* A Delicious Failure *

For the first time since we moved to Mexico my husband and I were able to go out on a date. We hired a baby setter and simply went out for dinner but I was still the first time the two of us got to do something together in months, without the kids.

We went to a Peruvian restaurant near where we live called La Mar that was highly recommended by some friends and the food was good (not great) and the staff were very helpful and even found and old menu in English for us and a staff member that spoke a little English. After pouring over the menu and asking for suggestions we ordered the clasico seviche and the Parmesan scallops for our starters.

The seviche was ok, it was covered in cilantro and that was all I could really taste and being a person who apparently has the anti cilantro gene the whole dish tasted like soap to me.

The scallops we cooked perfectly but the thick layer of cheese over them over powered the dish, I pulled the cheese off and very much enjoyed the scallop underneath.

For our main courses I had the atun (tuna). This was a tuna steak grilled, placed over a bed of mashed potatoes with a sauce/gravy. As I ate the tuna the center was raw, not rare but raw, I could tell that the tuna was still frozen in the center when they put it on the grill. I think that if that spot in the center had not been frozen when they put the fish on the grill it would have been done perfectly with the right amount of seasoning, the mashed potatoes were nice but the sauce was a little overpowering for the dish.

My husband got the parihuela which is a seafood soup with a tomato chili base and it was WONDERFUL the highlight of the evening. This soup was so good that I now have to figure out how to make it and this post is my first attempt at the soup and it was not even close; however, it was delicious.

After doing a little Internet research on Peruvian cooking I learned that there are a few ingredients that are very common such as chillies, potatoes, onion and seafood. With that information I attempted the following.

I made a fish stock with some great mackerel I found at the market along with some carrots onions and celery.

2 tomatoes
1 large potato, diced
1 large onion
a few dried chilies (guajillo chilies is what I used)
8 cups fish stock
10 shrimp
1 mackerel cut into pieces
fresh parsley or cilantro
salt and pepper
lime

On a hot cast iron pan blacken the tomato, onion and chillies on all sides. Place the blackened vegetables in a food processor or blender with a cup of stock and blend until smooth

In a large soup pot add fish stock, blended vegetable and potatoes. bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are almost tender, about 8 minutes. Add in the fish and cook for about 3 minutes then add the shrimp, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until shrimp is just done. Serve and top with a squeeze of lime and fresh green cilantro or parsley.

While this soup was good it was nothing like the Peruvian soup at La Mar. The base was flat in comparison to the real thing and the chili used was not a good choice. This chili had a rich almost cocoa flavor to it and not the hot crisp chili that this dish needs.

We are going back to La Mar tonight just for some more Peruvian Seafood soup.

Rich and Creamy Soup Without the Cream

I am not sure what to call this soup. I wanted a rich soup with potato and then a friend and I were talking about the Olive Garden "Zuppa Toscana" so I knew I had to make something but without all that cream and this was really good, one of the best soups I think I have ever made.



1 large onion, halved and sliced
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
4 oz Italian Sausage cut into bite size pieces
2 oz bacon cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon red pepper flacks (do not use if using spicy italian sausage)
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups stock or water
4 medium to large Potatoes
1 14oz can white kidney beans
1 cup chopped kale
1 cup milk
salt and pepper

In a large pot over medium heat slowly caramelize the onions in the olive oil about 20 minutes.

While the onion is browning peel 2 potatoes and cut in to cubes and place in pot with cold salted water and cook until tender.

Add the sausage chunks and bacon pieces, garlic and the pepper flacks to the onions and cook until the bacon is browned.

Blend the potatoes with the potato waster in a blender until smooth also blend 1/2 of the can of the white kidney beans until smooth, you may need to use a little of the potato water.

Add the stock to the pot of onions with the blended potatoes and beans. the rest of the potatoes, cubed, and the kale. when the potatoes are tender add the remaining beans, milk and season to taste.

Udon Soup

"Manhattan" Fish Chowder

Sometimes I am so envious of people being able to tell wonderful stories on their blogs. i struggle with that because I have a hard time putting down what I think into words and I try not to reveal too much about the kids on the WWW and that makes it hard because they are a very big part of my life. I am a stay at home mother so almost everything about my life would include the kids....hummmmm how do I include my readers while still maintaining a distance with the children it is a hard balance and really who wants to hear about the big mess they need to clean up or my woes in potty training my son. At the end of the day that leaves very little to discuss.
Some bloggers have a way of coming up with the most entertaining stories, I hope to learn from them and someday I hope to be able to look at life and tell an entertaining story...until then, here is some food.

This is a flavorful and low calorie fish soup or chowder that my family loves.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 14 oz. can stewed tomatoes

1 large Idaho potato, diced

2 fillets tilapia, cut in large cubes

1 large bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon oregano

a few threads saffron

pepper

1 tablespoon soup spice (if you don't have then just add some salt)

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 to 3 cups water

In a large pot over medium-high heat add olive oil, onion celery, carrot and peppers sweat for about 5 minutes and add the potatoes, garlic, tomato, stock, water, seasoning cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are nearly done. add in the fish, cook for another 5 to 7 minutes or until the fish is done and serve.

Weekend Working with Potatoes

This (out side of Daring Baker) I believe is my first event and it looked fun and I love this recipe so I wanted to share. the rules are here.

I got the idea for this soup from Lex Culinaria and since found out that it is even better made with salmon instead of sausage.

Serves 6-8

1 T. Olive Oil

1 medium yellow onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic minced

3 largish (or 4 medium) potatoes, scrubbed

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

10 oz or 2 links of kielbasa or polish sausage

salt and pepper

sour cream to garnish

caramelize onions in olive oil over a medium low heat, stirring occasionally until brown and sweet about 20 or 25 minutes. slice the potatoes, half and slice larger potatoes. Add the garlic to the soup pot and cook and stir for 3 minutes more. Raise the heat to medium high and add the sausage and sliced potatoes and pour in chicken stock. Add enough water so that the potatoes are covered by a margin of about one inch. Add in one half of the chopped dill. Place the lid on the pot and allow the soup to simmer over medium high heat for about 30 minutes. Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and stir through the remaining dill. Serve with (or without) dollops of sour cream.

Hot and Sour Soup

My husband loves Thai hot and sour soup and his favorite comes from Bangkok Kitchen in Farmington Hills. While this soup is not quite like the one at Bangkok Kitchen it is a great start and I would found it here. My Hubby thought this has a little too much vinegar and it needed chicken or tofu. I confess I did not have chicken or tofu on hand and I agree that it would have been nice and I could not find the chili garlic sauce at the store. This is a make again dish for sure; however, I will start to make some changes

6 cups vegetable stock

3 slices ginger

2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (I used dried, rehydrated because that was what was available)

1/2 cup enoki or straw mushrooms

1 wood ear mushroom, rehydrated, cut into thin strips

1/2 cup fresh bamboo shoot, slivered (I don't care for these so I did not add, I think I will next time)

1 cup firm tofu, diced (missed this too will add this or chicken in the future)

1 carrot, julienned

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh water chestnuts or sunchokes, diced

2 TB soy sauce1 TB mushroom-flavored dark soy sauce

1/2 TB sesame oil

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 TB chili garlic sauce (I could not find this at the store, maybe did not know where to look)

1 TB sugar

1 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. roasted chili powder (optional)

4 TB cornstarch dissolved in

4 TB cold water

1 egg, beaten (optional) (really only need 1/2 an egg)

green onions, chopped, for garnish

cilantro, for garnish (I must have the anti-cilantro gene because it tastes like soap to me so I used parsley)

Add stock and ginger to pot, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove ginger and add all remaining ingredients except cornstarch mixture, egg, and garnishes. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil until thickened. Immediately remove from heat and begin dripping spoonful's of the beaten egg into the hot soup as you stir the soup with the other hand (this creates a nice ribbon effect). Ladle into bowls and serve. Garnish with chopped green onions, a sprig of cilantro, and a few drops of chili-sesame oil (rayu).

I think a squeeze of lemon or lime juice at the end would be nice too, maybe.

I hope to some day get close the to Thai soup that Hubby so loves but until then we have this, which was a great chinese hot and sour soup.

Pot Roast Soup

In my attempt to reduce cost and food waist I make several meals from one piece of meat. I mean this is how some of the best dishes have come to be, making something out of leftovers. The other day I made pot roast, we don't eat a lot of meat in one setting so I can buy one chuck roast cut it in half and freeze half of it for a later date and still have leftovers.

This pot roast was prepared by seasoning the beef on all sides with salt and pepper and browning all sides in a hot pan with oil. I tried something new this time, I dusted the meat with some flour.

I then covered the meat in onion and put a lid on the pan placed in a 350F oven and went to pick up my Daughter and from school, about an hour. When we got home we got the potatoes and carrots ready to add to the roast along with a little wine that I had open in the fridge a little more S&P, some water and some bay leaves. Recovered the dutch oven and placed it back into the oven until all was done, another hour or so.

Pot Roast Soup AKA Beef Barley Soup

With the left over Pot roast I decided to make Beef soup with Barley. I have never made it and I usually am not much of a fan, but I thought that is would be a nice change on the table.

I chopped up a large onion and started it caramelizing (all soups start with this step) I then rinsed 1 cup barley and got that cooking in a pot with 2.5 cups water per the directions on the bag. I did add to the barley water a bay leaf, salt, and pepper corns. I cooked it for about 4o minutes. I am supposed to cook it longer but I had to get daughter from school. while the barley was cooking I finished caramelizing the onions and added half of the left over roast (that I pulled into pieces) and some minced garlic and a can of stewed tomatoes that my aunt Tana had canned and given to me. I then put the undercooked barley in with everything and turned it off and went and got DD from school. One hour later I turned the soup on and let it come to a boil, and added half a can of beer, some drippings from a roast turkey I had in the freezer ( you know the juices that most people turn into gravy, we don't eat gravy so I freeze it to add to soups, yum) and I cut up some of the leftover carrots and potatoes and, because I add it to most soups, some cauliflower. I Cooked the soup until the cauliflower and barley was done.

The soup was a little thick and there was twice as much barley then there should have been and cauliflower does not belong in beef soup (trust me) the soup was tasty, as good as I have tasted beef barley soup and I have had several not as good. In the end I think we had a winner. Tomorrow Beet pot pie with the rest of the leftovers.

Lunch Today

French Onion Soup

I love french onion but every time I try to make it the soup is just too sweet. That doesn't deter me I keep trying it but I always have the same issue. This one was too sweet too.

I caramelized about 4 cups of onions to a rich brown and then added garlic and cook that for a few minutes. then chicken broth and a little white wine, season with salt and pepper and let it cook for 40 minutes I then toast baguette with some Swiss or Gruyere cheese and I browned some cheese on the soup too. Finally I float the baguette on the soup and serve. Not very good, maybe I have to use beef stock.

Broccoli Soup and shopping with my Daughter

Last week DD and I went out for a few hours and shopped, just the two of us. While we were out we went to Panera Bread for Lunch. I explained what was on the menu and encouraged her to get the broccoli cheddar soup. refusing to listen she insisted that she get a salad with tomatoes, she was thinking that they were going to be cherry tomatoes which she loves. I let her place her order and I ordered myself the broccoli soup and a sandwich knowing that she was going to end up eating that soup the moment she sees it. As soon as I sat at the table with the soup she was eyeing it asking "what is that" while she it moving her eyebrows up and down. I told her what it was and she immediately stole the soup from me a polished it off with mumbles of yumm, mmmmm, this is so so good.

Today DD and I went grocery shopping just the two of us, again. We first went to Costco and as we walked in she ran straight to the $250+ handbags (I am thinking that figures, she has to go the the most expensive frivolous item here) so I finally coax her away from the handbags and the very next thing that catches her eye are the diamonds (ok, whose kid is this anyway, I am a country farm girl and here he is looking and $200 purses and $20,000 rings)

Back to the soup...because we were shopping DD wanted to have that soup again so I explained to her that we will be home by lunch time so we could make it with the leftover Thanksgiving broccoli. She was admit that it must be the same so I asked what she though was in the soup. after thinking for a few seconds she said broccoli, cheese, and cream. Alrighty then, we have a start, I ask what do we put in soup when we make soup at home. Another few seconds and she comes back with onion, garlic, and broth. She knows how to make soup, we went home and I chopped the onions she added them in with some olive oil, I minced the garlic and she added it. I also added some leftover potatoes; however, I have to prove to her that there would not be any potato chunks after we blend it in the blender. when we served up her soup it was great, better then the stuff we had last week. Thank you girly girl.This is what we did:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chipped
2 gloves garlic, minced
the stalk the a bunch of broccoli, minced
2 medium boiled potatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup cream
2 cups steamed broccoli, chopped
5 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chipped
salt and pepper

in a large pot add in the Olive oil and onion, saute for a few minutes. Add the garlic, potato and broccoli stems, cook a few more minutes. add in the butter and flour and cook for 1 minute and add about 1/2 cup of the stock and cook until it starts to thicken. Blend in blender until smooth, add more stock if too thick.

Return the blended mixture the pot and add in the rest or the stock and heat to boiling. add in the rest of the ingredients, heat through, it should be nice and thick. Serve.

DD did all but the chopping and pouring in and out of the blender, including shredding the cheese.

Mushroom Bisque

A few years ago Panera Bread had a mushroom Bisque that I just loved. Their Mushroom bisque has changed slightly since then, but I still love it. I set out to make that soup and I created a wonderful bisque that was very close. that was before I had a blog and I never put the recipe to writing and now I can not remember how I made it. The following recipe is good, but it is not even close to the one that I created over 2 years ago.



1 medium onion thinly sliced
2 pounds button mushrooms, sliced
2 T olive oil
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper

In a large soup pot add the oil and slowly caramelize the onions and mushrooms cooking about 20 minutes. , stirring periodically.

Add the stock and cook for a few minutes season to taste add the cream and heat through.

While writing this post I got to thinking that I did type this recipe before on babyfit.com and after about 40 minutes of searching I found one of my very first attempts at the soup...

1 Medium onion, finely chopped
2 T. Butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 -2 pound Mushrooms, Sliced
3 T. Flour
1/3 C. White Wine
4 C. water or chicken stock/broth (I used water)
2/3 C. Cream
1 T. Sour Cream
2 bouillon cubes (do not need if used stock)
2 dashes worcestershire sauce
salt and Pepper to taste

Sauté onions in butter for a few minutes add the Mushrooms and garlic and continue sautéing for about 10 minutes. Add flour and cook long enough to cook raw taste out of it (about a minute). Add the wine, water (stock, seasonings and cook for another 10 minutes. Lower heat add cream and sour cream and heat through. Serve.

15 Bean Soup

Quick method

Place rinsed beans in a pot with 3 quarts water

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and continue to boiling for 60 - 70 minutes
After 60 Minutes, add ingredients. Simmer for 30-45 minutes

ok that is what the bag said, this is what I did

I rinsed the beans and placed them in a pot with 2 quarts water and 1 quart chicken stock, bay leaf and boiled for an hour. I then added a smoked turkey wing, pepper and soup seasoning, turned to heat down to simmer for a half an hour. I then turned off the heat for an hour while I went to the school to pick up my daughter. When I got home I turned the soup on to simmer again. sauteed some carrots, celery, and leeks and then added them to the soup and let it cook while the corn bread baked, about 20 minutes.

I find that cooking beans always takes longer then the 2 hours that it says on the bag, I have found that it takes a good 3 hours and at the end of the 3 hours the beans still hold their shape but are tender.

I have used a nice smoked ham before but the soup tends to get a little greasy. Smoked turkey wing adds a lot of smoke flavor without the grease; however, if you want ham in your soup buy a ham steak and cube that up and add it to the soup with the vegetables.

Post #100 and a Soup Terrine

I just noticed that this will be post number 100. I can't believe that I started this blog to figure out why people do it, I had no intention of being such an admit blogger and falling in love with it. I HATE writing, it is work for me, it is not something that comes naturally and yet I love to food blog. My LOVE of food, recipes, cooking, eating, and cookbooks is that much stronger than my hate for writing. I know that sometime you can't call what I do writing, but you get the idea.

~Soup Terrine~

I have wanted a soup terrine for a few years but I could never find the right one. either it cost a lot more then what I wanted to spend or it was so ugly that I just didn't want it. The other day I found the perfect terrine. It was only $20.00 and it looks good too. I am so happy with it and have been making soup just so I can use it.

Quick Chicken Soup

My husband was not feeling well the other day so I whipped together a little feel good soup for him and it was great. Chicken Noodle soup is one of my all time favorites. 

 1 Medium Onion, chopped 

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

 1 stalk celery, chopped 

1 chicken breast, diced 

1-2 cloves garlic, minced 

4 cups homemade chicken broth (or a good quality, low sodium purchased stock) 

soup seasoning mix (I get one from Serbia with dehydrated celery, parsnips, carrots, herbs and salt) or salt and pepper 

1 tsp. dried sage

1 cup cauliflower florets 

4-6 oz pasta (I used Pappardelle in this one) 

Fresh parsley, chopped 

 Sauté the onion, carrots and celery until onions are translucent. Add the chicken and sauté a few minutes longer until the chicken gets a little color. Add in the garlic, stock and seasoning mix and cook over medium low heat for 10 minutes then add cauliflower and pasta and cook until pasta is done (7-10 minutes), remove from heat and stir in parsley. Serve. 

Potato Dill Soup with Sausage

This is the same soup as my Potato Dill Soup with Salmon only I add kielbasa, bratwurst, or a farmer's sausage Serves 6-8 

1 T. Olive Oil 

1 medium yellow onion, sliced 

3 cloves garlic minced 

3 largish (or 4 medium) potatoes, scrubbed 

4 cups chicken stock 

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill 

10 oz or 2 links of kielbasa 

salt and pepper 

sour cream to garnish 

 In the bottom of a soup pot, gently caramelize the onions in olive oil over a medium low heat, stirring occasionally for about 20 or 25 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the potatoes, half and slice larger potatoes. Add the garlic to the soup pot and cook and stir for 3 minutes more. Raise the heat to medium high and add the sausage and sliced potatoes and pour in chicken stock. Add enough water so that the potatoes are covered by a margin of about one inch. Add in one half of the chopped dill. Place the lid on the pot and allow the soup to simmer over medium high heat for about 30 minutes. Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and stir through the remaining dill. Serve with (or without) dollops of sour cream.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Avocado and Parmesan

1 tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced
2 tablespoons flour
2 pound *fresh tomatoes, or 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, juices reserved
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups reduced-sodium canned chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1 cup cream or milk
Salt and pepper

Avocado and Parmesan Cheese for Garnish

In a large noncreative saucepan, melt butter over medium heat with olive oil. Add onion and carrot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes without allowing to color. Add tomatoes with their juices, garlic, broth, tomato paste, basil, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer stirring frequently, 15 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf. In a food processor or blender, puree soup in batches until smooth. Return to pan and stir in cream. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes, garnish with avocado and cheese and serve.

* If using fresh tomatoes: Cut tomatoes in half (quarters for large tomatoes), place them in a bowl and toss with 2 T .Olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1/2 t. rosemary to coat. Place tomatoes on baking sheet and place under broiler for about 10 minutes or until they start to break down. Let tomatoes cool, place in a blender and puree, drain tomatoes through sieve. Use in soup.

Potato Dill Soup with Salmon

I found a recipe for German Peasant Soup on Lex Culinaria's blog (http://gorgeoustown.typepad.com/lex_culinaria/). However, I had salmon in the fridge, and I really wanted some fish. I cut the salmon into chunks and added to the soup in the last 8 minutes of cooking and it was great, even my 3 year old daughter liked it.

Serves 6-8

1 T. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic minced
3 largish (or 4 medium) red skinned potatoes, scrubbed
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
12 ounces Salmon, cut into 1 inch chunks
salt and pepper
sour cream to garnish

In the bottom of a soup pot, gently caramelize the onions in olive oil over a medium low heat, stirring occasionally for about 20 or 25 minutes. Meanwhile, quarter and slice the potatoes. Add the garlic to the soup pot and cook and stir for 3 minutes more. Raise the heat to medium high and add the sliced potatoes and pour over chicken stock. Add enough water so that the potatoes are covered by a margin of about one inch. Add in one half of the chopped dill.
Place the lid on the pot and allow the soup to simmer over medium high heat for about 30 minutes. Add the salmon chunks and cook 8 more minutes. Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and stir through the remaining dill. Serve with (or without) dollops of sour cream.

Pea Soup

I was supposed to make pot roast this week but the weather got warm and I wanted to eat something green so I had pea soup. This batch of pea soup was one of the best ever, all thanks to a really good smoky ham that I got at Costco.