Those of you who missed today are probably going to regret it when I tell you that we had a whole table full of yummy sweets! There were vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, chocolate pine bark, butter cookies with icing, butter cookies with organic chocolate, and lovely mince pies! Plus The Fleece Lady's dip and chips, oh, and soup. Yep. There was soup too.
It was an original soup, and while The Southerner thought I missed his comment about where the recipe came from, I did not!
The Fleece Lady: Oh, it's original? I was wondering what book she got it out of.
The Southerner: She got it out of the Book of Desperation.
Haha!
He said this because as of nine o'clock last night, I really didn't know what I was going to make for today. So, here's what I did. I had made a big pot of baked beans for us - not traditional ones, but white and pinto with onions, sweet curry, coconut milk and ginger. They were lovely...so lovely, that I decided to use them as a base for my totally original soup. What I did, was make a pot of vegetable stock, thin the beans down with it, puree it, and then cooked another pound of pintos, added them with sauteed celery and carrot, some curry, and another can of coconut milk. Voila. Bean Soup with Sweet Curry & Coconut. Yum! Who needs a cook book, I ask you?
It was a quiet Sunday Soup today. The Sous Chef dropped off the Pastry Chef and took her soup to go because she's poorly. Then Roxy Steve came by (their dad) and had some soup and a visit. Also The Neighbour came along with The Fix-it Guy & The Fleece Lady. They brought the mince pies, so instead of putting a dent in our hoard of baked goods, we actually increased our stash! I'm sure that The Southerner and I can work on that though and nothing will go to waste...just waists.
Anyway, it was a nice, warm, candlelit, final Sunday Soup of 2009, and from us to you, Happy Holidays and see ya in 2010!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Soup to Live On
The Fix-it guys said of today's soup, "You could live on this stuff." It's possible. It had a lot of good stuff in it. Actually, a person (not The Southerner as he thinks soup is an appetizer) could probably live on most good vegetable soups with some grains and legumes thrown in.
Today's soup was Miso with Cabbage and Root Vegetables. I didn't actually have any of the soup. I don't like Miso. But I heard it was really good, and judging by how much of it is gone, I'd say people liked it. I know Miso's supposed to be really good for you, but I just don't like the flavour. Why make it, you ask? Well, the truth is, I've made a lot of soups and I had all the stuff and other people like Miso, so why not?
This weekend's been a bit crazy so I didn't actually have time to make soup in advance, which was another good reason to make this one. Apparently cabbage is best if you eat it soon after you cook it, and this soup only needed to cook for twenty minutes (the work was in all the dicing, chopping, and sauteeing), so I made it around 2pm today. I generally make the soup on Friday night or Saturday. The only other times I've made it on Sunday was when I burned the soup, and when I made a horribly disgusting soup that even The Southerner wouldn't eat!
All in all, it was another lovely SS. We did the candlelight thing again, and The Writer brought another fantastic deep dish apple pie (don't tell him how good it was though because we're trying to convince him that he needs to keep practicing).
There is one thing I want to add to today's post. I know that a lot of you who read this are cooks yourselves and handle a lot of the food you eat. And even those of you who don't cook, all definitely eat. So when you sit down to have your next meal, have a good look at it and remember the farmer who grew it.
Today's soup was Miso with Cabbage and Root Vegetables. I didn't actually have any of the soup. I don't like Miso. But I heard it was really good, and judging by how much of it is gone, I'd say people liked it. I know Miso's supposed to be really good for you, but I just don't like the flavour. Why make it, you ask? Well, the truth is, I've made a lot of soups and I had all the stuff and other people like Miso, so why not?
This weekend's been a bit crazy so I didn't actually have time to make soup in advance, which was another good reason to make this one. Apparently cabbage is best if you eat it soon after you cook it, and this soup only needed to cook for twenty minutes (the work was in all the dicing, chopping, and sauteeing), so I made it around 2pm today. I generally make the soup on Friday night or Saturday. The only other times I've made it on Sunday was when I burned the soup, and when I made a horribly disgusting soup that even The Southerner wouldn't eat!
All in all, it was another lovely SS. We did the candlelight thing again, and The Writer brought another fantastic deep dish apple pie (don't tell him how good it was though because we're trying to convince him that he needs to keep practicing).
There is one thing I want to add to today's post. I know that a lot of you who read this are cooks yourselves and handle a lot of the food you eat. And even those of you who don't cook, all definitely eat. So when you sit down to have your next meal, have a good look at it and remember the farmer who grew it.
Today's Sunday Soup
is dedicated to our dear friend,
Farmer Ralph.
You will be missed.
is dedicated to our dear friend,
Farmer Ralph.
You will be missed.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Hearty Soup & Candlelight
A few weeks ago, the power went out right as SS began and we had a lovely candlelight evening. It was such a success that tonight we turned the lights low before people arrived and lit candles again. Everyone seemed to enjoy it!
The Sous Chef is busy with exams this week, so alas she had to eat cafeteria food this weekend and we missed her. However, it was an excellent opportunity for Pastry Chef (aka Younger Sister) to come over and pinch hit in the kitchen. We made a mighty fabulous hearty vegetable chowder from this recipe (subbing homemade veggie stock for the chicken stock) using local, organic veggies and sage right from my windowsill. It was yummy! The bread was the usual, but no one complained!
The Neighbour was out sick with a cold, but we didn't let The Fix-it Guy go over and drag her to SS anyway. She was missed though. All in all, a sort of nice, chatty, candlelit night. Snow in the forecast, so I better go blow those candles out now and save 'em in case we really need them.
Have a great week! Eat well.
The Sous Chef is busy with exams this week, so alas she had to eat cafeteria food this weekend and we missed her. However, it was an excellent opportunity for Pastry Chef (aka Younger Sister) to come over and pinch hit in the kitchen. We made a mighty fabulous hearty vegetable chowder from this recipe (subbing homemade veggie stock for the chicken stock) using local, organic veggies and sage right from my windowsill. It was yummy! The bread was the usual, but no one complained!
The Neighbour was out sick with a cold, but we didn't let The Fix-it Guy go over and drag her to SS anyway. She was missed though. All in all, a sort of nice, chatty, candlelit night. Snow in the forecast, so I better go blow those candles out now and save 'em in case we really need them.
Have a great week! Eat well.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
So much music!
This is going to be short and sweet.
Fantastic weekend.
Lots of music.
The Southerner, The Irish One, The Musician, The Fix-it Guy, The Fiddler, Kazoo Girl, and Clarinet Guy played two benefit concerts for The Commons, raising over $1200! Because of this, our house was hoppin' this weekend. We had musicians and guests going in and out for the last two days, more food than we could possibly put away (although we made a gallant effort), and endless, wonderful music.
The Neighbour hosted for the first hour while the second concert wrapped up (the first one sold out before the posters were even up!) and the soup was white bean, spinach, & tomato (you can find the recipe in the archives, I made it last December...the 23rd, or so) and it was yummy.
So tired...must rest...but not until I share one last bit of FANTASTIC NEWS!
My publisher just offered me a contract on a new book!!!! Read all about it here!
Eat well...more next week! Thanks to everyone who helped support The Commons this weekend!
Fantastic weekend.
Lots of music.
The Southerner, The Irish One, The Musician, The Fix-it Guy, The Fiddler, Kazoo Girl, and Clarinet Guy played two benefit concerts for The Commons, raising over $1200! Because of this, our house was hoppin' this weekend. We had musicians and guests going in and out for the last two days, more food than we could possibly put away (although we made a gallant effort), and endless, wonderful music.
The Neighbour hosted for the first hour while the second concert wrapped up (the first one sold out before the posters were even up!) and the soup was white bean, spinach, & tomato (you can find the recipe in the archives, I made it last December...the 23rd, or so) and it was yummy.
So tired...must rest...but not until I share one last bit of FANTASTIC NEWS!
My publisher just offered me a contract on a new book!!!! Read all about it here!
Eat well...more next week! Thanks to everyone who helped support The Commons this weekend!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Not tonight, I have a headache...
I tried to get out of blogging by asking The Sous Chef to blog for me because I've had a headache since yesterday. She laughed. Apparently she has no sympathy for me because I told her that if she really did get food poisoning this past week from eating at the golden arches, well, that's what she gets for eating there. She didn't like that much, so here I am blogging. She did help with the dishes though...she loaded all the dirty spoons into the dishwasher!
I also tried to get The Southerner to blog, but he's too busy practicing all the cool stuff he's going to play next weekend at his third annual benefit gig, Concert For The Commons (which, by the way, is sold out, but it is probable a Sunday show will be added so if you live on the island and you want a second show to happen, add your name to the waiting list at Artworks). A house full of music is lovely though, so I'm not complaining.
We had a very nice, rather quiet evening. The power stayed on the whole time, and the soup was a hit. Someone asked what it was called and I said, "What I had in the fridge soup." It's true. Last night at nine o'clock, I still didn't know what I was going to make, so I looked in the fridge. I made a very nice soup out of leeks, a parsnip (grown by The Farmers), carrots, and potatoes (grown by The Southerner) and some seasonings. I basically simmered it all in water, removed half the vegetables, pureed the rest, put the veggies back in, and seasoned it all with salt and pepper and a secret spice (okay, Penzey's ranch dressing mix).
And that's about it here! Have a great week and eat well. Oh, and if there is a second show, never fear, Sunday Soup will go on as scheduled...The Neighbour will hold the fort down until we get back around 5pm.
I also tried to get The Southerner to blog, but he's too busy practicing all the cool stuff he's going to play next weekend at his third annual benefit gig, Concert For The Commons (which, by the way, is sold out, but it is probable a Sunday show will be added so if you live on the island and you want a second show to happen, add your name to the waiting list at Artworks). A house full of music is lovely though, so I'm not complaining.
We had a very nice, rather quiet evening. The power stayed on the whole time, and the soup was a hit. Someone asked what it was called and I said, "What I had in the fridge soup." It's true. Last night at nine o'clock, I still didn't know what I was going to make, so I looked in the fridge. I made a very nice soup out of leeks, a parsnip (grown by The Farmers), carrots, and potatoes (grown by The Southerner) and some seasonings. I basically simmered it all in water, removed half the vegetables, pureed the rest, put the veggies back in, and seasoned it all with salt and pepper and a secret spice (okay, Penzey's ranch dressing mix).
And that's about it here! Have a great week and eat well. Oh, and if there is a second show, never fear, Sunday Soup will go on as scheduled...The Neighbour will hold the fort down until we get back around 5pm.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
All right...who turned out the lights?
The soup was bubbling in the pot, the biscuits were hot out of the oven, and luckily The Southerner had a roarin' good fire going in the woodstove because The Crowd was still coming through the doors when the power went out. Our first Blackout Sunday Soup! How exciting.
We soon discovered that while we're well stocked with candles, we're lacking in holders. But we made do with some old dishes and before we knew it, The Fix-it Guy was dishing up Borscht for everyone and even serving it to them around the table (it's usually serve-yourself)!
Just about the time that we were going to send out a search party for The Neighbour, she came hobbling in...turns out she had her knee surgery a bit early, but didn't tell any of us because she didn't want to bother us! Can you believe it? Tomorrow we are banding together to stock her house with kindling, food, and good books and The Southerner made sure she got home okay tonight. He was going to drive her, but they decided it would take three times as long to go down our long driveway, around the block, and into her driveway rather than just walk through our backyards. Plus she would've had to climb into the truck.
It was a lovely candlelit Sunday Soup and the power just came on a few minutes ago, well after everyone had left and we'd heated our vegetable curry on the woodstove (and I made rice which was actually better than on the regular stove!) and eaten it. I'd even cleaned up by candlelight while The Southerner practiced guitar for his upcoming gig. You really should go to it on December 5th, if you're on the island. It's going to be a cavalcade of stars - The Fix-it Guy, The Fiddler, The Irish One, The Musician, and others are going to join The Southerner all in a benefit for the Commons!
Oh, and yes...I do realize I let everyone down by not posting last week. The Sous Chef pointed this out several times, which caused me to suggest that perhaps The Sous Chef should take over the blog, since that seems like a perfect job for a sous chef. But as she pointed out, she doesn't know how to use capital letters in emails so she probably wouldn't in a blog post which would drive me INSANE. Oh, wait... what I meant to say is that she pointed out that while she often helps cook she is rarely actually present for SS.
Anyway, while I did not post last week, I will tell you that we had Chocolate Chili and bread and a very special guest. The Poetess came all the way from Tennessee to visit for a week, and also to attend the poetry festival. Oh, and to teach a wonderful Yoga For Writers workshop. So I'm sorry I didn't blog, but I was just worn out from all the fun we had running around, showing her the island!
Today's soup was borscht. I made it for three reasons. The first two are because The Fix-it Guy and The Musician have been requesting it for months. The third reason is because The Farmers gave me the beets, the greens, the dill, and the recipe, so what could I say, "Ummm...thanks, but I hate beets?" No. My mother raised me to have more manners than that. So on Friday night, The Sous Chef and I made the soup and guess what? It was really good. And everyone loved it. Even The Southerner ate some and he has a "No meat, no beet" food policy. I still am not a big fan of beets, but I could definitely make this again next year and be happy about it.
So...until next week...Eat Well.
We soon discovered that while we're well stocked with candles, we're lacking in holders. But we made do with some old dishes and before we knew it, The Fix-it Guy was dishing up Borscht for everyone and even serving it to them around the table (it's usually serve-yourself)!
Just about the time that we were going to send out a search party for The Neighbour, she came hobbling in...turns out she had her knee surgery a bit early, but didn't tell any of us because she didn't want to bother us! Can you believe it? Tomorrow we are banding together to stock her house with kindling, food, and good books and The Southerner made sure she got home okay tonight. He was going to drive her, but they decided it would take three times as long to go down our long driveway, around the block, and into her driveway rather than just walk through our backyards. Plus she would've had to climb into the truck.
It was a lovely candlelit Sunday Soup and the power just came on a few minutes ago, well after everyone had left and we'd heated our vegetable curry on the woodstove (and I made rice which was actually better than on the regular stove!) and eaten it. I'd even cleaned up by candlelight while The Southerner practiced guitar for his upcoming gig. You really should go to it on December 5th, if you're on the island. It's going to be a cavalcade of stars - The Fix-it Guy, The Fiddler, The Irish One, The Musician, and others are going to join The Southerner all in a benefit for the Commons!
Oh, and yes...I do realize I let everyone down by not posting last week. The Sous Chef pointed this out several times, which caused me to suggest that perhaps The Sous Chef should take over the blog, since that seems like a perfect job for a sous chef. But as she pointed out, she doesn't know how to use capital letters in emails so she probably wouldn't in a blog post which would drive me INSANE. Oh, wait... what I meant to say is that she pointed out that while she often helps cook she is rarely actually present for SS.
Anyway, while I did not post last week, I will tell you that we had Chocolate Chili and bread and a very special guest. The Poetess came all the way from Tennessee to visit for a week, and also to attend the poetry festival. Oh, and to teach a wonderful Yoga For Writers workshop. So I'm sorry I didn't blog, but I was just worn out from all the fun we had running around, showing her the island!
Today's soup was borscht. I made it for three reasons. The first two are because The Fix-it Guy and The Musician have been requesting it for months. The third reason is because The Farmers gave me the beets, the greens, the dill, and the recipe, so what could I say, "Ummm...thanks, but I hate beets?" No. My mother raised me to have more manners than that. So on Friday night, The Sous Chef and I made the soup and guess what? It was really good. And everyone loved it. Even The Southerner ate some and he has a "No meat, no beet" food policy. I still am not a big fan of beets, but I could definitely make this again next year and be happy about it.
So...until next week...Eat Well.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Nice & Relaxed
Tonight's SS was nice and relaxed. We had the group of regulars and there wasn't any ukulele practice so it was quiet (we loved the uke practice, don't get me wrong, y'all come back!). I've been reading the Betsy-Tacy books lately, and as you know, Sunday Soup got started because of them (if you don't know the story, look to the left hand side of this blog). In the book, all Betsy's friends are affectionately called The Crowd. I think that's what I'm going to start calling the regulars.
Today, we had The Crowd in for mushroom, lentil, tomato soup. It was a yummy soup...in fact, I'm eating a bowl now and The Southerner ate about four bowls so I didn't even have to cook him dinner after everyone left. AND he did the dishes. He's a keeper.
That's about it for today. Oh, except this news! Late last week, I received the galleys or ARCs (advance reading copies) of my book! These look like a paperback version of my book, but they're uncorrected - meaning, I've made some changes since they went to print. Still, they're way cool! They are for reviewers and booksellers, but my publisher gave me a few, which leads me to this story: You're probably wondering if the Sous Chef helped make this soup. She did not. She came over to make it, but...this is what she did instead!
Today, we had The Crowd in for mushroom, lentil, tomato soup. It was a yummy soup...in fact, I'm eating a bowl now and The Southerner ate about four bowls so I didn't even have to cook him dinner after everyone left. AND he did the dishes. He's a keeper.
That's about it for today. Oh, except this news! Late last week, I received the galleys or ARCs (advance reading copies) of my book! These look like a paperback version of my book, but they're uncorrected - meaning, I've made some changes since they went to print. Still, they're way cool! They are for reviewers and booksellers, but my publisher gave me a few, which leads me to this story: You're probably wondering if the Sous Chef helped make this soup. She did not. She came over to make it, but...this is what she did instead!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Best
If you were at Sunday Soup tonight, you might have thought it was awards night. Through much discussion, it was determined that we apparently had the best of everything tonight.
The pumpkin-peach soup was declared The Best Soup Ever by The Neighbour.
The Writer's apple pie was crowned The Best Apple Pie So Far (it was only given the "so far" award because we hope he'll keep trying to surpass it so we can test it for him).
The seed & fennel bread was declared The Best Bread in Recent Memory by many.
The Fleece Lady's artichoke dip was deemed the very yummiest, bestest ever, please-bring-again every week by me, The Chef. Oh, yum! I don't even need dinner now.
I think we also should give an award for The Best Crowd for a non-party Sunday Soup. There were simply zillions of us! Way more than I can count. And just as the first wave was putting on coats to leave, a bunch more people arrived with ukuleles and wine and the party got going all over again.
The Southerner models The Fleece Lady's Halloween wig.
The pumpkin-peach soup was declared The Best Soup Ever by The Neighbour.
The Writer's apple pie was crowned The Best Apple Pie So Far (it was only given the "so far" award because we hope he'll keep trying to surpass it so we can test it for him).
The seed & fennel bread was declared The Best Bread in Recent Memory by many.
The Fleece Lady's artichoke dip was deemed the very yummiest, bestest ever, please-bring-again every week by me, The Chef. Oh, yum! I don't even need dinner now.
I think we also should give an award for The Best Crowd for a non-party Sunday Soup. There were simply zillions of us! Way more than I can count. And just as the first wave was putting on coats to leave, a bunch more people arrived with ukuleles and wine and the party got going all over again.
There is one more prize to give out though. It is for Best Hair.
The Southerner models The Fleece Lady's Halloween wig.Sunday, October 25, 2009
Free cookies!
The island's poetry society is having their big festival in a few weeks and there's going to be a great raffle. While I leave most of the volunteering to The Southerner (he does enough for about three or four people, so I'm covered), I have signed up to sell the raffle tickets. My plan was to hit up all the SS attendees by bribing them with food. It sort of worked...today there were free cookies if you bought a ticket, and so everyone did, and then I gave them extra cookies too.
If you live here on the island, and you buy your raffle tickets from me, I'm not above giving you an extra incentive too. Here's what you can get in ADDITION to the ticket and the possibility of winning many fabulous prizes, like free firewood, nights in a B&B, and ferry travel: cookies, bread, butterscotch apple bread pudding, four quarts of soup & a loaf of bread, or dinner for two fixed by me right in my very own kitchen!
Anyway, aside from the hard sell on the raffle tickets, we had a nice time. The soup was Tortilla Soup, which is pretty much a tomato based soup with black beans served over tortilla chips with cheese. The Sous Chef came over on Friday night to help me make it since I had plans yesterday. A very popular soup! In fact, so popular, it might be gone.
The Southerner got the fire roaring again, so it was toasty warm and everyone filled up with cookies and tea and the conversation was long, languid, and low-key. As I write this, a pot of vegetables are roasting in the oven for supper, the fire is crackling, the cats are melted into the furniture, and the rain is drumming on the roof. A very satisfying end to a lovely Sunday Soup.
Until next week...eat well, and don't forget to bring your money for raffle tickets!
If you live here on the island, and you buy your raffle tickets from me, I'm not above giving you an extra incentive too. Here's what you can get in ADDITION to the ticket and the possibility of winning many fabulous prizes, like free firewood, nights in a B&B, and ferry travel: cookies, bread, butterscotch apple bread pudding, four quarts of soup & a loaf of bread, or dinner for two fixed by me right in my very own kitchen!
Anyway, aside from the hard sell on the raffle tickets, we had a nice time. The soup was Tortilla Soup, which is pretty much a tomato based soup with black beans served over tortilla chips with cheese. The Sous Chef came over on Friday night to help me make it since I had plans yesterday. A very popular soup! In fact, so popular, it might be gone.
The Southerner got the fire roaring again, so it was toasty warm and everyone filled up with cookies and tea and the conversation was long, languid, and low-key. As I write this, a pot of vegetables are roasting in the oven for supper, the fire is crackling, the cats are melted into the furniture, and the rain is drumming on the roof. A very satisfying end to a lovely Sunday Soup.
Until next week...eat well, and don't forget to bring your money for raffle tickets!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Best of Both Worlds
Yesterday, when the Sous Chef, The Southerner, and I tasted the eight bean soup, The Southerner said, "It's so good! Maybe no one will come and we'll get to eat it all!" He didn't really mean it, but what did happen was we had a bunch of people stop by for the social bit and not the soup (they were too full from other events or in a hurry) and so we ended up with quite a lot of leftovers AND we got to see all our friends. The best of both worlds...especially if you're The Southerner!
The Fix-it Guy did drop in briefly with a bunch of musicians who were here playing a gig with him and they all had soup and bread and crackers. They had a ferry to catch, so they had to eat fast. They loved the bread, but the crackers were a big hit too. Yes. Crackers that The Sous Chef and I made yesterday. We had so much fun mixing and matching flours, spices, cheese, and herbs that we made about six batches, I think. There was cornmeal and aleppo pepper, fresh garlic with whole wheat flour and Parmesan cheese, and many more combos. Yum!
Wild Iris brought us flowers, but couldn't stay. The Irish One brought us lovely apples from her tree, and just visited...others dropped by for a bowl of soup or a chat. It was, all in all, a very nice Sunday Soup. And even though the last visitor left almost an hour ago, there's still fifteen minutes, so who knows...maybe someone else will show up and it will turn out I'm writing prematurely (which is better than last week when I forgot!).
I wanted to share something really cool with you though. As you may or may not know, Sunday Soup was originally inspired by the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. The publisher of the book series has just re-released the high school books and to help spread the word and celebrate, Betsy-Tacy lovers around the world are blogging about the books and how they affected their lives. I get to be part of the fun. Tomorrow (Monday, October 19th), there will be a special blog post on my writer website all about Sunday Soup and Betsy. I hope you'll drop by to read it.
And in the meantime, have a great week and eat lots of soup. See y'all next Sunday!
The Fix-it Guy did drop in briefly with a bunch of musicians who were here playing a gig with him and they all had soup and bread and crackers. They had a ferry to catch, so they had to eat fast. They loved the bread, but the crackers were a big hit too. Yes. Crackers that The Sous Chef and I made yesterday. We had so much fun mixing and matching flours, spices, cheese, and herbs that we made about six batches, I think. There was cornmeal and aleppo pepper, fresh garlic with whole wheat flour and Parmesan cheese, and many more combos. Yum!
Wild Iris brought us flowers, but couldn't stay. The Irish One brought us lovely apples from her tree, and just visited...others dropped by for a bowl of soup or a chat. It was, all in all, a very nice Sunday Soup. And even though the last visitor left almost an hour ago, there's still fifteen minutes, so who knows...maybe someone else will show up and it will turn out I'm writing prematurely (which is better than last week when I forgot!).
I wanted to share something really cool with you though. As you may or may not know, Sunday Soup was originally inspired by the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. The publisher of the book series has just re-released the high school books and to help spread the word and celebrate, Betsy-Tacy lovers around the world are blogging about the books and how they affected their lives. I get to be part of the fun. Tomorrow (Monday, October 19th), there will be a special blog post on my writer website all about Sunday Soup and Betsy. I hope you'll drop by to read it.
And in the meantime, have a great week and eat lots of soup. See y'all next Sunday!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
I was just too full to write!
It has been brought to my attention that I am a total slacker. Although, it was put much nicer than that! The truth is that I forgot to post because I was too full of Thanksgiving dinner. Canadian Thanksgiving was last weekend and so Sunday Soup was a quiet affair. In fact, only The Neighbour and The Real Estate Agent came. We had a lovely time though and the soup was good. My standard quick-no-fail soup - Potato Leek. The potatoes were from The Southerner's garden. Yummmm...If you've never had fresh from the farm/garden potatoes, I suggest you start growing your own. They are totally different than potatoes you buy in the store. For one thing, they're really hard. For another, when you cut into them, they are crisp and juicy like an apple. Amazing. And the taste is extraordinary. Anyway...
After the guests left, The Southerner and I had a fantastic meal that I'd mostly prepared ahead of time. You can read all about it here, if you want.
So to those of you who were here, and all of you that we missed, or who live far away, I just want to say that we count you among our many blessings that we are thankful for.
After the guests left, The Southerner and I had a fantastic meal that I'd mostly prepared ahead of time. You can read all about it here, if you want.
So to those of you who were here, and all of you that we missed, or who live far away, I just want to say that we count you among our many blessings that we are thankful for.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
The Luckiest Girl in the World! Me!
Today I took a moment to look around our living room and kitchen during Sunday Soup and I was truly stunned by our blessings. Two years ago, The Southerner and I moved here and didn't know anyone. Today our house overflowed with friendship, food, love, and laughter. And as if that wasn't great enough, I now have a three piece jazz band playing in my living room. Everyone else has gone home, but the trio's just getting started - oh, wait...apparently we're losing the horn player right after this song. Oh, well, a handful of songs is still pretty great. Not everyone has a jazz guitar, trombone, and upright bass concert all to themselves! And apparently, neither do I for much longer. But I do have a die-hard bass player (The Fix-it Guy) and the guitar/singer (The Southerner) for more music!
The potluck was a great success and I learned something very important. If you make two soups, and you only make a small batch of one of them, that is the one that everyone will love! Not that they turned up their noses at my original recipe squash, ginger, and apple cider soup, but truly the Chocolate Chili was the sure winner. It went so fast I had to hide the empty crockpot so that the latecomers wouldn't know they'd missed it. Yes, that's right. Chocolate Chili. The recipe came from How to Cook Practically Everything Vegetarian. Of course, I made a few adjustments. I added a chipotle pepper and some adobo sauce to give it a kick. And I didn't have any plain dark chocolate so I added orange dark chocolate. It was made with black beans, onions, tomatoes, water and seasonings. Yum.
The Crowd was so big that I can't name everyone, so I won't name anyone. There were several people who had never come before either, so it was nice to finally get them here. I hope they'll all come back. This was truly a wonderful day and The Southerner and I are so happy to be part of this community. Thank you for having us. And come back next week!
P.S. The Sous Chef had to go to a horse show this weekend, so she didn't come for a cooking lesson, but she did send me this picture of our cannolis from last week. She took it on her phone, so it's sideways. You'll just have to turn your head (or your computer). The dough is wrapped around wooden dowels that we had cut at the building supply store and then sanded ourselves (thank you internet for the tip!). By the way, The Southerner LOVED them! But like he said, "Cannolis...what's not to love?"
The potluck was a great success and I learned something very important. If you make two soups, and you only make a small batch of one of them, that is the one that everyone will love! Not that they turned up their noses at my original recipe squash, ginger, and apple cider soup, but truly the Chocolate Chili was the sure winner. It went so fast I had to hide the empty crockpot so that the latecomers wouldn't know they'd missed it. Yes, that's right. Chocolate Chili. The recipe came from How to Cook Practically Everything Vegetarian. Of course, I made a few adjustments. I added a chipotle pepper and some adobo sauce to give it a kick. And I didn't have any plain dark chocolate so I added orange dark chocolate. It was made with black beans, onions, tomatoes, water and seasonings. Yum.
The Crowd was so big that I can't name everyone, so I won't name anyone. There were several people who had never come before either, so it was nice to finally get them here. I hope they'll all come back. This was truly a wonderful day and The Southerner and I are so happy to be part of this community. Thank you for having us. And come back next week!
P.S. The Sous Chef had to go to a horse show this weekend, so she didn't come for a cooking lesson, but she did send me this picture of our cannolis from last week. She took it on her phone, so it's sideways. You'll just have to turn your head (or your computer). The dough is wrapped around wooden dowels that we had cut at the building supply store and then sanded ourselves (thank you internet for the tip!). By the way, The Southerner LOVED them! But like he said, "Cannolis...what's not to love?"
Monday, September 28, 2009
Lots of sugar & hot oil
Instead of making soup on Saturday, The Sous Chef and I made cannoli. This experience has taught me quite a few things. First off, when The Sous Chef says something like, "You can't make cannoli in this part of the world. They can only make it in Europe!" I should probably check the recipe before saying, "Of course you can." While it's true that you can make cannoli at home, and we did, it's a heck of a lot of work. Next time she picks something crazy like that to make, I'm going to say, "You're right. You can't make that unless you're Italian (or Belgian, which is where she had it)."
Another thing I learned is do not allow The Sous Chef to schedule a horseback ride on the same afternoon you're making something complicated or you will find yourself standing over a pan of hot oil ALL ALONE frying up cannoli after cannoli and then making the soup while you're half asleep. Still, it was fun and I learned to deep-fry (which is not necessarily a good thing for my health, as I followed the cannoli frying with homemade onion rings!).
The soup was very yummy. At least I think it was, but I have a lot left so I'm not sure if everyone else agreed. I think that The Writer's tempting apple pie kept them from having seconds of soup. It's a minestrone and almost everything in it came from our garden! The Southerner did good this year! The few veggies that weren't from our garden came from The Farmers, so it was all organic goodness. Here's what was in it: water, tomatoes, onions, leeks, potatoes, green beans, zucchini (of course), broad beans, carrots, rosemary, salt & pepper, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and alphabet pasta. Delish! Just throw it all in a pot (cheese at the end and the pasta separately), and it's sooo good!
I used the leftover whey (from the homemade ricotta that I made for the cannoli) in the bread and I think it gave it a tiny sweetness. You don't taste it a lot in the bread, but when I made toast, it was noticeably crispier. Very nice.
We had two special guests and one Missing Person yesterday. My Aunt and Uncle came up from Washington State and spent the day with me touring the island, and then staying for Sunday Soup. It was great fun! I say, "with me" because the MP was The Southerner. He had to do a bit of travelling this weekend, but I saved him some cannoli, so while he missed our fun company, he'll still get the food.
By the way, next week is a special Sunday Soup. It is our We're so Happy We Live On This Island Second Annual Potluck. So if you live here, do drop by and help us celebrate our second anniversary living in Canada and here on the Island. And while I usually say, "Oh, don't bring anything" this is your chance. It will be during our regular SS time, so make sure you book us into your leisurely island schedule!
Another thing I learned is do not allow The Sous Chef to schedule a horseback ride on the same afternoon you're making something complicated or you will find yourself standing over a pan of hot oil ALL ALONE frying up cannoli after cannoli and then making the soup while you're half asleep. Still, it was fun and I learned to deep-fry (which is not necessarily a good thing for my health, as I followed the cannoli frying with homemade onion rings!).
The soup was very yummy. At least I think it was, but I have a lot left so I'm not sure if everyone else agreed. I think that The Writer's tempting apple pie kept them from having seconds of soup. It's a minestrone and almost everything in it came from our garden! The Southerner did good this year! The few veggies that weren't from our garden came from The Farmers, so it was all organic goodness. Here's what was in it: water, tomatoes, onions, leeks, potatoes, green beans, zucchini (of course), broad beans, carrots, rosemary, salt & pepper, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and alphabet pasta. Delish! Just throw it all in a pot (cheese at the end and the pasta separately), and it's sooo good!
I used the leftover whey (from the homemade ricotta that I made for the cannoli) in the bread and I think it gave it a tiny sweetness. You don't taste it a lot in the bread, but when I made toast, it was noticeably crispier. Very nice.
We had two special guests and one Missing Person yesterday. My Aunt and Uncle came up from Washington State and spent the day with me touring the island, and then staying for Sunday Soup. It was great fun! I say, "with me" because the MP was The Southerner. He had to do a bit of travelling this weekend, but I saved him some cannoli, so while he missed our fun company, he'll still get the food.
By the way, next week is a special Sunday Soup. It is our We're so Happy We Live On This Island Second Annual Potluck. So if you live here, do drop by and help us celebrate our second anniversary living in Canada and here on the Island. And while I usually say, "Oh, don't bring anything" this is your chance. It will be during our regular SS time, so make sure you book us into your leisurely island schedule!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Monday
Hi All. Too tired to post tonight, but will update on Monday. I even put it on my schedule so I won't forget. See you then.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
We have a winner - 3 winners actually!
Today was Fall Fair here on the island, so instead of making the soup yesterday together, The Sous Chef & I baked our entries for the fair competition (I made the soup earlier). The Sous Chef entered with these white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies, although, after much discussion, we made secret changes to the recipe, so yours probably won't be quite as good as hers. I have to say, they were DELICIOUS (notice how I'm using the past tense). And she won the First Place Blue Ribbon in the cookie category. Congratulations to one of my star pupils!
I made chocolate zucchini muffins and doctored them up with melted orange chocolate and sugar and passed them off as cupcakes since there wasn't a muffin category. I won first place too. Yeah, we're that good here!
The Pastry Chef (formerly Little Sister), baked her cookies on her own and took the Second Place Red Ribbon. There was some dispute between SC and PC regarding my help. Was it unfair that I helped Sous Chef and that she sabotaged my offer to help Pastry Chef by not passing on the message? That's an argument I'm not getting into. I told Pastry Chef that I was at her disposal next year though. And a big congratulations to her too on her red ribbon. She's come a long way baby since making those notorious tomato soup cookies.
Anyway, there I was, feeling all proud of The Pastry Chef for making these cookies all on her own. Yay, her! At least, I felt proud and happy UNTIL she threw the spatula down with this challenge! She looked at me, her eyes bright, her smile confident, "Next year, if they have a muffin category, I will beat you with my most awesome blueberry muffins."
Can you believe that? Well, I have news for the Pastry Chef! I make the killerest oatmeal buttermilk blackberry muffins that you could ever hope to sink your teeth into. I say to you, Pastry Chef, if you think your muffins are so good, why wait until next year? Are you afraid of my muffins? Or are you hoping I'm gonna forget? Ha! We are having the Second Annual Sunday Soup potluck on October 4th, and I say put your muffins where your mouth is, Little Miss Pastry Chef! The Island Bake-off is on! And you too, Sous Chef...let's bake!
Okay...relax...breathe...
Anyway, the soup today was a red lentil dal soup that I made from this recipe. I added some very thinly sliced sauteed onions, cilantro, and lots of lemon slices and lemon juice. The Fix-it Guy declared it my best soup ever. I really, really liked it myself. I've been trying to duplicate a soup like my favourite restaurant, The India Oven, in Portland, Oregon makes (sadly, last time I went there they were out of business) and this is pretty darn close. Warning:
P.S. Clicking on the Fall Fair link in the first sentence will take you to pics that The Southerner took today. Enjoy!
I made chocolate zucchini muffins and doctored them up with melted orange chocolate and sugar and passed them off as cupcakes since there wasn't a muffin category. I won first place too. Yeah, we're that good here!
The Pastry Chef (formerly Little Sister), baked her cookies on her own and took the Second Place Red Ribbon. There was some dispute between SC and PC regarding my help. Was it unfair that I helped Sous Chef and that she sabotaged my offer to help Pastry Chef by not passing on the message? That's an argument I'm not getting into. I told Pastry Chef that I was at her disposal next year though. And a big congratulations to her too on her red ribbon. She's come a long way baby since making those notorious tomato soup cookies.
Anyway, there I was, feeling all proud of The Pastry Chef for making these cookies all on her own. Yay, her! At least, I felt proud and happy UNTIL she threw the spatula down with this challenge! She looked at me, her eyes bright, her smile confident, "Next year, if they have a muffin category, I will beat you with my most awesome blueberry muffins."
Can you believe that? Well, I have news for the Pastry Chef! I make the killerest oatmeal buttermilk blackberry muffins that you could ever hope to sink your teeth into. I say to you, Pastry Chef, if you think your muffins are so good, why wait until next year? Are you afraid of my muffins? Or are you hoping I'm gonna forget? Ha! We are having the Second Annual Sunday Soup potluck on October 4th, and I say put your muffins where your mouth is, Little Miss Pastry Chef! The Island Bake-off is on! And you too, Sous Chef...let's bake!
Okay...relax...breathe...
Anyway, the soup today was a red lentil dal soup that I made from this recipe. I added some very thinly sliced sauteed onions, cilantro, and lots of lemon slices and lemon juice. The Fix-it Guy declared it my best soup ever. I really, really liked it myself. I've been trying to duplicate a soup like my favourite restaurant, The India Oven, in Portland, Oregon makes (sadly, last time I went there they were out of business) and this is pretty darn close. Warning:
P.S. Clicking on the Fall Fair link in the first sentence will take you to pics that The Southerner took today. Enjoy!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
I wasn't being anti-social..I was talking shop!
I suppose I could be accused of being anti-social today since most everyone spent SS on the porch and I sat at the kitchen table inside with The Sisters. Although, I do need a new nickname for Younger Sister because Older Sister has had a change to Sous Chef. I think Younger Sister will hereafter be called Pastry Chef, since that's her specialty (or at least, her main interest!).
The three of us were scouring cookbooks and searching the internet for recipes. The Pastry Chef wants to learn to make apple strudel. We found a recipe to try here, but if you have one you love, please send it on! Although The Sous Chef is primarily learning to cook soup, we are also expanding her lessons to include one other thing per week. Yesterday she made zucchini bread. I tried to give her all the credit, but she did protest and say that I added the vanilla. I guess it's important to give credit where credit is due. Still, I think there are two reasons this batch turned out particularly well. The first is of course, that she made it. The second is that I ran out of white sugar, so we did 1 cup of white and 1/2 cup of brown. It made the bread lighter than ever. I will make it that way from now on.
For this week, we made Cauliflower Soup from this recipe by Rachel Ray (FYI, I think the roux is unnecessary and won't bother next time). The Sous Chef is at a slight disadvantage in that she has a chronic pain issue in her right arm and she's right handed. She is not supposed to "chop too much" according to her physical therapist, which is a bit of a problem since soup basically consists of chopping a lot of things and throwing them into a pot. What we did yesterday was I chopped most of everything, and then left 2 stalks of celery, one head of cauliflower (out of six), and an onion and then I gave her the lesson on how to chop, core and dice and she practiced on those things. That way she got the idea, but didn't overwork her arm.
We had a bit of a scare though. I was taking a phone call from The Fleece Lady who was calling to make sure I was going to save her some soup since she was going to miss SS, and The Sous Chef was whisking the eggs, oil, and sugar for the zucchini bread. Much to my surprise, she thought she was mixing something to go into the cauliflower soup! Luckily, she realized this was probably not true before I even hung up. Whew! Julia Child said one should never admit one's mistake, just serve the food with a smile, but Cauliflower and Scrambled Egg Soup would probably be a hard sell, even to the hungry SS crowd!
I did feel it was necessary to tell The Sous Chef that if she had added the eggy-oily-sugary mixture, I would've been forced to demote her to dishwasher. I'm glad I didn't have to, but now that I think about it, the idea of having a dishwasher is very appealing! Hmmm...I wonder how The Southerner feels about a nickname change?
Anyway, SS was lots of fun in the kitchen today, and I assume it was fun outside too since no one got thrown off the deck and everyone did come in to say "See you next week." They looked well-fed and happy, even if we did eat all the zucchini bread ourselves. They'll never know!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Monumental SS - in so many ways
Today was a monumental SS. Where to start, where to start...
First off, it's raining. This is the first real rain we've had since last spring and it was the first SS we sat inside since forever. It was nice though. Cozy. And we had a great crowd that spilled over into the living room (which actually happens if there's more than four people here since we have a tiny kitchen).
Second, The Writer showed up and he quite seriously could be renamed, "The Baker" because he made the most fabulous apple pie I've ever had. And not only that, but I snagged a piece for later too. Hey, he needed to take his plate home. I was helping him out. The Southerner got an extra piece too and I just want to say right here that the bigger pieces is MINE. You had your shot and you were polite. Haha. Doesn't always pay to be a polite southerner, does it?
Third, I now have an assistant! As I've mentioned here before, there are The Sisters who come somewhat regularly and I am teaching them how to cook. As of yesterday, The Older Sister has officially been renamed The Sous Chef. Yes, it's true. She and I now have a standing date for 2pm on Saturdays to make the soup. This means that I can no longer decide at 8pm on Saturday what the soup will be. I am being forced to be prepared. That's a good thing though!
Yesterday The Sous Chef came over and we made a magnificent (I can say that because I can direct all praise at The Sous Chef) yellow zucchini soup with fresh rosemary. It is outstanding. And I got the recipe here. The Sous Chef did two all-important jobs. First of all, she provided the inspiration for the soup by presenting me with two of the largest yellow zucchinis I have ever seen. Think the size of Santa's thigh after Christmas. Seriously. Huge. The second thing she did was she peeled the potatoes. As you may remember (or not), while I can eat potatoes, I am highly allergic to the peelings and The Southerner always has to deal with the potatoes. Now The Sous Chef will be taking over that all important job. And her horse gets the peelings, so everyone wins.
I want to add that thanks to The Sous Chef's zucchini generosity, I also made zucchini cookies, zucchini bread, zucchini fritters, and froze 18 cups of shredded zucchini in the last 48 hours.
Welcome Sous Chef! I look forward to making you do all the grunt labour, I mean...working with you.
We had a great crowd, including Wild Iris who wore the birthday sash, The Neighbour, The Fix-it Guy, The Fleece Lady, a newcomer, and The Writer's Lovely Wife (I know last time I said I'd come up with a better nickname for her, but I haven't done it yet). Also, there was someone else who has a nickname that I can't remember...You do know what that means, don't you? No, it does not mean I'm getting old and my memory is going. It means we are super blessed to have so many friends.
Lastly, and this is exciting news...we have a new addition to our family! No, I haven't been keeping anything from y'all for the last nine months. We have a new kitty. Her name is Marley (as in, Bob) and she joined us two weeks ago (she needed a home and we needed a long haired black cat to complement our short haired white one - yes, we're nuts!), but today she really, truly became part of our little group. She did this in two ways. We let her outside for the first time ever and she came back! She likes us. She really, really likes us. And the fact that I know she was gone for exactly 70 minutes does not mean I was worried or anything. Okay...I was a little worried since she shot right off into the woods and was gone instantly. But the point is, she came back. And then she came to Sunday Soup and met everyone, which makes her officially part of the community. So all in all, a very monumental SS.
First off, it's raining. This is the first real rain we've had since last spring and it was the first SS we sat inside since forever. It was nice though. Cozy. And we had a great crowd that spilled over into the living room (which actually happens if there's more than four people here since we have a tiny kitchen).
Second, The Writer showed up and he quite seriously could be renamed, "The Baker" because he made the most fabulous apple pie I've ever had. And not only that, but I snagged a piece for later too. Hey, he needed to take his plate home. I was helping him out. The Southerner got an extra piece too and I just want to say right here that the bigger pieces is MINE. You had your shot and you were polite. Haha. Doesn't always pay to be a polite southerner, does it?
Third, I now have an assistant! As I've mentioned here before, there are The Sisters who come somewhat regularly and I am teaching them how to cook. As of yesterday, The Older Sister has officially been renamed The Sous Chef. Yes, it's true. She and I now have a standing date for 2pm on Saturdays to make the soup. This means that I can no longer decide at 8pm on Saturday what the soup will be. I am being forced to be prepared. That's a good thing though!
Yesterday The Sous Chef came over and we made a magnificent (I can say that because I can direct all praise at The Sous Chef) yellow zucchini soup with fresh rosemary. It is outstanding. And I got the recipe here. The Sous Chef did two all-important jobs. First of all, she provided the inspiration for the soup by presenting me with two of the largest yellow zucchinis I have ever seen. Think the size of Santa's thigh after Christmas. Seriously. Huge. The second thing she did was she peeled the potatoes. As you may remember (or not), while I can eat potatoes, I am highly allergic to the peelings and The Southerner always has to deal with the potatoes. Now The Sous Chef will be taking over that all important job. And her horse gets the peelings, so everyone wins.
I want to add that thanks to The Sous Chef's zucchini generosity, I also made zucchini cookies, zucchini bread, zucchini fritters, and froze 18 cups of shredded zucchini in the last 48 hours.
Welcome Sous Chef! I look forward to making you do all the grunt labour, I mean...working with you.
We had a great crowd, including Wild Iris who wore the birthday sash, The Neighbour, The Fix-it Guy, The Fleece Lady, a newcomer, and The Writer's Lovely Wife (I know last time I said I'd come up with a better nickname for her, but I haven't done it yet). Also, there was someone else who has a nickname that I can't remember...You do know what that means, don't you? No, it does not mean I'm getting old and my memory is going. It means we are super blessed to have so many friends.
Lastly, and this is exciting news...we have a new addition to our family! No, I haven't been keeping anything from y'all for the last nine months. We have a new kitty. Her name is Marley (as in, Bob) and she joined us two weeks ago (she needed a home and we needed a long haired black cat to complement our short haired white one - yes, we're nuts!), but today she really, truly became part of our little group. She did this in two ways. We let her outside for the first time ever and she came back! She likes us. She really, really likes us. And the fact that I know she was gone for exactly 70 minutes does not mean I was worried or anything. Okay...I was a little worried since she shot right off into the woods and was gone instantly. But the point is, she came back. And then she came to Sunday Soup and met everyone, which makes her officially part of the community. So all in all, a very monumental SS.
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