SW: Hot & Sour Soup (Guest Post)

People, I am exhausted. As much fun as this soup week has been, eleven posts in five days is a lot for one girl to handle. However! I think we've had an excellent turn-out, I love that I had SIX guest contributors, and every time I get an email or message saying someone is trying one of the soups, my heart jumps with glee.

But all good things must come to an end, and Soup Week 2011 is due. Next week, I'll return to regularly scheduled Hot Pink Mama, including thoughts on nanowrimo, the Bean's eating utensil progress (complete with photos), and a really good book I read last week. I'm leaving you with my friend Andrea's Hot and Sour Soup recipe. She was a super big meanie and didn't bother sharing, which is so uncool. :) I hope you had a super fun week! Thanks for stopping by!

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I love most Asian food. More specifically, I love spicy Asian food. Thai food is some of my favorite food in the world. In fact, I just had green curry from my favorite Thai restaurant today, and I am drooling in memory. As for Chinese food, unfortunately, most Chinese restaurants, at least in my city, seem to be of the Americanized garden variety, using a lot of oil and MSG and enough sodium to bloat up a blimp. So while I love it dearly, I rarely allow myself the indulgence of ordering it. My main weakness at a Chinese restaurant and one thing I must order at a Chinese restaurant is the hot and sour soup. The main problem with that is that I’m a mostly vegetarian and the strands of pork in most varieties of hot and sour soup are difficult to pick out. Not only that, but it’s always a crapshoot. Some hot and sour soups are divine. Others are bland and disappointing. Even at the same restaurant, there can be a variety in quality depending on what day I go.

So I recently went on a quest to find a recipe for a good quality hot and sour soup that is easy to make and without too many oddball ingredients and as tasty as the best restaurant quality hot and sour soup.

I found a great recipe here: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1748,135181-254194,00.html

I played around with it to make it vegetarian and suit my own tastebuds, and this is what I came up with:

Easy Hot and Sour Soup
by Andrea!

 

Ingredients

4 cups of broth (I used vegetarian but chicken can be used as well)

1 Tablespoon hot chili sauce (this is hot stuff, so use sparingly (maybe ¼ Tablespoon) if you don’t like as much spice as I do)

1 cup dried Shitake mushrooms (you can use any mushroom you like, but I got these at an Asian grocery store. You must soak the dry mushrooms in water for about 25 minutes before use)

3 Tablespoons soy sauce (I used lite sodium)

¼ Teaspoon white pepper

½ cup bamboo shoots

¼ cup rice vinegar

3 oz block firm tofu, cut up

1 egg (beaten)

2 strands green onion diced

1 Teaspoon sesame oil

1. Simmer vegetable broth for 5 minutes.
2. Add mushrooms, soy sauce, and chili sauce.
3. Simmer 5 minutes more.
4. Add white pepper, bamboo shoots, tofu and vinegar.
5. Simmer 5 minutes more.
6. Add beaten egg in a thin stream. Allow to cook for 30 seconds.
7. Add onions and sesame oil.
8. Let simmer a few minutes more, then eat until you lick the bowl!

Notes: This will probably taste even more like the restaurant quality hot and sour soups if you make with chicken broth instead of vegetable broth and add ¼ cup to ½ cup shredded pork to it. Also, the original recipe calls for cornstarch to thicken it. I did not do that. I enjoyed the thinner broth, but if you prefer a thicker broth, you could add cornstarch mixed with water before adding the egg.

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Andrea is my partner in crime that begins with the letter “A.” (Mainly, awesomeness.) Together, we rocked pixie cuts and works of fiction that require years of work, pausing only to occasionally sneer at those who haven't been slaving on their projects for half a decade or more. (We are kind of snobby like that.) Andrea has lived all over the world, and both her writing and food reflect that. Besides being the wife of a super cool dude, she's also a teacher, which automatically means she deserves your undying respect. She's also brilliant, making her seem too awesome to be true! However, I promise I didn't make her up as an excuse to post more soup week recipes, and as proof, you can check out Andrea's blog and see for yourself.

SW: Married Soup

We've made it through four amazing days of soup, and today, you get two more recipes to try!

When I tried this recipe, I wasn't going to use it, but my husband has only told me about fifteen times this week that it was amazing and he loved it and why won't I use it? So I'm going to use it. I thought it was tasty, but I wasn't going to create a song and dance routine for it, you know what I mean? I trust you can make your own decision.

Italian Wedding Soup really is quite amazing. Wedding Soup is a chicken-based broth with meat (usually meatballs or sausage) and greens. Then you can add about a kajillion other things, including beans, lentils, pasta, tomatoes, etc. The Italian should actually read “Married Soup,” probably referring to the relationship between the greens and the meat. (Or so wikipedia suggests.) So, I'm calling mine Married Soup because I think that sounds fun.

The meatballs in the recipe I originally used weren't as flavorful as I normally like them, so in the future, I'll substitute my own meatballs. I've modified the original recipe to make it more like mine.

Oh! And before I forget! Two links I wanted to share with you:

---Besides John's cornbread, I really enjoyed bread from this cookbook with our soup. I have talked about this cookbook before. I am in love.

---My friend Rebecca posted this super yummy looking soup on her blog. It is difficult to find green chile in this neck of the woods, especially the hot variety, but some grocery stores carry mild, and I have found a little teeny tiny can of hot at a specialty store.

Come back later! My friend Andrea is going to close us out with a super tasty offering. 

Married Soup-Friday

Modified Recipe.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

• 1 small onion, Audrey-style, aka food-processed to smithereens
• 1 teaspoon garlic, food processed with the onion
• 1/2 tbsp. dried parsley
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Italian bread crumbs, enough to make the meatballs cohesive
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 lb. ground beef
• Freshly ground black pepper
  

Soup:

• 12 cups water with chicken base/bouillon added
• 1 pound endive, escarole, or kale; coarsely chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  

Directions:
Meatballs:

1. Add onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, egg, salt, and bread crumbs to a bowl and blend. Add the cheese and beef. With your hands, form meat into 1-inch diameter meatballs.
2. Set aside. Don't cook!

Soup:

1. Bring water and bouillon to a boil in a large pot over medium-high. Add meatballs and greens until the meatballs are cooked through and the greens are tender. Maybe 8 minutes? Maybe 10?
   
2. While that's cooking, whisk the eggs and cheese in a small bowl. When the meatballs are done, stir soup in a circular motion and add egg mixture slowly. Ideally, it will create thin ribbons of egg-cheese goodness throughout the soup. It may not look pretty. That's okay.
   
3. Salt and pepper to taste, then serve with parmesan as a garnish.
   
4. Yum!
   

SW: Cornbread (Guest Post)

I know, the guest posts this week were a BIG, awesome surprise. You know what's ALSO a surprise, even to me? This particular guest post! Last night, my friend John offered, and I accepted and then made him seal an oath with blood because not only did I want this recipe, but sharing it with you was almost as important. (Hey, I'm an honest girl!)

I'm really stoked to have a homemade bread post, mostly because I feel soup REQUIRES bread, and while store-bought can be okay, homemade makes the soup-eating experience magical. This cornbread is oh-so-yummy and compliments several (if not all) of the recipes I'm featuring this week. I had it with Sarah's black bean soup, and I let my dearest husband have the rest of it with our lentil soup.

Oh, and before I go any further, yes, you're welcome!

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Cornbread
Guest Post from John! 

Cornbread is one of those battleground foods that even good friends
argue over. Sweet or savory? Moist and cake-y or dry and firm? Thin or
thick? Coarse or fine ground meal? Cast iron or glass? Baked or grilled?
Bacon fat or butter? Fresh corn kernels or not? So many choices! So many
versions to try with different soups!

This version is sweet and moist, but can be modified if desired. Try
reducing the sugar and adding a small amount of finely chopped chiles,
for example. Or try a mixture of coarse and fine meal. (If you use a
coarse grind like polenta, soak it overnight and press out the water
before adding to the flour mixture.) The recipe is based on, but modifed
from, one by my favorite "bread head", Peter Reinhart, from his book
Crust and Crumb. Note that ingredients in ounces are by weight, not
volume.

Ingredients

8 oz corn meal (I use 4oz medium and 4oz fine grind)
8 oz All-purpose flour
1 1/2 TB baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

4 oz brown sugar
2 TB honey
2 TB melted butter
3.5 oz eggs (approx 2 med/lg)
12 oz sour cream
3 oz fresh/frozen corn kernels (optional)

Procedure

1. Melt butter in a small mixing bowl and incorporate honey until
dissolved

2. Whisk together meal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, soda, and
salt in a large bowl

3. Whisk eggs and sour cream in a medium bowl

4. Incorporate butter/honey mixture into egg / sour cream mixture

5. Combine liquid mixture with flour mixture in the large bowl

6. Fold in corn kernels (if using)

7. Spread the very stiff batter in a 9 x 13 in. glass baking dish

8. Bake at 350 deg F for 45-50 min until a tester comes out clean. The
top should be medium to dark brown


Bonus for bread heads: here is the baker's % formula so you can scale
this up for large parties, make muffins, or just make multiple pans and
freeze for future soup weeks.

50% Corn meal
50% AP
4.7% Baking powder
0.5% Baking soda
1.6% Salt
25% Brown sugar
9.4% Honey
6.2% Butter
20.8% Eggs
75% Sour cream
18.7% Fresh/frozen corn kernels

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John is the best baker I have ever met. Ever. I want him to quit his boring day job and either open a bakery or start his own TV baking show. (I go back and forth with TV show name ideas. Right now I'm favoring Muffin Man John, so that I can say “I DO know the muffin man!”) Of course, I will get free baked goods because I helped provide the inspiration for his new career. Besides baking, John does a lot of other cooking (also amazing) and has one of my favorite libraries ever. His taste in fiction is spot-on. He is married to the brilliant Sarah, who was sweet enough to provide one of Soup Week's guest recipes. Finally, let me just say, if you do not try this recipe, you will regret it for the rest of your life!

SW: Butternut Squash Soup (Guest Post)

Karen was super sweet and did an excellent write-up for this, making my life so much easier. (No really.) Let's just say, managing soup week and nano at the same time was not a great idea. So thank you, Karen, for making life easier for me. Now go read!

OH! And eat this soup. As Karen will mention, I've eaten it, and it's TAAAAAAAAAAASTY.

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It’s soup week (and it’s fall), which means it’s time for one of my favorite soups. We got into making soups around the same time that we moved to the Midwest, because there’s really nothing better than hot, rolls into your stomach goodness on a cold fall evening. Although we need no reason to make this soup, the origin for this soup in soup week is because Audrey was afraid to cook with butternut squash. (Something about a bad experience.) David was so appalled that he rounded up the whole family and made them soup, which honestly sounds like a huge win for Audrey and company! And since he’s off writing for NaNo, I get to write the blog entry!

Butternut Squash Soup-Thursday
Modified Recipe, or as David says,
"Found and rescued from the somewhere in the bowels of the internet."

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (~1”)
1 onion, diced
4 small apples (or 2-3 normal-sized apples), peeled, cored, and diced
2 thick slices of bread
chicken broth to cover (~48 ounces, but this can depend on how large
your squash is)
~1 tbsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste (although, it really just needs a dash of
pepper, and really no salt)

Prep:
Put everything in a large pot and add the chicken broth to cover.
Bring the pot to a simmer, and cook for 45 minutes, or until the
squash is tender. Puree (either with an immersion blender or with a
more traditional blender) and serve. If you want to be really fancy,
you can garnish the top with heavy cream or cheese. (Or 1% milk, if
you don’t stock fancy things like cheese and cream.)

For David’s more colorful rendition (and in-prep pictures!), see:
http://www.evokewonder.com/twentyfingers/2010/09/d-butternut-squash-soup/

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Okay, so regarding the bad squash experience. The ONE time I tried to do something with butternut squash, I apparently got the evilest squash to ever grace the planet. It oozed some icky sticky liquid that was impossible to wash off my hands, and then, after I spent TWO hours cooking a bisque that I had had before and found incredibly tasty, my pot was flavorless, and I wound up dumping the entire thing into the garbage. Ugh. Of course, David and Karen's soup was lovely and made me think that maybe (and that's a BIG maybe) I would try this again.

David and Karen blog here, but don't check out that link unless you want to be overloaded with tasty meals and amusing musings about food. Also, don't lick your screen. That's just gross. When I last checked, they had all their fingers, which is fairly useful considering D's academic pursuits involve the CS world and K's revolve around chemistry. Besides doing boring math-y, computer-y stuff, David has a fancy camera with which he takes AWESOME pictures. He is also working on his first project for nano. As for Karen, she is my quilting sensei, and her finished quilts make me want to be a better person, or, at the very least, a better quilter. She washes a lot of dishes. By hand. They both keep me fed with good food. (And the pie! Don't get me started on the pie!)

SW: Zuppa Toscana

If having a dedicated soup week isn't enough to convince you, the fact is, I like soup. A lot. And sometimes in restaurants, I order soup. Like at Olive Garden. I order their zuppa toscana. They may have other good food, but I neglect it. Zuppa all the way!

This particular recipe has been making the rounds lately. I made it for my family, and we enjoyed it so much that I suggested that we make it for a home fellowship dinner. They liked it so much that one of the ladies asked for the recipe and made it for a marriage builders dinner we attended. Team it up with warm bread and a salad, and it's a lovely lovely dinner. Also, if you've never had kale before, it's jam-packed with all sorts of vitamins and minerals and goodness, so tell your internal organs to prefer for incoming nutrients!

Zuppa Toscana - Thursday

A modified recipe.

Makes 4 Servings

• 1 lb mild ground sausage
• 2 large russet potatoes, sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices
• 1 large white onion, chopped (or food processed!)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or used with a garlic press
• 2 cups kale, chopped
• 2 (8 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  

1. Brown sausage in soup pot, remove and place in container to the side.
2. Reduce heat to medium and add the chicken broth, then the potatoes, onions, and garlic. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender. (If you prefer a thinner and less concentrated soup, add 1 quart of water before adding the potatoes and aromatics.)
3. Add sausage and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Turn to low heat and add heavy whipping cream and kale.
5. Heat through, then salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
6. Yum!

SW: Potato Soup (Redemption!)

Last year's Soup Week should have featured Potato Soup. Instead, my body revolted, and I became horrifically ill and actually visited the doctor. This year, I sought revenge! Or at the very least, redemption. As an extra Soup Week bonus, I am posting my potato soup “recipe” to make up for missing last year. Yes, I know. I'm a peach like that.

This recipe is actually built from my mama's. As a child, I begged my mom for one of two dishes: her amazing chicken fried chicken with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy so good that I would eat it straight from the pan sans potatoes; and her potato soup, which she made in the winter, in copious amounts, and which made me so happy that I regularly did the potato soup dance. No, you may not see it, so don't bother asking.

I'm going to use the oh-so-telling quotation marks around “recipe” because I don't measure ingredients for dishes I learned from my folks. They never did. However! I will provide a rough idea of the ratios. You'll have to be brave and make this to taste, but I believe in you!

Potato Soup-Wednesday

Original “Recipe” from my mama!

Ingredients:

• 8 medium-sized russet potatoes, cubed
• lots of milk and water (see ratios below)
• kosher salt
• ½ of an onion (not food processed to smithereens!) I cut an onion in half, peeled off the outside, and dropped it in the pot.

That's it. I also garnished with bacon bits (that I tore from strips of bacon, not the ones you buy in the store) and parmesan cheese. However! My mama used to throw in whatever we had on hand, so I have had this same base of soup with the following ingredients:

• corn
• ham
• broccoli
• cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• carrots (admittedly not my favorite)
• various herbs and spices
• green chile (if you're adventurous and can get your hands on some)
• etc.

Now, prepare yourself for a very technical and precise “recipe.”

1. In a 6 qt. pot, add milk (2/3 of your liquid) and water (1/3 of your liquid) leaving a couple of inches of room in the pot. Add potatoes and turn heat to medium-high heat. Add some kosher salt.
   
2. Cook a LONG time. When your liquid gets too excited and tries to escape the pot, you need to turn your heat down to medium (or lower, depending on your stove's macho-ness) and cover.
   
3. When the potatoes are super soft, smash them into nothingness with a potato smasher. Taste. Add any other ingredients you're feeling, and if you're adding raw veggies, give them enough time to cook. Salt and pepper as needed.
   
4. Garnish with cheese and bacon bits (or whatever compliments your particular variety).
   
5. Yum!
   

SW: Sausage Tomato Lentil Soup

Er...stew, more like.

Today marks the halfway point, and I'm crossing my fingers that you are waking up every morning, looking forward to the moment you can direct your browser to this web address and peruse the latest soup offerings.

Another of my midwest discovery was lentils. I'm sure they exist in the southwest, but I never knew anyone who cooked with them. I mean, lentil enchiladas? Weird! However, I know plenty of people who cook with them here, and after having a fantastic sausage and lentil soup that I dreamed about for over a year, I finally decided to sit down and make my own. I did. It was tasty and more than a good idea. My husband, who does not like beans or lentils of any sort, eats this soup. Also, it's different than a “traditional” sausage and lentil soup as it uses ground sausage instead of whole and uses a lot a lot a lot of tomatoes. Nathan said “it's very flavorful.” He cites that as the reason he's willing to overlook the fact that it's loaded with lentils.

I think the crockpot was one of the greatest inventions to ever grace the planet, especially for busy moms/working folk. This recipe honors that invention! I should also mention that this soup is really really good the day after you cook it. In the past, I have added in celery the original recipe calls for, and that's super good too. If you want to add celery, shred/chop 1-2 stalks and add it in with everything else.

Sausage and Lentil Soup-Wednesday

Modified Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground Italian sausage

• 1/2 large onion, with outside skin removed

• 2 cloves garlic sliced, or 1 tbsp. minced garlic

• 1/2 cup shredded carrot

• 1 (16 ounce) package dry lentils, rinsed

• 8 cups water

• 1 tbsp. chicken base

• 1 (28 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 teaspoon dried parsley

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot, add sausage over medium high heat and cook until browned.
   
2. In your crockpot, add the lentils, water, chicken base, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and carrots. Also add the bay leaves, parsley, oregano, thyme, and basil. I know I've said before that we aren't big onion fans, but keeping the onion uncut and in tact makes is oh-so-easy to pull out at the end.
   
3. Add the sausage to your crockpot, and cook until the lentils are tender, approximately 4 hours on high heat, 8 hours on low. Or, you could do it the Audrey way and put everything in a pot first thing in the morning, and let cook all day on low until you're ready to dine.
   
4. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parmesan cheese.
   
5. Yum!
   

SW: Chicken Tortilla Soup (Guest Post)

Brace yourself! Awesome incoming!

I'm so so so excited to tell you that this afternoon's edition is another guest post from a good friend of mine. And lucky for you, she's also from the southwest, so when she says she's giving you an authentic offering, you'd best believe her, then immediately rush out, buy the required ingredients, and prepare this soup. I present, Aliza's Chicken Tortilla Soup!

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Tortilla Soup-Tuesday

Recipe from Aliza!

This was originally a random recipe that I stumbled across online, but altered to make it more "authentic." It makes between 8 and 10 servings. Freezes well up to 3 months.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups of salsa (I prefer medium heat)

4 mined garlic cloves

1 small white onion, diced

~1/2 cup of skinless, roasted green chile, chopped (small can/jar if you don't store any)

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (I try to find the biggest bunch possible)

1 1/2 tablespoons cumin

1 teasp. chili pepper

4 cup chicken broth (1 box)

1 teas. salt

1 teas. pepper

2 flour tortillas 

shredded cheese for topping

 

Directions:

1. Boil chicken in a med-large pot.

2. In separate pan, brown onions with garlic, cilantro, chile, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.

3. Once chicken is cooked (approx. 20 minutes), drain water, cut into chunks and place back into pot.

4. Add contents of pan, salsa, and broth and simmer for 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, bake tortillas on cookie sheet (or straight on the shelves) at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until crispy. Break into small pieces or cut into strips.

6. After the soup has simmered, serve into bowls, then sprinkle tortilla pieces and cheese into each bowl.

7. Enjoy!

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Aliza is awesome! She has somehow harnessed the power to bend time, and her daily routine includes university coursework, wifery, photography, painting, home improvement/decorating, and—oh, did I mention?—mothering an adorable eighteen-month-old. Time-bending=amazing! Not only is she an avid soup lover, but I have it on good authority that she makes a mean latte. I know, I know, you'd think that Aliza can't be any more awesome, but you'd be wrong. She BLOGS here and here. Go read her stuff, and you'll see what I mean.

SW: Broccoli Cheddar Soup

One of my favorite things about our midwest town is the fact that there is a Panera Bread Company here. I love Panera. That was one of the perks of moving here. If the Panera people let me, I might try to live there. I love their pastries, I love their souffles, and I love love LOVE their soups. And my favorite is their Broccoli Cheddar Soup because a good BC soup is always amazing. While it doesn't taste exactly like Panera's, it was still super tasty and satisfying.

I think I inadvertently doubled the broccoli required because ours was very very broccoli-y, but I hadn't measured my broccoli by pound, and I don't have a food scale just yet (I know, heresy!) so I just used three crowns of broccoli. I also added more cheese, so really, the mods I made to this recipe were relatively slim. But after adding all that broccoli, extra cheese was very necessary.

Also, veggie-izing this recipe would be SUPER easy. Veggie broth, and wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup-Tuesday

Modified Recipe.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups chicken stock
3 bunches fresh broccoli
1 cup carrots, julienned
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt & pepper, to taste

12 ounces grated sharp cheddar

1. Saute onion in butter and set aside. Add the flour and melted butter to the pan and whisk over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently. At the four minute mark, slowly add the half-and-half, all the while continuing your frequent stirring. Repeat this process with the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Add the broccoli, carrots, and sauteed onions, and cook over low heat until the veggies are tender, another 20 minutes or so. Salt and pepper.
3. The soup should be thick at this point, so pour in SMALL batches into the blender and puree. I am a pro at pureeing hot liquids in my blender due to much trial and error, so if you have never done this before and don't know the proper protocol, ask someone! SMALL batches. No lid. You'll avoid burns!
4. Return the puree to the pot, and place over low heat. Add the grated cheese and stir until well blended. Serve. And serve in a bread bowl if you have some lying around because it will be simply tasty!
5. Yum!

And yes, later today, there will be another SUPER yummy guest post!