Some Music for a Saturday Night

 

Open thread.

Comments

[nancy]

Waiting for Prup's Saturday night soup report. (And if he thought anyone here would give him a ratio of stock to water, after all his careful work, risking interference with his creation...well this was not going to happen.) Not from me anyway. ;-)

Learning to make decent soup at this point is probably a reasonable survival skill for us 99%ers. Actually, creating decent soups is not only a filling, but fulfilling proposition. Food art -- no two are ever alike and they reflect the inventiveness of the creator. Go Prup. btw -- Somewhere I have an old recipe for traditional 'U.S. Senate White Bean Soup'. Ha. What do you you want to bet that's been moved to 'quaint historical relic' on their lunch menu just as it's arriving on ours.

LTC -- Saturday night music accompaniment. Excellent

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

The soup is finally finished -- four days after getting started with the ham. I actually should have finished earlier, like about 2:00, but I just ran out of steam last night and couldn't pick over the greens and slice them, so I had to do that this morning. (Good thing, the swiss chard I had was pretty old, and even though Pomeganite has started trimming the sdtalks and raising the prices, it was still worth buying fresh.)

I'll post the recipes later -- i wound up using a 4-1 water to stock mix, but, of course, added a lot more water as it went along. (Since our pipes are as old as the house, i usually have to use bottled water for cooking, and I think I eventually used about 10 gallons, total between the stock and the two soups.)

Actually, I've been making soups for a long time -- it was just using and making a stock that was new.

Results? The lima bean and spinach one was really first rate. The one with merguez and chorizos was good, even very good, but not quite as spectacular as I had hoped. Still glad I have it -- and have all that left-over stock for future ideas, staerting with a sweet potato soup that may mix yams, japanese sweet potatoes, and badata -- the Spanish not-sweet sweet potato that should add it's own gloss as well.

And EVERYbody should learn to cook -- and you parents who haven't invited your kids into the kitchen should start. Oh, they'll make a couple of messes, but they'll also get started on one of the more fascinating and satisfying artistic endeavors.

More later, after I get the cat box started. (If you don't hear from me tomorrow, my arms may have fallen off.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

[Warning: You DO realize you've pushed one of my favorite buttons, and I can go on for hours. I'll try and restrain myself a little.]

For those like Sir Charles who have a nest-leaver happening, fergawdsakes I hope he has some klitchen skills already, but I can at least start by suggesting a few things about spices.

First, get a pepper grinder. They are under $5 and the difference is astounding. I don't think I would use pre-ground pepper in anything but an absolute emergency. If I ate out at all, I'd probably go back to carrying my own grinder.

NEVER but 'name-brand' spices. Not only are they insanely expensive -- I've seen some that were over 30 times as expensive as buying them loose - but the quality is worse. They usually come in pretty litt;e glass bottles -- which means the spices are already stale before you get them. If you can't finf a place that sells them in bulk and have to buy them commercially, get the kind from the 99 cent stores. They are in translucent containers, which keeps them fresher, the quality is adequate, and the price is fair. (Exception if you have a special commercial mix -- like Bell's poultry seasoning -- that you are so satisfied with you don't want to take the time to try and duplicate it. But again, however you keep them -- I like unused medicine bottles from the pharmacist -- and still away from direct light -- NO GLASS BOTTLES!)

And, if you have any interest in Indian food -- forget you ever heard the term 'curry powder.' (There's one woman who wrote an Indian cookbook that got positively obscene about the words. There is no such thing -- and she's right. Or rather there are fifty such things, every one different and every one blended for a particular dish -- and that's just from Shan spices. (They are probably the better of the two main companies that sell packaged spices. National is a 'get it if you must' -- except for their pakora mix which is better by far.) Only don't trust their quantities. They sell mostly to the Pakistani market, which uses a much heavier hand, use a half or a quarter of what they recommend if you are following their recipe, but I just use them in my own creations.

(What people tink of as curry powder is primarily turmeric -- the yellow stuff -- and even that is second rate. Get some good, prepacked turmeric -- it is a great addition to pasta, rice, or couscous -- another staple, the instant variety is fine.)

I suppose some of you grow your own spices, and can discuss them, but growing things has never been a specialty even before I had cats.

More later. Whee, this is one thread-drowning that may be actually fun -- I hope to read as well.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

Before I go on, let's start with the recipes. The stock is pretty simple. Buy a ham -- get a 'half' not a 'portion' if you can and like ham, there's much more meat that would ordinarily be made into ham steaks. I prefer the butt half for the quality of the meat and because there are fewer bones -- the bones can make the stock too bitter if you don't skim it well enough, there were so few bones in mine that I practically didn't have to skim it at all.

Add a half pound to a pound of the meat to whatever meat -- a lot -- you've left on the bones. Civer it in a large stock p[ot with about a gallon and a half of water, and boil, skim, and then simmer. As it simmers, peel cut coarsely, and add 2 large carrots, one large turnip and a medium-sized parsnip -- adjust those proportions to taste, I would have used more parsnip but Em wanted me to go easy on it. Then cut four ribs of celery into pieces, coarsely chop one medium shallot -- I prefer them to regular onions -- and add them. A couple of hours later, take half a bunch of parsley -- curly leafed is best -- and mince very finely, and add it.

Simmer for eight hours, stirring and adduing water as necessary. Then out it aside in a cool place overnight -- or refrigerate it if you think you need to, depends on the temperature of your home. Simmer for another five hours or do, and then strain it carefully. (You can discard or find a use for the left-overs, but the soups need fresh vegetables.) The extra stock, and there should be plenty, refrigerates or freezes nicely.

That's stage one. Back later with the actuial soup recipes., but I am trying to keep from spending all my time writing when there is still work to be done.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

Sorry, will post recipes tomorrow, when I can both think and type straight. Oh, and one addition to the stock. I don't usually use much seasoning because of Em, but this could use about a teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves -- another staple in my kitchen by the way. (They are also called 'curry leaves' or 'methi' in Indian/Pakistani stores.)

[Mandos]

Shan is also Pakistani. I'm a huge Shan fan and haven't yet found a source here in Yurp. I tend towards the "heavy-handed" :)

[Mandos]

Also agreed on the "curry powder" thing. What the heck is it?

Also cumin (zira) is essential.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

I have now posted the recipe three times, and captcha has enjoyed it, not you. I'll try one more time after this, and then try again later if it fails.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

Aargh, trying again later.

[kathy a.]

sorry about the posting difficulties, prup. sounds like a heckuva stock!

but i'd recommend refrigerating for the overnight portion of the program, after this time half my dorm got food poisoning from spaghetti sauce left out. (food should either be kept hot or cooled, and tossed if it has been out at room temp for 4 hours.) yes, i am a total worrywort nerd on this subject.

[Sir Charles]

Jim,

The lad has learned some things around the kitchen, which is good, since he is now living on a fixed income of sorts.

He did get entirely to used to eating out over the years -- which with both of us working more than full time was always tempting.

But I retain reasonable cooking skills, although they tend to be prosaic and utilitarian in my old age -- things that can be cooked quickly and without too much fuss.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

I give up -- after 7 tries. One more time after this, abd if it is still rejrcted, I'll rewrite the fucking thing tomorrow.

I am NOT happy -- but my stomach is.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

One last time.

At last, the recipes. Sorry, busy day and much recuperatibg. Anyway, both soups use the same structure and stock -- which is why I was able to make them simultaneously. I'll start with the Lima Bean and Spinach one, then just give the changes.

(Of course, this is just a recipe, feel free to play around however you like -- i've made a few suggestions and a couple of cautions. And my 'add this, wait an hour, then add this' is probably unnecessary OCDishness, but it's the way I usually do it.)

Take one quart of the stock from the above recipe, and 1 gallon of water in a large stockpot -- have mire water on hand to use as and if needed. Add 1 1/2 lbs of the ham -- not the left over from the stock, obviously. Bring to a boil and simmer, skimming if necessary. After it has simmered for about 30 minutes, add about 12 dried white jumbo lima beans. (The limagrandes really work better in this type of soup.)

After an hour add one peeled and diced medium to large turnip (white turnip, I'll always call 'yellow turnips' rutabagas), one large or two small peeled and sliced parsnips.

Also have prepared 1/2 cup of peeled and diced kabosha squash -- I have mistakenly called it 'calabash' based on the label at a local small supermarket -- I should have known better than to trust a place that still thinks its most popular cut of meat is 'chunk steak' instead of 'chuck' -- and it is on printed labels. You can use pumpkin for this, but the kabosha is preferable.

If you can find the cabosha already cut in sections -- you want about a quarter of a whole one -- as it is usually sold, choose one with the darkest orange color and softer flesh. Trim off the rind and scoop out all the pulp and seeds -- salted squash seeds are a great snack -- and cut into quarter-inch dice. Add this with the turnip and parsnip. (One sign that the 'soup is soup' is when the squash has entirely disappeared into the mixture.)

An hour later, add three large ribs of celery, sliced or chopped. If you like, add some of the heart as well, i think it is overrated, but...

Wait another hour --- of course you are giving the soup a stir every time you pass the kitcjen, and adding water as needed. The soup will seem thin until the overnight standing. Then add about a pound of either spinach or a mixture of 2/3 spinach to 1/3 swiss chard, all washed and shredded. (If they are un season and you want to add some dandelion greens as well, it is a very good idea.) Let cook for another hour, then out it away in the refrigerator -- if necessary -- or a sufficiently cool place, and let it sit overnight. When you wake up, put it back on and cook another three hours.

(If you want to add the greens in the morning, add about two hours to the simmering time.)

I was going to make suggestions, but it;s late, my wife is getting anxious and I don't really have any major ones. Except that if you try different greens and want to use kale, use the frozen greens, the only case where they are in imp[rovement pover the fresh. FVresh kale never seems to soften when i try and cook with it. Oh, and turnip greens aren't -- afaik -- available fresh, you have to buy them frozen and they are a very desireable thing to have in the freezer. the kind with diced turnips is particularly valuable.

That's the basic format. To, hopefully, avoid a time out, I'll put it in a next post.

[Jordann Homes]

I really like Clegg and his music. It's one of my favorite tunes for relaxation and some fun!

[nancy]

Looks like I was wrong about the bean soup on the Senate dining hall menus. Here it is -- the discount item each and every day. Contrast, of course to the other offerings. Think they actually sell any of their version of what Catholics, during Lent, call 'poor man's meal'? ;-)

Prup, your soup recipes sound fab -- you must have a ginormous freezer or you're having a very large party over soon. Kale, btw, which I've grown in our garden, needs parboiling. Vitamins/minerals off the charts though. Thanks for giving us your home kitchen report. Happy supping!