Corn Chowder

This recipe was given to me years ago.

5 slices bacon
1 medium onion thinly sliced and separated into rings
2 medium potatoes, pared and diced 1 1/2cups
1 can of cream-style corn
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper

In large saucepan, cook bacon till crisp. Remove bacon; crumble & set aside. Reserve 3 tbs bacon drippings in saucepan; discard remainder. Add onion slices to saucepan and cook till lightly browned. Add diced potatoes and water; cook over medium heat till potatoes are tender about 10 minutes. Add corn, milk, S&P. Cook until heated through, Pour into warm bowls; top each serving with crumbled bacon and a pat of butter. Serve with crackers.

Serves 4-5

Green Soup

Louise, Gary and Bill up the Hill came for dinner last night. I was in the mood for fiery food so I decided to make Indian. I started with this delicate, utterly delicious Green Soup (Hara Shorva) followed by Chicken Rogan Josh, Gujerati beans and a turmeric blushed cauliflower with tomatoes. We had cool and creamy pineapple coconut ice cream with strong coffee for dessert. Yum-a-la. I want you to try this soup. It was awesome. It is from Madhur Jaffrey's book on Indian Cooking (2002).

4 oz potatoes, peeled and roughly diced
3 oz onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 pints chicken stock
3/4 inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
5 Tblsp. chopped cilantro
1/2 fresh hot green chili (I used jalapeño)
10 oz peas, fresh or frozen (I used frozen)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice ( I used juice of 1/2 a lemon)
1/2 tsp. ground roasted cumin seeds
5 fl oz. heavy cream

Combine the potatoes, onions, chicken stock, ginger, ground coriander and ground cumin in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low, simmer for 30 minutes. Fish out the cube of ginger and discard it. Add the cilantro, green chili, peas, salt, lemon juice and ground roasted cumin seeds. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered for 2-3 minutes or until the peas are just tender. Empty the soup into the container of an electric blender in 2-3 batches and blend until it is smooth. Put the soup into a clean pot. Add the cream and bring to a simmer to heat through. Serves 5.

Potato Leek Soup

Cut 4 LEEKS (or whatever comes in a bundle) into 1” pieces and wash well. You can use both the white and light green parts.

Peel and cube 3 large white POTATOES. I usually use Eastern. Because, well, I live in the east and they are cheap.

Peel and chop 1 ONION. Can be yellow or white. Red will turn the soup a funky color.

Boil BROTH or water and pour 3 cups over the vegetables. It is nicer with broth, but you can use water too. Cover and boil for 35 minutes. OK. Maybe not 35 minutes to the second, but until they are done.

Mash or blend the vegetables. (I use one of those hand-held blender things.)

Add Salt and Pepper to taste. I also throw in a little marjoram.

Add 3 cups scalded MILK. Return the soup to a boil.

Here is the secret ingredient: EVAPORATED MILK.

I substitute one of the cups of regular milk with a can of evaporated milk.

Yum. Enjoy. I know what I am having for dinner.

Comfort Food

A Throw-together Beef Barley Soup (with mushrooms, because I had them in the fridge.)

Chop up an onion (you can use half, I usually use the whole thing. I don’t like having all those forgotten onion halves living in baggies and cluttering up the fridge) brown it in canola oil. Meanwhile chop up 2 portobello mushroom caps and toss them in the pot too. Continue cooking on medium heat. You may need to add more oil. Check it. Stir occasionally.

Cut the beef into 1-2 inch chunks. (You can use whatever type of beef you want. I usually use London broil. I know, it’s wasteful, but I hate beef fat and all that nasty sinew.) Brown the beef.

Once everything is browned. Add 6 cups of water or beef broth. If you are using water (which I do all the time) add 1 beef bouillon cube for every cup of water. I put in 3 bay leaves, NO salt (you are getting it from the bouillon or broth) and about 1 cup of hearty dry red wine (I usually pour myself some at the same time.) While this is cooking, soak anywhere from 1/3 to ½ a bag of barley in 2 cups of water. (I like my soup thick, so I add a lot of barley.) You may want to skim off the ugly brown foam as the meat cooks.

After the soup cooks for about an hour (test the meat for tenderness) add the barley. Cook until the barley is done. This depends on how long you soaked the barley and the condition of the grain. It could be anywhere from ½ hour to an hour. The house should start to have a rich beefy smell. Carefully taste the soup. It is tastes lame; it could be the cut of meat, or the wine. Try adding black pepper and another glug of wine, it will perk up. If you think it needs salt, be careful, you can’t take it out.

I make this all the time. It is perfect for a snowy day.