Grandmother's Summer

"She just don't got the time that she used to." -Justin Townes Earle



A woman I work with told me that in the Ukraine where she is from early fall -about September 20th to mid-November- is called Grandmother's Summer because it is so lovely and warm, the spiders go from place to place (like a grandmother visiting), and the bounty of mushrooms and fall produce is available then (as generous as a grandmother). Yes, I pretty much melted at this poetic description. This Sunday in celebration and anticipation of the Grandmother's Summer weather predicted for this week, I made a pot of Borscht -lamb and beet soup- to have for dinner tomorrow night. Beets from our garden and lamb stew meat reserved from the two lambs I spent the weekend packaging and putting into the freezer. There was an article in the paper today (click here) that reminded me of the long term value of my job -and the peril of programs like the one I work for being closed due to budget shortages. I'll hope for the best and plan for the worst -and make soup.

Russian Borscht
Adapted from Jeff Smith's On Our Immigrant Ancestors
2 T. olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. lamb stew meat
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 c. chopped cabbage
1/2-1 c. mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1/2 c. carrots, diced (optional)
1/2 c. diced canned tomatoes
3 large beets, peeled and diced WITH greens and stems added if possible
2 qts. stock
2-3 T. red wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
2 t. lemon juice
1/2 - 3/4 t. salt
1/4-1/2 t. black pepper
Brown meat in oil. Add garlic and onion and saute until translucent. Add remaining ingredients and cook 2 hours. Can refrigerate and reheat the next day. Serve with sour cream and snipped fresh dill weed (if available).

Abuelita's Sopa de Albondigas

This was what I took to work today for my lunch: pint canning jars of sweet ice tea and the Grandmother's Meatball Soup I made on Saturday. A totable jar of soup makes a great lunch, and this is very easy, quite flexible, and so delicious. I started with Christina Gonzalez's recipe featured in the recent issue of Sunset magazine and then adapted it to my larder and inspirations. Here is my version of this classic soup.



Meatballs
1/4 - 1/2 lbs. ground beef, pork or chorizo
1/2-1 c. cooked white rice
1 egg
pinch each of salt, cumin and chili powder
Mix well. Shape into small balls. Chill.

Broth
3 quarts chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1/2 - 1 T. salt
1 T. oregano
Bring to a boil. Add vegetables.

Vegetables
2 red potatoes, 2 small zucchini, 1/2 onion, 4-6 brown mushrooms, 2 carrots
Peel and/or scrub, and diced small. Use more, or less, vegetables as the mood, and what you have at hand, dictates.

Simmer until tender. Add optional additions (if adding) and meatballs, and simmer until done.

Optional Additions
1 c. cooked garbanzo, kidney, or pinto beans (I didn't add any this time)
lamb or goat heart and kidneys, diced

Asian-style Rice and Chicken Soup

The Japanese have Okai, the Chinese Congee, the Korean's Juk, the Filipino's Arroz Caldo, and the Vietnamese Chao Ga. The list goes on and on for the different versions that each different culture has of their own specially nuanced Asian-style Rice and Chicken Soup. The recipe I use to make Juk/Jook (the spelling and pronunciations for this soup vary), was given to me years ago by a Japanese-American friend, who told me it is her ultimate comfort food. I had the good fortune to be discussing this soup with her, while sitting amidst a group of friends, and their collective multi-cultural perspectives on this food was illuminating. Besides myself and my Japanese-American friend, there was a Japanese woman (married to a Norwegian), an American married to a Filipino man who's a prolific cook, a Korean who immigrated to the US as a schoolboy, and a Vietnamese man who immigrated as an adult. They all are very fond of different variations of this soup, and we discussed the similarities and differences of their different culture's, and each individual family's, versions of rice and chicken soup. This soup is just one of the many foods first introduced by our immigrants that was hybridized and adapted in American kitchens, and is now an integral part of the family favorites repertoire for many home cooks, like myself.



I often make this soup when one of us has a cold, and it was a lifesaver when each of my three kids were unable to chew for several days because of the torture resulting from orthodontic visits. Just as for my Japanese-American friend, this soup has become the ultimate comfort food for my youngest daughter. She's spending this weekend recovering from an oral surgery taking out all four of her wisdom teeth. Despite her horoscope earlier in the week declaring she would "start thinking about a weekend adventure," (needless to say) she's been less than thrilled by the whole experience. I made this soup for her to eat, once she could move beyond the broth, yogurt and applesauce foods stage.

Jook or Asian-style Rice and Chicken Soup

Put all the following in a pressure cooker:
1 c. sushi rice
7 c. water, or chicken or vegetable broth
2-3 green onions or 1/2 sliced yellow onion
1 carrot, whole
1 celery stalk, whole
5 cilantro stems
1 jalapeno, whole
1/2 c. sliced (or 5 whole, broken) dried shitake mushrooms (don't bother soaking them)
1 t. salt
1 inch ginger root, sliced or grated
1 can drained, sliced water chestnuts
1-2 chicken breasts, or leftover remnants of a roast chicken or duck
3 garlic cloves, whole

Bring to high pressure. Cook for 10 minutes, then quick-release pressure. Cool a bit, then remove carrot, celery, jalapeno, and onions and discard them. Remove the chicken breasts to a plate, remove and discard the bones, shred the meat and return to the soup.

Serve with any, or all, of the following condiments:
minced cilantro leaves
Black Bean Sauce
Garlic Black Bean Sauce
chili paste or Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
Hoisin Sauce
soy sauce
sesame oil



This is my youngest as a toddler (taking her guinea pig, Jake for a ride), and I can't help but see her as that tot now, with her face all puffy from surgery, recovering from the ordeal and feeling terrible. Even though she'll turn 18 this summer (and she is one of the most competent and independent teens imaginable), in my heart, a part of me will always see her as this tiny little girl.

Meatball Beef Pho

Happy Valentine's Day, or rather, Happy Chocolate Day! I prefer to celebrate this Hallmark holiday without the Hallmarkness, and I see this calendar holiday mostly as a good excuse to bake a decadent homemade chocolate dessert. Tonight, I'm making individual chocolate souffles (cooked exactly 14 minutes) using Julia Child's recipe. With the typical February weather we are having today -wet, cold and nasty- they will be perfect.

"We got up in the morning to the persistent steady thumping of rain on the roof and we lay in bed at night and listened to the persistent steady thumping of rain on the roof." "It rained and rained and rained and rained. It drizzled -misted -drooled -spat -poured -and just plain rained." -Betty MacDoanld, The Egg and I



When the weather is wet and cold, a beef soup is the perfect food to have. Beef Pho, a Vietnamese beef broth and rice noodle soup, is always a popular choice for a quick and filling lunch or dinner. It is especially comforting to have when it's rather cold outside and the skies have been pouring down rain for days on end, as is generally the case here in the Puget Sound area, off and on from the first of November to the end of May. With a decent bowl of Pho available on practically every block in the city, it may not seem worth it to bother to make your own, but we live thirty some miles north, and when I have a craving for a bowl of Pho, I find it much preferable to spend my Sunday afternoon puttering in the kitchen making beef broth, than to drive through traffic in search of good Pho -and there's the added bonus of having leftovers the next day (or freeze half for a second meal later). This is not at all difficult to make, and the time required is mostly hands off cooking, so you can make Pho while you're watching a movie, knitting (or both), or whatever.



The key to really good Pho is a genuine broth. Beef is classic, though I often make a Duck Pho that's really pretty amazing. Canned beef broth can be used (and I have) but it is just not quite the same thing. Beef shanks, or some other bone-in soup-bone-type cut, are what you need for this. I made this in the pressure cooker Sunday afternoon, and our kitchen smelled absolutely heavenly with the fragrance of the beefy cinnamon, star anise, ginger and lemongrass broth.

Pho Beef Broth
Place in pressure cooker:
2 # beef shank meat (best if browned first, but I forgot to)
5-6 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole garlic cloves
1 large shallot
5 black peppercorns
4 whole cloves
2 inch ginger root, sliced
1 t. vegetable oil
1-2 carrots, whole or broken
1 stalk lemongrass
1 stalk celery
Fill cooker to 3/4 mark (about 3 quarts). Bring to high pressure, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for one hour. Shut off heat, allow pressure to drop, and broth to cool a bit.



Remove shank bones and meat, shred, and set aside. The pressure cooked shank bones made a tasty treat for our old dog, Jane.



Strain the broth, and discard the STUFF. To strained broth, add:
2-4 T. fish sauce
1-2 t. sugar
salt and ground pepper to taste

meatballs -I used these frozen meatballs (click here), but pork meatballs would also be great. Simmer 10 minutes, or until the meatballs are done.

Meanwhile, cook 12-16 oz. rice sticks in boiling water for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain and set aside.



Place a serving of noodles in a large bowl, add meatballs, shredded beef, and broth. Top individual bowls with:
fresh bean sprouts
fresh whole or shredded cilantro, basil and/or mint leaves
finely sliced Thai chilies
sliced green onions (or diced yellow onions)
squeezes of lime juice
soy sauce and/or hot chili sauce, as desired

Split Pea and Ham Soup

I love split pea soup. My kids aren't quite as gung-ho about it as I am, but I do love just how simple, straightforward and soul-satisfying it can be. And I love that it can be made in a pressure-cooker, a Dutch oven, or a crock-pot -fast, medium or slow- and it is always good and comforting, either with or without the ham hock, and by whichever method you choose to make it. I made some in the crock-pot a couple days ago, and then baked some cornbread muffins to serve with the soup, using the recipe on the back of the cornmeal box. A dab of homemade jam for the muffins, and it makes for a satisfying simple meal.



Split Pea and Ham Soup

For 4 people, place in crock-pot:
1 qt. water
1/2 ham hock (or omit for vegetarian version and add salt)
1 c. split peas
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2-4 bay leaves
bit of black pepper
Cook on low 8-10 hours. Remove ham hock to a plate, discard bones, dice meat, and return to pot.
Add:
2-3 T. molasses
salt to taste, if needed (I don't add any with the ham hock included)

Chorizo Tortilla Soup

We are lucky to have Kelso's Meats, an old-fashioned family owned and operated butcher shop in our small town of Snohomish. Pablo, one of their employees, makes a chorizo sausage that is pretty near perfect. Many commercial chorizos are not much more than seasoned fat, or they are overly spiced, and often they are both, but the chorizo at Kelso's is a nice pork sausage with a blend of seasonings that isn't overwhelming. We are big fans of Pablo's chorizo, but in order to have some of our own pork made into chorizo, we would have to give up some portion of our current three-way ground pork choices of Bratwurst, Italian sausage and plain ground pork, which we are reluctant to do.



The idea occurred to me that though I may not get it as perfect as Pablo's spice blend, I have the best ground pork in the world in our deep freezer, and I could just add spices to a pound at a time and make my own chorizo. I have to admit, many of my ideas aren't always great and some turn out to be really bad, but sometimes, once in a blue moon, I have really brilliant ones and this was one of those times. This chorizo I made was delicious and it was really easy too.

Chorizo
Adapted from Bruce Aidells' Complete Sausage Book

Mix together:
1 lb. ground pork
1/4 c. minced cilantro
1 small jalapeno, finely minced
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 t. each chili powder, paprika and cumin
1 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper, cayenne and ground coriander
pinch cloves (and/or cinnamon, and/or allspice)

Wrap and leave overnight in fridge (this step is important).

We used some of this the next morning to add to scrambled eggs and it was (almost) as good as Pablo's chorizo. I then mixed in 1 T. masa harina to the remainder, and formed small meatballs to use instead of the more traditional chicken in tortilla soup.



Chorizo Tortilla Soup

Heat 1 T. oil
Add:
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t. chili powder

Cook 3-5 minutes. Add:
1 quart chicken stock
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 c. canned corn (and/or kidney beans)
1 c. water
1/2 t. Mexican oregano
Bring to a simmer. Add chorizo meatballs. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until done.

Meanwhile, halve 4-5 corn tortillas and cut into thin strips. Fry in hot oil until golden. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.



Add juice of one lime, cilantro leaves and tortilla strips to the soup. Serve with minced fresh or pickled jalapenos, and lime wedges. Add avocado chunks and/or grated Monterey Jack cheese, if desired, though this soup was pretty good without either. I baked some cornbread muffins to go with, but warmed tortillas would also be good alongside this soup.

To make this soup, I sent my teen daughter to the one-stop-shopping-store to buy chicken stock, limes and avocados, plus a few things she needed (and had parental approval for the use of my debit card for buying). She said the avocados were rock hard, so she didn't buy any (good call). She did buy the chicken stock and limes, plus printer ink and her other 'essential stuff' -the total of which cost over $170. I joked it was a bit expensive for homemade soup, even if this is a really, really good soup.

Carrot Ginger Soup

I had a long phone conversation yesterday, with my daughter in Austin, Texas that inevitably turned to food. It ended with us both deciding we should immediately make Carrot Ginger Soup (she has a copy of my recipe collection). Despite record November temperatures here matching those in Austin, a garden vegetable soup sounded like a perfect dinner to us both. For her, with limited means and an almost nonexistent larder, frugal and delicious carrot soup is perfect. And for me, wanting a simple vegetarian dinner, carrot soup is also perfect. I hung up the phone and went directly to the garden for carrots. I washed them off outside with the hose -and then got distracted for several hours. I returned to making soup, and while putting the ingredients in the pot I realized with horror, we had cut the original recipe by fourths -but not the amount of white pepper. Also, I use a wand blender to puree soups in the cooking pot while still hot, but she has a food processor and my recipe didn't warn to cool it first. I just knew she had made a soup way too spicy for her to ever eat, and then exploded the same boiling soup all over herself, and was probably in the emergency room (which she REALLY can't afford) with 2nd degree soup burns. She called later that evening. Luckily, she had gotten even more distracted than myself, and hadn't made her soup. Lessons learned: 1) moms will always worry and imagine the worst, 2) mistakes in a recipe can be a dangerous thing, and 3) even with lots of white pepper, Carrot Ginger Soup is really good!



Carrot-Ginger Soup

Heat: 2 T. oil

Add: ½ chopped red onion
2-3 T. grated fresh ginger (The fresher, the better. Mine had been languishing in the fridge for quite awhile, and though still good, was rather fibrous.)
Sauté onion and ginger in oil.

Add:
2 c. chopped, fresh carrots
2-3 c. vegetable stock or water
1/8- ¼ t. white pepper
1 t. fresh ground coriander
½ -1 t. salt or vegetable bouillon cube

Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook 15-30 minutes, or until carrots are soft. Use a wand blender, or cool and puree in food processor or blender. This freezes really well, so you may want to double or triple the recipe and freeze portions.

Variations: Substitute chicken stock if preferred, and/or add 1 c. V-8 juice. For Moroccan Carrot Soup, omit ginger and add 1 ½ t. cumin and 1/8 t. allspice, and serve plain yogurt at the table to stir in.

Leek and Potato Soup and Irish Soda Bread

Many of the most comforting and soul-satisfying foods, like rice, risotto, mashed potatoes and oatmeal, are the least attractive. Their beige monotony does not generate visual excitement, so we take them for granted and often overlook them. For years I have passed by recipes for Irish Soda Bread, believing so few and so basic of ingredients, put together with so little effort, and of such humble origins, could only be so good. Good enough to get one through a famine certainly, but probably not great. Do not be deceived by its simplicity; it is amazing with butter, with or without jam, with fresh horseradish -or served with soup. The honest flavor of the wheat comes through pure and delicious. I now completely get everything I've heard and read from those singing the praises of Irish Soda Bread.

Irish Soda Bread

Mix:

2 c. whole wheat flour

2 c. all purpose flour

1/3 c. brown sugar

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Cut in:

1/4 c. butter

Stir in:

1 1/2 c. buttermilk

Knead to form a solid, shaggy ball. Place in a well-greased 8 inch square Pyrex dish and flatten to fill. Cut a 1/2 inch x into top. Bake 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until done. Cool completely on wire rack.

The leeks in our garden did very well again this year and I use them in place of onions in many recipes. They are incredibly versatile, lending their own unique character in the kitchen. I really hope they keep well into the winter like they did last year, but I don't suppose we'll be quite so lucky.

Leeks are one of the two main ingredients in Leek and Potato Soup, another food who's beige appearance, simplicity of ingredients, and ease of preparation give very little hint to how delightful it tastes. And this soup has the singular honor of being the very first recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. There can be no higher endorsement, no matter how boring it may look.

Leek and Potato Soup

In stockpot, simmer until tender:

3 c. sliced leeks

3 c. chopped peeled potatoes

2-3 quarts water (or chicken stock)

1 T. salt

Mash, using a slotted spoon, potato or bean masher, or run through a food mill. Do not use a blender which will cause too much starch to be released and make the soup have a 'gluey' texture.

Add:

2 T. butter

white pepper to taste

1/3 c. cream or milk (optional)

Season for Soup

Tis the season for soup, one-of-a-kind soups you put together from 'what is on hand'. Not always the most visually lovely of foods, but homemade soups of any kind are definitely among the more comforting and soul-satisfying meals I've eaten. My sister-in-law, Gretchen is the undeniable Soup Queen, and I have learned a lot watching her put together a pot of soup. A variety of vegetables with a leafy green included are a must, like these I used from our garden: Bright Lights Chard, pole beans, carrots, patty pan squash and parsley. With the variety of late season produce now available in the garden (and before the frosts come) now is the season for soup making.



Any kind of one of the less desirable cuts of meat is also a must: meaty goat bones, lamb shanks, chicken necks, turkey wings and here I used the leftovers from a roast goose we had the night before (and yes, it was REALLY good). There is no recipe for soup made with the ever changing 'what is on hand'. The leftover risotto from several nights back, the cornbread stuffing and roasted potatoes served with the goose and the drippings all went in to this pot, along with more sage and some salt. Another time I may use leftover cooked kidney beans, roasted beets and cabbage shredded, but not used, for salad. 'What is on hand' soup is never the same but it's always good. Even though this is my not-so-big-pot, and all of us ate several bowls of soup (and yes, it was REALLY good), I was pleased to freeze a couple containers of soul-satisfying soup to have stashed away simply needing to be heated. When needed, it will be like finding a forgotten $20 bill in a coat pocket!

Food Everywhere

So much food -growing food, raising food, cooking food and, don't forget, eating food- happens at our house. A few days ago my daughter was ranting, "I've been gone for two days and I get up in the morning and come downstairs and into the kitchen. There is a pan of Congo Bar Cookies half gone, pasta (with a Picchi Pacchi sauce), a loaf of homemade bread and fresh jam, and a piece of pie -ONLY ONE PIECE. Who eats an entire pie in two days? Oh, and stuff to make burgers, don't forget. I mean WHO lives this way!?!" I think she mostly was just amazed noticing how much food we cook and eat but I almost felt I was suppose to apologize. I make no apologies though and I feel I am so fortunate to have the time to cook, the best of foods to cook with, and people who (mostly) appreciate it -my husband runs almost 7 miles a day and my son is doing hard physical labor for 10+ hour shifts.

Today I was thinking about which food to talk to you about: making s'mores and grilled teriyaki salmon steaks in our fire pit last night, making blackberry jam this morning with blackberries I picked yesterday, cooking the 'variety meats' of recent farm butcherings, making Chinese plum sauce with my son yesterday, the cinnamon rolls I was planning to make and/or the soup I was just now putting together. Most of my family had just left for the day (Bumbershoot Music Festival), which might have meant no-cooking-dinner-tonight, but last time I jumped to that (erroneous) conclusion, they all returned home late with, "I'm STARVING. What's there to eat?" and my "I just had a bowl of popcorn for dinner" reply was NOT the answer anyone was hoping for. Therefore, a freshly baked loaf of bread and soup, waiting on the stove for whoever and whenever, came to my mind as the perfect answer.

Soup made in my pressure cooker, using meaty stock from the freezer, dried beans and barley, with lots of garden vegetables added, would be perfect. It would have been perfect too, except for my going to the garden to get the vegetables and leaving the beans and stock on high in the pressure cooker. Throughout my childhood, my grandmother repeatedly told the story of how she had been called outside to help with a cow emergency while canning vegetables in her huge pressure cooker. She returned to find her entire stove had been smashed in from the force of the exploding pressure cooker. You would think such a story, ingrained in someone practically from birth, would keep them from making the same mistake. You, of course would be mistaken. Luckily, my little Presto pressure cooker has a new-fangled (an improvement from Granny's time) safety valve that pops out. Not so luckily, it shoots the contents through the (relatively small) safety valve hole under GREAT PRESSURE which makes a rather spectacular mess. My (unharmed) 17-year old was nearby and quickly changed from terrified to disgusted, "Is this, like, meat juice in my hair?" I spent the next few hours cleaning the kitchen of its meat juice. I also added more stock to the pressure cooker (the unspewed contents were fine) along with the vegetables from my ill-timed garden trip -and continued my soup making. Now that I'm exhausted and ready for something to eat, soup IS perfect.