I squeeze lemon on everything and anything. Try squeezing it liberally on to any soup you like to get that fresh zing. If you add the juice into the cooking, however, it becomes bitter. Also, I'm not a huge tomato fan except when they are garden-grown. Here is a nice, light, fresh tomato and basil soup that is also good hot or cold: 5 organic tomatoes peeled and seeded 1 medium onion diced (1.5 cups) 1 leek, white part only, chopped 6 garlic cloves, peeled half-teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary 1 cup water half-cup tomato puree half-cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves Put the first 4 ingredients in a wide fry pan or sauce pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the basil and cook for 15 minutes. Add the basil and cook just 2 minutes more. Puree the mixture. If serving hot, reheat the mixture in a saucepan. This recipe is one from Canyon Ranch; and is the creation of Chef Jean-Francois Meteigner of La Cachette restaurant in Los Angeles.
One last contribution - (can you tell I'm avoiding the Coup?) Please let me know which recipe you enjoyed most. This is your tomato request, but with lime; and can be served cold or hot. Mexican Tomato Lime Soup 3 garlic cloves minced or pressed 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 6 cups tomato juice (46 oz. can) 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce to taste ~~~ 2 cups coarsely crushed tortilla chips 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cilantro leaves, whole or chopped Saute the garlic and cumin in oil for a minute. Stir in tomato juice, tomatoes, lime juice and cilantro. Let it all simmer for a few minutes. Add hot sauce to taste. Place some chips in the bottom of your soup bowls, ladle the soup over, and top with cheese and cilantro. Or - if serving cold: Omit the chips and cheese. Chill the soup, and top with avocado.
Both recipes sound good; I think this one will be the first I try...we have a pile of fresh tomatoes right now! They are really rolling in from the garden, daily....!!!!!! I may also try making some spaghetti sauce.
I'm jelly. We have a short growing season that makes growing food tricky. Everything that does manage to thrive and produce just becomes bear food.
This summer wasn't supposed to be this good for our garden. We started out well, but fell behind with the weeding when my spouse was hospitalized. However, with all the rain we've been having, the weeds seem to have saved the vegetables from being washed out--and we have not had to lug as much water as we feared we would. In fact, this is the first summer since the tomato blight that our tomato plants have produced the way they used to. I pushed for us to mostly grow disease resistant varieties of things this year, though, and IMO that has helped a lot in the extreme heat and humidity. I also think one of the other gardeners sprayed our beans with a "preventive substance" while my spouse was in the hospital--we usually only use diatomaceous earth, which has its limits. Usually we have bean beetles by now, but no sign of them. The other gardeners at the township garden helped us out for awhile there, but no one was able to save one pepper plant that was overcome by some amaranth that I planted. I planted some reddish pole beans that are supposed to do better in colder areas than most pole beans called "cranberry beans" and my spouse reports they are forming up too though...and I may have enough Malabar spinach soon to try some.... What general area do you live in? Believe me, in the summer it pays to be in a cooler region. My theory on our wildlife around here is that they can have some of our produce, but they may have to return the favor if we ever have a famine.
I live in the Sierra Nevadas - at an altitude of between 6500 and 7000 feet. Aside from the short season and poor soil, the pines cast shadows that move across the ground, so it is difficult to get full sun. I have a successful garden of different varieties of mint, oregano and thyme. Dandelions, of course, will thrive. Raspberries can do well, but they attract bears. This is what I don't have to cultivate, as it grows wild all around me: https://honest-food.net/berries-of-the-sierra/ Once, I figured any produce that could grow in the Andes could grow here, so I ordered fingerling potatoes and a number of other types of beans and root vegetables imported from Peru. My husband who grew up on a farm, and I spent the season nurturing them. One advantage of altitude is we don't have the abundance of insects and molds -- the potatoes, in particular, were looking really promising. Then one morning we found the container overturned, the soil scattered, and every potato was gone. We had to finally cut down our old pear tree - which produced bushels of very sweet pears, because it had been so repeatedly mangled by the bears. You don't want to attract bears, they will enter the house when they are done with the yard. I did collect about 10 yard bags of pinecones, though. And I have some magnificent puffball mushrooms growing under the maple tree.
Mom used to make a simple comfort food. Very simple. Hamburger, onions, salt, pepper, and water. Once cooked to be poured over mashed potatoes. I have tried to improve the original but to no avail.
Yes; I've been looking at small patches of land here and there...most of what is left is well-occupied by native wildlife. Around here it is mainly deer, but also woodchucks, raccoons, chipmunks, and squirrels...and Lyme disease is a real hazard for gardeners in the township patches we grow our vegetables in, as the deer come in from the wooded hillside and creek front nearby. The gardener in the patch next to ours was bitten by a deer tick carrying Lyme just a few weeks ago. I usually spray myself with repellent before doing anything in there. There are all sorts of methods to try to ward off deer, but I personally would not want to have to deal with a bear. I did buy some bear spray, though, to take with me on my land explorations in bear country. Supposedly in the right conditions you can spray about 30 feet, but it's only for life-and-death situations to try to ward off a direct bear attack. My two little acres on a hillside in a nearby, rural county is fully occupied with deer, who eat all the excess brush off every winter. I had thought to grow a few things there, but except for a few woodland perennials I doubt I could get much new established with the deer eating everything up. They were there first, though, so I have decided to work with rather than against them. I used to have relatives in Canada that had an apple tree on their property that bears would travel to. Also, a locksmith in NH that once rescued me when I locked myself out of my car lived in town in a small trailer with a berry patch next to it, and a bear would even come there when the berries were ripe. Every so often in the early morning he would be jolted by the view of the bear right near his front door eating berries...right in the middle of the small town. Once bears associate humans with food they become dangerous... they're so very strong, and some have learned to hate humans, unfortunately. Also, they are always hungry because they are such large and energetic animals, and they are voracious and eat so much--not just a little nibble here and there, but total consumption. And their sense of smell makes it hard to hide food from them. One thing you could try if they will grow for you is to border a garden plot with hot pepper plants. ..or there might be some local plants that would be just as effective as a repellent? I suppose nothing will deter a really hungry bear, though. Hot pepper plants do seem to discourage deer, once they try to taste them. ps Do bears eat mushrooms?
I looked on the internet for your broth cubes...Walmart was listed as carrying them but was "out of stock". However, I will not give up...I will haunt every vendor and health food store in my area until someone stocks them. It's really a circular problem--until veggie cubes are widely available, people won't get them, and stores won't stock them until they have a track record of people buying them.... Some of my favorite products down through the years have been discontinued, apparently for this reason: Aunt Jemima buckwheat pancakes, Entenman's walnut coffee cake ring, and Crosse and Blackwell's Plum Pudding. Our family used to have the plum pudding on New Year's Eve with hard sauce; my Dad would pour on a little brandy and light it up with a blue flame...very pretty and tasty. I really miss it.
Yes; the simpler the recipe the better, sometimes, and the mashed potato part is very quick if you use instant potatoes, as I usually do. I love onions; will have to give this a try. Did she cook it like a soup, or in a fry pan? Another really simple one I have mentioned somewhere before is my mother-in law's Tomato Gravy, which is served on toast. All you do is place a couple of tablespoons of good tasting bacon fat in a fry pan and then add and cook down a couple of loosely cut up tomatoes (preferably peeled, although I sometimes skip that), then add flour mixed with cold water and cook to thicken, adding more water as necessary. I usually use about a third cup of flour and take the fry pan off the burner until I get it well mixed, to avoid lumps. Add pepper to taste (lots and freshly ground is how I like it) and serve hot on toast.
Can be done in a frying pan. Yes, simple is often better. I will try your tomato gravy, sounds great. Not sure if we had instant potatoes then but if we did, I am sure mom would have used them. One of my quick favorites is smothered chicken. A roasted chicken from the grocery store, instant potatoes, and a can of chicken gravy. The fancier gravy jars are no better and the cheaper gravy mixes are just as good and much cheaper. Mashed potatoes topped with chicken and smothered in gravy. A roasted chicken is good for about three meals. So buy three gravy mixes and instant potatoes. Serving one each.
Sounds great. When we finish up the non-barbecued ribs we cooked in our Dutch Oven, I think this may be my next main dinner plan.... I have found barbecue sauce is almost as good on ribs if you slather it on right before you reheat them in the micro... Also, tuna casserole is almost as good if you just boil the noodles and heat up the tuna in a separate saucepan. I like to throw in a half stick of butter and a small can of mushrooms with the tuna, and then just mix everything together in the pasta pan after I drain the pasta. If you like it creamier, just throw in a condensed can of cream soup of your favorite flavor with the tuna as it is heating up. I admit I am branching out a bit now, but for years my favorite cookbook was The I Hate to Cook Cookbook by Peg Bracken, not because I really hate it but because I was just not that good at it, and the recipes were really simple.
Robert. He posts as RobertD at the Pravda forum, which is how I know him. He's from Canada and is one of the many woowoos who love all things Russia and hate all things USA.
Beef soup. 1.5 +/- lbs beef short ribs. 1 onion, 4 celery stalks, 3 or 4 carrots (do not peel), spices to taste...(rosemary, oregano, tarragon, etc. etc.) A HUGE pot of water!!! NO SALT!!! Boil, simmer and skim when needed for at least 4 hours. Sieve and you have beef broth. Important...Salt your own bowl.
As a follow-up on the veggie cube issue, I finally checked out Amazon and found Kitchen Basics veggie cubes on there--only one offer available, for a container of six jars --so I went ahead and ordered it. I think I am going to embark upon a quest to learn more about veggie cubes. I also went ahead and ordered a commemorative I Hate to Cook Cookbook by Peg Bracken that came out on the 50th anniversary of her book. I spotted it the other day when I first mentioned it inhere. I am hoping that it will include all three volumes of the books she eventually wrote on the topic of simple, quick, and easy recipes. I also have Julia Child's cookbook on French cooking somewhere, but I am definitely not ready for that yet! This sounds a lot like how I make beef stew, except that I also add bay leaves, as my Mom did, and usually use stew meat or beef hocks. What happens if you peel the carrots? Why beef short ribs? Because of the bones?
just chicken soap and celery and add matzo balls SOUP 1 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil $0.04 2 cloves garlic $0.16 1 yellow onion $0.37 3 carrots $0.32 3 stalks celery $0.56 1 chicken breast (about 3/4 lb.)* $1.33 6 cups chicken broth** $0.76 2 cups water $0.00 Freshly cracked pepper $0.05 Few sprigs fresh dill $1.19 MATZO BALLS 3 large eggs $1.13 3 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil $0.12 3/4 cup matzo meal $0.80 1 tsp salt $0.05 1/2 tsp baking powder $0.02 Freshly cracked pepper $0.02 3 Tbsp water $0.00 INSTRUCTIONS Mince the garlic and dice the onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté the garlic, onion, celery, and carrots with the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent (about five minutes). Add the chicken breast, chicken broth, 2 cups water, some freshly cracked pepper, and one or two sprigs of dill to the pot. Place a lid on the pot and let it come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 30 minutes. While the soup is simmering, mix the matzo ball dough. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and vegetable oil. Add the matzo meal, salt, baking powder, and a little freshly cracked pepper to the eggs and oil. Stir until well combined. Finally, add 3 Tbsp water and stir until smooth again. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes to allow the matzo meal time to absorb the moisture. After the chicken soup has simmered, carefully remove the chicken breast and shred it with a fork. Return the shredded chicken to the soup. Taste the broth and adjust the salt if needed. Once the matzo ball mix has refrigerated and stiffened up, begin to form it into ping pong sized balls. Drop the balls into the simmering soup as they are formed, returning the lid to the pot after each one. Once all the matzo balls are in the soup, let them simmer for 20 minutes without removing the lid. Make sure the soup is gently simmering the entire time. Add a couple sprigs of fresh dill just before serving.
I will have to check that out; I usually add Dumplings to my stewed chicken: STEWED CHICKEN WITH DUMPLINGS I have found that a large Dutch oven works well for this, but a large cookpot with a good cover is also OK. Fill the cookpot at least half full with clean cold water and heat it up on High (or add hot water from a teapot to a Dutch oven later after starting the chicken) Put the equivalent of at least one to one and a half whole cut up chicken into the pot. It's OK to use your favorite parts of a chicken and exclude the backs, etc if you don't plan to debone. I usually leave the skin on mine for flavor and prefer dark meat, as it is more tender. Chop up celery and carrots in whatever size you like and add that to the simmering chicken. You can then add cut up peeled potatoes as well (rice or noodles could also be added). I like onion in this as well but my spouse does not like onion so I usually do without that. Allow all to simmer gently for several hours, stirring occasionally and adding enough water to keep it liquid and to prevent catching. Add lots of pepper (and any other seasonings you wish; I find it more soothing to keep it simple). When the chicken is done and the vegetables are as soft as you like them, mix dumplings according to directions on Bisquick package, but add an egg or two to the ingredients. This is basically two cups of Bisquick, about a cup of milk, and an egg. Mix gently and then drop by spoonfulls onto the simmering chicken stew; cook uncovered for ten minutes and then covered for ten minutes more. The dumplings will stay on the top because they float as they rise. As you serve the stew include a dumpling or two for each person. This is much better if you put butter or Olivio on the served dumplings. You could use self rising flour or regular flour for the dumplings but IMO using the Bisquick saves enough time to make it worth using, as you don't have to add baking powder and it already has shortening in it. Leftover dumplings can be saved and reheated in a micro along with the chicken stew if they are added last when the stew is almost hot enough. Cover with a piece of wet paper towel.
Pumpkin soup INGREDIENTS 1 tbsp butter 1 onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1kg peeled pumpkin, diced 1 large potato, peeled, diced 1L chicken stock or vegetable stock 1/2 cup (125ml) thin cream Select all ingredients METHOD Step 1 Heat butter in a large saucepan over low heat, add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add garlic and spices and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add pumpkin, potato and stock and bring to the boil. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then blend in batches. Step 2 Return soup to pan, stir through cream and reheat gently. Season and add a little more nutmeg if desired. Delicious and very filling.
Short ribs are just one option however you could just use just bones but for me they make it a bit less rich. For stew, I use either stew meat (pre packaged) or boneless chuck cut up into 1 inch squares. I season the meat, then dredge in flour, then brown it in olive oil. Cut up carrots, onion, garlic celery and sautee for a short time. combine meat, veggies and spices along with about 4 cups of beef broth. Add potatoes. Cook for about 1 hour.
This looks tasty. When pumpkin season rolls round again I'll have to try it out! I also love the vegetable puree soups Indians make which use cardamom as one of the spices, but so far have not located a recipe which duplicates any of them.
