Archive for the 'soup' Category
OK, just one more bean idea. Really, it’s all that’s bean coming out of my kitchen this week.
This wasn’t even dinner. It was one of the dozen or so bean-inspired pots of stuff that now live in my fridge in not-yet labeled yogurt containers. My freezer is officially full, and I’m sure my neighbours are tired of finding random soups and baked goods on their front steps which may or may not (OK, always) contain beans in some form.
And tonight – well, it was one of those days that started off safely enough, with me efficiently keeping numerous balls in the air – bowling pins, even. By mid-afternoon I was that juggler that took on one too many chainsaws and had a fly buzz past my head, causing balls and pins and chainsaws to go flying in all directions. Is that a terrible late-night analogy or what?
But my sister just got a big and exciting new job! As a specialist! (Of some sort – I don’t always pay full attention all of the time.) With a future new office less than ten minutes from home! That’s going to have a gym! So that was excuse enough to get the 12 year old next door (W’s personal hero) to babysit and go out for dinner.
We went to FARM, having been on the receiving end of a wonderfully thoughtful and generous gesture awhile ago – one of you surprised me with a gift certificate, so that we could go and have someone else make us dinner. Thanks, Rea. We sat and talked and had a charcuterie board with fresh baguette, and a goat cheese fritter, and meatloaf with buttered peas and mashed potatoes and duck confit topped with a fried duck egg. And for dessert – espresso crème brûlée and a shortcake with raspberries, rhubarb and ricotta cream. (Note to self: try this at home.) And I almost fell asleep in that booth, with the flickering candle in its teacup on the table and cold drizzle outside. It was wonderful. No dishes, and no beans.
And sorry, no camera. I think I may have subconsciously forgotten it on purpose.
Creamy Mushroom Soup with Little White Beans
Button mushrooms are fine to use in a cream of mushroom soup, and it’s a great way to use them up if they are starting to whither and dry out. Try meatier portobello mushrooms and exotic varieties such as shiitake, oyster and cremini to give it more substance and an intense flavor. To make a vegetarian soup, leave out the ham and use vegetable stock.
3/4 lb. mushrooms (button, shiitake, cremini, oyster, portobello, or a combination)
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 – 2 Tbsp. butter
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup chopped ham (optional)
3 Tbsp. sherry
1 Tbsp. flour
4 cups (1 L) chicken, beef or vegetable stock
1 cup (or half a 19 oz./540 mL can) small white beans, such as navy or cannellini
1/2 cup half & half or whipping cream
Salt and pepper
Clean the mushrooms and slice half of them. Finely chop the other half. Heat a drizzle of oil and the butter in a saucepan set over medium-high heat, and sauté the onion, garlic and mushrooms until the moisture evaporates and the mushrooms begin to turn golden.
Add the ham and cook for a minute. Add the sherry and cook until it evaporates, then add the flour and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the stock and beans and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir in the cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Serves 4-6.
In other news, Noah Kirkman is coming home! The trial was today, and he’ll likely be heading home to Canada in a few weeks. Yahoo!
May 28 2010 | soup | 6 Comments »
So I guess it’s about time I tell you about my brush with fame. Or are you entirely sick of hearing about Spock and would love for me to get back to our regular civilian programming already? I’m still a little spaced out over the whole thing myself, partially due to the hooplah that followed – four radio interviews and Herald story (watch for it today). Sorry you’re the last to hear it.
(I settled in last night to write this, home at 10 from my cooking class, W tangled around me after a series of nightmares (no more Monster House!) and my (MacBook) laptop died! Or the screen did, anyway.. I could still hear it working away in the dark. But I couldn’t unravel myself to go to my desk. Even for you guys.)
So yes, I met Leonard Nimoy. On both Saturday and Sunday, in fact – I made lunch for him on both days, along with one Malcolm McDowell, Sid Haig, a bunch of guys from Twilight and Battlestar Galactica (!) and Erin Gray from Buck Rogers. And oh yes-even Brent Spiner. (He’s vegetarian – I brought him a cup of pureed red lentil, sweet potato and carrot soup with ginger and curry to sip as he signed autographs.)
But, if you’re still reading, let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Here’s the story:
It all came to pass because I was on traffic duty Friday morning on the Eyeopener. (Where I usually do food.) Early in the show we were chatting about Leonard Nimoy being in Vulcan, and I wondered aloud who might be cooking for such a party, and what might be served. (Always making the connection between current events and food.) Immediately after the woman handling PR for Spock while he was in town called, and asked if I might be willing to make his soup. She wasn’t sure who else to trust with the task.
continue reading »
April 28 2010 | soup | 48 Comments »
In March, spring is a tease. Nothing new has arrived at the markets yet, and we all start to become uninspired by root veg. In his pureed borscht-of-sorts the citrus and ginger brightens beets and carrots into something almost springlike. Does the fact that it has beets in it classify it as borscht? Or is this borscht blasphemy?
It’s what we balanced on our knees while half-watching the Academy Awards, when W asked if he could be Buddha, and while sitting on the chair beside his bathtub, when he turned me into a chicken. Thanks to Sue from London, long time reader/supporter/cheerer on of my blog and steadfast commenter for passing this on.
Just look at that colour! The original was dolloped with sour cream, but since roasted beets and goat cheese (with toasted walnuts or pecans) make for my favourite salad, I assumed it would translate well into a steaming bowl of soup. (I was right.)
Citrus-Ginger & Carrot Borscht with Goat Cheese
adapted with thanks to Annie, by way of Sue.
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb. carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, crushed
3 medium beets (about 1 lb), peeled and coarsely chopped
6 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock
grated zest of an orange
salt to taste
soft goat cheese or sour cream, for serving (optional)
In a large pot, heat a drizzle of oil over medium heat and saute the onion for a few minutes, until starting to soften. Add the carrots, ginger and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Add the beets, stock and orange zest and simmer for about an hour.
Puree the soup with a hand-held immersion blender and season with salt to taste. Serve warm or chilled with a dollop of goat cheese or sour cream.
Serves 4-6.
One more thing: Are you single? Like to eat?
My friend Patrick, a real-life chef who trained at the Cordon Bleu and now owns InterCourse Chef Services has offered DwJ readers a discounted rate on his Hands-On Cooking Class for Singles (or could it be called a hands-on singles cooking class?) this coming Thursday, March 11th at the Cookbook Company. The normal fee for the class is $100, but if you email Patrick and tell him you heard about the class here, you’ll only pay $80. It’s a great opportunity to mix and mingle with other singles, have some wine and learn a thing or two about cooking great food.
Bonus: one of the participants that registers by mentioning this blog will win a free enrollment, so by registering you may get in for free. To register, email Patrick at patrick@inter-course.ca (don’t use the PayPal sign up option on the website or you’ll miss out on the discount.)
March 07 2010 | soup | 23 Comments »
One of my New Year’s Resolutions (or – thoughts I tend to get more of at this time of year regarding what I’d like to do more or less of) is to eat more soup. It’s important to have achievable goals. And to eat more vegetables.
Here is yet another extreme leftover makeover wherein the sloppy seconds almost trumps the original: any soup started from a meaty ham bone, particularly one containing black beans or lentils. This ham first made its debut while the family painted across the street – a great easy meal for a crowd that costs less than ordering pizza. Honestly. (Ham – $15. Biscuits from scratch – $1. Having your sister move in across the street – priceless. Although that really doesn’t have much to do with the ham, but it sounds nice.)
Also – do pizza leftovers take care of dinner another night? I didn’t think so. Pizza crust soup is nowhere near as appetizing.
Ham & Lentil Soup
1 ham bone, with lots of meat left clinging to it
+ 1 chopped onion
+ 3 chopped carrots
+ half a bunch of celery, chopped whole from the leafy end, including the leaves
+ 2 cups dried green or brown lentils
+ 1 L beef or chicken broth
+ 1 L water
+ bay leaf
+ large soup pot or slow cooker (6 hours or so on low)
= happy gut.
(Sorry for the abbreviated post – I was working late on one relating to weight and the new year and all that, and it became apparent closing in on midnight that I wasn’t going to finish it proper-like. And I didn’t sleep at all last night, panicking over the sudden realization that I have to address a sold-out Jack Singer Concert Hall in less than a week and nothing fits.)
January 05 2010 | slow cooker and soup | 16 Comments »
But what I really love the sound of is Potage Parmentier. Growing up we called it vichyssoise, and it was well-known as my Dad’s favourite. He didn’t even have to specify vichyssoise on his birthday – we just knew to make it. Of course vichyssoise to anyone outside our household referred to chilled leek and potato soup, but we always served it hot. So really his favourite soup was Potage Parmentier.
I can’t recall if this made it into the movie or stayed in the book, but for some reason the name stuck. The humbleness of it, and the fact that a potato, some leeks and water can be transformed, in name at least, into something fussily French. Julia Child wasn’t just a master at French cooking, she was a pioneer woman when it came to product branding.
Earlier this year I unwittingly married P.P. with turnip soup simply by adding a turnip along with the potato. You could do this… or not.
Potage Parmentier
2 largish Yukon gold potatoes, quartered (I leave the skins on)
1 turnip, peeled and chopped (optional)
2 largish leeks, thinly sliced (white and pale green parts only)
1-2 L water or chicken or veg stock (Julia uses water, I generally use stock)
4-6 Tbsp. cream (heavy or half & half)
salt & pepper to taste
finely chopped parsley or chives
In a large pot, simmer the potatoes, turnip (if using), leeks and water or stock for about half an hour, until very soft. Puree in the pot with a hand held immersion blender, or roughly mash with a potato masher. Add the cream and season with salt and pepper and heat through. Serve immediately, sprinkled with herbs.
December 05 2009 | soup | 13 Comments »
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