5th Annual Spokane Soup Swap

5th Annual Spokane Soup Swap

Thursday, January 31, 2012           

6:00-8:00pm

Located at the home of Cheryl Corrigan-Matamoros,

3806 W Woodside Ave.

328-9563 or 979-0462

Soup Swap Guidelines

1.     Make one or two soups that will freeze well and place into one quart containers.  6 quarts is suggested, but any less will do. Freeze the filled quarts.

2.     Make a copy of the recipe to bring. If you are able, think about those in our community who are hungry and gather a can or more of soup to donate to

2nd Harvest Food Bank of the Inland Northwest.

3.     Show up at 6:00 with your 6 quarts of frozen soups in a box or bag to carry them in, your recipe, and your hunger. If there are any instructions other than warm and serve, please accompany each quart of soup with those instructions.

4.     6:00- 7:00 visit with friends and meet new friends.

 Eat:  Soup and accompaniments will be served by hostess for your evening meal.

5.     7:00 Soup Swap:  take a number, you could be first to choose, or you could be last!  You take home the number of quarts you brought.

6.     8:00 Take your soup home and put in your freezer!

I got the idea for the Soup Swap on the internet while looking for new recipes.  The man who started it is in Seattle.  This is his website:

http://soupswap.com/   My own blog is found at spokanesoupswap.blogspot.com   I have another food blog about the meals I make at “Garland Cookday”, a freezer meal preparation event. http://corriganscookday.wordpress.com

Please RSVP by email and I will confirm.

cec037@yahoo.com

If you can’t come and want to have your own soup swap, feel free to copy this invitation and use it. Let me know when your swap will be!

Chicken and St. Maries' Wild Rice Soup

This recipe is for making ahead and freezing. If you leave the milk out you can add any type of milk you want 30 minutes before serving. You can add skim to cream or evaporated milk. Let me know how you like it!

St. Maries’  Wild Rice and Chicken Soup (bag or container)

3 cups cooked chicken, cut up (can use shrimp, but don’t bring, add when almost cooked)

1/4 cup butter

 ¼ C bacon bits

1 1/2 cup carrots, diced

1 1/2 cup celery, diced

1 1/2 cup onion, diced

8 ounces wild rice mix, uncooked

1/2 cup all purpose flour

4 cups 2 % milk

3 cups chicken broth

1 49.5 oz can chicken broth

Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. 

Add bacon and vegetables.

Cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. 

Add rice and 2 cups of the broth. 

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Stir flour into remaining 1-cup broth. 

Add to soup and stir until bubbly.

Add milk and heat through. 

Let cool down before putting in containers/bags with individual’s chicken for freezing.  

Serves 8.

Make sure each person gets a 49.5 oz can of chicken broth for use when reheating.

 

Soup Swap 2012

At 6:00 the guests arrived laden with quarts of soup. All talk with introductions and "how do I know you?" or "how do you know Cheryl?". After gabbing about life we began with Mint Juleps. One guest brought homemade french bread, so we were drooling over that. The Gumbo smelled amazing! I was so looking forward to enjoying this meal after its aroma filled my house all day.Soon we were serving up; spoon of white rice in the bowl and cover it with Gumbo. Shortly after I was hearing the comments. They loved it! Although I have a New Orleans heritage with my Mom growing up there, I hadn't made Gumbo in over 15 years. I soon found out what a mistake that was! The flavors had melded together to create an indescribable burst of flavor in my mouth that I call "A circus in my mouth." The french bread was baked to perfection!

After the meal we did our soup talk, then swap.....then more talk....and more talk.....

Soup Swap Tonight!

I'm looking forward to getting together for eating and swapping soup tonight! One friend made homemade french bread for our meal.I'm so looking forward to homemade bread, as I'm not much of a baker. Tonight I will be serving New Orleans Style Gumbo.

Here's comment about Gumbo:
Gumbo isn't about recipes. Gumbo is cooked with instinct and heart. Gumbo is a dish you are taught, not something you can make by reading a recipe. My gumbo won't taste like yours and yours won't taste like mine, altough mine tastes pretty similar to my Mom's, but that is probably because she taught me how to make it. If you have the ability to cook with pinches, dabs and shakes, if you can season, then taste, then season a little more until it tastes right to you, then you can make gumbo using this "recipe".

I will be posting the recipe later.

4th Annual Spokane Soup Swap in 7 days!

Soup Swap Guidelines
1. Make one or two soups that will freeze well and place into one quart containers. 6 quarts is suggested, but any less will do. Freeze the filled quarts.

2. Make a copy of the recipe to bring. If you are able, think about those in our community who are hungry and gather a can or more of soup to donate to
2nd Harvest Food Bank of the Inland Northwest.

3. Show up at 6:00 with your 6 quarts of frozen soups in a box or bag to carry them in, your recipe, and your hunger. If there are any instructions other than warm and serve, please accompany each quart of soup with those instructions.

4. 6:00- 7:00 visit with friends and meet new friends.
Eat: Soup and accompaniments will be served by hostess for your evening meal.


5. 7:00 Soup Swap: take a number, you could be first to choose, or you could be last! You take home the number of quarts you brought.

6. 8:00 Take your soup home and put in your freezer!

“Costco Roasted Chicken” Soup

Ok, you had one of those amazing roasted chickens from Costco for dinner. It served 4 people, but there’s not enough left for another meal. What do you do? Create a soup of course! By looking at the vegetables, herbs and spices you have on hand you can determine the type of soup you can make. Get all the ingredients out and immediately begin getting all the remaining meat off the bone. After doing that you just have carcass and skin left. Grab a large pot and put the remaining carcass and skin into the pot. Fill it with water and place it on the stove on high.

The vegetables I decided to use were:

3 potatoes, ½ red pepper, 1 medium onion, 5 cloves of garlic, 4 stalks of celery, and 3 small carrots.

I wanted to eat soon, so I got out another soup pot and placed it on the burner. I put a little canola oil in the bottom and warmed it up.
After dicing all the fresh ingredients, I turned up the oil to medium. I sautéed the onion, then added the garlic and the rest as they were ready.
With a bowl on the side for vegetable garbage, I began cutting the vegetables. All discards went into the bowl.
While I was dicing, 2 quarts of previously frozen chicken broth was thawing in the microwave. One had lots of chicken meat in it from a previously devoured “Costco Roasted Chicken”.

After about 10 minutes of sautéing the vegetables I added the chicken that I had picked off the bone and the 2 quarts of broth. Immediately I realized it looked like a stew instead of a soup, so I added 3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of organic “Better than Bouillon” chicken base. That too was a Costco purchase.

http://www.superiortouch.com/retail/products/better-than-bouillon

I also added 3 Tablespoons of minced fresh parsley, 6 twists of ground black pepper and a pinch of kosher salt. When I purchase or grow a fresh herb, often I prepare it for a recipe and freeze what I don’t use for the winter when it isn’t readily available in my garden. The parsley was in a bag in my freezer.

After simmering for 20 minutes we ate the soup! The leftovers I placed in quart containers and brought to a sick loved one.

What about the simmering carcass? No, I didn't forget it. I placed all vegetable discards in the pot as well as 4 cloves of garlic smashed with peel on. After 3 hours I let it cool, strained it, then put the broth in the fridge for my next soup concoction. While draining the carcass additional meat appeared which went right into the broth. The bowl of broth will sit tonight in the fridge where the fat rises. I will skim of the hardened fat in the morning and it will be ready to put in quart freezer containers.

“Costco Roasted Chicken” Soup
3 Cups cooked diced chicken
2 quarts chicken broth
6 Cups diced and sautéed vegetables of your choice
Minced parsley
Pepper and salt to taste
Cook until vegetables are the consistency that you like and enjoy!
Great with roasted garlic artisan bread!

Leftovers can be frozen for lunch at another date or eaten the next day.

Fennel: You too can use it!

The colors, sounds and smells are energizing when strolling down the shops in the Pike Street Market in Seattle, Washington. The vegetables, which are meticulously arranged in the public market, are awaiting to be a part of your next soup. After purchasing some fruit for a snack and herbs for our big Turkey dinner next week, I commented on how beautiful the fennel was. It was only $1.99 for the bulb! After bagging up my purchase the employee handed me the bag and asked what I use fennel for. I promised her one of my favorite recipes and here it is! If you are a part of the Seattle Soup Swap, go on down to the market and purchase these fresh vegies!


Crock Pot Chicken and Vegetable Tortellini Stew (bag)
2 lbs raw chicken (brown or white), sliced in bite sizes
3 C drained, rinsed garbanzo beans
1 ½ C frozen carrots, sliced diagonally, or matchsticks
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ C fennel bulb, chopped
1 ½ C onion chopped
1½ C baby spinach leaves packed
3 T fresh basil leaves chopped
½ t ground pepper
1 48 oz. can chicken broth
1 C water (extra liquid for cooking tortellini in pot)
1 C dried tortellini

Place everything except the tortellini in the Crock Pot.
Put on low for 6-8 hours.
30 minutes before eating add the tortellini, or cook tortellini separately and add at end in soup bowls.If cooking the tortellini separately, omit the 1 C of water in the Crock Pot.
Garnish with fresh Parmesan cheese

Turkey Time!

As Thanksgiving Day is approaching in the United States of America, I am already thinking about turkey bones. Why turkey bones? The bones are some of the great benefits of cooking the whole bird. The turkey bones are left when the meat is all picked off. When boiled, they create some of the best turkey broth ever. Why create great broth? Turkey soup of course!

Planning is crucial during preparation of the great turkey feast to ensure great broth to follow. When preparing your turkey and stuffing, many vegetables and herbs are used. All these have compostable waste. I will give you many examples:
carrot tops and bottoms or skins
onion skins and tough first layers
garlic skins and small cloves unworthy of using
celery tops and bottoms and leaves
herb stems and leftovers
sweet colored (green, red, yellow, orange) pepper tops
other vegetable discards depending on what you serve for Thanksgiving Dinner

Key to great turkey broth: save all these discards in the fridge.

A day or two after Thanksgiving Dinner when the meat has all been picked from the bone, it's time to make the broth. I like to do it on a day when I'll be home; usually before the weekend is over.(If you don't have time, throw it all in a freezer bag to do when you are home.) Get a large stock pot and place all the bones and whatever meat is still left on them, and all the vegetable discards into it. Cover it with water to a couple inches below the top of the pot. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil, then reduce to simmer with the lid askew so that the liquid will boil down. I usually leave it like that for a few hours, or until the broth is a nice caramel color. When I take it off the stove to cool,I usually transfer the liquid into another pot by straining it with a fine mesh colander. When the boiled bones and vegetable discards have dripped most of the liquid into the cold pan, I discard all the solid contents. To do this, I place it in a bag, tie a knot at the end, and place it in the freezer. The knot at the end indicates to me that it needs to go into the garbage on garbage day. At this time of year in Spokane, my garage is usually the temperature of the refrigerator. I have a thermometer in the garage. If it is 35-37 degrees F. I place the covered broth into the garage on the cold cement floor overnight. That lets it cool down and allows the fat to rise to the surface. The next day I skim the hardened fat from the top of the pot and discard it. The lean broth is left for soup! Any broth that I am not going to use right away I put into quart freezer containers, label it, then place in my freezer. If there was any meat left over I usually freeze it in the broth quarts and label it "turkey broth with 1/2 Cup meat".

If you use this knowledge you can make tasty broth of any kind. The possibilities are endless; you can made Vegan broth, fish broth, chicken broth, seafood broth, pork broth, boiled dinner broth and more. Don't ever throw away the water you boil anything in...just add more vegetable discards and you've got a flavorful broth for you next soup or rice dish.

I hope you are prepared for Thanksgiving Dinner and think about creating Turkey Soup with what you might otherwise throw away. I will put some recipes on for soup using this broth later. Any questions or comments? Give me some great recipes!

When in the mood for the Orient

I can't claim this dish to be of a certain origin, but it is a combination of different recipes to create a soup with ingredients I already had on hand. The meatballs were premade and in the freezer from a Cookday that I do every 6-8 weeks. All I really had to do was get those and some broth out of the freezer (homemade) and away there it was! I also made some fresh spring rolls. Let me know if you want the recipe, they turned out fantastic!

Glass Noodle Meatball Soup

10-12 meatballs, 1 inch when baked
8 C broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 T Fish Sauce
1 t soy sauce
Dash ginger
6 oz vermicelli noodles, broken up into 2 inch pieces
4 green onions, diced small
2 C shredded bok choy cabbage


Meatballs:
1 lb ground beef
1/3 cup minced onion
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 t minced parsley
1/2 t salt
<1/8 t black pepper
1 egg

Make meatballs with a mix of any ground meat.
You can drop this into the boiling broth and cook thoroughly or bake separately and drop into the broth later. I prefer the later as the broth is clearer when meat is cooked separately.
When broth and liquids have boiled and meat is cooked, add noodles and vegetables.
Soup will be done in 6 minutes when noodles are clear and soft.

Wow it's Time!

....for the winter staples. I went to the store and found that the summer produce is gone and the winter produce has taken over. The squash soup is great, but variety is the spice of life! Try this for a side dish or inexpensive lunch or dinner.This recipe freezes well for later menus. I usually purchase the Garam Masala at World Market, but if you are adventurous, try the recipe below the soup recipe to prepare this Indian staple. Let me know how it goes.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

1 ounce butter
1 onions, finely sliced
1 carrots, finely sliced
1 stalk celery, finely sliced
1 -2 head broccoli
4 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup milk or 1 can evaporated milk
1 t garam masala
salt and pepper as desired
Directions:
Melt butter in saucepan, add onion, carrot and celery.
Saute gently until soft, about 4 minutes.
Trim the woody ends of the stalk and peel.
Roughly cut up heads and remaining stalk.
Add broccoli to pan with chicken stock, milk.
Season with spices.
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 25 minutes.
When broccoli is tender, transfer vegies to a blender or use immersion blender.
Blend on high until all ingredients are smooth.
Return mixture to saucepan.
Heat until lightly boiling and thickened.


Garam Masala

4 tbsps coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 ½ tsps black cumin seeds (shahjeera)
1 ½ tsps dry ginger
¾ tsp black cardamom (3-4 large pods approx)
¾ tsp cloves
¾ tsp cinnamon (2 X 1” pieces)
¾ tsp crushed bay leaves
Preparation:
Heat a heavy skillet on a medium flame and gently roast all ingredients (leave cardamom in its pods till later) except the dry ginger, till they turn a few shades darker. Stir occasionally. Do not be tempted to speed up the process by turning up the heat as the spices will burn on the outside and remain raw on the inside.
When the spices are roasted turn off the heat and allow them to cool.
Once cooled, remove the cardamom seeds from their skins and mix them back with all the other roasted spices.
Grind them all together, to a fine powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.
Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.

It's 5:30 and no dinner!

Sometimes this happens to me, even though I have meals in the freezer. Fortunately, I also usually put some cooked meat in the freezer for days such as tonight. Between all morning with my Mom at the Dr., then helping a friend...ok, we were mostly visiting, but we did accomplish an important task, then transporting my daughter from school to home, I was finally free at 5:30 to cook! Here's what I came up with:

Chicken and Vegetable Soup
2 C cooked diced chicken (found in freezer)
2 Quarts frozen Chicken Broth (homemade)
2 C Boiling Water
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves. Minced
4 medium carrots, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
3 T fresh parsley, minced
1 T dry basil
1 t dry thyme
¼ t black pepper
1 shake red pepper flakes
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
½ C dry pasta (left over in the cupboard)
Salt as desired

Get out soup pot and sauté pan.
Place frozen broth and water in soup pan, turn to medium and defrost.
Place 2 T Olive oil in sauté pan and place onion in. Stir and add garlic. I sprinkled ½ teaspoon kosher salt over the mixture at this point.
When onion is becoming clear, place mixture in soup pot.
Saute carrots and zucchini for 7 minutes then place in soup pot.
By now broth is boiling and it’s time to add the spices.
Add the pasta and beans.
Keep the broth at a light boil.
The soup is done when the pasta is al dente.
Turn the stove to warm and serve!
Serve with roasted garlic bread, which I had left over from the night before…..we dip it into balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil..YUM!

Honestly, we were eating by 6:30pm!

2nd Annual Spokane Soup Swap

The 2nd Annual Spokane Soup Swap will be Thursday, January 28, 2010. Come 6-8pm to 3806 W Woodside for dinner and swap. RSVP through this site.

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Soup)

Zuppa Toscana (bag) cooked meat
1 lb. Italian sausage (cooked and brought in a bag)
2 large russet baking potatoes diced
2 C onion, chopped
1/4 C Bacon Bits (these are less fatty than real bacon)
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 t crushed red pepper
2+ cups kale or swiss chard, chopped 1/2 inch pieces
Add after thawing:
1 49.5 oz can chicken broth
2 T chicken boullion paste
1 qt. water
3 cup half and half

Cook potatoes and onion, not completely soft. Cool
Add all other ingredients to bag except can of broth and water.
Freeze.
When cooking, thaw, add the broth and water, and put in pot for 1 hour or crockpot for 6-8 hours on low.

Spokesman Review Covers our Soup Swap

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/feb/11/local-soup-swappers-unite/?print-friendly

If you didn't see the Spokesman Review Food section on Wednesday, February 11, 2009, then check out the link above. Lorie Hutson did a fantastic job reporting the Soup Swap and adding important links and extras. She also included 4 recipes in the article. Way to go, Lorie!

Curried Squash Soup

1 ¾ lb. butternut squash, roasted until soft
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red curry paste
dash cayenne pepper
5 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf

1. Place squash cut side down in a greased baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 40-50 minutes or until tender. When cool enough to handle, scoop out pulp; set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the flour, salt, curry powder and cayenne until blended. Stir in broth. Add bay leaf. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Cool to room temperature.
3. In a blender or food processor, place half the broth mixture and squash; cover and process until smooth. Repeat with remaining broth mixture and squash. Return to the saucepan; heat through.
Use below recipe for topping.


CILANTRO CREAM TOPPING:

1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro or
parsley

African Peanut Soup

2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Yam, peeled and cubed 6 C Chicken Broth + 2 C water
1 Sweet onion, chopped 1 ½ t cumin
1 red bell pepper, diced 2 C prepared salsa
3 cloves garlic, minced ½ C creamy peanut butter
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

Fill Soup pot with broth, water, chicken, cumin and salsa.
Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 2 hours.
Sauté potatoes, yam, onion, bell pepper, garlic and jalapeno.
Shred cooked chicken and place into soup pot.
Put sautéed vegetables in soup pot.
Simmer 1-2 more hours or in crock pot 4-5 hours.
Last 10 minutes whisk in peanut butter.
Makes 6+quarts.