Soup Up My Soup

Dear Soup Development Team,

After twenty-one weeks, I have decided to hang up the proverbial soup pan, expand my horizons and move past this wonderful appetizer. Therefore, “soup up my soup” will serve as the predecessor for a new, more diverse discourse on the world of gastronomy. For those of you who actually read through these musings, you’ll notice that my notorious topic drift eventually led to the blog losing the focus of being simply about soup, and was begging to move beyond these borders and become more free-form in nature. So, watch out for something new in the next few weeks. It will be better, I promise.

The ginger plant, or Zingiber officinale, has a long history of cultivation, originating in Asia, then travelling to India, Southeast Asia, West Africa and the Caribbean. Culinary uses are many and varied, ranging from being the main ingredient of ginger ale, to being used in a variety of Indian and Chinese dishes. Ginger also has many medicinal uses, having evidence of blood thinning and cholesterol lowering properties, as well as being frequently used to treat dyspepsia and colic.

Although outrageously overpriced in shi-shi grocery stores like Loblaws and Sobeys, you can get ginger route in a bag for cheap at most Asian grocery stores. It is a staple in all of my Asian cooking, most frequently as part of marinades. You can peel the root and then use a cheese grater, or just smash it down on the cooking board if you have a cleaver. I like smashing things with the flat side of a cleaver, which is probably testament to my impatience when I have too much food prep to do for a meal.

Sim Simma (Whose got Tomatoes and some Ginga?)

Serves four-ish

Anyone who talks to me regularly knows of my obsession with Sandwich Box, a gourmet sandwich joint on Richmond St. across the street from my office building. Last Thursday the soup was Tomato and Ginger, and it was the best soup I’ve had there in a while. So, here is a solid version of it.

Cut up and then Puree the following:

2 yellow onions
4 ounces of ginger root

Melt in a soup pan over medium heat:

1/2 cup butter

add and cook for 4 minutes and stirring frequently:

Onion puree that you just made

Puree and add to the saucepan:

2 pounds of hot house tomatoes

Add, bring to a boil, then sim simma on medium low heat for 30 minutes:

1 cup vegetable (or chicken) stock
2 tbsp of white sugar
sea salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of heavy cream (whipping cream)

In a separate bowl, beat:

2 egg yolks

Add a small portion of the soup into the yolks, and then pour mixture back into the saucepan

Garnish with:

chives, cut into lengths

Serve

Track of the week:

Track this week is Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits, because it’s a way better song than anything by Beenie Man.

Adios for now,
Jayro
“made from scratch”

Dear Soup Development Team,

Substantial controversy enshrouds the months in which oysters should be consumed. One of the oldest rules states that they should only be eaten in months that contain the letter R. This adage came into prominence during a time when there was inadequate refrigeration during transport. From a health perspective, it is now safe to eat oysters year round.

However, there is another reason to eat oysters only in the Rs; the warm months are spawning season and the texture can becomes quite unappealing. I was in this camp for a while, until I ordered some oysters last summer at the Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill in Toronto during the Summerlicious festival and thought they were delicious. The warmer months can make for some interesting variations in flavour; since oysters are basically filters, the different currents can bring different, and enjoyable flavors, to the same oyster from the same oyster bed depending on climate. These days, however, the vast majority of oysters are cultivated and a high proportion of these are sterile and unable to spawn, making the argument moot.

Utimately oysters are a matter of taste, and if you actually cook or poach them, it doesn’t really matter when they are eaten. So even if you don’t rush to make this recipe in the next short while, save it for the summer and it will be equallly delicious.

I’m Not a Player, I just Schuck A Lot (Oyster Saffron Soup)

Shuck about 24 oysters and reserve their liquor (the liquid) A pretty good tutorial here on how (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzWvvyfB4tw&feature=related)

In a pan on medium-low head, add:

1 tbps butter
1 tbsp olive oil

Add and cook for about three minutes:

2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup celery, fine dice
1 cup leeks, finely sliced and only the white part

Add to pot and poach for about two minutes:

oysters
oyster liquid

Add:

1/2 cup white wine (optional)
1 cup heavy cream (table cream may be substituted, but don’t try using milk)

Add, bring to just under a boil and then simmer:

a pinch of saffron
pepper to taste

Add and serve

parsley to taste

Track of the Week

This week’s track is Small Axe by Bob Marley, a man who certainly did a lot of schucking in his lifetime.

Cheers,

Jayro
“made from scratch”
www.soupupmysoup.com

Dear Soup Development Team,

Barack Obama isn’t the first president to take over in a time of crisis. In January of 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt assumed the President’s office in the midst of The Great Depression. Due to the circumstances, most of the ceremonies for Inauguration Day where canceled, save for a simple buffet for family and a few friends, and a reception in the early evening, which FDR didn’t even attend.

Although not considered a picky eater, FDR quickly grew tired of the meals that were prepared by Mrs. Henry Nesbitt, the White House housekeeper at the time, who believed in plain food plainly cooked, and apparently was very difficult to get along with. FDR is reported to have said, “my stomach positively rebels and this does not help my relations with foreign powers. I bit two of them yesterday.”

Because of his disability, FDR seldom ate out. Fed up with Mrs. Henry’s cooking, he eventually brought in his former personal cook and had a kitchen installed on the third floor, where she cooked two meals for him daily. This was successful right up until when America was put on an austerity program shortly after World War 2, and the White House needed to follow it like everyone else. During this time, the diet consisted of an egg, one slice of toast, one slice of bacon, and coffee for breakfast, and simple lunches and dinners. Staff were even required to bring their own sugar to work if they wanted to use it in their cooking.

FDR is the only president to have presided over the country for more than two terms, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945, eventually being succeeded by Harry Truman. His plan for tackling The Great Depression, called The New Deal, is largely considered to have been a success, as well as his leadership throughout World War II. There’s little doubt Obama and his team will be closely studying the policies of FDR’s administration as to figure out how to steer the US through the next couple of years.

FDR’s favourite soup was Martha Washington’s Crab Soup. I’ve taken the gist of this soup and updated it a little. So this is for those who didn’t want to spend $50 making A Tribe Called Bisque a few months back, but want to enjoy the deliciousness of a good bisque.

Bisque Markie (Just a Friend)

Serves four or five

For delicate soups like this (as well as for things like melting chocolate) try to use a double boiler, however you can make a makeshift one with a large sauce pan, a smaller sauce pan, and a strainer (see picture at the bottom). The idea is that you want to cook the thing in the inside pot, using the heat from the boiling water of the outside pot. The inside pot should be just sitting on top of the water level of the bigger pot.

In the top of a double boiler (or the inside sauce pan if you have a makeshift one), add:

2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp all purpose flour

When mixed well together, add:

2 hard boiled eggs, mashed
zest of one lemon (or one lemon peel grated if you don’t have a zester, which is just a very fine grater)

Stir in and cook on medium heat, until thickened up a bit, about 10 minutes:

4 cups of milk, or light cream (the heavier the milk/cream the better the taste)
1/4 cup of pureed rice (cook whatever rice you like to use and then puree it in a blender with some of the milk

Add and cook for another 5 minutes:

1.5 pounds of crab meat, I used soft shell because it’s much easier to get the meat out, but you can use whatever kind you want

You can also add some shrimp in there as well, or shallots, or any other seafood

Add:

1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup of sherry (used Orion 2001 Chardonnay Sherry, was the only bottle they had at The Wine Rack and I wasn’t driving all the way to the LCBO)
paprika to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Cook for another 5 minutes or so and then serve.

Jayro in the News

If you’re looking for something to do next weekend, I’ll be giving a cooking demonstration on Saturday in Markham, Ontario, showcasing a few of Susur’s French Chinese fusion recipies. Starts at 1, see attached poster.

Track of the Week

Yip Harburg’s “Life is a Bowl of Cherries” was one of the defining songs of the Great Depression. Although Judy Garland’s career came a bit later, her version is still my favorite. Give it a listen and get some perspective yo.

Cheers,

Jayro
“made from scratch”