Fearless Friday - Pea Soup

Heather at Home-Ec 101, one of my favorite blogs, has started a Kitchen Bravery series, and invited readers to participate in Fearless Fridays, where we tell about our kitchen successes and failures. I thought I'd start out with something from quite a while ago, when I was high gear in new-bride-learning-to-cook mode.

Sorry, no pictures. If you want pretty pictures of food, go look at Lori's blog. Just don't forget to come back here.

My husband issued me a challenge shortly after we were married. I hated paying the price for his favorite soup-in-a-can, Green Pea Soup, by Campbell's. Not the Split Pea, but the one that's creamy smooth. He hates split pea soup with "stuff" in it. Even if the "stuff" is split peas. He has texture and consistency issues, which I am still learning to deal with 23 years later.

Well, he told me if I could make it "just as good" as the can, he would eat it and I could stop paying a dollar a can - and it's even more these days!.

Well, it took me about 8 years, and lots of tries, but I finally got it right. Hey, don't look at me like that, it's not like I was trying for eight years straight. I mean, you can only eat pea soup so often! When I make this, I usually make extra so I can freeze some - it does freeze well.

Oh, and no, there is no ham or meat of any kind in this, just some bouillon. I read the can label and saw it contained no meat, unlike the Split Pea Soup. I prefer it this way. By the way, a few years ago, after my kids had experienced my homemade pea soup, I found a foodservice sized can of Campbell's Green Pea soup at our grocery outlet store, for just over a dollar. At that price, I bought it to have on hand for a quick last-minute meal. My family complained! It was way too salty for their taste now, and they just didn't think it tasted nearly as good.

Music to a mother's ears.



ThatBobbieGirl's Better-Than-Campbells Green Pea Soup

8 servings

1 pound dried split peas
3 quarts water
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
lemon juice (optional but recommended)

Wash the dried split peas. Wash them again. Combine everything except lemon juice in a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid (use one that holds at least 6 quarts). If the bottom of the pot is thin, you risk scorching this soup once the peas start to get soft and it gets thicker.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, or until peas are tender and soup reaches desired thickness. Remove pot from stove. Puree soup in small batches using a blender, or right in the soup pot using a handheld stick blender (I love those things!) Reheat the soup, if needed, over very low heat. Stir in FRESH SQUEEZED lemon juice to taste. I use anywhere from half a lemon to a whole one for this amount of soup.

I have slow-cooked this in a crockpot, but was not at all happy with the results. Even though I cooked it just until the peas were done, my husband and I agreed it tasted overcooked, and even adding lemon juice didn't help much. Stove-top cooking just until the peas are tender gives this a much fresher taste.

While some think of pea soup merely as cold weather fare, it can be a good choice for a lighter meal in warmer times as well. I've made it year round, myself. Our family loves pea soup served with freshly baked homemade bread with real butter and a generous tossed salad with homemade dressing.

My kind of (w)rappin'

On "The A-Team" which I used to watch a little more than just intermittently when it was originally aired, George Peppard's character (whose name I never could remember) used to say, in pretty much every episode that I recall, "I love it when a plan comes together." Well, plans are all well and good, and I highly recommend having one - I intend to get one myself soon. But what I love even more is when leftovers come together into something completely different from what they were served as originally. Best of all is when the family loves it and asks you to make it again.

So, here's my latest leftover recycling endeavor. I tossed it together with what I had on hand. The two cheeses were not leftovers, per se, but I did have partial packages on hand. Tortillas, cream cheese and sharp cheddar are mainstays in my house - I try to have some of each around for quick meals and last minute inspirations, such as this.

So far, I've only made this wrap with leftover chicken and green beans, but this quick, creamy wrap filling idea is getting tucked away into my mental recipe file to try when I've got other meat & veggie combos to try.


Toss-it-together Leftover Wrap

Chopped leftover chicken
leftover green beans
cream cheese
shredded or thinly sliced sharp cheddar

In a saucepan or small skillet, stir together the chicken and beans over medium heat. Add a few chunks of cream cheese and some cheddar - you want it to be just enough to sort of glue the filling together and give it some cheesy goodness. Wrap in warmed flour tortillas and serve immediately.

Taking Stock

When I first got married, which will be twenty-two years ago in January, I had a lot to learn as far as cooking, so I watched lots of cooking shows and read lots of cookbooks. The Frugal Gourmet was my new best bud, and I wanted to cook everything like he did, and make everything from scratch.

One of my first projects was making my own stock -- which I was excited to do because my Dad had always made turkey stock, followed by turkey noodle soup, whenever we had occasion to roast a turkey. Rich, homemade stock, or broth, if you prefer that term, is something I've always adored, and I think I could just live on that for a long time, especially a good strong poultry stock. So it was an obvious choice for a new thing to learn.

So, I got some bony chicken parts, celery, carrots, and onions, put them all in the biggest pot we had in our tiny kitchen and set it on the electric burner. A couple hours later, I couldn't wait to taste my first batch of homemade chicken stock. Carefully using hot pads, because I knew the handles on this pot always got very hot with long cooking, I lifted the pot and carried it to the sink and cautiously poured it into the waiting colander.

Unfortunately, every other time in my life prior to this moment, I had only used a colander to get rid of liquid from whatever I'd been cooking, so I had neglected to place a bowl under the colander. Every last bit of my stock when swirling down the drain, leaving behind only the flavorless remnants of chicken carcass and vegetable mush.

Oh well, live and learn, you think. A beginner's mistake, you console.

And you'd probably be right except for one fact.

I did again, just last year.


Thank you to Heather at Home Ec 101 for soliciting confessions.

Before I had a real life...

A few years ago, I used to spend way too much time on the message boards at a website called Recipezaar. One of the people I used to verbally spar with, joke around with or just get goofy with on the community message boards, was known as Mille®™ (yes, the ® and the ™ were part of his username.) His real first name was Miller, and he was of Scottish descent. Miller was one of the most intellectually amusing people I've ever encountered. He passed away sometime in 2004, which none of the 'Zaar regulars knew until someone who had his phone number called his home, and let us all know.

Though Miller had posted over 1,000 recipes on Recipezaar, here's one recipe of his you will not find there. It was rejected because the recipe introduction/description was too long. Insanely long. When you finally get to the actual recipe, you realize that the description was the whole point. The introduction expressed some of Miller's pet peeves quite well, and you get a really good glimpse into his personality and very dry sense of humor.

If, in a message board post, you said you "fixed" a recipe, he'd ask if you meant that you prepared it, or that you repaired it, as if it was broken. Miller used words precisely and was annoyed by people who did not. I found him a kindred spirit in that regard.

Miller told me that he wrote this exceedingly long introduction in my honor, since I had more than one recipe rejected due to overly verbose introductory commentary. There is also a reference to one of my recipe titles.

So...why am I posting this now? No reason, other than I came across it today on my computer when I was looking for something else. And as it has every time I've read it, it made me laugh. Why not share?


"Dip"
by Mille®™
(recipe rejected by Recipezaar)

This is not the perfect summer dip – it is, indeed, very much just your ordinary dip. Our carnivores can add bacon to it. Himalayans can use yak’s milk It is not an “I want a different dip tonight” recipe. But it IS an “I want dip tonight” recipe. But not every night – unlike a couple of recipes that are described as “Great any day”, this is best on Mondays, Fridays, and the 2nd Thursday of each month. It is not one if the hundreds (if not thousands) of recipes on Recipezaar that have simply been copied and pasted, verbatim, from other web sites. I mean, why should I bother doing that when I can simply find them elsewhere with 2 (OK, sometimes 3) mouse clicks, and also since someone else is already doing a much better job of that that I ever could? This recipe is most definitely not one of “DH’s favourites” – I don’t have a “DH”. Don’t plan on getting one, either. Sour cream, onions and herbs – what could be better? – actually, lots of things could, if you are not in the mood for sour cream, onions and herbs. Or if you are allergic to dairy products. This recipe is not recommended for use as a marinade for steak, lamb, pork, veal, bacon, fish, shrimp, scallops, oysters, or possum, and its qualities and properties as an aphrodisiac have yet to be determined (unless you thrown in a couple of oysters and some powdered rhino horn). This was not my dad’s favourite dip because, to the best of my knowledge, he never even tried it. A true heirloom, the recipe has been in my family for several days. This is not a yummy Weight Watchers’ recipe – just my opinion, but “yummy” and “Weight Watchers” are usually mutually exclusive. This is not an appy, nor an addy, nor is it any other non-existent made-up 4-letter word ending in ‘y’. This is not a wonderful change from ordinary dip because, as earlier stated, it IS just plain, ordinary dip. Which is OK. Some of us have ordinary tastes, and are proud of it. Unlike Michael Jackson. Some folks have suggested that I give the recipe a fancier or more descriptive name. I say ‘why – doesn’t the current name say it all?’ That question often stumps them – it’s funny watching the expressions on their faces. Another reason that I decided to keep the recipe title as simple as possible is to avoid any confusion such as might be generated by recipe titles such as “Oven-Fried Chicken” or “Oven French Fries” – you don’t need to pull your hair out worrying about how on earth you are going to “fry” Dip in your “oven”, especially if your oven is equipped only to bake and broil but not to fry. My daughter doesn’t complain at being asked to make this recipe. Because I never ask her. I did not get this recipe from Southern Living magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Time, Bon Appetit, National Geographic, Hustler or Popular Mechanics. Such publications would never stoop so low as to give a recipe such a mundane title as ‘Dip’. This recipe is very much like lots of other homemade and store-bought dips. It does not taste like Spam. Dip has been served to countless thousands all over the globe with the exception of legal aliens living in the United Arab Emirates – those people are probably too busy concocting their own “recipes” (if you get my drift – nudge, nudge, say no more, say no more, a nod’s as good as a wink to a blind cow! – say no more!!!) The original recipe called for lemon cake mix, lemon Jell-O, and lemon juice. But I felt like I might then be obligated to call it ‘Lemon Dip’ or something to that effect, so I had to leave all that lemon stuff out. I don’t know whether or not you’re sure to love this, because truth be known I have not the single faintest freakin’ clue what your culinary tastes might be. For all I know, it might make you vomit, especially in the case of a very severe allergic reaction to some of the ingredients. By the way, I try very hard not to set any rules for anyone wanting to try my recipes, so it IS okay to “go eeewww” (whatever that means) before you try this, while you are trying it, after you have tried it, or even if you don’t try it. Unless, of course, that was a typo that was supposed to read “ewe” – in which case, I’d like to emphasize that this is NOT sheep dip. If it were, I’d be posting this recipe on some agricultural or animal husbandry web site. Now I realize that there will be those busy days that you just don’t have 15 or 20 minutes to make this. That’s okay – don’t make it. There is no great way to “fix” this recipe – the recipe is not, after all, broken – so don’t worry if you are not one of those people who feel that all dishes and meals have to be “fixed”. Have you ever seen the word “fixed” in any description of a dish on a restaurant menu? – makes you wonder how professional chefs survive without repairing their food. Just for the record, our dog and cat have both been fixed. Dip has no testicles to remove. In much the same way as some pecan butter cookies are described as “buttery and nutty”, this recipe can be described as “dippy”; much like a curried papaya chutney recipe is described as “Chutney with crunch of curry”, so too can this recipe be described as “dip with the crunch of dip” (especially if served with raw celery); and just as a “Chocolate Frosting” recipe is described as having “great chocolate taste”, my Dip (though I say so myself) has great dip taste. However, very much UNLIKE the recipe for “Texas Trash” that is described as having a “flavor just like the State of Texas”, I am sorry to report that Dip does not taste like any single one of the United States. If you are really, really creative and have a hell of an imagination, I suppose you could dip slices of chilled haggis in it, close your eyes, let your imagination run amok, and think to yourself “Maybe this is what Scotland tastes like!” Although I have never personally tried this, Dip might be a tasty substitute for the mayonnaise on Elvis Burgers. Dip is especially good when dog biscuits are dunked in it, according to Fido ®™. I cannot, in all honesty, say whether or not this tastes better than the stuff that they serve at restaurants, because I can’t think of a single restaurant that serves it. No animals were harmed during the experimental developing stages of this recipe, and its research and development were not funded by a grant from ExxonMobil Corporation. It would be remiss of me if I were to omit instructions on how you should eat this stuff, wouldn’t it? So, once again, I looked to Recipezaar for inspiration. After reading the descriptions of dozens of recipes, I found my answer! I confess to being a plagiaristic copycat, but since a chef recommends that you “Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip” her “Café Au Lait”, I can think of no better way to eat Dip than to “diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiips” in it! As you can probably imagine, I tried many different combinations of ingredients for Dip before I was satisfied with the final product. One of the “runner-up” versions included Worcestershire sauce. But I ran into problems when I was typing the Instructions for making that version. Once again turning to Recipezaar for inspiration, I read the Instructions for every single recipe whose ingredients include what I have come to know as “Worcestershire” sauce. And that little exercise made me doubt myself. It seems that, while the great majority of chefs seem to prefer Worcestershire sauce, there is a significant number of you who would rather use Worchestershire sauce, Wochestershire sauce, Worchteshire sauce, Worchestire sauce, Worcesershire sauce, Worstershire sauce, Worschesteshire sauce, Worstchestershire sauce, Worsheshire sauce, Wocestershire sauce, Whorcestershire sauce, Worcesershire sauce, Worcestshire souce, Worcheshire sauce, Worchesthire sauce Worchester sauce, worc. sauce and even w sauce. I simply did not have time to make Dip 17 more times to see if it would taste different with all those possibilities, and so I simply omitted it. That doesn’t mean that YOU have to omit it – you could then call your creation “SpellChecker Dip”. I have to admit that I have been tempted to name this recipe “Usual Dip”, but I refrain from doing so because that would detract from its simplicity and might make it more difficult to remember. And after seeing recipes for Pierogis, Perogies, Pirogies, Pierogies, and having watched Email Lagross making Pirogis on FoodTV, not to mention Shepherd’s Pie, Shepard’s Pie, Sheppard's pie, Shepperd's pie, Sheppherd’s Pie, and Shephard’s Pie, I certainly am glad that there is only one way to spell “Dip”. Except, of course, the famous Hot Oriental Dipp. If that’s the recipe you were looking for, you can find it at http://www.herlocherfoods.com/recipes.html#9

Prep: 12 min Serves 18 Makes 20 fluid ounces

16 fluid ounces sour cream
2 fluid ounces mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dried dill
2 tablespoons grated onion
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt and ground pepper, to taste

Mix ‘em up.
Chill.
Eat.