Soups Archives - Page 6 of 9

Lucky Annette Soup: French Art de Vivre

Lucky Annette Soup

Lucky Annette… when a soup from France becomes our best bid to excellence. So, are you speaking the language yet? Because this soup is so simple to make. Maybe so simple you’ll have more time to get—lucky! Or up to speed on French. Obviously, you will have more time to get carried away. Away to happy hour.

Shopping List

Beef Broth: 1 box
Beef Bones: meaty neck bones*optional but give it a try.
Carrots: 1 bag match sticks
Meatballs: 5-6 prepared (optional)
Red Potato, Turnip, Sweet Potato, and Yellow Onion: 1 each small peeled and cubed
Fresh Sweet Purple Basil: chopped finely
Bay Leaf: 1
Salt: ¼ tsp

Preparation
4-6 Servings
In a pot/ Dutch oven bring your broth, bay leaf and *soup bones to boil; about 7 minutes. Cover and reduce heat to medium low; cook until meat falls away from bones and thickens. Add a cup of water if needed. Remove bay leaf.
Remove bones and add your vegetables, meatballs, basil and salt; bring back to boil; reduce heat and cover for 40 minutes or until tender. Serve with a toasted cheesy bread.

LUCKY Notes

And yes, using bones for a rich stock is a popular. Whether its beef, pork, chicken, or other game. In fact, cooking beef or pork bones down to near evaporation leaves a potent concentrate behind. So, making a good stock is easy.

Now, don’t throw away your bones or fresh vegetable peelings. Instead boil them up with a pinch of this and touch of that. Then adding a splash of zip and a drop of dash. Then give a turn of salt and pepper. Next boil, strain and store for your future soups. The benefits are by far more nutritious than store-bought and surprising easy.

*Here’s another bone to pass along. Many in Europe were eccentric 200 years ago. So much so that a man only wore a pair of shoes once. So as to measure the passing of time. His love for the bizarre came on early. As for the small submarine, it has space for a couple and one guest. Hands-on-learning I gather.

INSTEAD, GATHER SOME OF THIS

NEXT STOP-REAWAKEN YOUR SOUL FOR SOUP

BEET SOUP: INTO THE PINK, PURPLE, or RED.

Beet Soup: CREAMY GOOD

Beet a bit crazy lately? You’ve heard THOSE words. Or have you? Of course not. (I just made that up.) However, this soup is low impact dining. So, feel free to get a bit pink over this fleshy root. Because it’s a treasure within a treasure.

After all, it’s why we survive. For soup, that is.

Beet Soup joins forces with pamper and caress — BEET-U-TI-FUL

Beet Soup shopping list

Beets: 4 scrubbed, cooked, skinned, diced
Beef Broth or Stock: 1 box
Carrots: ½ cup fresh, peeled, diced
Potato: ½ cup diced
Sour Cream: ½ cup
Flour: 2 T
Sauerkraut: 1 small can/ 1 cup (optional, but it gives a good sour if you like that sort of thing).

Preparation

First scrub beets and boil in water with a pinch of sugar until tender. Then quickly plunge into cold water. When cool to touch, remove skin. Dice.

Next in a large pot/Dutch oven bring beef broth to a slow boil over medium heat. Then add carrots and potatoes. Cover and cook 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to simmer and add beets. Next add sauerkraut (optional). Continue to simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Then in a bowl combine sour cream and flour: and fork blend until smooth. Add ½ cup of soup to mixture and blend until smooth. Next adding to soup gradually to avoid lumps. Lastly simmer until heated through.

*Never boil beet soup after adding sour cream.

Add baby spinach leaves as a garnish. Serve with a blueberry bagel.

*Substitute pickled beets for a sour appeal.

BEET Notes

Beets are electric. Larger than life. In fact, Borsch comes from the Slavic word for beet. Equally a prize in Polish and Russian dishes. Polish barszcz or borsch can be either hot or cold, clear or creamy.

Beets are also sweet, beautiful, and packed with power. Beets are a bit of nature’s wonder. A cleanser of both the liver and digestive tract—beets eliminate toxins and regulate blood sugar. Surly, the one veggie that has the power over how we look and feel. In fact, eat a beet and you’ll literally glow.

Most notable is, the all mighty beet!

So, pickled-em, bake-em, soup-em, salad-em, even blend-em in your morning smoothie with plain yogurt. Beets are high in folic acid, a vitamin crucial for heart, brain, liver, muscle, skin and over-all healthy functions.

For overall health learn to love your— BEETS!

UNDER-WRAPS

DELIGHT YOURSELF NATURALLY

MINESTRONE SOUP: GIMME SOME FRESH, PLEASE

Minestrone, A Dominating Soup

Minestrone troubles getting you down? Stuck on the yocky-dock way of making it? Well, brace yourself for impact! The storm surge is here. The surge of veggies, beans, and pasta that is. And it’s only beginning. So, as summer arrives full force add a variety of the edible goodies to your melting pot of flavor. Then, gimme some!

Minestrone Shopping List

Bacon: 2 strips cut into pieces
Leek: 1 washed & chopped
Onion: 1 small chopped fine
Tomatoes: 2 cups (dice the night before and add 2T lime juice and 3T fresh cilantro)

Squash: 1 cup diced summer
Carrots: ½ cup diced
Parsnips: 1 cup diced
Turnip: 1 cup diced
Celery: ½ cup chopped

*Add any fresh vegetables you prefer

*Meatballs: 8 prepared (optional)

Beans: 1 can drained any kind
Pasta: 1 cup any kind (but try a vegetable or bean for a change)
Chicken Broth: 1 large box. Add water as needed.

Garlic: 3 cloves minced
Salt & Pepper: to taste
Olive Oil: 1 T
Bay leaf: 1

Preparation

In a large pot/ Dutch oven cook bacon over medium heat until crisp and brown; then remove and cool.

Next add the onion and garlic; cook 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, salt and pepper (to taste); simmer on medium, partly covered 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in large skillet heat olive oil and add squash, carrots, parsnips, leek and celery. Then sauté for 3 minutes.

Next add vegetables to soup pot and simmer on medium for 15 minutes. Then add bacon, pasta, *meatballs and beans; simmer additional 20 minutes or until pasta is tender. Finally, let the soup rest for 3 hours. Last but not least, reheat soup slowly and serve.

Minestrone Soup...the more the better — Minestrone…throw it all in

Serve in large bowls with garlic bread.

Minestrone Notes

The farmer market…where farmers fantasize and chefs love to shop. There at our disposal too. While offering an array of farm-tastic-snacks. The star of your soup will be your fresh haul of edibles. So, do it. Then chew it. And minestrone on…

Because there are literally thousands of vegetables that you can use. Also, pastas and beans. Especially nice, the idea that vegetables provide a variety of flavor, color, shape, and texture to any meal.

In fact, cooking with vegetables has long been a staple in many countries. Most notably they appear around the tables of the world as the main meal. And now were discovering their value as more than a garnish to meats. To be sure, we’re becoming happy eating more of them at every meal. Including breakfast.

A NEW SENSE OF AWE…

MAKE IT SNAPPY or MIX & MATCH

MINGLING BUFFALO NOODLE SOUP: eat it up yum!

Mingling Buffalo Noodle Soup

Mingling with buffalo? Not on this watch but you can enjoy its flavor in this fablicious soup. Even after 12,000 years…we still share a love of meat. Then again, not everyone is tethered to meat like we are. But we’re not complaining and neither should you. Just feel good everyday and cook a little soup…we do!

Shopping List

Buffalo Meat: 1.5 lbs. ground
Onion: 1 chopped
Beef Broth: 1 box
Parsley, Oregano, Basil: ¼ tsp each (fresh is best-1 T each)
Garlic: 3 cloves minced
Ricotta Cheese: ½ cup
Swiss Chard Leaves: 5 large leaves cut into ribbons/remove ribs
Tomatoes: 1.5 cups diced
Parmesan or Mozzarella: ¼ cup grated
Bow Tie Pasta: 1 cup

Preparation
4-6 Servings

Cook buffalo meat slowly with a splash of balsamic vinegar until brown. Add garlic, onion, and spices. Sauté about 3 minutes. Then add tomatoes. Cook on low covered for 15 minutes or fragrant. Stir in broth and heat to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile mix together ricotta cheese, Swiss chard ribbons, and grated cheese.
Add mixture to soup along with pasta and cook on medium low until pasta is tender.

Ladle into oven safe bowls. Top with additional cheese and broil until top is golden brown 2-4 minutes.

Mingling Buffalo Noodle Soup: top left

Buffalo meat is very lean and cooks fast. Instead, cook it low and slow for the best flavor.

Mingling Notes

Seldom does anybody want to consume an entire meat diet. In fact, today all research suggests the opposite. But most of us still want to mingle with a good piece of meat now and again.

Albeit, The Great Plato had occasion to say, “Everyone should indulge in a big burger now and then!” Despite any evidence—he didn’t really say that, but I bet he would—mingle now and then!

As far as cooking we all encounter different recipes from many sources. In fact, recipes don’t very much. Although they are different. In some small way, it’s either a change in taste that improves the flavor or succulence of the dish. Forever leaving the stamp of that creative cook. As recipes pass from generation to generation they become more seasoned with each new approach and preparation. Becoming a hallmark of family tradition.

As with all recipes in this blog—make them yours—experiment—be distinctive—be different—most of all—ENJOY!

And do a bit of mingling now and then…

NOW WE MINGLE

HARD TO COPY