eG Foodblog: lovebenton0, Pam R, snowangel - North of the 30th paralle

[Pam R]

Hey! I was going to make beer cheese soup tonight. With the popcorn and everything. Wacky.

Randi - my guess (and I have no scientific proof to back this up) is that the salting process for kosher poultry adds flavour. Brining it really. Otherwise - it's the same chicken, isn't it?

[SuzySushi]

No wonder we couldn't guess this week's blogger from the tantalizing preview: there are three of you!

Even though it's a lot warmer here in Hawaii than it is up in "snow country," it's still winter, and last week I made a big pot of this soup from Sunset magazine's January 2007 issue: Split Pea, Beef, and Barley Soup. A nice change from the smoky flavor of ham. The leeks and parsnips gave it wonderful flavor. I substituted reduced-sodium chicken broth for half the water, and left out the lima beans, which no one in the family really likes. Enough for two more meals is in the freezer.

[snowangel]

I'm back from the market, and focusing on dinner and my bread (yes, photos to follow).

But some questions following my visit to the market:

Why was petrol $1.99 when I drove up there, but $2.17 when I drove home some 25 minutes later? (BTW, I filled up for $1.83/gallon late last week)

What is a "personal watermelon" (acutally what that little produce round symbol said)"

As I was browsing the hispanic section (for hominy), I espied these cartons of Knorr's sauce, and I certainly understood what the mole was, but what about Pipian sauce?

Off to take care of my bread before I have a disaster on my hands!

[lovebenton0]

we are back from our venture into town. as long as we were walking it seemed a shame not to incorporate a little grocery supply trip into our morning. our flat is downtown kenosha, one block off lake michigan. i can no longer drive, haven't for years. quinn is my vehicle, so to speak, my backpack is my trunk. makes a small trunk, but we walk everywhere at this point. still haven't expanded to figuring out the bus system yet.

first we hit the little deli about six blocks from us. a bit skimpy on mondays, but we scored some cheese and good looking proscuitto, no fresh produce until tomorrow. they don't carry much produce, but she promised i could get some bell peppers then.

that's a major change for me. after living in tx for so many years i now have to depend on some frozen vegs during the winter because i can't get the fresh produce home from the big grocery store without freeze-wilting it. i miss the farmers' market during the winter.

then we walked over to our emergency supply stop - the walgreens downtown. when walking is your mode of transportation you learn a lot about your neighborhood.

surprisingly great place to pick up milk, dried fruit, coffee, cereal, even canned crab and shrimp, some baking supplies.

today we got a few things... i love dried cherries, cranberries and raisins. these are staples for me and they were all on sale. the pretzels must have fallen into my basket.

soup plans coming up and some bread stuff to look at.

my camera is charging and i'm eating oatmeal w/dried cherries.

[SuzySushi]

I'm back from the market, and focusing on dinner and my bread (yes, photos to follow).

But some questions following my visit to the market:

Why was petrol $1.99 when I drove up there, but $2.17 when I drove home some 25 minutes later? (BTW, I filled up for $1.83/gallon late last week)

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Because gas stations change their prices periodically (around here, usually once a week), and you must've passed by at just the right time...

What is a "personal watermelon" (acutally what that little produce round symbol said)"

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A marketing term for a small-size watermelon. Around here, they're usually just called Thai watermelons!

As I was browsing the hispanic section (for hominy), I espied these cartons of Knorr's sauce, and I certainly understood what the mole was, but what about  Pipian sauce? 

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Pipian sauce is a Mexican sauce that contains pumpkin seeds as a key ingredient.

[Pam R]

When I ran to the store earlier today, I also picked up a bunch of groceries (mostly produce). I'll take some pictures when I unload the groceries at home tonight.

In the meantime, back to the chicken soup and kreplach. First the recipe (not the best picture )

I have at least a dozen of these little notebooks that I try to keep on hand at all times. When I'm trying something new I try to jot down any notes - and if it's good, it'll make it to a column or get filed away for a cookbook.

Random kreplach making pictures:

(dough, cooked soup chicken, boiled potatoes and sauteed onion for filling)

Fried Onions deserve their own picture.

Even though I made this to eat later in the week, I couldn't resist have a bowl. Shall we call this Jewish Wonton Soup?

Half a pound of meat, and one batch of dough, made 48 kreplach. I boiled, drained and then tossed them with a small splash of canola oil. Onto a baking sheet - and then there was no room in the freezer for them. Thankfully I have the outdoor fridge:

I have a deck off of my kitchen - and a pail beside the door worked well. Until it started snowing and it got really windy. But once I noticed, they were already frozen and I transferred them to freezer bags and into the freezer.

Now, my question is - does anybody else make a mess of the kitchen when they're making stock? No, I'm not showing you the mess. But I liked the look of the sink with the clean pots stacked in it:

[Pam R]

Anybody use the crock-pot for soup?

I've made a black bean soup and a beef and barley soup - but I'm wondering about a borscht. I want to make a beet and beef borscht this week - and it would be great if I could put it on in the morning and have it ready when I come home.

Any thoughts?

[Pan]

I really like the idea of a soup blog! Here in New York, lately, we've been having some days where the weather doesn't get out of the teens or twenties. On Thursday, when it was around 15 in the evening, I had Asam Laksa (tamarindy mackeral and various other things spicy noodle soup) for dinner at Skyway, my favorite Malaysian restaurant in New York. Friday, when the high temperature was around 17, I met another eGullet member and his wife for two courses of Korean soup. At first, it was a mandoo (beef dumpling) soup; then, kimchi and noodles were combined with the remainder of the stock and water to form another soup. And for lunch today, I had Yasai (vegetable) Soba. I'd eat even more soup if there were a good Shanghainese restaurant in my neighborhood, but there isn't. There is a Polish restaurant around the corner, though, and they make good hot borsht, chicken soup, tripe soup, pea soup, etc.

[jeniac42]

Oooh, I'm excited for this blog. And I actually seem to have caught it at the beginning, for once. Does this mean my life is getting orderly enough that I have time for message boards once more? I'm not holding my breath, but we'll see.

I LOVE beer cheese soup but have never made it. I'll have to remedy that.

Anyone making chicken and dumplings for their blog this week? PamR, that stock looks wonderful and kind of like the method I was going to use for the chicken and dumplings on Saturday. I don't have a big stock pot, though, so I was thinking of having at in the crockpot - but I don't think it will work.

snowangel - I love mafe, though I haven't made it in years. The way I made it, it always had a strong peanut flavor, though (which is what I like about it).

lovebenton0 - You sure do learn a lot walking around your neighborhood. I've learned more back routes and little neighborhood stores and landmarks that way than from years of driving. I also know I kind of hate walking around in the snow. I'm terrified of falling, and even more so ever since I broke my foot. You're a braver woman than I!

My dinner's already on - potato and corn chowder, a simple Monday sort of throw it all in the crock pot recipe. And I know that later in the week I'm having leftover sauerkraut and kielbasa soup.

I like soup, but I don't eat it very often and am excited to see some new ideas.

[jeniac42]

Funny timing on the crock pot question. I hope someone has better answers than I do - all I could say is give it a try and see what happens!

And I meant to second the recommendation of smoked Spanish paprika for smoky flavor. Great stuff. There's some in my soup dinner for tonight, even.

[snowangel]

Having been bread impaired for a number of years (like all of my life), I made a vow this fall to conquer bread. And, I think I'm succeeding. I have a love of sourdough, and so, following the instructions in the Bread Baker's Apprentice, I think I'm winning. One of the things I learned is that if you start starter in the fall, when the windows are closed and the furnace is running, the starter might take longer to start.

So, on Saturday, I refreshed my barm.

After a night in the fridge, it was ready to be made into a starter:

It rose (this is where I had a near disaster; I was cleaning up the kitchen, and stuck the starter in the oven, forgetting that I had done so when I set the oven on the "self-clean cycle." I realized this not but 5 minutes into the self-clean cycle, and fortunately found the manual for the oven and was able to avert said disaster, but it did mean getting to bed a bit later than I'd intended, and did mean that this might have risen a bit too long).

After an overnight in the fridge:

In the trusty KA with some water, softening before I added the flour and salt:

Now, having done this before, I follow the recipe very loosely. I decided this time to add more barm than the recipe, which necessitates sort of going by feel when it comes to adding the water and flour to the barm, and the same holds true when making the dough. So, I didn't follow the recipe, but found having the cookbook and my readers (125 strength) comforting. There's something soothing about splatters on a cookbook page.

I did not kneed the dough by hand, but with the mixer, and once it was mixed, gave it some time in the bowl, doing the fold thing twice at 20 minute increments. While the dough does not look fully kneaded after the knead, after the folds, it is just like grandma said "smooth as a babies bottom." I'm coming to think more and more that the rest and the folds allow the flour to fully hydrate.

Then, into a clean bowl for a rise, and it is risen!:

Turned onto a well-floured cookie sheet:

Divided:

I ended up dividing one of the pieces into two for two baguettes (or epis), and they rest in their makeshift couches (I LOVE parchment paper):

Another one goes into a bowl to become a boule, and yet another just flat goes into a tupperware and will be worried about day after tomorrow:

Then, Diana gets home and isn't sure that she's going to be home for dinner, so one of the baguettes goes into the fridge in yet another makeshift couche (note battle with plastic wrap):

(sorry for crappy photo, but battling plastic wrap and taking pictures with no assistance is, well, er, not easy).

[snowangel]

Anyone making chicken and dumplings for their blog this week? 

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It came up on the request list when I polled the family yesterday. Hints and suggestions welcome.

The mafe has been ixnayed by the family, and I figure if they're going along for the ride, I'd better try and make them happy at least some of the time!

We have settled on a soup for tonight, and it is a Minnesota thing (I think!).

[MarketStEl]

Anybody use the crock-pot for soup?

I've made a black bean soup and a beef and barley soup - but I'm wondering about a borscht.  I want to make a beet and beef borscht this week - and it would be great if I could put it on in the morning and have it ready when I come home.

Any thoughts?

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I've yet to make soup in a Crock-Pot, but I have made several batches of turkey stock in one. I'm still not sure what I'm doing wrong, because mine is on the cloudy side and becomes gelatinous when refrigerated. But it makes a decent enough base for a turkey noodle soup.

It looks like I should try using an uncooked bird for a soup base if the pictures you provided are any guide.

I'm going to guess that the miscellaneous parts yielded more soup than the whole bird did, but that the whole bird had a stronger chicken flavor. Did I guess right?

Shifting gears: Since this blog has also produced comments about winter, I will share with you a sentiment I once read on a T-shirt that I wished I owned:

"Those who cannot handle winter don't deserve summer."

[Pam R]

I haven't been in the kitchen at all today. I've been helping customers, typing up recipes in MasterCook (I put all my recipes in MC) and putting together my column. I've also been busy typing up Passover orders - Passover planning is in full swing here and it takes a lot of time.

Anyhow, for lunch - a salad. I try to make a salad (or soup!) for lunches at work - otherwise I find that I eat a lot of crap I don't want to. When I'm working at my desk most of the day, I tend to nosh more than when I'm busy in the kitchen. So, there's been some noshing this afternoon too.

Salad - simple, but enjoyable. Romain, tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, Israeli feta (so good) and a dressing I made with lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, canola oil (canola keeps it looser in the fridge), garlic, salt, black pepper, oregano and a pinch of sugar (tiny pinch).

And as I was working away, some "Juicy Sour Twists". Red Razz flavour licorice type thing. One of my suppliers sent me a box of samples last week - this was in it. They aren't bad, but not something I'd buy myself. After Passover I'll bring in a few flavours - I think kids will like them (it can be hard to find kosher candy).

(please ignore the mess on my desk - all of the Passover supplier lists are stacked beside the computer)

[Chufi]

Your soup looks great - I think I may do a split pea soup - my father has been requesting it for about 3 weeks.  Mine will have to be sans pork - but my usual split pea soup is vegetarian, and he wants me to try throwing in some smoked turkey drumsticks.  Your hint about adding the smoked meat towards the end is something I never thought of - but if I like it really smokey, can I throw them in at the beginning?  I chop my vegetables up very small too - I love how everything melts together.

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sure you can add the smoked meat at the beginning - smokey = good

It's just that with this particular soup, for me, it has to be a sweet mellow soup with the flavor contrast of the pieces of smokey meat - it has to taste like my mother used to make it, you know

snowangel, I'm seriously bread impaired myself, and mastering bread is one of my resolutions for 2007 (it was, however, also one of the resolutions for 2006 ) Your pics are an inspiration... Do you recommend that book for an absolute beginner?

Edited January 29, 2007 by Chufi (log)

[Pam R]

Susan - the dough looks beautiful. Can't wait to see the baked loaves.

Funny timing on the crock pot question.  I hope someone has better answers than I do - all I could say is give it a try and see what happens!

I hope so too!

I've yet to make soup in a Crock-Pot, but I have made several batches of turkey stock in one.  I'm still not sure what I'm doing wrong, because mine is on the cloudy side and becomes gelatinous when refrigerated.  But it makes a decent enough base for a turkey noodle soup.

I know my soup isn't as clear if I neglect the skimming as it gets going. I'm assuming you don't skim when using a crockpot (I don't). If not, all that scum that you skim off gets cooked into the liquid. As for gelatinous - gelatinous is good!

My new thought on the borscht in the crock pot. If I put the bones/meat in a pot tonight, and cook them just until the scum starts forming - then add that to the crock tomorrow, with all the veg, that may work.

[snowangel]

If I want a smokey flavour to a soup, I opt for some sort of smoked pork. Smoked butt, bacon ends...

[lovebenton0]

Judith - Quinn is gorgeous.

I have a question.  We planned on doing a recipe out of RecipeGullet.  I'm all for that - but is there any chance it can be a recipe I put into RecipeGullet?  We've only just begun - yet I can tell you that there are too many soups, not enough blogging days!

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thanks. i believe he's blushing.

don't see why we can't spotlight our own recipe if we wish. we're not known for being an overly shy group.

definitely too many soups. my blog plan was to set a day for each soup, sounds reasonable doesn't it...

then winter reality struck me and i realized i have to make soup as the day and weather allows me.

for me, soup is wonderful because i can always make soup out of whatever i have on hand. and some of my soup this week will be exactly that, nail soup. so i started my little chuck roast in the slow cooker about midnight last night. at two pounds that will give me beef and vegs and stock for one pot/one lb of meat, then stash another lb of this silky roast in the freezer for a different pot of soup, or something else post-blog.

very slow chuck roast with vegs [onions/carrots/tomatoes/bell pepper], garlic cloves sliced and inserted in roast after browning it with a kosher salt/fresh ground pepper mix/toasted-crushed coriander seeds/cumin/evoo rub.

yep, pretty sure half of this will end up as barley beef soup... tonight. beef and vegs are removed and stock is cooling in fridge to skim off fat.

a batard of sourdough light wheat bread is on it's final rise also. and that smells perfect with barley beef soup.

[Kouign Aman]

Oh joy! A triple header!

I'd just bought the carrots for JAZ's carrot soup (52 1/2 wks, 52 soups thread) on Friday. I look forward to souping along.

I'm still not sure what I'm doing wrong, because mine is on the cloudy side and becomes gelatinous when refrigerated.

If you want it super clear, filter it when its done and still warm. This is no fun and I wouldnt bother, but you can get crystal clear stock. The gelatin comes from the cartilage breaking down - all good.

I second your Q about cooked vs raw bird. I've seen references on egullet to using both. Some folks even pre-roast the bones if they've taken the raw meat off the carcass for some reason. Has anyone tried it both ways (raw / precooked bird) and can report back on any effect on flavor?

[racheld]

It's SO WONDERFUL that you're all three here!!! (Though for a bit of the hinting and guessing, it DID seem a little like the old feel-the-elephant-blindfolded thing).

Soup will be a perfect link to all of us with snow on the ground, and to everyone who values a little taste of home comfort and warmth and lovely scents of broth and vegetables and fresh bread baking. I had planned some Navy Bean soup for tonight, but Chris requested my presence today, just riding with him wherever he went for a service call, then to lunch, and ending with our favorite two places: Goodwill (two pale-blue Fiesta mugs 99c/each and two nice heavy crockery casseroles, just right for individual gratins--same price) and the Library to restock for all these cold days. My kinda date, that is.

Soup tomorrow, with hunks of that gloriously-tender pink ham he grill-baked yesterday for his Birthday Brunch---it was about a twelve-pounder, and after all the feasting and the take-homes by guests, it looks like one of those cartoon turkeys, all bones and no leftovers.

I also scratched homemade sweetcorn soup off the list for yesterday's party, because one guest requested corn-on-the-grill, just like we had for a sunset party last summer. (And I was gonna cook and serve it in my new red LeC and everything! ---where's the POUTIE?).

I just wanted to say how pleased I am to keep such marvelous company all week.

PS---that's a DAY'S schedule???? You must have the energy and enthusiasm of a twelve-year-old Ironman competitor.

And loveb, I'm just delighted to see you again---I've missed your posts, and hope your injuries are soon a memory.

edited---If you're gonna misspell a word, make it the FIRST one---that's MY motto.

Edited January 30, 2007 by racheld (log)

[lovebenton0]

[snip]....

Anyone making chicken and dumplings for their blog this week?  PamR, that stock looks wonderful and kind of like the method I was going to use for the chicken and dumplings on Saturday.  I don't have a big stock pot, though, so I was thinking of having at in the crockpot - but I don't think it will work.

lovebenton0 - You sure do learn a lot walking around your neighborhood.  I've learned more back routes and little neighborhood stores and landmarks that way than from years of driving.  I also know I kind of hate walking around in the snow.  I'm terrified of falling, and even more so ever since I broke my foot.  You're a braver woman than I!

My dinner's already on - potato and corn chowder, a simple Monday sort of throw it all in the crock pot recipe.  And I know that later in the week I'm having leftover sauerkraut and kielbasa soup.

I like soup, but I don't eat it very often and am excited to see some new ideas.

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i am planning to do chicken and dumplings one night too. it's my ''old favorite'' for the soup blog week.

not bravery, just necessity. i understand about falling in the snow. quinn saves me from 99 per cent of potential skittery falls on snow and ice. that's his job, it's teamwork. cane and ice don't mix well when i get too distracted... that's why i have a brace on my right hand/wrist as well as my left this week also. took a bad fall on friday. still, the winter here is better for us than the summers in tx. the heat was killing us. and if i were still in austin i wouldn't be soup blogging this week either.

edited to correct spelling. it's the braces' fault.

Edited January 30, 2007 by lovebenton0 (log)

[CaliPoutine]

Hints and suggestions welcome.

Cook's Illustrated Chicken and Dumplings is the best!!

[lovebenton0]

ok, sorry, getting lost in the posts already. don't remember who initially posed the ''does anyone make soup in their crock pot'' question.

i never would have made it through undergrad and grad school without soup going in my crockpot. dinner pretty much ready for the family and me when i dragged in at 7 or 8pm. i'd cut up everything and do any special prep the night before while studying. stick it all in the crock pot and at around noon hubby would put it on the heating base [pre-set by me], plug it in and leave it alone until i got home. soup's on.

so, my barley beef soup tonight is a bit more complex than that, but still doable to finish after work.

the barley has cooked in the beef broth [stock plus added water for the barley absorption]. after removing and dividing the beef i took kitchen shears [easier/safer right now than a knife for me], cut through soup portion of the carrots/onions/tomatoes and roast. covered it, let it rest in some strained au jus too be added back into broth and barley... now.

bread is out of the oven. [note to self... buy oven thermometer.] it probably shoiuld have baked 4 or 5 minutes less, for a prettier crust. but the oven pop is beautiful.

all will be ready to eat in about 30 minutes. and i'm more than ready. that oatmeal disappeared a couple hours ago.

[jeniac42]

Judith, thanks for your information on the crock pot. Even if it is a necessity to go out AND you have Quinn's help, I still give you bravery points for it.

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.

My potato and corn soup turned out very blah, in my opinion. I wouldn't make it again, and am hoping I can find a way to doctor the leftovers into something a little more appetizing. I hope our bloggers fare better with their soups this evening!

[snowangel]

Dinner was yummy, and my bread was proof that even the most bread-impaired can succeed, if you don't worry your bread too much!

Let's backtrack. As I was vaccuuming under my bed the other day (after I'd committed to this blog), out popped James Peterson's "Spendid Soups" (among other assorted other goodies like all of the knitting needles I've been looking for, my black pumps, and lord only knows how many of Paul's socks ). And, I was at my mom's house the other day, talking about soup, and she lent me the other book.

So, as I contemplated dinner tonight, realizing that my chicken stock (more on that later) wasn't done, I remembered a couple of things. That I had been on the North Shore of Lake Superior last November, and at the Holiday gas station in Two Harbors, had bought some wild rice. And, that when I stopped at the really strange grocery store yesterday, they had boxed broth for $.50/box, and organic celery for $.50 for two bunches, and bunches of two leeks for $1.00. I had purchased these items with no plan in mind, other than they would be good for soup. Then, voila, the CIA soup book sort of plopped open to the Minnesota Wild Rice page. That and the fact that I had bread in the making made this one a no brainer.

The stuff in the halloween ziplock is dried chives, from the garden. It seems like about a week after every holiday, those holiday ziplocks are on sale at my local supermarket for less than half the price of a regular box. I just figure it will be halloween or Xmas or easter again sometime!

Leeks are really dirty, so they and the diced celery got a nice shower in the colander.

A sautee of these things in some butter, a bit of flour, a mess of that boxed stock (no need to add extra salt to this soup!). I had removed the breast meat from my stock and added some of that, just torn apart with my hands. Just before serving, a splash of cream.

Meantime, the baguette had finished rising, and the oven was piping hot, to I took my new kitchen shears to the loaf and...

An epi!

My best effort with sourdough so far!

Nice tang, good holes and fab crust. Even the kids loved all of that crust. An epi really is a crust-lovers delight.

Now, a couple of comments about the soup. I found that the wild rice cooked faster than the recipe indicated, and that it needed more of it than suggested. Do we suppose that this was because this was real wild rice (not cultivated)? Or that it was parched?

I had intended to take more pics of dinner prep, but realisitcally, that's not going to happen, with three kids, two of whom have a lot of homework. Then there's the spat, or the bloody nose, or the "I can't find this or that or the other thing." Late afternoon and early evening are busy in the Fahning household!

I'll get to tomorrow's list in a bit, as well as think about dinner tomorrow night, but bring on the suggestions. (Note to self: remember to eat lunch tomorrow!)

(edited to fix a photo link)