Zuppa Toscana

Okay. I confess. I stole this recipe from Olive Garden where they serve it as a lunch special with a salad. 

Zuppa Toscana

2 unpeeled medium potatoes
6 spicy Italian sausage links

3/4 cup onions, diced
6 slices bacon
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cup kale leaves, cut in half, then sliced
2 tablespoons chicken base or 2 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes
1 quart water
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Garnish: Shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 300° Fahrenheit.

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut into 1/4-inch moons. Reserve in water to cover.

Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done; cut in half length-wise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 inch slices.

Place onions and bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Remove bacon and crumble; reserve. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional one minute. Add chicken base, water, and drained potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale and cream. Simmer 4 minutes.

Serve in warm bowls and sprinkle on Parmesan cheese as desired.

Wonton Soup

The “other” Chinese soup. You can make the wontons in advance and freeze on a cookie sheet, then place them in freezer bags.

Wonton Soup

1/2 pound ground pork or chicken

1/4 cup shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped

1/4 cup water chestnuts, finely chopped

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

2 1/8-inch wide coins ginger, finely chopped

1 egg, separated

32 square wonton wrappers

4 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/2 cup water chestnuts, thinly sliced

2 green onions, sliced

Garnish: Minced green onion

Mix meat, mushrooms, water chestnuts, onions, sesame oil, five spice powder, ginger and egg yolk until well blended. Spoon evenly onto wonton wrappers, adding about 1 teaspoon of the meat mixture to each wrapper.

Beat egg white lightly. Brush onto edges of each wrapper; fold in half to form triangle. Press edges together to seal. Bring opposite corners of long edge of each triangle together, overlapping corners; brush with egg white to seal. Keep wonton’s covered until all are made and ready for soup.

Combine chicken broth, chicken bouillon cubes, mushrooms, water chestnuts and onions in large saucepan. Bring just to boil on medium heat. Carefully add wontons; simmer 4 minutes or until filling is cooked through, stirring occasionally.

Serve immediately in large warm bowls garnished with minced green onion if desired.

Beef Vegetable Soup From Cans

Fresh vegetables are nice.  Fresh vegetables are good.  BUT, you can't always fine good fresh vegetables when you want to make soup.  So here is my fallback recipe.   

With all the can vegetables that go in this soup you shouldn't need any additional salt.

Miss Anna calls this "Stone Soup" because it can use whatever ingredients you may have on hand.

Beef Vegetable Soup From Cans

1-1/2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Olive oil

1 large white onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

3 14.5-ounce cans beef stock

2 beef bullion cubes

2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained

1 14.5-ounce can green beans, drained

1 14.5-ounce can whole corn, drained

1 14.5-ounce can white beans, un-drained (optional)

1/2 pound white mushrooms, cut into chunks

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

2 cups water

3 medium potatoes, 1/2-inch dice

15 baby carrots, cut into thirds

2 small turnips, 1/2-inch dice (optional)

1 small rutabaga, 1/2-inch dice (optional)

2-3 bay leaves

Dried thyme

Dried basil

Black pepper

2 zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick (optional)

1/2 cup frozen green peas (optional)

Garnish: Parmesan cheese.

In a large soup pot, over medium high heat warm two tablespoons olive oil. In two batches, sauté the beef until no longer pink; remove and reserve. Add another tablespoon olive oil to the pot and sauté the onion and garlic for five minutes.

Add the beef, beef stock, bouillon cubes, tomatoes, green beans, corn, white beans, mushrooms, tomato sauce, water, potatoes, carrots and optional vegetables you are using.  Season to taste with basil, thyme, and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and cook about 20 minutes or until beef, potatoes, carrots and optional vegetables are just tender; add zucchini and green peas and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Serve in warm bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if you like.

Note:  To make plain old vegetable Vegetable Soup From Cans omit the beef and change the beef broth and beef bouillon cubes to chicken or vegetable broth and chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes.  Everything else stays the same.

Tortilla Soup

This soup is more in honor to the movie “Tortilla Soup” than any soup I ever had as a child. If you don’t want to fool with frying your own tortilla strips use bagged Tortilla chips instead (but they are not as good!). Or you can just eat the toppings (inside joke).

Tortilla Soup

6 corn tortillas

1 cup corn oil

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth

1-1/2 cups water

1-1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

1/4 teaspoon powdered cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1 4-ounce can diced green chilies

Garnish: Shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses; sour cream; large avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped; large tomato, seeded and diced.

Cut tortillas in half. Place each tortilla half on cutting board, cut edge in front and from right to left cup into 1/4-inch wide strips. Reserve.

If crispy tortillas strips are desired instead of soft strips: In a large saucepan heat oil over medium-high heat; in batches fry tortilla strips until just golden. Remove to plate and drain on paper towels. Reserve.

In a large sauce pot heat olive oil and cook garlic over medium-high heat 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Gradually add broth and water, stirring until well blended. Add chicken. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from broth mixture; cool slightly. Pour broth through a fine-mesh strainer; return broth to pan.

Shred chicken; return to pan. Stir in tomato sauce, cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder, oregano and green chilies. Cook on medium-high heat until heated through, stirring occasionally.

To serve place a half-handful of tortilla strips in bottom of large warm bowls. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with cheeses, sour cream, chopped avocado and diced tomato as you like.  

Tortellini Soup

The Doc said no more tortellini in cream sauce for me, so I make tortellini soup instead. It’s a good soup for a diet.

Tortellini Soup

8 cups homemade chicken broth

- or -

4 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth

3/4 cup water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1/4 teaspoon Thyme

Freshly ground black pepper 

2 9-ounce packages refrigerated cheese tortellini

Garnish: Chopped parsley leaves, grated Parmesan cheese

Pour the homemade broth or canned broth (and water if using canned stock) into a heavy large saucepan; add chicken bouillon (if using canned stock). Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Season the broth with pepper, to taste. Add the tortellini and the thyme. Simmer over medium heat until al dente, about 7 minutes.

Ladle the broth and tortellini into warm soup bowls. Top with parsley and Parmesan cheese to taste.

Cream of Tomato Soup

This is a quick and easy way to replace that can of Tomato soup you always make.

Cream of Tomato Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a medium sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and juice from the cans, salt and pepper to taste, and the chicken broth. Simmer the tomato mixture for 10 minutes.

Working in batches, add the hot tomato mixture to a blender or food processor, and process until very smooth. If using a blender, cover the top with a towel, not the lid.

Add the smooth soup back to the sauce pan and add the cream. Stir to combine.

Serve in warm bowls with a bit of cream swirled on top.

Tomato Rice Soup

This is one of my favorite end-of-the-month soups, when I’m of everything but stock. I try to always have chicken stock, tomatoes and rice on hand, among other things, so I can make this soup. It's a very good soup.

Tomato Rice Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large white onion, cut into half-moon slices

3/4 cup rice

2 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons dry parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoon dry thyme

3 14.5-ounce can chicken broth

1 14.5-ounce can water

2 bullion cubes

Pepper to taste

Garnish: French bread croutons

In a soup pot, over medium-heat, heat olive oil; sauté onions until translucent, about five minutes. Add rice and heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced tomatoes, with juice, parsley and thyme to pot; stir well.

Add chicken broth, water and bullion cubes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Add pepper to taste; soup should not need additional salt.

Serve in warm bowls and garnish with croutons.

Steak Soup

The trick to this soup is to cook the steak rare or medium-rare first and add it to the soup at the very end -- let it get warm in the soup bowl.

Steak Soup

3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 pound sirloin steak, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices about 1 1/2 inches long and 3/4-inch wide

1-1/4 teaspoons salt1 large onion, chopped
1/2 pound green beans, ends trimmed
2 cups water

2 14.5-ounces cans low-sodium chicken-broth
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
Oil for frying
2 teaspoons A-1 Spicy or Original Steak Sauce

In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderately high heat. Add half the steak and cook, stirring frequently, until well browned, about 2 minutes. Remove the steak with a slotted spoon. Repeat with another tablespoon of oil and the remaining steak. Remove the steak from the pot and toss all of the steak slices with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Reserve.

Reduce the heat to moderately low and add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pot. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the green beans, water, broth, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pot with a spoon to dislodge any brown bits. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. 

In a deep fryer heat oil to 375 degrees F and fry potato rounds until tender and golden.

Return the steak with any juices and fried potato rounds to the soup and stir in the A-1 Steak sauce.

Serve in warm bowls.

Yellow Split-Pea Soup

This is the “other” split-pea soup that people don’t often make. But I sure like it -- Pea Soup Yellow or Green fit’s the spot for me.

Please don’t ask me why I HATE plain peas but love split-pea soup -- I just don’t know!

Yellow Split-Pea Soup

1 unsliced loaf Pumpernickel bread

8 cups water

1 16-ounce package yellow split-peas

1 pound lean salt port, rind removed

2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 medium carrots, sliced

4 medium stalks celery, sliced

Garnish: Pumpernickel croutons or snipped chives

Using an unsliced loaf of pumpernickel bread cube into 1-inch square croutons and place in a large bowl. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over croutons and mix well to coat. Place croutons on baking sheet in a single layer and bake in a 300 degree oven until dry and toasted. Cool.

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, heat water and yellow split-peas to boiling; boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour. Add salt pork, onions, marjoram and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Skim fat if necessary.

Add carrots and celery. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Remove slat port; cut in 1/4-inch slices and return to soup.

Serve in warm bowls and garnish with pumpernickel croutons or snipped chives.

Green Split-Pea Soup

I HATE peas, but I love Pea Soup, green or yellow -- go figure.

In California there is a whole restaurant called Pea Soup Andersen’s that has made itself famous serving split-pea soup. You can find it in Buellton, north of Santa Barbara, just look for the windmill on top of the restaurant!

Green Split-Pea Soup

1 unsliced loaf Pumpernickel bread 

1 ham bone with meat

1 16-ounce package green split-peas

2 carrots, thinly sliced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

7 cups water

1/4 teaspoon whole allspice

1/4 teaspoon whole peppercorns

1 bay leaf

Salt and black pepper to taste

Garnish: Pumpernickel croutons

Using an un-sliced loaf of pumpernickel bread cube into 1-inch square croutons and place in a large bowl. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over croutons and mix well to coat. Place croutons on baking sheet in a single layer and bake in a 300 degree oven until dry and toasted. Cool.

Tie allspice, peppercorns and bay leaf in a piece of cheesecloth or place in a tea caddy.

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, heat ham bone, split peas, carrots, celery, onion and water to boiling. Add spice packet; reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 1 hour or until peas are mushy and have absorbed most of the water.

Remove and discard spice bag. Remove bone to cutting board. Cut off meat and discard bone (or cool bone and give to your dog). Cut meat into bite-size chunks and return to soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve in warm bowls and garnish with pumpernickel croutons.

Sinigang na Bangus (Milkfish in Sour Soup)

This is the “Fish Heads and Rice” old Navy sailor’s talk about when asked what the most common food in the Philippines was.  And, this was Miss Julie's, favorite fix-for-herself dish. 

Sinigang na Bangus (Milkfish in Sour Soup)

1 small white onion , sliced into half-moon pieces

1 tomato, sliced into 8 quarter pieces

Juice of 3 to 4 lemons

6 cups water

1-1/2 pounds Milkfish (Bangus), cleaned and cut into 2-inch wide pieces including head

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups kangkong leaves with tender stalks or spinach
1 cayenne pepper

Garnish: Patis and lemon or lime wedges

In a soup pot heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté onion, tomato slices and skin of one lemon until soft. Add water and bring to boil. Add milkfish pieces and cook 2 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer, add salt, kangkong or spinach and cayenne pepper. Cook until fish just flakes, about 2 minutes.

To serve place a large scoop of cooked rice into a bowl and pour soup, with at least one piece of fish and some kangkong leaves, over rice. Garnish with a squirt of Patis and a big squeeze of lemon juice. Guest of honor should get the fish head -- and they have to suck out the eyes! Yummy!

Sinigang na Baboy (Pork in Sour Soup)

This may not be the real authentic version of this this dish but it comes closest to what the kids and I remember your Grandmother, Miss Julie, fixing. Some kind of radish is more common than the potato used here.

Sinigang na Baboy (Pork in Sour Soup)

1-1/2 pounds country-style pork ribs

Water

1 tablespoon olive oil

10 cups water

1 large white onion , sliced into half-moon pieces

2 tomatoes, sliced into half-moon pieces

2 large potatoes, cut into 1-inch dice

1 package “Mama Sitas” Sinigang sa Sampalok mix

1/4-pound sitaw (Asian long beans)

1 to 2 tablespoons Patis fish sauce or more to taste

1 medium bok choy, cut into 1-inch ribbons, top to bottom

Garnish: Patis and lemon or lime wedges

In one piece remove the pork meat from the rib bones and slice thinly. Place pork in a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to boil and cook for five minutes. Remove pork slices and sauté in olive oil over medium heat until just browned.

In a LARGE soup pot bring water, onion, tomatoes and potatoes to a boil. Reduce heat to let water just “smile.“ Add Sinigang sa Sampalok mix, sitaw and Patis. Cover and simmer three minutes. Add bok choy and pork slices, continue cooking until potatoes and other vegetables are fork tender.

To serve place a large scoop of cooked rice into a bowl and pour soup, with some meat and lots of vegetables, over rice. Garnish with a squirt of Patis and a big squeeze of lemon or lime juice.  

She-Crab Soup

This is THE soup of Coastal Virginia and it is so yummy!  It is so well loved that the city of Virginia Beach even has a She-Crab soup festival every spring when up to twenty restaurant vie to be voted as having the best.

She-Crab Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups white crab stock, recipe follows
2 cups milk
1 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons paprika
1 pound cooked Atlantic Blue crab meat, divided
1 4-ounce jab crab roe, divided -or-

1/2 cup fresh crab roe
Salt and pepper, to taste

Garnish: Dry sherry, chopped chives and French bread

Melt butter in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and bay leaf, sweat down for two minutes until translucent. Sprinkle in the flour and stir until it dissolves.

Whisk in the stock, stirring constantly until smooth and free of lumps. Gradually pour in the milk, cream, and paprika; continue to stir until incorporated.

Add half the crab meat and roe. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes until thick and heated through.

To serve, divide a tablespoon of sherry among 4 bowls. Ladle the soup into the bowls, spooning the remaining crab meat and roe in the center of each. Garnish with chopped chives. Serve with crusty French bread.

Note:  You can buy Blue crab meat at the most stores. Crab roe is a little harder to find; some good fish markets may have it, but you can get it online in jars too.

Seafood Gumbo

This soup is about as close as “I” will ever get to Cajun style, not being Cajun ya’al.

Seafood Gumbo

1/4 cup corn oil

1/4 cup flour

1 large white onion, diced

1 large green pepper, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

4 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes

1 10-ounce package frozen sliced okra

6 cups chicken stock

1 pound shelled and deveined shrimp

1 pound crab meat

1 pint shucked oysters

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Hot cooked rice

In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, in very hot oil, gradually cook flour until dark brown but not burned, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, salt and thyme; cook until onion, green pepper and celery are tender, stirring constantly.

Add tomatoes with their liquid, okra and chicken stock and liquid from oysters; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer about 30 minutes, or just until mixture thickens slightly.

Add shrimp, crab, oysters and hot pepper sauce; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until shrimp turn pink and opaque.

In warm bowls place a large scoop of rice and ladle soup over rice.

Red Bean Soup

This is the way I like my red beans -- simple! Like all bean dishes this soup is better the second day.

Red Bean Soup

1 pound package dried Red, Kidney or Pinto beans

8 slices meaty bacon, 1/2-inch dice

1 large white onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, with leaves, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 8-ounce can tomato sauce

6 cups boiling water

Garnish: Hot pepper sauce

Soak the beans overnight, then discard water.

Put beans, bacon, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, pepper, tomato sauce and boiling water in a soup pot; cook slowly until the beans are soft, about 2-3 hours.

Serve in warm bowls with a good splash of hot pepper sauce.

Pozole Blanco Pollo (White Chicken Pozole)

This a very yummy chicken soup -- kind of like Menudo without the tripe. The recipe is as old as the hills, way back from Aztec times. The name is derived from the Nahuatl “potzolli” and the stew is made with hominy and pork or chicken. This particular version is made with chicken, and is called “pozole blanco pollo” in the state of Guerrero, Mexico

Pozole Blanco Pollo (White Chicken Pozole)

1 4-pound whole chicken, cut into parts

Salt

1 red onion, sliced in half

1 6-pound 9-ounce can of hominy, drained and rinsed

4 large cloves of garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons dried oregano

Garnish:

1/4 whole cabbage, thinly sliced

1 tomato, cored, chopped

1 avocado, peeled, chopped

1 red onion, peeled, chopped

1 large bunch cilantro, chopped

1 large bunch watercress, chopped

Queso Fresco, sliced (Mexican cheese)

5 red radishes, thinly sliced

2 limes, cut into wedges

5 seeded jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

6 corn tortillas, fried crisp

Place chicken pieces in a large pot, cover with about 3 quarts of water. Add one onion, sliced in half, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot, let cool so that it is cool enough to handle. Use a fork to pull chicken meat away from the bones. Set the meat aside and return the bones to the stock pot. Continue to simmer the bones, uncovered, for another half an hour.

Take 4 cups of the hominy (about half of the can) and place into a blender. Scoop 2 cups of the chicken stock from the stock pot and add it to the blender. Add 4 peeled cloves of garlic to the blender. Place the lid on the blender, cover with a towel so that you don't get burned, hold down the cover and blend until completely puréed.

Skim foam and excess fat from the top of the surface of the stock. Remove the bones and any solids from the stock pot and discard. Pour in the blended hominy to the pot. Add the remaining whole hominy to the pot. Add dried oregano. Bring to a simmer and cook for an additional 20 minutes.

While the hominy is cooking in the stock, prepare the garnishes. Arrange on a large platter or in several small bowls. Right before serving, shred or chop the cooked chicken meat and add it back to the pot. Add salt to taste.

Serve Pozole in individual bowls topped with the garnishes of your choice. Serve with fried corn tortillas.

Serves 6.

Potato Soup

Yup. a clear potato soup like my Mama used to make when the cupboard got a little bare. Goes great with cheese sandwiches, cold or grilled.

Potato Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large white onion, diced finely

2 stalks celery, diced finely

3 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth

2 cups water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

4 large potatoes, cut into large 1/2 inch cubes

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Salt and black pepper

Garnish: Chopped green onions

In a soup pot, heat oil until hot over medium heat; cook onion and celery until onion is translucent. Add chicken broth, water, bouillon cubes and potatoes. Bring pot to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes. Add parsley and thyme and cook five more minutes. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve in warm bowls with a sandwich. Garnish soup with chopped green onions if you like.

Potato Leek Soup

Simple and easy -- tastes creamy but has no cream. A hearty, tasty soup.

Potato Leek Soup

3 large leeks

2 tablespoon butter

2 cups water

2 cups chicken broth

2 pounds potatoes, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch pieces

Marjoram - dash

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Red hot sauce

Salt and Pepper

Garnish: Snip chives.

Cut leeks lengthwise, separate, clean. Using only the white and pale green parts, chop.

Cook leeks in butter with salt and pepper in a medium sized sauce pan. Cover pan, cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Check often. Do not brown the leeks.

Add water, broth, and potatoes. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Scoop about half of the soup mixture into a blender, puree and return to pan.

Add marjoram, parsley, and thyme. Add a few dashes of red hot sauce to taste. Season with 1 to 2 teaspoons salt and some freshly ground pepper to taste.

Serve in warm bowls and garnish with some snipped chives.

Yield: Serves 4-6.

Pepper Pot Soup

The Philly Cheese Steak sandwich wasn’t the first good food to come out of Philadelphia--this soup probably was. You might have to like tripe to try this really good soup but remember this was one of the soups are founding fathers ate often in 1776.

Pepper Pot Soup

1 pound honeycomb tripe

2 small lemons

5 slices bacon, diced

1/2 cup yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

3 leeks, cleaned and copped

1 bunch parsley, chopped

2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped

4 14.5-ounce cans beef broth

1 10-ounce condensed beef broth soup

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed

1 bay leaf

1 to 2 teaspoons black pepper

1 large potato, peeled and diced

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

Place the tripe in a saucepan and cover with water; squeeze in lemon juice and add lemon rind to pot. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Allow the tripe to cool a bit in the water and then drain and rinse, rinse again. Cut into 1/4-inch dice.

In a large heavy soup pot, sauté the bacon until clear. Add the onion, celery, leeks, parsley and green peppers; sauté until tender. Add the beef broths, thyme, marjoram, cloves, pepper flakes, bay leaf and black pepper.

Bring the pot to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, until the tripe is very tender, about 2 hours. Add the diced potato and cook for an additional 20 minutes.

Prepare a roux by meting the butter in a small saucepan and stirring in the four; cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, remove from heat.

When the soup is done, stir in the roux and simmer, stirring all the while, until the soup thickens a bit. Correct seasonings

Serve in warm bowls.

Oyster Stew

Thank God for the Oyster. Thank Him again. I rank my oyster eating as Oysters-on-the-half shell, Oyster Stew and then Fired Oysters. Please don’t fix this soup if you are on a diet!

Oyster Stew

1 pint shucked oysters

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups half-and-half

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), cut into tablespoon pieces

Lots of black pepper

Garnish: Oyster crackers

In a medium soup pot, over medium heat, add oysters with their juice; heat through letting oysters curl a bit. Sprinkle flour over oysters and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add half-and-half, whipping cream and butter. Heat until butter is melted and stew is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Season with black pepper to taste. Add no salt, the oysters will provide enough.

Serve in warm bowls with oyster crackers if you must. And, thank God one more time!

Navy Bean Soup

There has been a long tradition, not practiced much anymore, in the United States Navy that Navy Bean Soup would be served every Saturday morning at breakfast with fried eggs to order. A pot of this soup by the way is better the second day. This was one of my Dad’s favorite dishes -- I hope it becomes one of yours.

Navy Bean Soup

1 pound package dried Navy beans

1 meaty ham bone or 2 smoked ham hocks

6 cups boiling water

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 carrot, diced

3 celery stalks, with leaves, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper

Garnish: Minced parsley

Soak the beans overnight, then discard water. Put beans, ham bone or ham hocks, boiling water, bay leaf and pepper in a pot and cook slowly until the beans are soft, about 2-3 hours. Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic, and cook 30 more minutes.

Remove the meat and shred. Put 2 cups of the soup through a food mill or processor; add back to rest of soup. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into warm bowls and top with parsley.

Note:  There is an alternate way to eat this soup, often used by my Dad and Son.  Butter a slice of white bread and place on the bottom of the bowl and then ladle the soup on top.