This week we
had our first snow here in the western Maine mountains. Winter time is the time for soup.
Another book
that is interesting is Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother
Victor-Antoine d’ Avila-Latourrette.
If this book does anything, it teaches you that just about anything you
can throw together in a broth can be called soup.
Let me cover
the basis of soup making. Most soups
start with the Trinity: diced onions, sliced celery and thinly sliced carrots sautéed
in olive oil. I always start with the
Trinity-plus-One: a clove of minced garlic added the last two minutes of sauté.
Just before
adding the broth, I add either a tablespoon of dried thyme or marjoram or
parsley to the sauté.
Nest comes
the broth. I always us McKays
instant beef or chicken stock and seasoning.
Finally I
add any left overs in the refrigerator, and if I choose, either pasta, potatoes
or can beans; and usually a large can of diced tomatoes.
That’s soup.
The one I
made last week was:
Trinity-plus-One
(two stalks of celery, two carrots and one diced onion)
Leftover Kentucky
sliced smoked ham diced
1 tbsp. thyme
4 cups
chicken stock
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 can of garbanzo
beans (rinsed.)
Brought it
up to temperature for ten minutes and it was delicious.
If you like
more liquid add more stock or tomatoes.
If you add potatoes or pasta you will have to heat it until they are
tender. I often use canned beans in
place of pasta or potatoes to cut down the cooking time and the starch.
Another
favorite is Mushroom Soup
Sauté onions
and mushrooms until tender
Add a
tablespoon of dried parsley.
Add 4 cups
of chicken stock
Bring to a
boil for a few minutes
Add one cup
of sour cream and process with a hand-blender until smooth.
My wife
makes a cauliflower soup
Cauliflower buds
cut in half
4 cups of
chicken stock
1 block of
firm tofu cubed
A sprinkle
of red pepper flakes
Blend with a
hand blender until smooth.
Any time can
be soup time. Quick to make and great
with hardy bread.
The Ol’Buzzard
