Autumn Soup

Ack, it seems we missed October! Who's in charge around here anyways? Though to be honest this soup was made in October, it just took me until today to be avoiding work so hardcore that I'm posting something. I didn't actually make this, I just invented it and typed up the "recipe" and Carter made it and then I adjusted it (like I do) and we ate it. And it was awesome. Truly, truly awesome. It could easily be vegetarian if you leave out the sausage (but if you aren't sausage-averse keep it in!!). Here's how it goes:

ingredients:

3 largish potatoes, chopped (peeled if you want)

1 bunch leeks, light parts sliced (dark green parts not needed)

1 celeriac bulb, peeled and chopped

3 or 4 carrots, chopped

8+ cloves garlic

1 qt (or more) stock (chicken/turkey/pork/veggie)

chicken bouillon cube or salt

a few heavy shakes of marjoram

3 bay leaves

much black pepper

1 c. half and half (or less cream)

8in section of kielbasa or andoiulle sausage

do this:

Roast garlic, then peel them and leave whole.

In a large pot, saute leeks until they're starting to brown, then add everything but garlic and saute for a few more minutes.

Add garlic, spices, stock and then 4 or 5 cups of water until the pot is at least about half full. Simmer for 1-2 hours. When it's cooked, rescue the bay leaves and puree about half of the soup in the blender. Add cream, adjust seasonings, remove from heat.

Meanwhile: broil, grill, or otherwise cook your sausage. Cut into bite-size pieces and toss into the soup just before serving. Garnish with parsley and eat with rustic bread.

Lilly and Lentils

It's about time we introduce Ms. Sour Puss to you, aka Lilly. I found her like this on my bed one morning last week. A prize goes to anyone who can find her face.
On a tastier note, I made easily-vegan Curried Lentil Soup last night. I followed the voices in my head when I made it, but here's approximately what I did:

Dice 1 small onion, and saute in olive oil for a few minutes, until soft but not brown. Add 2 large cloves garlic, sliced, and 3 carrots, sliced, and turn up the heat slightly to brown the onions/garlic and start to cook the carrot. Throw in 1.3 cups lentils (I measured out a cup, but then decided it needed another handful, hence the .3 c.) and another splash of olive oil. Add two handfuls of garam masala powder (5 T. maybe??) and stir around for a minute or two. Next add 1 small can or about half of a large can of diced tomatoes (fire-roasted works well) and about 7 cups of stock (chicken, beef, turkey, mushroom, or some combination) or equivalent water and some broth powder. Simmer for about an hour, or transfer everything to a Crock Pot and leave it all day. Check periodically to make sure that you're getting curried lentil SOUP instead of just curried lentils. (Or reduce the liquid to about 3 cups and forget about making it into soup.)

Other good additions would be: mushrooms in with the onions (and some butter, of course) or leeks or celery or potatoes or any other soup vegetables you've got on hand. If you want plain lentil soup, leave out the curry and instead add 2 bay leaves, 2 pinches of thyme, and some black pepper. Easier than pie!

Not a bad pairing with a glass of merlot (somehow), and the notes from my senior honors thesis defense make a great placemat!

Also, today was the first Wednesday of the Carrboro Farmers' Market, and I got a free squash seedling. Sorry about the picture quality today, by the way.

Stew and Soda Bread

Happy belated St. Patrick's Day! I made the soda bread from an Epicurious recipe (where else?), link at the bottom. And stew is Irish, right? I made this up as I went along, threw it all in the Crock Pot, and it was delicious! There's nothing like a wonderful meal that cooked all day while you're in class. Perhaps we'll move on soon from winter comfort foods to spring foods, but for now I'm still enjoying casseroles and stew! (Besides, who wants to eat stew in August when it's 95? Not I.)

Irish-inspired Beef Stew
1/2 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
dash of olive oil

2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 large button mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, whole or halved
2 dashes of olive oil (and/or bacon grease and/or butter)

4 red-skinned potatoes, chopped
2 or 3 bay leaves
a few heavy pinches of dried thyme
black pepper to taste
enough water to barely cover

2 forkfuls AP flour

Brown the first two ingredients together, add to Crock Pot. Brown next group of ingredients, add to Crock Pot. Add everything else except the flour, and cook until potatoes are soft-- a few hours. A few minutes before serving, ladle out some of the liquid into a cup, mix in the flour until no lumps remain, and stir the flour mixture back into the stew. Allow to cook for 5 minutes more, or until stew has thickened. Serve with Brown Butter Soda Bread and a good stout (more details on the beer end soon, I think).

(Blogger's being weird with the pictures today, I don't know why this one is rotated...)