Some Like It Hot.....

And some like it hotter.  After a winter in Maine some of you might think I'm talking about the climate, but this is about "hot in the pot".  As winter approached, we heard many of the year-round residents talk about how they hibernate and eat soup during winter.  We thought they were exaggerating, but apparently not.  In light of the fact there were many days when we looked outside and didn't see a person, car, or light in a window they were totally serious.  At one point, Dan commented he wouldn't be surprised to see tumbleweed rolling down Main Street.  This post is dedicated to all the year-round soup-eaters in Castine.

My first cookbook was The Nancy Drew Cookbook.  The Case of the Smothered Pork Chops could have been the beginning and end of my culinary adventures if my father hadn't been so kind and complimentary.  In hindsight, I'm thankful his stomach didn't rupture as I failed to understand rice increases with size and if you add more because what the recipe calls for doesn't look like a lot, you have to add more liquid.  Needless to say, the rice was more than a little crunchy.  Live and learn.

As I entered my teens and started dabbling with vegetarianism, I purchased Moosewood Cookbook.  Fast forward thirty-five years to the opposite coast as I was perusing the cookbooks at a bookstore in Pasadena.  There on the shelf was Moosewood Restaurant Cooking For Health.  How could I resist but have a glance inside.  I guess we've all grown up because there wasn't a kugel recipe insight and I wasn't wearing Birkenstocks. 

So what's with the hot factor?  The recipe calls for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  I had never tried or cooked with chipotles until we were living in L.A.  For anyone who loves cuisine with a kick, you understand there's hot and then there's hot with flavor.  Hot just for the sake of being hot isn't the name of the game.  Chipotles, on the other hand, have a divine smokiness, a sublime flavor, and fabulous heat.  They are the crowning glory in this recipe.  So who in our family likes it "hot" and who likes it "hotter"?  Let's just say I'm all about the burn.

Sweet Potato, Apple, and Chipotle Soup

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup thinly sliced celery
5 large peeled sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
2 cups peeled apples, chopped
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
water

Warm the oil in a large soup pot on high heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring continually, until the onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add the celery, sweet potatoes, apples, chipotle peppers, vegetable broth, salt, black pepper, and enough water to cover the veggies.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer gently until the sweet potatoes and apples are soft, about 20 minutes.

Puree the soup in a blender in batches until smooth and creamy.  You may need to add a little water if the soup is too thick or if it refuses to puree easily in the blender.  Blend in more chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and/or black pepper to suit your taste.  I've taken to drizzling the adobo on top of the soup after it's in the bowl as I don't want to burn Dan's taste buds off.

Note:  the above is a slight variation of the original recipe.  I've also discovered (in the depths of winter when the pantry is a little empty) you can substitute water for the vegetable broth. 

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four

For me, St. Patrick's Day gets off to a similar start every year.  My Mom calls early in the morning and, immediately after wishing me a Happy St. Patrick's Day, asks if I'm wearing green.  My response is always the same.  No.  Mind you, I do own a couple articles of green clothing, but more often opt for something cheerful from the black hole section of my closet.  Needless to say, I'm left feeling like the worst 1/4 Irish person in the world.

As some of you may know, I've been working on a collection of pillows that are a modern take on traditional patchwork designs.  After struggling with the specs for a pattern called Tumbling Blocks, I came to the realization I must be more of a Tumbling Dice girl a la The Rolling Stones and took to the kitchen to work on the potato soup for dinner.

I hate to admit this, but up until today, I had never made potato soup.  Mom ran through the family recipe which was pretty straight forward.  Throw everything (butter, onion, celery, and potatoes) into a pot of water and cook until tender and then add milk.  When I commented I was surprised it wasn't made with a roux or at least by cooking the onions and celery in butter prior to adding them to the liquid, she commented that "in the olden days women didn't have time for that sort of thing because they always had a baby on their hip when they were cooking".  Dear God, you would think we came from a family as big as the Duggars based on that comment.  I assure you, we did not.

This soup is super, super easy.  In an attempt to reduce calories and fat...as much as one can with potato soup...my recipe doesn't use heavy cream or half and half.  Instead, I used a roux as a thickener and then added 2% milk.  You could absolutely use whole milk, but I don't know how the roux would respond with half and half or heavy cream.  Trust me, it's really very creamy with only 2% milk.

In the end, I figured out the correct ratio for the Tumbling Blocks pattern, but still think Mick and Keith's Tumbling Dice has it all over the Amish.  Creamy potato soup and crusty bread, topped off with Irish coffees in front of the fire was the perfect dinner for a rainy St. Patrick's Day.....now if we could just find that pot of gold....well, we'd be golden!

Newfangled No Baby on the Hip Potato Soup

5 pounds of Yukon gold potatoes
2 cups water
4 cups vegetable broth
1 large onion, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
5 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Bob's all purpose flour*
3 1/2 cups milk, warmed
salt and pepper

Peel and cube the potatoes and place in a large pot with the water and vegetable broth.  Cook over medium heat until the potatoes are tender.  Season with salt and pepper.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt the butter in another pot and add the onions and celery.  Cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, but not browned.  Add the flour and stir until smooth.  Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium low heat.  Add the warm milk a ladle or two at a time, stirring constantly.  This mixture should be lovely and thick.

Add the thickened onion, celery, and milk to the pot of potatoes and liquid.  Stir to incorporate and add salt and pepper to taste.

*You can use regular flour if you prefer.  Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour is gluten free

Soup For You: Adzuki Bean Soup

Soup, or the lack thereof, entered the ranks of sitcom history thanks to Seinfeld and the episode entitled, "The Soup Nazi."  The declaration, "No soup for you!" will forever bring to mind Elaine's ill-fated attempt to order soup while imitating Al Pacino's famous "hooah"  in the movie Scent of a Woman.  Unlike the Soup Nazi, my rallying cry is more apt to be, "Soup for everyone!"

Soup in our house bears no resemblance to anything Andy Warhol captured on canvas.  It is made from scratch and always in a large batch.  When money gets tight or finances are uncertain, the first thing I say is, "No problem.  I'll just make more soup."  When work gets crazy or schedules are stretched to the limit, the first thing that comes to mind is, "No problem.  I'll just make a pot of soup."  And then, of course, there's the requisite chicken soup for colds.  It's amazing how many ills....physical and otherwise....a simple bowl of soup can remedy.

A recent addition to my soup repertoire is Adzuki Bean Soup.  After reading about adzuki beans, I happened upon them in the bulk food section of Whole Foods.  While some beans can become mushy in soup, these little maroon babies not only remain firm, they have a decidedly meaty texture.  This is especially nice if you happen to be living with any "default vegetarians".....people who are vegetarians only because the person cooking the meals is a vegetarian.  Welcome to our house.

This recipe makes a lot of soup which is why it is great for busy schedules.  I make a pot on Sunday for dinner.  We have it again a couple days later and the rest is frozen for another dinner or two.  I usually serve this soup with a batch of Spelt Biscuits.

Adzuki Bean Soup

2 cups adzuki beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
8 carrots, peeled and chopped
8 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes in juice
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 cups water
salt and pepper

Rinse the beans in cool water and discard and misshapen beans or stones.  Place the beans in a saucepan and add water to cover.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Boil for 4 minutes, then remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for one hour.  Drain the beans.  The beans will still be firm at this point.

Over medium heat, warm the olive oil in a large soup pot.  Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and saute, stirring often, until softened but not browned, about 15 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and their juice, broth, beans, water, and 2 teaspoons salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for at least 2-3 hours until beans are tender. Season with salt and pepper.  If the soup seems too thick, add a little more water.  When reheating the leftover soup, it may be necessary to add a little more water to thin.  As with most of my soup recipes, the recipe can be cut in half if this is just too much soup for you!

Obviously, this soup is vegetarian/vegan only if using the vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.