What's in the Pot

This week officially starts the season of Community Potluck, the brainchild of a dear friend of mine. So many people don't cook for themselves, can't cook, don't have the family to cook for or the funds to do much in the kitchen - so many reasons to start gathering together and reinforcing the idea of breaking bread together, making the bread and feeding one another. Even if you can't bring anything, you are welcome. The theme is Italian, with a prize for the best dish. So, I have got me a whole braid of garlic and I am making me something Italian. The inspiration came from a recipe at Allrecipes.com.

Minestrone Soup is a wonderful way to get back to my "One Pot" cooking agenda and to make great use of this weeks cooking theme.

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1 potato diced 1 carrot, diced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Beef consomme or bouillon, 1 can or 8 oz
vegetable broth 6 cups at least
Tomato paste (6 oz) or stewed tomatoes(1 can) or fresh chopped tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans
1 cup pasta, uncooked
mixed veggies, fresh or frozen approx 1 cup
2 cups spinach, washed and sliced
fresh basil
parsley
oregano 1
1/4 cup red wine (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
(you can also add bacon or ground beef to this if you like)
Take the onion,garlic and red chili flakes and saute in olive oil and begin to cook down, then add carrot, potato and celery until onion is translucent. Add your broths, all of it,tomatoes and oregano, cook for 15 minutes. Add the beans, pasta and veggies, cook for another 15 minutes - making sure the pasta is cooked, At end stir in the basil and spinach and parsley. Don't overcook these lovely greens. Serve with Parmesan cheese on top!

You know me - I am all about using what is available in the kitchen - in being a happen' cook, nothing is set in stone. I had some awesome Pacific Organic French Onion soup (bought on sale at Bartell's!) that I used, some beef bouillon to round out the flavor, I had some mixed frozen veggies I got on sale at Safeway that had green bean, carrots and corn in it - that went in there and I think it is great to always have some fresh parsley in your fridge - cheap, full of vitamin C and excellent in tuna, chicken, well you name it. Tomatoes - both fresh and canned went in there- and I think it doesn't really matter in the large scheme of things if your improvise - in fact, I applaud it. Remember - this is just a rough outline of what your minestrone can be - run with it!

Soup Time!

With all of this precipitation, be it snow or rain, I have just been aching to explore the world of "one pot" cooking. There is nothing homier or more appetizing than coming into a kitchen from the cold to find a hearty pot of something warm, heavy, healthy and satisfying waiting to fill your belly. Soups and stews will do just that.
My mother bought me an entire bag of wholesome sized potatoes, grown right here in the good ole US of A for a mere buck - and that led me to the Baked Potato Soup recipe. Root vegetables are a natural at this time of the year - they fill the corners of your belly and stick to your ribs. Just what you need on a rainy day when you take the dog for a walk and find out that he has more dirt and moisture on his fur coat than you'd care to acknowledge - until he launches at you 'cuz he just remembered he really luvs you, wet paws and all.

Baked Potato Soup Recipe
2/3 cup butter
(add some bacon fat to this for flavor is you have any)
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup red onion,diced
dash of cayenne pepper
4 baked potatoes, cooled and diced
3 1/2 cups of broth - any kind will do
3 1/2 cups of milk
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup of sour cream
4 green onions, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Bacon(optional)
Melt the butter along with the diced onion in the bottom of your soup pot. Cook until the onions start to get a translucent. Add flour and bring to a bubble, stirring constantly - cook for a couple of minutes like this. Carefully add the broth a bit at a time, stirring all the while - a whisk is best for this. Add the milk in now, and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes, always stirring. Take off the heat and stir in the cheese until melted, then add the sour cream and green onions, along with the potatoes. Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve with a salad and maybe some crusty bread - but that might be enough carbs - if you know what I mean!

After the Holidays Cooking

You wanna be polite - no, you reassure your image in the mirror, you don't look too much like a cookie monster gone pudgy. So every meal has been prefaced and chased by a cookie or four, so what if sugar is now your main food group, you still can (barely) squeeze into the winter jeans, even if those are your "comfort" sized ones.

Green Split Pea Soup - no time like the present to start edging your way back towards the colorful food groups - and I mean the ones without the sugar crystal decorations!
2 TBS olive oil
2 onions chopped
2 carrots chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
2 lbs ham hocks (2 should be enough)
diced ham (if you want more meat than what the ham hocks will impart)
4 bay leaves
12 cups of water
1 lb. Split Peas
1 tsp. thyme
In Large soup pot, heat olive oil over high heat - saute onions,carrots,celery until veggies begin to brown. (I also added a potato to this). Add ham hocks,bay leaves and water. Bring to boil and then simmer for 2-2 1/2 hours. Take out ham hocks, shred meat and discard bone and fat, add meat back to pot along with split peas that you have rinsed and thyme. Simmer uncovered for about 1 1/2 hours or until peas dissolve and thicken soup. (Soup may be refrigerated for several days or frozen). In my case, this will feed me,Mom and a few friends that would not be able to understand this recipe nor identify half of the ingredients if they saw them in their frig. For them, this will be the first real food they have had since relatives took pity and invited them home for real food at the holidays.
Recipe developed by cookbook author Marlene Sorosky Gray.