, other than roasted carrots, raw carrots or a carrot/leek/horseradish gratin I made, I hate carrots. In fact, I hate root crops in general.

Which brings me to another point. I am not big on sweets, so we almost never have dessert. If I'm eating pancakes or waffles, they are naked or topped with a tart lingonberry sauce or fried egg. My true exception to the sweet rule is chocolate milk.



I like Nestle's Quik the best, and really like this liquid stuff better than the powdered stuff. Mixed in much better.

The potholders on the left were from my greatgrandmother, and I've dug out some sugar and cream yarn to knit a few more for myself because as you can see, these are in sorry shape. I also have a pair of the silicone potholders, which are great for pulling smoked meat off the grill, but I find that they are not flexible enough for general use.

Not only do I have hand-knit potholders, but I always have a day-of-the-week flour sack dishcloth hanging on the oven handle.



as well as a couple of other towels. I'm picky about my towels, and I think my family finally understands that the flour sack ones are for dish drying, and the terry ones are for drying hands. But, the terry ones are not for use as a napkin. Wash your hands or face first, please!

Back to the day-of-the week towels. When I got married, I got four sets of them from various older relatives, who considered these a traditional shower gift. I made and gave sets to my closest friends for wedding showers as well, and now that they've all been married for a while, I give new sets to them for 20th anniversaries. Yes, Aunt Martha's hot iron transfers are still available, and while not readily available in the Twin Cities, small town Ben Franklin, five and dime, etc. stores still have lots of them. I think I like the Dutch Girl pattern the best, although I'm pretty fond of the animated dishware series.

Off to do laundry, clean (finally) and ponder dinner.

Oh, I also had a grapefruit for breakfast (which I forgot to photo). Unlike Pam, I like to peel and eat mine.

[Pam R]

I hate carrots.  In fact, I hate root crops in general.

How very un-northern of you.

I wonder if anybody else feels the same way...

[MarketStEl]

My major concern with the crock pot for soup is that liquid doesn't really evaporate and so perhaps my tendencies for amount of liquid, etc. will result in a not-so-tasty soup.  MarketStEl, I am wondering how you made the turkey stock in your crock pot.

Start with the carcass of a roasted turkey (which should clue you in to when I make turkey stock). I usually remove large chunks of meat from the bones and leave on bits of connecting tissue and shards of meat too small to bother with.

Separate the bones so they'll fit in the Crock-Pot (mine has a 4-quart vessel).

Slice one large or two medium onions, two carrots and one rib of celery.

Put the bones in the Crock-Pot and add the veggies.

Optional: Sprinkle some Old Bay (about two teaspoons or so) over the solid ingredients.

Pour water over everything (eight cups usually fills my Crock-Pot). Add salt to taste (I usually omit this step to keep the sodium content down).

Cover and cook on High for 8 to 10 hours.

If your Crock-Pot is close to full, the water will reach a low boil after about 3 hours, and some of it will boil off as steam, forcing itself through the crevice between lid and crock. My own slow cooker (a roughly 30-year-old Hamilton Beach "Crock Watcher" with removable crock) has a feature where it will cook on High for the first two hours, then shift to Low for the rest of the cooking time. I sometimes use this setting instead of cooking on High for the entire time.

Strain liquid and allow to cool.

[snowangel]

I hate carrots.  In fact, I hate root crops in general.

How very un-northern of you.

I wonder if anybody else feels the same way...

Yes, Pam, it is very un-northern of me, but it's about the only food(s) I dislike. Remember, I had my first raw pork larb at age 8 (or was it 9) and have never looked back.

Carrots in stock. Makes the stock odd tasting to me, and doesn't transform into an Asian soup nearly as well.

I'm thinking soup tonight that is a family favorite, and very bread worthy. You'll see Asian later this week because the pickings at my Asian market get better later in the week.

[Pam R]

Let's play the Good News (GN) Bad News (BN) game.

GN - not only do I have soup cooking at home for dinner, I made a pot of soup for lunch.
BN - The batteries in my camera died and I forgot to bring extras.
GN - My cell phone has a great camera, so I took pictures with that.
BN - I need my regular camera to upload the photos from the cell phone.
Potential GN - I'm going to try to run out and pick up some batteries - and at the same time I may get a treat that Winnipeg is known for - even in the winter (hint hint). Any guesses?

[lovebenton0]

a bit late checking in today. evidently feeling so tired early last evening was the lull before the truck hit. one moment i was feeling tired, but fine, and the next i was burning up, chilled to the bone, sneezing and coughing, one big ache.

so this morning didn't start until after 11am and the first order was getting oh so patient quinn out for a walk in 11f sunny and very windy weather [-6f wind chill]. we always walk over to one of the parks on the lake, my landlady has four kids so we stay out of our own yard. it was a rough walk this morning.

started today with a big pot of all the herbal tea i could scrounge out of the pantry and a giant mug ice water. haven't been able to think of eating food as yet.

but... i think this is the perfect day to try out a new soup idea i had. so i have two roasted turkey wings and some other miscellaneous turkey parts thawing. today will be a pressure cooker [pc] soup day. i plan to use the wings to make a bit of stock in the pc, with onion and carrots. yes, i love carrots. i'll keep out a bit of the turkey meat to add into soup later with dried rosemary from my tx garden. a good shot of fresh ground pepper. then spoon the soup over a toasted sourdough bread round from the loaf i made yesterday and top with dried cranberries.

i'll try to get pics as i go along... or at least at dinner. just one of those days when even in the flat with shades drawn i have to wear my sunspecs to stand any visuals. bear with me, it will be a low posting day for me today.

[srhcb]

Now that's just plain gruesome!

SB

[snowangel]

I had not intended to leave the house today, but Heidi's teacher called and wanted me to drop something off, so I did. And, as I walked from the car through the parking lot in the bitter and ferocious wind, all I could think of was that theme song from the movie "Top Gun" -- "Take My Breath Away." Wowsa.

So, since I was out, I stopped at the supermarket (two blocks from Heidi's school, and on the way home) to get some snack items for her at school, per the teacher's request on yesterday's slip -- I got her animal crax and some graham cracker snacks that are small. This means that the staff doesn't have to break things up for her since she cannot physically take a bit out of a cracker.

But, while I was at the supermarket, I realized I needed a few other things -- things that weren't on the list. I was almost out of rye flour and saltine-type crackers, and while I was there, something else caught my eye:



What does anyone know about that Harvest King Flour? The main internet thing that came up when I searched was this, but it doesn't tell me very much. Interesting that most foods need all sorts of disclaimers, but flour sacks don't need to tell you very much.

Now, to the crackers, we've tried the major brands. There's Nabisco's Saltines, Keebler's Zestas and Sunshine's Krispys. We like the Krispys the best. What do you prefer? Anyone but Peter and I like them with butter? (This type of cracker is essential for thickening soup for Heidi.)

[lovebenton0]

Now, to the crackers, we've tried the major brands.  There's Nabisco's Saltines, Keebler's Zestas and Sunshine's Krispys.  We like the Krispys the best.  What do you prefer?  Anyone but Peter and I like them with butter?  (This type of cracker is essential for thickening soup for Heidi.)

i do... my two fav simple smears for krispy crackers are butter and jalapeno mustard.