Homemade Gumbo in the Freezer is like Money in the Bank!

             This has been a bit of a crappy week.  I have felt horrible: headache, sore throat, weak.  See- sawing between being hot, being cold and both at the same time.  Pretty much like the outdoor temperature,  although today is quite nice. We have had the darkest April on record which may have something to do with the general failure of my seedlings.  Germination and death or germination and stunted growth seems to be the theme.  I may have to scrap starting my plants by seeds this year.  Sure, I will be able to find herbs, coleus, marigolds even an heirloom tomato or two.  Will I be able to find purple okra, red corn, strawberry spinach etc?  I think not.

My pants that I ordered on line did not fit, even though I have ordered the same size from the same company for years.  The morning paper was not on my porch this morning, or anywhere to be seen. I just killed a bee inside my house and now I worry that I have upset the whole ecosystem.  And I just found out that Johnny Depp was just across the street from me and didn't even bother to visit. Really Johnny? 


I am the biggest baby when it comes to feeling poorly.  Everything is so difficult.  Decisions are nearly  impossible to make.  What color socks to wear today?  What should I have for dinner? 


It is great to open the freezer and find a container of homemade soup just waiting for a day like this.  Pop in the fridge in the morning, whip up a quick cornbread in the evening and presto- Bob's your uncle- you have a bowl of cheer. Brilliant! Suddenly the day is not rainy it's a little bit soft.  Well tuck in!   Hmm...maybe I've watched too much BBC this week.  

The soup I had in the freezer was a gumbo with andouille sausage left over from Marti Gras dinner.  The first time we had the soup I also added some left-over chicken.  This time I am having it with the andouille only for me and the addition of shrimp for Bean.   


Gumbo Soup with Andouille Sausage

• 2 links of Andouille sausage
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, green and yellow (sometimes I use all green or green and red)
• 3/4 lb of okra, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
• 15 oz of canned tomatoes, chopped and with juice
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbl creole seasoning ( I made a mix based on Emeril's Essence)
• 1Tbl of Worcestershire sauce 
• vegetable oil - 2T then an additional 1/3 of a cup
• 2/3 cup of flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• green onions, sliced

Heat 2T of oil in the bottom of large heavy saucepan and add the links of andouille sausage to brown about 5 minutes. Remove the sausage and add an additional 1/3 cup of oil and the flour to make the roux.  Creole recipes call for the roux to be cooked until it is the color of peanut butter and Cajun recipes, the color of dark chocolate.  This process takes a while, so you can use the time to cut up the vegetables. Then sit down with a cup of tea.

The word gumbo comes from the West African word for okra, so I always like to include some.  Some people think the texture is too gelatinous, but I've never had a problem with it.  Bell peppers, onion and celery are often referred to as the "holy trinity" of Creole and Cajun cooking.

After 30 minutes the roux went from very pale to peanut butter color very quickly.  I cooked it for an additional ten minutes, but it did not get much darker.  I decided to use it as is and added the vegetables.

The vegetables (minus the tomatoes) and garlic were sauted in the roux for about 10 minutes. Yes I know- it looks weird!  The tomatoes, chicken stock and spices were then added to the pot and the mixture was simmered for about 40 minutes.  The sliced andouille and green onions were added to the mix and cooked for 30 minutes more.  Serve over rice.


If the soup looks too thick at any point, you can add some "water sauce".  I remember a couple of pointers from my Uncle Tony when he made his delicious spaghetti sauce: Always saute the tomato paste and the importance of water sauce if it's too thick. 

A little effort on a day when you are feeling chipper will serve you well on a future day when you are decidedly not.

Mushroom Soup for a Cold March Day

The calendar may say it's spring, but it is still raw and cold even with the sunshine.  For me, March is the month full of cruelty and deception.  I have a bad case of cabin fever though, and since the house no longer feels as warm and cozy as it did during the winter, I decided that I might as well step outside.  The sap is still rising and I wouldn't want to miss that!

In the middle of the city is a 46 acre nature preserve and Bean and I went there for the Maple Syrup Festival.  The first picnic of the year!  Dozens of hardy/foolish people sitting outside in the cold eating pancakes with maple syrup, hot dogs and hot cocoa.

The trees around here are still pretty bleak looking and you must search the ground for  signs of life.

Lichen and moss covered some of the fallen timbers with their gorgeous colors and textures. 

Some of the maples are tapped.  It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. The sap runs clear and must be boiled down to get the beautiful amber color.

 The sap is filtered and heated until about 7 degrees above boiling point.  I wonder if anyone would notice if I put taps on a few trees on my street?  Maybe next year's project!


Bean and I headed home feeling pleasantly tired from all the fresh air.

A great day to make soup- but what kind?  I opened the refrigerator and zoned out a bit. Decisions, decisions - so many options.  You don't need a lot of ingredients to make soup and unless my fridge is completely bare  there is something there to make a tasty soup. I spy a brown bag filled with oyster mushrooms, courtesy of Bean's trip to the Oriental market.  Perfect.  Mushrooms are wonderfully earthy and definitely tie in with our little walk in the woods.

I am keeping the soup pretty simple: fresh oyster mushrooms, a little dried shitake, leeks, beef broth, butter, a splash of port, fresh thyme, salt and pepper. I was really excited by the fresh thyme!  As cold as it is, there is a bit of life in my herb garden.  The chives which are the first herbs to come alive are already six inches high! 




Mushroom Soup

• 4 oz leeks, chopped
• 5 oz oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1/2 oz dried shitake mushrooms
• 2oz (about 2Tbl of port wine)
• 3 Tbl butter
• 3 1/2 cup beef broth
• fresh thyme, salt, pepper

Soak the dried  shitake in 2/3 cup of boiling water for 30 minutes
On low/medium heat, cook the chopped leeks in 1 1/2 Tbl of butter for about 10 minutes until soft, but not browned. Add another 1 1/2 Tbl of butter, a little fresh thyme, the oyster mushrooms and the  shitakes, (but not the soaking water) and let the mixture sweat for an additional 8 minutes. Do not brown. Strain the mushroom soaking water through a coffee filter lined sieve and add to the pot with the beef broth, and port wine.  I wanted the alcohol to cook out, but you can add it at the end if you prefer.  Cook for one hour. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the contents to a blender and Carefully process until smooth, while holding the lid of the blender with a towel.  You might want to do this in two batches and/or wait until the mixture cools a bit. Make the rookie mistake of dumping it in and hitting the button and you just might end up with hot bits in your face and hair and splatters on your cabinet doors.  Just saying.

This recipe is very rich and smooth even though it does not have any cream in it. The recipe is very adaptable as well.  You can use onions instead of the leeks and chicken or vegetable broth instead of the beef broth. The beef broth adds an extra rich, earthy flavor. You can use white wine, sherry, or no wine at all. You can substitute the mushrooms as well; brown mushrooms, button mushrooms, porcini mushrooms... Well you get the picture. It will be a little different each time, but all good. Earthy, rich and comforting.  Since it is full flavored, a little bowl goes a long way 

 I garnished the soup with a goat cheese crouton and a sprig of thyme.

Roasted Beet Soup

Happy Valentine's Day!!


I am a firm believer in enjoying  collective culinary experiences.  I know next to nothing about football, but I am quite happy on Superbowl Sunday  to eat wings, chili, chips and dips. I do take a pass on the beer though.  A taste for which I have never acquired.  So even though my sweetie and I have opted to stay in for dinner, rather than go to a restaurant,  I want our dinner to somewhat reflect  the spirit of the day.  Given a little love, the single lonely and dowdy beet in the fridge was turned into a colorful borscht.  Salmon for the entree will continue the valentine color scheme with a demure pink.  Loaded with omega 3-fatty acids salmon is heart healthy as well. For dessert?  Why chocolates of course.

I am not a cutesy, heart and ruffle kind of gal, but I decided to take a look around the house for hearts.  I was sure to find some in my collection of folk art. 

Graceful twining grape leaves adorn the center of a colorful hooked rug filled with a beautiful design of cottage flowers.  This is one of my Claire Murray rugs which I love.  The black background gives the design a strong modern edge.  The overall look is graphic and vibrant, without looking too sweet and cutesy. 

This cottage flower rug features a cherub carrying a bow and arrow.  Aww... it's cupid!  Okay... maybe this borders on cutesy!

Papercuttings.  The heart in hand motif was popular in many types of folk art symbolizing love, friendship, generosity and truth.  The papercutting on the right also has embossed hearts around it.

This is a reproduction red-ware pedestal dish. The design is a Pennsylvania Dutch sgraffito,  which involves layering colors and scratching away layers to make the design.

This is a fairly large wooden plaque,carved and painted and framed in rustically carved wood.  This piece adorned the door of a millinery shop in my neighborhood.


                                               ~ Peace and Love~

Roasted Beet Soup                                                               

• 1 large beet, roasted and chopped ( for a large beet. roasting will take an hour or more)
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 1/2 of small onion, chopped
• 1/3 of cup of chopped canned tomatoes
• 1clove of garlic, chopped
•  small apple,cored,pared and chopped
• 1Tbl of butter
• 1Tbl of vegetable oil
• 4 cups of beef stock (or chicken or vegetable)
• bay leaf
• thyme
• lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 1 Tbl of prepared horseradish
• sour cream for garnish

Heat butter and oil in pan and add chopped vegetables, apple and a couple of tablespoons of the beef stock.  Stir and cook  with the pot lid on for about 15 minutes, on med/low heat. Shake the pan occasionally, so the vegetables won't stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the rest of the beef stock, a bay leaf, sprinkling of thyme, a little lemon juice and salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the heat and gently simmer for 30 minutes. Add the horseradish and  puree the soup until it is creamy and smooth.  Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with sour cream.  You can change the soup and add whatever vegetables you like: tomatoes, carrots, potatoes etc.

Patti Smith and Lettuce Soup

Patti Smith; Poet, singer- songwriter, author, visual artist and the godmother of punk. She was inspiration for my morning breakfast.


Woke up early on my day off to a gloomy day and the perennial breakfast question - sweet or savory?

I decided that it was a good day to try something different, something a bit off- the-wall. 


Breakfast soup!  A Caesar salad soup if you will, with lettuce, egg, parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil and garlic croutons.  Bean was snug as a bug in bed, so I did not have to justify my odd breakfast fare. My bohemian repast.

It gave me the excuse to practice poaching an egg.  In the past year I have had a sudden re-appreciation of eggs.  It's not that easy to make a pretty poached egg.  I broke the egg so that the yolk would run into the broth.


Now you may be wondering- what possible connection is there between Patti Smith and my soup? During lean financial times lettuce soup was a specialty of hers.  Perhaps she was not acquainted with packages of  ramen noodles.  Those 10 for a dollar noodle packs were the center of many students'  meals when I was in my twenties.


I learned about her lettuce soups and anchovy sandwiches during a reading of her book Just Kids which is a memoir of her friendship with Robert Mapplethorpe. Last February, spurred on by a bit of cabin fever Bean and I attended her reading.  I know pathetically little about rock and roll or punk music.  The only groups whose music I can identify, with any degree of success are the Beatles and Rolling Stones.  Bean on the other hand, can not only identify the group, he can name all the members, the producer of the album, any other groups the musicians were involved in etc. A spew of information that usually makes my eyes water and my brain go numb.

I love biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, compilations of letters and it is for this reason I went to the reading.  I hadn't read her book yet; we were on the library's waiting list. Bean grabbed a book for her to sign, The Melodious Mystic. How apropos!  Surely Ms. Smith would not be offended by our lack of her book.  She read, played the guitar, sang, answered  questions and took pictures of the audience. She looked happy.  She seemed relaxed.

                                                                      

                                                                          

Patti Smith scribbled a drawing which she said was Pinocchio, because she always aspired to write a book that was as good as Pinocchio.                                                                                          

 

Black- Eyed Pea Soup for the New Year

Happy belated New Year! 

Although my soup making efforts were fairly substantial, my blogging was patchy at best! 

I don't remember any food related traditions in my family for New Year's day, although for New Year's Eve I must have Chinese food.  Black -eyed peas and collard greens are a must for my husband to start the New Year. Eating a bowl of black- eyed peas and collard greens insures a year of luck and prosperity.  I was about to write "If that's true, I hate to think of what our life would have been like without the BEPs & CGs of the last few years", when I realized that we have much to be grateful for. 

What will be the first soup of the new year? I sat around in my new cowboy pajamas, perusing my new cookbook on soups and knocking back a glass of pot liquor. My new pj's were a gift from Johnny Depp. Seriously - that's what the card said!  Thanks Johnny!  The cookbook was from my sister Ann. 400 Soups  edited by Ann Sheasby. The book contains a great collection of recipes and lovely photographs.  The pot liquor was courtesy of Bean and his pot of collard greens.  I wanted to use the rest of the fresh peas for soup that would have a flavor profile that was different than the smoky southern flavor of the dish that we made for New Year's Day.  


 The following soup was based on a recipe in 400 Soups.  The changes I made were to accommodate what I already had available in  my fridge and cupboard.  The soup was very satisfying without being heavy.  I poured the soup into a pretty Japanese bowl that Bean gave me.   My favorite way  to eat soup is sitting on the couch watching TV or a movie with a bowl cupped in my hand and for that a smallish Chinese or Japanese bowl is the way to go. A large rimmed bowl just doesn't work.  I learned that the hard way.  Ouch.

 Black-Eyed Peas with Tomato Broth
  Serves 3- 4

• 1 cup of fresh black-eyed peas  (or canned peas)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• fresh chilies, chopped   ( I used 1 red Fresno and 1 Thai chile)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 1/4 cup of crushed tomatoes
• 2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock (or chicken)
• couple of cilantro stems chopped
• cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• juice of 1 small lime (or lemon )

Heat oil in soup pan and add the onion and hot peppers and cook for about 8 minutes until the onions are soft.  Add the cumin and turmeric and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the peas, crushed tomatoes, stock and cilantro stems and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the peas are tender. If canned peas are used they may take less time than the fresh peas. Before serving, stir in the lime or lemon juice and the chopped cilantro.  I added a little chopped chilies on top, for additional heat.

Help! Cucumbers are losing their cute factor!

To paraphrase an old Johnny Cash song;  I sowed some seeds of cucumbers, just to watch them live.  Believe me, those cucumbers are living large.  I cannot believe I lamented the death of a few cucumber plants left in a closed cold frame on the one day that was hot and sunny late spring.  I cannot believe I tried hand pollinating the cucumber flowers with a small paint brush, worried that the bees were not buzzing and the flowers were not setting.  I cannot believe that I worried that the four foot trellis I made for the cucumbers was a little on the ugly side, since it was completely covered by the vines in two weeks flat.

Every year Bean and I grow a couple of different  vegetable plants just to learn a little bit about the plant.  We want to feel a connection to the plants.  We want to know about the growth patterns, the shape and smell of the leaves, how the blossoms develop into the vegetables. We want to know how long the vegetables need to grow before we can pick them. We grew corn a couple of summers, not because we are naive enough to think a couple of corn plants would fill our corn needs, but because I had never had an up close personal encounter with a corn plant.

So this summer, I planted cucumber seeds.  Not just any cucumber, but an heirloom lemon cucumber.  Triple bonus.  A plant I have never grown and a vegetable I have never seen or eaten.  "Oh look, they are so cute"! soon turned into " Oh God, not more"!! The plants mocked me.  I would pick every cucumber I could see, only to glimpse the bright yellow orbs from my kitchen window five minutes later.

This summer has been very hot and humid.  Whereas I have not been such a big fan of this summer's weather; the cucumbers seemed ecstatic.
                                              

                 Every day baskets and bowls full of cukes.     

             

I have made a couple of discoveries this summer.  Firstly; it is possible for our little city garden to produce all the cucumbers we could possibly need or want.  Yeah!! Woohoo!! Good job!  Secondly; I don't really like cucumbers that much.  A cucumber thrown into a gazpacho - nice.  Tzatziki - Yum.  Thai pickled cucumbers - adore.  

But, what to do with all the rest?

        I have made numerous cold soups.
        Some I have liked.  Some were just so so.

         I have pickled them. No major prairie woman pickling 
         productions, but a couple of jars at a time for the refrigerator.
           Okay, I'll admit it - I am not brave enough yet for full scale  
         canning.                                     

                                 The gentleman fixing our porch left with a check and bag of cukes.                                           

               I have added slices of cucumbers in water with herbs to
            take the edge off of a hot humid day.

 I have treated myself to some at home spa treatments.







 I have even pretended that cucumbers are not cucumbers and

         made cucumber crisp for dessert.  I don't know-
Scott Conant, do you think that's  irresponsible?


Bye for now!  I think I am going to learn how to juggle.
(I must remember to clean the spines off the cukes first.)

Urban Farming and Foraging

Urban chicken farming.  Backyard chickens.  There has been a lot of buzz the last couple of years about raising chickens in a city environment.  To the surprise of many, it is legal in our city.  Bean and I had discussed getting a couple of chickens  last summer and researched it a bit.  Bean has been communicating with a few chicken owners to find out what we would need.  

Bean set up a couple of visits to fellow city dwellers' chicken coops.  So armed with a bag of freshly made pear ginger scones we went visiting.

                                                     

  

I was very impressed with their set up. The coops were clean, neat and odor free. This is especially important in an urban environment. They have one rooster, a Plymouth rock rooster, that just showed up in their backyard and four hens of two different breeds.  I don't remember the breeds of the hens. So much for taking a notebook with me to take notes! Just like dogs or cats, different chicken breeds have their own personality and characteristics. The photo of the hen above is of a breed that is cold hardy, sweet tempered and quiet.  The other two hens are of a different breed and have a tendency to be more vocal according to the owners.  The chickens' wings are not clipped, but it seems that they have not had any problems with them roaming outside their yard. The owners let the chickens run around the yard for daily exercise. In other words, the chickens seemed to be well cared for pets. Their garden was lovely with flowers, herbs and vegetables growing and did not seem to be suffering at all with the chickens running around it.  The chickens were surprisingly calm and quiet.  

Bean and I will continue our research to decide if it is a feasible venture for our backyard.  I just love the fact that people around the city are looking at  their living spaces and seeing a variety of possibilities  that extend beyond the normal expectations of city living.  When Bean and I went on our neighborhood garden walk, we saw more people growing vegetables, composting, and collecting rain water than in previous years.  One backyard even had a very busy beehive.   

At our house we compost some of our garden waste and most of our kitchen scraps.  We have a cheap and easy worm composting system set up that is basically a big plastic bin with a cover and holes drilled in the top and side for air circulation.  Harvesting the worm castings is a bit trickier than in the expensive worm composters that you can buy, but it is definitely doable.  Worm castings = black gold for your garden and houseplants.  Amazingly, there really aren't any bad odors once the worm farm becomes established which doesn't take long.  Bean chops the scraps in the food processor which helps everything get processed faster.  He is the main worm farmer in the house.

I love our little garden, even though right now it is a bit of a mess.  There is a lot of deadheading and weeding to be done.  The weather has been horrible - 3 showers a day kind of horrible.  It's been difficult for me to muster up the energy in the last couple of weeks to work much in the yard.  I am such a baby.  Most of the plants on the other hand, seem to be loving it.  The cucumber plants have gone crazy, wild.   This is the first year I have grown cucumbers.  I am growing lemon cucumbers which outgrew the the 4 foot trellis I made for them two weeks after they were planted!  

Yesterday on my day off from work I did a bit of weeding which led me to my decision on what soup to make for lunch. Cold purslane  and cucumber soup!  I decided to finally engage in a little urban foraging!  Three years ago I was at a farmers' market and I spied bags of green that looked suspiciously familiar.  " This looks just like the weeds I am always pulling out of my garden in the middle of the summer."  "It's purslane," said the woman at the booth.  In the last three years I keep running into  purslane; in my garden,in books, on TV, on the net, in the cracks on the sidewalk.  It's a favorite vegetable of Gandhi I read. Henry David Thoreau enjoyed it stir fried as a side dish.  Chock full of vitamins and minerals.  Loaded with Omega 3 fatty acids.  I watched a Mediterranean cooking show where they gathered purslane and other plants for a frittata with wild greens.    Eat it raw, cook it, pickle it....

I decided that it was time to join the purslane party.                                                                                                            

              

Lunch was cold purslane cucumber soup with a delicious chicken curry salad made by Bean.  The soup was made of raw ingredients, nothing was cooked.  The purslane was tart and lemony.  Unfortunately I was a little heavy handed with the onion.  C'est la vie! There will be another day, another soup and plenty of purslane for the picking!