Sometimes you need to forget what you know in order to make something great

I recently posted a picture of this fabulous soup. The soup is what it is all about: the person who perfected the recipe for this cooked this version for twice as long as I have been alive.

How can one argue with that experience? Trust me, if you like this kind of Wintery soup, it will fit the mark.

Babbi’s Goulash Soup

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 25 grams (2 tablespoons) butter
• 1 onion, peeled, diced
• 40 grams ( 1/4 cup) paprika
• 1 kg (2 pounds) boneless chuck, cleaned of silver skin and diced small.
• 1 medium sized carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 4 liters (1 gallon) water
• 2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped fine

Method:

1. Brown onions over medium high heat with the butter in a large pot until deep brown color.
2. Add paprika and cook for 2 minutes to develop the flavor of the paprika.
3. Add meat, stir and cook until the meat browns.
4. Add carrots and celery; cook for a few minutes until the vegetables are translucent.
5. Add garlic, cook for one minute until the oils come out.
6. Add water; bring to a simmer.
7. Cook gently for 45 minutes at a simmer. You may cover the pot if you wish.
8. Add potatoes to the pot; cook gently until tender.
9. Add in garlic and parsley. Stir through.
10. Serve with a crusty bread.

Make a huge batch of the soup – it will taste even better the next day.

I recently went to the farmer’s market and got myself quite a spread. As you can see below, you can buy a lot with just 13$ Canadian. Add in a chicken, and you have the basis for a great meal. You do not have to be fancy or too terribly skilled. You just have to want to put something better on the table than the preservative, flavor-enhanced garbage the fast food companies want you to eat.

It is all about value for your dollar, so take a little trip with me. I did a little shopping at the local farmer’s market, and this is what I ended up with. (Minus the chicken, I bought it at the local IGA.) Today we are going to look at a few things that are in season: butternut squash, acorn squash, apples, new potatoes, garlic, rosemary, carrots and onions.

I am going to make two courses with this spread here. Total cost? It was $18.00 CDN with the chicken. (The chicken is free range… and worth the investment.)

First off, a soup:

I stopped by the local IGA and did myself for a search for a soup that would have the ingredients that I bought. I figured butternut would be a good soup. A look over at the Campbell’s section found me this:

Sorry that the picture is blurry… my cell phone takes crappy pictures while my shaky hands are holding the box. I guess one could set up a tripod, but the folks at the grocery store probably would frown on that. Here is the list of ingredients on the back of that bad boy:

Butternut Squash, Water, Carrots (Cheaters!) Cream, Sugar, Dehydrated onion, Carrot Juice Concentrate, Dehydrated Potatoes (that also have sodium phosphate), yeast extract, modified corn starch, sea salt (wow!), buttermilk powder, butter, parsley, lemon juice concentrate, and spice (oh how obtuse!)

Let me see, carrots in butternut squash soup? That is a cheater’s version. Something you do when you are in the shit, and have no more butternut squash. Why use sugar? I think it was to mask the pissy flavor of the carrot juice, and dehydrated onions. I understand the potatoes, because there is not enough squash to thicken the soup, but yeast extract?

I have never put that in a soup, EVER.

Now, here is my version, with 6 ingredients, not including the salt and pepper. Follow me, and I will show that you will never have to buy that other crap again.

While the soup sounds like it is a gourmet sensation, the components of this soup could not be any more basic. If you have and can do the following, you will have it made!

One onion peeled and chopped small dice.

One small clove of garlic, peeled and smashed.

Butternut squash, seeded, peeled, and diced. (I am not quite done that here.)

Begin to sweat those ingredients in a medium sized pot. You will need to cook for a few minutes for the vegetables to soften. Then you add:

Two of these bad boys full of vegetable stock. One day I will make a post on how to make this easy stock. You could use water if you like. Some would say to use chicken stock. I believe that the flavors of the soup should be clean. I do not like butternut soup that tastes like chicken and butternut. (I would use chicken stock if the soup is supposed to be chicken and butternut soup.)

Okay, so the soup is starting to come to a simmer. Let the soup continue at a simmer for a good 15 minutes. You can cover it if you like. The goal is for the squash to become fork-tender.

Here are some unassuming apples. Peel and core them, then chop them into large chunks.

Cook the apples for a good 5 to 10 minutes. They should be soft. Blend the soup with a hand blender until it is nice and creamy. I accidentally had a couple of chunks of squash left. Thing is, one *could* strain the soup if they were serving it a picky critic in a 5 diamond restaurant. The point is to serve something so good that the person won’t mind eating the occasional texture enhancing chunk of vegetable goodness.

Here is the soup in all its goodness. One would argue that I need a sprinkle of parsley to give it some green, or some crème fraîche so it will be creamy, etc. Listen, try the soup first, and appreciate the flavor, and you will know what I mean when I say that it does not need anything else.

Bon Appétit!

Here is the recipe for those of you looking for something more concrete than the description above.

Butternut Squash and Apple Bisque

Servings: 8

Yield: 2 liters

Ingredients:

• 30 g butter
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled, smashed
• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped
• 1000 mL vegetable stock
• 4 large apples peeled, cored and sliced
• to taste salt
• to taste pepper, freshly ground

Method:

1. Sweat onions in butter over medium heat until they are just soft, but not colored.
2. Add garlic, sweat for 1 minute.
3. Add butternut squash and cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Add vegetable stock, cover and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat; simmer gently until the butternut squash is fork tender.
6. Add chopped apples; cook until apples are starting to break up.
7. Blend together with hand blender until the soup is a smooth consistency.
8. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
9. Serve to your adoring fans.

This soup is one of my favorites, and I can usually get the family to eat it as well. It really does not matter what time of year that you make it, it will always be popular!

The ingredients could not be simpler. A lot of people add what they have in the fridge to this soup. I find that if one keeps it clean then it is more enjoyable.

Pot Of Minestrone By Jason Sandeman

Minestrone

Yields: 4 litres

Ingredients

• 30 mL (2 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil
• 150 g (1 cup) carrot
• 150 g (1 cup) celery, diced
• 150 g (1 cup) medium onion, diced
• 25 g garlic, minced
• 1 L (4 cups) meat stock (*See note below)
• 500 mL (20 oz) canned diced tomatoes
• 100 g white beans, cooked
• 30 mL (2 tablespoons) oregano, preferably fresh
• 50 g (1 inch) hunk of Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 50 g soup pasta (tubetti, stars, whatever you have)
• To taste sea salt
• To taste black pepper

Method

1. Heat extra-vigin olive oil over medium heat until just about smoking.
2. Sweat the carrot, celery, and onion until translucent.
3. Add garlic, sweat for one minute until the fragrance is released.
4. Pour in meat stock, canned tomatoes and beans; turn heat to high and bring mixture to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables float to the top.
6. Add in oregano, Parmesan cheese and pasta; cook until pasta is al dente.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Serve immediately, or cool and reserve.

* When I say meat stock, I am referring to my mish mash of pork, veal and chicken stock. You can feel free to substitute chicken or beef stock in this recipe. If you must use the store-bought broth, please cut back on the salt, or it will not be a good experience.

I got the inspiration for this recipe from this post on Kalyn’s Kitchen. I do not own a crock pot, so I thought I would prepare it the slow food way ~ a simmer on top of the stove. The chef in me wanted to see how special this dish could get with fresh, good quality ingredients. The dish took 2 days to complete, but the results were definitely worth it.

Black Bean Stew with Red Pepper, Chicken and Cilantro

• 500 g dry black beans,soaked
• 1 onion, chopped
• 60 mL olive oil
• 450 g chicken, thigh meat, diced
• 1 L diced tomatoes
• 2 red peppers, roasted, seeded
• 1 jalepeno pepper, seeded, fine dice
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
• 1.5 L chicken stock
• 30 mL cumin seeds, toasted
• 10 mL oregano, Mexican*
• 1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
• TT salt
• TT pepper
• TT lime juice
• TT lime zest

1. Rinse beans well; simmer for 2 hours. Drain; reserve.
2. Sweat onion in some olive oil in a large soup pot.
3. Add diced chicken; cook until translucent.
4. Add black beans, tomatoes, red pepper, jalapenos, garlic, and stock.
5. Crush cumin and oregano together in mortar and pestle; add to pot.
6. Simmer at low for 1 hour.
7. Add chopped cilantro; season to taste with salt, pepper, lime juice, and lime zest.
8. Serve with a good crusty bread.

*If you cannot find Mexican oregano, use regular version. The recipe will work out fine. We use the Mexican version because it has a slightly different flavor profile.

Great title, huh? What does the subject of frugality have to do with the concept of Well Done! Chef!? Everything. Any chef worth his weight in salt is by default, frugal. After reading through my RSS reader, I saw a challenge from the BeingFrugal.net site.

Now, there is something that I can taste with relish. How to make a meal by cleaning the fridge, saving money, and actually having your family like it. What’s more to like about this challenge? Well, here is my contribution:

We will start out with the basics of what you should always have in your pantry/fridge. Onions, check. Potatoes, check. Carrots, check. Okay. Now off to left field here: lentils.

It really does not matter what kind of lentils you have, just that you have a good 300 grams. Lentils are dirt cheap, and packed with nutrition and flavor.

Lentil Soup

Makes 2 L of soup, enough to feed 6

Photo courtesy of Justin Cormack

• 2 L cold water
• 2 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 carrot, peeled and cubed
• 1 onion, peeled and cubed
• 300 g lentils (I used red)
• salt
• pepper

1. Combine all ingredients except salt and pepper in a medium sauce pan over high heat; bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. If desired, puree soup mixture.
5. Serve immediately.

There you have it, a very cost effective soup. The good nes is that lentils have a very long shelf life. If you play your cards right, this will be a meal that everyone will like.

Halloween is finally here. The pumpkin is carved, the scary costumes are all done, the children are straining against an imaginary tether trying to get outside to trick-or-treat.

There is only one problem though; once the sun sets, it will be colder than a ghoul’s soul out there. Warm them up with this fantastic soup. If you need to make this soup in a hurry, be sure to try out canned puree. It will not taste quite as good, but it will still hit the spot.

Servings: 6

• 25 mL butter
• 15 mL olive oil
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 2 stalks green onions, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 pcs bay leaves
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 g ground allspice
• 1 pcs jalapeno chili, seeded and sliced
• 1 L chicken stock
• 500 g pumpkin, chopped (preferably used from Halloween!)
• 250 mL coconut milk (about 1 can)
• to taste salt
• to taste freshly cracked black pepper

1. Heat butter and olive oil on medium high in a large pot.
2. Add shallots, green onions, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté until soft and just golden.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except cream. Bring to a boil.
4. Cover and reduce heat to low.
5. Simmer, covered for about 45 minutes or until pumpkin is tender.
6. Puree until smooth.
7. Return to medium heat and bring to boil.
8. Add coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes, to develop flavour.
9. Season the soup with salt and pepper.

Carrot and Orange Soup with Micro Mesclun

When the air starts to crisp up, the leaves start to fall, and your garden starts to fill up, you know that fall has finally arrived. Whether you are happy about that is another matter.

For me, fall is an exciting time, as there is a lot of produce that comes into season. Food is available all year round, thanks to the glorious invention of the automobile. That privilege comes with a price; our food ends up tasting like nothing. This is why local produce is so important.

Here I have a combination that is a little out there. Carrot and Orange soup. Boring, right? Hold on there- with carrots at their peak season right now, you are about to embark on a great opportunity. Following is a recipe that is streamlined to showcase this beautiful ingredient.

Carrot and Orange Soup

Makes 2 L

Ingredients:

• 30 mL (2 tablespoons) vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled, diced
• 6 carrots, peeled, diced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 L (4 cups) vegetable stock (*see note)
• 30 mL (2 tablespoons) orange juice concentrate
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves only
• To taste salt
• To taste pepper

Method:

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat until the oil just begins to shimmer.
2. Sweat onions and carrots in oil over medium heat until the carrots soften.
3. Add garlic; cook one minute.
4. Add stock; raise heat and bring mixture to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the carrots are soft.
6. Add orange juice concentrate and thyme leaves.
7. Puree mixture in batches until teh soup is a smooth consistency.
8. Place back into pot and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

* I am a firm believer that when you are showcasing an ingredient like carrots, you need to have a neutral base. Soups are traditionally made with a meat-based stock, like chicken. I prefer a vegetable stock, as I want to eat a soup that tastes like the featured ingredient, NOT like the featured ingredient with chicken.