Soup n Slosh

At the first sight of a snowflake this past Sunday, I did what every respectable ATL-ian did and made a mad dash for the grocery store.  The storm wasn’t much of anything – mostly slosh. It’s all gone now. The only thing left of ‘Winter Storm 2009′ is the emergency soup I made.

I’ve been on a bit of a Kale bing so I went for a Portuguese Kale Soup from the Food Network.  While the soup is like a Portuguese Caldo, in researching this post (remember research = high journalistic standards and job search avoidance), I learned that both the Scots and German’s are kale people.  Apparently, a kale culture has developed in north-western Germany. There, social clubs host a “Grünkohlfahrt” (“kale tour”) in late January, where they consume large quantities of kale, sausage and schnapps. Most communities in the area have a yearly kale festival which includes crowning a “kale king”.  I’d love to see that crown.

Dresden’s official Kale King is Dr. Michael Hupe. In addition to holding the Kale King title, Dr Hupe serves as MD of the Dresden Airport and Chair of the Dresden Convention  Bureau.

‘(The Revd) Kale King’ is on LinkedIn and just plain Kale King is on Facebook and mySpace. There was an ‘I ♥ Kale King’ sweatshirt on Amazon but it’s been discontinued – oh, drats.

Here’s the recipe. Some cornbread would have been really tasty with it but a diva can only spend so long in the kitchen.

It was tastier today than when I made it yesterday. I’d award it a ‘yum, yum, yu’ (or 2 ½ yums out of a possible yum, yum, yum)

Portuguese Kale Soup

Adapted from the Food Network website/Gertrude’s Gallery

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup diced onions - I don’t believe in them
• 1/2 diced turnips - the recipe didn’t specify a ½ of what so I assumed ½ cup but I pretty much went with 1 cup of all the veg plus the whole bunch of kale
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 1 bunch kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
• 6 ounces chopped chourico (spicy Portuguese sausage), or chorizo – I went with veggie sausage. I’m ok buying meat sausage at Whole Foods but couldn’t pull the trigger on it at the Kroger
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves – I passed on the parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 6 cups beef stock
• 1 cup kidney beans – I drained
• 6 ounces diced tomatoes
• 10 ounces diced potatoes – I went with Sweet Potato – bumped it up to a cup or so

Method

In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, turnips and carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the kale, chourico, bay leaves, parsley and thyme and mix well. Add the beef stock, beans and tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring salted water to a boil and add the diced potatoes. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and add them to the soup.

Remove the bay leaves and serve hot.

Parsnip and Apple Soup

I do love me some parsnips. This week I made a Parsnip and Apple soup from The Sunday Times. Nothing elegant – just a friendly, easy to make, hearty soup. I’ll award it 2 out of 3 yums.

Exceeds Expectations

The creamy consistency – very thick and on the sweet side (sort of like moi) – more like a porridge than a soup. That’s a good thing for me but may not be for everyone else. I also liked the Thyme flavor.

Needs Improvement

The recipe called for 4 parsnips. I bought pre-packaged and didn’t realize till I got home how wimpy they were.  For the apples, I went with Granny Smith (I had to guess at the US equivalent of English Apples).  Not sure which was the bigger mistake but the apples overpowered the parsnips. I’d rename the recipe “Apple and Parsnip Soup”.

If I had a redo, I’d go heavier on the parsnips without cutting back on the apples. I wouldn’t want to sacrifice the thickness for the taste.

The recipe also called for Stilton Croutons. Stilton is pricey (at least in the US). I didn’t find the croutons added anything to the dish so save your money and go with store bought croutons.

Here’s How:

Apple and Parsnip Soup

Adapted from The Sunday Times “Parsnip and Apple Soup with Stilton Croutons“

Ella Heeks of Abel & Cole

Serves 6 (I think that’s stretching it)

• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 glugs of olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped – I don’t do onions so I always skip them
  
• 4 parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 3 English apples, cored and chopped, skin on or off – I went peeled
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• 750ml vegetable stock – this equals 25 US oz
• 125ml double cream – equal 4 US oz
• Freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter and oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, parsnips and apples and fry gently for 10-15 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and fry for a couple more minutes. Add the stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat and pour into a food processor. Blend until smooth, stir in the cream, season and serve with croutons.

Cows Cause Climate Change

Slow down and save the world

Guess The Guardian didn’t want The Times to corner the market on Cow News. This week, they reported that the chocolate maker, Cadbury, is working to reduce the carbon footprint of its milk chocolate by encouraging its cows to burp less.

Farmed ruminant animals are thought to be responsible for up to a quarter of “man-made” methane emissions worldwide though, contrary to common belief, most gas emerges from their front, not rear ends.

Apparently, the average cow burps the equivalent to the annual carbon emissions from an average family car.

The report goes on to state:

Cadbury has sent their farmers a guide for low carbon dairy farming, which includes advice on changing the diet of the cows to cut their eructations.

According to the googles, the primary cause of burping is eating too fast. Maybe there’s a future for me in cow counseling? Coaching the cows to slow down and enjoy the meal.

Red Bull vs Cow Cola

Mellow Yellow

According to an article in TimesOnline, the Cow Protection Department of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India’s biggest and oldest Hindu nationalist group, is in the final stages of development for a new soft drink made from cow pee.

The drink – called “gau jal”, or “cow water” – in Sanskrit will be very healthy – made mainly of cow urine, mixed with medicinal and ayurvedic herbs.

“Don’t worry, it won’t smell like urine and will be tasty too,” Om Prakash, the head of the department, told The Times. “It won’t be like carbonated drinks and would be devoid of any toxins.”

The RSS, whose primary goal is to cleanse India of foreign influence and promote its ideology of Hindutva, or Hindu-ness, began promoting cow urine as a cure for ailments ranging from liver disease to obesity and even cancer in 2001.

The group hopes to launch the product by the end of the year. They may consider exporting it.

The product names are endless – Diet Dr Pee-Pee, Mellow Yellow, Cow Cola

research note: In the end, I chose the stock cow photo for this post but there sure are a lot of pee videos on youtube.

Thursday Tea Smack Down

There’s no better way to warm up on a cold day than to put on several layers of flannel pjs, surround yourself with space heaters and have a warm cuppa tea. I’m partial to the Yogi Teas – especially the Lemon Ginger but not the Green tea varieties. At approximately $5 for a pack of 16, they are dear but still cheaper than a Starbucks.

I’m not much of a grocery shopper – I know my way to the Diet Dr Pepper and Charmin but anything else takes me hours and several laps around the store to find. The other day, while searching the shelves for something else,  I came across the Caribbean Dreams Teas. They were in the Jamaican section of the store – not with either the regular teas or natural foods. Who knew there are three different places where they hide the teas?

Since the Caribbean Dreams are much cheaper (something like $2 for 24 bags), I grabbed a couple of boxes – Lemon Ginger and Ginger Mint. The Lemon Ginger’s ingredients sounded promising: Ginger and Lemon Grass.

I regret to report that Caribbean Dreams doesn’t stand up. The flavour isn’t bad but it’s far weaker than the Yogi Teas. About the same strength as when you go for that second cup out of a previously used bag.

I was going to end this post with a witty spin on ‘you get what you pay for’  or ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.’  But, while researching – no, not because I have my journalistic standards to uphold but because research is a great way to avoid the job search, I learned that Caribbean Dreams is a Tetley product (though separately owned). I also discovered that you can order a free sample of yogi teas online at http://www.yogitea.com/Pages/FreeSamples.html. Delivery in the US only. The current sample pack includes Meditative Time™, Mexican Sweet Chili™ and Berry Anti-Oxidant.

Maybe I have scored after all.

Little Miss Lemon Ginger

Curried Cauliflower Causes Crazy Dreams

Bill & The Godfather of Soul prepare curried cauliflower soup in the graceland kitchen

I chose the curried cauliflower soup recipe for one reason only – it called for coconut cream thus allowing me to feed my cc addiction (hush now – cc stands for coconut cream) .

Ooooh that smell, Can’t you smell that smell

My hopes were high while I made the soup. The turmeric, cumin and curry spices induced flash-backs of a high-rise I’d visited many times during GOTV.  While the building was a bit spooky, the voters were so enthusiastic. Many were Ethiopian immigrants who would be voting for the first time as new US Citizens.  The most amazing, mouth-watering cooking smells drifted up and down the halls.  Maybe it was because of my fondness for the place that I doubled (or was it tripled?) the soup’s spices.

The soup was pretty weak – way too thin (girls, it looks like it is possible to be too thin after all). I wasn’t going to post about the soup as it didn’t deserve a single ‘yum’ on the ‘yum, yum, yum’ scale but it did lead to a crazy dream last night.

Crazy Curried Cauliflower Dreams

My dream took place in my friend, Helen McNeilson’s parents’ old kitchen. That’s not her real name but is the fake name she has used since childhood. When we were little,  the Godfather of Soul and his trusted lieutenant came to her house one cold Christmas. Legend has it that the hardest working man in show business spent a few hours playing pool with her dad who had befriended him before he became The Godfather of Soul. At some point he asked the godfather and his band mate about their families. They replied ‘Oh, they’re  all out in the car waiting on us.’ The whole entourage was  promptly invited inside for a few more hours of fun.

In my dream, the kitchen was exactly as it had been in the 70s. You know the kind of kitchen I’m talking about -  linoleum floor, harvest gold counter-tops, avocado appliances.  This time, my BFF Bill Clinton (afterall, we did “share” a stage together) came for a visit. As with all parties, we ended up in the kitchen. We charmed Bill with our wit, intelligence and natural beauty. Right before he left, Bill visited the loo. After his departure, Helen’s mum discovered that Bill had graffiti-ed his name all over the bathroom walls. Of course, she wasn’t pissed (pun intended).

Why visions of Bill?

I did a dream search for dreams about Bill Clinton but there is no known interpretation.  I’m thinking it was Hillary’s fault.  At her official swearing in yesterday, while Bill  was  standing right behind her beaming with pride, she got up and made jokes about him.

PS – this post is no way meant to judge the band Lynard Skynard, my friend Helen McNeilson, the godfather of soul, his band mate, their families, Bill or Hillary Clinton or their relationship. It’s only meant to make fun of me.

Peace, Love and Lentils

Warning - this product is highly addictive

I’ve been craving lentils ever since I had them last week at one of my fav ATL restaurants, Repast. Most of the lentil soup recipes I found on The Googles sounded just alike. Naturally, I chose the Ch 4 Spicy Spinach Dhal recipe because it seemed different.  When I chose the recipe, I had no idea of the addictive powers of one of the ingredients.

The soup was easy to make but it ended up taking me two days because I spent most of yesterday glued to the TV, watching an Amtrak train travel from Philly to DC.  The soup was worth the wait – it definitely scores three yums.

To post or not to post? (or diary of a wannbe food blogger part deux)

Ingredients for sandpaper (oops, I mean celery root) soup

hmmm. My very first dilemma as a wannabe food blogger. What to do when you cook something that just doesn’t wow you? Do you post it or not? If you do post, do you mention the source?

The other day I spied a celery root soup recipe on a real life food blog.  Maybe the lovely pictures made me loose sight of the fact that, since I don’t really like celery, I probably wouldn’t like celery root either? Maybe the Carrot, Parsnip, Rutabaga Soup set the standards too high? Or, perhaps subconsciously I was thinking that by making THAT food blogger’s soup, I’d somehow magically be teleported into his exotic life? 

Whatever it was, I got excited when I saw celery root at the grocer’s the other day. I even phoned a friend to look up the ingredients so I could buy them (ie, start my new life?) on the spot.

Soup’s on (or diary of a wanna be food blogger)

Hearty Rutabaga, Carrot, Parsnip and Sausage Soup

 

 

Making soup is way more fun than updating your resume/CV. 

 

I wanted to make something with Carrots and Parsnips. Scored a three pointer with this recipe from epicurious.com since it has Carrot, Parsnip AND Rutabagas.  I don’t like onions so I sauteed a few cloves of garlic with the sausage instead.  yum, yum.

 

Recipe follows

Boxing Day Brussels Sprouts

It’s been a great holiday so far. Perfect combination of family and friends with the emphasis on friends.

Here’s the WIN/LOSS report to date :

WINS

• Stress-free – I keep having to pinch myself. Especially when I’m in traffic and can sense everyone else stressing out.  Instead of my usual holiday nervous breakdown induced by running around panicking about how I will ever manage to get everything done, I have a real sense of peace and calm. I don’t have any of the normal guilt thinking that part of the holiday is meant to be spent catching up at work.  Nor do I have that lingering dread knowing that the time off is about to come to an end and I’ll have to go back to work as soon as New Year’s is over.

Nixing fudge maker from the list of possible careers

My grandmother was a fantastic southern cook but she didn’t have a single recipe. Many times I begged her to tell me how to make such and such but all she could say is ‘oh, add a little of this and a pinch of that.’  She wasn’t guarding her secrets – it’s just that the recipes were in her hands not in her head or a book.  Her mother taught her to cook when she was little girl growing up on a farm. Cooking had been her chore all her life – first as a little girl, then wife, mother and grandmother.