Tuscan-ish Leftover Soup

I don't like soup. I know that is a totally weird admission and I'm probably part of a very small soup-averse minority. Anyway, after 7 years of this blog, it only seems right to admit this. So why am I posting a soup recipe? Well, I don't feel 100% and it's probably at least 60% due to the weather. Today is April 14th and in Madison, Wisconsin, we started the morning with gale force winds, that turned to gale force windy rain around noon, and finally turned to gale forced windy snow around dinner time. When I looked outside and realized that snow was accumulating on my neighbors roofs and even on the grass, I decided that soup was a respectable dinner choice.

In truth, I'd already been thinking about soup but I felt very non-committal. I accidentally bought 2 pounds of green beens when I only needed 1 pound for a bean salad I made on Easter. Then I used a half pound to smoke up my house for the most delicious blistered green been recipe. (Thank you Alison Roman ("Dining In") for both delicious recipes. You have changed my feelings towards green beans. I now like them - caveat - fresh.) So I had some soft, starting to shrivel green beans in the fridge and I remembered a soup made by a boyfriend's lovely Hoosier mother that used fresh green beans. She also made one with asparagus, which lead me to make Creamy Asparagus Soup many years later for my VegOut! Challenge. Joyce cooked with no recipe, she simply made the same basic soup with whatever she had on hand. She did the same with pie and frequently had a berry pie on the corner of her kitchen counter that got mysteriously smaller every time anyone walked past. Anyway, Jocye's soup reminded me of Frances Mayes describing Tuscan food and leftovers soup in Under the Tuscan Sun. So I made a soup by throwing all the leftovers into a pot, in the correct-ish order.

As I started to prep this, with absolutely no recipe in mind, I smiled thinking of the Spinach and "Recycled" Brats Soup I posted one Earth Day with some ideas for cutting waste in the kitchen. I have made leaps and bounds in my kitchen efficiency since that post (cloth napkins, nearly eliminating paper towels [the exception being for oily jobs], reusable canvas bags instead of reusable plastic-based bags, mason jar storage for bulk purchasing, etc.), but mostly, even cooking for one, I've done a good job of reducing food waste. I'm still not at 100%, but I'm throwing out so much less food than I was before! Anyway, it's almost Earth Day. Do something good for the planet. Even better, do lots of good things for the planet because, folks, this is the only one we've got. Respect her, care for her, nurture her.

Tuscan-ish Leftover Soup

Serves 2, generously

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

1 large carrot, sliced

2 red potatoes, scrubbed and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut in 2" pieces

1 smoked spicy chicken sausage, sliced

a couple of parsley stalks (leftover from Romesco sauce)

hunk of Parmesan rind

1/4 tsp. rosemary

1/4 tsp. thyme

Salt and pepper, to taste

1-2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Parmesan, to serve

Green Romesco, to serve 

For the Green Romesco (modified from Alison Roman):

1/4 cup parsley leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped

1 tsp. red wine vinegar

salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

In a medium pot, heat oil. Add onion and saute until soft. Add carrots, potatoes, and garlic. Saute for a bit and then add the green beans, chicken sausage, parsley stems, Parmesan rind, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook until the sausage is warmed through.

Add broth and then water to cover. Bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft. Remove the Parmesan rind and parsley stems. While the soup cooks, stir together all of the ingredients for the Green Romesco and set aside.

Ladle the soup into big bowls, top with freshly grated Parmesan and a spoonful of Green Romesco. 

Earth Day and "Recycled" Brat Soup

Happy Earth Day! There are lots of ways to be Earthy-savvy in the kitchen. The most obvious thing that comes to mind is recycling. Depending on where you live, you can recycle a lot of food packaging (here, we're only allowed to recycle glass, aluminum cans and two kinds of plastic. It's heartbreaking). Another idea is to reduce the amount of packaging on the food you buy. Is it necessary to put every bunch of cilantro or lettuce into a plastic bag at the grocery store? Absolutely not. Have you ever purchased grains, beans or flour in bulk foods section? The best part about bulk buying (besides the price) is that you can reuse the same bag over and over again and by taking the empty bag with you to the grocery store, you'll remember what you need. Speaking of bags, you can switch from paper or plastic to canvas or another type of reusable shopping bag (Hawaii was doing this for years before it caught on in the mainland).

What about ways to reduce energy consumption in the kitchen? Make sure to use the appropriate sized burners for each of your pots and pans to reduce the energy lost to the atmosphere. Forgo the oven on hot days. Instead, eat something fresh. The oven uses energy plus your air conditioner will have to work harder to maintain the air temperature. Do the opposite in the winter. Bake a lot of pizza on a hot pizza stone at 500 degrees. Once you're done, leave the oven door open. The heat from the oven and the stone won't take long to warm up the kitchen so your heater won't have to work as hard.

You can also save energy with your fridge or freezer. Keep the door open for the shortest amount of time needed. Cool your food on the counter before putting it in the fridge otherwise you'll warm up the internal temperature of the fridge (this is also important for food safety). Be sure to leave space between items in both the fridge and freezer. As tempting as it is, don't jam it full. Airflow is important for food safety and quality (no one likes find frozen lettuce or icy milk) and it helps make the appliance more efficient. You'll not only reduce energy waste, but  also the organic waste you'd make by throwing away that soggy lettuce.

Some people don't care about organic waste because it decomposes. Sure, it decomposes, but it still takes up space in the landfill and it takes time to decompose. Instead, consider composting. It's amazing to see how much organic waste you produce and watch it decompose. Some things shouldn't be composted--like meat. Who hasn't had to throw away the chicken breasts that got pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten? Eliminating wasted food is important. The amount of energy and resources that go into producing food is incredible. Have you heard of the Haber-Bosch process? It's the reaction that converts atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia. It requires a lot of energy to break the triple bond between the Nitrogen atoms.  This process uses an entire percentage of the world's annual energy supply to produce nitrogen fertilizer for farming. (There's one reason to consider organic foods.)

I live with two guys. You wouldn't believe the amount of food I throw away because I found it rotting in the crisper. It breaks my heart every time. So, today, I'll share a recipe for reusing leftovers. For Earth Day, we'll call it "Recycled Brat Soup." 

I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe before. I first made this soup on a Sunday when C was working in the hospital. I don't know if it was a post-call day or post-nights or why he was so tired (besides residency in general), but when he came home from work, he was about to pass out without having eaten breakfast or lunch (this is typical). I sat him up in bed and forced him to eat soup. He loved it, had a second bowl, thanked me and passed out for the rest of the day.

It quickly became my go-to soup recipe because we usually have all of the ingredients in the fridge, pantry, and freezer. To clarify--we don't usually have leftover brats in the fridge. Brats are a luxury in my house. For some reason, whenever we grill and I ask for brats, C ends up making some sort of chicken sausage or Italian sausage. He's from Iowa. He doesn't understand that serving sausage when I asked for brats is like me serving him peas when he asked for corn. Luckily, we do tend to have a few stray sausages in the freezer at any given time.

I feel like its sacrilegious to eat brats in any way other than [boiled in beer,] grilled and served on a brat bun. (Yes, there are special buns to for brats that taste so much better than hotdog buns). However, this soup is really good. Plus, I live in Texas now. It's my right to do whatever the heck I want to do (or so I've been lead to believe).

Spinach and "Recycled" Brats Soup
Adapted from Elements by Jason Roberts
Serves 4

Materials
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 leftover [cooked] brats (or your favorite sausage), 1/4-1/2" slices
1 med. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup orzo (or other small pasta)
1/2 bunch spinach, stems removed and chopped
1 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper, to taste

Methods
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage, onion and garlic. Cook until the sausage has browned and the onions are translucent.
2. Add the chicken broth and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
3. Add the orzo to the boiling soup. Cook 5 minutes or so, until the pasta is al dente.
4. Stir in the spinach and peas. Cook two minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve with fresh bread. Soup is alright leftover, but be aware that the pasta will absorb liquid and it will become less of a soup and more of a goulash.

Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)

Have you ever had pho? If not, then I recommend that the next time you're craving soup, you head to a local Vietnamese restaurant and try a bowl. Pho is fairly simple in that it is a bowl of rice noodles topped with raw beef that's cooked upon addition of rapidly boiling beef broth. It's served with a plate full of garnishes often including Thai basil, cilantro, bean sprouts, green onions, hot peppers, lime wedges, and sauces like hoisin or sriracha. The secret to a delicious pho is not as simple because it is the creation of a flavorful broth. To master pho, you need a supply of beef bones and patience.

All week long, I've been craving pho. That usually isn't a problem because just the mention of it has C ready to jump in the car and head to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Houston. If I mention pho and we don't go for pho right away, C won't stop talking about it until we go (this has been known to last for weeks on end). Unfortunately, C's dinner calendar for the week was booked with activities for his global health residency program, so I was on my own. We'd just frozen a few steaks, so I decided to thaw them for pho. I'm not keen on using beef bones, so here is a simpler version for the everyday home cook.

Objective
Make homemade pho based on a recipe from Asian: Tasty recipes for Every Day, but using common pantry ingredients.

Materials
4 cups beef broth/stock (I used Better Than Bouillon)
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cinnamon stick
6 black peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1/2 pound beef steak (any kind will work), thinly sliced
1 pkg. rice noodles (thin or thick, your preference)

Optional garnishes:
Bean sprouts
Cilantro
Thai basil
Carrot, julienned
Green onion, thinly sliced
Jalapeño/serrano, thinly sliced (can de-seed for less heat)
Lime wedges
Hoisin sauce
Sriracha

Methods
1. To make the broth: Combine beef broth, ginger, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, cloves, coriander, Chinese five-spice, salt, and fish stock in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Add half of the thinly sliced beef (return the rest to the fridge) and simmer for 40 minutes. Taste the broth and adjust the spices if needed. Keep the broth at a rapid boil while you prepare the noodles.
2. To prepare the noodles: Bring a pot of water to boil and prepare the noodles according to the directions on the package. Once the noodles are soft, drain and rinse briefly with water. Divide the noodles into 4 serving bowls and top with the uncooked beef that remains. If you're cooking for fewer than 4, put the extra raw beef into a storage container then ladle over the remaining beef broth to cook the meat. Once cool, refrigerate. Store the leftover noodles in a separate container to prevent them from sucking up all of the broth.
3. To serve: Immediately prior to serving, ladle broth over the noodles and raw beef (make sure the broth covers the beef so that it can cook). Serve with a plate of garnishes.

Results
When C got home from his global health event, he took one bite, and said that this was the best homemade pho broth he's ever had. The broth was very flavorful and the meat that was cooked in the bowl right at the last minute was incredibly tender and delicious.

Discussion and Future Directions
The recipe we've used in the past is from Cooking Light. It satisfies the craving, but it isn't nearly as good as this recipe. If you spend the time needed to simmer the broth, you will be rewarded! Without a doubt, this is our new go-to pho recipe (I just can't tell C that it has fish sauce in it because he's a little squeamish with the stuff).

Supplementary Materials

Chicken Sausage and Vegetable Soup

Today is the fall equinox which marks the first day of fall. Two years ago, I celebrated the equinox at the Vinotok festival in Crested Butte, Colorado with my best friend from middle school. It was a very appropriate reunion as "our song" was Earth, Wind, and Fire's September about the 21st night of September. I was lucky enough to spend the summer after college living at a research station just up the road from Crested Butte. Every morning as I walked down the mountain from my rickety old cabin toward our laboratory, I looked into the face of  Gothic Mountain. From my bed each night, I listened to the water in Copper Creek rushing through the rocks. Every night when I made my way to the outhouse, bundled in layers and using my headlamp to find my way, I took a moment to look up at the stars. I've never seen as many stars as I could from our cabin at 9,500 feet, far away from city lights. In fact, I don't know that I ever realized there were that many stars.

Crested Butte is the wildflower capital of Colorado. Even though I was there the summer after a funky spring resulting in fewer flowers than expected, the mountain meadows were beautifully colorful. When I visited in September, I learned that they are equally beautiful in the fall when the aspens start to turn and the landscape shifts from blue and green to brown and gold.

With the coming of Fall, I've noticed myself gravitating toward fall clothing. I've even worn shoes to work instead of my commuter flip flops. The funny part about it is that the highs are still in the low 90s. When I go into work in the morning and while I'm in the lab, my clothes feel sensible. When I leave work and it's 94 "feels like 97," I regret my choices and wish I had elected shorts, a t-shirt, and flip flops. While visiting Wisconsin, we were spoiled with warm days and cool nights. We even got to eat meals on patios and wear jeans, comfortably. Fall isn't going to feel the same down here in Houston, but we have started getting cooler mornings that feel wonderful (and by "cooler," I'm talking 72 degrees) and have left me longing for fall colors and flavors.

My baked goods are starting to take on warmer, comforting flavors like cinnamon, peanut butter, and  apple. I'm forcing myself to save pumpkin for November. I'm starting to want soup and warm foods instead of salads every day. Last weekend, C made a barley vegetable soup, our roommate made an Italian seasoned zucchini and summer squash soup, and I made a cauliflower soup with blue cheese. Since then, I can't stop thinking about soup (and for some reason, sausage). Soup with sausage, yep, that's what I want!

Objective
Make a sausage and vegetable soup with kale and cauliflower. Recipe is based on Spicy Sausage Potato Kale Soup (from The Candid Appetite) and Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Stilton from Home Made Winter (by Yvette van Boven).

Materials
1/2 pound italian chicken sausage, sliced
1 tbsp. butter/olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1/3 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 stalks kale, leaves pulled from tough stems and chopped
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups vegetable broth
Parmesan, for garnish (optional)

Methods
1. In a small saucepan, bring about 2 cups of water to a boil while you wash/peel/slice/dice/chop vegetables and sausage. To prepare the celery, chop off the white bottom and the leafy top. Peel the outer curve (you can peel the inner curve too, but it's a little challenging). Blanch the celery by dropping it into the boiling water for 30 seconds, then move it to a bowl of ice water. Once it's cool, chop it.
2. In a large saucepan, brown the sausage slices over medium heat. Once browned on both sides, move the sausage to a bowl or plate and set aside. Add butter (or olive oil) and swirl to melt. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and cauliflower. Cook until softened. Add the garlic, kale, pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook until the kale has wilted.
3. Add the vegetable broth and browned sausage. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning as necessary. Sprinkle with parmesan before serving (optional).

Results
Yum! There is a good amount of heat from the sausage and red pepper flakes. The cauliflower lends a buttery flavor and interesting texture, the kale adds greenery, and the carrots give it color. It's a lovely soup (sorry we devoured it too quickly for a photo).

Discussion and Future Directions
C and I both really, really enjoyed this soup. While some people think the secret to flavor is bacon, we agree that the secret is sausage (or chorizo). I was very pleased with this soup because I was afraid the cauliflower would make it a little weird. Like, weird flavor and weird texture. Thankfully, it worked quite well. I used celery, carrot, onion, and cauliflower because that's what I had in my fridge. I used kale because I really wanted to try a vege soup with kale again (I made one before that my family loved but I didn't think it was worth the effort roasting the veges). You could certainly use whatever you have on hand and use this recipe simply as a guide. You could also add beans or grains to add texture and nutrition. This is a great twist on chicken soup and perfect for capturing the flavors of fall.