Posted on 02/19/2015 3:27:45 PM PST by Jamestown1630
This week, it's Soup and "Bread"
(It's freezing here; and Soup's my favorite thing to cook anyway!)
When I first developed a serious interest in cooking, my favorite cookbooks were the original 'Laurel's Kitchen' and a Shaker cookbook whose name I've forgotten and can't seem to find cited anywhere.
One soup recipe that has stuck with me and remained a favorite is the "Favorite Green Soup" from 'Laurel's Kitchen.' Here is an adaptation of it, a really great soup, very nutritious, with plenty of room for variations.
(In our house, it has the undignified name of 'Green Slime Soup' because it looks like the stuff at the bottom of a creek bed; but don't let that bother you ;-)
Favorite Green Soup
2 T. Olive or other oil
1 Onion, chopped
2 Stalks Celery, diced
6 cups Vegetable Stock
¾ C. split peas, rinsed
6 C. diced Zucchini
1/2 lb. Kale, washed & torn
1 or 2 Bay leaves
1/2 lb. Spinach, washed and torn
¼ C. chopped fresh Parsley
2 tsps. Salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Basil to taste
Opt: Pinch of crushed Red Pepper
Opt: Granulated Garlic
Saute onion and celery in the oil until soft. Add 4 cups vegetable stock, split peas, and bay leaf.
Bring to boil; then lower heat and simmer about 40 minutes, or until the peas are soft. Remove bay leaves.
Add zucchini, remaining stock, and seasonings. Cook until the zucchini is soft, and then add kale and simmer until the kale cooks down. (You may want to add more water or stock here.) Add spinach and parsley and cook until wilted.
Puree in blender, in small batches (hot soup will explode in the blender if you do too much at once.)
Return to medium heat for several minutes; adjust seasonings.
(Granulated garlic and crushed red pepper can be added to taste.)
For the 'Bread', from the Shaker cookbook came a recipe for homemade crackers that have also become a staple:
Whole Wheat Crackers
Preheat oven to 375
2 C. whole wheat Flour
2 tsps. Baking powder
½ tsp. Salt
1 Cup Butter
6 T. Milk
Mix and dry ingredients. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until dough is 'grainy'. (Dough will be stiff.)
On floured surface, roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness and cut into rounds (diamonds are nice, too, for a party.)
Place on greased baking sheet or a parchment- lined sheet. Pierce crackers with fork and bake until golden.
I would sometimes sprinkle sesame seeds on top before baking.
-JT
Without teef, crustless is the way to go for me.
/johnny
I hope she likes it. Prayers up for her. PM me if you have questions when you are cooking it.
CHILI
2-lbs hamburger
2-bell peppers (large diced)
2-onions (large diced)
2-29oz can tomato sauce
1-29oz can Rotel tomato
1-29 oz can diced tomato
1-can tomato paste
1-lb mushrooms
5-10 garlic cloves
3-4 oz chili powder
4-5 tsp cumin
Tabasco
Cinnamon (dash)
I make this in an 8 quart pot
Saute garlic in a little oil. Add onion and cook a few minutes. Remove from pot. Brown meat ½ way. Add peppers. Finish browning meat. Add onion/garlic. Mix. Add tomatoes. Mix well. Add chili powder and cumin. Mix well. Simmer on low for ½ hour. Add mushrooms. Simmer on low for an hour.
Here is where you add chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, Tabasco, cinnamon (just a dash) to taste.
This is not hot chili. Add cayenne or whatever for heat.
I do not like split-pea soup; and at first I thought this soup would not be something I’d like. But it actually comes out really savory and zesty. The peas seem to just give it a thickness.
-JT
Chicken and dumplings.
I cheat and use a rotisserie bird from the store. Boil the bird, pull off the meat and set aside. Sautee onions, celery and garlic and add to broth then add carrots.
I add lots of aromatic spices:
Tarragon leaves are thin and delicate, with a strong aniseed smell and tastes a little of lemon.
Bay leaves for their bouquet.
Rosemary whose strong flavor offers slightly salty virtues.
Sage leaves
Thyme which has a lemony, spicy taste.
Dill, which is tangy, Basil which brightens the stock and taste a little bitter. Chives, which is from the same family as garlic.
Oregano, with its very marked scent and finally Parsley, which is fairly tasteless, but brings freshness and vitamins.
Salt and pepper (I prefer white) and don’t worry about getting them all just mix and match, fresh or dried. I don’t really have a recipe I just add stuff I have. A couple of pinches then simmer awhile.
Add the meat back in and for the dumplings you can cheat some more and use Pop’n Fresh biscuits pulled into little pieces, rolled up and tossed in near the time you will serve it up. Feel free to cheat more, if you need bouillon, add it.
Makes the house smell good too.
Nice trick!
I haven't crossed paths with you for a while, sorry to read that you've been puny. Hope you are on the mend, God bless.
Sounds very good.
My favorite cold weather soup starts with chicken and beef stock. Makes a hearty broth. Discovered it by accident long time ago when I was snowed in. One of those darn it moments when one discovers that neither of the stock amts was enough for four.
But hey, that’s part of the fun.
I tend to use more celery minced fine adding a bit more muscle to the broth. Otherwise I have no use for celery.
Chicken or beef gets cubed soup size, browned in butter, toss everything from the pan to the pot.
Add onions, carrots, a bit of garlic to taste.
Spinach is good if available. And then canned butter beans un-drained. Just a change up from navy beans.
Might add some other odds and ends as befits a winter cabin soup.
Fresh biscuits or corn bread.
Making tasty soups is always fun, every batch turns out slightly different.
Gosh, that recipe reads like a poem!
-JT
I have been told Chicken soup is religion you eat with a spoon.
Well, I think they’ve actually proven that it’s at least ‘medicine’ :-)
-JT
Bump to keep this, everything sounds so good!
Sounds wonderful, Cov. I got lazy and bought a nice French bread to dip in the soup. Tomorrow, maybe I’ll turn them into croutons.
Nothing wrong with a rotisserie bird!
Near record highs in the Tucson area; around 80 degrees, I think. Sat in my arroyo patio and cursed the coyotes while the sun set.
We’re having a sticky Asian roasted chicken thighs. I always have the ingredients around. If you don’t have lemon grass, I would just throw in minced garlic. I serve it with garlan (a green vegetable like kale) and rice. I’ve made it for years because it requires no skill and taste wonderful.
Try it you will love it.
Sticky Roasted Chicken
8 x bone-in chicken thigh fillets, skin on
2 tablespoons finely chopped lemongrass (white part only)
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
¼ cup (45g) brown sugar
¼ cup (60ml) fish sauce
¼ cup (60ml) soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated ginger
Preheat oven to (400°F). Place the chicken, lemongrass, chilli flakes, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and ginger in a bowl and toss to coat. Place the chicken in a roasting dish lined with non-stick baking paper and roast, turning occasionally, for 20–25 minutes or until golden, sticky and cooked through. Serve the chicken with rice and greens and pour over any remaining pan juices. Serves 4.
Most grocers sell their rotisserie birds at nearly the same price as a raw oven stuffer and a lot of the fat has been cooked off so, you don’t have to skim the fat off the stock as it cooks. I always save the carcasses so I can make stock but, the cooked bird with the meat makes an easy shortcut.
A local deli makes a great cream of potato soup. I don’t even want to know how many calories or how bad it is for me.
That’s about how many cups of stock I got from our holiday birds.
I froze the stock in 4C, 2C and ice cube increments. Great for making all of the soups I’ve been making, lately (Gumbo, Chicken & Veggie Noodle, Taco Soup, etc.) My next batch will be Lentil and Kale, I believe.
Your Green Soup recipe sounds great! Thanks JT.
Just made some spinach soup last week. Boiled some meat I had in the freezer with some beef stock, cut the meat into chunks added some barley, celery, carrots. Added a whole lot of spinach (chopped). It came out to @10 quarts. My brother willingly took some.
There’s only 3 of us....my mom lives with us....but I cook for an Army! The freezer always has soup especially chicken soup.
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