Wow! What a Soup! Tomato Souped! Up

Working on my new cookbook has presented some problems. One of them is I am eating too much and gaining weight. So, I switched my focus to soups because simple soups, in general, have less calories.

In addition, because I have purchased ingredients I do not normally stock, I have to get creative with the leftovers.

I had purchased a carton of tomato juice to make a Virgin Mary. But, I don’t drink tomato juice on a regular basis, so to use the remainder of the juice, I researched tomato soup recipes.

In my search, I came across the Hot Bloody Mary Soup recipe at BBC.com (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2604647/hot-bloody-mary-soup) and that sparked my interest.

But, in the end after reviewing many tomato soup recipes, I created a recipe by pulling ideas from at least nine recipes and making my own variations.

I am proud of my tomato soup recipe!

Tomato Souped! Up

(adapted from Creamy Tomato Soup, Cooks.oom)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion. diced

1 garlic clove, diced

3 cups tomato juice

1 cup water

1/2 vegetable or chicken bouillon cube

2 tablespoons basil, dry, crushed

1 capful lime juice concentrate or lime juice

2 small capfuls vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons to 1 cup milk or cream cheese, cubes, per serving

Chunks of hard bread.

Process:

Add oil to skillet.

Add onions and garlic.

Cook medium-high until a majority of onions and garlic are browned.

Add tomato juice.

Add water.

Add bouillon.

Stir.

Add basil, lime juice, vinegar.

Stir.

Reduce heat, simmer 15 minutes.

Season to taste.

Stir.

Serve in a bowl.

Add milk or cream cheese cubes.

Stir.

Serve with chunks of hard bread.

Reheat in Microwave if desired.

Notes:

The browned onions and garlic added to flavor. I liked the cream cheese cubes partially melted, because they provided a cool, creamy contrast.

Variation: add paprika.

Walter Mosley and Thom Hartmann -- Two of My Favorite Writers -- Together Onscreen

Two of my favorite writers, Walter Mosley and Thom Hartmann are together, online, onscreen on Thom Hartmann's RT TV Show.

On Thom Hartmann’s show, "The Big Picture" (http://rt.com/shows/big-picture/), he has a special segment called “Conversations with Great Minds.” In this segment, he converses with Walter Mosley. I do not know the exact date of this particular show other than I uploaded them in May 2011.

Part 1: http://youtu.be/VCIoKLdFwBc

Part 2: http://youtu.be/izircly9WpY

Love is a funny word. It can have many meanings. I love the public personas of Walter Mosley and Thom Hartmann and the depth of their delicious, curious and intelligent minds.

First, I need to say, Walter Mosley (http://www.waltermosley.com/) is the only writer I have ever read who captures the intimate chemistry between words between people -- he touches that river where trust, love, fear, and joy shimmer and change in moments, especially in his mysteries featuring Easy Rawlings.

Mosley has also written several nonfiction books like The Twelve Steps Towards Political Revelation where he analyzes America's failing political system and offers the public suggestions for how to change our failed system.

I have not read the book yet but this book is part of Thom Hartmann and Walter Mosley’s conversation.

Mosley notes that Americans are miseducated exemplified by the fact that most Americans think that their only political activity is to vote, not realizing that they should be active in politics by participating in "town halls", by educating ourselves about our government and by making our opinions known to our politicians. He suggests an online or participatory town halls.

Another perspective Mosley describes is that there is no middle class, most Americans are working class.

He states we are not citizens, we are denizens because it is money that controls our political system.

He says we are fooling ourselves, because capitalism is killing us.

As I watched these two smart, educated, intellectually curious men converse, to me, sparks flew as their ideas lit up the screen.

Mosley also wants to find a way to use our technology to create a place for public dialogue.

Thom warns that neocons would hijack an online system and make it reflect a right-wing perspective just as neocons are actively re-writing Wikipedia to reflect their propaganda and to rewrite history with misinformation.

This post is just a brief glimpse of the conversation between Mosley and Hartmann.

Tuna Fish Sandwich and Homemade Croutons

I am running, screaming from the kitchen.

A “simple” tuna sandwich turned into an ordeal. I have too many recipe ideas in my head and too many tasks I have given myself.

I wanted to spice up my tuna sandwich and also make some croutons from a sack of leftover bread I had been collecting. Sounded simple.

As I was making the tuna mixture, I decided to add some green pepper. Looking in my frig for one green pepper caused an avalanche because I had so many items leftover from experimenting with other recipes, jars of  sauces and teas, bags of onions, potatoes, carrots, peppers, squash, celery and more, they all came spilling out. As I plucked the green pepper from the heap, I realized that I would have to cut up the whole pepper and freeze the remains.

I went forward cutting up the bread ends into cubes and tossing them in the skillet. I doused them with olive oil and and lots of oregano and stirred them frequently as they toasted.

As I had noted previously, Mexican tuna fish in cans is more soup than solid. So, rather than drain the oil and save it, I decided to add some croutons to soak up the oil. While I diced up the onion, green pepper and celery, the dirty dishes began to pile up. 

At first, I doubted the croutons would work but they did, they also disappeared into the tuna mixture. I ladled a few spoonfuls of the tuna mixture onto a kaiser roll and took a bite. Not bad, the oregano added a tang and I could not taste the bread per se. From about 10 bread ends, surprisingly, I only ended up with about 3/4 a small baggie of croutons.

Even though I tried to wash a few dishes as I went, the sink was still full of dirty dishes. I struggled to free a bottle of ginger ale from its plastic harness. It was so thick and tight even the scissors broke trying to cut it loose. But, soon I freed a bottle and with a glass of ice, I settled down to the tuna sandwich. Ginger ale is my favorite soda, so it made all the difference between a disaster and an eatable lunch.

But, boy, those dirty dishes are such a deterrent. I am going to rethink my budget to include a lot more eating out.

Tuna Fish Sandwich and Homemade Croutons

1 can tuna fish, drain if desired

1 heaping tablespoon mayo

1/4 red onion, diced

1/4 green pepper, diced

1/3 stalk of celery, diced

3 tablespoons, croutons (optional)

1 kaiser roll or bread slices

salt and pepper, season to taste.

Mix ingredients together (except kaiser roll or bread slices) in a small bowl or container with a cover.

Season to taste.

Ladle a few spoonfuls onto one half kaiser roll or slice of bread.

Top with second half of roll or slice of bread.

Cover remaining tuna mixture, store in frig.

Optional: serve on bed of lettuce instead of bread.

What to Do? (Chicken & Vegetables in Tomato Sauce)

I found this “recipe” for chicken in tomato sauce with the fewest instructions I have ever seen. The links did not lead to a fuller recipe. 

"ChooseMyPlate.gov ‏@MyPlateFast & #Easy= simmer skinless chicken breasts in tomato sauce with veggies & Italian seasonings Serve over pasta  http://ow.ly/uqpLc  "

So, into the wilderness, I went. Braving the unknown, I guessed at what the directions might have been.

Based on what I had on hand, this was my approach.

Chicken and Vegetables in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

2 skinned chicken legs (thigh and drumstick)

2 cups water

2 stalks celery, sliced into chunks

1 carrot, quartered in chunks

1 onion, quartered in chunks

1 potato, quartered in chunks

1 8 oz container of tomato sauce

2 tablespoons rosemary, crushed*

2 tablespoons thyme, crushed

2 tablespoons oregano, crushed

2 tablespoons Basil, crushed

salt and pepper, season to taste

1 small bag of pasta

*crush spices between your palms and sprinkle over dish

Process:

Put water into microwaveable casserole dish (with lid).

Put vegetables into dish.

Top with chicken legs.

Sprinkle spices over chicken and vegetables.

Pour tomato sauce over mixture.

Cover and microwave on high for 20 minutes.

While dish is cooking, make pasta.

When pasta is cooked, drain and set aside.

When mixture is cooked, spoon one serving of pasta onto a plate

Place one chicken leg on top of pasta.

Spoon vegetables and tomato sauce over chicken and pasta.

Use a fork to remove chicken meat from bone.

I divided the remaining mixture (after pulling chicken off the bones) into four containers and put three into the freezer.

I think I reached the "summit", let's raise the flag or a cup of tea to success.

Welsh Rabbit or Rarebit with Ginger Ale

I call this dish a “romantic” dish. For some reason, I associate Welsh Rarebit with history, mystery and romance. For example, in the TV adaptation of Agatha Christie’s the Tommy and Tuppence mystery, “Finessing the King”, the couple goes to a cafe to get a late night snack. One of the menu choices is Welsh Rarebit which they order.

I think this is an illustration of how television shows and novels affect us.

I like the taste of my Welsh Rarebit but I had to make several variations and substitutions based on what I had on hand.

Most Welsh Rarebit recipes call for butter and beer, I used olive oil and ginger ale.

Also, I was low on milk, so I had to make 2 cups of milk from a dry powder mix.

Then, I had to microwave frozen bread slices for 15 seconds before toasting in a skillet.

Welsh Rabbit or Rarebit with Ginger Ale

2 slices of bread

a dollop of olive oil

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons cup flour

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon mustard, wet

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup ginger ale

2 cups white cheese, sliced and diced

pepper to taste

Add a dollop of olive oil to skillet.

Heat.

Add slices of bread.

Heat bread until toasted.

Flip and toast other side.

Remove.

Set aside.

Add olive oil to skillet.

Heat.

Add flour and seasonings.

Stir.

Add Worcestershire, milk and ginger ale.

Stir.

Cook on medium.

Stir until mixture is melted and combined.

Continue to stir and smash flour lumps for several minutes to make a smooth mixture.

Spread spoonfuls over toast.

Notes:

I used a multi-grain bread. I think it added to the flavor.

The consistency of the hot mixture would also make a good fondue.

After reheating the mixture to make another snack, the mixture had thickened which I liked.

Stone Cold Sober Mocktail

I like cranberry juice, so I wanted a Mocktail with mostly cranberry juice.

When I say cranberry juice, I mean the kind that comes out of a bottle or package, not homemade.

So, I took a cocktail recipe and made a mocktail variation but the differences between the two drinks are so dramatic, I would say the original merely pointed me in the direction of cranberry juice with a few ideas for flavorings.

I liked the end result. It was a bit tart without a sweet overtone. I am developing my own mocktail taste descriptions. As someone with a chicken and beer palate, the idea of a taste vocabulary is amusing.

Look at the Stone Cold Sober Mocktail.

Ignore the sandwich, it's fried SPAM with sliced vegetables and a cream cheese spread. It's ok but it still needs tweaking.

OMG It's Almost Chicken Soup

My refrigerator has been acting funny. The freezer wasn’t freezing but the inside shelves were -- so I had frozen cucumbers, tomatoes and onions and frozen juices etc.

After setting adjustments and a few salvage attempts, I decided to see if the frozen cucumber would work in soup along with some other leftovers.

I had no clue as to whether it would turn out.

I added enough water to a pan to cover the bag of pasta with about 2 more inches.

Then, I added leftover chicken broth and 1/2 a vegetable bouillon.

Then I sliced up the previous frozen cucumber, carrot, and onion.

Decide to try the spice Thyme. So, I crushed about a half a teaspoon of thyme between my palms and added it to the soup mix.

Added about 5 peppercorns.

I battled with the electric stove top for about 2o minutes looking for simmer but getting either a rapid boil or vaguely warm. Eventually, settled on a slow boil.

But, as time when on, the pasta sucked up most of the water, so I eventually added about 6 more cups of water because I really wanted a soup.

At 11:00 I got a simmer.

At 12:00 I tried soup.

While it tasted good, the noodles were getting soft and still very little soup. I could have added more Thyme and peppercorns. So now I have this huge batch of almost soup with soggy noodles. The frozen cucumbers worked well. Let’s see how this freezes and how it tastes when reheated and tweaked.

What I wanted was a soup that I could use for leftovers. This one will work, I just have to adjust two cooking times. First, one for the vegetables to soften them; two, for the pasta, add in the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Eons ago, in the distant past, when I made a soup, I thought I cooked it for over an hour. Hmm, sounds like I need to do more research.

Lessons Learned:

Add noodles 10 minutes before soup is done cooking.

Add more Thyme and peppercorns.

Don’t need to cook soup for an hour.

Fell in love with peppercorns and Thyme.

Chicken (flavored) with Leftovers Soup

Water

1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth

1/2 Bouillon cube, vegetable

1 cucumber sliced

1 carrot, sliced

1/2 red onion, sliced

1 small bag pasta

1 teaspoon thyme

10-15 black peppercorns

Add about 8 cups of water to a large pan.

Add broth and bouillon cube.

Stir.

Add sliced vegetables.

Add spices and stir.

Cook for about 10 minutes on medium-high on simmer to soften vegetables.

Add pasta.

Cook on high for another 10 minutes.

Check water level, add more water if necessary.

Note: add more vegetables if desired.

Will need to retest this recipe in a few months. I have enough soup to last quite a while.