Herbed Potato Soup

We eat a lot of soup around here, and no complaints :)

I've found that especially after a long work week, though I love special dishes for certain dinners, there's nothing quite as satisfying...and simple...as soup and some great snuggling with my hubby. It's a great slow AND fast food, and can be tweaked to what's on hand in the kitchen fairly easily. Couch time on the fly equals a date, to us, so I made us some comfort food and we caught a bit of Good Neighbors and Foyle's War (thank you, inter-library DVD loans). Soup's one of our favorite easy eats...this one featured the potato, and was easy.

I don't have a regular blender or food processor, but do have an immersion blender (those stick blenders you can make smoothies with right in the container). If someone has none of those, a handheld potato masher would do the trick pretty well, too, but the potatoes would have to be peeled ones only or you'll have big pieces of skin in there.

This is just a basic potato soup, very unscientific as to proportions of this and that. I like the combination of flavors rich with basil. Ingredients can be adjusted to include ones that are on hand, and bits of this and that. Here's what went into mine this weekend...

Rich Basil Potato Soup (ha, it's just potato soup with basil and some spices)

Several white or yellow potatoes (6-10) depending on size and preference, scrubbed and cubed (mine are unpeeled)
Several carrots, chopped
Several celery ribs and tops, chopped
Onion, chopped
One red sweet pepper, chopped
Large can chicken stock

Spices:
Dried or fresh basil, lots
Garlic powder
Parsley
Pepper and Salt
Cayenne
Dash of oregano
Few dashes hot sauce

Add later:
Several dabs of real butter
Whole milk

Cook all ingredients together, covered, in heavy soup pot, except spices and milk and butter, till all veggies are tender. Add a little water if there's not enough liquid just to cover. Stir to make sure nothing sticks.

When all is cooked tender, put stick blender down in pot and blend ingredients till desired consistency...I like it almost, but not all liquified. Turn down heat to low setting, and stir in butter and enough milk to thin soup to consistency you desire (I'm generous with the milk).

Add spices, adjusting to your own taste. I prefer a lot of garlic and basil and enough cayenne to warm the tastebuds. Heat a while longer, stirring frequently, then serve. This does even better after cooled and refrigerated overnight to allow flavors to mingle.
I like to serve this in bowls very hot with some shredded cheese added to each bowl just when serving, or with hot cheese toast.

This is a keeper now...we liked this well enough to have it added to the Tried 'n True category, mmm :)

For further experimentation, I'm thinking of making this with the same ingredients next time, omitting the basil and oregano, and adding chopped spinach and parmesan.

Update: Did the spinach number with the next batch, and froze some...we'll see how well it stands up to freezing. It was good but not as good as plain potato-cheese soup or the basil version above.

Good ol' potatoes...the poor man's riches! :)

Cook Like a Peasant...

...eat like a king!!

I did it...I finally after 42 years learned how to make a decent pot of slow-cooked beans...the deep, rich, savory sort that tastes good no matter how many days you eat it. Or at least that's how I feel about it right now, yay!

I've made some awful beans in my day, so I've been making a real effort to improve things. I made some bangup red beans the other day I wasn't sure I could top, and I'm doing it from scratch, from dried beans. To others, this was a skill they probably learned at age 3, but for me, I usually only bought beans in the can, for chili and such, only occasionally. Cow peas such as pink-eye purple hull were our substitute growing up, and you'll hear no complaints from me about them.

This weekend I made a big ol' pot of slowcooked pintos...the world's simplest meal. And I made cornbread (salty buttery crisp southern cornbread, not the sweet cakey stuff), kale, and roasted a caribbean pumpkin/winter squash. Yep, that's them shown in the pic above (except for the kale), all crumbled up together and steaming hot. I won't make the cover of Gourmet, for sure, but there's nothing else I want right now. It's homespun and messy and perfectly simple...sometimes more is just more.

It's a little nippy outside just now, wonder of wonders. And I just simply don't remember peasant food ever tasting so good.

Here's what we washed it down with...kombucha decanted into recycled wine bottles. Sweet and slightly bubbly and semi-sour in a dry cidery way, mmmm!

I know better than to think I'll ever be a vegetarian, but this meal makes me sooooo happy I don't even think about eating meat.

Love your beans, your cornbread, your roasted winter squash? I raise my 3 week vintage kombucha and toast you! (the temps here in my neck of Florida are for once dipping down into the 30s...a rare treat...I believe I'm giddy on remembrances of Real Winters Past, ha!)

Slainte!

:)

P.S. I've been lazing around today, ignoring the stack of dishes remaining from my cooking frenzy of two days ago. I really truly will be answering emails and comments soon. As soon as I finish my second Cary Grant movie...this one with Ingrid Bergman. Ah, I love home!

Peasant Foods Revisited: Colcannon

I have Scots-Irish somewhere way back in the nether regions of my family tree. And it must be said I do love a good potato.

Which love, it must further be said, requires restraint if one does not want to eventually RESEMBLE a good potato...heehee! (Er, ok, well let's not go there just now...) ;-)

I even want to have a small white or buff donkey someday, named Tater. (But we won't eat HIM...)

It seems that through the years, despite the pickiest of palates, the potato has been a frequent family table favorite, in nearly any form. I was not raised eating potatoes, since my mother was always on some version of a Weight Watchers or other diet, and therefore our starches were nearly nonexistent. This, likely, raised the potato to an even higher state of desirability in my sister's and my eyes...the only time potatoes turned up were at holidays or special occasions, most usually in the form of escalloped "Scalloped" potatoes...a "company" dish.

Fast forward to the present. I've now had many years of practice cooking the lovely potato in its other forms. And despite all pretences of fancy-ing it up, the favorites are usually the simplest...some type of variation on the theme of The Otherwise Hard To Goof Up Cooked Potato. Little new potatoes boiled and sprinkled with parsley, chives, green onions, you name your favorite, and a couple grinds of salt. Easy, and delicious served next to any green veggie. Boiled potatoes, sliced and served with nothing but salt and pepper. Delicious! Potatoes creamed or made into a soup or soup base. Pan fried potato strips, seasoned and crusty. Potato wedges baked with herbs. The topping for a shepherds pie. An accompaniment for savory meats, gravies, sauces. The star of an all-vegetable meal, nestled with fresh green beans, fresh sliced tomatoes, green onions, etc. The possibilities are endless, and besides being good eating, the potato is.....er.....CHEAP.

I make a mean mashed potato. I usually use the cheapest potatoes, which in this area seem to be white Idaho potatoes (yes, I know, not local...I'll get there someday...when raising my OWN :)). Or if we're getting really fancy, I'll spring for the lucious Yukon Golds...yum! I have it down pat my own quickie system for mashed potatoes....peel, rinse, slice once down the middle horizontally then back again vertically along the length of the potatoe into 1 or 2 inch cubes...boil in a relatively small amount of salted water till soft but not mushy, drain, and mash with a masher. Then add whichever combination of these suits the moment and the meal...whole milk or cream, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt, fresh grated cheese, pan roasted garlic, chives or other herbs, fresh pepper. Usually we do the milk/cream cheese/butter/S&P sort, or the milk/butter/garlic/sour cream/grated cheese one.

Or we bake a potato and eat it sans fat with a grind of salt and pepper.

Or oven roasted, with a dash of olive oil, liberal amounts of garlic and onion, and some chunked root vegetables...yum!

In my searching for variations on the potato theme and our Peasant Foods endeavor, I ran across a recipe I've always wanted to try, from Across The Pond...Colcannon. There were a few variations on it, but essentially it is a simple and hearty dish of potatoes mashed with either cooked curly kale or cabbage... the addition of leeks, scallions, chives, parsley varying with the particular recipe. Essentially this is a dish of mashed potatoes and the cook's choice of kale or cabbage, despite the variations, so I made a basic recipe of my own mashed potatoes and added boiled and lightly pureed kale.

Most recipes call for stripping the kale leaves from their stems, but my kale was storebought in the organic section already chopped with the stems still on. I had no leeks or scallions, and substituted dried parsley and chives.

Roughly, the recipe is something like this:


Colcannon (adapted from a variety of recipes found doing Google searches)

1. Make a pot of boiled potato chunks, cooked, drained of cooking liquid, and mashed till a thick dense mash, not runny. Season well with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a bit of milk or cream (just a bit, not a large quantity) and add your choice of scallions, chives, parsley, leeks...heat till they are tender. Then stir this into the potatoes.

3. While boiling the potatoes (above), in a separate large pot put 2 or 3 inches of water and either de-stalked and shredded curly kale or shredded/thinly-sliced cabbage (minus the core). Lightly salt this in the pot so it will cook down quickly. Cover with a lid, and heat to boiling, and then immediately reduce the heat till it is still simmering briskly. It doesnt take that long to cook down...it's done when the vegetable is tender but not lifeless. Drain off liquid. And explain to passersby that you don't have intestinal distress...it's just the smell of greens cooking ;-)

4. It's your choice whether or not to process the kale/cabbage into a puree or not, or whether to leave as is before mashing it into the mashed potatoes. I tried pulsing the drained kale with a stick blender, which didnt work that well without liquid but still got it a lot smaller. You could use a blender or food processor to the consistency you desire.

5. Add the kale/cabbage to the mashed potatoes, and season with additional salt and pepper to taste. If too chunky, add a bit of additional cream/milk, but NOT till runny. You want a thick, dense mash.

6. Serve steaming hot, alone or as a side dish, each serving scooped onto plate or bowl. Make a well in the center of each serving, with a spoon, and plop a chunk of butter there to melt. This was traditionally eaten by dipping bites of the potato mixture into the melted butter with each bite.

I tried this tonight, and mine was too runny due to my exuberance with too much milk. Even so, my husband really loved it, and I served it with portions of breaded cod oven cooked till crisp on the outside and flaky on the inside. The greens add vital nutrients and flavor, and green up the potato mash to a vibrant color that's a nice change from white. It would also be delicious served with grilled kosher sausage.

A close kin to Colcannon is another heritage tradition called Stamppot. A Google search will render countless fun links to great recipes of these and similar dishes.

Bon Appetit!

Photo link http://glospolski.eu/photos/photo_1632_1.jpg

Pleasant Peasant Fare: Oatmeal

This may not sound like the most exciting subject, but I've given a lot of thought lately to the simplicity of mealtime enjoyed by a majority worldwide, or in past history. My grandparents were Depression era folks, the two sets a contrast to the other. My paternal grandparents had a more plentiful larder due to the nature of Granddaddy's profession, and my maternal grandparents were more limited in their means and so would "stretch" foods and utilize what was less expensive and readily available. Both had access to seasonal gardens, and would supplement their meals, in season, with fresh and cooked produce.

At my maternal grandparents' table, we were satisfied with simpler foods...in an age when processed foods were only just beginning to storm the supermarkets. Grandma was used to cooking everything herself, and there weren't many available places to "eat out" in their small town..."eating out" was more of a novelty, and the thrill was more in the change of surroundings rather than in an appreciable difference of foods.

I admire the thriftiness of my grandparents, though to them it was not as much a choice as it was a necessity.

In my maternal grandma's kitchen, I only remember how they cooked in their older years, after they'd retired from the North and moved down South to retire on 40 acres in the country. it was not a glamorous retirement...they bought cheap land with a tiny and run-down existing house and rusty tractor. It was what they could afford, and retirement didn't mean Working Less, but rather meant working at what they preferred...gardening, quiet in the country, and my grandfather's woodworking. Because of their ages, they chose not to raise animals...they had done that in their younger years before the Depression took them to Chicago. They'd simplified things to what worked the best for them at the time, and my memories of them in this country setting were the only ones I have of them.

They were early risers, always up with the sun, or sometimes before. Weather permitting, they'd have their breakfasts together on the back porch...not a big Victorian wrap around porch with porch swing and clapboard siding, but a tiny concrete slab back porch under the overhanging roof nestled next to an amazing huge oak tree. Along the porch were folded aluminum and plastic mesh lawn chairs, and they'd unfold a couple and sit there, quietly talking, while enjoying their breakfasts.

Grandma always made breakfast...in fact, I don't remember Grandpa ever making any sort of meal. It was always a really reallly simple breakfast, too...she would toast two pieces of storebought whole wheat bread (whatever was on sale), and separately over the stove would crack two eggs into a skillet, lightly salt and pepper them, and leave them to cook "sunny side up" till the whites were firm but the yolks were not completely set...the middles were still partially runny. Since my family ate mostly scrambled eggs, the thought of anyone eating runny-yolked eggs seemed really digusting at the time. When Grandma's two eggs were cooked, she would place each of them onto one of the pieces of whole wheat toast, served separately on a small plate, and take them outside for breakfast with Grandpa... one for her and one for him.

And accompanied by truly BAD instant coffee, likely decaf Sanka. I have no nostalgia for that coffee other than watching my grandparents drink it :)

When my sister and I would come to visit, Grandma always fixed us something a little different, but of course quick and inexpensive. It usually took the form of oatmeal, though sometimes we'd get a treat of Cream of Wheat. Whatever type of oatmeal it was, it was from the Quaker Oats cardboard cylindrical container. After salting the boiling cooking water, she cooked it for about 15 minutes and served it up hot at the kitchen table, with butter and with the sugarbowl nearby. We'd dilute it with a few splashes of milk, and eat it accompanied with a tall glass of milk, IF the milk were store bought. If the milk were not storebought, it meant that the only milk available was the kind Grandma had mixed up from the box of dried milk flakes and kept in the fridge in a closed Mason jar...watery and tasteless, and, to our taste buds, simply awful! Since she and Grandpa seldom ever drank milk, she probably used it mostly for cooking, because dried milk powder was easy to store and was very inexpensive.


In simplifying our lives, we've begun simplifying our grocery list, and are trying to simplify our spoiled American appetites a bit in the process. I'll be mentioning a few of the things that are reappearing, or appearing at our table for the first time, as we continue this journey.

One of the first comebacks has been Oatmeal. A porridge grain for a great many years worldwide, a hot bowl of oatmeal definately is filling and warming, and making it from scratch is hardly more time consuming than making its spinoff cousin, the "Instant Oatmeal packet." Since we're staying away both from microwave cooking and from processed foods, I just boil a bit of water, add a bit of salt, and then boil the oatmeal. Any sort of sweetner works well...I alternate between a splash of maple syrup, a sprinkling of brown sugar, etc. One of our favorites is the addition of dried fruit, or fresh, and even nuts. When added to the boiling water before adding the oatmeal to the cooking pot, they plump up nicely. Today's oatmeal featured the addition of dried cranberries and a few almonds. A splash of whole milk or cream, and a small pat of butter planted in the middle of each bowl of oatmeal rounds the whole thing out.

We don't have oatmeal every morning for breakfast. But we do have it quite often, at least several times a week. It's satisfying enough to keep us going often well past lunchtime or longer without any thoughts of hunger or cravings. It also is a great fiber for the digestive system, and has other health benefits. Meaning eating oatmeal with regularity results in eating oatmeal with Regularity...if you get my drift, ha!

It is very inexpensive, and I'm guessing costs only pennies for a serving.

So welcome the return of porridge to our table...pleasant "peasant" fare! And some great memories of sitting in the wintertime in my Grandma's warm kitchen, with the windows all fogged over.





Photo link: http://www.quakeroatmeal.com/qo_managingWeight/adults/quakerWeightControlPlan/intro/images/IMgOat.jpg