Sunday, October 22, 2017

A Wonderful Way to Warm Up

RHYS: In California there is no hint of fall yet but I'm currently up in Vancouver where it is cold, wet and definitely fall like. And the moment the weather turns cold my thoughts turn to soup.
So I thought I'd share one of my favorites

CARROT GINGER SOUP

I large onion, finely chopped
1 pound carrots chopped
I green Apple chopped
4 cups stock
1 cup Orange juice
I tablespoon grated ginger
Sour cream for garnish

Sauté onion in butter. Add carrot, ginger, Apple. Sauté . Add stock cook until carrots are tender. Add orange juice. Purée. Garnish with dollop of cream and chives.
Enjoy!

And a new and very simple soup.
When I was in Toronto I went out with friends.nit was cold and we asked for soup at a restaurant. They made us a chicken broth with spinach that was beyond delicious and so simple:

Really good chicken stock
Break an egg into it and whisk
Put in baby spinach leaves and cook only a little, still crisp
Stir in shredded Parmesan cheese before serving.

I'm definitely making this one at home!
And I apologize for the brief post today but I'm at a writers conference in Canada and they have us on  a really full schedule, starting with breakfast!

30 comments:

  1. We enjoy soup, especially when the weather turns crisp and cool and these soups sound delicious, Rhys. Thanks for sharing the recipes.

    I hope you have a wonderful time at your conference . . . .

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  2. Those soups do sound tasty, Rhys. It hasn't quite cooled off enough here for me to think about soup a lot, but I am looking forward to making my vegetable soup. I do have a bit of meat in it, as I cook up some short ribs to get the broth started (with a bullion cube before adding vegetables)and get some meat off of them. I add fresh veggies--carrots, potatoes, celery, onions--with canned whole tomatoes and V-8 juice and tomato juice (more V-8 juice and just a little tomato juice). Sometimes I add a little macaroni, too, but usually the potatoes satisfy that itch. I so love this soup.

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    1. Kathy, I make a version of this, from an old, old recipe (it starts with the directions to use "a bucket of spring water). It's called Aunt Jessie's 10-Vegetable soup, and it also starts with the short ribs and ends with V-8 juice, which is definitely a modern addition. But it also requires a quartet of herbs: savory, marjoram, thyme and rosemary, and always a tablespoon of minced garlic. Ten veggies, which must include onions, potatoes, celery, carrots, and okra (my secret ingredient). About a "good handful" of each, also from the original recipe.

      This makes enough soup that we can have it for dinner a couple of times, and freeze some in containers for other times. And it is so good.

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    2. Karen, this recipe came from my mother, so it's probably on the old side, too. I do add some salt and pepper and sometimes some seasoning salt. I might try adding some garlic. I love the "bucket of spring water" ingredient. Hahaha!

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  3. Those both sound yummy - and it's okay to be brief! Have a great conference.

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  4. A cold front moved through here last night, but that just means our temperatures will be in the 70s this coming week, so it's not quite soup weather in Texas yet. That said, there's nothing like a good pot of soup for the days when it does get cold and miserable. My favorite for that kind of weather is chili, and I have learned to make a reasonable bowl of it, but I have been schooled by my Texas native friends that there should not be any beans in "real" chili. Yep. I get it. "Real" chili is more a sauce than a soup, but if I want more than two bowls full, I'm going to extend it with beans.

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    1. I agree that chili is a great cold weather soup, Gigi. No beans? I guess I'm doing it wrong, but it tastes so right.

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  5. Those two soups look great Rhys! Hope you and Hallie are having an excellent conference

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  6. So wait—heat the chicken broth first? Then do the egg? Then the spinach?
    Or do you mean stir the egg into cold broth?
    Egg drop soup, right?

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    1. Good questions. I've never quite had success with egg drop soup. I wonder if you need to stir the egg into cold broth?

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    2. No, sorry. Put the broth to a boil first. Sorry, trying to do this from really full days at a writers conference

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  7. Yum! I'm always surprised to find that I like parsnips in soup.
    We ARE having an excellent conference - it's the Surrey International Writers Conference, their 25th! In Guilford which is near Vancouver BC in Canada. It's raining. It's always raining. And last night's soup at the banquet was a spicy lentil soup that I wish I had the recipe to share.

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  8. Enjoy the conference! And bring on the soups--I especially like soups that can be a meal--and the kind that taste even better upon reheating. Thanks for the ideas!

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  9. Rhys, I've made your other soups, and they were delicious. We'll have company all week (family), so I think I'll make the carrot ginger soup to have on hand. Thanks for the recipes!

    When I wrote a newsletter for the local sewing professionals, I started a column called Deadline Dinners. Everyone shared quick, easy meals, with just a few ingredients, that could get thrown together to keep the body and soul of family members satisfied during a time crunch. I wish I could find those recipes again!

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    1. Karen, could you share those easy meals? If not here, send them to me at Kathy502@aol.com

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  10. I make soup. Lots of soup. Here's my recipe:
    Empty the veg drawer in the fridge
    Chop
    Add (insert ham bone/beef shank/left over chicken parts here)
    Handful of barley/rice/ditilini/dry beans or peas/whatever
    Cover with water/stock/broth/whatever
    Season to taste with whatever herbs are left in the garden, salt, pepper, garlic if you like.

    Simmer until supper time.

    Enjoy. No two alike!

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    1. My sister used to clean out her refrigerator that way. She called it "Gotta Go" Soup. It was generally delicious.

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    2. It is pretty much always good. The other day we were trying to remember when I had a "soup fail" and it was twenty years ago in California. I boiled up a chicken and it came out all dry and stringy, no idea why as I've been boiling chicken parts for most of my existence. That was the nastiest most tasteless worthy of Applebee's soup I've ever made.

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  11. Rhys, we have, in the freezer, about a quart of carrot puree, because Julie had a coupon. She bought it when she thought I could use it in a carrot cake. No. Just no.

    I'm thinking I could use it to make your carrot soup. It is seasoned with some amount of herbs, so I can adjust for that. And it will free up freezer space. I can't bear to waste food, as you can see by my soup recipe above.

    Thanks for the recipe.

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  12. Thus, both soups sound delicious but I especially want to try the carrot. Do you make as a meal or a first course?

    I'm in Tulsa having finished the wonderful Nimrod writers conference last night. Home this afternoon.

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    1. I often have soups for lunch, Debs.my British husband freaks out if it's not meat and two veg for dinner!

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  13. I envy those of you who can create soups from what you have on hand. If I want something to be edible, I need a recipe to follow, which probably explains my love of cookbooks. I'm definitely trying your carrot soup recipe, Rhys.

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  14. The carrot-ginger looks very good. I'm looking for easy recipes as I take over more cooking after retiring next week. Will definitely try this one!

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  15. The carrot-ginger looks very good, but carrots are absolutely loaded with sugar so be warned, those who prefer low-sugar choices.

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  16. That sounds fantastic, Rhys. I am a great fan of ginger and carrots - a perfect pairing.

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  17. Sounds yummy, Rhys. Soup and fall do go together. We're still in summer here in Florida too, so I made gazpacho this weekend. Anyone have a recipe for cold cucumber soup? I used to have one, can't find it anywhere.

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  18. Rhys, thank you for the recipe. That is one of my favorite soups.

    Diana

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