Chicken Corn Soup with Rivels and Saffron: in Praise of Pennsylvania Dutch Saffron

Chicken corn soup: one of my favourite soups! Always delicious and warming, a cup of chicken corn soup makes me happy! 

This is one of those quick-to-make recipes. The broth is a low salt store-bought variety, however, you can always make your own! If you can find fresh corn, use it. Save the cobs and let them cook in the broth, then remove them before serving. 

Crocus sativus growing somewhere in Pennsylvania's yellow belt!

The soup contains a pinch of saffron. Did you know there is saffron harvested in Pensylvania Dutch country?

"Saffron Gatherers" found at Akrotiri, island of Thera, Greece. 

Indeed, saffron is an ancient crop. The fresco above depicts the "Saffron Gatherers," (circa 1600-1500 BCE) and was found at Akrotiri, Greece. 

The Pennsylvania Dutch began to cultivate saffron during the 18th century from crocus bulbs they received via Spanish traders who frequented Philadelphia. It turned out that the soil and climate of Pennsylvania were perfect for this crop. Saffron-growing regions became plentiful and came to be called Pennsylvania's "yellow belt." Saffron does cost around $100 per ounce, therefore saffron farming sounds like a lucrative enterprise. However, the crop is difficult to harvest and for that reason, it's no longer widely farmed in Pennsylvania. It's good saffron, though. One of the best varieties anywhere! 

Here's what makes this crop difficult to harvest: all aspects of its farming must be done by hand. Back in the day "farming by hand" included all farming but today things have changed. The bulbs which produce saffron must be dug up and replanted each year. When the flowers are ready, they must be harvested by hand. Then, one has to carefully pick each stigma from each flower. One crocus flower contains about three stigmas. Growing saffron is time-consuming and labour intensive; the profit margin doesn't seem worth it to most. Those who still grow saffron view their job as a labour of love: there's something beautiful about cultivating crocus bulbs, waiting till their blooms emerge, and looking at land covered with masses of purple flowers. Then, one by one, gold threads of saffron are extracted from each blossom. It's hard work but there's pleasure to be found in it.   

Recipe for chicken corn soup:

Versions of this soup include the addition of either noodles or rivels. Rivels are very easy to make and resemble a small dumpling. They are a type of noodle that's very popular with the Pennsylvania Dutch. And they're tasty delicious!

Ingredients: 

5 cups of corn kernels
7 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, diced
1 carrot, diced

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

a few sprigs of thyme

a pinch of saffron
salt and pepper to taste
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced
2 potatoes cut into small cubes

rivels

To make the rivels:

1 cup flour

2 eggs, beaten

A pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper
some thyme
1 teaspoon of baking powder

Using a fork, mix all the ingredients until just blended. Do not over-mix. Cover and reserve until ready to use.

When it's time, this dough will be added into the soup by rubbing pieces of it between one's hands and letting the resulting crumb-like drops fall into the hot broth. 

Directions for the soup:

• In a blender, combine 2 cups of corn kernels and 2 cups of chicken broth. Puree until smooth, and set aside.
• In a Dutch oven heat the olive oil and add the onion, celery and carrot.
• Cook, stirring until the vegetables begin to soften.
• Add the remaining corn and cook for a few minutes, just until the corn is softened.
• Stir in the rest of the broth, the chicken, and the pureed corn mixture. Add the saffron, salt and pepper and thyme.
• Bring to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes.
• Into the hot liquid drop pea-sized pieces of rivels. Cook until they are tender. This should take less than ten minutes. 
• Add the parsley.
• Ready to serve!

PASTA, POTATO AND ONION SOUP

This is a hearty winter soup. Thick, tasty and creamy, but without dairy. Rosemary and parsley add green flavours and give the soup a light green colour. Vegetable broth adds another dimension of flavour, making the soup irresistible. You just want another and yet another bowl. You want to enjoy those potatoes and pasta mixed in the delicious thick broth. Carb heaven! Comfort food!

It's an inexpensive meal, made with ingredients everyone almost always has on hand and it has a long history in my family. This was one of my maternal grandfather’s favourite soups. We don’t know where he came across the recipe, but he taught my grandmother how to cook it. Unusual, because pappou, as we, his grandchildren called him, was never known to go near a stove. He farmed, he made prize-winning wine, he was a beekeeper, but he never cooked. Pappou often asked my grandmother to make this soup for him, and she did, but eventually, she started adding more ingredients to enhance its flavour. 

World War II was a time when most Greeks were close to starvation.  Grandmother often prepared a version of this soup by using water, a few potatoes and a bit of pasta. The soup helped ease her family’s hunger during the Axis occupation.

I learned to cook pasta and potato soup by watching my mother, and now I make my own version, especially when, like today, it’s very cold outside. Eating it nourishes me, but it also connects me to my past.  This soup is really quick and easy to make, but it’s a life-giving soup because a long time ago it sustained folk during unfortunate times. So thumbs up for this pasta potato (and onion) soup, and please pass me another bowl.

Ingredients:

4-5 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped

3 stalks of celery, diced

2 cloves of garlic chopped well

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 nice size Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut in half - it will be used as a garnish

salt and pepper to taste

leaves from one sprig of rosemary, chopped
1/4 bunch of parsley

4 cups vegetable broth or water
1/2 pound vermicelli pasta, broken up - for best results you will need a thin pasta! 

Directions:

• In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil and add the diced potatoes, the onion, the rosemary leaves, the celery and the garlic.  
• Cook over medium heat for a few minutes, mixing well to incorporate the ingredients with the olive oil.
• Add the liquid and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and add the salt, the pepper, the Yukon gold potato and the parsley. Cook for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  
• Drop the pasta into a pot of boiling water and cook according to directions.
• Remove the Yukon gold potato from the soup and reserve it.  When it's cool enough to handle cut it into small cubes. 
• With an immersion blender puree the rest of the soup.
• Add the cooked pasta and the reserved diced Yukon gold potato. 
• Garnish with some rosemary and olive oil.

VELVETY BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

                            Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We had this lovely soup as part of our Thanksgiving dinner.  It was truly delicious, with a superbly velvet texture. Not a lot of ingredients in it, not a lot of spices to flavour it with, nothing to interfere with the subtle buttery taste of the squash. The soup's simplicity contributed to its scrumptiousness. The recipe is based on one from Jaques Pepin, chef extraordinaire.

To make the soup, I took the easy route and bought my squash peeled and chopped and ready to cook. Also, as a special treat, I substituted some of the cream with coconut milk. We made it a few weeks ago just to test the recipe, and at that time, we only used cream. I must admit the soup tastes great either way! 

 Ingredients:

4 cups chopped butternut squash

3 leeks, cleaned well and chopped (use the white and light green parts)

1 onion, chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root

1 teaspoon black pepper

salt to taste

3 cups vegetable stock

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 heavy cream 

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped pistachios

Directions:

• In a heavy soup pan heat the olive oil.  
• Add the onions and leeks and sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the squash, the ginger and half the pepper and sauté for 3 more minutes, stirring.
• Add the stock. Cover the pot and simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the squash is soft.
• Add salt to taste, and then add the rest of the black pepper. Taste and let boil for about one more minute.
• Let cool slightly and blend with an immersion blender until the soup is smooth. 
• The soup can be cooked up to this point a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
• When ready to serve, add the cream, the coconut milk, and the cinnamon. 
• Mix well, heat, garnish with chopped pistachios and serve! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

CORN, HERB AND VEGETABLE SOUP, SMOOTH AND CREAMY

Hurry up and get yourself some fresh corn. Make soup with it, grill it, freeze it to have some for fall. Before long, fresh corn will be gone from the market. I've bought lots of it, and one of my favourite ways to cook with it is to make soup. I make this corn soup at the end of every summer, and I love it. You could say it's my farewell to summer dish.  

The soup features sweetcorn in a creamy broth with lots and lots of vegetables. Fresh herbs take it over the top, making it extra delicious. The bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, and parsley came from my herb garden. It's giving us a prodigious crop this year. We have more than enough for ourselves, for a neighbour and for co-workers. A great little garden, proving that even small growing spaces can give big results. 

Fresh corn is high in vitamin C, very high in potassium, and it's responsible for significant antioxidant activity. So hurry up and enjoy some sweetcorn and some corn soup: it's one of the summer's fleeting pleasures.  

This year I bought extra corn and froze the kernels to have for cooking during autumn.

Ingredients:

5 ears of corn

3  cups 2% milk

5 cups low sodium vegetable broth

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 large zucchini, chopped (don't peel)

3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

the leaves from 1(or even 2 if you like the stuff) nice size stick of rosemary

2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

3 scallions, chopped, use white and light green parts only

Directions:

Prepare the corn:  Ready, set, go!

• Remove the husks and the silk strings from the corn.  Break the cobs in half. Stand the flat end of each half on a cutting board. Grab your knife in one hand and with the other hand hold the top of the corn cob firmly in order to steady it. Use the knife to scrape off the kernels, and keep rotating the cob until all the kernels are scraped off.  With the flat end of the knife scrape off any bits of corn remaining on the cob. Alternately, you can use a vegetable peeler to scrape off the bits. Reserve the kernels and do not discards the corn cobs because they'll be put to use!
• Place the milk in a saucepan. Add the corn cobs. Bring the milk to a boil, lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat,  set the saucepan aside, but let the corn cobs steep in the milk.
• In a large Dutch oven heat the olive oil.  Add the chopped onion, the red peppers, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring for about 5 minutes.
• Add the potatoes, zucchini, carrot, and corn kernels. Cook, stirring for 10 minutes. 
• Add the broth, the milk, the corn cobs and all the herbs. 
• Cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft.  
• Season with salt and pepper. 
• Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves and corn cobs and discard them.  
• Using an immersion blender puree the soup. 
• Ladle into soup bowls, garnish with scallions if desired, and serve. 

BEEF AND BARLEY SOUP WITH BEANS

It's been close to 2 months since my last post.  I hadn't given up on this little blog of mine, that wasn't the reason for not posting. It's just that here at home we were in the middle of a renovation project. One that took way too long to complete - actually, there are still some odds and ends that need finishing. Consequently, there has been very little cooking going on in our kitchen. Along the way, we made do with lots of canned soup, sandwiches, salads, some takeout (Chinese, of course), lots of eating standing up, and lots of paper plates. Yes, I'll admit it: a few times I ate soup straight out of a can. At other times I poured my soup into a paper bowl. Then I'd remember that the microwave was packed away in the garage and I would have to eat my soup cold. Appetizing? You bet! I sampled a few cans of beef and barley. I asked myself: can I create a beef and barley version that's better than what I am eating out of this can? The answer was quick to come: You bet! So I waited. For the new floor. For the new counter. For the dust to go away. For the spackling paste to dry. Then I went shopping:  brisket, barley, vegetables. And then, I COOKED! For the first time in two months. Yes, I still remembered how to slice onions. I even remembered which box my chopping knife was packed in. I took it out and got started. I made a huge pot of beef and barley soup. Never mind that it was 85 degrees outside. There never was a more satisfying and enjoyable soup. Savoury, steamy broth, beef so perfectly cooked it melted in one's mouth, and beans and barley, warm and filling.  This is the kind of soup you ladle into your best china if you can remember which box it's packed in. 

Ingredients:
Use these first 10 ingredients to make a nice broth:

3 pounds beef chuck or brisket, fat removed, the beef cut into 1-inch cubes
about 3 tablespoons olive oil
beef bones for soup
1 onion cut into large pieces
3 bay leaves
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 cloves of garlic cut in half
salt and pepper
10-12 cups of liquid

 Now use the following ingredients to finish the soup:

1 (8-ounce) can of tomato sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1¼ cups pearl barley, rinsed
2 cups soaked cranberry beans
4 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

one sprig of rosemary
salt and pepper

Directions:

Making this beef and barley soup is a little time-consuming, but the end result is truly worth it! Unless you are feeding a large crowd, there will be leftovers- but don't worry. The soup will taste just as good if not better the next day. I made a large batch on purpose so we could have leftovers.

• Rinse the cranberry beans and soak them overnight.  About  1¼ cups should yield 2 cups of soaked beans.
• In a large heavy Dutch oven heat the olive oil and sauté the beef in two or three batches, removing each batch to a plate as it finishes sautéing.  
• When all the beef is done, place it back into the Dutch oven and add the liquid, the bones, the onion, celery, carrots, bay leaves, garlic and salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Cover and cook on low for about 1½ hours. Let cool and carefully remove the meat from the broth. Strain the broth and discard the cooked vegetables and bones.
• Pour the strained broth back into the Dutch oven and add the tomato sauce and tomato paste; if you'd like, sauté the tomato paste before adding the broth and tomato sauce to the pot.  
• Add the meat, the barley, the beans, the fresh onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer on low for an hour, stirring occasionally.
• Add the thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste and then simmer for about another half hour. Add the parsley.

That should do it.  Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.  The long cooking time will have made the meat very soft. Enjoy your beef and barley soup!!! 

GREEK LENTIL SOUP (Fakés Soupa, Φακές Σούπα)

I have been trying to get around to making Greek lentil soup for a month now. Today was the day. I added lots of soup vegetables to compliment the lentils. I used parsnip and leeks which are not found in traditional versions of Greek lentil soup, but why not amplify its flavour a bit? The amount of tomato used depends on the cook. If you like a really strong lentil flavour, cut down on some of the tomatoes and tomato paste. The important lesson is that anyway it's cooked, lentil soup is always fragrant and tastes oh so good. 

Lentils are very high in protein, dietary fibre, thiamine and iron: they are a very healthy food. Before cooking them, be sure to soak lentils for about an hour. Soaking not only makes them softer for cooking, but also increases their nutritional potency. 

Ingredients:

2 cups green lentils

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, divided, chopped

2 leeks, washed very well, white and light green parts, chopped

4 or 5 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, chopped…I love smashing garlic!

6 stalks celery, chopped

4 carrots chopped
2 medium size tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

optional - 1 parsnip, chopped very thinly, or better yet, grated 

4 tablespoons parsley, chopped

1 or 2 tablespoons tomato paste, depending on how "red" you want the soup to be

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (well, I may have used a little more) 

1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried Greek oregano  

6 cups of vegetable stock or filtered water, plus additional liquid  as needed

optional - vinegar to be served on the side 
optional - some grated Pecorino Romano cheese to top the soup if you're like me and do not like vinegar 

Lots of vegetables in this soup...  More than can be seen in the photograph! 

Directions:

• Pick over the lentils to make sure there are no small rocks or other debris mixed in.  Rinse them and place them in a large bowl.  Cover them with water.  Let them sit in the water for about one hour.  Drain and reserve. You'll notice that as the lentils soak and absorb water they will start to turn greener than they were in their dry state.
• Heat the olive oil in a large heavy Dutch oven and sauté one of the onions, the leeks, and the garlic for 10 minutes.  (You may think we are using a lot of leeks and onions, but you'll see that they will decrease in volume as they are being  sautéed). Turn off the heat. 
• Add the other onion, the celery, parsnip, tomatoes, carrots, thyme, and 2 tablespoons of the parsley. Mix well
• Add the drained lentils and mix well.  
• Add the liquid, the tomato paste, and the bay leaf.  Season with salt and pepper, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. 
• Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour. If the heat is on low and you are using a heavy Dutch oven, you don't even need to lift the lid and stir the soup. Just let it simmer.
• After an hour check on the soup, give it a good stir and add the oregano. Taste it and season with more salt and pepper if needed. It will probably need to cook for another 15 to 20 minutes.
• At the end of the cooking time add the rest of the parsley.  You may need to add more liquid to bring the soup to the consistency you prefer.

I served it with toasted olive fougasse bread.  It was bakery bought and  excellent!

• Serve the lentil soup hot.  Offer some vinegar at the table because it's a tradition to top the soup with vinegar. 
• This was a great Sunday dinner!  

SPINACH, KALE, AND SAUSAGE SOUP

Yum, soup!  Good tasting soup, in a flavorful broth. Fresh vegetables, great seasonings, delicious and wholesome flavours!!! For protein, I added chicken broth and low-fat turkey sausage. Very easy and quick to make.

Feel free to play around with the spinach/kale combination. You can use only spinach, which will give you a light and delicate green taste, or decide to mix the two vegetables with portions of each according to preference. 

Let's make spinach and sausage soup:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 or 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 stalks of celery, sliced
about 1 pound red potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled, cut into bite-size chunks
5 cups of chicken broth 
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed
1 pound low-fat sausage 
2 cups spinach, washed well, roughly chopped, thick stems removed
2 cups kale, washed well, chopped, stems removed

fresh sage and thyme 

a squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the potatoes, the broth, the garbanzo beans and the fresh herbs.  
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. 
• Meanwhile, remove the sausage from its casing, then crumble it and brown it in a skillet.  Drain as much fat as you can and set the sausage aside.  
• When the vegetables are tender, add spinach, kale, sausage, salt and pepper to taste and top off with a squeeze of lemon juice. Bring back up to a simmer, and let cook for another five minutes before serving.   

CREAMY CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH BROCCOLI, KALE, AND SWISS CHARD

My kitchen smelled oh soo good when I was cooking this soup! From the aroma, I knew the soup was going to taste great. It was quick and easy to make, a healthy and flavourful dish! This recipe makes a creamy but dairy-free soup. Cauliflower, sauteed onions, leeks, garlic, and greens like kale are simmered in broth, then are blended until smooth. Ready in less than half an hour. Both cauliflower and kale belong to the cabbage family, and as such, they are super-foods, containing potent anti-cancer properties. They are also high in fibre, vitamin C, iron, calcium and potassium. Super-foods indeed! Don't cook them for a longer time than recommended, because their nutritional value decreases with overcooking. 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 leek, cleaned well and chopped (white and light green parts only)
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small florets

1 small head of broccoli florets

1 largish Yukon gold potato, washed and chopped, no need to peel
about 4 cups of low sodium vegetable broth
3 large kale leaves and 3 Swiss chard leaves, stems removed and sliced 
juice of one small lemon
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
some basil leaves to taste, sliced in chiffonade 

a few chopped almonds

Directions:

• Warm the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onions and leek and saute for 4 or 5 minutes. Add the garlic and a bit of salt and continue cooking for a few more minutes.  
• Add the cauliflower, broccoli and potato.   
• Add the broth. Use as much as needed to reach just below the surface of the cauliflower. Don’t add too much, you can always add more later when blending the soup. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. 
• Cover the pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. 
• Add the greens, lemon juice, and parsley, then stir and simmer a few minutes longer. 
• Remove from the heat, add the basil and let the soup sit about 5 minutes so that it can cool slightly. 
• Using an upright blender, blend the soup in batches until smooth, adding more broth if it’s too thick. 
• Season with salt and pepper reheat if needed, and serve topped with chopped almonds and a little olive oil.

CHICKPEA SOUP or GREEK REVITHOSOUPA (Ρεβιθόσουπα)

Revithia is the Greek word for chickpeas or garbanzo beans. I made revithosoupa for dinner today, and it was about time! We hadn't had it in a while; it was good to eat a simple, meatless, warm bowl of soup. Revithosoupa is a filling Greek soup that is a standard in the Greek cooking repertoire. Some versions are kind of plain, others like mine are well flavoured because I like to mix in spices and vegetables. Plain or spiced up this soup is good. It's the chickpeas that give it a lot of favour. Ideally, it should be made with dried chickpeas that have been soaked overnight in water and a little bit of salt. However, cooking it that way requires prior planning ... To make a quick revithosoupa, go ahead and use canned chickpeas. 


Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cans of 15-ounce canned chickpeas rinsed and drained.
• 1 large onion chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 leek, white and light green part only, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mint or 1 teaspoon fresh
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 2 cups water

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion, leek, garlic, celery and carrots. Sauté until the onions are soft.
• Add the chickpeas, and stir them around for about two minutes or so and then season them with salt and pepper.
• Add the liquid, oregano, rosemary and mint. Bring to a boil and cover, then lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.
• Add the parsley and lemon juice during the last 15 minutes of cooking. Serve while hot and enjoy!

CATHY'S DELICIOUS YELLOW SPLIT PEA SOUP

My New Year's holiday was spent at the home of my dear friend Cathy. We all had a great time ushering in 2011! Cathy lives on the grounds of what used to be a farm, in an area of Pennsylvania that is semi-rural. It was wonderful to get away from the city for a little while. I went for walks on the nature path near Cathy's home and enjoyed breathing in the cold, crisp, clear air. I enjoyed too all the natural, icy, winter loveliness: looking at the sinuous denuded tree branches, poking the frozen earth with my walking stick, staring at the empty gazebo by the side of a pond. 

At Cathy's, we did the usual holiday things: cook, eat, drink, talk, laugh. My friend had planned to teach me how to make her split pea soup. For many years now, I have raved about it. The broth is to die for. It's seasoned with a ham bone which gives it a wonderful smoky flavour and it's full of delicious root vegetables. As if that is not enough, the soup is topped off with dumplings, which are one of my favourite things to eat. 

On New Year's Day, after the Rose Parade was over and with wine glass in hand, we sauntered over to the stove, Cathy was the chef, I became the sous-chef, and together we started to cook some soup. Here's how to make Cathy's delicious yellow split pea soup:


Ingredients:

• 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup dried yellow split peas (if you want a thicker soup use more)
• 1 medium onion, sliced into thin rings
• freshly ground black pepper
• a ham bone with a nice amount of meat left on
• 1 nice size turnip, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1-inch pieces 
• optional: some vegetable broth

For the dumplings:

• 1 cup flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
• about 1/4 cup of water

This will make about 6 dumplings, but for more, just double the recipe.

Directions:

The best time to make this soup is when you have a ham bone left over after having cooked a baked ham. You will need a ham bone with a substantial amount of meat still attached to it so that you can have lots of chunks of ham in the soup. 

• Go ahead and place the ham bone in a large stockpot, add the onion slices, throw in the yellow peas, then pour enough water in the pot to cover the ham. If you have some vegetable broth you can use that as a substitute for all or part of the water. Season with the black pepper, cover the pot and place it on the stove over medium-high heat.
• Allow the water to come to a boil. You may want to skim off the froth that develops as the water is boiling. (Rapid boiling and the starch created from the breakdown of the peas is the reason for the appearance of froth. The froth is mostly water bubbles that have become heavy from starch and gelatin and don't break up as they usually do). Once the water comes to the boil go ahead and turn the heat down, then simmer your ingredients for two hours.
• While the soup is simmering give it a stir every fifteen minutes or so. The liquid will eventually begin to thicken from the breakdown of the onions and peas. 
• Once the two hours are up, remove the bone from the pot and place it on a plate. Carefully, so that you don't burn yourself, remove the meat from the bone. Throw the meat back into the pot and discard the bone.
• Add the turnips and cook for 15 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for another 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes more. 
• While the vegetables are cooking you will want to make the dumplings: Mix the flour with the baking powder and add the butter. With a fork break up the butter while incorporating it into the flour. Add water, about a tablespoon at a time, and keep mixing with the fork until you have a batter that is soft and moist.
• With the aid of a tablespoon scoop up some batter and drop it into the pot. Allow the dumplings to cook until they are nice and plump, about 10 minutes.

The soup is done! Ladle it into bowls and serve it immediately. It tastes best if eaten right away. It has an absolutely FANTASTIC flavour. If you can't eat the soup right away, remove the dumplings from the broth and store them covered. When ready to eat, place them back in the soup and warm while stirring.

January 2 and time to go. Sad to be leaving but looking forward to going home. Below is a picture of Linus, my sweet bichon frise waiting to go home. We had packed our things, including the two dog beds, on top of which Linus decided to climb. I guess he was trying to say: "please don't forget these, they are way too comfortable!" You're the man Linus!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011, ONE AND 
ALL!!!

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH FALL VEGETABLE SOUP PUREE

With fall around the corner, and with the weather getting a bit chilly, making soup seems just the right thing to do.  Plus, this soup is delicious!

I chopped vegetables, seasoned them and roasted them. Along with the vegetables I used two juicy Bosc pears. That was the best part! 

I purchased the butternut squashed cleaned and pre-cut. It's so much more convenient not to have to clean, trim, and slice the squash. I know that my supermarket has it available freshly pre-cut; it doesn't come into the store covered with preservatives, and that's key! 

The kitchen smelled great as the vegetables were roasting. The herbs that had been combined with them gave off a pleasant aroma. When the vegetables came out of the oven, they looked and tasted wonderful. I pureed them with some vegetable broth and made a very enjoyable chunky-creamy fall soup, one that I will make again and again. 

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1½ inch pieces, or approximately 1  1/4 pounds (635 grams) of pre-cut butternut squash. 
2 medium red potatoes, scrubbed well and quartered (leave the skin on)
1 small sweet potato peeled and chopped
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and quartered

3 carrots halved lengthwise and cut into 1½-inch pieces
2 stalks of celery chopped

2 Bosc pears, peeled, cored and quartered. 
6 cloves of garlic left unpeeled

olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (not too much pepper)

sprigs of fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary

1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
4 to 6 cups of vegetable broth

optional: some roasted pine nuts for garnish

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400° F, 200° C.
• Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper (makes for easy clean up) and grease the surface of the paper with olive oil. Place the vegetables on the baking sheets - don't add the pears yet - and toss the vegetables with some olive oil, salt and pepper, the leaves from thyme springs and a few branches of rosemary. 
• Roast until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, about 50 minutes.
• Halfway through roasting take the vegetables out of the oven, turn them over so they roast evenly, and mix in the pears. Place the vegetables back in the oven and continue cooking until done.
• In a large saucepan warm four cups of the vegetable broth along with some sage leaves. The rest of the broth can be used if the soup needs to be thinned out. 
• Squeeze the garlic cloves and remove the roasted part. Discard the garlic peels.
• Place the vegetable broth into a large saucepan and add the turmeric along with some sage leaves. 
• Carefully add the vegetables and bring the mixture to a boil. Purée the vegetables with an immersion blender.
• Taste the soup for seasoning and reheat as needed.
• You can always spruce up the soup by garnishing it with some roasted pine nuts. 

Make sure the vegetables are well caramelised.

LEEK AND POTATO SOUP

What's for dinner tonight? It's a chilly, rainy day in early March, so I thought a nice soup would be appropriate. With a salad and a few slices of good bread, maybe some feta cheese to end with, there we are, that should make a nice meal. The leeks are looking good, I have a few nice potatoes left, and I just need to run out and get some parsley and cream. I'll be making leek and potato soup. Be right back... This is going to be a quick trip to the market; the outdoors is looking winter-glum. Although it's March, snow is still piled high on our lawns, and I've started to feel that all our spring greenery will permanently remain underneath a cover of frozen soil. And yet, as I step outside, I look up between the naked branches of the oak tree and with surprise, I discover a hopeful blue colour in the sky. I stare at it with anticipation. Isn't it beautiful?

Dinner is on time. In my home, this is an anomaly. But a sparkling blue sky can bring about changes.

I should next describe how to make leek and potato soup. How about it?

First off, prepare the bouquet garni. Gather bay leaf, thyme, parsley, peppercorns and rosemary. Bind the garni safely between some leek leaves. The garni will bring a wonderful aroma to the soup. Now get to work.

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
4 leeks, well cleaned and sliced in thin strips. Use only the white and light green part of the leeks.
4 or 5 Yukon gold potatoes, enough to weigh 2 & 1/2 pounds, sliced
4 or 5 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup milk, cream or half and half. I used half and half 
salt and pepper to taste
chopped chives 
bouquet garni made up of 1 bay leaf, 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, 5 sprigs fresh thyme, 15-20 peppercorns. Wrap the bouquet with a few tender leek leaves and tie it with kitchen twine. You may need to make separate accommodations for the peppercorns, as they might slide out of the bouquet during cooking. A good option is to tie the peppercorns separately, inside a piece of coffee filter or cheesecloth.  

Directions:

• Clean and prepare the leeks for cooking. Cut off the root end and discard the rough green leaves. Save the white and light green part of the leek. Cut it in half lengthwise, and rinse each half several times under cold running water. This method ensures that the soil and sand that has remained between the leaves are washed off. Chop the leeks into thin slices.

• In a stockpot heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, celery, parsley, and leeks. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients become soft. Make sure they are not browned. If necessary add about two tablespoons of water to keep them from browning.
• Add the potatoes, the bouquet garni and the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat. Simmer for about 30 -35 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender. Discard the garni.
• Ladle half the soup out of the stock pan and reserve.
• Using an immersion blender puree the soup remaining in the stock pan.
• Return the reserved portion of soup to the stock pan. The soup will now be a nice mixture of chunky and pureed textures.
• On medium to low heat, warm the soup, then turn off the heat.
• Warm the half and half in the microwave. Slowly and while stirring pour it into the soup. 
• Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into soup plates and if desired sprinkle some chopped chives on top. 
• Serve while still hot.