Soup's On!

Tomorrow morning, Friday April 9th, Joan Foster from Brewed Awakenings coffeehouse will be in cooking one of her specialty soups. Well, that's not true, because ALL of Joan's soups are special. Word is she's making her borscht.

Joan is part of the generous community that comes together this time of year to support Itasca Empty Bowls. Empty Bowls is a benefit for the Second Harvest North Central Food Bank & Community Cafe....where all of the money raised is used in our communities. In Minnesota 1 in 8 children are at risk of hunger. 40% of the Grand Rapids Food Shelf clients are children....KAXE is holding a pre-event this Saturday April 10th from 11am-1pm where you can come enjoy a bowl of homemade soup ($5) and purchase a handmade bowl ($15 with soup). A gift of even $10 can provide as much as 60 lbs of nutritious food for our friends and neighbors. The main event of Empty Bowls is next Thursday April 15th at the Timberlake Lodge in Grand Rapids.

Joan Foster will be in the KAXE kitchen between 8-9am if you'd like to join us for a very special borscht breakfast! Here's a sneak peek!

Garden Borscht

4 cups (560g)thinly sliced onions

6 cups (680g)thinly sliced cabbage

4 cups (680g) sliced & quartered

potato

4 cup (560g) sliced & quartered

beets

4 medium carrots, sliced

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. caraway seed

2 Tbsp. salt

½ cup Frontier brand vegetarian broth powder : or,

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh garlic

1 Tbsp. basil

1 Tbsp. celery seed

1 tsp. turmeric

2 bay leaves

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp. dill weed

1/3 cup cider vinegar

¼ cup honey

2 tsp. pepper

Recipe from the kitchen of

Brewed Awakenings Coffeehouse

www.brewedawakenings.biz

To prepare the veggies, wash, peel, and slice with the food processor. Slice the cabbage and onions, with the thin slicer on the food processor. Slice the potatoes, carrots, and beets with the thicker slicer.

Heat oil in the bottom of 11 quart soup kettle. Sauté the onions with the caraway seeds and salt.

When the onions are beginning to become translucent, add the celery, carrots, and cabbage and cook until the cabbage is wilted.

Add the potatoes, beets, water to fill pot and vegetarian broth powder. Simmer until everything is just tender.

Add the dill, honey, vinegar, and pepper.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream or unflavored whole milk yogurt on top.

Soup's On! (we wish!)

by Heidi Holtan

I'm looking through the books on my desk today for January's book of the month choices (if you become a KAXE member at the 1$ day or $365 year level you get a book chosen by me every month) and I'm stuck on a book called "The Frugal Foodie Cookbook". I'm thinking of trying some of the recipes in here, they sound good!

Here's one I'd like to try:

THAI CURRY NOODLE SOUP

2 Tbsp veg. oil
3 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp yellow curry paste
1 " piece ginger, grated
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced
4 cups coconut milk
4 cups chicken stock
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
4 oz rice noodles
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
Bean sprouts for garnish

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken; saute until browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in curry paste and ginger. Add carrots and mushrooms; continue to cook another 2 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, stock, lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cook 15 minutes. Add noodles and broccoli; cook 5 more minutes, until noodles have softened. Ladle into bowls, top with bean sprouts, and serve hot.

What's your favorite soup recipe or soup you'd like to try?

Soup and Pickles

Christie from East Bethel MN sent some recipes and a hand-written note with stories about the recipes to KAXE. Here’s what she said:

“I am an avid fan of KAXE and listen mostly over the Internet. I try to catch most weekday morning shows and have long enjoyed the Local Food Scene report. I wished I could’ve crunched on your pickles like Scott Hall. I wanted to share a family recipe sure to be crunchy, but I believe that is because they are refrigerator pickles (their only drawback, in my opinion). My great aunt would slice them. I prefer spears. She lived and worked in a small town drugstore in central Wisconsin. She would make them in a 5-quart bucket and take them to work. Word would get our and the local business folks would stop in at the store for their coffee-pickle break. She’d bring home an empty bucket the same day.

Great Aunt Olga’s Refrigerator Pickles

2 quarts water
1 quart white vinegar
3 cups sugar
1 cup salt (can use ¾ cup)

Bring above to a boil and pour over layered onion, dill and cucumbers. Store in refrigerator. Can eat after 24 hours. Last at least 6 months.

Please pass this soup recipe on to Heidi. I was sorry to have missed that show [Between You and Me, talking about soup] but hope to catch up on the submitted recipes. Sorry the recipe [below] is vague, that was how it was shared to me and it always tastes great and can be prepared fairly quickly for soup.

Red Lentil Soup

1 cup red lentils
5 cups broth

Saute onion in butter, add lentils and broth, season with cumin and bay leaves and a couple slices of lemon. Juice rest of lemon to add at the end.

Cook/simmer until lentils are soft, 25-35 minutes

KAXE is a true treasure and everyone deserves kudos for helping deliver its pleasures. Thank you—Christie from East Bethel MN (a KAXE member)"

Yma's Tomato Soup

We've gotten so many questions about the Tomato Soup that Yma called about last Saturday, the one she makes at Harmony Natural Foods Coop in Bemidji. Mike, a KAXE volunteer, took better notes than I did during the show AND he tried the recipe last night. Here it is:

1 c beef broth
1T brown sugar
3 T balsamic vinegar
1 T soy sauce
5 whole garlic cloves
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 28oz cans of chopped tomatoes
3/4 c half and half

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spray a 3x9 pan with cooking spray - peel garlic cloves and add a coarsely chopped onion. Pour tomatoes and other ingredients in. Cook 50 minutes. After cooking use a blender or food processor - then add the half and half and serve.

Mike wasn't quite sure of the high heat for 50 minutes, but he said it worked, and he'd make it again. He recommended the tomatoes be chopped instead of whole.

Potato Wild Rice Soup

By Jennifer Poenix

Today we celebrated Heidi Holtan's birthday with delicious potluck lunch. As you may have read previously on this blog, I love potlucks.

Stephanie made pasta and sauce, Penny made a white cake with strawberries and wonderful cream cheese frosting, Mark brought bread, Katie brought a pistachio salad, Dan provided beverages, and Scott brought ice cream. I made soup. It seems to be the theme of this blog lately (because January is National Soup Month), so I hope you don't mind if I continue the theme.

I've made this soup quite a lot at home and a few times for KAXE stuff. People tell me they like it, but I can't take much credit for it. It's so simple. Some might say it's cheating, but not me! Here is what you need:

4 cans of cream of potato soup
1 or 2 cans of wild rice (I use the Canoe brand. It's the only brand I know of.)
Approx. 1 quart of half and half
Bacon (optional - I buy Hormel bacon pieces that come in a jar)
Shredded cheese (also optional, but seriously, you should use it)

Drain the rice. Mix it with the soup. Add enough half and half to get the consistency that you want. You can add the bacon if you want, however, if you are serving vegetarians, leave it out, and it can be added as a topping. I think the cheese works better as a topping too.

You can cook this on the stove until it gets hot, or use a crock pot. You'll want to heat for about 3 hours on low, or about 1 hour on high. Enjoy!

Michelle's Butternut Squash Soup

Dice a 2lb squash and cook until tender.

Puree in a food processor (leaving some chunks in)

Return to pan and add 4 cups of vegetable broth.

Stir in 1 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.

Stir until melted.

Add salt, pepper and cayenne (if you like heat)

add 2T butter and heat through.

DJ's Chicken Lime Soup

From DJ the DJ.... Saw this on Emeril one night and the lime bit got my attention cuz I love limeade, and those lime nacho chips and wedges in my Corona and in my Coke.......mmmmmmlimes.... Anyway it was just called chicken lime soup and its So Am/Caribbean recipe: vegetable oil 1 lb cubed chicken breast 1/2 t salt pepper to taste cumin 1 onion chopped 2 cans chicken broth or make your own 1 or 2 tomatoes chopped 2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice lime slices cilantro cubed avicado heat oil and add chicken. add salt, pepper, cumin. stir fry till chicken is done. add chopped onion and tomatoes and cook till tender. add chicken broth and lime juice. dust with cilantro at the end. pour into a bowl and add cube avocado and garnish with lime slice. says four servings but its really two cuz its so good you want more. Emeril also fried some tortillas in some oil till crisp and then used them like crackers with the soup it was really good and added a nice touch. and, most importantly, DO NOT OVERCOOK! Bon Appetite DJx2

an easy Clam Chowder recipe from Mona Abel

On Saturday's Between You and Me, Willie called in and talked about his love of clam chowder. He was looking for help for a recipe or a place that had good Clam Chowder.

We heard from Mona Abel who is a Recipe Diva / Former Go-Go Dancer and author of "To Mom With Love: Ethnic Recipes and Family Favorites"... she sent in an EASY clam chowder recipe for Willie....

Saute l/2 onion and 1/2 diced green pepper in 2 or 3 T. butter. Add 2 cans of cream of potato soup and 2 cans of half and half. Add 2 small cans of clams and some juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I make this for the holidays.

I have a great Jimmy Dean Potato Sausage Soup if you want it.

Keep up the good work. These are both in my first cookbook, but unforunately, they are almost gone. Not too many second cookbooks left either. M

Soup Recipes from Between You and Me

Thanks to Mark from Summer Kitchen Supplies for his Clam Chowder recipe....


Clam Chowder
This is one of our family favorites. It is simple to make, and tastes so exotic on a January night in northern Minnesota. A white sauce is the foundation for many of our hardy winter meals.

¼ cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Freshly minced or dehydrated onion
2 cups milk
4-6 potatoes
Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper
1 small can Snow’s minced clams

Peel and cube the potatoes into about ½ inch cubes. Cover in salted water, bring to a boil, and then simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.

Melt butter in a large pot. Add and cook onions until tender, if using fresh onions. Stir flour into butter to form a bubbling roux. If too thick, add more butter. Heat milk in a large glass bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes and stir slowly into roux.

About this time the potatoes should be ready. Using a slotted spoon, add the potatoes to the roux. Save the potato water, and add it to the chowder to thin it as it cooks. The starchy potato water makes a silky- smooth chowder.

Dump in the whole can of minced clams, including the juice. Crumble in a handful of onions, if you are using your own dehydrated onion. Add lots of freshly ground black pepper. Shake in some Old Bay seasoning, to taste.

While the chowder is simmering, mix together 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ tablespoon of sugar. Cut in ½ stick of butter with a pastry cutter. Mix in about 1 cup of cold milk and a dollop of sour cream. The mixture should be too sticky to pat out for cutting, but not too thin. Spray a large soup spoon with cooking spray, and scoop out some dough onto a lightly sprayed cookie sheet. There should be enough dough for 10 to 12 drop biscuits. Bake at 425 degree for about 12 minutes.

These biscuits, hot out of the oven, are much better than crackers. Clam lovers can add 2 cans of clams, but we find that one can is enough to give it good clam flavor without adding too much clam meat; which our kids are not too fond of. Vegetables may also be added to the chowder. We sometimes add a handful of our dehydrated carrots.