SOUP STOCK!!

It's true....I'm big on soups. There's no denying. Though I only have roughly 5 soup recipes, I sure do love each one of them. I've come to realize that one major aspect of soup making that I've come to respect greatly and consider to be ESSENTIAL to a good soup is SOUP STOCK!!

Believe it or not my modern friendly followers, stock making consists of more than simply dropping a cube of bullion into a pot of boiling water. For shame! Of course I'm dreadfully guilty of doing this! But the difference between using bullion or even canned broth is equivalent of using margarine instead of butter, powdered milk instead of fresh or, God Forbid, freeze-dried mashed potato flakes instead of doing it yourself. EWWWWWWW!!!

If you're a long-time reader you might remember my midevial chicken salad in which I made a fantastic stock to to boil down 2 whole chickens & then soak them in a citrus & spiced vinaigrette for a day to make an unbelievable chicken salad. I agree those were rather elaborate preparations for a chicken salad that I only got to nibble on, but I felt like a winner taking home roughly a gallon of superb chicken stock. So, lets talk about the basics of soup stocks.

Basically what you're looking for is a base to build the rest of your soup flavors on. And for the most part using chicken in your stock is a pretty safe flavor for any soup including heavier stews if you're inclined. Or if you're a vegan then you can even make yourself a veggie broth easily too.

Now I'm not even sure why I'm making a whole post out of this because it's so straightforward. Basically you want a chicken carcass or bones (easy way to make use of whole turkey/chicken left overs). Here in Japan they sell for fairly cheaply a carved out chicken for roughly 100Y more or less. You might also be able to find chicken wing tips cheaply which are really good to use too. Basically you want BONE if you want to make a good chicken stock.

Next you're gonna add veggies. Some of the basics you want to add are onion, carrot, celery. Garlic, of course; but go easy on garlic cuz' you don't want to overpower it. Chop everything roughly.
So for a 6 qt pot full I'd add about:
- 2 onions
- 3-4 carrots
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3-4 sticks of celery (leaves & all)

Now if you're making a vegetable broth you can really rock out with the vegetables & you'll want to use a LOT because the flavors are much more soft & subtle in flavor than chicken. Carrots give your stock a sweet flavor so be sure to add them. Soup stock is a great way to use older veggies that you wouldn't want to put upfront but they still have some "life" left. Don't be afraid to use negi too, the "Japanese" taste blends away into the stock nicely.

Of course you need to add spices too:

- about 10-20 whole black peppercorns
- 3-4 bay leaves
- if you have fresh herbs you can get real groovy & make a little bouquet de garni & tie it all up with some string to keep the bits & peices from falling off. I use about 6 or 7 sprigs of each herb. Herbs like: thyme, rosemary, Italian parsley, & oregano are standard. Fresh basil will go better if you add it at the very end of your simmering as if you put it in at the beginning you'll loose a lot of the flavor.
- If you're using dried herbs go easy as they can be overpowering. A tsp. here & there.

And then we'll just bring it to a boil & let it simmer covered for about 2-3 hours.

A few little extra tricks I like to do are:

- adding white wine (about 1 c or so)
- if you have any Parmesan rind (you know, the hard part that only guests who've drunk too much will attempt to eat from your fridge). Drop a slice in. I think that adds and incredibly romantic aroma to the stock & the times I've gotten rave reviews for a soup (yes, it has happened) have been when I added a Parmesan rind.
- I like to add salt at the end and not too much roughly (and I'm just estimating here) 1 1/2 tsp. I'd flavor it later when I'm making the actual soup.

So of course to finish up, after it's cooled off you'll need to strain it & store it. I save old ice-cream containers or sturdy zip-lock bags. (beware of curious kids who walk around your house with a tack to see "what will happen" when you stab holes in chairs, floaties & zip-lock bags full of your precious soup stock)

What you do with it after that is up to you of course. I've taken to making totally random soups with no rhyme or reason. But the good thing about stock is as long as you have a good BASE you can build your flavors on top of it as simply or complex as you like & you'll have good results.

Case in point. The soup on at the top of the post is one I made for lunch the other day (apparently a lunch a long time ago in my old kitchen, sniff). Chicken Broth, left over roasted red paprika from last night's dinner, left over broken lasagna noodles that I couldn't use for anything else, sugar peas, sliced cabbage, chives, whipped eggs, fresh Italian parsley & olive oil.

Well......that ended up being a long one. Of course the soup stock is just what I do! I'm sure some of you genius' probably have great tips & tricks of which I'd love to hear. Leave any good ideas in the comments, OK??

Ever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth! Catch you soon.

Winter Carrots: Carrot Ginger Soup

A few weeks ago I shared this great carrot soup recipe with you and extolled the virtues of winter carrots. Which (I am not joking) my 5 year old boy is peeling one for his snack as I blog.
That one was simple & something you would most definitely eat with a Japanese meal, a favorite with my kids.

I found this Carrot soup recipe & the picture was so great I had to try it. But looking at that 1/4 c of fresh ginger sorta freaked me out so I adjusted it out a bit AKA: throwing all caution to the wind & acting like I was following a recipe. Obviously, I was surprised at how much my DH liked it. I thought it had a more gentle feminine like blend of flavors but, brother.....I received a series of many happy variations of the "Grunt of Approval" from my DH.

Come on ladies, you know what I'm talking about, the "Grunt of Approval" is the true proof of culinary success with the man in your life. Try it & see, set before your man his favorite meal or snackie & then pretend like you're busy on the computer or something, guaranteed you'll hear a "Rrrrmmmph". Hey, throw in his favorite beer & you'll hear that extreme rumble of approval from the depths of his.....soul! (or somewhere??). Aaaaaanyway, enough about that. Here's the recipe of which I speak.

I halved the recipe & adjusted it & this is how it went for me:

3 tbsps butter
1/2 onion, chopped

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

3 cups chicken stock & 1 c milk

1/4 cup cheapo white wine

200g (5 small) carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 tsp lemon juice

pinch curry powder & nutmeg (and by "pinch" I do mean, a pinch)
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

heavy cream

snipped ko-negi

Saute the onion, garlic & ginger in butter on low heat for 10-15 min. Bring the carrots to a boil in the chicken stock & wine & boil for 20-30 min till the carrots are very tender.

I added the onion/ginger/garlic to the stock & blended it in my handy dandy blender of science. And then added the cup of milk. And seasoned with a curry powder & nutmeg & salt & pepper & lemon.

The taste is hard to place but the the sweetness of the carrots was contrasted nicely by the very slight tang from the wine & lemon. Personally I thought it was pretty classy looking & mysterious enough to keep your table talking about what the ingr. were.

NEXT UP: Carrot related explosion. (I can't help but smirk....it was pretty darn funny

Winter Carrots: Carrot & Miso Soup

My kids are crazy about winter carrots. It really started out with DH buying a massive (and I do mean MASSIVE) bag full of carrots once in the winter. Surprisingly they were quickly devoured & so we bought another & another.....These aren't just ordinary carrots, they're winter carrots. And by that you have to understand that when the temperature goes down the carrot makes more sugar to keep from freezing, hence the sweeter carrots. The colder the weather the better the carrot.

It's totally uncontrolled "Rabbit syndrome" at my house when this happens. The kids walk around the house munching on small whole carrots and usually don't even bother peeling them anymore. The skins are thin & the carrots themselves are almost translucent, crisp, shining & juicy. Mr Trav. talks about winter carrots every time we eat carrot sticks all year round.

So I'm terribly happy my soon to be 3 year old lady decided on "Bill's Big Carrot Cake" (undeniably the best carrot cake ever) for her birthday.

And if you're feeling a little experimental here's a recipe from "Harumi's Home cooking" that I like to make in the winter:

Carrot & Miso Soup:

100g carrots (one large or two smallish carrots)

2 c water

1 chicken stock cube

1 rasher streaky bacon

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp finely chopped Celery

1/2 tsp awase miso (I like using red miso best, for this, but I think any miso will do)

Salt & Pepper

Chopped cilantro to garnish (I use negi, of course, seeing as cilantro is not very cheap)

1. Peel carrots & cut into 3 cm think round slices

put the water & chicken stock in a pan & bring to a boil. Add carrots & over with a drop lid. (Simple "drop lid" explanation)

2. Turn down the heat & simmer until cooked. Remove from the heat & mash the cooked carrots in the remaining liquid.

3. Cut the bacon into small pieces. In a frying pan, heat the oil & cook the chopped bacon till crisp. Turn off heat & mix in chopped celery. Add to the carrot soup.

4. Bring to a boil then turn off the heat & mix in the miso & season w/ s&p. (remember, boiling miso is UNCOOL & will change the texture & flavor) Pour into bowls, sprinkle w/ cilantro (or negi)

Happy Winter days!

Roasted Pumpkin & Garlic Soup

I've been wanting to post about this soup for sometime. I discovered this at the end of winter last year so I only made it once & then again recently and my judgement is......

This soup is a winner!

I would say this is a manly soup (whatever that means). If your man likes a rich/nutty/sweet/near barbequed taste, then -- this soup you must try!

Even my "pumpkin-wary" husband went totally berserk over this soup. With a little home made bread, this would dress up any dinner, real nicely. So stop being a "kabocha wimp" & do it, NOW!!
Again, this is from the cookbook "Masterclass in Italian cooking". Unlike some of the other recipes, the ingr. are simple & instructions very basic. Again my embellishments in blue.

1 small pumpkin (750g/1 lb 10oz)
6 cloves garlic (I used only 3 as the kids didn't go for the garlic taste as much as DH & I)
4 tbsp olive oil
2 med onions, chopped (1 is passable)
2 celery sticks, chopped
1/4 c rice (I use a little less, @ 3 tbsp, Japanese rice is a little more glutinous so it was too thick with 1/4 a c.)
7 c vegetable or chicken stock (or use 4-5 chicken bullion cubes)
Salt & pepper to taste

And here goes the assembly. WELL, don't just stand there!! Grab your kabocha, friend!!!

Use 2 tbsp of olive oil & toss UNPEELED garlic & chopped pumpkin on a baking tray. IMPORTANT: Keep them away from each other for even browning, on all sides.
Just lop the end off the garlic & leave whole. Grill at 200c (400F) for about 20-30 min. Or till just golden brown.
Purrrfect. Be sure to pop the garlic out of their skins. Saute up onion & celery (didn't have it this time) in the other 2 tbsp of olive oil for about 10 min.
Throw in onion & rice in the simmering chicken stock, simmer for about 15-20 min. Add pumpkin & garlic & simmer for another 5-10. Throw it all in the blender & blend away, baby!!
Taste & season! Yes, it tastes as good as it looks. (unless you make immature remarks about it looking like baby poo.....for shame)

I even threw in a little bit of milk to thin it out even further (when I used the full 1/4 c of rice) & it was just soooooooo good, I would be terribly tempted to splash a dollip of cream & Italian parsely when serving.

OK, you have permission to lick the bottom of the bowl, I know I am going to!

Gotta love those Italians!

When your husband says that something you made tastes like something in a restaurant, you must then go & blog about it.

I had the "creativity itch" & wanted to try out 3 new items in one dinner with 1 hr. to cook, not the best idea. But as I tend to think, hurried cooking is usually the best.

So, here’s what we had:

Courgettes & carrots “a scapece”
Italian tomato & egg torta
Iced tomato & bell pepper soup with salsa verde

I really want to expound on two of these so lets just get the first one over with & say it was “maa-maa”. I was never a zuchinni fan and would’ve never bought these if they hadn’t been on SUPER sale And what I thought would be reeeallly great was just “so-so” (I’d like to know how you say that in Italiano” BTW) of course I didn’t have any fresh mint so it really wasn’t the “real deal” anyway.

Thinly sliced & sauteed courgettes & carrots

Seasoned w/ S&P, & tossed with a wine vinegar & mint dressing with capers. (mine was mintless) I imagined a bright beautiful dish but it was dull in color & I think that seemed to brainwash my palate too & I just felt it was not that great. Though I must say that the caramelized courgettes were pretty darn good. Unfortunately I seemed to be the only one would was even gracious enough to give it an “OK” review. Husband & kids were not fans! Oh, well!

The Popular Torta:
It was a pretty simple dish and lovely of lovelies it can be served hot or cold. Though again, I had to stray pretty far from the recipe as I (unlike some) do NOT have a wheel of Parmesan & Romano cheese in my cellar (if you do, please let me be your friend?) I substituted with the fake Parma & a token amount of Monterrey Jack/Cheddar mix (from Costco). It was fun to make & just as fun to eat.

Basically layering, a little Parmesan, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, (I ended up cutting the tomatoes in halves)Pouring on the blended egg/cream/cheese/basil/salt & pepper mixture. Bake at 200 for 20-25
TA-DA!!! It was pretty good actually & I will be making it again, esp since my husband raved about it.
The SOUP & Salsa Verde:

Oh Joy, this soup made me happy on so many levels. Something about the redness of it & the ice just made me happy-happy-happy. As expected Josh & I were the only true fans, though the kids drank a token bit & tried to be kind about it. (Sweeties!) It tastes better with time (1 or 2 days). Not only that but we had some ice cold at the pool the next day. Then I made a Bloody Mary with it that night, I used the left over for pasta sauce the next day & then for chili sauce the day after.

This was not difficult but the salsa was a bit more time consuming. For the soup: Peeling the tomatoes, chopping red peppers, garlic & chili pepper.
Blending Adding olive oil & tomato juice. Boy, it don't get more red than that.Then the salsa (which will keep for a month) was a blend of: pounded garlic & salt (till it was creamy) chopped anchovy, capers, fresh parsley/basil (again no mint) olive oil, lemon & black pepper.

So you serve the soup with ice & top it with the salsa. Good Lord God Almighty, if you want a good summer soup, this is it. BROTHER, this is THE soup! And I tell you it wasn’t too bad with some vodka & a little xtra crushed pepper after a long day of playing Mommy.

We even brought some with us to the pool, something about sipping on something as gormet as that in plastic cups.

This soup & consequent left-over inventions drew some caveman-like grunts of approval from my tomato loving husband (I believe this is the highest form of appreciation man can give you, it shows his brain has shut down completely to enjoy the food, thus the pre-historic complements) & I have to say I wasn’t terribly disappointed with the pasta sauce it produced when I threw about ½ a cup in with some sautéed garlic & chili with ingen & basil & heated on high for a few min. Or the chilli it produced when I dumped the last of it in a pot with another can of tomatoes & added ground beef & other “chili” flavorings.

Can we just all move to Italy or something?

SOUP & SCONES (Pt. 1)

Something about “soup & scones” makes me feel that winter is decidedly here to stay. Well, it’s here for a while at least & we might as well make a day of it. I have to say it’s one of my favorite cooking seasons of all.

Somehow Cream of Celery became one of my family’s favorite soups. It started when my Canadian brother in law declared that his mom makes the best Cream of Celery. (I shall not contest) So I wanted to give it a try. I was sadly the only one in my family who liked celery before this. So I dug around & found a recipe or two, tweeked it & of course, forgot the recipe all together, but just ended up making it how I like it. So if you don’t like my recipe…..tweek it, forget I ever said anything & enjoy your own private soup!

This estimation made a generous amount for 12 ppl

So…Off we go! First off grab:
a hunk of celery (normally expensive in Japan but husband found a great place where it’s cheap)
A few cloves of garlic (adjust according to your audience)
An onion (mine was smaller than I’d like)
3 bay leaves
3 bullion cubes
Salt & pepper
Butter (or margarine, if you must) a few tbsps. I used between 4-5, I think


Chop the celery & onion coarsely, (we’re gonna blend it later anyway) leaves or no leaves from the celery. (I personally like some of the leaves in there as it add the greenness. Smash & peel the garlic. (believe it or not there are some people who don’t know that trick)
















Melt the butter & saute the onion, garlic, celery & bay leaves on med-low for about 10 min. Next, shoo away everyone who comes to the kitchen thinking you’re making stuffing. Gosh-golly, that just looks real purty-like to me!

Now while the celery-business is sautéing put about 3-4 cups of water into your soup pot & bring to a boil & add your bullion cubes. (I’m sure for all you westerners, using canned chicken soup stock would work just great too but here in Nippon, we have no such thing for a Godly price, Amen?)

Next, let’s put about 1 tsp of salt & ½ a tsp of pepper. I’ve cheated & put some Celery Salt in there too. But I guess that’s kinda stupid cuz’ the whole point of that is to make your food taste more like celery. Hmm!!

Next, we shall dump the celery mixture (bay leaves too) into the simmering stock & leave that for a good 5-10 min. And then we’ll let it cool for a bit before we put some of the liquid & all of the veggies (NOT the bay leaves, please people) into the blender. Don’t try it boiling hot, unless you want a nasty surprise we shall call “Exploding Pain of Celery Soup Surprise”. Now, I like it really smooth (no innuendos) so I blend that for a min. or so. Ain’t that just the greenest stuff you ever did see?


Then it’s all back into the pot. Add about 2 cups or more of milk. Pls. don’t let it boil as that kinda changes the texture after the milk is put in & the taste too. And you’re done!! Serve hot. No one likes a cold soup. At least I don’t! And volia! If you’re feeling like being really un-healthy & really yummy, up your butter content & put actual “cream”, not more than ½ a c. at the end.

Well, that’s all I have time for today, as the monsters are loose in the chicken coop, but “PART 2 of Soup & Scones” will obviously tell the tale of the scones. Until then keep your toes toasty warm & your spatula in hand.