Cold Weather Means Soup!

Happy New Year everyone.  I have finally rested and recouped from the holidays.  How about you?  Hope yours was as much fun as ours.  There were good friends, gifts, grandsons, and lots of fabulous food.  What more could you ask for?

We received a marvelous gift from our children that brought us into the present century - a flat screen television!   Yes, we still had a big old dinosaur television.  The funny thing is, we had bought one for ourselves as a Christmas gift to us the morning of Christmas Eve.  We decided it was time.  (Ya think?)  As our two daughters and I were preparing to put food on the table for Christmas Eve I casually said, "Hey, guess what we got today."  They both turned and looked at me and asked, "What?"  They had that look on their face.  You know the one - like something's up?  Anyway, I said a flat screen television.  They looked at each other and then looked at me and one of them said, "Well, now you have two I guess."  We laughed hysterically.  It was a truly funny moment.  Our second daughter said, "We waited until yesterday to get it for you because we were afraid this would happen.  When you hadn't gotten one by yesterday, we went ahead and got it."  Oops.  How did I know?  The good thing is, we took the one back that we had bought and now we can get something else with the money.  That, my friends, is a good thing.  We have a new television and a choice to get something else.  We're still thinking.

The other spectacular gift we received was a Keurig coffee maker.  We have really come into the present century, let me tell you!  Coffee on demand, one cup at a time and a flat screen television.  Could life get any better?

I suppose you all are experiencing the polar vortex (a new weather term for me) just like the rest of us?  Cold?  No thanks.  Not a fan at all.  It can leave and not return for the rest of the winter and it will not hurt my feelings in the least.  It  was 2 degrees this morning.  Ugh.  Hasn't been this cold in Nashville for 20 years.  It's supposed to be 60 on Saturday.  Now that's what I'm talking about!!  I'll take  all of that I can get.  Maybe a sweater in the evening, no heavy coats, hats, gloves, scarves, boots and whatever else you have to put on to stay warm.  I.  Am.  Over.  It.

In case it's not going to warm up that much where you are, I have a great soup for you that I made for dinner tonight.  To us, cold weather means soup - really hot soup.  Do you like your soup really hot?   Please, don't serve me luke warm soup.  Ew.  Hot.  Hot.  Hot.  The only way to eat soup.  Sorry, I digressed.  Actually, I could eat soup every day - even in hot weather.  I know.  I'm weird that way.

We had chili on Sunday and Monday, because I make lots of soup when I make it.  It gets better each day AND you don't have to cook again.  That is a super benefit for making a big pot of delicious soup. Tonight, I was going to make potato soup.  Yum.  One of our favorites.  I peeled the potatoes, and chopped an onion.  When I got the onion out of the fridge (yes, I keep my onions there), I noticed there was a pound of breakfast sausage that needed to be used.  Okay, I'll throw it in the soup.  So, I browned it up in a saute pan.  Oh, and there was a 10 ounce box of spinach I had thawed for another recipe that I didn't make.  It needed to be used.  Okay, I'll throw it in the soup.  Why not?

I didn't want the soup to be bland, so I added a can of Ro-Tel for a little zip.  Well, why not add some cannellini beans too?  Sure, drain and rinse a can of cannellini beans and throw them in.  Yes, there was a parmesan cheese rind in the fridge too.  Toss it in.  Add a box of chicken stock and enough water to cover everything.  Add a couple pinches of red pepper flakes, and let it all cook until the potatoes were done.   Dynamite!

When I was ready to serve the soup, I poured a drizzle of olive oil over the soup and added some freshly grated parmesan cheese.  For the coup de gras, we had big pieces of crusty garlic bread drizzled with olive oil to mop up that delicious broth.  If I do say so myself, it was one fantastic meal!  Yum.  Yum.

If you wanted to make this soup vegetarian, just leave out the sausage and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.  It is also gluten free for all of you who have to watch your gluten intake.  Don't you love one pot meals?  I sure do.  Here is what you need to make this soup.  I really don't know what to call it.  If you have an idea, let me know.

1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 TBSP butter
1 pound breakfast sausage, hot or mild, or 1 pound Italian sausage, browned
1 10 ounce box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry*
1 14 ounce can cannellini beans (or you could use kidney beans)
as many potatoes as you would like, peeled and cut in chunks - I used about 2 pounds
1 32 ounce box low sodium chicken stock
1 can Ro-Tel
parmesan cheese rind optional

salt and pepper to taste
a couple pinches crushed red pepper flakes
olive oil for drizzling
freshly grated parmesan cheese

*If you don't want to use spinach, you could use chopped kale or swiss chard.  Either one would be delicious.  I used the spinach because I had it.


In a large dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions until translucent.  Add the minced garlic.  While you are cooking the onions, brown the sausage in a saute skillet and drain.  Add the sausage, cannellini beans, spinach, Ro-Tel, and chicken stock to the onions and garlic.  Use enough water to completely cover all the vegetables.  Add a couple pinches of crushed red pepper flakes.  Cook until the potatoes are fork tender.  Taste and season with salt if needed.  I used freshly ground black pepper in each bowl when served or you can add it to the soup pot.

When you serve the soup, drizzle a little olive oil over each bowl and grate some fresh parmesan cheese on top.    Serve with some crusty bread and ENJOY!

This soup was so hearty and delicious and really good for a "throw together" soup.  I really wish you could have shared a bowl with us because it sure hit the spot on this frigid arctic night.  And then, you should have seen what we had for dessert.  Oh my.  Come back tomorrow and I will show you and give you the recipe.  It's fantabulous.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:  it is the time for home.  Edith Sitwell

Clam Chowder - One Of My Most Favorite Soups

Hello October!  Where is this year going?  Oh my.  It is Monday once again and I hope you all are having some lovely early fall weather.  It has been raining all day here in Nashville, but the leaves are starting to show signs of color changes which makes my heart happy.  The days have been somewhat cooler and the evenings have required a light sweater or jacket.  Yes, that is what I am talking about!  To me, this is the perfect time of year.  We don't have to bundle up yet, but we are also not baking in the hot, humid weather of summer.  Perfect.

I volunteered at the East Nashville CoOp Ministry today cooking lunch.  We made vegetable beef soup which was welcomed by all on this cool, rainy day.  Don't think I have lost my mind, that is NOT a picture of vegetable beef soup, but one of my all time favorites, clam chowder.  Yum.  Yum.  Yum.

Soup is something that I could eat every day, even on really hot days.  Soup is nutritious, delicious and you can make enough to enjoy for a second meal.   That way you don't have to cook something every time you turn around  - and that on one reason why soup is worth the effort!  It also tastes really, really good - even better the second time after all the flavors really meld together!  There are so many soups to enjoy, you could have a different one every week of the year.  Here is what you need for this clam chowder.

1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups peeled and diced potatoes (I may, or may not, put a few more potatoes in the pot)
chicken stock in a box
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup half and half (I use milk, works fine)
2 6.5 ounce cans minced clams, drain juice and save
1.5 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1.5 TBSP red wine vinegar
1 bottle clam juice
2 TBSP flour

Before we go any further, I double this recipe so that we do have left overs.  Now, how to make the soup.

In a large pot, place all the veggies and pour the saved clam juice on top.  Add enough stock to barely cover the veggies.  Simmer over medium heat until the vegetables are almost tender, about 5-10 minutes.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and add 2 TBSP. flour to make a roux by stirring the flour into the butter and cooking until the raw flour taste is gone.  Add the half and half (or milk) slowly, continuing to stir.  Cook until smooth and thick without letting the soup boil.  Add the sauce to the vegetables, then add the clams, bottled clam juice, salt and pepper to taste.   Serve.

I topped our soup with some chopped chives from my herb garden.  You could also make some nice croutons to go on top of the soup if you wanted.  Croutons with parmesan or cheddar cheese would be even better.  There are no set rules with soup.  It can be like an artists canvas, create as you will.

As the days continue to get cooler, ramp up your soup recipe repertoire.  Soup is lovely to share with friends and family.  Take some to your neighbors, they will love you for it!

I keep clams in my pantry just in case I get a hankerin' for clam chowder.  (Hankerin' is a southern word requiring dropping of the "g").  Clam chowder is quick and easy to make and is so, so good. Serve it with a salad or sandwich and voila, you have one great meal.   Give this recipe a try the next time you are in the mood for some really tasty soup.  You will love it.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Soup is a lot like a family. Each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor. 
Marge Kennedy

Hunger Awareness Month - Tomato Tortellini Soup

Here we are in the final week of the month of September where I have been discussing hunger awareness.  September is Hunger Awareness Month.  Where does the time go?  Where did summer go?  It is starting to cool down and the days are rapidly getting shorter.  If you are a shelterless/homeless person, perhaps you find yourself in a desperate situation, not knowing how you will survive this winter.  If you are living at or below the poverty line, perhaps your funds have run out for the month and you don't know how you will provide food for your family and/or yourself.  If this has never been an issue for you, if you have never been hungry, not knowing where your next meal will come from - if you have never worried about having a roof over your head, worried about where you will spend each night, perhaps it is difficult to understand the panic, fear, dread, anger and hopelessness that may fill your life on a daily basis.

There are agencies and churches that are doing all they can to help alleviate these desperate situations, but there is not always enough to go around.  Feeding America/Second Harvest is the biggest organization in the United States to assist in alleviating hunger.  Here is how they work.

How Our Network Works

    

HOW OUR NETWORK WORKS

Feeding America food bank members help provide low - income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors.

How We Work Together

Feeding America benefits from the unique relationship between our 202 local member food banks at the front lines of hunger relief and the central efforts of our national office.

Securing Food
Local Role: Secure food from local manufacturers, retailers, farmers and government sources.	National Role:  Secure food from large corporate manufacturers and retailers through nationwide initiatives and facilitate the acquisition of government-supplied food.
Raising Funds
Local Role:  Acquire funding from local corporate, foundation and individual donors, and utilize those funds efficiently to maximize service to people in need.	National Role:  Acquire funding from corporate, foundation and individual donors, and provide those funds as seed money to spur local innovation.
Distributing Food
Local Role:  Distribute food received from Feeding America and local sources to people in need, via a local system of agencies.	National Role:  Through a robust logistics system, distribute food donations received nationally to the food banks that need them the most.
Sharing Best Practices
Local Role:  Share wisdom with other network members and uphold the highest standards for food safety, fiscal responsibility and efficiency.	National Role:  Inspire members to implement proven programs and uphold the highest standards for food safety, fiscal responsibility and efficiency.
Advocating and Inspiring
Local Role:  Create a local movement and a sense of compassionate urgency, encouraging better government programs and inspiring individuals to take action.	National Role:  Create a national movement and a sense of compassionate urgency, encouraging better government programs and inspiring individuals to take action.

But, Feeding America/Second Harvest cannot do the job alone.  We must all become aware of the desperate need that many in our country live with day to day, week to week, month to month.  We are the wealthiest country in the world and it is time that we do more to help with this situation.  As the recession drags on and jobs are few, there are more and more families facing a future of hunger and homelessness.  Many are literally a day away from not knowing where they will go when they can no longer pay their rent.  It is a frightening situation, especially for children.  Families face loosing their children and so they hide them so that authorities will not know their situation.  Can you imagine?

Today, we had a huge crowd for lunch because it is the end of the month and funds are gone.  Many, many families came to get food boxes to help them make it through the week.  Remember, they can only come 3 times in a 6 month period.  That is not a lot of assistance, but it does help when times are desperate.  We fed more people at noon today than I have seen in a while.  Today we had Tomato Tortellini Soup, hot ham and cheese sandwiches, and bananas.  We received a huge shipment of bananas from Second Harvest and everyone was thrilled to have a whole banana.  Ever thought you would be thrilled to have a whole banana?  Think about it.

Here is the recipe for today's soup.  It is so good, nutritious and filling.  We have one huge pot that we make soup in.  Today, we could have used several more huge pots of soup.   There were no seconds because of the large number of people eating.  But, that's okay - everyone had one helping of everything.  It always makes me think of Jesus feeding the 5,000.  Somehow, we manage to make it go around.  I am always truly amazed and it makes my heart joyful to see everyone leaving with their hunger alleviated one more time, with a grateful heart and a smiling face.

Tomato Tortellini Soup (with vegetables)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

1 box chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you are vegetarian)

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1/2 large can tomato juice (or use it all if you want to extend the soup)

1 9 oz. package cheese tortellini (we used Buitoni 3 cheese tortellini)

2 tsp. basil

salt and pepper to taste

Put the stock, basil, tomatoes, tomato juice, zucchini, onions, and carrots in a soup pot.  Bring to a low boil.  Cook until the vegetables are beginning to soften.  Add the tortellini and return soup to a low boil.  Cook until the tortellini is done, about 8 - 10 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve.

 This is such a wonderful tomato based soup.  Give it a try and when you are eating it, think about all those who would love to have a bowl too.  Do what you can.  Winter is coming.  Blankets, sleeping bags, tents, scarves, gloves, hats and coats will all be needed soon.  Make a donation to your favorite clothing bank.  We all have clothes in our closets we don't wear.   And if you can, make a financial donation or food donation to your local food bank.  There are many, many people who will benefit from it, including yourself by knowing you have helped someone in need.  I have never experienced so much joy from helping others.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Matthew 14:13-21

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Shrimp Scampi - Quick and Easy, Great For Hot Summer Mealtime

We have gone from hot to sauna here in Nashville.  Yes, we had several weeks of triple digit days with not a drop of rain and it was like an oven outside.  Now, we have rain (and we are more than grateful for every drop) added to the heat and it is like a sauna every time you step out of doors.  Humidity, nothing like it.  You are dripping wet almost immediately.  Therefore, I stay in the air conditioned comfort of the indoors as much as possible.

Yesterday was just one of those miserable humid summer days and I did not want to spend much time over a stove.  So I did one of those "drive by" perusals of the pantry, the fridge and the freezer.  Do you ever do that?  Stand there with the door open, trying to figure out what to make for dinner?  Hmmm, frozen shrimp and there is always an assortment of pasta in the pantry.  Lightbulb comes on and it's going to be shrimp scampi for dinner.  Quick and super tasty.  All garlicky, buttery, lemony goodness in one pan and it only takes about 20 minutes to make.  Decision made.  Time to go to work.

Here is what you need.

1 pound shelled, deveined shrimp (I used frozen)
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
3-4 cloves whole garlic, peeled and minced
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 - 1 cup chicken stock in a box
juice of 2 whole lemons
salt
pepper
basil leaves
8 ounces pasta (linguini, angel hair, spaghetti - I used tagliatelle)
grated fresh parmesan cheese, optional

Put water on to cook your pasta and salt generously.  (It takes time to come to a boil).  Cook pasta according to directions.  Drain when done.


While waiting for the water to boil, mince onion and garlic.  In a large saute pan,  add olive oil and butter, melting butter over medium heat (do not let it brown or burn).  Add onions and saute until they become translucent.  Throw in garlic, stirring so it doesn't burn.  Throw in Shrimp.  Cook until shrimp turns pink.  (Yes, you can throw it in still frozen)  Add juice of two whole lemons,  1/2 of the chicken stock, salt (if needed, I didn't add any) and pepper.  Add drained pasta to the sauce and stir until all the pasta is coated.  If you need more liquid, add the rest of the chicken stock.

Serve by adding torn basil leaves to the pasta and shrimp and grated fresh parmesan cheese if desired.

For pasta, I chose tagliatelle which is flat like linguini but a little wider and comes in little bird-nest like bunches.  It looks like this.

I used 10 "nests" and it made just the right amount of pasta for the sauce.  The super delicious lemony, garlicky, buttery sauce coating the pasta is so good.  Combined with the shrimp, it was an absolutely perfect dinner.  It's such a light sauce with that lemon undertone, mm, mmm, mmmm.
We enjoyed this entree with that lovely bruschetta I wrote about last night and it made a perfect summer meal.  The leftovers today were quite spectacular too.

Scampi is actually the Italian word for langoustine lobster which comes from the North Atlantic.  They are small lobster about the size of a crayfish and the tails are eaten with butter.  In Italian-American cuisine, scampi has come to be known as a way of preparation, rather than the name for a particular kind of lobster.  It is usually shrimp cooked in garlic sauce and served with pasta, therefore the name shrimp scampi.  So, next time you feel like you are melting in the summer heat and don't want anything hot or heavy to eat, try this shrimp scampi recipe.  It's divine.

Everyday donna

Things to Remember:

“Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it. There's, um, shrimp kebabs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir fried. There's pineapple shrimp and lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich... That's, that's about it.”  Bubba Blue from Forrest Gump