Potato leek soup

Granted, it's not the most creative thing to do with leeks and potatoes, but read any cookbook or blog or farmers' market flyer and it's probably listed as the number one suggestion for leeks.

I see no reason why we should be any different in this case since it's just so effing delicious.

It's the first thing I make with the season's leeks and I like to make a big pot so that I can freeze it for later.

Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
5 cups of chicken, turkey or vegetable stock
5 leeks, white and light green parts sliced into 1/4" rounds
5 russet potatoes, peeled, quartered
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 T salted butter
Black pepper
Sea salt
If you like it creamy rather than brothy, 1/2 cup of milk or cream, too

To make
In a large heavy-bottomed soup pot, melt your butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, add your leeks and garlic and cook until softened. Don't burn the damn garlic, please.

Add your potatoes and mix them up with your leeks and garlic, pour in your stock, bring to a boil and then turn to low heat and cover to simmer for about half an hour.

Turn heat off and puree with a stick blender or move to a standing blender.

Add cream or milk a few tablespoons at a time until it's the right consistency, add salt and pepper to your liking (in my house this means ADD LOTS), toast up some bread, make a big salad and go to town.

Enjoy.

The One of Chili

The original recipe for this chili, which comes from the hallowed halls of Sunset magazine, is very good, but I made a single crucial amendment to the recipe that, for me, brought it to all new heights.

Much like Neo was The One where The Matrix was concerned, well, this chili became The One where chili was concerned. 

I think you'll appreciate the crucial amendment, too: homecanned tomatoes. 

I use only my homecanned tomatoes in place of storebought canned tomatoes and, holy mackerel, it makes me want to smack my lips. In fact, I do believe that I DO smack my lips when I eat this chili. Which is often, in the winter months, because it is also one of my favorite things to make.

It's a handy one pot dish (as most chilis are) and it's so satisfying to compile that it just pleases me on all levels.

That's a lot of love from one dinner, so it gets a special place in my book. Right next to The Best Sauce Ever. Yep. and this Chocolate Beet Cake.

Just to forewarn the meat fearful out there - this is not a vegetarian chili recipe. And for those who are bean fearful - this is not a beanless recipe, but you can make it one by just...wait for it...not adding beans.

The One of Chili

Adapted from Smoky Beef and Bacon Chili from Sunset Magazine

My changes in bold 

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

2 slices thick-cut peppered bacon, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika 
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
About 1 tsp. salt
1 can (14.5 oz.) homegrown tomatoes
8 oz. of homemade tomato sauce
1 bottle of India Pale Ale beer (gluten fearful? Use a gluten-free beer.)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 can (14.5 oz.) pinto beans, drained (bean fearful people, this is what I was talking about)
Sour cream and grated cheddar for topping

To make

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, cook bacon, stirring until it just begins to brown, about 4 minutes. 

Add onion, lower heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 4 to 7 minutes. 

Uncover pan, stir in garlic, and cook 1 minute.

Increase heat to medium-high and add ground beef; break it up with a wooden spoon and stir gently until it loses its raw color, 6 to 8 minutes. 

Stir in spices and 1 tsp. salt and cook 1 minute. 

Add homecanned tomatoes, homemade tomato sauce, beer and Worcestershire and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover partially and cook 30 minutes.

Add beans and cook 10 minutes, uncovered. (Bean fearfuls - you get to skip this step.) 

Season to taste with additional salt. Serve warm, with toppings on the side.

And in case you want some direction on the toppings, I'd go with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped green onions and some crispy bacon. 

But I bet you could have thought that up on your own. Sorry, I was fantasizing. 

Gazpacho

So the situation is this:

It's super hot outside. You have two tons of tomatoes and probably some other things like cucumbers. It's approximately dinner time and the last thing in the whole wide world that you want to do right now is turn on the oven. People are hungry in your house.

I totally hear you.

This scenario unfolds often in our house in the summer months. And on these occasions, I have a handful of tried and true easy no cook recipes that also knock back the garden's bounty so that I fear less the rapping at my chamber door by the invading army of cucumbers.

The first garden taming recipe being gazpacho.

You know, cold tomato soup.

It's a delight. You add a swirl of good olive oil, some flakes of sea salt, a few fresh basil leaves and a little garlic toast or Parmesan crisp on the side and I would be willing to do unspeakable things for it.

I won't turn on the oven, but the unspeakable things part is still up for grabs. I also save myself the labor intensive multi-batch blending scenario by just throwing all the vegetables, quartered, into the food processor because all that chopping seems like something a machine should be doing.

Let the machines do the jobs for which they were intended, I say.

I hope you'll try out the recipe on a hot summer's night and delight in its goodness.

Though the unspeakable things are optional. Fun! but optional.

Gazpacho

Adapted from You Say Tomato, Joanne Weir
My changes in bold

Ingredients
6 large tomatoes from your garden, quartered (I don't peel or seed them first)
3 small green bell peppers, cored/quartered
1 yellow onion, peeled, quartered
1 cucumber, peeled/halved/seeded/quartered
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
4 T extra virgin olive oil
1 stale french bread roll
Salt and pepper

To make
Throw the tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, cucumber and garlic into your large food processor (I love my 14 cupper) and blend until you have a soupy consistency. Add the vinegar and olive oil and blend until smooth.

Pour into a large bowl and season with salt and fresh cracked pepper to suit your preferences. Refrigerate it for an hour or more. 

Serve it up with some fresh basil,  a cucumber garnish, a swirl of olive oil, some flakes of beautiful sea salt, a strip of crispy bacon, a Parmesan crisp - whatever blows your hair back. 

Good eating.

Cabbage beef soup

If you have a lot of cabbage lying around and you also need a meal that will reheat well for a solid week, this is your man.

Well, your soup. 

You know what I mean.

After you make this soup and want to reheat it over the next (5) days, just toss in a bit more shredded cabbage to liven it back up a bit. Cabbage can also be shredded and used as a garnish. 

You can use a lot of cabbage with this recipe is what I'm trying to say.

Cabbage Beef Soup

Adapted from Cabbage Beef Soup, The Book of Regional American Cooking: Heartland

Ingredients
1/2 large cabbage head, shredded
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cups tomato juice (use your own preserved tomato juice here if you have it)
1 cup water
14 oz beef broth
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
Small handful black peppercorns
1 pound extra lean ground beef, browned and drained
2 tablespoons dried dill weed
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

To make

Combine cabbage, onion, tomato juice, water and beef broth. Bring to a boil. 

Add molasses, Worcestershire sauce, salt, bay leaf, peppers and pepper. Crumble in ground beef, dill and garlic powder. Simmer 30 mins, stirring occasionally.  

Vegetable beef soup

Does this recipe sound sorta boring to you?

It might. That's OK. It kinda does to me, too. Except that I've had it and I know the truth.

It's downright amazing.

And if you doubt that vegetable beef soup can be amazing, then I really think you should try this recipe using, if you have it, your own preserved tomato juice, homegrown vegetables and homemade gravy.

If you don't have all those things I just mentioned and have to jaunt off to the store for some of them, that's totally OK.

We don't judge you at Indie Farms. We just ask that you try growing things so that you can eat good food.

Go on, then.

Vegetable beef soup

IngredientsChopped pot roast (this is a great way to get rid of leftover pot roast) or cooked stew meat
1 medium celery root, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces 

3 cups of mixed bite-sized vegetables like peas, corn, green beans and carrots
2 heads' worth of broccoli florets
1 quart of tomato or vegetable juice
1 can of beef consume
2 T beef gravy
4 cups of water
1 T dried oregano
1 T ground thyme
Lots of fresh ground pepper

To makeIn a big stock pot, pour in your vegetable juice, consume, gravy and water. Then add in your chopped meat, celery root, mixed vegetables, herbs and broccoli. Stir it together well and cover.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to low to simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour. 

Before you serve, give it a taste and add as much pepper as you like. We like a lot, so I added a good bit. You may be surprised that this recipe doesn't call for salt, since I LOVE salt, but with the vegetable juice and gravy and pot roast, it's PLENTY salty. But, if you must, go ahead. I won't laugh and point when your fingers swell into hot dogs.

Like mine do.

Good eating, friends.