Beautiful Soup So Rich and Green

BEAUTIFUL Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
- by Lewis Carroll

January is National Soup Month. I love soup both hot and cold. The soup recipe below had its start with a recipe by Poppy Cannon in Eating European at Home and Abroad published by Doubleday in 1961. I altered it to suit our family. Poppy Cannon (August 2, 1905 - April 1975) was at various times the food editor of the Ladies Home Journal and House Beautiful.

Perhaps best known for her books on food, Miss Cannon was also the author of 2,000 magazine articles on a variety of topics, and wrote newspaper columns ranging from fashion and travel to race relations as well as poetry and fiction. Read more...

Emeril LaGasse makes this Portugese soup with linguica sausage added. I have tried that and my children like this Vegan version better.

Ingredients for Caldo Verde Soup:

6 Potatoes
4 tablespoons Olive Oil
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Salt
1 Dried Hot Pepper (optional)
4 cups shredded Greens (Kale or Turnip are especially good)
2-6 cloves fresh Garlic
2 quarts Water

Wakame finely shredded with scissors (optional and to taste)

Peel and slice the potatoes. Cover with water and add olive oil and peeled garlic cloves, and cook until tender. Remove the Hot Pepper. Mash the potatoes and garlic in the broth. Add salt and pepper. Then add 4 cups shredded fresh greens or one large package of frozen greens and the wakame if using it. I almost always use frozen because it’s faster than shredding fresh greens and the results are good. Cook for an hour or until the greens are tender.

Note: If you are cooking for dedicated hot food haters, make Caldo Verde without the hot pepper and serve Louisiana hot sauce or Tabasco as a condiment. Ms. Cannon writes that this soup may be made with a combination of cabbage and spinach. I found that combination insipid. She also does not include garlic. I don’t think she would recognize my version but I must thank her for the fabulous start.

And to those who know and love Lewis Carroll as much as I, please forgive the poetic license and quotation wantonness. I know the soup spoken of was Turtle, Mock Turtle.

The Other French Onion Soup

It is icy and cold in Philadelphia. I want hot comforting soup. January is National Soup Month so I am republishing this easy Soup recipe.

This onion and cheese soup is simple to make, really tasty, and does not require any special cooking skill at all.  The quantity is infinitely expandable, just maintain the proportion of  equal weights of onion to potato. Serves 2 to 4 people.

3 large potatoes
3 large onions
8 ounces Swiss Cheese (quantity to taste)
Garnish of Minced Celery Tops

Peel onions and potatoes and place them in a deep soup pot. Be generous about removing outer layers of onion that are too tough to cook. Add enough water to cover the vegetables plus one inch above them. Bring water to a boil, then turn down and simmer until onions and potatoes are very soft. Grate the cheese. Mash the vegetables in their own broth when tender. Season with Salt and Pepper. Stir the cheese into the hot soup and serve. Garnish with minced celery tops.

Note: Do not overcook or it will be glue. Cook only until the vegetables can be pierced with a fork. You want some texture in your soup.

You may wish to substitute another cheese or garnish (minced parsley, bacon bits, etc.).  I prefer the combination above, as taught me by an elderly French woman whose surname I never learned. She was Madame Sophie always. A little green salad and some good bread and I feel a happy well fed person.

White Deviled Chicken

This dish is from Virginia and is of British origin. I found the recipe in Nika Hazelton's American Home Cooking. This out of print cookbook is a selection of recipes from all regions of the United States. I would never part with my copy.

Ms. Hazelton was an expatriate from England who married an American. This cookbook of hers is not just an exercise in ego. Every recipe works.

She published 30 books and they reflected her firm, no-nonsense taste in food. "American Home Cooking" (Bobbs Merrill, 1967), "French Home Cooking" (Viking Penguin, 1979,) "International Cookbook" (Harper & Row, 1967) and "The Italian Cookbook (Henry Holt, 1979) remain standards. Read more...

DEVILed Chicken

Here are the Ingredients - To Devil Four Servings:

3 cups 1/2 inch cooked chicken pieces, white meat only
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco or to taste
salt
freshly ground pepper
hot buttered toast

Place the chicken in a generously buttered 1 1/2 quart baking dish, the dish should not be too deep. Whip the cream until stiff. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, Tabasco, and a little salt and pepper. Spoon mixture over the chicken. Cook in a preheated hot oven (400 degrees) for ten minutes. Serve immediately on hot plates, with hot buttered toast.

Do this dish for company. So elegant. More than worth the trouble to whip the cream. It is divine. Even though it is also Deviled.

Date Pie

This Pie recipe comes from Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes. Seems like the perfect Pie for Winter when there is no fresh native Fruit.

Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. Date Palms are believed to have originated around Iraq, and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BCE.

Miss Melvina Price's Date Pie

1 cup chopped Dates
3/4 cup of Sugar
2 Eggs, separated
1/2 cup chopped Pecans
1 cup Butter
1/4 cup Milk
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 unbaked Pie Crust

Cream Butter and Sugar together until light and fluffy. Add beaten Egg Yolks. Blend in milk. Beat well. Stir in Pecans and Dates. Beat Egg Whites until stiff. and fold into the Date mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until set and browned. This Pie is good served with Whipped Cream, Ice Cream, or Custard Sauce.

Clark Gable's Coconut Squares

This rich bar cookie comes from Corinne Griffith's cookbook Eggs I Have Known. Clark had a habit of stopping by Corinne's after a night on the town for these cookies. I learn the most amazing things in old cookbooks. 

Clark Gable's Favorite Coconut Squares

1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

Mix flour, butter and sugar together thoroughly. Press into a 9x9 square pan like a thick pie crust. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the above is baking mix the following:

2 eggs, beaten slightly
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 box coconut (1 and 1/4 cups)
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup chopped nuts (toasted almonds are wonderful)

Spread on top of the baked mixture. Bake at for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Please Note: a lower oven temperature to get the best results.

Auntie Cherry's Painless History:

Clark Gable, the quintessential movie star, served his country in WWII. You can find more about Clark Gable and Corinne Griffith the Movie Stars at Wikipedia. If you go there, give some money (a fiver even) to keep this fine site up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Gable

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinne_Griffith

Treats for Doggos

“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” ― Will Rogers

I love my dog. She is my baby and that is her name Baby. I fuss over her because she fusses over me. I make her these treats from Sadie Dell. Baby will not eat any other kind of dog treat.

Sadie Dell's Dog Biscuits

2 and 1/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup powdered Milk
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 Egg
6 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
8 to 10 tablespoons Water
2 small jars of strained Baby Food (beef, chicken, lamb or liver)

Mix all the ingredients together and knead for 3 minutes. Roll out 1/2 inch thick. Using a dog bone shaped cookie cutter or the baby food jar, cut biscuits and place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven set at 350 degrees.for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen doggie biscuits.

Jasmine Liqueur and Organic Rum

We entertain more in the Winter Holiday Season and we go to more parties. I like to bring a unique hostess gift and make interesting new cocktails. So I am repeating this.

Corporate distillers use additives that ordinary folks would not use, if we made our own spirits. An excellent cookbook which has a chapter on home liqueur making is Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine. Making liqueur at home used to be common in American life as this scene from Arsenic and Old Lace attests:

Greenbar Organic Distillery makes their own Vodka, Gin, Tequila, Liqueurs and Bitters without additives, using classic distillery techniques and all organic ingredients.

A bottle of anything Greenbar makes would be a welcome hostess gift. I have nothing to gain from any transaction you make with Greenbar beyond the success of the company. Quality counts.

TRU Jasmine Martini                                 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 oz TRU vodka
1 oz FRUITLAB jasmine liqueur
1/4 oz simple syrup

Glass Types: (Martini/Coupe)

Instructions:

Shake + strain into a martini glass
Garnish with an edible flower

Happy Holidays! 
Joy to the world.

Best Party Meatballs

No matter how elegant a buffet I turn out, these delicious bites are always the first to be consumed. Mildred Albert did everything well. And her recipe for Sweet and Sour Meatballs is an example of her culinary and social talents.

MILDRED ELIZABETH LEVINE ALBERT

1905 – 1991

BibliographyDiscuss

by Sara Alpern

“M.A.” and “The Mighty Atom,” as Mildred Albert was called, charmed the fashion world as an international fashion consultant, lecturer, columnist, and radio and television personality.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Makes 75 to 85 Meatballs

1 clove Garlic, minced

2 pounds ground Beef
2 Eggs
3 tablespoons Chili Sauce
2 tablespoons dried Parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper, divided
1 quart (32 ounces) cocktail Vegetable Juice (V8)
1 box (1 pound) light Brown Sugar
1 cup white Vinegar
3 cloves Garlic, halved
30 prunes, pitted

Mash minced Garlic with ground Beef, Eggs, Chili Sauce, Parsley flakes, Salt and 1/4 teaspoon Pepper. Shape the mixture into 75 to 85 meatballs.

Combine Vegetable Juice, Brown Sugar, Vinegar, split Garlic cloves, and remaining Pepper. Bring the sauce mixture to a boil.

Drop Meatballs into the Juice mixture. Reduce heat to low. Cook at a low simmer for 40 minutes. Add prunes to the sauce and cook 30 minutes more. 

Drain off most, but not all, of the sauce before putting meatballs and prunes into a chafing dish. Serve hot with toothpicks.

Note: 
Make these a day ahead, refrigerate and skim fat from surface before serving. I find if I use a very lean grind of meat, there is hardly any fat.  I also add 1/4 cup of very fine dry bread crumbs to this mixture. It makes a difference if you use fresh parsley. However, both are optional and to your taste. You can increase the recipe to 115 to 125 meatballs by adding 1 more pound of ground Beef to make a total of 3 pounds. But be sure to leave the sauce ingredients as they are. Do not increase the liquid. Use exactly one quart. 

Pennsylvania Potters - Eldreth Pottery

I am a collector of vintage American Pottery. I have over the years collected some fine pieces of McCoy and Stangl among many other American Potters. I collect both useful and Art pieces. In this era of mass production, I prize the beautiful and unique.

I make old time pickles and preserves. I want pottery crocks that will do the job and look good on the counter. I made Brandied Seckel Pears (divine and never cooked or refrigerated) in a covered clay crock from the turn of the century. The alcohol content kept all bad buggies and mold away. I am going to make natural sauerkraut in a crock as I have no room for a barrel. The best book I know on home food preservation is Marion Brown's Pickles and Preserves. Marion Brown was one of the foremost food writers of the 50s and 60s.

As I began the search for clay crocks suitable for preserving and pickling, I discovered modern Pennsylvania potters whose work is beautiful and useful. I am not the only lover and collector of American Pottery. There are Pottery Tours. Who knew? I am going to share with you what I discover about Pennsylvania's Potters and pottery lovers as I discover it.


Eldreth's Christmas Art is lovely and each piece is one-of-a-kind. Every object represented here made by Eldreth Pottery.

I found the perfect one gallon Crock. It comes from Eldreth Pottery. You can pick the design on your Crock. Your choices range from this Pig to more traditional designs. You can even have your Name on it.

Can City Gardens Feed Us?

I live in Philadelphia. The urban gardening movement is strong here. Just like London.

Right now I am inundated with Roma Plum Tomatoes from one plant grown in my tiny backyard. I am giving them to neighbors.

In other news, City Farmer News has received another award for their coverage of sustainable and urban agriculture and related urban planning. Greenys interested must go there for good information. 

The Christian Science Monitor has an excellent article about urban agriculture helping the working urbanite to fresh food self sufficiency. And the photo below is part of an excellent slide show that helps us understand the vastness of our food chain. Do you know that 60% of the apple juice sold in the US comes from China?

Could city farming be a solution for Bangkok’s urban poor?

A group of nutritional experts say the trend could be harnessed to improve access to food for Thailand’s growing numbers of urban poor. 

By Flora Bagenal, Correspondent / August 10, 2013

The garden was set up in 2003 by a group of janitors who decided to use empty space on the building’s roof to grow food to take home to their families. In the 10 years since, it has blossomed into a fully functioning urban horticulture center, complete with trellises crisscrossed with vines and rows of potted herbs and spices. It covers an area roughly 4,000 sq. meters (about 4,300 sq. feet), that otherwise would be an expanse of unused concrete.

The guerrilla garden is one of several small city farms dotted around Bangkok. And now, a group of nutritional experts say the trend could be harnessed to improve access to food for Thailand’s growing numbers of urban poor. 

Salad on the Roof and Radishes down the Block

Food tastes best freshly picked. Imagine walking a block or two down the street from your office. You pick yourself a salad. 

And not just any salad. You get homegrown organic greens for your salad. 

Detroit is the leader in rooftop gardens and urban agriculture at the moment. 

Mexico City is not far behind. A city that was once one of the most polluted in the world is clearing up thanks to urban agriculture and rooftop gardens.

Gabriela Vargas and Elias Cattan of urban agriculture organization Cultiva Ciudad (Cultivate City), show gardening on the roof of a building in Mexico City, on November 6. A green revolution is sweeping across the car and concrete jungle, the city government has carried out a "green plan" since 2007, but many citizens have also taken it upon themselves to change.

http://phys.org/news/2012-11-revolution-mexico-city-lettuce.html

Delicious Jewelry

I was selling homemade toys at a Fall Festival in Philly. There was live Jazz and all sorts of crafts. Seated right next to me was a jewelry maker. Her name is Zoe.  She makes the most attractive jewelry out of food. I cannot tell you how charming this jewelry is. Judge for yourself.

Here is Zoe's website:

http://www.realfruitjewelry.com/

And a link to her Etsy shop:

http://www.realfruitjewelry.etsy.com/

I think this costume jewelry is modern and fun. A perfect gift for the contemporary Foody in your life or anyone who loves lighthearted modern costume jewelry.  Note. I receive no payment; I just love her stuff.

Mrs. Austine Sutton's Cider Sauce

“Up until Prohibition, an apple grown in America was far less likely to be eaten than to wind up in a barrel of cider. (“Hard” cider is a twentieth-century term, redundant before then since virtually all cider was hard until modern refrigeration allowed people to keep sweet cider sweet.)”
― Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World

Mrs. Austine Sutton's Cider Sauce for Ham or Pork Dishes

3 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 tablspoon Corn Starch
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
1 cup Apple Cider
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Thoroughly mix Sugar, Corn Starch, Salt and Spices together. Stir in the Cider and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring all the time. Remove from heat. Let mixture cool until it is thick and clear. Then stir in Lemon Juice. It is then ready to serve.

This recipe comes from Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes.

Sacred Gardens

I must make amends for my long absence, Cher Readers. I have been recovering from a bad fall. I offer you a look at the work of a Sculptor, Gardener and Mystic. I think, given the beauty of the work, I will consider myself forgiven.

Gardens and Gardening...is how we honor the Divine. I have taken the challenge of doing industrial strength Gardening, I see it from every angle. Being a Sculptor, I have created what I believe to be living spaces where Earth is as Important as the work.
Please visit my instagram feed at @jkott333.

A Story of Healing 

Zucchini Bread and Butter Pickles

I love Bread and Butter Pickles. I have always made them made with Cucumber. This is the perfect recipe for those who have so many Zucchini in the garden that the neighbors refuse to take anymore and hide when they see you coming. 

The origin of the name and the spread of their popularity in the United States is attributed to Omar and Cora Fanning, a pair of Illinois cucumber farmers who started selling sweet and sour pickles in the 1920s and filed for the trademark Fanning's Bread and Butter Pickles in 1923 (though the recipe and similar ones are probably much older). The story attached to the name is that the Fannings survived rough years by making the pickles with their surplus of undersized cucumbers and bartering them with their grocer for staples such as bread and butter. - wikipedia

Zucchini Bread and Butter Pickles 

1 large Onion, sliced 1/8 inch thick
6 cups small Zucchini, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1/4 cup Salt
2 cups Cider Vinegar
1 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Turmeric
1 teaspoon Celery Seed
1 teaspoon Mustard Seed 

Place the Zucchini and Onion in a large bowl. Salt thoroughly.  Cover and leave overnight. Combine all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Add Zucchini and Onions  to the pickling brine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Pack pickles into hot sterilized pint jars. Fill jars to 1/2 inch of the top with pickling brine and seal. These pickles make excellent bread and butter sandwiches.

Pickle Soup

Polish people love pickles. We use crushed pickle puree to season dishes like sauteed mushrooms. We even make Pickle Soup.

You can find many Pickle Soup recipes on the Net. This recipe comes from Treasured Polish Recipes for Americans published in 1948 by the Polanie Club.

It would be silly to publish a Pickle Soup recipe without publishing a recipe for Polish Dill Pickles. They are delicious and easy to make. So look for that to be posted next. I have three volunteer cucumber plants. So I will be making lots of pickles.

Babcia is translated as GrandMother.  My Babcia made Pickle Soup at Easter with the broth left from cooking the kielbasa for the cold breakfast that breaks the Easter fast. I wondered for years how she got that unique savory flavor. And then I found my vintage Polish cookbook.

I have to make this. If you, Cher Reader, make it before I do, let me know how it goes. I will update.

DILL PICKLE SOUP

3 large Dill Pickles
3 tablespoons Butter
Meat or Vegetable Stock
1 cup Sour Cream
2 tablespoons Flour

Slice the Pickles and saute in Butter and Flour until thoroughly wilted. Add the Stock and simmer slowly for half an hour. Strain and add the Sour Cream. Serve with Pierozki.

City Chickens

I was searching for a recipe for a dish called City Chickens. My friend Grace Persichelli made it for me long ago and it was so good. I typed the phrase into google and I got back this delightful and informative site about raising chickens in the city.

Even though I got such a happy result, I still wanted to find a good recipe for this old dish. So I typed in "city chicken" and I found this dish has a wikipedia entry all its own.

After diligent searching, I found the definitive City Chicken recipe. It comes from Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes published by Simpson - Fletcher United Methodist Women and Fundcraft Publishing. We can thank Sue Delaney for providing the recipe. The Church has a Facebook page. I sent a message to find out if this regional cookbook can still be purchased. I will let you know if I get more information. Illustration from The Old Design Shop an award winning blog and shop featuring Vintage Illustrations. 

City Chicken

3/4 pound Pork, cut in one inch pieces
3/4 pound Veal, cut in one inch pieces
1 cup Cracker Crumbs
1 Egg, beaten
5 tablespoons Shortening

1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup canned Milk
Salt, Pepper and Paprika to season the Gravy

Alternate, very closely, Veal and Pork on wooden skewers. Dip each skewer into the beaten Egg, and then into the Crumbs. Continue to alternate this dipping until the meat is well covered and resembles a chicken leg. Brown the skewers on all sides in hot Shortening. Place skewers side by side in an oiled roasting pan, cover and then bake in a moderate oven until the meat is very tender. Baste occasionally with drippings. Remove the City Chicken from the pan. Add Flour, Milk and Seasonings to the drippings. Stir until brown and thick. This is a gravy for the City Chicken.

Note: Put your Crackers in a bag and bang them with a rolling pin to make the Cracker pieces fine.

Bees on a Roof Means Money Honey

I found a most amazing Japanese eco-creation. Gives me hope for our foody future. And Bees.

In 2006, the Ginza Honey Bee Project set up hives on the top of a multistory building in central Tokyo. A decade on, the project is a regular supplier of honey to local businesses and continues to provide food for thought on the relationship between the urban and natural environments.

“I wondered if we might be able to produce something locally, right here in Ginza, in the center of the city. Since the Edo period, this has never been anything but a commercial district. By using bees to turn it into an agricultural production site, I thought it might be possible to raise the consciousness of people in the area. Ginza has always been receptive to the latest trends. Anything that is out of step with the character of the district is weeded out, and whatever remains accumulates as an element of the neighborhood’s culture and traditions. We decided to see whether the project could make it through the Ginza filter. The first thing was to have a go at it and see how people reacted...Ginza may seem an unlikely place to be tackling environmental issues, but it’s becoming that sort of neighborhood.” - Tanaka Atsuo
Read more...

Weighing the Philadelphia Grocery Tax

I oppose it. You are taxing the wrong folks. Tax the Suits, not the poor and middle class. 

Tax the sugary drink and snack makers who make beaucoup money and socialize the costs of doing business. Convenient and disposable? Their detritus is on every street corner for the people and the City to clean up. Got the courage to sue Nestle Coke etc., Mayor Kenney? It will make you famous. Come on, Dude. This is Filthydelphia. Let us lead on this. 

I am tired of cleaning up the chip bags and drink containers that flow downhill from Frankford Avenue and clog the sewers and filthy the sidewalks. It costs our City money to collect this garbage. Make the Suits pay. 

Pay attention. Reality is. These folks will tell you all about what is happening to our watersheds. It is not good. 

Honey Bees

Honey Bee Suite

I have a small garden in my Philadelphia backyard. I grow a few peppers, herbs, tomatoes, flowers. I have been very sad because the Bees seem to have gone away. We need Bees, so go here for some pet Bees if you like them. Most of the really good stuff we eat needs pollination by bees. No bees means less food.

On Sunday, I saw my very first Bee of the Summer. I was out in the garden, poking around in the Dill without my glasses. I was glad to learn that my eyes still work and I am not crazy. I saw a Bee. The Bees are coming back.

Bees are smart. They know who is growing those flowers. I have been given, while gardening, an affectionate bee nudge more than once. The Bees are making a comeback in Illinois too.

Native bee species spotted for first time since ’90s

COURTESY OF WILL PETERMAN / COPYRIGHT 2013

 By Sandi Doughton 

Bee enthusiasts beat the bushes Sunday to see if the colony of rare insects is still active, and biologists are planning conservation efforts.

More information is available at www.xerces.org/bumblebees. If you would like to be involved in our citizen science project moving forward, you can sign up at www.bumblebeewatch.org.

If you think you have observed the western white tailed bumblebee, please send a photo and site information. Please note that we cannot verify sightings without a photo, so please include one with your email.