Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Decomposer Soup And Sprouts




I decided that my foot was well enough to go and play basketball this evening, so that is what I did instead of cooking much dinner. I played three games in a row and then we lost thankfully because I was out of gas. I am a bit apprehensive about playing, and I am sitting here considering icing my foot awhile as a preventative measure. I will keep my fingers and my toes crossed that I did not reinjure myself.

Before I left, though, I cooked a bundle of asparagus that we bought at the Piedmont Triad Farmers' Market on Saturday. I steamed it a very small amount of water and then sauted the stalks in olive oil and Salt and Pepper for a minute. Now, that's some good eating. Asparagus is one of my favorites.

We also bought a bag full of button mushrooms at the Market. The wife bought some, and I unknowingly bought some more, so I wanted to use the large quantity quickly by making a nice mushroom soup, a process entailing many steps. First, I cleaned the mushers a little before slicing them. I had a nice moutain of mushrooms in the pan, to which I added a few tablespoons of butter, a few cloves of garlic, and two nice green onions, also from the Farm Market. A little dried basil in the pan, as well.

After that cooked awhile, I added a quart of chicken broth and a bit of a Parm-Regg rind for flavor. I increased the fire and brought it to a boil before simmering the soup for at least 30 minutes. I should have stopped right there and called it finished. The soup was fine. But no. A recipe I read earlier stated to process the mixture and then strain it. Okay. I tried to use my hand blender, but it is unsuited to hearty jobs, I have discovered. A newer, more powerful hand blender is now on the cooking-gadget list. So instead of the convenience of a hand blender, I had to break out the food processor, and I promptly made a mess by adding too much soup, some of which escaped the container when I give 'er the power.

Soup processed and strained now, a bit of cream would really have finished the dish, but I had no cream. I had milk. So I made a quick roux and I added it to the pot along with the milk, and brought it back to a slow boil. The soup really did not thicken, but the taste was there. I did not realize how much I liked the soup until I ate a little bowl today when I arrived home. Very good, but no pictures since Janet had the camera in her purse.

I also like making tomato soup in this way, and I hope to grow enough tomatoes this summer to cook a big batch. Last year, I saved some seeds from the maters I grew, froze them over winter, and planted them a few days ago. So here's to cotelydons and to tomatoes, another one of my favorites, and in my estimation just about as close as a person can get to eating sunshine.

2 comments:

kimberly said...

I also have an immersion blender on my cooking-gadget list. And a food mill.
I have also added too much hot liquid to my food processor... lesson learned.
The mushroom soup sounds great- I've been sick, so that's all I've been eating. I cheated and bought the little bag of dehydrated veg/seasonings/noodles that you just add stock to- it's like between canned and making your own. It was all I had energy for yesterday but it was great- a chicken soup kit, but I added no chicken and just used veg stock. Close enough! :)

J.S. Booterbaugh said...

Sorry you're still under the weather, KB.