thanks George

Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate, and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life.

~ George Blanc

Ginger Orange Roasted Carrot Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp olive oil or butter
1 large onion, quartered
1 pound peeled (or scrubbed) carrots, halved if they are large
1 inch fresh ginger, sliced
1 tsp curry (leave out curry if you don't want the added spice)
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup fresh orange juice (save the remnants)*
1 - 2 Tbsp grated orange peel
1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream
2 Tbsp fresh chives

Combine onion and carrots and toss with olive oil.  Roast in oven at 425 degrees until browned ... carrots and onions will carmelize.  Yummy! 

Meanwhile, back at the tureen, melt butter (or olive oil if you would prefer) and sauté curry and ginger.  Once the onion and carrots are roasted, add to pot.  Cover with vegetable stock, orange juice and orange peel.  Simmer for approximately 30 minutes with cover on.

*I actually simmered the soup with the orange remnants.  You don't have to do this but I thought it couldn't possibly hurt.  Obviously make sure your orange has been cleaned.  :)

Remove soup from heat and blend with immersion blender (or whatever it is you normally would blend with).  Add water to thin, if necessary.  

Serve garnished with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and sprinkle with chives and more grated peel, if desired.

Best served with a good friend.

Photo courtesy of Ms. Tureen

soup idioms

as I was sliding my double batch of orange ginger carrot soup (recipe to follow) onto the back burner, I thought about how often I have used that idiom and yet never really thought about it ... 

food for thought ... so to speak ...

on the back burner:  Alludes to putting a pot that needs less active attention on a back burner of a stove, leaving space for pots that need to be stirred.

which then made me think of the idiom "stir the pot" ... growing up, my Mom would often say to us kids "don't stir the pot" ... or she'd say about someone "oh they are just stirring the pot" ...

stir the pot: To stir the pot is to agitate a situation to cause a reaction or trouble.

with 4 of us kids in the nest, it's not hard to imagine that the "pot was getting stirred" on a daily basis ...

thanks for your patience, Mom ... and for sharing your love of soup ...



 

Country Captain Soup (thanks Nancy Carney)

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 c. red bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. grated, peeled fresh ginger
1/4 tsp. dried crushed red pepper
4 c. chicken broth
2 c. canned, diced tomatoes
1 large Granny Smith, peeled, chopped
1/4 c. orzo
2 tbsp. dried currents
chopped fresh cilantro
 plain yogurt

Heat oil in dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic; saute until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, curry, ginger and crushed red pepper, stir 2 minutes. Add 4 cups broth, tomatoes and apple and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. (can be made 1 day ahead. cover and refrigerate. bring to simmer before continuing)
Stir orzo and currents into soup and simmer until orzo is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with cilantro and a dollop of yogurt.

taking stock

so let's talk stock ...

and while I do often make my own stock, I don't always and because this is just a friendly blog to encourage the soup lovers of the world, BUYING STOCK IS OK TOO ...

the only thing I will tell you about making your own stock is that you get to control what goes into it ... (for example, how much fat and salt, organic produce vs conventional) so, as with all things you consume, be sure to read the nutritional information ...

today I want to just talk about vegetable stock and a very wise friend of mine once told me, "when I am making vegetable soups, I use vegetable stock" ... which makes a whole lot of sense to me ... so thanks Michele Finnegan for that souper tip ...

if you do want to make your own stock, here's a super easy recipe using items that you probably already have on hand:

Basic Vegetable Stock*

1 tbsp. olive oil
2 large onions, quartered and peeled
2 or 3 stalks of celery, including leaves
2 large carrots, scrubbed
1 bunch green onions, chopped or 1 leek thinly sliced
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced (optional)
fresh parsley to taste
fresh thyme to taste
2 bay leaves
salt to taste
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
10 cups of water

Heat oil in a stockpot over medium heat.  Add vegetables and sauté for 10 minutes or until softened.  Add all other ingredients and boil covered for an hour.  Remove from heat and strain.  Use within 4 days or freeze for future use.

* This recipe is very flexible.  If you have mushrooms in the fridge, toss them in.  If you have another vegetable, toss it in too. 

East Indian Spices meet Red Lentil Soup

1 tbsp. olive oil (plus another tsp.)
1 onion, chopped (red if you have it)
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 to 2 tbsp. minced fresh garlic
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne (or more if you like it zippy)
1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 cup dried red lentils, washed and drained
4 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cumin seeds (I used ground cumin here as well because I did not have cumin seeds) 
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat olive oil in tureen (naturally) ... sauté onions, carrots, celery and garlic until golden.  Add next 3 spices and stir for 2 or 3 minutes.  Add can of tomatoes and heat.  Add lentils and vegetable stock to pot and simmer for an hour, stirring often.  Stir in salt to taste.

Heat additional tsp. of olive oil in a small skillet and fry cumin and mustard seeds until they make popping sound.  Stir into the finished soup.  Serve garnished with cilantro. 

Your kitchen will smell amazing.

Happy Souping!

soupy tidbits

Americans sip over 10 BILLION bowls of soup every single year! That's a lot of soup!

 

In the late 1700s, apparently the French King was so enamored with himself that he had his royal chefs create a soup that would allow him to see his own reflection in the bowl.  As a result, consommé (clear broth) was born.

 

Since we're talking about the French, here's another interesting tidbit of soup lore.  In the French Court of Louis XI, the ladies' meals were mostly soup. Guess what the reasoning was? They were afraid that chewing would make them break out in facial wrinkles! If this were true today, it would put plastic surgeons out of business!

 

Soupy Tidbits Source

 

 

 

 

 

Shrimp and Corn Chowder (thanks Marjorie Pacholec)

(note Marjorie's substitutions are in brackets)

Marjorie also doubled the recipe and, for her family of 5, there were no leftovers* ...

2 Tbsp butter
2 small leeks cleaned and sliced (6 scallions)
1 large baking potato peeled and cubed (2 medium potatoes)
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (Costco's Better than Bouillon Chicken base)
4 cups corn kernels fresh or frozen (4 cans of no sodium corn)
1.5 cups of 1/2 & 1/2
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning (Phillips Seafood Seasoning)
1 sweet yellow pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced (2 sweet red peppers)
1 lb medium shrimp, shelled, deveined and cut into thirds (I left mine whole)**
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp hot sauce

In large pot melt butter, add leeks, cook 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add potato, broth & corn kernels. Simmer 15 min, stirring occasionally. Combine 1/2 & 1/2 and cornstarch, stir into pot. Add Old Bay seasonings and bring to a simmer. Add peppers and shrimp, simmer 5 minutes . Stir in lemon juice and hot sauce. Serve immediately.

*please note that Marjorie is the lone female in her household and the other 4 are grown men, well mostly ...

**one of Marjorie's mostly grown men suggested using crab next time ... as if it wasn't good enough already ...


Happy Souping