Soups Archives - Page 5 of 9

BRAT CHERRY SOUP: FEELING SAVAGE?

BRAT CHERRY SOUP WITH ZUCCHINI

BRAT LIST. Raise a spoonful to your lips. Then come up-north for the real thing. Because the sensation is utterly transporting. And the memory will bring many smiles.

SOMETIMES A BRAT ISN'T @ THE DOOR. IT'S IN THE SOUP — BRATS OF MICHIGAN

Michigan Cherry Brat: 1 lb. cut into bite pieces.

Or substitute any bratwurst or sausage. Then simply add some fresh or dried cherries

Yellow onion: 1 cup chopped
Celery: 1 cup chopped
Tomatoes: 1 small diced
Chicken Broth: 1 box
Italian Seasonings: 1 T
Basil: ½ tsp/fresh 3 T
Roasted Garlic Powder: ¼ tsp
Cilantro: ½ tsp/ fresh 3 T
Squirt of Lime
Zucchini: 2 cups diced

BRAT PREP

In a pot/ Dutch oven brown bratwurst on medium. Then add 1-2 T water as needed. Next add onion and celery. Then sauté till fragrant 3-5 minutes.

Now stir in the tomatoes, chicken broth, seasonings, lime, and zucchini. Then bring to a boil. Next simmer covered for 1 hour or until all is tender. Then let the soup rest for an hour or two before re-heating slowly.

*I buy my sausage fresh from the local butcher. If you are lucky enough to have a locally family owned meat market then I encourage you to buy from them! You’ll taste the difference.

BRAT NOTES

BRAT. Who brought the first one to America? No—I don’t mean your neighbors children…I mean the bratwurst. The word brat literally means meat without waste. And wurst pertains to its mixture. And since European climates are much cooler than ours, it likely made for better fixing. In fact, making sausage is preferred. And pork is the ideal meat of course.

HERE IN MICHIGAN WE KNOW HOW TO TREAT OUR BRATS.

As it goes, pigs, hogs, or swine need less grazing land. Which beef cattle always require. Therefore, most cultures make sausage in one form or another for that similar reason. However, Germany remains number one with over 40 different varieties to choose from.

Purposely many brats were made tiny. So small in fact, they could fit through a key-hole. Duly noting them: jail-bird jewels.

And so, for many countries around the globe meat generally makes the meal. Yet for others it’s only a stand-by. In America it maybe the beef. But in Europe its pork that tops the list. And bratwurst being the fun-fest way to entertain and create an informal atmosphere anytime of the year.

So, if the neighbor kids are bugging. Or hounding for a drink from the hose. Give them an Indian burn or two. Or just send them home with a giant noogie instead. Then find your flavor and try the latest trends in BRATS. Because there aren’t any penalties for being a cranky neighbor.

…but boy, if looks could kill!

NO SEEDS REQUIRED
DIGGING IN THE SOIL

BAFFLING BEER SOUP: a curious curiosity worth savoring

BAFFLING BEER SOUP: ITS WORTH A DETOUR

Baffling, but true. When you’re hungry, you feel like sharing. Or rather, when you’re hungry, you learn to share. Either way this strange and unusual soup isn’t as far and away as it seems. Baffling Beer Soup is a key player in SOUP & SEX quest to be epic. In fact, it’s more or less a seeking of creative agreements…one beer at a time.

Baffling Beer Soup

Shopping List
Beer: 2 cans (12 oz.)
Lemon Juice: ½ tsp
Sugar: 1 tsp
Cinnamon: 1 stick
Cloves: 2 whole pressed cloves
Cornstarch: ½ tsp

Preparation(German)
First add beer, after your initial sip of course. Then add lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves in large saucepan; bring to boil.

Next moisten cornstarch with little cold water and add to pot.
Then cook slowly, stirring for 3-4 minutes.

Lastly remove from heat and discard cinnamon & cloves.
Then serve with pumpernickel or rye bread. Of course, you can choose your own succulent.

Preparation (Belgian)
To put it differently, this is the same as above. Instead substitute a pinch of ginger for clove. And flour for cornstarch. Then add 3 T heavy cream.

Now mix flour with a little beer until smooth. Set aside. Then combine remaining beer, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, pinch salt & pepper in saucepan; bring to a slow boil.

Next reduce heat and add flour mixed with beer. Cook slowly, uncovered, 5 minutes.

Lastly remove from heat and stir in cream.

Server Traditionally With French Bread Cubes. But you make the call.

BAFFLING SOUP NOTES

This is a fun way to get in the spirit—literally! Enjoy this soup with a baked potato or beer nuts. Believe it or not soups can be made with beer. Either light or dark. Even ales have sustained popularity in northern Europe for—EONS! In soups.

You can make them several ways. Above are two variations. Beer soups are not for every taste bud. But there are many buds that do prefer their taste. They fall under the curious soup category. The contents are certainly fascinating and may well add a bit of spirit to your soup collection.

So, it shouldn’t be surprising that beer soups can keep love and lust alive at any age. Even after 69. It’s also a wildly popular way to set your focus on steamy romance and passionate exploits. Just one more way of making some twilight tales of your own.

Because the only thing better than bubbles, is a little HEAD!

THE ONE AND ONLY

SHAKING THING UP

STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED

SPARK A NEW SPARK: HOT-DOG BEAN SOUP

Hot Dog Bean Soup: Bringing Back a Spark

Spark it up Freddie! Because everyone loves summer! And I’ll give ya a hint: hamburgers, hot-dogs, and BBQ’s. Why even when the snow is flying…we still gotta eat. PICTURE, THAT!

However there are limitations. But there is also something called culinary style. So, make this soup and bring back summer. Quick as a spark.

Spark List

Cabbage: 1/2 cup chopped
Beef Kielbasa: 1 lb.
Northern White Beans: 1 Can
Chicken Broth: 2-3 cups
V-8: 3/4 cups
Celery& Onion: 1/2 cup chopped Bourbon: 2 T
Carrot: ½ cup minced
Tomato: ½ cup diced
Garlic: 2 cloves minced
A SPICY Pepper: 2-3 T minced
Molasses, Cider Vinegar, mustard: 1 T each
Olive Oil: 2T

*Bourbon: 1-2 hits

Preparation
4-6 Servings
In pot/ Dutch oven cook cabbage and carrots on medium in 1.5 cups broth. Then cover until tender. About 8-10 minutes.

In a skillet, sauté onion, celery, and garlic in oil until fragrant. About 5 minutes. Then add to pot.
Meanwhile mix molasses, cider, ¼ cup V-8, and mustard together, mix well Stir in beans. Add to pot. Cut kielbasa into bite size pieces and add to pot. Add tomato and remainder V-8.

Bring to a slow boil for about 5 minutes. Then hit it with the bourbon and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve as a side to your main meal with a along with side of slaw.

Spark It Notes

Cooking outdoors generally gets sparks flying for everyone. Gimmicks & Gadgets for outdoor cooking have been around since man first heated his food. Because we don’t just cook out-of-doors anymore. WE GRILL.

In fact, outside grilling is becoming more elaborate each decade.

Which boils down to the idea of—who’s enjoying eating outdoors more than the next guy.

And while many people find it a treat with an added savor. It’s still something that the familiar home kitchen can’t touch. So, when we say, “let’s eat out,” you know you’re in for a treat without the chores.

Because if you can cook it in the kitchen, you can cook it out-doors instead. Like the woods. Or the beach. Perhaps the park. And of course, the trail. In fact, anywhere the sky is blue or the stars are bright. Because FOOD IS FOOD.

Grilling sparks a mean appetite.

So, consider a BBQ during a cold snow. Or maybe on the warm sands instead. Because people like it over an open-fire in summer and winter alike. And roughly everywhere in-between.

So, wait for the rocks or wait on the wood. Dig a hole or cook it in a can. Even the shell of an orange is useful. Use your embers to un-lock ingenuity and devise your own special of the day.

Then include it all. Sparks of imagination, flavor, and fun. Everything from sizzling bacon and eggs to flapjacks. Kettle soups to blushing bunnies. Pan popped corn and hot cocoa. Finally be sure to include spoon breads and a savory dessert as well!

Than you’ll soon understand why cooking out-doors gets you tantalizing over familiar smells and discovering new delights. Whether your grilling, roasting, skewering, or smoking. Some of your most marvelous meals made outdoors will surly ignite sparks.

Since cooking over an open flame has notably more romantic appeal. Those sparks will be igniting lovers for thousands of years to come.

Because the rarest and most pungent sparks are usually reminiscent of love.

Bon Appetite!

TEMPERATE-ZONES

QUIRKY LIKE ME

MANGO GAZPACHO: A SOUP SPICED WITH HISTORY

MAKING IT MANGO GAZPACHO

Mango Gazpacho is like touring Mexico right in your own kitchen. And who’s to say whether the Spaniards lusting for gold; indeed found more pleasure in the good food being served.

Let’s just say…they were preserving the virtues of the chef. And although the food is sometimes regal and refined. Other times a bit robust or brassy, the traditional foods of Mexico are character.Today we enjoy it like a mariachi band delighting in all the colors and contrasts.

Although the cuisine of Mexico has many influences and hundreds of years of highly advanced horticulture. It also has many important foods that we simply must staple to our diets: tomatoes, avocados, chilies, and cocoa. Ships returning home with these seeds found favor in some and yuck to others. But now all those goodies grow and find uses throughout the world in best-loved dishes.

As well as palatable and delicious.

Mango Gazpacho
Shopping List

Cucumbers: 1 peeled, seeded, and cut
Mango: peeled and cut into bite pieces
Scallions: 1 minced
Garlic: 1 clove crushed
Parsley: ¼ cup fresh minced
Cilantro: 3 T fresh minced
Basil: 1 T fresh minced
Avocado: 1 ripe
Lime Juice: 2 T
Ice Water: 1 cup
Salt: 1 T
Olive Oil: 2 T

Preparation
4 Servings

Combine cucumber, mango, garlic and scallion in large bowl.
Then in a separate bowl, mash avocado with lime juice. Next add parsley, cilantro, and basil. Then stir together gently. Next add to the mango mixture and combine thoroughly. Place 1/3 of mixture in blender or food processor with ice water, olive oil and puree until smooth. Stir puree mixture into remaining mango mixture.
Lastly cover and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight. Then serve cold with tortilla chips or pita chips.

MANGO Notes

Enjoy this variation of gazpacho during summer months when cucumbers, herbs, and fruits are fresh. Either from the garden, farmer market, or store. Because avocado, mango, lime, and herbs merge beautifully for this gazpacho. As well as being loaded with rich flavor and tons of vitamin E.

Although cold soups are different, there is nothing more refreshing on a hot day than a bowl of cold soup. In fact, they are becoming an essential part of tail-gates, backyard BBQ’s, and a welcome addition to eating light. Quite possibly the most notable cold soup is Spanish gazpacho. Even though it’s creation was centuries ago.

Just remember that the spice of life is stirring things up. So, whip up a little gazpacho today. And add a flavor list of endless experiences from around the world.

VIVA LE SOUP!
TO FOREIGNERS EVERYWHERE