Soup can cure most ills

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postaday2016, soups

   
 
Right now I am a crosswords with the things I can drink and eat, the detour has happened with the temperature.  Now if the drink or food is too cold, getting it past the Troll sized tumor has become painful to the Middle Ages version of torture. I think that I have stood up to the cancer for long enough and I need to start exploring other options; such as a feeding tube for one and medical marijuana as the second.

Right now I am simmering a potato and leek soup, soup has a legendary status in my family over in France, they will not eat a meal without it, well that is an exaggeration for 99% of my family, the one who literally stands away from the pack is my Ton Ton Leon. He cannot imagine a meal without a soup, his soup gets its own wine, just like a dessert would, it is one of the most important features within the meal.

If I have made this soup a thousand times, I wouldn’t be surprised. As I was speaking to our daughter, while I was making it, I asked her if she remembered the last one I have made, she couldn’t, I said “that’s funny enough because I fell right asleep  after making the soup, but if I hadn’t, I would have taught you that I make the soup the exact same way time after time.  This soup like so many others can be catalogued for years to come, it should be started with a type of journal and tools such as a butcher’s knife and an immersion blender. My soups are all formulas and proportions, nothing difficult.

For example:

3 chopped onions, sauteed until caramelized, 

8 leeks using the whites only, which are split in half and then sliced in half inch pieces and soaked in cold water to get rid of the dirt, drain them in a colander and add them to the caramelized onions.

6 cloves of garlic smashed and chopped and added to the leeks and onions along with salt, pepper, thyme and oregano.

I peeled 4 small to medium potatoes, sliced them into pieces and added to the soup after which I added I box of organic chicken stock and 3 cans of organic chicken stock.

I did all this as I had the fire on medium and then I put it down to low for about 40 minutes, I wanted the potatoes cooked so that I could pulverize them into a creamy soup and I got my wish.

My blueprint for soup

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postadya2016, soups

  
In my mind if you have everything in the picture above, you can do anything, not just soup but so many other things, such as stews, sauces, rice dishes, there is nothing that you cannot do, if you have this simple grouping on hand.

My soups are all very simple, an onion or two diced and sauteed until translucent, I add the chopped garlic at the last minute with the vegetable, I add about two chicken stock packages and then I add the salt, pepper and thyme, if it’s butternut squash, I use thyme and sage, otherwise I keep it simple, salt, pepper and thyme. The last step is to use my immersion blender, I like my soups thick so I reduce it for a bit before I puree the thing, but if it’s too thick for your taste you can always add more chicken stock. Soup is very hard to mess up, trust me.

I wrote this post with my friend jmgoyder.wordpress.com in mind. She has gotten to making soups lately and I wanted to share some ideas and recipes. 

Soups will soon be my lifeline

Tags

postaday2016, soups

   
   
Soups are one of my favorite foods to eat and thank goodness for that because as soon as this week passes, my irradiated esophagus will probably only welcome soups and maybe other softer items as well. Over the years of writing, I have shared many recipes of my go to soups such as butternut squash, broccoli soup, cauliflower and broccoli soup and cauliflower and leek soups. These soups are my favorite because I love the texture, the creaminess and the heartiness provided by a simple marriage of vegetables, chicken stock, aromatic and spices. You just can’t go wrong, I puree them because it means you don’t have to worry about dicing everything uniformly and I love thick soup, but without the cream, so either potatoes or vegetables stalks provide the added fiber to give the impression of creaminess, an easy enough trick to pull off.

I am going to spend some time in the kitchen showing my son and my daughter how to make these soups, not just to feed me, but to feed themselves when they decide to leave the nest and go out on their own. They know how to make main course meals, but soup is in another class by itself and they need that skill in their repertoire.

Vending Machines

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candy, healthy snacks, postaday2012, soups, vending machines, yogurt

• 
• Name something that you wish you could buy from vending machines.

• June 21, 2012

• Vending Machines
• IMG_0563.JPG

  I don’t normally use vending machines because they house candy, chips and other unhealthy snacks. If a vending machine were able to stock fresh fruit, yogurt or healthy soups that would be pretty great, I would think. If the French can have their baguette available from a vending machine nowadays than why not other healthy options?