Jen gets me to thinkin’ about potato and cheddar soup (and then doin’)

Here's photos of the topic of the day.

Jen (Jenns food journey) is known as Tilapia Tootsie, the Sauce Maven, and Suzie Soup. She has earned these sobriquets by dint of persistent postings of excellent recipes. You probably should not assume that you are permitted to address her by these names. Better to simply address her as Jenn the Magnificent. (Gosh, I hope she’s blushing right now.) 

My holiday gift to all of you is a very inexpensive one: my congratulations and gratitude for being out there where I can find you often and regale myself with your baking (help, I’m baking and I can’t stop), your stories (all embroidered I am sure), your photos (I have to steal mine in the absence of a cooperating camera and computer), and your enthusiasm for all things culinary. 

But back to Jen. A recent post of hers was for a soup, something she does not often do. However, the important thing is that she got my attention and I’ve spent the last few hours with soup sloshing around in my brain even as I have been writing, answering emails, and plotting food Armageddon (I don’t even know what that means). Sometime very soon you will notice Jenn has used the “V” word (no, not the one that goes with “Monologues”) in a recipe. You’ll see, and you’ll know when it happens. 

As a result I now have the courage to use “CP”, as in canned potatoes. I have cooked with them many times over the years. Last night I made some potato and vegetable cakes and Peter qvelled over them. I had sneaked the canned spuds right past him. The vegetables were mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower, chayote sqash and celery, all of which had been lightly poached in broth, Shiaxing wine, olive oil and butter. Sometimes I toss them on salads, other times I snack on them right out of the fridge. The canned potatoes, sautéed whole, make for a lovely side dish when browned up in some butter. They have a unique texture and are not intended to be substituted for the real thing except when time is short and hunger is long. 

Scold me if you must. I can take it.

A soupçon of soup's on

I went to bed completely done in by 12 hours mostly on my feet preparing, delivering, and serving a Mexican buffet for 30 persons. It was an excellent gig for my fledgling catering biz, which has had a bit of a dry spell of late. I was so tired when I got home after an hour in the van, which included getting back to DC from a distant suburb, dropping off my assistant and scooting home, that I almost could not walk from the garage to the house. To make matters more challenging, my beloved Scooper (the King Charles Spaniel, who is older than kitty litter) got me up at 4 am. His body has no clue what the end of daylight saving time means (oh, and did I mention that he's blind and deaf?) Got him out to pee, got him his breakfast, got a glass of juice, sat on the sofa for a bit and then lay down and managed to doze off. I think that hour of dozing was entirely in REM sleep and I awoke remembering that I had been dreaming of cooking and, holy cow, even what it was I was cooking: a six course meal consisting entirely of soups. Once I was fully awake I began writing down some of what I remembered. I don't think I finished the meal inside of the dream. But, no matter. The idea resonates with me and I will gather to together my squad of tasters early in 2013 for a sampling and critiquing.

Now I know that a dinner of all soups is odd enough itself, but with an international flair? Them's fightin' words. I ended up tinkering with the specifics if not with the overall concept to represent 7 countries with the 6 soups (Republican book-keeping I think it's called). Read through them and you'll get it. Even though all these soups are to be served hot (it's winter after all), I still think it's a cool idea. (And I know my witticisms are those of an eternal sophomore.)

With the exception of the first course, the broth of each soup will be poured over the other ingredients at the table, lending a certain class-oise to the occasion.

I like to begin with an amuse bouche. The one I dreamed up is to be a shooter (in a shot glass) of miso. Obviously it is representing Japan.

The next course would logically be an appetizer. I chose escarole as a component of a salad soup. It has a nice crunch and a hint of bitterness that could be counterbalanced with some paper-thin slices of radish and mushroom. In order to tie this to France I will add court bouillon to it at serving.

A soup course (of course) could precede or follow the salad. Here comes Greece with avgolemono soup, made with rice and chicken and a lemony broth.

It's time now for the main courses: I will present a meat and some seafood. Here they come:

Oxtail soup from Germany

Italy's cioppino

He's not done yet, Myrtle. There must be a dessert lurking out there.

Indeed there is a dessert. It will hint of America and Mexico. I call it ...

Fudgesicle Tres leches soup with creamsicle balls

Those who are familiar with Mexican cuisine (also known as grub), know that the "three milks" are condensed, evaporated, and heavy cream. Some years ago I re-created the beloved creamsicle flavor of my youth (with the help of some SunnyD). Believe it or not, fudgesicles are still made.

A too heavy subject

Sunday, November 4, 2012

How do I diet? Let me count the weight.

Must reduce calories by hundred times eight.

To know what to stick to, there must be a plan.

Will I glom onto it? Don’t know if I can.

In for a penny, or in for a pound;
Not an aphorism that seems awfully sound.
Were I single I’d not have a date.
Must succeed or I’ll soon be called “late.”  

How I wish this was not necessary, but since quitting smoking a bit more than 18 months ago I have steadily and slowly gained nearly 20 pounds. I’ve been eating like a wanton (better that it should have been a wonton) and of late inhaling large servings of ice cream after dinner. This afternoon I filled my shopping bag with some things I will transform into snackables tomorrow. I regret that the ice cream must go by the wayside for some time to come.

My goal is to pare away the 20 lbs over the remainder of November and then during December. I hereby make a New Year’s resolution: I will eat ice cream on Jan. 1, but not a day before.

Below I am sharing with you a few of my ideas for stuff in that snackables category I referred to.

Begin the Terrine – layers of zucchini, chayote squash and cubanelle peppers with some low fat sour cream, part-skim mozzarella, salt and pepper (paprika for color). I’ll poach the chayote and the cubanelles a bit to reduce them to a texture more or less compatible with the zucchini. Then weigh the whole thing down (in a glass loaf pan by the way) and bake it for 30-40 minutes. As I contemplate this idea I am full of the milk of human self-doubt. Will this work? (It worked.)

Splenda-id Cucumber Salad - my mother liked to slice up some cukes and douse them with vinegar and sugar. In my case I had a boatload of pickling liquid from my dills, which welcomed some Splenda as a counterbalance.

Orange Junius (my title; the Julius version is no doubt under copyright) – This will be carrot/dried apricot salad dressed sensibly, i. e. no mayonnaise. I’m thinking some rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, pepper and Chinese Shiaoxing cooking wine. My little food processor does a fine job of shredding veggies. While the photo shows raisins, I found that dried apricots have 1/2 the calories. And I love them. Do I need better reasons?

Egg flower soup - broth, egg and peas. Other than a bit of seasoning that's all this requires. When the egg is drizzled into simmering broth which has been stirred into a mini-vortex, it "flowers" beautifully.

I'm pleased with how these innocuous thingies turned out. I promise not to talk about my weight everyday for the remainder of November and during the month of December. I'll save my crowing for January 1, when I will be eating ice cream and lobster.