Souptacular!

Last Sunday, the first annual Souptacular was launched with great fanfare. Each of us made a soup-- or two. I made French onion soup and vegetarian tortilla soup, A. made north African cauliflower soup, and S. made curried carrot soup with roasted pistachios. Recipes were gathered from several sources, and I've included them below.

The grrl waiting to tuck in. (Check out A.'s adorable apron, which was inherited from her grandma.)

Curried carrot soup topped with roasted pistachios

Adventures in Stock Land

<in Julia Child's voice> You start with the vegetables (celery, onion, carrot, garlic).

Then you add a pile of sage that's been hiding in your freezer for longer than you want to admit.

And then you toss in a carcass of some sort (I believe it was fowl in origin), also dredged from the frozen depths of the freezer.

Cioppino to Seafood Chowder

This culinary adventure started as cioppino, a seafood stew developed in the 1800s by Portuguese and Italian fishermen who had settled in San Francisco's North Beach region. It consists of seafood, tomatoes, white wine, and toasted bread (sourdough or baguette).

The word is derived from cuippin, which means to chop or chopped in the Ligurian dialect of Genoa, and refers to the tradition of chopping up leftovers from the day's catch to make the stew.

It shares a common history with other dishes from the region, including cacciucco or brodetto from Italy; bouillabaisse, burrida, and bourride from French Provencal; and suquet de peix from Catalan-speaking Spain.

Unfortunately, I used a fish blend from Trader Joe's. I like most things from T.J.'s, but this fish was low-end because the cioppino was contaminated by an over-the-top fishy taste.

So we return to the drawing board to transform a dish into something delicioso. As is the case with most things, adding butter and cream to it salvaged the fishy cioppino. I made a simple roux and kicked up the vegetable contingent.

Ta da! The end result was a gorgeous, rich seafood chowder.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies + Lentil Soup

I found a divine lentil soup recipe to use up the remainder of the massive quantities of kale that Crystal and Jason generously gave me from their garden.

Onions and kale

Broth and lentils

As most of you know, I'm not much of a baker. For some odd reason, I had a hankering for cookies recently, so I made these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I think they turned out well, although J. mocked me because I didn't eat any of them for several weeks. In fact, a large plastic bag of them is still living in my freezer. I guess I just wanted to make them.

batter

Coq au Vin + Concord Grape Juice

Last week, I made an easy version of coq au vin and Concord grape juice with grapes from my backyard. To simplify the coq au vin, I used rotisserie chicken that I'd frozen, but even making it with regular chicken is dead simple. Who knew such a swanky-sounding dish is actually a breeze? I served it over whole wheat cous cous with steamed haricots verts (those slender French green beans). Delish.

Here are some shots of making the grape juice:

A thoroughly blurry shot of the coq au vin. (Sorry. I think I was too hungry to hold the camera still.)

Caramelized Onion and Savoy Cabbage Chowder with Thyme

Turkey bacon is cooking, and the green sun tea is brewing.

This past week, I made a wonderful soup. It's a bastardized, healthier version of the old-school French onion soup. Caramelizing the onions lends depth without using beef broth, the apple cider vinegar and soy sauce give it an underlying pungent kick, and the thyme infuses it with a tinge of earthiness. Plus, you get a flavorful soup without loading it with Gruyere and bread. Instead, I topped it with some Parmesan shards and a few croutons. (I cheated on the croutons by using storebought salt and pepper ones.) I also used regular old green cabbage instead of savoy cabbage, and I didn't have apple cider, so I omitted it and added more soy sauce and apple cider vinegar. I am a rebel.

Caramelized Onion and Savoy Cabbage Chowder with Thyme
1/2 c. apple cider
1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
12 oz. savoy cabbage (6-7 c.)
3 large onions, cut into large dice (1 1/2 lbs.)
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbsp.)
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme

1. Combine apple cider, soy sauce, and vinegar.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add cabbage, and season with salt, if desired. Cook 5-7 mins., stirring occasionally. Transfer to shallow bowl.
3. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, and season with salt, if desired. Cover, and cook 8-10 mins., or until onions are softened, stirring occasionally. Uncover, and cook 16-18 mins., or until onions are golden brown. Add garlic, 1 1/2 Tbsp. thyme, and apple cider mixture, stirring to scrape up brown bits on pan bottom. Bring to a simmer, and cook 1 min. Add cabbage and 5 c. water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and cook 15 mins. Serve topped with croutons and remaining 1 1/2 tsp. thyme.