Homemade soup

Soup is so easy to make.  Dare I say "trust me"? or will that send you running?  Not only is it simple to do... it can be very nutritious.  You get to control the ingredients.  No sodium ..no preservatives ..  and you only add what you like or want to use.

There are as many and varied recipes as you care to invent. Or, find a recipe and tweak it as you like.

The other day I wanted to make some Caldo Verde (Kale Potato) soup...our new favourite...but, can you believe there was no kale to be had at Safeway that day?  Darn it.  I wanted soup by then...so went home and checked the 'fridge.  There were some leftover sweet potatoes.... so... .. came up with a carrot and potato soup.  I've seen various recipes with these ingredients...but, who needs a recipe?  Once you have made a few soups...it is simple.

Just get a tasty base going... toss in your choice of ingredients...simmer and voila.  Lovely soup.  And, in this case..I also used my hand held blender on it near the end...and stirred in some milk just before serving.

I  never use actual measurements any more... but, if you want to search for a recipe to try it with measurements the first few times, just Google soups...or Carrot  or Sweet Potato or Squash soup and you will be inundated with similar recipes to try.   I'm sure they will all taste wonderful.  Here are some approximate measurements from my own soup.

Carrot Sweet Potato Soup

half a medium onion (diced)
stick or two of celery (diced)
carrot (diced)
sweet potato (cooked or uncooked and diced)
white potato (two; small; diced)
chicken broth (homemade or purchased..I buy low sodium broth)
water
1 tbsp. flour
spices (I used a bay leaf, oregano, sweet basil, Italian Seasoning, pepper flakes;black pepper)
butter (1 - 2 tbsp)
olive oil (about 1 - 2 tbsp)

In large pot, heat oil and butter... add onion, carrot, celery, and soften... don't let it brown... add uncooked potato ..continue to cook gently and sprinkle on flour after about 5 to 8 minutes... let cook slowly for a few more minutes stirring every so often.  Add about 2 cups or so of water and a few cups of broth (or  more) ... ( or you could use some tomato juice if you like)....stir well to mix in the flour if it is not already.  Add some pepper and the bay leaf.  Bring to boil and then lower heat to let it simmer gently.  Add the rest of the spices.  Stir every so often.
We like it a bit spicy sometimes.. so I usually re-pepper it after simmering for about an hour and tasting.

Let simmer for about an hour and a half to two hours or til spuds are tender.  As the spuds cook down they help to thicken this type of soup.  Serve as is, or, if you prefer, you can puree your soups with a hand held blender.  You could do small batches in a regular blender...but, it is not nearly as easy or as safe, especially when dealing with boiling liquids.  I love my hand held blender and use it a lot.

You could make soup every single day and never do the same one twice.  There are sooo many options.  I hope you try some soup of your own one day soon.  I love making it.... I could eat soup every day. With fresh homemade bread.....sigh.....oooooh..... heavenly....

Yikes!! ... again.... months have flown....

I don't have a clue what happens...but, it does.  Time just flies .... and no blogging happens.  Not to say no cooking and baking happens.... because it definitely does.  Even on the hottest days of summer it happens around here.  My neighbours think I'm nuts.... probably because I am.

So...golf season is over and none too soon.  My elbow is totally wrecked.  I can hardly lift a glass to my lips... it's very difficult to floss and brush and ...well, it just hurts all the time.  X-rays yesterday to make sure there is no bony involvement...and then...in a week.... begin some physio.  If that doesn't show immediate results..I have other treatments in mind.... we'll see how it goes in the next few weeks.
Won't be seeing this beautiful water treatment behind the 17th hole for a loooong time now.  Our next golf season won't open til April... and usually we don't get to play til closer to May..... sigh...

Meantime... seeing as I can't dig in the garden, or lift very much...I've been catching up on housework that got neglected over the summer...and doing some baking.  I love baking and it's so much fun to do.  I prefer it to housework of course...so I do it instead... oooooh.... bad me....bad me.  Although, I can dust while muffins are baking or toss in some loads of laundry before I even start to gather ingredients for biscotti or soups, etc....I could vacuum while a loaf bakes........ I could..........

The other day I made Barm Brack and have decided to share that loaf today... you'll have to hurry if you actually want to share a real piece...it's almost gone!  I've already gained back two of the eleven pounds I lost over the summer... marching around that golf course.  No time to eat while I'm out there.

Barm Brack is an Irish loaf... and you need to begin the night before to make it.  Raisins need to be soaked in tea overnight.  As usual, I make my own changes to the loaf, but initially, here is the recipe directly from the Company's Coming cookbook.

Barm Brack

1  cup cold leftover tea
1  cup raisins
1/2  cup peel
1/2  cup currants
1  cup granulated sugar
1  egg
1/4  cup melted butter
2  cups all purpose flour
1  tsp.  baking powder
1/4  tsp  baking soda
1/4  tsp salt (I never use it because I use salted butter)

Put tea in a large bowl along with raisins, peel, currants and sugar.  Let stand covered overnight.

Next morning, beat egg until frothy.  Stir into fruit mixture.  Stir melted butter into fruit.

Combine and stir the four remaining dry ingredients.  Add to fruit batter.  Stir until blended.  Spoon into greased loaf pan 9 X 5 X 3 inches (23 X 12 X7cm).

Bake in 350F (180C) oven for 60-70 minutes.  (Mine usually take a bit less... keep an eye on things) Cool 10 minutes. Turn out on rack to cool completely.

Options::::  I don't usually have peel or currants hanging around...so use two types of raisins and some dried cranberries. I don't bother with the exact measurements they give for the fruit ... it is too much for me .. I like less in my loaf...and also like to add some toasted chopped walnuts.  Into the tea and raisins I also grate some orange zest and a squeeze or two of the juice and add a tsp of vanilla.  This batter is very soft...almost pourable, but not quite..and makes a nice moist loaf.
Oh, ...and...almost forgot!  spices.  Stir a sprinkle, or a tiny dash into the flour.  I like some cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg and ginger.... but, do be careful with the amounts if you are not used to using spices.... a little can go a long way... it's nice to have a hint of flavour rather than have it overpowering.  In my loaf...it's almost difficult to make out what the spices actually are ...but, you know it's that certain 'something' that gives it more appeal if you know what I mean.

Caldo Verde...or..... Green Soup

Portuguese Caldo Verde....yummmm ...  it means Green Soup...which it is.  Basic ingredients are potatoes, onion and kale ....the kale makes it green.  Wiki says """ In Portugal, caldo verde is typically consumed during Portuguese celebrations, such as weddings. It is sometimes consumed before a main course meal and as well for a late supper.  Caldo verde originated from the Minho Province in northern Portugal. Today, it is a traditional national favorite that has spread across the nation and abroad.""

I think my friend Maria (who is Portuguese) was surprised that we liked it...same as she got surprised by our liking for Migas.  In reality...I guess we are just simple folk that enjoy simple good food.  Don't get me wrong.. if, on occasion, we find some exotic thing that is prepared wonderfully... we may give that a chance as well...but, mostly, just great tasting simple fare is our choice.

I found a simple recipe for kale and potato soup in my Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking.. so that is the one I am printing here.  It is the basic idea and from there, just like every cook in Portugal... you can tweak things any way you like to make it your own.   And, don't forget to try some Broa ..or Portuguese cornbread too, for dipping as they do in Portugal.  Make it a complete Portuguese supper night.... you won't be sorry.....

Caldo Verde (or kale and potato soup)

4 medium potatoes
2  TBSP vegetable oil (always Olive Oil in Portugal!)
8 cups water
1  tsp. salt
1/2  tsp. pepper
2  pounds fresh kale
1/2  pound cooked, sliced smoked garlic sausage (optional)

Peel and chop potatoes; combine with oil and water.  Cook 20 to 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.  Remove potatoes; reserve liquid.  Mash potatoes trough sieve; return to potato liquid.  Add salt and pepper; simmer 20 minutes.
Wash kale; discard all tough leaves; cut into thin shreds.  Add to potatoes; cook 25 minutes.  Add sausage; simmer gently 5 minutes.
Yield 6 to 8 servings.

::::: MY Version:::  I kick it up a notch or two (as silly old Emeril says) ....  Now that I've made this soup a few times...  I like to add a few extra ingredients to develop a more full bodied flavour.

I saute onion, a stick of celery and this day I even added a chunk of orange pepper, in olive oil with a dollop of salted butter.  Soup is always a good way to tidy up my fridge.  Oh, ...  and I see a sprig of Rosemary in there too... then, sprinkle on a tablespoon of flour after about a minute or so and continue cooking a bit more ... then I lower the heat and toss in a crushed clove of garlic.  Let cook (carefully) a minute longer.  Be sure not to overheat and burn your garlic!
Pour in a few cups of chicken broth and some water and I add another TBSP olive oil.  If I'm using store bought broth, I like to use the low sodium.
Meanwhile, ready the potatoes.  When diced, pop them right into the pot with the other ingredients.  I don't bother to cook them separately.  No need to use a separate pot or to mash til later as far as I can see.
Sprinkle in some herbs of choice...including oregano.... I wish I could get fresh Portuguese oregano like Maria used to use on our salads!  MMM...... ... Oh, well...just use dried or whatever you can get.  I also like to toss in a bay leaf and a sprinkle of dried basil.. and this is when I use a good scraping of freshly ground black pepper.  Use salt if you like...I never do, but that's just me.
Wash and cut kale... I just use about 4 or 5 leaves... 2 pounds seems a huge amount to me.  Add kale. I bring to boil, reduce heat and let simmer for an hour or so with lid on.  The potatoes should be tender by then and I like to cook the kale so that I can use my stick blender to puree the whole thing.  The first few times I made it...I just didn't really like the stringy shreds of kale in the soup.  And..it is a lot of work to cut it into strips and then chop it all the other way as well to get it small enough. (.. which in Portugal is no problem because there you can buy chopped kale! ..or..they have special kale cutters that I see on some videos of kale soup making!)  Haven't found any chopped kale here.  So..instead...I just cut it into thin strips.. cook well...and then... stick blender works wonders.  I like to leave a few chunks of potatoes in it... so I just plop the blender around here and there and most of the kale disappears.  We like a few chunks of potatoes left in our soup....  little surprises to be found.  We're just kids at heart I guess.

If I am using sausage... I use local spicy Italian... easier to find than Portuguese chorizo .... and I brown it while the soup is simmering.  Slice it into rounds and add it after I puree the soup.  Let simmer for about another 15 minutes or so.  Serve with fresh Portuguese Broa..or cornbread.  MMMMMMMM  ...oh, it is making me drool.  We love it...and if you like simple but great tasting foods... I'm sure you will as well.  Hope you try it some day.

Broa..... or Portuguese Corn Bread ....

...or, at the very least...a super close second!! That's what I'm calling my third recipe of this yeasted corn bread I've tried since coming back from our Portugal holiday.  How do you like my cute little handpainted souvenir serving plate?
Probably won't taste that wonderful bread again 'til I go back, and even then...'til I find that very same market in the very same town and hopefully the very same person will have baked it!  As if, hey?  A girl can dream........

Meantime.......... I'll definitely continue to slightly tweak this particular recipe..because...so far, it is the best one I've tried ( the easiest too for that matter) and I'm convinced it would just need a few tiny changes to be right there!  You know how your taste buds remember things.... mine do anyway.... and I'd really like to replicate that wonderful flavour if possible.
I loved the colour of this loaf.... as yellow as bananas.....whereas some are greyish yellow.... or dull colours....

Maybe for you this could be a great cornbread for a first time effort ....and maybe it will be your new favourite ...

The Portuguese like to eat this bread with their favourite soup,  Caldo Verde, or, green soup.

Check out what Wiki has to say about the soup.  It's basic ingredients:  kale and potatoes.... but, as with all recipes... now has dozens of variations. Lots with their favourite sausage in it too ... Chorico..or Chorizo.  Google it for lots of info and recipes .... it's always amazing to me how many recipes there are for things I've previously never heard of.  And...now... I've already made several very tasty soups in the Caldo Verde style.

I'll post my own variation of Caldo Verde soon too..... but, for now.... Broa.  Funny how I remember the food words I learned in Portuguese isn't it?  ....  hahhaha.... now how to ask for the bathroom..... oh, yes..just a minute....actually... that seems universal in European countries...just ask for the WC and you will be fine...even if you can't speak a word of the language.

This recipe is from a wonderful breads book given to me by a blogger named Lewis...in a very amazing pay-it-forward that I offered to do on his blog a few years back.  I credit him with getting me started with bread baking.  Thanks so much again Lewis.  I wish you were still blogging.  Miss you and your great recipes and tips.


Broa

2   tsp. dry yeast
1/2  plus 2 TBSP lukewarm milk
3/4  cup lukewarm water
1 1/4  cup yellow cornmeal
2 1/4  cup bread flour, sifted  (I just used regular flour, unbleached... )
1 1/2  tsp. salt  (I only used 1 tsp.)
1  TBSP olive oil

Sprinkle the yeast into the milk in a bowl.  Let stand for 5 minutes; stir with a wooden spoon.  Add the water to the milk.  Mix the cornmeal, flour and salt in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center and pour in the dissolved yeast and olive oil.

Mix in the flour to form a firm and moist, but not sticky dough that leaves the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.  Put the dough in a clean bowl and cover with a dish towel.  Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.  Punch down, then let rest for 10 minutes.

Shape into a round loaf.  (If you have trouble doing this...just Google how to do it...there are several videos to see)   Place on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal (just a very light sprinkling is fine) and cover with a dish towel.  Proof until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Dust the loaf with cornmeal. (I omit this step now...it just falls off later with I am cutting and it is messy).... Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes, until golden and hollow sounding when tapped underneath.  Cool on a wire rack.

::: I just used regular flour because I didn't have any bread flour on hand.  Also...I added 3 TBSP of sugar as I was trying to get a slightly sweet taste that I remember a certain loaf having...... still not enough really...but, almost....
Also....I mixed my ingredients in my stand mixer because I am suffering with a rib problem... can't do anything like mixing or kneading at the moment.  And...one more thing...I left it a few extra minutes...because I definitely wanted my crust to be darker than golden.  This was perfect for me.

We had it with a great Caldo Verde....I like my dipping breads toasted...it is YUM toasted.....I sure hope you give it a try.

Portuguese Migas

My new favourite side dish.  Apparently the word 'migas' (pronounced with a bit of an 'sh' sound at the end) means crumbs, and, the dish is comprised of mainly that...crumbs.  Crumbs of Broa, a bread made with cornmeal.  Crumbs and kale.  They grow lots of kale in Portugal... it's so plentiful... and ...totally different from the stuff we get here.  Some of the gypsy ladies at the markets there were trying to give it away.... along with lovely broccolini, for which I pay $4.99 a tiny tray.  Oh, man.... I want fresh stuff for cheap!!!  But...I did use a leaf or two of the kale I bought...which wasn't cheap.  I think next time I must make some soup too... another favourite of the Portuguese.  Caldo Verde, or green soup.  I only learned food words while there.  At least I wouldn't starve if I got dropped into Portugal at some later time.....

Onward with the "migas" .... Supposedly meant to use up leftover bread .... but, hey..it's home made bread; how could there ever be much in the way of leftovers?  Of course, first I had to make cornbread... which took a bit of surfing around to find some decent sounding recipes to try.  Not easy to know where to begin after being in Portugal..and tasting the real and 'bestest' breads I've ever had in my life (other than some of the ones I've been making around here the past few years).

It seems there are at least 1001 (or thereabouts) ways to make migas.  And, it's not only popular in Portugal..but, many other countries as well.  Who knew?  Boy, have I lived a sheltered life.

It's one of those like Ratatouille from the look of things.  Began as a peasant dish...and now, all of a sudden has become popular in restaurants and homes all over...even some of the high class restaurants  ..and, in all sorts of variations.  Apparently, it used to be that you even knew which area of the country you were in just by tasting the migas recipe common to the region ... but, things have changed a lot since then.

As I mentioned, we just returned from holidaying in Portugal ...  where several restaurants served migas with our meal.  My friend Maria seemed surprised that I enjoyed it.... and I really did.  One restaurant in particular... just along the road and across from the Almourol castle, the last great restaurant at which we ate at before leaving for home, served the most delicious Migas (see, I even capitalized theirs!) with my equally amazing skewer of buttery soft Veal.  (every single restaurant we chose was amazing!! and I'm pretty darn picky. )  Actually Joe and Maria chose them...and they did a great job!

I absolutely have to make some migas now.  Not so often that it becomes old hat or anything...but definitely often enough that I can enjoy a flash back to our wonderful holiday every so often.  It'll be instead of spuds or some other starch for us..... or a simple side dish..or ... well, I'd be happy with it for my little meal.  You can add sausage as some recipes call for... chorizo if in Portugal.   I could use some spicy Italian from a local shop called Spolombo.

So..... .. first ...make some Broa .. or cornbread.  Maybe you can find some in a shop near you...so far no luck with that here. It's a yeasted version with cornmeal... typical to Portugal...
This second attempt of mine was not as dark, nor as sweet as the best one we found in Portugal at one of the markets.  Theirs was, and probably always will be, the best.. mmmmmyum....... but, I shall soldier on in hopes of making one that comes a close second.

here is mine... looks great.  Wonderful crumb...but... nyeh....just not as tasty as I wanted it to be.

Always on the lookout for less salty stuff, me....and I found some half salt bacon.  woohooo... it's still pretty salty for us because we prefer to eat less salt.  But... much better than the regular stuff.  This brand claimed to be smoked in a traditional way, but, it seemed to have a bit of a sweet sort of Maple smoked-ness to it.  Pretty tasty.

I used the browned bacon to set us up with some tasty little appetizers in the Portuguese manner, which seemed to appear at the table as if by magic within some 30 seconds or so of us being seated.  Wonderful to snack on while making our choices from the menu.  It sometimes took a while...what with translating and such.  Even the appetizers can transport me right back to any of the wonderful restaurants we tried.  Some olives, some cheeses... salads with olive oil and newly dried Portuguese oregano....Ahhhh...I guess I could just holiday the rest of my life if I had the money.... come on lucky Lotto!!!

Here is my version.  Yes, I know...it looks like scrambled eggs..but it isn't.  Check out several sites if you decide to make it.  There are so many to choose from and all would probably be pretty tasty.

Migas
Sorry, I don't have any particular measurements.... just crumble up some day old cornbread... fry a couple strips of bacon..... take out bacon and add the crumbs to the pan. Stir around till all bacon fat is absorbed ... add a bit of pepper and a few spices if you like.... stir and cook slowly on low heat for a bit.  Add some finely chopped kale.  I used a julienne method of rolling the leaves and slicing and then.. finely chopping it some more.  I didn't want it long and stringy.  Stir in the kale and let simmer slowly for a bit longer.  Several of the recipes called for soaking the bread in milk or water and most of the ones I had in Portugal were soft (some even had mashed potatoes in them).... so I decided to add a bit of whole milk to give it some softness and a bit more body..not to mention more calcium.  We can always use more of that.  I then let things simmer with a lid on for a bit longer... tasted, ... added a bit more milk and.... .... wayhey!...pretty darn good.

Hope you look at some of the migas recipes online and give this a try.