Conference turris::cooks

    My 17 y.o. daughter made a great soup for dinner last night.  I don't
    know where she got the recipe but it sure was nice to have it on the
    table when I got home.
    
    She cooked cheese tortellini and while that was cooking, she cooked a
    bag of frozen oriental vegetables (broccoli, mushrooms, gr. beans, 
    onions, etc).  When all that was cooked, she put it altogether in a 
    larger pot of hot chicken broth and heated through until serving
    temperature.   
    
    She's not a salt & pepper person so the soup was bland to me until I
    did my thing with the shakers.  We had a crusty bread along with it.
    I have to admit, it looked "different" but nonetheless, it was quite 
    tasty and a filling, hot meal.
     
    -Glenda
                                          

This was entered into the local Christian Community Action cookbook by the wife
of one of my co-workers.  I haven't made it myself, but she is a wonderful cook
and if she says it's good, then that's good enough for me.

2 tomatoes, diced
1 small onion, diced
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1 can chicken broth, undiluted
1 8-oz. carton heavy cream

Melt butter and saute onion for 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, cook 5 to 7 minutes. 
Add flour and whisk constantly for 5 minutes.  Add broth and cream and simmer
about 10 minutes.  Season with fresh, cracked pepper and a little salt if
needed.  Serves 2.

  Ah, soup, one of my favorite topics. Soup is possibly the most fun
  thing to prepare, because it's almost impossible to have an
  unrecoverable disaster, and because you can let your imagination run
  completely wild. There are so many things you can do, it's hard to
  know where to begin, but we can start with "garbage stew", because
  this is really the essence of soup, and is probably what soup
  originally was a long time ago.

  The idea is that into a BIG pot, you put everything you've got lying
  around that would probably otherwise get thrown out: assorted
  vegetable ends and peelings, meat and poultry bones and scraps, etc.
  The three ingredient categories of garbage stew are:

  	liquid
  	salt and other seasonings
  	garbage

  There are a couple of basic principles which you can use to control
  the concoction at any point:

  - Add liquid to thin it.

  Almost any watery liquid will work. Most dairy products will curdle at
  some point, so don't use these unless you are actually ready to serve
  the entire pot. Water, vegetable, poultry, meat, fish/seafood stocks,
  and wine are the perfect liquids to add.

  - Add starch to thicken it.

  Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, barley, turnips, etc., will
  eventually thicken the mixture as they (over)cook. Try to avoid
  specific thickeners like roux (flour-butter paste) and cornstarch, as
  these don't add any flavor, and can easily get out of control.

  - Reduce (boil down) to enrich it.

  Boiling away the liquid will help to thicken the mixture if it already
  has starches in it, but the main effect is to make it richer. It
  concentrates flavors and especially the proteins from meats and some
  vegetables.

  - The seasonings are the secret.

  It's easy and preferable to add salt late in the game, because its
  effect won't be any different, and because it's difficult to correct
  for too much salt, and saltiness increases as liquid evaporates. Most
  other seasonings work better when added early or in the middle. Herbs
  and spices are perfect, as are onions, garlic, and shallots. Also,
  there are some vegetables which have strong flavors, such as celery,
  peppers, dried mushrooms, etc. Soups provide the perfect opportunity
  to experiment with herbs and spices. You can play with them and get to
  know what they taste like by themselves and in combination, without
  much risk of a total disaster (which can easily happen in a more
  sensitive dish). Seasoning makes the difference between a delicious
  soup or stew and a bland (or worse) liquid that tastes like something
  for a macrobiotic monk. All-vegetable mixtures particularly need lots
  of seasonings, because vegetable flavors are very mild, especially
  when cooked for long periods. Also in the category of seasoning, I
  include such liquids as vinegar, sesame oil, sherry, and brandies,
  because these are more used for their flavor than to add liquid. One
  of the indications (to me) of the talent of a cook is how well they
  use seasonings.

  There are also a couple of finer points worth knowing about:

  - Certain things get worse with more cooking.

  Many seafoods, when cooked for long periods, get tough and then
  finally fall apart. If you want to put these in your creation, they
  should be added fairly late. This usually means that you need to
  prepare the basic broth (fish stock) separately from the fish "meat"
  which you will add at the last moment. Also, most fish and seafood
  bones and shells (e.g., lobster, crab) will give a very bitter flavor
  to the liquid if cooked too long or at any temperature which bubbles.

  - Certain things benefit from being partially prepared before adding
    to the pot.

  Many bones and meats will develop their best flavors if browned in a
  skillet (sometimes with a fat and some seasonings) before adding to
  the pot. To get the full flavor of this work, make sure to get all the
  "burned" stuff from the bottom of the skillet into your soup pot, by
  adding some liquid to the skillet from your main pot to "clean" the
  skillet, and then returning this liquid to the pot. Some folks will
  recognize this process as "de-glazing" the skillet.

  - It always tastes better the second day.

  With the exception of fish and seafood, most ingredients will taste
  better the day after they're added to the pot. It's true that most
  veggies will be overcooked at this point, many of their vitamins being
  destroyed, but the flavors reach their peak, and meat textures their
  tenderest, the day after they're added. If you plan to eat some of
  your creation the same day, then the best things to add that day are
  fast-cooking vegetables (e.g., summer squashes) and seafoods.

  - Keep the fat content to a minimum.

  Meat and poultry (and even some vegetables) will contribute fat to the
  mixture. While some fat adds flavor and richness, too much makes for a
  greasy mixture, and is possibly not a good idea if you're
  health-conscious. Fat can be poured or skimmed off, or the liquid can
  be poured into one of those handy fat-skimmer cups which look like a
  measuring cup with a spout coming from the bottom. Or, you can chill
  the whole mixture until the fat solidifies and then remove it. But
  this takes time.


  Almost anything prepared using these principles can be turned into a
  delicious snack or meal. I know a couple of families where a giant pot
  sits simmering on the stove all day and night for weeks, ingredients
  being added as they appear, the mixture practically always available
  for someone to dip a ladle in and have a bowl. I'm told that this is
  the basis for the Chinese "Hot and Sour" soup (at least as made in
  China). I haven't actually had the occasion to have a pot going for
  more than a few days at a time, but it's a great idea for big
  families.

                          AFRICAN STEW
    
    An old roommate of mine used to make this "African Stew" quite
    regularly.  I was convinced she was crazy, until finally I made
    it myself.  Now it's a standard dish.  Being single and on the go,
    I freeze individual portions and take with me.  This tastes
    pretty good at the end of a day's defrosting even without being
    heated.  It can be thinned, too, for more of a soupish body.
    
    1 lb cubed meat or poultry (I prefer meat, she also used gizzards
      and the like)
    1 bouillon cube
    2 pkgs frozed chopped spinach
    1/2 bottle ketchup
    2 med. onions
    1 fistful of peanutbutter (1/4 to 1/3 c.)
    salt
    fresh ground black pepper
    dried red pepper (I find 1 tea. to be hot enough for me.)
                       
           
    Cover meat with water, add bouillon cube, and cook until meat has
    turned brown.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer until onions are 
    tender and enjoy.  Definately much better the next day!  I enjoy on 
    a bed of rice.
                                              
    
    

    Some additional thoughts -
    
    Add noodles!  Since I got my pasta machine (topic of another note!),
    I have been making all kinds - whole wheat or spinach noodles add
    a nice wholesome touch, and if you make them from scratch, residual
    flour will help thicken the soup.
    
    Add tofu!  A high protein low cost ingredient that you can dice
    or cut into strips.  For those who like tofu, it's great; for those
    who (think they) don't, they probably won't recognize it anyway!
    
    Any soup is enhanced by good soup spoons - not necessarily sterling,
    but with a deep enough bowl so that you get broth and goodies every
    time.  It's aggravating to try to eat good soup with a teaspoon!
    
    Terry
    

    On thickeners - use pureed cooked vegetables!  It thickens
    the soup (or stew) without adding starch or a starchy taste
    to the pot.  This is also a good way to convince SOME people
    to eat their vegetables!  ;')
    
    

Dieters - here is a soup you and the non-dieters can use:

On a weekend day, dig out the big kettle and make a rich broth using:

	Chicken parts (backs, wings, necks, feet) - my butcher saves
		these for me and a few others and charges approx. $1.30
		a pound.  For my biggest kettle, I use 3 pounds parts.

	1 handful of uncracked peppercorns
	1 large or 2 small onions - don't bother peeling 'em, just
		rinse, quarter and drop in with approx. 6 whole cloves
		poked into them
	1 bulb of garlic - yep, all the cloves - don't peel, just
		rinse, cut in half and drop in
	1 large handful dried parsley leaves
	6 stalks celery rinsed and cut into chunks
	4 carrots, rinsed and cut into chunks
	1 fresh ginger "man" (a whole chunk) rinsed and cut - don't
		bother peeling it
	tumeric to taste (optional - small amounts give a nice yellow
		color like you expect from canned soups - try a teaspoon
		or 2)
	Salt to taste (I don't salt at this stage, I salt when I eat
		it)

Add water to cover the works and bring to a boil.  Turn down, partially
cover the pot and simmer for at least 4 hours.  Cool and strain this
through two layers of cheese cloth in a collander into a container or
containers that will fit in the fridge.  Throw out all the "stuff"
except any of the chicken meat you wish to salvage.  Save the broth and
chill it until the fat rises to the top and congeals.  Remove ALL fat
and discard.  What you have left is your "instant" soup base.  This will
be sorta "gelled" like jello...this is good - it has lots of healthy stuff
in it.  You can freeze or you can refrigerate it for 5 - 6 days.  

During the week -

When you come home at night, make bowls of soup by scooping 1 to 2
cups broth into a small pot and heating to a nice simmer.  Add peeled, chopped
tomatoes, frozen veggies/fresh veggies of your choice, simmering until
tender.  Add a 1/2 cup of left over rice or cook up 1/2 cup of small
salad macaroni, drain it and add just before serving the soup.  You can
enrich the soup (for non-dieters) by adding 2 teaspoons of roux
(equal amounts of flour and butter/oil cooked to brown the flour and
then stored in the fridge for use in cooking) to the broth while
heating it.  You can stir in some milk or cream just to heat point
before you serve this if you like.  This and a salad and bread or
crackers make a healthy, low-fat meal.  It's on the table in 15 - 20
minutes and it doesn't come out of a can or box. 

Add the chicken meat you salvage from the initial cooking or add
chopped chicken breast meat when making your dinner and simmer for
a few minutes to add meat to the diet as you choose.  Add different
herbs to taste.

The broth recipe can also be made into a beef broth with the use of
soup bones and ox tails.  I don't add the parsley and I do add 1/4
cup vinegar to the fixings when making beef soup (vinegar grabs
some calcium from the bones and "enriches" the nutrition of the
broth).  I also add a can or two of chopped, peeled tomatoes to
add flavor when making beef soup.

I keep some of this in small containers in my freezer all the time.
I always have something I can turn into wonderful food if guests drop
in.  

Cook's time to prepare for cooking - 20 minutes

Cook's time to strain the broth - 20 minutes

Cook's time to remove fat from chilled broth - 10 minutes

  To .-1's excellent (and delicious) recipe for chicken stock, I'd add
  one comment: you may want to leave out (or include) the livers when
  you make this. They contribute a strong flavor which some people don't
  like, others do. I happen to like the flavor, especially when I know
  I'm going to be making soup for myself. But when I make it just for
  stock to freeze, which may later be used for other dishes or soups, I
  leave the livers out (in which case, I just boil them by themselves
  with a little onion powder, and gobble 'em up when done).

    $1.30 per pound for backs and feet and wing-tips?  When you can get
    whole chickens for $.69 to $.89 per pound?  That sounds really
    high in price, unless you're kosher....?
    
    I just save all bones and veggie peelings in a gallon-sized zip-lock
    in the freezer.  When the bag's full, I make soup.  I dump the bag
    of goodies into a large pot, add water to cover, and simmer from
    dinnertime to about an hour before bedtime.  Drain the broth into
    a bowl - put the bones etc in a bag in the freezer since the cats
    like to take them out of the trash.  Let cool for that hour, stick
    the bowl in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap.  Next day, remove
    the fat from the top, if there is any.  Freeze in 1-2 cup containers.
    (I save my yogurt and cottage cheese containers for this.)
    
    Note 1: things that go in the soup sack are bones of any sort,
    scraps like tails and wing tips saved from when I cook whole birds,
    any peelings where the veggie was washed well before peeling (celery,
    carrot, potato, beet, etc), tops from the celery (washed), and so
    on.  Things that DON'T go in are anything from the cabbage/mustard
    family.  I had a very bad experience with overcooked kale in soup
    - it gets a very strong flavor.

    Note 2: this broth is a good liquid to use for making stews and
    soups, also for making gravy and braising foods.  I often freeze
    a few ice-cube trays full just to have on hand for dishes that need
    just a tad more liquid.  It's nice to add something other than water.
    Gives flavor, and adds maybe a little nutrition.  
    
    Note 3: the broth is very bland - no salt or seasonings are added.
    So while it will go with anything, having nothing strong to clash
    with any dish, it will need "doctoring" to be good.
    
    --Louise

    
    Without permission, from THE COOKERY YEAR, MENUS FOR EVERY MONTH
    by Heather Lambert and Katharine Blakemore, pub. Octopus Books,
    ISBN 0 7064 2410 7
    
    1 large onion, peeled and sliced
    50g (2oz) butter
    450g (1lb) pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
    225g (1/2lb) potatoes, peeled and sliced
    1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
    Sprig of thyme
    1.2litres (2 pints) good chicken stock
    Salt
    Freshly ground black pepper
    Juice of 1 lemon
    150ml (5 fl oz) double cream [heavy cream in US?]
    
    Melt butter in large heavy saucepan and slowly cook the onion until
    soft and transparent.  Add the pumpkin, potatoes, garlic and thyme.
    Cover the pan and cook slowly for 20 minutes or until vegetables
    are soft.
    
    Add stock, season to taste.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 10
    minutes.  Remove the thyme sprig.
    
    Liquidize the soup.  Flavour it with lemon juice (careful not to
    overdo it, you can always add more, but too much will ruin the soup).
    Reheat to serving temperature.  Add cream just before serving.
    
    Serves 6
    

    1.2litres (2 pints) good chicken stock
    
    1.2 litres = 1.32 qt = 2 2/3 pints though 2 pints probably just makes for
    a slightly thicker soup.
    
    ed

    
    Last night I was experimenting with lentils and I came up with the
    following soup.  It turned out to be pretty tasty and I would suspect
    several variations could be made from it.  Anyway this is a start -
    
    1 32oz bottle V8 juice
    2 cups water or beef broth
    4 beef bouillon cubes (if you used water instead of broth)
    1 large carrot cut into thin slices
    2 small stalks of celery cut into thin slices
    1 tsp Tabasco or to taste 
    1 tsp Oregano
    1/4 tsp marjoram
    1 28oz can whole tomatoes 
    1 large onion diced
    2 cloves minced garlic
    1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
    1 cup cooked rice
    2 tbsps olive oil
    1 bayleaf
    1 lb lentils sorted and rinsed
    
    Saute the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in the olive oil in a 
    large soup pan over moderate heat until the onion is limp but not browned.  
    
    Add the following to the pot -
    - lentils
    - V8 juice
    - Water or broth (and beef bouillon if necessary)
    - Tabasco, marjoram, oregano, bayleaf, Worcestershire sauce
    - Can of tomatoes - break into chunks
    
    Bring to a boil then cover and reduce to simmer for 45 minutes.
    Add the cooked rice and simmer another 15 minutes or until lentils
    reach desired tenderness.  Add water to maintain desired texture
    during cooking as it will get rather thick.
    
    (PG) = permission granted to reproduce this recipe however you
           see fit.
    
    - Larry

    What I usually do with dried legumes is sort through them to find
    the rocks and bad legumes that should be tossed out and not eaten.
    Then I wash and drain several times before setting the legumes
    in the fridge, covered with water, to soak overnight.
    
    You don't have to go through them bean by bean. ;-)

    Chicken and Dumpling Soup
    
        1 fryer (2-1/2- to 3-pounds)
        6 cups cold water
        3 chicken bouillon cubes
        6 peppercorns
        3 whole cloves
    
    SOUP BASE:
    
        1 can (10-3/4-ounce) chicken broth
        1 can (10-3/4-ounce) chicken soup
        1 can (10-3/4-ounce) cream mushroom soup
        1 cup chopped celery
    1-1/2 cups chopped carrots
      1/4 cup chopped onions
        1 cup chopped potatoes
        1 small bay leaf
        1 cup fresh or frozen peas
    
    Cooked fryer, cut in bite-size pieces
    Reserved chicken broth, strained
        1 teaspoon seasoned salt
    
    FEATHER DUMPLINGS:
    
        2 cups flour
        1 teaspoon salt
        4 teaspoons baking powder
      1/4 teaspoon white or black pepper
        1 egg, well beaten
        2 tablespoons melted butter
      2/3 cup milk
    
    Place fryer, water, bouillon, peppercorns and cloves in kettle and
    bring to boil.  Reduce heat; simmer until chicken is tender (about
    1-1/2 hours).  Cool chicken just slightly; cut into bite-sized pieces
    and set aside.  Strain and skim chicken broth.  Put reserved chicken
    and broth in large kettle; add cans of broth, chicken and mushroom
    soups, celery, carrots, onion, potatoes, bay leaf, peas and seasoned
    salt.  Put cover on kettle; simmer soup on low heat for 2-3 hours.
    About 30 minutes before serving, mix up feather dumplings by sifting
    dry ingredients together.  Add egg, melted butter and enough milk
    to make moist, stiff batter.  Drop by teaspoons into boiling liquid.
    Cook, covered and without "peeking", for 18-20 minutes or until
    the dumplings are done.
      
    

    Response .19 should say 1 can cream chicken soup; not 1 can chicken
    soup.  Sorry!

    Cheddar Chowder
    
      2 cups water
      2 cups diced potatoes
    1/2 cup diced carrots
    1/2 cup diced celery
    1/4 cup chopped onion 
      1 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon pepper
    
    White Sauce:
    
    1/4 cup butter
    1/4 cup flour
      2 cups milk
      2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
      1 cup cubed ham
    
    Combine water, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper
    in large kettle.  Boil 10-12 minutes.  Meanwhile, in small saucepan,
    make white sauce by melting the butter.  Add flour and stir until
    smooth (about 1 minute).  Slowly add milk; cook until thickened.
    Add grated cheese to white sauce; stir until melted.  Add white
    sauce and cubed ham to vegetables that have not been drained.  Heat
    through.
    

    Cheese and Potato Wild Rice Soup
    
      1/2 cup wild rice, uncooked
    1-1/2 cups water
      1/2 pound bacon, cut in pieces
      1/4 cup chopped onion
        2 10-3/4 ounce cans cream of potatoe soup (dilute with 1 can
          liquid--1/2 milk; 1/2 water)
        1 quart milk
    2-1/2 cups grated American cheese
    Carrot curls (optional)
    
    Combine wild rice and water in saucepan and cook over low heat for
    45 minutes.  Drain.  Set aside.  Fry bacon pieces and onion in skillet
    until bacon is crisp.  Drain bacon and onion on paper towel.  Place
    soup in large saucepan; dilute as directed above.  Stir in milk
    (1 qt.), bacon, onion, cheese and cooked rice.  Stir until cheese
    is melted.  Garnish with carrot.  Serves 8-10.
    

    The other day, I poached a chicken breast in a little water, then
    removed the chicken.  I added two bouillon cubes, one can of crushed
    Italian plum tomatoes, a small clove of garlic (crushed), a sliced
    shallot, chopped red and green peppers, chopped broccoli, sliced
    carrots, chopped celery (leaves included) and cooked until the
    vegetables were tender-crisp.  Then I removed the pan from the heat and
    added torn spinach.  I divided my chicken evenly into microwave
    containers, added the soup, and had a couple of lunches ready for the
    week.  It was quite tasty, and very fast!  Also very nutritious and low
    in calories.
    
    I can't wait to try some of these "real" recipes, though (especially
    cheddar chowder!!!).  BTW, to the person who entered the cheese soup
    recipe (.14?), I don't think it sounds awful at all!  Cheese soup and
    broccoli cheese soup are two of my favorites!
    
    Susan

    
    I make soups a lot on weekends to take for lunches the following week.
    I try to make low-fat/no-fat type soups with lots of veggies and have
    a couple of recipes for vegetable stock which I'd entered for a friend
    so I figured I may as well post them here as well.
    
Recipe #1
    
Vegetable Stock (Entered w/o permission from
    New Recipes From Moosewood Restaurant)

Yields 2 quarts

Vegetable stock is a broth made by simmering vegetables in water until they are
soft and their flavors and nutrients have been released into the liquid. Then
the stock is poured through a strainer and the vegetables are either discarded 
or used, pureed, to thicken a soup.

The best vegetables to use in stock are carrots, peeled onions, celery,
zucchini, potatoes, parsley, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and squash.  We often
throw in chunks of apples or pears to sweeten the stock a little-especially if 
the carrots we're using aren't very sweet.  It's wise to avoid the strongly 
flavored vegetables of the cabbage family, such as broccoli and cauliflower,
and turnips, rutabagas, and kohlrabi - and vegetables with bleeding colors,
such as beets, red cabbage, and greens (unless you intend to make a borscht
of cream of green soup).  Green peppers and eggplant will make the stock
bitter.  Be cautious about adding lots of tomatoes or other acidic fruits or
vegetables to the stock, because they may curdle the soup if you add milk or
other dairy products to the soup later on.  

Wash all vegetables thoroughly, especially root vegetables. Making stock is the
perfect solution for vegetables that are too unattractive to be used in other
ways.  Leftover carrot sticks, parsley stems, and unused halves of onion can
all be tossed into the pot.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 Large unpeeled potatoes quartered        1 apple or pear seeded and quartered

2 Large carrots peeled and sliced          1 bay leaf
  thickly

1 large onion peeled and quartered         12 peppercorns

1 celery stalk chopped                     10 cups water (2 1/2 quarts)

Put all the ingredients into a large pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for
45 minutes to an hour. Strain and use.  For a spicier stock throw in some garlic
cloves, skins and all, and a small amount of tomato.   For a specifically 
Asian broth, add ginger, scallions, and shiitake mushrooms. Or, make it sweet
for a carrot puree or Scandinavian fruit soup with the addition of sweet
potato or winter squash.

And my own suggestion for spiciness - 1 or tsps of Tabasco sauce.
    
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    Recipe #2
    

    -- Extracted w/o permission From "The Classic Vegetable Cookbook" --

Vegetable stock can made many ways, and need be based on nothing more than 
the trimmings from the vegetables - carrot ends, pea pods, spinach stems,
mushroom peelings - combined with aromatic vegetables such as sauteed onions
or celery, and herbs of your choice.  Avoid members of the Brassica, or
cabbage family which can add a sulfurous note when boiled for a long time.

The following is a good basic stock that you may play with and vary to your 
whim.  Fresh tomatoes may be added for color, or potatoes, or slivered, blanched
snow peas if you wanted to serve it as a soup on it's own.  Tamari, a strong
soy sauce popular with vegetarians,  adds a rich flavor and color but a 
definite Oriental note that may or may not be in keeping with the way you cook.

Marmite, a yeast extract imported from England and loaded with vitamins, is a
preferable addition.  The so-called vegetarian bouillion cubes are composed 
chiefly of salt and MSG,, which no one needs.

2 medium onions quartered                    5 garlic cloves peeled

2 carrots, washed, coarsely chopped          5 sprigs parsley, stems only

2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped              1 bay leaf

2 leeks, well washed, white and              6-8 whole peppercorns
  all the green, or leek greens only

1 parsnip - optional                         2 tsp Marmite

Combine all ingredients in a large heavy stock pot with about 1 1/2 qts cold
water.  Bring slowly to a boil, then adjust heat and simmer, partly covered,
for 1 hour. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down on the vegetables
to release all the juices.  Discard vegetables and spices.  If the flavor seems
weak, reduce to your liking, correct seasoning.  Makes about ten cups.
    

    Cauliflower and Ham Chowder
    
      1 cup thinly sliced celery
      2 cups sliced cauliflower, fresh or frozen
      1 can (13 ounzes) chicken broth
      1 cup half-and-half or evaporated milk
      1 can (10-3/4 ounzes) cream of potato soup
    1/4 cup water
      2 tablespoons cornstarch
    1/8 teaspoon white pepper
      2 cups diced, cooked ham
    1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
    
    In large, covered saucepan, cook celery and cauliflower in chicken
    broth until almost tender, about 10 minutes.  Do not drain  Set
    aside.  In mixing bowl, gradually stir half-and-half/milk into
    undiluted potato soup.  Blend water, cornstarch and pepper.  Stir
    into soup mixture; pour over cauliflower.  Stir in ham.  Simmer
    over low heat for 10 minutes.  Just before serving, stir in cheese.
    

    Hi,
    
    I was not sure where to put this because there are so many soup topics
    in here but thought this was as good a place as any.  This weekend I
    decided to make some vegetable soup.  The broth was about 1 1/2 cups
    tomatoes crushed up and four cups of water and to that I added green
    peppers, carrots, celery, scallions, chopped onion and chopped potatoes
    and for spices salt, pepper, basil, oregano, parsley and garlic.  I
    cooked this in the crockpot for about 5 hours on high and it was pretty
    bland so I added a can of chicken broth and some more salt and cooked
    it another 4 hours and let it set in the fridge overnight, hoping it
    would take on more flavor as it sat.  But no luck, I had some today for
    lunch and it tastes like there is something missing -- can anyone help
    me out here, what did I forget???
    
    Thanks.

  You don't say how much of the other ingredients you used, so it's hard
  to know exactly what went wrong, but there are two probable answers.

  First, five hours of high cooking (I assume you mean it was a rolling
  boil for that time) is an awful lot of cooking. That would be enough
  to reduce the liquid down to practically nothing, but it would also
  cook all the other ingredients to tastelessness, too. It's a good idea
  to cook soups and stews for a long time to let the flavors mingle, but
  it should be at as low a temperature as you can manage. Anything which
  does more than bubble very slightly is too high, and a temperature
  just below the bubbling point is preferable -- you know, one bubble
  every few seconds from one or two spots.

  Secondly, it's possible that you didn't use enough of the other
  flavor-giving ingredients. In my experience (and opinion), it's almost
  impossible to use too much of the onion-family ingredients, and this
  is one of the most important flavors in cooking. The other important
  ingredients, which you may need more of, are the herbs, particularly
  the oregano.

  Some other points: 

  Adding chicken broth and salt weren't bad ideas, but they wouldn't
  have solved the basic blandness problem. The chicken broth will add
  richness, and the salt, well we all know what salt does. But not
  having used a protein-supplying broth isn't the basic problem, here.

  Also, you've put together quite a few strongly flavored ingredients:
  tomatoes, green peppers, celery, scallions, chopped onion, pepper,
  basil, oregano, parsley and garlic. It strikes me that, if the soup
  wasn't overcooked or underflavored, the problem may be that there were
  *too many* strong flavors for any recognizable theme to emerge. I
  don't have a lot of experience with using so many different, strong
  flavors in one dish, so I don't know if this is really the problem,
  but I usually try to create a sort of "unified" impression in a dish,
  using two or at most three major flavoring ingredients (and small
  amounts of other "supporting" ingredients with strong flavors). For
  example, there are different variations on the sweet/tart theme, or
  the onion/salt theme, etc. What you've got is quite a large
  combination of major flavor themes. I'm not saying this wouldn't work,
  or that it had the effect of masking flavors, but you may find that
  it's easier to control the flavor of a dish if you know roughly what
  you expect it to taste like in advance. Just mixing up everything you
  can think of without some sort of "flavor plan" will have less
  predictable results. But again, this may not be the reason your effort
  tasted bland, it's hard to say.

assuming you wanted to get some "zip" out of the soup, I would suggest you
might try adding some fresh ground pepper, and possible some of the stronger
herbs that complement veggies.  One thing that comes to mind immediately
when talking about tomatoe is rosemary.  If I can't smell it, I have a hard
time flavoring something...yes, I mean smell...in my case, I have a minor
little glitch in my sensory input that works to my advantage when cooking...
I TASTE smells...but I imagine that you could punch up the flavor to yourself
by working in the arena of herbs and peppers...white pepper is a quite nice,
and often overlooked, addition to foods.

also, if I need to "crisp" up a flavor, I add a flavored vinegar -- amazing
what some garlic flavored vinegar will do to tomatoes..or tarragon vinegar.

    
    re: The tasteless soup...
    
    Five hours sounds like _much_ too long for a vegetable soup based on
    chicken stock.  I'd expect five hours --or more-- and a couple extra
    steps for a vegetable stock, but there are few vegs. that will stand up
    to that much cooking. 
    
    I always add a couple of tablespoons of pesto to vegetable soup, or
    lots of black pepper right before serving. 
    
    FWIW
    
    Mike

    Yup, I agree.  I would cook bones and scraps a long time, and
    only add the veggies later.  My process is to:
    
    1) Store up bones and scraps in a ziplock bag in the freezer. 
    Scraps means all the carrot peels and ends, potato peels, 
    zucchini ends, etc that would normally go in the garbage. Make
    sure the veggies are washed before peeling and trimming, though.
    2) Cook the bones etc for a few hours in enough water to cover.
    3) Strain the broth.
    4) Refrigerate overnight.
    5) Skim fat. Use broth as a soup base, adding whatever veggies
    and other juices (like tomato) needed in the soup at this point.
    Or I store the broth in clean cottage-cheese type containers in
    the freezer until needed.  Date the containers, and use the oldest
    first, so you constantly rotate your stock....sorry.
    
    I would only cook the final soup, with veggies, long enough for
    the flavors to blend and the veggies to cook.  I'd add long-cooking
    veggies, like onions and potatoes, first, and add things like 
    zucchini and peas and such quite late in the cooking.
    
    I used my last batch of stock to make split pea soup.  It was much
    tastier than a batch made with water.
    
    --Louise

    Some of my favourite secret weapons for adding flavour to soup are dark
    beer (Guinness Stout, preferably) and Jack Daniel's.  Cheap red wine
    works wonders, too, especially chianti.
    
    --Karen

I've thrown cinnamon into from-scratch vegetable beef soup with good
results. Whole green peppercorns also do nice things. One more - we have
mint growing wild in parts of my yard. I cut a whole stalk and throw that
into the soup; stem, leaves, everything. I remove it before serving.

Art

    This summer I stayed at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut on Mt. Washington
    and they served a mushroom soup that was delicious.  It was not a cream
    of mushroom, no milk. It was loaded with mushrooms and the cook told me
    that the only spices etc. that she used were tamari, paprika, and dill.
    She told me the name of the cookbook that it came from but unfortunately,
    I didn't write it down.  I'm not sure what the base of the soup was,
    chicken, beef or neither.  Does this mushroom soup sound familiar to
    anyone?  Or do any of you have the book that this came from?

    thanks,
    Sam

  It sounds vaguely like some of the Hungarian mushroom soups that my
  grandmother used to make. The secret was the dried Hungarian
  mushrooms.

    12 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
    2 cups chopped onion
    4 tablespoons butter
    3 tablespoons flour
    1 Cup Milk (I use skim)
    1-2 teaspoons dill weed
    1 Tablespoon Hungarian Paprika
    1 Tablespoon Tamari
    1 teaspoon salt
    2 cups chicken stock or water
    2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
    1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
    ground black pepper to taste
    1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
                          
    Saute the onions in 2 Tbs. butter. Salt lightly. A few minutes later
    add mushrooms, 1 tsp. dill, 1/2 cup stock or water, tamari and paprika.
    Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
    
    Melt remaining butter in a large saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook,
    whisking, a few minutes. Add milk. Cook, stirring frequently, over
    low heat, about 10 minutes, until thick. Stir in mushroom mixture
    and remaining stock. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes. Just before
    serving add salt, pepper, lemon juice, sour cream and, if desired,
    extra dill. Serve garnished with parsley.
    
    Enjoy! Sorry it took me so long....
    
    Kathy

    
    This recipe came from a flyer I received from Fetzer Vineyard.
    
    
    			TOMATOE and BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP
    
    	1/2 Lb. dried blacked-peas
    	Ham hock or 3 slices of bacon, diced
    	1 Tbl. corn oil
    	1 Clove garlic, minced with a tsp. of salt
    	1 Small onion, chopped
    	1 Lg. (or 2 med.) carrots, peeled and 1/4" diced
    	3 Celery stalks, trimmed and diced
    	1 Cup of whole pelled tomatoes (fresh or canned),
    	  chopped
    	1 6 Oz. can of V-8 juice
    	1 6 Oz. can of tomatoe juice
    	1 Pint of chicken stock
    	Chopped parsley for garnish
    	Salt and white pepper to taste
    
    
    	Place the black-eyed peas in a bowl,cover with
    	cold water and let rest 1 hr. or overnight.
    
    	Rinse the peas and place in a sauce pan, cover with
    	cold water.
    
    	Add ham hock or bacon pieces.
    
    	Simmer until peas are tender, approx. 15 - 20 min.
    
    	Remove from heat and place aside, do not drian.
    
    	In a large pot heat the oil, add garlic, carrots, and celery.
    
    	Saute and stir until the carrots are bright and onions are clear.
    
    	Add tomatoes, juices, and chicken stock, bring to a boil.
    
    	Lower heat and simmer approx. 10 min. until vegetables are cooked.
    
    	Remove meat from the peas and add peas with the reserved liquid
    	to the vegetable mixture.
    
    	Stir in the parsley and season with the salt and pepper.
    
    	Heat thoroughly, but do not overcook. 
    

    
    
    RE .44 Hungarian Mushroom Soup
    
    I made this soup last night.. it was yummy! BUT, I have no idea
    what TAMARI is, and couldn't find it at Sudbury Farms.
    
    Wonder what the soup would have tasted like with that spice in it?

Tamari is a kind of soy sauce. I can see where that would give the soup
a nice flavor.

    Yes, tamari is sort of a sweet soy sauce, the brand I always see is
    Ehewon.  Somehow (and I don't understand how my brain files these
    things!) I have tamari categorized as Mideastern, e.g. Turkish ?!?
    Perhaps it's because Ehewon also bottles hummis and stuff like that.
    I can't imagine a Turkish soy sauce, so I must be confused. In fact,
    I confess it, I am confused.
    
    Mark (confused)
    

    
    I see no reason why soy sauce should be totally oriental.
    
    Consider that fish sauce today is almost totally identified with
    Indochinese cuisine - and yet it was an essential ingredient of the
    cuisine of ancient Rome.
    
    /. Ian .\

    I read a description that said that tamari and other soy sauces that
    were made in the Far East were fermented naturally and thus have less
    salt and such that's found in soy sauces made in the US.  This is also
    said to give it a better flavor.
    
    ed

    	I'm looking for a recipe for Ginger and/or Curried Carrot Soup.  
    I had it at Chez Claude in Acton last year, and about a week later
    saw a similar recipe in the Globe--which I cut out, but alas, never
    filed appropriately.  I believe it had chicken stock and a bit of something
    oniony, plus carrots of course, and was pureed after cooking. I sure
    would like to get the spices right on it without too much
    experimentation.  
    	Can anyone help?
    	Thanks.
    	--Andrea

I've been dabbling in soups for dinner lately, and hit on one that fast, 
flexible, low in calories and fat, and moderately low in sodium (depending...).

In a saucepan, bring 6 cups water to a simmer.  While you wait cut up the 
ingredients.  The ingredients get added in "cooking order" so they are all 
ready at the same time.  I add the following:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 sliced carrots
	* simmer a minute
2 sliced ribs celery
1/2-3/4 cup cut green bean or snow peas, or asparagus, or broccoli
	* simmer a minute
1/2 cup diced bell pepper (I use a mix of colors)
1/2 boneless, skinless, defatted, chicken breast cubed (3/4" cubes)
	* simmer a minute
1 cup sliced mushrooms (usually white, sometimes shiitake and oyster mixed in)
2 heaping tbsp miso (low salt)
1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
4 tbsp soy sauce (low salt)
	*
Stir well till miso and paste are dissolved.
	* simmer a minute
8 oz. tofu cubed (3/4" cubes)
2 sliced scallions
2 oz cellophane noodles soaked in warm water, drained, and coarsely chopped
	* simmer a minute
SERVE!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A cup of cooked rice or cooked pasta can be used in place of the cellophane 
noodles.

I like mine with 1/4 tsp "Inner Beauty Hot Sauce" added to give it a real ZING!

    
    One of my absolute favorite soups... real good on a cold winter night!
    
    SPLIT PEA SOUP
     
    Ingredients:
    
    1 pkg (16 oz.) split peas
    1 lg. onion - chopped fine
    meaty ham bone (or 1 to 1 1/2 C. diced ham)
    2" cube salt pork (optional)
    2 C milk
    2 T butter or margerine
    2 T flour
    coursely ground pepper
    bay leaf
    
    Sort out discolored peas and discard.  Just cover peas w/water, and 
    soak overnight.  Drain peas and put in large stock pot.  Just cover 
    w/water again and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and add
    the chopped onion, ham bone, salt port and bay leaf.  Cover and simmer
    approx. 6 hours.
    
    During last half-hour of cooking, in a saucepan, melt the butter and
    cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the 
    flour and cook over low heat until "paste-like".  Add the milk,
    stirring constantly on medium-low heat until thickened, then add 
    pepper last.
    
    Take ham bone out of soup.  Remove all meat off the bone, dice and 
    add back to soup.  Remove the salt pork at this time if using it.
    
    Pour the thickened milk mixture into the stock pot and stir until
    well combined.
    
    Enjoy w/a fresh crusty baguette bread!

    I have a split pea soup from an old french cook book, it's basically
    the same except you add 1/2 head of lettuce, several carrots, leeks,
    and any other vegetable in the fridge that would be subtle in it.  I
    just cook it all up, strain, remove bones and meat, puree in blender,
    add back the meat.
    
    I don't like the leeks with it(some people might) but the lettuce 
    and carrots are fine, they don't change the pea flavor at all but 
    I know the soup is healthier with them added.  My family loves my 
    pea soup and I must say I do to.
      

I don't know how authentic this was, but it tasted great.  I coarsely chopped 
two onions and sauted them with one clove of garlic until tender.  Then I added
a big can of tomatoes (pureed if you want), a can of chicken broth, 3 cups of 
water, cut up potatoes, carrots, green beans, precooked chich peas, and frozen
corn for the veggies.  For seasoning I added a few shakes of chili powder, 
tabasco sauce, and chopped fresh coriander (cilantro).

Mmmmm!  Served it with warm corn bread.

Cara

    I make a fabulous chicken soup - but for the life of me I cannot make
    a good BEEF soup.  
    
    I got a big beef bone and a small piece of beef (about a lb...bone
    in) and want to make a soup tomorrow.  However, I have searched in
    this notesfile and cannot seem to find a beef SOUP.  I saw a beef
    stew...minestrone and a beef vegetable but was hoping to find one
    with a few vegetable - perhaps adding a package of mixed beans
    - preferably no noodles.
    
    Does anyone have one they could put in here for me?
    
    Thanks, in advance!
    
    

If your local produce store carries portobello mushrooms (like Idylwilde Farms
does), they make a great soup.  These are the huge mushrooms, about 5 or more
inches in diameter.  Get a really big one, or a couple of smaller ones.  In
a blender, pour a can of low salt chicken broth, beef broth, or water.  Add
the mushroom (you can cut it into chunks with a knife or tear it up by hand) 
and blend until it's a smooth puree.  Pour into a pan and bring to the simmer.

You can serve as is, it's very low in fat and calories, or...

I add a tablespoon or so of miso, simmer until the color changes, and serve.
The color will change from a chocolate to a grey as the mushroom cooks (this 
happens no matter what you are adding).

If you want, you could add cream, or skim milk with a teaspoon of cornstarch
to lighten and thicken.  

A little black pepper and a touch of cognac is great, too.

    I'm looking for an authentic Cuban Black Bean soup.  I saw the Frugal
    Gourmet make one last evening on TV, and it looked interesting.  I
    noticed a note in here referring to Annato seeds for the soup, and
    another reference for a soup from Puerto Rico which didn't contain any
    peppers or annato seeds.  Anybody have a recipe?  Also, if you do
    manage to scrounge one up for me, can it be frozen?  Since I'm the only
    one who will be eating it, I don't want to waste any.  Thanks.
    Sarah

    I dunno about cuban but the puerto rican one posted in here is
    stupendous and got rave reviews from my "audience".  it also freezes
    quite well...I always make enough leftover to freeze.
    
    (One variation I made to the soup listed was after it had been cooked
    and pureed, I added a can of goya black beans.  It was good.  If you do
    that, cut back on salt because the canned beans are very salty.)
    
    D!

    Thanks, D!  I noticed on the  Frugal Gourmet there was some discussion
    about adding or not adding a smoked ham hock.  I'd prefer not adding
    any meat, but wondered if it was necessary for the flavor.  I'll try
    the Puerto Rican version over the weekend.  Still looking for some
    variations, though. To add or not to add bell peppers? What about
    annatto seed?
    Sarah

I bought a jar of annatto seeds to make black bean soup once.  We are talking 
about enough seeds to make more bbs than all of us will see in a life time.  
The recipe I had called for warming the seeds in oil, then using a bit of the 
oil in the soup.  The seeds let off a very strong orange color into the oil, but
don't really have much flavoring power (if any, it certainly is lost in a batch
of soup).  And, to tell the truth, my soup came out so dark, I doubt if the
orange oil enhanced the color at all.

I would not hesitate to leave the annatto oil out of my next batch, except then
I would NEVER use the seeds up.  Come to think of it, where are you located?
Maybe I can give you half of what I have, then you, too will have more seeds
than you will ever use! 

I would suggest that if you are leaving out the meat, try adding a drop or two
of liquid smoke.  

When I made it, I believe I did not use a ham hock, but did use bacon grease.
Not as much as called for (I'm careful about fat) but perhaps a tablespoon
for the whole soup.

I also did not use green pepper, as I HATE green pepper. But I did use
red pepper and it was important to the final taste of the soup.

Finally, I didn't top with sour cream, but instead used yogurt cheese
(drained yogurt) and it was tasty.  No ham on top, either.  I chopped
up scallions and red pepper, and it was pretty and added some texture
but wasn't crucial.

Diana

    Is the Peurto Rican recipe in this string of replies?  I did a
    directory of .* and didn't see it in the titles...
    
    --Sharon
    

    No, the Puerto Rican version isn't in this string, but maybe it should
    be moved?
    Anyway, I tried the recipe, and it was OK as is.  However I did not use
    the bacon or ham and it needed a little something.  I am afraid of that
    liquid smoke stuff, since I over-did it once and the result was
    horrible.  So I compromised...I added a couple of tablespoons of
    hickory-flavored barbeque sauce.  Added a little zip and smokey flavor
    at the same time.  Tastes great!  As an aside, my little 2-year old son
    was "helping" me make the soup.  I gave him some of the dried beans in
    a cup so he could transfer them from cup to cup to make his "own" soup.
    When I handed him the cup, he looked up and said "Bug soup Mommy?" I
    guess they do look like bugs!  
    Sarah 

    Saw a recipe last night for Cuban Black Bean Soup and the only
    substantial difference between it and the Puerto Rican Black Bean soup
    (which has it's own topic, I believe...search for "black") was that it
    had rice in it.
    
    Diana

    Found it - 1925.1.
    
    --Sharon
    

    I recently had a soup at a Shoney's restuarant in Vicksburg, Miss. The
    waitress said is was Hamburger Cabbage. Had a lot of other things in it
    too (toms. celery, kidney beans, etc; and lots of different spices..)
    Wondering if anyone may have a recipe for this great tasting soup.
    
    Dave

    Tomato Basil Soup                    
    
      I was give the recipe for this soup and I do not know what one of the
    ingredients is.  Anyone know?   I also would like some help in breaking
    this down to about 6 - 8 oz servings.
    
      This is a recipe for very large amount.  32- 8 oz servings.  
    1 #10 can tomato puree
    1 oz sugar
    1 lb celery chopped
    1 lb onion chopped
    1 lb green pepper chopped
    1/8 oz baking soda
    4 oz vegetable base dark ******  (What is this?)
    1 3/4 gallon water
    1/8 oz pepper
    1/8 oz paprika
    1/4 oz basil
    1 1/2 oz soybean oil
    1 pt water, cold
    6 oz flour all purpose
    
    
    1.  Heat oil in large pot. Add vegetables, seasonings and base.  Simmer
    until vegetables are tender.
    
    2.  Add tomato puree, sugar, water and baking soda.   Bring to boil.
    Reduce and simmer 2-3 hours.
    
    3.  Combine flour and water, mix until smooth and whip into soup.
    
    4.  Simmer until time to serve.

This is a guess: 

I've bought "Chicken Base" and "Beef Base" by the pound at restaurant
supply places. It's like buying a one pound boullion cube. 

The quantities in your recipe lead me to believe it's a restaurant or
institutional recipe. And, the fact that there's no salt also leads me to
believe I'm right, because the chicken base and beef base I've bought
list salt as the first ingredient. 

So, it's probably a generic vegetable flavoring concentrate that's
available at an institutional food supplier. "Dark" probably refers to a
coloring agent, possibly caramel coloring, that's added to the base.

Art

    Ok, what size is a #10 can.  It seems to me they were about 5"
    in diameter and 8" hight, is that right?  How much puree is that so I
    can use a smaller can?
    
    ed

    last one-
    
    My question also......   I'm not sure how to break this down to use
    personally...   This is a really good soup and I want to make some. 
    I was also wondering if it would be possible to take whole tomatoes and
    puree them in a food processor/blender or if the tomato puree is
    totally different type of tomato product?
    
    Sarah

    Re Vegetable base.   I'd try Marmite (kind of like Bovril but no meat)
    or Vegemite, the Australian stuff.   They're to be found in most
    Supermarkets amongst the unusual stuff, or occasionally with the gravy
    browning, etc.
    

Vegemite or Marmite would work to color the stock, but they also have a
strong flavor which might change the flavor of the soup (though it
might improve it).

As mentioned in .71, the dark color in commercial dark vegetable stocks
is from caramel, a natural, essentially flavorless coloring agent (also
used in cognac and other brandies, believe it or not). Some other ways
to get dark color in a vegetable stock are: 1. browning onions in fat,
or 2. dark-colored mushrooms. Both of these will flavor the soup, too.

    To get dark color and rich salty flavor, try soy sauce.
    
    You can use regular soy sauce or the new low-salt variety.
    
    Laura
    

Or a bit of miso.  Miso and marmite/vegemite are actually fairly closely 
related in terms of method of manufacture (miso is residue from fermenting 
soybeans, marmite residue from fermenting barley).

--PSW

    Sounds truly disgusting ... Better off eating your Vegemite on toast
    *without*  reading the label!!
    
    Promite too - but it's sweeter than Vegemite.
    
    Munch munch,
    Sheridan
    :^)
    

    TACO SOUP
    
    1 lb. ground beef 
    1 large onion chopped
    1 can whole kernel corn undrained
    1 can green chilies undrained
    2-3 cans chili hot beans
    1-1/2 to 2 cups water
    1 pkg taco seasoning
    1 pkg ranch dressing
    1 can tomato sauce
    1 can tomatoes
    
    Brown beef and onions. Drain off fat. Add all ingredients. Cook for 
    20 to 30 minutes or until you can't stand the smell anymore. Top with
    cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, tortilla chips, etc.
    
    
    To make a spicier version, use 1 can Mexican style tomato sauce, and 
    a can of Ro-tel tomatoes with jalepenos.
    
    Enjoy!!

    Anyone have a good recipe for tortillini soup?  I checked under
    tortillini and under soups and didn't find anything.
    
    Holly
    

  --new note moved--

  re previous:  please, if you can't find a specific recipe, enter
  your request in the general note for that food item, if there
  is one.  such as here.

  thanks,
  diane (normally active co-mod)