Chicken, corn, zucchini, egg noodle, poblano pepper, ginger, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, sambal oelek, fish sauce.
Fun mix of Asia and the Occident. Funny how that word isn’t used anymore. Languages change. The Ukraine is now Ukraine, while Gambia is now The Gambia.
“‘Meow’ means ‘woof’ in cat.” George Carlin
Mirepoix: red onion, carrot, celery. Ground turkey, asparagus, Thai chantaboon rice stick, dates, basil, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, turmeric, ginger
Rice noodles–yum.
Mirepoix: yellow onion, celery. Ground turkey, sauteed crimini shrooms, straw shrooms, broccoli, black beans, tomato, hoisin sauce, garlic, turmeric, ginger, Thai basil, sugar, fish sauce.
Not gonna say anything about those straw mushrooms.
“The honorable and upright man keeps well away from both the slaughterhouse and the kitchen. And he allows no knives on his table.” Confucius
Standard mirepoix. Red and orange bell pepper, Hawaiian-style cooked tilapia, fresh ramen noodles, zucchini, red curry paste, basil, plum sauce, fish sauce, curry powder, garlic
Mirepoix: yellow onion, celery, poblano pepper. Green beans, broccoli, red bell pepper, sesame ginger marinade, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, plum sauce, sesame oil.
Great combo. The plum sauce really set this off.
“What is more mortifying than to feel you have missed the plum for want of courage to shake the tree?” Logan Pearsall Smith
Mirepoix: shallot, yellow onion, celery, carrot, red bell pepper. Chicken thighs, feta cheese, roasted peppers, eggplant, green olives, fish sauce, tarragon, parsley flakes.
The feta really brought this off.
“Chicken soup – what a blessing…for the mind to dwell a world away from pain.” Sophocles, Oedipus Rex. Sort of.
Standard mirepoix. Prepared breaded chicken breasts, egg yolks, calrose rice, fish sauce, dill, lime juice.
Ok ok, there was no lemon, but cut me some slack–lime works as well, doesn’t it?
Four dozen egg yolks went into this hellenistic brew.
“Leave me to my own absurdity”. Sophocles in “Antigone”
Mirepoix: red onion, carrot. Cod, potato, zucchini, cottage cheese, fish sauce, worcestershire sauce, garlic, curry paste, Thai basil, dried basil, coconut milk, lemon thyme, lemon juice, sugar.
Maybe should have put some flour in to thicken, but I’m hoping that when it’s reheated tomorrow the potatoes will break down. That would be nice.
จับปลาสองมือ
Translation: Catch a fish with two hands.
Meaning: You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Mirepoix: yellow onion, carrot, celery, chive, sesame oil. Chorizo, kale, seto fumi furikake (Japanese mixed seasoning), fish sauce, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar.
The kale (and the chard used in the previous soup) were donated by a local pea patch–fresh, green, and crunchy.
I miss Japan:
Mirepoix: yellow onion, carrot, celery, chive, sesame oil. Weisswurst, chard, poblano pepper, sweet and sour sauce, fish sauce, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar.
Michele is still in Bali, so I made two soups today, both cultural cross-oddities. This has the sturm und drang of German sausage, plus the flavorings of China. A Sino-German wedding. Tang Valkyries sang for it.
Onion, lettuce, uncured ham, fish sauce, black rice, calrose rice, balsamic vinegar, tarragon, garlic, black pepper.
The thought of lettuce in a soup used to revolt me. But ahh, those French, they made it a classic soup. So I had to try it. 50 million Frenchmen can’t be wrong.
Pureed the lettuce with the onion.
Mirepoix: yellow and red onions, organic rainbow carrot, green bell pepper. Ham, asparagus, egg, milk, romano cheese, asiago cheese, garlic, lots of black pepper, cinnamon, fish sauce.
Thinner than I meant–needed another dozen egg yolks. Lesson learned, but it did taste a bit carbonaraish. Will try some other egg soups in the future.
And pay no attention to the that man behind the curtain, nor the shadow on the soup.
Mirepoix: yellow onion, rainbow carrot, green bell pepper. Mushroom, refried beans, black beans, red onion, salsa, tomato, bacon, sliced ham, fish sauce, wheat tortilla pieces, garlic, taco seasoning, cumin, chili powder.
Pureed a bunch of mushrooms with the mirepoix, just to add more umami.
I own this shirt. Although I don’t look as dapper as he.
Chicken stock, barley, chopped almonds, peanut butter, kale, carrot, roasted red bell pepper, fish sauce, roasted chicken demi-glace, cayenne pepper, paprika, Tuscan white bean puree spread.
At times the boss man needs a super quick and easy soup when customer flow is heavy (sometimes it’s as simple as broth and canned chicken). So as my second soup of the day, I splashed this one out.
Basically throw ingredients into a pot and heat. But I just had to have some fun with it, hence the nuts.
“The Germans have sent some people forward to take our surrender.” Brig. Gen. McAuliffe replied, “nuts”.
Standard mirepoix. Bacon, okra, fennel, potato, pobalano pepper, half and half, fish sauce, parsley, minced garlic, garlic scape, cream cheese, tarragon, glace de poulet, love.
The slick sliminess of okra. Such a joy, such a love.
Had never heard of garlic scape before, but holy smokes this is a killer ingredient. Tanta alegria e tanto amor. Que bom.
“It is impossible to love and to be wise”. Francis Bacon
Made 6/18/19
Mirepoix: yellow onion, red and green pepper, carrot. Sausage, nasty industrial cheese goo, mushrooms, extra red green and orange bell pepper, extra onions, roasted chicken stock, fish sauce, hand-made croutons, oregano, paprika, cumin, lemon juice.
A left-field attempt to make Philly Cheesesteak Soup, but with sausage. Totally winging it on this one. I had the option to use Permesan cheese, but went with the 7-11 nacho goop.
I made the croutons in the oven, but once in the soup they simply became bread again. Lesson learned.
” They say that this is where revolutions begin and nations are born. They say that this is a place where steel rules all and there is something called a cheese-steak sandwich that is supposed to be manna from heaven!” Dylan Callens
Mirepoix: yellow onion, carrot, bok choy. Pre-made meatballs, potato, portobello mushroom, fromage blanc, lemon extract, half and half, fish sauce, tomato paste, tomato sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic, paprika, black pepper.
Attila blessed it.
Made 8/7/18
Mirepoix: yellow onion, carrot. Turkey, asparagus, macaroni, diced tomatoes, tomato vodka sauce, marinara sauce, tomato sauce, fish sauce, Italian seasoning, fresh basil, garlic, parsley, cinnamon, honey.
“He stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni”. Whatever that means.
Fairly tame, but the addition of cinnamon and honey gave it a fun undertone.
Speaking of Undertones:
Yellow onions, potato, zucchini, broccoli, freekah, paprika, garlic, sriracha, fish sauce.
“Awwww freekah, Le Freak, c’est chic”. Nile Rogers helped me with this one.
According to Wikipedia, freekah is ” a cereal food made from green durum wheat that is roasted and rubbed to create its flavor. ” Rubbed? Your guess is as good as mine, but had no protein, so in it went.
Made 8/14/18
Mirepoix: yellow onion, green bell pepper. Nasty canned pork, asparagus, shiitake mushroom, butternut squash, sweet soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, sugar, lime sauce, basil, red pepper flakes.
Had never used “sweet” soy sauce, so in it went. Overall a mildly Asian flavor.
I swear, that canned pork is gross. But it was the only protein available, so had to strive to offset the inherent evilness of the vile cur. I gave my best Herculean effort. It ended up pretty good.
“Um carinho envolve o meu coração
Sinto que é você, falando pra mim
Sussurrando“
Made 10/2/18
Mirepoix: yellow onion, red and green bell pepper, carrot. Roasted mushroom, potato, corn, cream corn, zucchini, parmasen cheese, fire roasted corn salsa, nacho salsa, garlic, fish sauce.
Probably should have added some potato starch.
“The only soup we have to fear is soup itself“.
Mirepoix: yellow onion, red and green pepper, carrot. Linguiça sausage, eggplant, broccoli, apple, Japanese pear (nashi), lentil, zucchini, fish sauce, curry powder, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, garlic.
A fave among the EIC sepoys. I would hope.
Made today, 6/5/19
Mirepoix: yellow onion, red bell pepper, carrot. Pulled pork, cauliflower, snap peas, roasted eggplant, cantaloupe, chopped roasted pistachios, garlic, lemon juice, fish sauce, parsley, Molly’s beef base.
Not quite a “round up the usual suspects” type of soup, I know. But I think Ilsa and Rick would have dug it.
Made today, 6/4/19
Standard mirepoix. Rotisserie chicken, garlic roasted carrots, green and red bell pepper, garlic mashed potatoes, Yum Yum sauce, fish sauce, garlic.
Yum Yum sauce is a Japanese marinade. In homage to Reiwa Tenno.
Made 5/28/19
Mirepoix: red onion, celery, red bell pepper, carrot, poblano pepper, parsley. Beef, potato, asparagus, blue berries, chopped walnuts, fish sauce, worcestershire sauce, garlic, fresh oregano, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, sugar.
A blueberry by any other name would taste as sweet.
Made 5/21/19
Mirepoix: yellow onion, parsnip, carrot, leek. Broccoli, cauliflower, mushroom, poblano pepper, cheddar cheese, feta cheese, fish sauce, nutmeg.
“Blessed are the cheese-makers”.
We’ve been totally blessed with a plethora of leeks recently. As things go around here, probably won’t see any more for a couple months. Just the way it is at a food bank.
Made 5/1/19
Mirepoix: yellow and red onion, red and green bell pepper. Cauliflower, zucchini, penne, green onion, fish sauce, sushi ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes.
Gari, ie sushi ginger, was there on the ingredient shelf. So in it went, added to the mirepoix and pureed. It contributed both acid and ginger flavor. Clients liked it.
An old pond. A frog jumps in. The sound of water.
Made 3/26/19
Mirepoix: yellow onion, green bell pepper, celery, parsley. Potato, Napa cabbage, mushroom, almond butter, butter, milk, flour, turmeric, ginger, green curry paste, fish sauce, cinnamon, sugar, red pepper flake.
I’d never heard of someone using almond butter in a soup, so in it went. Not any weirder than peanut butter.
Made 4/9/19
Mirepoix: yellow onion, parsnip, yellow bell pepper, garlic. Broccoli, purple kale, corn, fish sauce, marjoram, sage.
Added the herbs directly to the mirepoix.
Made 2/27/19
Mirepoix: carrot, onion, bell pepper. Roasted zucchini, roasted mushroom, coconut milk, sweet coconut flakes, rice, fish sauce, garlic, dried and fresh basil, ginger, curry powder.
Fish sauce opened up again in my backpack, even though I had wrapped the top with saran wrap. Had to throw it into the wash machine again.
Made 1/22/19
Mirepoix: red onion, carrot, celery. Roasted eggplant, roasted cauliflower, zucchini, marjoram, fish sauce, vinegar.
Gotta get roasting done in the winter, cause in the summer the kitchen gets insufferably hot.
Made 1/16/19
Standard mirepoix. Asparagus, roasted cauliflower, tofu, fish sauce, ginger, turmeric, garlic, soy sauce.
I’ve been bringing in fish sauce–gives soup such a great umami bottom. Problem is that the top of the bottle doesn’t like to stay securely on. Had to wash my backpack because it reeked so bad.
Made 1/9/19
Regular mirepoix. Potato, prepared mashed potato, yellow bell pepper, milk, coconut milk, sweet coconut flakes, corn, mushroom, cauliflower, feta cheese, fish sauce, flour, marjoram, dill, garlic, fried garlic.
Would have been nice to have green peppers to make the color scheme more interesting. Alas we had none.
Made 1/2/19
Mirepoix: yellow onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, fennel. Eggplant, zucchini, fish sauce, garlic.
Made 11/21/18
Mirepoix: yellow bell peppers, carrot, yellow onion. Green beans, roasted yellow pepper, corn, tomato, fish sauce, garlic, bay leave, Chinese plum sauce.
Another situation where I went by the condiments shelf, saw the plum sauce and thought, “what the hay, yeah!” I’d never used it but it sounded fun.
Made 11/13/18
Mirepoix: red onion, celery, carrot. Seeded roma tomatoes, canned whole tomatoes (Cento–with sauce)(mushed by hand), cannellini beans, tomato paste, tomato bouillon, more celery, eggplant tapenade, Kalamata olives, capers, fish sauce, oregano, chives, Italian dressing, sugar
I usually deseed tomatoes, otherwise it’s too bitter. As per the eggplant tapenade, it was there, so I used it. I’ll use whatever weird ingredient that’s available.
Made 10/30/18
Mirepoix: green bell pepper, red onion, carrot. Eggplant, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, whole wheat dumpling, fish sauce, fresh Thai basil, garlic.
We had no regular flour, so I improvised the dumplings. They were a little chewy.
Made 10/23/18
Regular mirepoix. White fish (the package had no label–maybe it was cod), eggplant, yellow bell pepper, carrot, fish sauce, lime juice, sriracha, fresh lemon thyme, fresh Thai basil, ginger, paprika, garlic, cinnamon, chive.
Made 10/17/18
Regular mirepoix. Roasted cauliflower, corn, kale, fish sauce, tomato buillon, sage, garlic.
The roasting made all the difference. Oof crappy photo, though.
Made 10/17/18
Mirepoix: yellow onion, red bell pepper, carrot. Corn, potato, fish sauce, milk, flour, garlic, fresh tarragon.
Pretty simple, but man tarragon goes great in a chowder.
Made 9/26/18
Soup Kitchen Recipes 