Get Ready for Thursday Soup or Stew Nights Again!

Beginning in January, I'll be hosting Thursday Soup or Stew Nights again on "Ruminations." All you'll need to do is cook up some soup or stew, post about it on your blog, and then let me know by 9-ish Thursday night that you've done so. I'll do a roundup with a link back to your blog and recipe, and I'll include a pic of your completed dish. In honor of the return of the event, I made some soup - and had just a small bowl (Don had two large bowls!) since it was so rich.

Baked Potato Soup

3 large baking potatoes
5-6 green onions
3 tablespoon butter
¼ cup flour
1 8 oz. carton heavy (whipping) cream
5 cups milk
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
⅓ cup real bacon bits

Bake the potatoes (70 minutes at 350˚). This can be done the day before, and potatoes can be stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. Cut them in half, and scoop out the potatoes from the skins. Chop one of the skins up and set aside.

Thinly slice the green onions, separating the white parts from the green.
Melt butter with white part of green onions over medium heat. Cook, stirring with a wire whisk, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with flour, and cook, stirring, another few minutes until mixture is pale golden. Add cream, milk, white pepper and salt, and continue to stir while cooking over medium heat. Add potato, chopped potato skin, green onions, sour cream and bacon. Gradually add grated cheese, and stir until all cheese is melted.

Small But Tasty Soup Roundup

I guess people are pretty busy, or they're not fixing soup - we have a small roundup tonight. That's okay!

First up is Paula of The Cookbook Junkie, who sends a Cheesy Broccoli Soup from The New Holly Clegg Trim and Terrific Cookbook. Never heard of Holly Clegg? Me neither. Paula explains, "Poor Holly Clegg. No one has heard of her. Well, one person. Supposedly she's been on a couple of the national morning news programs and she's contributed recipes to many magazines. She's written six cookbooks and has her own website. There's a press item on her site that says that WebMD named this cookbook one of the top 10 healthy cookbooks.


Next up is Ulrike of Küchenlatein, who sends in a soup I just HAVE to try: Lauchsuppe mit Leberkäs-Spiessen, or Leek Soup with Leberkäs Skewers. What makes this stand out to me is the skewers. Leberkäse is similar to bologna, but tastes much better. I buy it often at the German market near my office, and I use it two ways: in Fleishsalat, or cut in thick slices and fried (then put on a sandwich). I like how Ulrike took cubes of crusty German bread and skewered them with cubes of leberkäs, after browning them in a little oil. What a clever and attractive presentation!



Heather of Eating for One contributes Mexican Potato Soup. This is a unique take on potato soup, since it also has corn, bell peppers, cilantro, cumin, and jalapenos. Heather says she got the recipe from USA Today, where occasionally you can find some good ones.





What did I make? I made a soup I've tried before and really liked, Italian Sausage and Spinach Soup. One thing I did differently this time was add a pinch of crushed red pepper with the broth. It gave it a good taste, but wasn't enough to make it hot.

food & drink

Thursday Soup or Stew Night #4

First of all, I have to publicly apologize to Chris from Mele Cotte. Chris submitted a soup for last week's roundup, and I forgot to include her. Sorry Chris! Here's her soup from last week:















La Madeleine's Tomato Basil Soup. While I made a fresh tomato soup once, Chris's Tomato Basil Soup is nothing like it. So much tasty fresh basil to give it a flavor that's divine!






This week, Chris made soup again. Tonight's submission for the roundup from Chris is Butternut Squash Soup. I learned something really important in her post that I hadn't known before - you can keep a butternut squash for approximately 3 months in a cool, dry place. Great! Now I can buy them at the commissary and not worry about having to use them immediately like other squashes. And I have to try her soup - I've only had butternut squash once before, and that was as "fries" baked in the oven.








Sara of i like to cook joins the roundup again, and this time she made Black Bean Soup with Coconut Rice. What an interesting blend of flavors! I've never made coconut rice, and that sounds like something I've gotta try. My husband likes his chili over rice, so the concept isn't totally strange - just a little bit different. But it sounds really tasty!





My contribution this week is also a squash-based soup like Chris's, but I used zucchini. Therefore, my soup is green! I had some zucchini that I needed to use, and I've had this recipe in my files for about twenty years, but this is the first time I've made it. It tastes a bit like cream of broccoli. I wonder why that is? Do you think zucchini and broccoli taste similar? This took only 25 minutes to throw together, and I bet you could use half-and-half instead of the evaporated milk to make it even creamier.

Crema de Calabacitas (Cream of Zucchini Soup)

3-4 medium or 2 large zucchini (1 lb.)
2 c water
salt
2 T chopped parsley
2 T butter
2 T minced onion
1 T flour
1 13-oz. can evaporated milk
1 cup chicken broth

Wash zucchini. Cut off stem ends, then cut in large pieces. Place in a large saucepan. Add water and a pinch of salt; bring to a boil. Cover and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Cool zucchini in cooking liquid. Place zucchini, 1 c liquid, and 2 T parsley in blender. Process until pureed. Heat butter in a medium saucepan. Add onion; cook until tender but not browned. Stir in flour. Cook and stir 1 minutes. Add pureed zucchini mixture, evaporated milk, and chicken broth. Stir to blend. Season with salt if needed. Stir over medium heat until soup comes to a boil. Serve at once or chill and serve cold. Serves 4-6


Thanks to all for participating. This is getting to be really interesting - to come up with soups that use ingredients I have on hand or to plan new and different ones.

I'll be camping this weekend, so I won't be posting for a few nights. When I come back, I'll let you know how and what we enjoyed for our meals, and you can check out my other blog, Wanderlust for pictures and details about the weekend.






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On the Mend

Today I'm feeling much better, though I still don't want to eat anything spicier than milk and cereal. But at least I'm hungry! Now my husband's sick, only his symptoms are more like the flu. Poor guy - puts up with me for five days, then gets sick, too!

I've been busy in my free time (when I felt like it) updating my menus. You see, when I (finally) migrated to new blogger, my recipe menus/links didn't follow. That's okay - I didn't like the way they were all different sizes, and with the help of Sam on Food Blog S'cool I was able to get some that are all the same width. It's just taking time to move everything.

In the meantime: DON'T FORGET SOUP OR STEW THURSDAY #3. Sometime before Thursday night at 7:00 pm Pacific Standard Time, send me a note that you've made some soup, along with the url of your blog. Send it to cholmaneee at uia dot net.

Thanks!

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Thursday Soup or Stew Night #2

It's all my fault that this roundup is so small - I haven't posted since Sunday, and I should have put up some reminders. But it's not too late to jump in! As I write this it's only 6 pm PST, and I'll be online off and on until about 10 pm PST - giving you plenty of time to email me about some soup or stew you want to share.














My blogger friend Ulrike of Kuchenlatein made a very pretty, and most likely tasty, Cheddar Cheese Soup. Now Campbell's makes a cheddar cheese soup, but it's an unappetizing orange glop. Ulrike's soup has onions, and carrots, and celery, and bell peppers - a very great combination.















Sara of I Like to Cook sent in a recipe with a southwestern touch: Black Bean Soup. The "different" thing about this one is the chipotle pepper. I bet the smoky flavor is divine. I plan to try her recipe with some pinto beans. I have about two pounds I need to start using.


My contribution this week is some split pea soup. Way back in college I spent a semester chasing love in Phoenix. The love part didn't work out, but I have lots of fond memories and a few great recipes. I worked at a supermarket, and one of my customers, Michelle H., gave me this recipe. It's easy to make, and you can add more or less of the vegetables, and leave out the ham if you want to make it vegetarian.

Split Pea Soup

1 pound split peas
3 quarts water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 cup chopped ham (optional)
1 cup half-&-half

Rinse peas in a colander. Combine all ingredients except half-&-half in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add half-&-half and heat through.

I thought I'd start trying to add fiber to my diet by cooking more legumes, which is why I made this soup. To go with it, I made cornbread muffins, but added two tablespoons of ground flaxseed to the batter. They were great! I think I'll try to add the flax to as many things as I can.

This is day 12 of my "Carb Lite" eating plan, and I'm so proud of myself. I have yet to go over my day's "allocation" of carbs, and have done a good job of keeping them spread out over the three meals and snacks. I took the advice given to me after Sunday's post and started eating more beans, and will continue to work on cutting the fat down. This weekend my husband and I are going to the California Teachers Association State Council meeting in Los Angeles, and I've been planning for eating out. On Saturday night we're going to LA Prime, a steak/seafood restaurant in the Westin Bonaventure (our hotel for the weekend), and I've already decided to have some grilled fish or shrimp. Tomorrow night I don't know where we'll eat, but I know I'll be "good," and enjoy the challenge of finding great-tasting food that's good for me.

If you want to be added to this roundup, feel free to email me at cholmaneee at uia dot net.




food & drink