Spicy Tomato Coconut Soup by Celia Wakefield

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Once again, Sunday means our own Celia Wakefield, here with a tale of her brush with royalty, and a delicious, warming soup for a cold February night.

 

Here I am on Valentine’s Day thinking of all the delicious things that can be made from chocolate. My hope is that you haven’t finished your lovely box of chocs yet. As I age I find that stretching out the pleasure becomes a pleasure in itself, so I shall be miserly with my box and enjoy its delights very slowly. 

Having tempted your taste buds, I need to confess I have not made a chocolate recipe this time; but while we are on the subject of chocolate, did you know that Ghana is the world's second-largest cocoa-producing country? (Côte d'Ivoire is the largest).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was sixteen when the Duke of Edinburgh (married to Queen Elizabeth II) came to visit Ghana and declare open the University of Ghana where my father worked. The University had been open for many years, but had been accredited to the University of London for the degrees bestowed. Now London had accepted their academic standards were comparable to London University and therefore Ghana could grant their own degrees. The buzz in town was HRH’s visit and the Convocation in the new hall atop Lagon Hill. I was very excited, as my father had a ticket for me as well as for my mum. I had a new dress and a hat, of course. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived in the forecourt to see several Chiefs, dressed in kente cloth robes, seated on their ‘stools’ with their courts around them. We found our seats in the hall and waited. Finally the academic procession with HRH arrived with ceremony and after the usual introductions the Duke rose to address us. He cast a careful and deliberate look around the new hall, and said, “Isn’t it a good thing that the world loves chocolate.” 

 

 

Much applause. I have no photos from the event unfortunately. Imagine how his remark would be received today with everyone reporting on Social Media.

Now before I go further, I have a book to give away. Decluttering is one of my goals for 2024, and I have started. Slowly but determined is me. Finding I have two copies of Ruth Reichl’s memoir of her time at Gourmet magazine, Save Me the Plums, it seemed the right thing to offer it to you all. If you missed it, the title alone makes one want to open the book, and the poem in the frontispiece by William Carlos Williams draws one further in. I have loved Ruth Rechl’s writing ever since I picked up Tender at the Bone, and was fascinated by her stories of her mother. Ruth’s tenure as Editor at Gourmet ran the gamut from great successes, through witnessing the collapse of the Twin Towers to the unexpected closure of Gourmet Magazine. It’s a great story. The copy that’s up for grabs is signed by Ruth. I didn’t mention that did I?

But what about the recipe you cry. Where’s my soup? Soup has certainly been our go to as the recent temperature in Maine fluctuates greatly. This is another grab what you have and cook with very few weights and measures. A few weeks ago I found Roma tomatoes in the local supermarket. I know they are wonderful for sauce so I bought a dozen home and thought, now what? I hope you will try my tomato, coconut soup with shrimp, or chicken or whatever takes your fancy.

Ingredients and Directions for my tomato, coconut soup with shrimp:

Preliminary directions:

I cut the tomatoes in half, drizzled them with olive oil fairly liberally and roasted with sliced onions and garlic in a low oven, 325F degrees for about an hour and a half till they were jammy in texture. 

I left the veggies to cool then put them through a food mill. See the photo of the amount of lovely tomato left on the underside of the plate to be scraped off into a measuring bowl.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion chopped in small pieces

 

Seasonings: I know several of you have spoken about my recipes which use curry spices. So does this one, but I see no reason to use other seasoning that is enjoyed by your family. Taco or barbecue seasonings, Old Bay or other mixes. Use and adjust to your preferred taste.

I am using a Patak Tikkka Masala Spice Mixture which contains: turmeric, paprika, canola oil, salt, corn flour, tamarind paste, cumin, fenugreek, cilantro. But for the future and my very low salt eating, I shall make up my own masala mix as I have all the spices in house, but the spice mix 

is convenient which is what the soup is all about.

 

2 Tbsp Masala spice mix

1 Tbsp pink garlic powder

1 Tbsp spanish paprika

 

1 cup tomato mix, see above or use a cup of drained canned pureed chopped tomatoes

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 Tbsp red miso mixed into 3 Cups of water or salt free stock

1 can unsweetened Coconut cream (I bought sweetened coconut cream in error it tasted really good and Julia loved it. But if one is trying to watch calories unsweetened would be best).

1 can Coconut milk

 

1-2 Cups small frozen shrimp or cooked chicken, tofu, whatever protein you enjoy

2 Tbsp Oil, Canola or Safflower 

Directions:

Heat the oil in your soup pan to medium (I use a Le Creuset dutch oven)

 

Add spices including the garlic powder and saute gently

 

Add onion pieces and cook till translucent

 

With the heat on low add the tomatoes and saute mixing everything well

 

Add the tomato paste and taste to see if more seasoning is needed

 

Add the water and miso paste and cook gently

 

Add the Coconut cream and milk and stir to mix well

 

As it comes to a gentle boil, cook for a couple of minutes

 

Taste for seasonings again

 

Add the shrimp and bring to a gentle boil checking that the shrimp are cooked

Serve to appreciative guests with some bread for mopping up.

What We Like About Fall

LUCY BURDETTE: Could those be the most amazing chocolates you've ever seen?? Fall-themed of course, and they come from cows on Thorncrest Farm in Goshen CT--you can actually go and meet the cows who made your milk that made your chocolate. They are called Milk House Chocolates, expensive but worth it for a special special occasion. 

Anyway, that photo in my inbox got me thinking about fall. I know there will be a few of you  who feel I have no business admiring fall when I skip the worst of winter by absconding to Key West. However, I remember loving fall even in my winter days. And here are a few of the things I love:

1. The beautiful color changes in the leaves (which is not to say I don't love those baby greens of Spring)
2. Arrangements of pumpkins and chrysanthemums and scarecrows
3. Cooler temperatures so the dog and I can take longer walks
4. Shorter days (no, I mean it. I like the feeling of being tucked in by the darkness after supper, as if not too much more is expected of me that day.)
5. The women's basketball season is coming!

How about you Reds, are you fans of Fall?

HANK PHILLPPI RYAN:  Sweaters. Boots. Soup.  I have to say, and it's not in the nature of a complaint, just a reality, my book deadline is now LOOMING and so is the launch, and there is very little that's more intense and stressful. (I'll be in Phoenix, and Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh and Denver and all over Florida..please please come see me! No pressure, it;s just my career. And I will say no more. :-) )  

We close the swimming pool, and I try to balance things--I am  so aware of time going by. I know in five months, the ducks will be back. And that's great!  But the time will have gone by, we're all changing and fall to me is the time that is the most poignantly apparent.
But, on the happy side, I get to wear black tights again.

RHYS BOWEN: Not a great fan myself. Like Hank I am growing more aware of the passing of the seasons and the ticking of the clocks and the looming of old age. Depressing, right? I am one of those people who is highly sensitive to light. If I awake to a bright sunny day and blue skies then all is right with the world. So far in California we haven't had a hint of fall yet. It was over 90 at the weekend. I did an event with Cara Black and afterward we sat outside at a restaurant until late at night, enjoying the balmy evening air.

So the moment the rains hit California I become swallow-like and retreat to our condo in Arizona where blue skies are guaranteed all year. But things that I like? I do like sitting by a roaring fire, reading or knitting. I like the way the slanted sunlight paints the trees and I like the spectacular sunsets. And the smell of wood-smoke in the air. AND when the temperature drops a tad I get to wear my new outfit that daughter Jane bought me for my birthday. Winter white turtleneck sweater and cool fur vest.  So not all bad after all.

Girl on a train (Hallie!)

HALLIE EPHRON: Yesterday we took the train from NY back to Boston at twilight. It travels along the ocean and the color of those vast stretches of marsh grass--red and orange and green--made me wish I could paint. On the other hand, we're back home and our brand new heating system isn't working and it was 50 degrees this morning.
 
I do love sweaters and warm socks and switching to our winter quilt and snuggling under it. Soups (just cut out a recipe for carrot apple sweet potato soup with curry!) What I hate is what comes next. Winter, Feh.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Oh, I adore fall. I've always said it was my favorite season--at least until I'm really sick of winter blahs and can't wait for the first signs of spring... I love the crisp air and being able to do ANYTHING outside without melting into a sweaty mess, and I especially love taking walks with the dogs. I love soups and stews and sweaters and boots and getting out the down comforter, and most of all, the smell of wood smoke in the air and curling up in front of a fire with a good book or a movie. 

LUCY: And ps, if I feel I need a dose of winter, I can always reread Julia’s last book, THROUGH THE EVIL DAYS, or Ragnar Jonasson’s SNOW BLIND—coldest book I’ve ever read. Red friends, how do you feel about fall?

My Favorite Soup

RHYS: The temperature here dropped into the thirties last night, making me think about soup recipes.  One of the few things I like about cold weather is sitting by a fire with a bowl of homemade soup. And this one will surprise you. I grew up hating parsnips. My family would put them around the Sunday roast. Yuck.

But I was staying with a friend when she served this delicious soup. What is it? I asked.

When she said parsnip I nearly fell through the floor.

I make it every winter and it is beyond yummy. So I'm happy to share my friend's recipe with you now.

CURRIED PARSNIP SOUP, AS COOKED BY MY FRIEND PENNY FOUNTAIN.

2 oz butter

1TS oil

1 lb parsnips, cubed

1 clove garlic crushed

1 onion

1 oz flour

1 rounded ts curry powder (I actually add more)

2 pints good stock

salt and pepper

(I actually add a potato to this recipe as it makes for a thicker soup)

to garnish cream or sour cream and chives.

heat butter and oil, add parsnips, garlic and onion. Fry .

Stir in flour, curry powder.

Add stock and seasonings. Bring to boil

Cover and simmer until tender.

Puree. Swirl in cream and sprinkle chives on top.

It's also good if you sprinkle shredded parmesan cheese on top.

If you serve this nobody will ever guess that it's parsnips. It tastes so rich.

Enjoy

Rhys

Craving soup! Hallie's minestrone with chorizo and Thai basil

HALLIE EPHRON: In the cold, a body craves soup. And though Boston's "cold" hasn't held a sputtering candle to the cold you all in the middle of the country have had over the last week or so, I've hauled out my fingerless gloves and cozy shawl and furry slippers, fired up the space heater, and started making soups.

First up, minestrone with white kidney beans and orzo and chorizo. Topped with handfuls of chopped Thai basil. I'd had Thai basil with the Phos we can get at any of our local Vietnamese restaurants.  It turned out to be spicier and even more fragrant than Italian basil, exquisite in this soup.

My "recipe," such as it is, was based on what was in the kitchen.

HALLIE'S MINESTRONE WITH THAI BASIL
(Generously serves 6 for dinner)

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 package (about 3/4 lb) of chorizo (Portuguese sausage - you can find it in the supermarket near the Kielbasa) cut into 1/2" pieces
1 large onion chopped
3 carrots chopped
3 stalks of celery (with the tops) chopped
1 can of large white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 large (~35 ounce) can of peeled WHOLE Italian tomatoes, cut up into pieces, along with whatever juice etc. is in the can with them
About 1/4 cup of uncooked orzo
4 cups of vegetable or beef (or mixed) broth

For topping:
Chopped Thai basil
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Do all the chopping and cutting up beforehand.
2. Over medium heat, sautee the chorizo in a large (~4 qt) pot until it's browned. Remove the chorizo from the pot and set aside. Leave all the brown bits and fat in the pot.
3. Add about 1/2 cup of broth to the hot pan, and as it bubbles, scrape up all the lovely brown bits so they're no longer sticking to the bottom of the pan. 
4. Add chopped onion and carrot and celery to the scraped-up bits and cook until the onions are translucent.
5. Add tomatoes and juices from the tomato can and the rest of the broth to the pot; cook for about 45 minutes.
6. Return the chorizo to the soup along with uncooked orzo and drained kidney beans. Cook until the orzo is just done.
7. If it's too thick, add water.
8. Ladle into bowls and top with chopped Thai basil and grated Parmesan cheese.

Serve with crusty French bread.