Text 6297, 85 rader
Skriven 2011-01-27 11:21:40 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
   Kommentar till text 6202 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
Ärende: soup weather
====================
Hi Jim,

>> We also been having a lot of soups..
>> Pea soup using the ham bone

> One of my favourites.

Same here .. Ron is not a big fan of it, but he eats it when I make it (grin)

> I've already started our next one. Today I picked up two bundles of
> asparagus (it was on special this week), chopped off the bottom
> third of the stems and boiled them gently for about 35 minutes, Then
> whizzed them in a blender and simmered the resulting mess another 10
> minutes. Next I passed it through a strainer, pressing hard on the
> fibrous pulp with a rubber spatula and now I have almost a quart of
> vegetable broth for cream of asparagus soup tomorrow.

That's a good idea.. I always freeze asparagus ends to use in slow cooking
soups or add them to vegetable broth I'm making, never used them alone though..
good idea and worth trying.. :)

> We too like turkey and have it often in the winter months; Roslind
> just announced she wants to do our fourth one of the season this
> weekend. And call some friends over to help it it.

Certainly warms up the kitchen :)  When we do turkey we typically do the
'whole' menu, with sweet potatoes, etc.  Do you folks do the same?  Sometimes I
think it's the leftovers that I like the best.. :)

>> for the pea soup
>> I couldn't ignore the garlic (g).

> How Italian of you!

Garlic seems to be used by a lot more than just Italians, though I do use it a
lot. :)  Good for you as well in this weather.. a pot of garlic soup can help
keep winter illnesses in check, or just make you feel good when you get hit
with one.

This is my favorite vegetable stock, ready in about an hour:

==Microwave Vegetable broth==
3/4 pound onion, peeled and coarsely chopped 1/4 cup carrots, peeled and finely
chopped 1/4 cup celery, coarsley chopped
10 cloaves garlic, peeled and crushed with flat side of knife 4 teaspoons
extra-virgin olive oil
4 fresh mushrooms (we like cremini or shitake) cleaned and quartered 1/2
tablespoon sugar
1/4 dry white wine
6 cups water
1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves crumbled 1 large bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1-3 whole cloves
salt, pepper

This recipe uses a combination of the regular oven and the microwave, but when
I'm in a REAL hurry, I've just used the browning dish in the microwave for the
first step (g). You finish it on the stove top briefly as well.

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Oil a flameproof, microwave safe baking dish that
has a lid.  Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic and drizzle with more
olive oil.  Toss well to coat and bake uncovered for 15 minutes in the oven to
brown the vegetables.

Transfer the baking dish to the stove top, and add the wine.  Cook over high
heat until the liquids are very reduced and syrupy.  Scrape the sides of the
casserole to loosen any browned bits.  Add the water, parsley, thyme, bay
leaves, cinnamon and cloves.   Bring to a boil over high heat.  Remove from
heat and cover.  Transfer the covered baking dish or casserole to the
microwave.  Microwave on med-high power for about 20 minutes. If you have an
older microwave like I do, let it cook for maybe 5-8 minutes longer. Strain
through a fine-meshed sieve into another bowl, pressing down hard on the
vegetables to extract their liquids. Discard remaining solids. Clean the baking
dish, and line the sieve with cheesecloth. Strain the broth into the cleaned
baking dish. Return the baking dish to the stove top and cook uncovered on high
heat until the broth is reduced to about 4 cups (shouldn't take long).  Season
with salt and pepper.
===

Take care,
Janis

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