Cabbage Soup

So I haven't been on for a while. Lots of changes. Trying to sell my cookbook. (The Merlin Menu at all online bookstores)

My job ended with AT&T.

Moved to Vancouver to be close to my family and all that encompasses.

Took my time and am now seeking employment again, but very selectively.

Therefore I have time to cook again, so here I am.  Ta-Da!

One thing I have never made is Irish Colcannon. so I tried making it the other day and blew it! I actually undercooked the potatoes and used too much milk and cream in the finished prduct. (Totally rookie mistakes I must admit)

So I'm sitting there today with half a cabbage and no desire to make another attempt at Colcannon right now.

I thought of cabbage soup which I think I have had one time in the past but I remember it had Kielbasa in it. I decided I wanted to make soup but without the Kielbasa.

So I did. I made a basic cabbage soup that was clean, easy, and frankly, delicious. Not overpowering in any way, healthy for you no doubt, and simple to make. Give it a try. (My recipe uses a Pressure Cooker, but traditional cooking advice is at the end of the recipe)

Ingredients:

1/2 head cabbage, cored, and chopped
2 carrots, washed and sliced
1 sweet onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 14.5 oz (or so) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 32 oz container chicken broth
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Method of Preparation:

Add olive oil to pressure cooker and turn heat to medium.
Add onions, carrots and saute until onions are soft.
Add the balance of the ingredients to the pressure cooker, cover, and turn to high heat.
When it starts to emit a steady stream of steam, turn to low and let cook for 15 minutes.
Turn off heat, and let cool down normally.
Open, taste, and season with salt and pepper as needed.

If not using a pressure cooker, follow the same instructions but use a large sauce pan or pot and after sauteeing, simmer the soup until carrots and cabbage are tender, 30 - 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Ron's Hot and Sour Soup

For some strange reason, last week I had a hankerin' (you know what a hankerin' is, right) for some Hot and Sour Soup. Part of that was I guess because I had a quantity of homemade chicken broth in my freezer that needed using, and also had some leftover green onions.

So I went to the old cabinet and refrigerator, and sure enough, I had Sesame Oil, Chinese Rice Vinegar, eggs, aforementioned chicken broth, pepper, sugar, and soy sauce. The basics. I then went out and bought mushrooms, firm tofu, chili sauce, and small ears of corn.

The following is what I did:

Ingredients and Method:

One can miniature corn cobs, rinsed (Substitute or add water chestnuts if you like)
6 - 8 mushrooms of your choice, rinsed, scrubbed and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 teaspoon white sugar
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 package firm tofu, sliced into small rectangles
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
3 - 4 cups chicken broth
1 - 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce (careful, it's hot)
1 teaspoon sesame oil green onion for garnish

In a large soup pot, heat the oil to medium heat. Add ginger and and saute for two minutes. Add mushrooms and corn and saute for two minutes more. Now here's the cool part, add the sugar, rice vinegar, tofu, salt, pepper and soy sauce and chicken broth and bring to boil, immediately lower to simmer, mix the water and corn starch together thoroughly, and add to the mixture. Simmer for about 20 minutes until fragrant. While stirring the soup, slowly add beaten egg in a very thin stream, stirring constantly.

Add chili sauce and sesame oil, and simmer for ten minutes longer.

Spoon into bowls, serve immediately, and garnish with sliced green onion.

Two friends of mine said this is the best Hot and Sour Soup they have ever had. It made my day.

Enjoy.

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Meatball Spinach Pasta Soup

I like blogging for a number of reasons, but one is that you get to experiment.  I do search other recipes online and adapt them or change slightly, occasionally  or even remain the same exactly, but I always try to give credit.

And every once in a while, I just go out to the kitchen, and kinda make it up.

And sometimes I come in from the kitchen, after just having thrown away my "creation"....  but I learn from it.

But here's the deal. Every once in a while, I go out to the kitchen, and kinda make it up, and I hit a home run.

And this time I did.  It's kind of an Italian Wedding Soup theme, but man, this soup just rocked. And you don't have to take my word for it. 5 people at A Terrible Beauty tried it, loved it, and two guys I work with tried it and raved.

I'm calling it Meatball Spinach Pasta Soup. OK?

So I'm pleased to share.

And it's nice to come out of the kitchen, with something you want to share. Ya know??

And here, don't even look at the ingredients yet.

Just imagine a warm fragrant chicken broth, with a touch of Italian spice, the depth of onion, garlic, and leeks, the sweetness of tomato,  chewiness of the pasta and the fall apart tender meatballs who have their own seasonings, and then you get the spinach and dill that roll over your tongue,  balanced by a generous sprinkling of grated Parmesan/Reggiano cheese.

And yeah, you gotta make your own meatballs for this. (Well, you don't have to, I guess) I know, a pain, but once you make them, try them in the soup, you'll be making meatballs forever with my recipe.  They are the same meatballs you can use in spaghetti, grinders, BBQ appetizers.... they are versatile.

And they're easy.... Here's the link:

Also if you'd like to make your own Chicken Broth, here is my link for that.

Ingredients and Method:


 6 - 10 meatballs from my recipe or store bought (Par-bake mine for 12 minutes at 350 to render some fat)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium leeks, washed and thinly chopped (white and pale green part only)
5 cups chicken broth (or a cup or two more if it's not enough)
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil
1 15 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes with puree
1 tablespoon salt (add more as needed for taste)
1 tablespoon pepper (add more as needed for taste)
1 cup prepared al dente pasta (elbow macaroni, rigatoni, or any tubular pasta)
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, or one tablespoon dried
grated parmesan/reggiano cheese

I made this in a Pressure Cooker, as I seem to be making all my soups in recently. To cook it traditionally, follow the instructions but cook at low heat for 90 minutes in a large heavy saucepan or dutch oven until vegetables are tender. The balance of the instructions are the same.

Heat pot or cooker over medium heat and add olive oil.  Saute onion and leeks until onions "sweat" and become translucent and add garlic and saute for three minutes more. Add broth, oregano, basil can of diced tomatoes salt and pepper, and meatballs. If broth doesn't cover the contents by at least an inch, add more chicken broth or plain water. Turn heat to medium high (on Pressure Cooker) cover, and watch until it begins to steam constantly. Immediately turn heat down to medium low, and let cook under pressure for 12 minutes. (15 p.s.i. if adjustable)

Carefully place pressure cooker in sink and run a stream of cold water over it until it pressurizes. Place back on stove, remove cover, and gently stir. (don't break up meatballs) Immediately add the cooked pasta, spinach and dill. Stir a bit until spinach completely wilts, and dill is incorporated. Slowly season to taste with salt and pepper. What I mean is, do a little of each, stir, let soak in, and then taste again before adding more. It's so easy to oversalt. I've done it more than a few times, and should know better.

Let steep for 10 - 15 minutes.

Ladle into bowls with one or two meatballs, sprinkle with parmesan/reggiano and enjoy!

Lemony Curried Chicken and Rice soup with Mint and Dill Accents

I had to sit home for a few days recovering from Dental Surgery. When I was finally able to get up and around, I tried to catch up on my recipes and what I should probably make. Being in quite a bit of pain, soup sounded good, in fact, chicken and rice soup sounded divine, so I decided to make some. I have already posted one recipe for Chicken and Rice Soup but I wanted to try something a bit different. And lo and behold I came across a Food Network recipe for Curried Chicken and Rice Soup. I adapted it a good deal, using a Pressure Cooker and I made my own Chicken Broth.

As I read the recipe I became more and more intrigued by the ingredients. In addition to the curry powder, it called for dill, and also for fresh mint leaves and fresh lemon juice!  Are you kidding me?  I HAD to make it.

Now, the verdict is in. This is an absolutely delicious soup. Full of flavor, and yet pulls you one way and the other as you eat it. Ever had a soup that is "fun to eat"?    THIS soup is fun to eat.  Please try it and let me know what you think.

Ingredients and Method:


1 bone-in chicken breast (Unless you made Chicken Broth, then use the chicken from that)
2 tablespoons butter plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 sweet onion, finely diced
2 carrots, washed and sliced
2 celery stalks, washed and sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup rice
3 tablespoons chopped mint
3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1 lemon, quartered
Additional salt and pepper to taste

I used a Pressure Cooker to make this soup, but if you don't have one, just use a heavy pot, or dutch oven on stove top and simmer for 90 minutes until vegetables are soft after the saute step. If using a chicken breast, cook with the soup in either method, and then cool and shred and return to soup.

Melt butter and olive oil over medium heat in Pressure Cooker (or pot of your choice). Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute for 10 - 15 minutes until onions are translucent. Add curry, salt, sugar, bay leaf, chicken broth and chicken of your choice and rice to vegetable mix. Stir well.

 Turn heat to medium high, cover and monitor until it becomes fully pressurized (approx. 15 psi). When it begins to steam constantly, turn down to medium low and let steam for 15 minutes. Turn off heat, remove and cool down by pouring cold water from faucet over Cooker. Remove cover, stir and add mint and dill and let steep in the soup for 20 minutes. (If you made it a conventional pot, do the same, turn off heat and let the spices steep). Note: We don't cook the spices in the soup because they will get "worn out". We want them bright and fragrant when we serve.

Slightly salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls, with the lemon wedge. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into soup, and, as usual, enjoy!

Pressure Cooker Chicken Broth

I have never made homemade Chicken Broth but always wanted to. Yet it always seemed such a hassle

until I started cooking with a Pressure Cooker and realized how quick and easy it would be. And now that I've made it, I suspect I'll make it from now on. It freezes wonderfully and makes all the difference in the soups I'm making.

Again, if you don't have a pressure cooker, just follow the instructions but place all ingredients in a heavy pot, or Dutch Oven and simmer for two hours. (It'll foam, so you'll want to skim that off at the end)

The best way to go about this I think is to ask you something. Do you serve whole chicken?  Homemade or bought at Costco, or Sam's or Safeway?   Perfect!  Use up all the meat, and save the carcass in the refrigerator. When you're ready to whip up some chicken broth, just do the following.

Ingredients and Method:

1 large sweet onion, peeled and quartered

2 stalks celery, washed and coarsely chopped

2 carrots, washed and coarsely chopped

10 cloves garlic

10 whole peppercorns

4 quarts water (check your pressure cooker for it's fill line)

1 teaspoon salt

1 chicken carcass

Add all ingredients to Cooker.

You could use cheesecloth to tie up the vegetables and spices and make it easier to strain, but

you're gonna have to remove all the chicken bones anyway, so I don't mess with it.

Cover and bring up to pressure. When it begins to steam constantly, turn the heat down to medium low

and let cook for 30 minutes in the Pressure Cooker.

Remove from heat and let cool down slowly. Do not use the "cold-water" method to arrest the cooking.

When it's safe, remove cover, and strain ingredients from broth. Now here's a hint, there will be enough chicken left on the carcass to make soup with, and I wouldn't waste it. Throw out all the bones, and spices and vegetables, but save the chicken pieces for soup. It's cooked already, flavorful, and ready to go. Just refrigerate until you are ready to use.

Pour the broth into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill overnight. The following day, remove and skim off all the fat. Divide and freeze into two containers, unless you are using one right away.

A note: I say divide into two bowls, because although it may not be enough broth for a soup, you can add some water with no loss of quality, or even canned broth. This way, your homemade product will last twice as long.

Enjoy!

And watch for my two upcoming soup recipes.

Bewley's Tuscan Tomato and Bean Soup

 I know the photo doesn't look like much, but trust me, this soup will make you famous.... I live in Seattle, Washington and have begun frequenting an Irish Pub in West Seattle called A Terrible Beauty.  I really enjoy it there, the staff is very friendly and attentive, and the food is really very good. No argument there.

But, let's assume you work there. No matter how good the food is, you can get tired of the same menu choices over and over after a while.

Since I like to cook and have to service this blog with a post every once in a while, I've started to occasionally bring them in something different to try.

One week I brought in my Potato Chips, and another time my Chicken and Rice Soup.  

This time, I decided to go with an Irish dish adapted from Bewley's Grafton Street Cafe Tuscan Tomato and Bean Soup from Dublin, Ireland. I daresay it came out well and was consumed by the staff rather quickly.

And although I am certainly a meat eater, this is a wonderful vegetarian soup also.

I might also add, I scarfed a few bowls at home, myself. And, once again, I made it in the Pressure Cooker in only 15 minutes!

Give it a try.

Ingredients and Method: 

1/4 cup olive oil

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 yellow onions, peeled and diced

3 stalks celery, washed and diced

3 carrots diced

1or 2 large diced fennel bulb(s) (Video on how to prepare a fennel bulb)

1 28-oz can Marzano crushed or diced tomatoes with puree
4 fresh plum tomatoes, halved

2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 quarts vegetable broth

Salt and pepper to taste (Cook first then season, it will take quite a bit of each but test after each addition)

2  15 oz cans Cannelloni Beans (white Italian kidney beans), rinsed and drained. (Get that scum off them ha ha)

Now, throw that olive oil in the bottom of that pressure cooker, and turn the heat up to medium....  (If you're doing this in a traditional pot or dutch oven, just do everything the same, except, cook it for like 3 hours, until all the vegetables are very tender.)  Otherwise, exactly the same...

Saute, the potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, and fennel, until the onions wilt.... 10 minutes, stir 'em up occasionally....

Now, here's the cool part. Well, Cool Part No. 1.  Dump everything else into the pot except the beans.... Yeah, just do it....  I love this recipe and I love a Pressure Cooker....That's it below.... just heap it in...

Now stir a few times, turn the heat up high, put on the Pressure Cooker cover and valve....and wait until that sucker starts steamin'...... Turn the heat down to low, and let it steam for 15 minutes....  (Or stir and wait three, hours, I'm jus' sayin'.... ha ha, love you slow cookers, I'm one myself)

After 15 minutes, remove, and place under faucet and do the quick cool down with cold water over the top....

Don't get it in the vents, of course....  Now.....  open carefully.... return to mild heat on the stove...

Add the Beans, (remember them?)  And stir gently and heat a bit for ten minutes....

And then get your Immersion Blender. (Here's the second cool part)   (Don't have one?  What's wrong with you?  ha ha....  Anyway then,, move hot liquid from pot to bowl and puree about half and pour it back in.  (Apparently I have a Pressure Cooker bias, I do. you have to try it.)

Take your Immersion Blender, and be careful now, you want to leave about half the soup with bite, and vegetables, and onion, and delicious fennel, yet you also want a firm and delicious background to the beans....with vegetables.... If you pulse too long..... (just a thought) it'll pulverize the soup and you'll have no vegetables and beans, ya know?

So, it's easy.  Put that sucker in the hot pot of soup, way down, and pulse it like six quick times. Stop, and check, and eat, and salt and pepper, and if it's not how you want, pulse 3 more times.....  You're done...!

And not to totally horrify my vegetarian friends, but you could cut up some boiled Kielbasa, and heat it up there too, ya know what I mean?   :)

Now, 

Stir, and salt and pepper some more, you want it just right.

And spoon some into a bowl, with a dollop of sour cream, or, as I did last night, I heated the soup with a slice of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar....  delicious....

Thank you Ireland....

p.s. Joni, thanks for the kind words. You should post them as a comment. You might be my new Food Critic, ya know?

Let me know what you think. Soup with Fennel is cool. There's a sentence I thought I'd never say.

Summer Squash Soup

So I have this neighbor who drives me nuts. She moved in across the street, we met, she brought me dinner a couple of nights which I thought was nice. The next thing I know, she has asked for a little help planting a garden, and I find myself sweating and digging holes in a cleared 30 year old blackberry patch.

Next thing I know, she leaves for a 3 week vacation and guess who's chosen to water the garden. Yeah, ME!

I tell her, I don't have a garden, I don't want a garden, I don't want your garden, I don't want to water your garden, but I do it nonetheless.

Well, so guess what, now I'm getting tons of squash and zucchini. So I guess it's ok. But still!

And then, she buys a dog, but that's another story. I didn't want a dog to walk either!

So is your Autumn garden bursting with produce?  Got a bunch of yellow neck squash?  Giving it to your friends and neighbors?  So what are you going to make with it?  Boiled squash with milk?  Cut them and cover them with egg and cornmeal and fry them?  Add to some casserole?  All are good, but I have the answer.

Make this soup!

Just make it, and you'll see why I say that.

It's delicate, delicious, and tangy, with a hint of nutmeg and Parmesan. Yeah, nutmeg and Parmesan together. Who knew?

Ingredients and Method:

2 -3 medium Yellow neck squash
1 large sweet onion
Yellow neck squash, diced
4 tablespoons butter
3 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
juice of one lemon
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon nutmeg and a dusting for garnishment
Shaved or shredded fresh Parmesan cheese (Or Parmesan Reggiano)

Mince onion and place in saucepan with butter over medium low heat
Wash and cut off ends of squash, and slice into 1/4 inch slices. No need
to peel the squash, the skin is very tender after cooking.

Toss squash in the pan with onions and butter, and saute for 15 minutes or so, stirring every once in a while.  You want the onions and squash to be very soft.

Add chicken stock, salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes.

Now, remove from heat, and either use a handheld immersion blender or a food processor, and puree it all together. It can take a few minutes, but stick with it, you want it silky smooth.

Return to pan, add lemon and heavy cream and nutmeg. Heat on low for a few minutes until heated thoroughly. Do not boil or simmer, no need.

Now, the important part. Taste it!  Decide if it needs a bit more salt, or pepper, or lemon juice and adjust accordingly.

Spoon into a bowl or cup, dust with nutmeg and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top.

Enjoy!

Curried Apple Butternut Squash Soup

Spring is springing. So this will be the last of one of the soups I made over the winter. Actually, this soup is one of my favorites because it has such a unique blend of flavors. The nuttiness of the squash with the depth and gentle heat of the curry, coupled with the tiny sweet goodness of the apple.

I'm telling you, it's all about mouth feel and taste with this soup. Liquid velvet goodness, with a kick. (Did I just really type that?)

Quick and easy, especially in the pressure cooker.

Served with a crust of bread, and little dollop of sour cream?  What could be better?


Ingredients and Method:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 large chopped yellow onions
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 butternut squash, chopped (See my note about preparing Butternut Squash below)

3 sweet McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and chopped.
2 cups water
2 cups apple cider. (Don't skimp here, not apple juice, good and fresh apple cider)
Salt and pepper to taste.


First a note on butternut squash. I find it a pain to peel and cut up the squash. So what I do is, is pierce it several times. and microwave for 8 minutes until it begins to soften. It is then much easier to cut it open, cut into manageable sized chunks, and the the thick tough skin is easy to just cut off with a knife.


Heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat in pressure cooker. (Or stock pot or dutch oven) Saute onions and curry powder until the onions are translucent. 


Add the squash, apples and water to pot. Bring up to pressure, and cook for 12 minutes. Let cool down normally. (If not using a pressure cooker, cook over medium heat for an hour until vegetables are very tender)


Open up pressure cooker and use a hand blender (or food processor) to combine mixture. Add cider and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with a sprinkle of parsley and a small dollop of sour cream.

 Enjoy.

Curried Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup with Peanut Butter

I see spring around the corner so I thought I should catch up on my winter soups that I've made, photographed, and haven't yet posted.  I'm behind on everything.

I was looking for some inspiration for some soup with a bit of kick.This is a uniquely flavorful soup that everyone seemed to really enjoy. It's different, hearty, and simply delicious.

Adapted from Sing for Your Supper.

Ingredients and Method:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
6 carrots, washed and chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
6 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
heaping 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup chopped cilantro, and a bit for garnish
salt and pepper to taste

First a note on butternut squash. I find it a pain to peel and cut up the squash. So what I do is, is pierce it several times. and microwave for 8 minutes until it begins to soften. It is then much easier to cut it open, cut into manageable sized chunks, and the the thick tough skin is easy to just cut off with a knife.

Heat oil in your dutch oven or heavy duty pot. Saute garlic, onion, and ginger until onions are softened and transluscent. Add the vegetables and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally,  until vegetables are soft, about 45 minutes. (Conversely, this is a perfect pressure cooker soup also.  Saute onions, garlic, etc.  in the pressure cooker, add vegetables and chicken broth and heat under pressure for 12 minutes. Let pressure reduce naturally.)

Add tomato paste, cumin, cayenne pepper, curry powder and cilantro. Stir spices in, and then, using a hand blender, or a regular blender, blend soup mixture until smooth.

Stir in peanut butter.

Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with cilantro as a garnish. (I like to add a small dollop of sour cream also)

 Enjoy!

St. Patrick's Day Roundup

Now that my blog has been established for a couple of years, I find that I have enough recipes posted that
I can perhaps provide a quick reference to the Irish inspired things I like to make. So here it is:

Ha ha, admittedly only five recipes, but I do what I can.  If you try nothing else, do the cake or the soda bread. Both are wonderful. And enjoy a pint or two.

Guinness Stout Ginger Cake 

Guinness Beef Stew

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Brown Bread

Corned Beef and Cabbage        

Ron's Homemade Chicken and Rice Soup

Have you ever had really good chicken soup?  I mean really, really, good chicken soup. The kind that tastes so good that you just know that in addition to having incredible taste, it has healing properties too?

Yeah, I haven't either I don't think.  Let's face it, we rarely get Grandma's homemade chicken soup anymore.

But, thanks to a Pressure Cooker, and my throwback recipe, I think you might truly love this soup. I sure did, and so did all who tested it for me.

This all started when I bought a whole roasted chicken at the Supermarket. But after having chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner for a couple of nights, I tired of chicken for dinner.

I didn't want to waste the chicken carcass, and never having made homemade chicken soup before, I thought this would be the ideal time to try.

Give it a shot. It sure got rave reviews.

If you're not a Pressure Cooker person, that's fine. Just add all the ingredients into a heavy sauce pan, or Dutch Oven, and simmer for 3 hours Do NOT add the carrots and celery until the last 60 minutes of roasting/cooking time.. If using a Crock Pot, give it 6 hours (vegetables included).

Ingredients and Method:

Chicken Carcass
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Herbs de Provence (or your own selection of herbs)
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 32 oz carton chicken broth
3 carrots, washed and sliced
2 stalks celery, washed and sliced
3 cups water
3/4 cup rice
2 teaspoons ground pepper

Salt to taste
Parsley for garnish

Heat pressure cooker over medium heat with olive oil.  Add diced onions, celery, and carrots and saute until onions are translucent. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds more until fragrant. Add bouillon cubes, chicken broth, water, rice, herbs,  and chicken carcass.  Yeah, just dump the whole carcass right in.

Cover the pressure cooker, bring up to pressure on medium high heat until it begins to steam constantly, turn to medium low, and let cook for 15 minutes.

Let pressure release normally. Open cooker, and remove carcass, and all bones, and all chicken. Separate remaining chicken from the bones and chop into bite size pieces. Return chicken to pot and stir.  Salt and pepper soup to taste.

Enjoy!

Cheddar Beer Soup with Truffle Oil

I know, the photo doesn't look like much. But this soup EXPLODES in your mouth with flavor.

So here's the deal. I went to Portland to have dinner with my daughter and her fiance for Thanksgiving  in their new home. (My first visit).

I was enlisted to make the Turkey, Dressing, and a casserole, and I threw in a pie just for good measure. (Photo link here: Just Click.)

Wonderful weekend. Met some of the future in-law family and we had a great time.

Next day, during the Alabama Auburn game we went and had a beer at a Brewpub in downtown Portland.

And I saw, Beer Cheese Soup.....  I love Beer Cheese Soup..... and it occurred to me I've never blogged it....and haven't even made it in years.....  What have I been thinking?   So I ordered a bowl, it was exquisitely good.....  and planned an update and counter attack.

And guess what happened?  Yup, I nailed it.  Believe me, there are many times I fail, I just don't post them. But this time, I got it right. You have got to try it. And, it's got a "secret ingredient" that truly put it over the top. Read on....

Ingredients and Method:
1/2 stick butter
2 ribs celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 leeks (pale green and white parts only) sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1 12 oz. bottle Bass Ale
1 teaspoon dry mustard
pinch of cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 8 oz packages shredded Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese
White Truffle oil
Smoked Paprika for garnish

Add butter to pressure cooker (or large saucepan) over medium-low heat. When melted and foamy, saute celery, leeks, and garlic for five minutes, until leeks are limp. Sprinkle flour over vegetables, stir and cook for two minutes more. Add bay leaf, milk, chicken broth, ale,  dry mustard, and cayenne. If using pressure cooker (as I did) cover, bring to pressure, and cook for 10 minutes. If cooking stovetop, cook over medium heat, stirring  occasionally, for 40 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Cool pressure cooker, release, and salt and pepper to taste. (same for saucepan)

Using a hand blender, or a food processor, puree soup until fairly well blended. (I tend to leave a bit unblended so it has some "texture")

Return to low heat, and add cheese, (reserve some for garnish) and stir constantly until well blended.

Pour into bowls.

Now the magic!

 Pour 6 -8 drops of white truffle oil into each bowl. No more, as this stuff is potent. Garnish with cheddar cheese and smoked paprika (if you have it, if not omit). Or, crumbled bacon, green onions, etc. whatever you like in your cheese soup.

Enjoy some of the best Beer Cheddar Soup I've ever had!

Curried Lentil Soup

Here's a soup I think you'll enjoy.What kicked this off is some Curried Butternut Squash soup I had for lunch from a bakery close by my work.  It was so good and I'm not normally a curry person, but I am now. Especially after making this Curried Lentil Soup. The taste of the soup is intriguing. At first it's just the delicious flavor of the lentils, broth and spice blend, which then gives way to the curry flavor and finishes with a touch of heat from the cayenne. Give it a try, it's delicious. Adapted from Epicurious.

3 cups lentils, soaked in water overnight, and rinsed
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, washed, trimmed, and chopped
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes with puree
3 chicken bouillon cubes mixed with one cup water
5 cups water
a pinch of cayenne pepper (or two)
1 tablespoon salt (more to season to taste when soup is done)
2 teaspoons pepper (more to season to taste when soup is done)

I made this in a Pressure Cooker, but if you want to make it conventionally on a stovetop, follow the instructions, and just cook over medium heat for 45 minutes until lentils are soft.



Pour olive oil into cooker over medium heat. Saute onions, carrots, and celery for approximately 10 minutes until onions soften. Add garlic and ginger and saute for 3 minutes. Add curry powder, stir, and add bouillon liquid, and 5 additional cups of water and tomatoes. Stir in lentils and salt and pepper.

Turn heat to high, cover, lock and add thermostat. Bring up to pressure. When cooker begins to steam constantly, turn heat down to medium, and cook at pressure for an additional 8 minutes.

Remove from heat and let de-pressurize normally. When cooled down, uncover, add pinch of cayenne, stir, and taste. Add salt, pepper, in small increments, stir and taste again until it tastes how you want it.

Serve in bowls with a touch of sour cream and parsley for garnish.

Cauliflower Swiss Cheese Soup

There's a bakery here in Seattle close by my work called Macrina's Bakery. They offer a wide selection of all types of breads, sandwiches, rolls, pizza and desserts and pastries.

One of the things I discovered though, for lunch is their soup.  Their soups are so, so good. Last week I had a bowl of Cauliflower Swiss Cheese soup that was delicious.

I cobbled together a recipe and made it and it came out surprisingly close to the one I had at Macrina's. Give it a try if you're looking for a hearty, cheesy soup to warm you up.

Coming soon, I hope, is two more soups I tried there. One is Beet and Apple soup and the other is Curried Butternut Squash soup.  Both were just delicious.

This recipe is done in a pressure cooker, my newest toy. But you can prepare in a standard pot. Just adjust the cooking time until the cauliflower is very tender so it and the other ingredients will blend well.

1 sweet onion, chopped
2 peeled and sliced carrots
2 sliced celery stalks
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
1 package frozen cauliflower
1 cup milk
pinch of red pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
2 cups grated Swiss cheese
salt and pepper to taste

In pressure cooker over medium heat, add olive oil and saute onions until they begin to soften and turn translucent. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes more. Add celery, cauliflower, carrots, chicken broth, thyme, and red pepper.

Turn heat to high, seal pressure cooker, and wait until it comes to 15 p.s.i. (When the steam vents continually) Turn down to medium to low (just so steam gently vents) and time for 12 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool down slowly. Remove cover and using a hand blender, or a regular blender, blend until all vegetables are liquefied.

Return to stove and turn heat to low, and add one cup of milk and swiss cheese. Cook, stirring until milk is incorporated and cheese is fully melted.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with parsley and enjoy.

Sweet Potato Carrot Soup

Allright! It's officially Autumn. I know because I live in Seattle, WA and it's freaking raining on me like 4 times a day.

But, I have to admit, a lot of the time, I don't really mind the rain. I like waking up, and it's still dark, and raining outside, and the sounds lull me back to sleep.

Ever walked through a gentle rain? Like mist? It's refreshing.

And the cool snap in the air? I like it.

Know the other thing I like this time of year. SOUP! Hearty, tasty soups.

I've posted Crockpot Yankee Beef Stew, Crockpot Split Pea Soup, Black Bean Pumpkin Soup, etc. and I personally believe they are all post-worthy.

But this soup I made today, adapted from the ubiquitous All Recipes, is the best ever!

And here's why, Pressure Cooker. Yup, made this soup in FIFTEEN minutes! Let it cool, dollop of sour cream, and it was soooo good. And the beauty of the pressure cooker, (as I'm learning to use one, see my earlier posts) is that it cooks with steam instead of heated ambient air, or convection heat so it not only cooks faster, but retains nutrients, and flavors and spices, and blends just like it was cooked for hours. I'm amazed.

Do you like thick, nutty, naturally sweet soups, with a tang, and a slightly unidentifiable delicious taste to it, and a bit of a bite? The kind you remember having eaten?

Then make this soup. I'm not joking. It's that good. And if you don't believe me, read the ingredients.... Yeah, kind of intriguing..... Allright, I'll stop, here ya go....

Ingredients and Method:

2 tablespoons butter
1 large sweet onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon cardamom (rounded)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric (rounded)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (rounded)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (rounded)
1 cinnamon stick
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 14 oz can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, and chopped into chunks
3 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
salt and pepper
sour cream for garnish and finish
parsley for garnish


Melt butter over medium heat in pressure cooker and saute onions until they soften. Add all
the spices and saute with onions until they warm and release their fragrance. Add broth, water, sweet potatoes and carrots.

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Turn heat up to medium high and bring to a boil, cover and seal pressure cooker and wait for cooker to come up to pressure. (i.e. steady venting of steam from valve)

Turn down to medium low and begin timing for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and let it cool until pressure is totally reduced.

Process in batches in food processor or hand blender.

Taste and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with spoonful of sour cream and parsley for garnish.

If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can use a slow cooker. Saute onions and spices in a pan as directed above. Add to slow cooker with balance of ingredients. Cook on low for 6 - 7 hours until vegetables are very tender. The rest of the instructions remain the same.

Enjoy.

Crockpot Yankee Beef Stew

Have you ever had some soup somewhere and it was so good you then tried to duplicate it at home? I've tried this and generally failed. I'd make good soup, but it just wasn't as good as what I was trying to duplicate. (See here)

Last weekend I came across some Yankee Beef Stew soup and it was absolutely delicious. Just like a Yankee Pot Roast dinner with pot roast, carrots, potatoes, etc. but with much more gravy.

So I searched around and tweaked some recipes to come up with my own version and decided once again, to try and duplicate it.

And THIS TIME, dammit, I hit one out of the park!

This soup came out so good, you gotta try it sometime.

INGREDIENTS AND METHOD:

1 4 - 6 pound Chuck Roast, bone in or out
1/2 cup flour
1/4 olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter
1 large yellow onion
5 cloves of garlic
1 can diced tomatoes with juice (plain or spiced)
1/3 cup cooking sherry

1/3 cup and 1/3 cup red wine vinegar (1/3 cup at the beginning, and 1/3 cup at the end of cooking to "freshen" the soup)

1 tablespoon dried thyme (Tip: 1 tablespoon might seem like a lot, but thyme floats and when you degrease the soup, a lot of the thyme will be discarded, but the essence remains)

4 bay leaves
3 sliced peeled and diced carrots
3 washed and sliced celery
2 cups small white potatoes, washed and chopped in half
32 ounces quality beef broth (1 quart)
2 beef bouillon cubes
salt and pepper to taste (I add one tablespoon of each at the beginning and it was perfect)

Pour olive oil into pan, add butter and turn to medium. Meanwhile liberally flour the chuck roast
with flour. When pan begins to smoke, immediately add roast and sear on each sides until dark brown. (About 10 minutes per side)



Meanwhile, prepare vegetables. Carrots and celery sliced, onion diced into large chunks, and the garlic can be largely diced also. As stated, potatoes are washed, and just cut in half. (You will not saute potatoes)



When chuck is browned, lay it immediately into the crockpot and place potatoes over it. Add some oil to pan and saute the onions, garlic, celery, and celery for about 15 minutes until onion begins to soften. Make sure you scrape up all bits of browned meat and flour (called fond) in with the vegetables.

Pour vegetables on top of roast and potatoes. Add tomatoes and juice, beef broth, bouillon cubes, thyme, bay leaves, sherry and the wine vinegar. (Reserving the other 1/3 cup for the end of the process) Add salt and pepper.



Cook on high for one to two hours until it boils and then turn down to medium and cook for six to eight hours more.


When one hour is left, the roast should be floating near the top of the pot. I like to remove it at this point, and cut off any visible connective tissue and any fat, and then separate the balance of the roast into nice sized slices/chunks and return to the crockpot. At this point you should degrease the top of the soup. There will only be a few tablespoons but get it out of there.



Let it cook for another hour, and then let it sit for one half hour before serving. Now, here is one BIG secret about this soup, or any crockpot soup for that matter..... It will be good fresh out of the crockpot, but the next day, after cooling and reheating, it will knock your socks off as the flavors mellow and blend. Trust me.

And enjoy.

Oh, by the way, MY bowl of soup is accompanied by my homemade Oatmeal Molasses Bread. It was purty good, I gotta tell ya.

Crockpot Split Pea Soup

I've noticed I don't see a lot of split pea soup featured on blogsites. It's probably because it's not fancy enough and is considered kind of pedestrian. But have you ever noticed that whenever you go anywhere that serves a variety of soups (like the supermarket) that the pot containing the split pea soup is always EMPTY? Ever noticed that? What does that tell ya?

So this weekend it was gray, rainy, windy and chilly. And all I wanted was some split pea soup and cornbread. So I made some. Here's my take on it:


1 15 oz bag split peas (green or yellow or both) rinsed, soaked overnight, and picked over
4 tablespoons canola oil or olive oil
1 yellow onion diced
4 cloves of garlic diced
2 carrots peeled and sliced thinly
2 leeks washed and sliced thinly, white and light green parts only
2 celery stalks washed and sliced thinly
2 smoked ham hocks
32 oz Chicken broth
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground pepper

Pour rinsed split peas into crockpot.

Saute onion, garlic, leeks, carrots, and celery in oil until the onion begins to soften and turn translucent.


Add two ham hocks to crockpot along with bay leaves, salt and pepper and thyme. Add sauteed vegetables.

Pour chicken broth over the contents of the crockpot.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, turn to medium and cook another 8 hours until peas are fully cooked and break down when stirred. I recommend NOT using a submersible blender as you want the carrots and celery and leeks to remain somewhat intact.

Remove ham hocks from the soup and discard. (Some folks recommend cutting meat off the ham hock and adding to the soup, but I rarely find much meat in a ham hock so I just discard. As a variation, I sometimes add sliced kielbasa or cubed ham to the soup during the last hour of cooking.)

Important: Degrease soup by skimming the top layer of oil/grease and discarding.

If soup is too thick when done, or when serving later just add water and mix well.

Serve and garnish with a bit of sour cream and/or croutons and parsley.


Enjoy!