Two Soups (and a beverage!)

One vegetarian, the other not so much.

Quick and Chunky Noodle Soup

Soups with broths scare me off because of the time constraints. HOWEVER, I figured out a way to make a tasty chicken noodle soup in less than an hour and a half, though it of course tastes better the next day.

1 whole chicken
bunch of celery
4 carrots
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
3 medium turnips (or parsnips! or both!)
cilantro! forget that nerdy parsley.
package of egg noodles
and salt and pepper, our good friends

Chop up the chicken as best you can, about five or six pieces, leave the fat on, and boil it for about a half hour, till it gets to falling apart. While that is going on, chop all your veggies up. When the chicken is done, drain most of the water, but save about three cups of the oily goodness. Add three cups of fresh water to the pot, salt the shit out of it, and then add your veggies all at once. While you have them cooking, pick apart your chicken and throw the meat in before the veggies are done. When things have about five minutes (you can tell by the turnips) add the egg noodles and cilantro. And when the noodles are done, that's it! Pepper to taste.

Even-Quicker, Extra Smoove Roast Tomato Soup
courtesy of my man crow.

tomatoes
garlic
cup of fresh basil (from our garden! yeah!)
salt salt salt pepper pepper pepper
olive oil
and half
*makes about four portions

Slice thin enough tomatoes to fill three cookie sheets, that have been doused in olive oil. Lay 'em out and thin slice a clove of garlic per sheet, setting those slices on top of the lucky tomatoes. Broil the sheets one at a time for about five-six minutes, until some of the tomatoes start to burn. Drop them in the food processor/blender, making sure to drain the leftover olive oil in. Then the basil, blending, and add the cream as you see fit.

My next recipe is going to be for the watermelon, tequila, lime and cayenne pepper cocktail I've been perfecting. Summer is ending, so it's time I solidify the recipe to my tribute drink. Or maybe now that you know the ingredients, you can mess around with them yourselves!

Writers Block EXTREME

I know I should be reflecting and writing about the recent CAW visit to California, but I just can't. I am way far more excited about the soup that I just made, than reflecting upon things we all did.

Although, I will, I promise. Eventually.

While Billy is away enjoying the sights and sounds of Yosemite with his childhood christian brethren, I am at home attempting to not freak out about the mess left behind; and the toilet seat that was up- a clear indication of man-boy rampage prior to their departure this morning.

How do I relax? I brief clean up, and immediate cooking adventure and a characteristic analyzation of my day.

Today was the Castro Farmers Market- a savior on a day where fumes were emitting from my ears for approximately 8 hours straight. After consuming a delicious lunch of Hummus and Tabbouleh* with sesame pita, around 4 o'clock I felt it was time to go for a walk.

I enjoy eating my lunch at my desk, and then going for a stroll later in the day, in lieu of a full blown lunch out. On this day, I decided that I did not crave cookies (although that was tooootally what I needed on Monday, from Hot Cookie)

I craved strawberries. Sweet Delicious strawberries.

Now it is not strawberry season, so I question the integrity of these apparent fresh market berries, but god damn you these were stupendous! They saved my day.

But I digress. Savior of Soup. Simple, delicious, my mind is a-flutter as to what to do with the savory leftovers.


Red on Red on Red Lentil Soup

1 small onion diced
1 large carrot grated
5-6 gypsy or lipstick peppers
1 excessively large ripe heirloom tomato, diced
about 1 cup frozen corn- although fresh would suffice

1/2 cup red lentils
4 cups water

larger bits of ground fennel seed
1 T crushed black pepper
pinches of salt
sprinkles of onion powder
1 pinch cumin
some garlic powder
a little mustard powder
some nutmeg

Methods:

Coat the bottom of a heavy pan with olive oil. Add carrot and onion, cook for a long while. meanwhile, dice the peppers all nice and tiny-like. Add these. At this time add some salt and lots of black pepper. Cook for an f-ing long while, add tomatos and cook until they give off their water. Add various spices now. Add lentils. Add water. Cover and cook for a long while, until lentils are cooked until you can't tell they were once tiny little things, and the soup is of a consistency that makes you happy. Turn off the heat, add the corn, mix. Eat with bread, or rice, or alone!

*a great lunch btw

Maine Lobstah

I got a call from my pops this weekend: "Hey Holl, Lobstah's only $3.99 a pound!"

Its moments like this when I realize how much I love being in Maine during the Summer. Where else could you buy a fresh lobster for cheaper than a pound of sliced deli ham?

My personal favorite way to eat lobster is boiled then dipped in fresh butter with a squeeze of lemon juice. Using these butter warmers really makes a difference; you end up using less of it because its not getting cool and coagulated and there's just something about piping hot butter that makes all the difference in taste. In terms of the actual lobster I prefer the younger chicks-their shells are so soft you can crack them with your hand. Sure there's less meat than the honking hard shells but it packs way more flavor and sweetness.

I was skimming the Portland Press Herald this morning and found a great Lobster roll and stew recipe for when you want to jazz it up:

To make the best rolls or stew, let the lobster shine through

Put This in Your Back Pocket for Soup Season

After those two 90 degree days I'm sure that soup is that last thing on everyone's mind, but honestly I can not wait until Fall to post my favorite soup recipe. Plus who knows- living in New England we could always get another freak snow storm before summer (this better not happen).

Spicy Tomato & Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
1 medium onion-diced
2 medium carrots-diced
2 celery ribs-diced
1 red bell pepper-diced
5 medium sized mushrooms sliced (optional)
1/2 bunch of kale- rinsed and chopped
2 medium garlic cloves- minced
1 can diced tomatoes (preferably Muir Glen Fire Roasted-a favorite amongst most crows)
1 quart vegetable broth plus 1-2 cups water (depending on how thick you like your soups)
1 1/3 cup dried red lentils- rinsed
1 Bay Leaf
1 1/2 tsp cumin, turmeric & cayenne pepper
olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

• Heat olive oil in stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat- add onions, celery, carrots, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and bay leaf
• Cook until onions become translucent but not browned- add red pepper, mushrooms, garlic and remaining spices and cook for another 2-3 minutes
• Add broth, lentils, tomatoes and water and bring to a simmer
• Once soup is simmering add the chopped kale and an extra dash of salt
• Let soup simmer for 40 minutes (if using a dutch oven this will only take 30 minutes, turn heat off and cover-let sit for an additional 10 minutes)
• Serve with crusty bread

This recipe box was made and given to me by fellow Crow Riane Welch last Christmas. I keep all of my favorite recipes inside which saves time flipping through cook books and scouring the internet. This red lentil soup came to me when I had left over red lentils after attempting to make some cakes out of them- not so successful. I just followed a basic soup recipe, tweaked it a couple of times and voila- Spicy Tomato & Red Lentil Soup!

Chard, Chard go away, come again someother day!

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some fresh spring vegetables!

Farm Fresh to You provides me with a pantheon of good treats each week, but I am ready for some new variety! Eating and cooking seasonally is a challenge, and it is hard to find new ways to cook the veggies like chard, greens, and potatoes that continue to challenge the palate. Luckily, I get a little sheet of paper each week with suggested recipes from fellow farm box members to help ease the pain.

This past week the recipe was for Chard, leek, and Cilantro Soup!
The recipe is below, however I made several edits to the original.

3 medium Leeks cut with majority white parts *
1 large bunch Chard (I used green, although I am sure swiss or rainbow would be fine)
A medium sized bunch of cilantro loosly chopped
3-7 potatoes (about 1-2 cups depending on what you want) thinly, but not too thin, chopped
7 cups water- divided
S & P
1 t paprika

*Does anyone have suggestions for trimming leeks? I feel so wasteful every time I get them


Start the leeks and potatoes together with butter (I know--eww---but worth it you need the browning that only butter can provide) and paprika. Stir occasionally but not to much as you want a nice brown to form on the bottom of the soup pot. When this happens add 1/5 c water to deglaze the pot. Add the chard now, and allow to steam cook for about 5 minutes. Now add the additional 6.5 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook an additional 15 minutes. Once it has reduced enough that you feel good puree the contents of the pot.

At this point the recipe calls for sour creme or creme fraiche to be added. I didn't have these so I added some Parmesan and whole milk to the mixture. It worked alright but next time I would just leave it soupy and sprinkle a little cheese on top. Or, I was thinking of adding some pureed white beans to thicken it. Thoughts?

So I served the soup with rice- although unnecessary because I had roasted two large garlic bulbs. We toasted some whole wheat bread and smooshed the roasted garlic on the toast and dipped it in the soup! Outstanding. A perfect spring dinner or lunch!