Belgian Soup

Other names that I thought of for this soup: Why Didn't I Think of That Soup, Jazz Soup (improvisation), or just Cream of Vegetable Soup. But I'm calling it Belgian Soup because it is modeled after my Belgian friend Carol's soup, which she says her mother often makes. As far as I can discern there is no recipe or one correct way to make this soup, but my first attempt at turned out so satisfying that I wrote down my recipe so that I can hopefully repeat the delicious results. What a delicious and easy way to eat your vegetables!

Belgian Soup

(one version )

1 onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small cauliflower, broken into small florets

7 small zucchini (I use those with light green skins), cut in the chunky pieces

5 carrots, chopped (doesn't have to be too small)

1 Tablespoon All Season*

1-2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)

Saute the onion and then the garlic in a little olive oil until soft and lightly browned. Add the rest of the vegetables and saute with the All Season for about five minutes, stirring.

Cover all the vegetables with water. Bring to a boil, and simmer until all the vegetables are cooked and soft.

Let the vegetables and broth cool a bit and then process all in the blender. I need to do about three batches.

Return to pan, salt, and add a little water if needed. 

Perhaps due to sweet carrots I used, this vegetable soup looked and tasted like a creamy squash soup. I thought it was Fantastic.  Dear Husband gave it a rating of only very good but that is because he considers creamy soups something you eat when you are sick or as a starter before a heartier meal. So, this will probably make it back to our dinner table only once in a blue moon, but we'll definitely be eating it for lunch this winter.

*I've begun substituting a homemade All Season mix for bullion seasoning as all the bullion seasoning available in Jordan is processed and includes ingredients I'm trying to stay away from, such as MSG and hydrogenated oils.

All Season 

1 cup salt

2 T sugar

2 T garlic powder

1 T curry powder

1 T chili powder

1 t. cayenne pepper

1 t. allspice

6 T paprika

1 t. dry mustard

2 T black pepper

1 t. ginger

1 t. nutmeg

Mix all spices in a bowl and store in a jar.

Quotidian Fall

What has kept me from posting on my blog these past weeks? I'm not sure. Some autumnal puttering, maybe. I've adjusted to the subtle cadence of fall in Mafraq; until yesterday the temperatures remained summer-like, leaving only the changing afternoon sunlight to remind us that fall and then quickly, winter would be here.

We had a nice cloudburst last week, a brief deluge of precipitation strong enough to wash layers of summer dust from the leaves. Though it has been too warm to be out in the garden doing the fall work of planting and clean-up, I've admired the fresh greenery from the windows. It's funny, I hardly even notice the iron bars on my windows until I take a picture of them. I've a view of a lemon tree from one kitchen window, and and two olive trees from the other.

From my bedroom window, I enjoy a view of the pomegranate tree, preparing to drop its leaves, lemon trees, a few remaining flowers. The top of the tall pines which guard the garden wall provide refuge to many birds whose songs reveal their presence even as they hide themselves from sight in the amongst the needles and branches. The weather is cooling this weekend, so I plan to get all my fall bulbs in this week. Olives harvest will begin as well.

A plant nerd, I delight in discovering the botanical name of my garden plants. This is not always easy as garden plants sold in Jordan are not marked. I've had this plant in my garden for several years and always referred to it as a bee balm, as it looked like other bee balms I has seen in family Lamiaceae (mint family). Thanks to an Amman garden shop whose Facebook page I recently discovered, I now know that this drought resistant plant, native to South Africa and southern Africa, is  Leonotis leonurus, also know as Lion's Tail and Wild Dagga. Its orange blooms provide a bit of fall color, such as I am used to.

 Leonotis leonurus, Lion's Tail 

Tulbaghia violacea

My "lillies" are still blooming and it turns out that they are actually in in family Alliaceae, which explains why their leaves smell like garlic when I handle them. I've discovered that I can use them in salads, perhaps like chives, though I've not yet tried them.

Tayta's face continues to heal (11 weeks post-op here). The swelling is still subsiding, though at a slower pace than before. We hope to schedule her revision surgery this summer.

Lavender Nursery

Along with the bulbs I hope to plant a few more lavender bushes in my garden, and another Russian sage bush.

Dear Husband has been having knee problems this fall and had to give up his/our morning running routine. He purchased this new step machine in Amman last week as a substitute and we've all been trying out it. It seems effective and we hope it will be a good substitute for running, at least for the time being. Dear Husband moves it to the sun room, facing out into the garden, when he uses it so that he can at least have the sensation of being outside while he exercises. I joked with him that if we were in the States, we could probably buy something like this at a garage sale for a song as so many people sell exercise equipment at garage sales. (I noticed my reflection in the mirror in this image--not quite as artistic a portrayal of the artist as in van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait, and completely unintended.) At least it is compact, only taking up about 1.5 square feet of floor space.

In the kitchen, we're enjoying  a new fall soup, Red Lentil Coconut Soup, and I've finally mastered the basic sourdough bread recipe, using a San Francisco Sourdough starter gifted to me by a friend. Sourdough bread from San Francisco is a fond food memory from my childhood and I have a particular association of sourdough bread and visits to Fisherman's Wharf. 

A Perfect Autumn Stew

We're enjoying a number of new dishes around here, thanks to Pinterest and this week's meander through the food page yielded this recipe for a delicious chicken stew with butternut squash and quinoa. Butternut squash isn't a staple in Jordanian markets, but I can hope that may be changing; I found lovely butternut squashes in the open air market last Friday--not even in the western-style supermarket! We all agreed that that this stew provided a full sensory experience: vivid autumnal colors, delicious blend of flavors, pleasing textures, and savory aroma.

Cookin' Canuck's fantastic recipe was my inspiration. I have added a couple of ingredients, adjusted a few quantities, and slightly modified the cooking process.

Chicken, Butternut Squash, and Quinoa Stew

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs (2 small) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
4 cups water
1 1/2 lbs (approximately) boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in bite-size pieces
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp (or a little more) red pepper flakes
1 28 oz (or 800 g) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (I like red. If you use white, rinse the quinoa well before cooking.)
3/4 cup sliced kalamata olives
1/3-1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

• Cook quinoa in a small saucepan. I used red quinoa and cooked 1/2 cup quinoa in 1 cup water.
• While quinoa is cooking, steam the squash until just tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside half the squash. Add 1 cup water to the remaining squash and mash well with the back of a fork.
• Brown chicken in olive oil, adding salt, oregano, red pepper flakes, then onion and garlic as the liquid cooks out and the chicken browns.
• When chicken and onion/garlic is cooked and browned, add three cups water and simmer a few minutes.
• Add tomatoes, mashed squash w/water, cubed squash, and quinoa. Let stew simmer about 15 minutes.
• Stir in olives and parsley, simmer a few more minutes and serve.

A Big Pot of Comfort~Beef, Barley, and Mushroom Soup

I don't bring many food items from the States to Jordan anymore as more things are available here now and the baggage allowance has been reduced. Two carefully chosen items for transport, barley and dried porcini mushrooms, are needed for this favorite soup recipe and it was one of the first things I made upon our return to Jordan. If you need a good, inexpensive source for dried mushrooms (not to mention lots of dried fruit, nuts, etc.), check out Nuts Online. They offer the best price--by far--that I have found on porcini mushrooms.

This recipe can easily be halved. I like to have lots of leftover soup--we make a dinner of it one or two nights and still have leftovers for lunches.

Beef, Barley, and Mushroom Soup

• 1 1/2 cups dried porcini mushrooms, soaked for 30 minutes in 3 cups hot water.
• oil
• 1 1/2-2 lbs beef, cut into small pieces (I used topside which was already sliced thinly.)
• 4 ribs celery
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 12-16 oz mushrooms, finely chopped (that is how we like them but you could slice them if you'd like)
• 1 1/2 cups barley
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, leaves chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme

In a large pot brown the beef in a bit of oil. Add onions, celery, and carrots and cook until just softened. Add the chopped fresh mushrooms and continue cooking until softened. Blend the dried mushroom mixture in the blender and add to the pot. Add approximately 16 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the barley and seasonings. Cover and let simmer 45-60 minutes. (This soup thickens quite a bit so you may have to add more water as it cooks.--as always with soup, adjust liquid and seasonings.)

Fashionable Frugality

Since returning to the US in June, Tayta and I have noticed a recession-induced reality: frugality is fashionable. People seem to be thrifting, consigning, and "repurposing" (we called it recycling) like never before--and they are talking, blogging, even bragging about it! I read in a recent article in Time, those who save the most money are now the "popular" ones; says a woman in a neighborhood mom's group, "Saving is like a sport in our group..."

Maybe this is my time to shine. Today I took Active Son to a thrift store by campus to buy him some winter sweaters . In a brief stop we snagged him a beautiful wool sweater from Cabela's and a cotton zip-up from Old Navy for about $4 each. I'm also working on a recycled denim quilt for his dorm room. I've found many clothes for the kids and myself in other around-town thrift and consignment stores and ebay has helped me save lots of money in the new shoe department.

In the spirit of our re-kindled frugality I offer two new hearty lentil recipes which we've embraced. Both are great cold weather comforts. The first is a recipe from my much used, much stained, and much-loved copy of More With Less, by Doris Janzen Longacre. My kids love this dish. Really!


More With Less

Lentil Barley Stew/Casserole (my version)

2-4 Tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
6 cups water
1 cup lentils
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup barley
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon rosemary (or thyme)
1/2 cup grated carrots

Saute celery, onion and garlic until soft. Add water and lentils and cook for 20 minutes. Add tomatoes, barley and seasonings and simmer for 45-60 minutes. Add grated carrots and cook 5 more minutes.

I cut the amount of liquid in the original recipe so it turns out more like a casserole, served on a plate rather than a stew served in a bowl. But, you could increase the tomatoes by a can, add a pinch more salt, and serve it as a stew.

The second recipe, for French Lentil Soup, was found on an advertisement laying around my mom's kitchen. I don't know how authentically French this soup is, given the source of the recipe, but it is very good--thick and hearty. We ate it tonight with quick-under-the-broiler flat bread topped with mozzarella and fresh tomatoes.

French Lentil Soup

1 small onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
a little canola oil
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 (or more) teaspoon pepper
6 cups broth
2-3 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 cup lentils
3 T brown rice
fresh parsley for garnish

Brown onions and garlic in oil. Add chopped carrots and spices and saute a little longer. Add broth, lentils, rice, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour (mine simmered while I was at the thrift store with Active Son), until lentils and rice are cooked. Puree 1 1/2 cups of the soup and return to the pot of soup. Serve with fresh parsley.

I double both of these recipes as the leftovers make nice lunches.

Turkey once, turkey twice, cooking turkey soup with rice

As our post-Thanksgiving pot of turkey soup simmers on the stove, I'm thinking that I should have posted this favorite recipe before Thanksgiving, giving anyone who doesn't already save their turkey carcass a heads up to do so; though you can make an equally delicious soup using chicken. So beloved is Turkey Carcass Soup-perhaps I should consider modifying the name- at our house, that everyone will willingly give up a round of turkey leftovers if they know that turkey will be used for soup.

This is the most used and best loved recipe from my Jane Broody Good Food Book, which I acquired in the first years of married life. My "adjusted" version:

Turkey Carcass Soup

~A good soup begins with a good stock~

Stock
1 large turkey carcass, broken into pieces (today I'm suing two smaller carcasses
water to cover the carcass ( I use 35-40 cups, approximately)
4 onions coarsely chopped
a few ribs of celery with leaves, if available
4 carrots, chopped
1 large turnip, chopped
5 cloves garlic
salt (a put a couple of tablespoons in now but you can add more later when you make the soup.)
4 bay leaves
a handful of fresh parsley (or some dry)
2 tsp dried thyme

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, and simmer it for 2 to 3 hours. When stock is ready, strain it--I use a mesh sieve. Remove any remaining turkey from the bones before discarding them.

Soup
1 cup minced onion
6 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup butter
6 cups diced carrots
3 cups diced celery
3 cups finely chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup flour
36-42 cups stock
2 Tbsp sage
2 cups brown uncooked brown rice
6 cups diced turkey meat
1/2-2/3 cup chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

(I use my food processor to chop/mince all the vegetables but the celery, which I chop by hand.)

1. In a large stockpot, saute the onion and garlic in butter until soft.
2. Add carrots, celery, and mushrooms; cook the vegetables, stirring them, 3 to 5 minutes longer.
3. Add the flour, and cook the mixture, stirring it, for another minute.
4. Add the stock, sage, and brown rice. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the soup for about an hour.
5. Add the turkey meat, salt and pepper, adjusting seasonings. I sometimes add a few shakes of hot pepper sauce instead of black pepper.
6. Sprinkle the soup with parsley just before serving.

As you can surmise from the quantities of the ingredients, this makes a very large pot of soup. You could halve or even quarter my recipe. Tonight we will enjoy this pot with friends and I will store some in the freezer for our traditional Christmas Eve supper. And, there may still be enough for another meal...

Humble Fare

Dear husband and I had some minor cross-cultural adjustments to make when we married. We are both Americans but I'm a West Coast girl and he hails from the Midwest and the East. Where I grew up a salad could be considered an entree, even if there were no meat in it. Same for soups. Dear husband, on the other hand, had never even tasted an avocado before he met me (aren't avocados better than meat??). Additionally, my wonderful mother-in-law, also a wonderful cook, was a Sunday-pot-roast-with-all-the-trimmings kind of woman. (I still can't compete, but I certainly have learned a lot from her!)

Through the years I've learned to cook enough dishes which don't prompt my husband to look at me with a longing "where's the beef" look in his eyes and he's learned to be satisfied with a few meatless dinners. Just a few. Below is a the recipe for a favorite soup which besides being quick to fix, tasty, and healthy, is very easy on an increasingly burdened grocery budget in these days of rising food prices.

Tomato, Lentil, and Cilantro Soup

1/4 cup canola oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. garam masala (Indian spice mixture)
red pepper flakes to taste
2 14 oz cans of chopped tomatoes, puree one can in the blender
8 cups vegetable stock
1 cup red (orange) lentils
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup-or more-chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Heat oil in a large pan, add onions, garlic, garam masala, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until onions are soft. Add tomatoes, stock, lentils, sugar, and cilantro, simmer, stirring, uncovered about 20 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Serve with sour cream and chopped cilantro leaves. Of course, Dear Husband would prefer it served with a steak, but he'll settle for a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it."
Proverbs 15:17

Sopa Ranchera

Christmas Break (which we're extending until January 7th) is a great time for my culinary creativity to be refreshed as I take the time to try a few new recipes. Here is a one for a delicious winter soup. My family liked this so much that I made it twice in one week--and I'm making yet another batch to add to the growing stash of freezer entrees that will keep Dear Husband and the kids fed while Oldest Daughter and I are on our audition trip.

My inspiration comes, again, from The Best of Cooking Light. I followed the recipe pretty closely except for:

-I omitted the zucchini because I didn't have any and my dear children said not to bother going out to get some. It wouldn't be missed.
-I used leftover roasted potatoes and chicken. This worked so well that when I made it again I pre-roasted some chicken breasts (olive oil and cajun spice mix) and potatoes.
-I doubled the oregano and tripled the cumin
-I added some red pepper flakes--about 1/2 tsp for a double batch.
-I added extra garlic
-other alterations are noted within the recipe

Other than that, I followed the recipe closely ; )

Oh, and I never, ever make a single batch.

Sopa Ranchera:

1 tsp. vegetable oil (I use about 3 T olive oil)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
6 cups chicken stock (I used 7 cups vegetable stock)
1 3/4 cups cubed peeled baking potato
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained
2 cups shredded (I diced) cooked chicken breast
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed (I used one can of corn)
3/4 tsp, salt (I omitted as my stock was salted)
1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced-about 1 1/2 cups (I omitted)
1 cup diced tomato (I used one can cooked, diced tomato)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Toppings:
grated cheddar or montery jack cheese
sour cream
lime wedges

We don't have any reduced fat options on the dairy products so our finished dish probably wouldn't meet Cooking Light standards.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and saute' 3 minutes. Add oregano, cumin, and garlic, and saute' about 1 minute. Add stock, potato, and chickpeas, bring mixture to a boil, and cook 5 minutes. Add chicken, corn, salt, and zucchini, and cook 5 minutes. Stir in tomato and 1/3 cup cilantro, and cook 2 minutes.