Not-so-French Onion Soup and a Championship

So just in case you hadn't heard... THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY WILDCATS ARE NATIONAL NCAA CHAMPIONS!!! Sorry to all you other college basketball fans our there, but Queen's "We Are the Champions" played just for us this weekend, and I sang it at the top of my lungs.

As I am sure you are also aware, Lexington, Kentucky was THE place to be this week. No, it wasn't scary like the news portrays it. It was actually really amazing to see everyone out in the streets, painted with blue from head to toe, restaurants staying open until way past closing time to make sure all us hungry fans were fed, and the UK fight song being blasted from every speaker in the city.

So after a weekend of celebration and half a week filled to the brim with work that you ignored for days, what is better to eat than soup heated up with a huge toasted cheese crouton? Not much. You should also be amazed that this recipe contains butter because it is extremely rare that I ever use the lipid. Enjoy it while it lasts kids.

Not-so-French Onion Soup

4 medium yellow onions, sliced thinly into half moons

2 TB butter

1 TB sugar

a lot of patience - yes, this IS an ingredient

2 TB whole wheat flour

3 cup beef broth

3 cups skim milk

1tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 dried bay leaf

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Cut the onions in skinny half moons (see first picture below.) Cook these onions in the oil and sugar for 45-50 minutes on medium low until golden brown and sweet smelling. This is where the patience comes in, because you have to cook the onions low and slow to develop the deep, rich, and hearty flavor French onion soup is indicative of. Stir the onions as little as possible. That being said, add a huge dollop of patience and just let these onions do their thing. Once you've achieved your golden brown color, add the flour and toss to coat the onions. Allow to cook for an additional few minutes to cook off the raw flour flavor, then add the liquids and the seasonings, stir to combine, and cover to bring to a simmer. Simmer until all flavors have married.

Serve this with a piece of toast cut to fit the top of your bowl (or in my case, over-sized mug) with garlic paste and cheese broiled on top. 

Onions after 2 minutes...

...and after ten minutes...

... and after thirty minutes...

Finished soup, ready to simmer all afternoon.

Potato and Leek Soup

Sundays are wonderful things. They are a little gift at the end of each week, especially Sundays that you haven't scheduled to the brim. Today was one of those days. I slept in, lounged around, lingered over planning my weekly menu (as I am no longer on Spring Break and the luxury of going to the market for dinner ingredients every few days is no longer an option,) and went to see my sister's winter percussion performance. I drove with my windows down, hair blowing all over the place, and sang to the radio turned all the way up. It's official, Spring is here.

Soup is a wonderful thing to eat on Sundays. It is easy, filling, and homey. I heated up some leftover potato and leek soup and caught up on my Google Reader blog reading.

Potato Leek Soup

1/2 pound bacon (I used turkey bacon, but the pork counterpart is perfectly fine)

3 leeks, whites and light green onion, thinly sliced and washed thoroughly

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 stalked celery, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

4 Idaho baking potatoes, evenly diced (no need to peel first)

3 cups milk (I used skim, but any kind will do)

3 cups chicken stock

1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used fat free)

toppings: bacon, green onion, sour cream, cheddar cheese - at least that is what I like on my soup.

Chop your bacon and crisp in a dutch oven over medium heat; remove to paper towels and let drain. Remove all save for 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the pan (or add some olive oil if your turkey bacon didn't give off much fat) and saute your leeks, onions, and celery. Sweat for 8-10 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until garlic is fragrant.  Add diced potatoes, toss, and let soften for 8-10 minutes. Add milk and chicken stock, cover, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer - cook until potatoes are tender. Turn off the heat and puree with an immersion blender, or stand blender. If you would like, which I do, don't puree the mixture completely and instead leave some yummy chunks of potatoes. Right before serving, stir in the plain yogurt.

Sauteed leeks, celery, onions, and garlic, cooked in the turkey bacon fat and some olive oil

Once the aromatics were tender, I added the potatoes to soften

Potato soup is my mom's favorite, and we like to eat potato soup "loaded," meaning topped with cheddar cheese, (turkey) bacon, green onions, and sour cream. And of course, two separate platings - both of which were served in whole wheat homemade bread bowls, topped with bourbon smoked sea salt. Mmmm.

Dedicated to a Friend

Story time! Pull up a chair and settle in for a tail of yesteryear. What a great way to start a Tuesday.

My senior year of high school we had a huge snow storm on a Tuesday that caused the entire town to rush to Kroger for bread and milk because white death was coming. After spending our afternoon teaching forth graders the dangers of inhaling spray paint and taking candy from strangers, (our area's Say No program at its finest,) we were greeted in the parking lot by four inches of snow. Completely unaware, unprepared, and thrilled, Alex and I trudged through the wonderland to retrieve our cars and, unable to get home himself, Alex ended up at my house. We then spent the evening talking about what we would do with our new found freedom (since our district, though stingy when awarding snow days, had already cancelled school for the next day,) ignoring homework,  and playing in the kitchen. I swear one of the many reasons why he and I got along so well is due to our ability to eat everything in sight. I will never forget how long we worked over that little pot of soup, so I wanted to share with you the inspiration behind making this soup. I was feeling particularly nostalgic when I woke up, completely unaware and thrilled, to four inches of snow and just so happened to have this soup in the fridge.

So here is how you can relive a snow day from yesteryear.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

2 TB olive oil

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

2 ribbed celery, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium potato, diced

2 poached chicken breasts, shredded

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme

6 cups chicken stock (bonus points if it's homemade)

3 TB cornstarch, mixed into a slurry with 3 TB hot chicken stock

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add veggies and cook 10-ish minutes, or until just tender. Add the chicken, herbs, and stock. Mix and allow to come to a boil. Mix cornstarch and hot broth in a coffee mug, then whisk into boiling soup. Bring soup to a simmer and allow to cook for an hour, or until all the flavors have melded together.

Chicken Pot Pie soup topped with Ranch and Dill oyster crackers

Same soup, but served with crusty French bread - much like what Alex and I would make panini's out of.

This blog post is dedicated to my life long friend, Alex. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I wish you the best!

Soup and Salad Lunches

Allow me to state the obvious; the weather around here has been really nice lately (and by lately, I mean all winter.) It has rarely been freezing, let alone below freezing, like normal winters here, and I have enjoyed it immensely. I hate the cold with a passion, and am always crossing my fingers hoping the groundhog will not see his shadow and promise me springtime six weeks earlier. This unnaturally warm winter has especially been nice since I am living off campus this year and need to walk everywhere, which is common of college students across the country. I have not enjoyed the warm weather, however, in the aspect that soups and stews do not sound as tasty when it's fifty degrees outside. But this soup, made from leftover roast chicken, pico de gallo, black beans, and chili powder. All of this simmered on the stove for an hour or so and turned out to be a deliciously simple soup. I paired this with an effortless salad and I had a yummy lunch to refuel me after my workout swimming laps.

Yummy veggie packed salad

Chicken Salsa Soup

Rain Drops and Chili

It has been unexpectedly gloomy around here as of late, what with the bone chilling continuous rain, blustery winds, and monotonous grey skies. All of this is just evidence to the fact that I could never live in a place that averaged more rain days in a year than sunny days; I can now safely cross Seattle off my list of possible places to live. I guess I should have expected these conditions, since it is in fact the first week of December, but I had been spoiled by the abnormally warm temperatures of November and wished, albeit foolishly, that winter would never come. Well here it is, raring its ugly head, and I am left scrambling to find mittens and scarves to bundle up against the cold. (This sudden change in weather has also made me realize how strictly this weather limits my fashion choices. Bye bye shorts and sandals, see you next season.)

However, one thing I do like about the cold is the change in cuisine (but then again I have yet to meet a cuisine I didn't like so maybe I'm biased.) Hearty stews, steaming bowls of soup, casseroles and bakes, all made a tad healthier by yours truly. I've always loved the fact that each season has it's own culinary treasures, and this change in the seasons now allows me to dust off the "soups and stews" section of my recipes and experiment with new ingredients and flavor profiles. Plus soups only takes one pot, so less dishes, and what's not to love about that?!

This past week I played the "it's-Dead-Week (the week before Finals Week for all of you whose lives do not hang on a final exam grade anymore) and-I-don't-want-to-take-the-time-to-go-to-the-store" card and made a really delicious Black Eyed Pea Chicken Chili. Now you may of guessed already that this was supposed to be reminiscent of White Bean Chicken Chili, but as we already discussed I didn't want to go to the store to pick up jalapenos, white beans, and the list goes on, so I used a can of Black Eyed Peas instead. For those of you who have not worked with Black Eyed Peas before, I highly recommend them. The canned version, which is the version I used, are a bit firmer than regularly canned beans and they have a stronger, almost meaty flavor. They stand up to whatever seasoning you throw at them and are great for items like bean cakes or bean salads, in addition to thickening soups or stews.

Black Eyed Pea Chicken Chili served with a sweet potato and white balsamic salad.

Black Eyed Pea Chicken Chili garnished with fresh parsley.

I apologize for the distinct lack in quality in these photographs - I'm on my own again.

Soups are the Perfect Re-purposers!

Everyone knows that one of the easiest ways to use up the odds and ends left in your refrigerator after a long week of cooking and creating is to dump it all in big pot and let it simmer until the flavors mellow together and turn into something perfectly acceptable for dinner.

The vegetable soup featured here is a gift from Mommaw from this past weekend's visit. I also acquired a loaf of banana bread and some pumpkin cupcakes on this trip... I'm just a bit spoiled.

Mommaw makes vegetable soup just the way I like it - with EVERY vegetable imaginable in it. This one featured peas, black beans, kidney beans, carrots, celery, onion, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, corn, and diced flank steak, and then I stirred in some leftover chipotle chili roasted potatoes from last night. I paired all those wonderful vegetables and savory broth with some cornbread and I was a happy camper, especially on this cold, dreary day of rain and wind. Maybe a cup of tea is now in order and I will settle down to finish this business paper.