OT: Soup

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 11:03 am

As I was the one who started the breakfast thread on GC under the guise of the legendary Cuthbert Odwyn, I would like to take this opportunity to bring up another of my favorite subjects.

Soup.

For two years now our family has had a Soup Fest. Everyone brings a pot of soup and a loaf of homemade bread.

I love a good soup.
What is everyone's favorite home made soup?
Are you a "stuff" eater or a broth eater or both?
What kind of bread do you like with your soup if any?

chas · Post by **chas** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 11:24 am

I'm not an avid soup eater, but I do cook primarily one-dish meals, so I do occasionally make a batch of soup -- never broth, always a meal-in-a-soup.

I probably eat more hot-and-sour soup than any other kind. Whenever my wife or I have a cold, I make 3 quarts or so. I begin with chicken stock or broth, put whatever's at hand in it, usually some or all of: tofu, shiitakes, scallions, onions, pork, chicken. Spiced with Thai or Hunan chiles, white pepper, and rice vinegar, thickened with corn starch, and with a little soy sauce. Served over noodles.

My favorite soup is probably black bean, served either with bread or over rice. My favorite bread is made with spent brewing grain. I usually do 2:1 white to either whole wheat or rye flour, 1.25 c each milk and water, some molasses or malt extract, and 2 c of grain husks. It's always dense and moist.

My wife's favorite soup is phoc (pronounced fuh, Vietnamese beef noodle soup). I keep beef bones in the freezer, and whenever we have 5 pounds or so, make a batch of broth, usually spiked with a few bouillon cubes. Get some sort of Oriental noodles (wheat, rice, or bean), put them in the bottom of a deep bowl, put some shaved rare or raw beef on them, and then pour broth over the whole thing. Serve with sliced chiles, limes, mint, cilantro, bean sprouts, or anything else that strikes your fancy.

Another bread I make occasionally is Russian pumpernickel. IIRC, it has coffee, onions, and vinegar in it. Best if you can find dary rye flour, which I haven't seen in years. Very strongly flavored and rich. Kinda the stout of the bread family.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 12:10 pm

Soup in summer?

pthouron · Post by **pthouron** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 12:26 pm

Cranberry wrote:Soup in summer?

Absolutely!!! Especially of the cold kind (like a "vichyssoise" or one of those fruit soups)
Love a good soup too! I like all kinds, broth or more elaborate. My favorites have to be potato/leek and split pea. As far as bread goes, I like a nice sourdough or a ciabatta.

BrassBlower · Post by **BrassBlower** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 12:36 pm

1. Chili or Irish stew (my roots must be showing)
2. Stuff.
3. No bread. However, I often dip Fritos in my chili.

antstastegood · Post by **antstastegood** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 1:06 pm

Soup is good stuff. I generally prefer a nice thick sort of soup, but there are several exceptions. I can't stand lentil soup or anything with a surplus of vegetables. I love bean soup, and tomato soup also. One of my favorites is chicken noodle soup with a couple handfuls of goldfish crackers in it. At college, it's all about cup-o-noodles. I dont get much actual homemade soup because it takes too long.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 1:22 pm

Man, you guys just reminded me of one of my favorites that I don't get anymore, and a sort of specialty in rural Akita Prefecture in Japan: nattō ramen. Add lotsa wakame seaweed (it's like a firm spinach), hold the pickled ginger, please. I literally had to live on it during the summer when the school cafeteria was closed, and gained weight into the bargain.

carrie · Post by **carrie** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 1:38 pm

My absolute, all-time favorite is peasant soup: vegetable stock (I use those little cubes), onions, turnips, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, celery--and lots of all of 'em--and four or so cups of water. When the veggies are tender I add a big can of crushed tomatoes and after that's all cooked in for a bit I add just a bit of cinnamon and fresh parsley. With cornbread or some hearty whole grain something or other (torn, not sliced please), it's a thing of beauty. Satisfying enough to make a whole meal, at a cost per serving of about 50 cents. Also wonderful pureed.

Carol

tansy · Post by **tansy** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 2:03 pm

ya'll are making me starving hungry. i'm with chas on the hot and sour soup but i add lemon juice with the rice vinager. i also like to serve it up with fresh copped "soup greens",parsely, cilantro and scallions, floating on top.
last week i made a mighty soup, venison - vegetable. my S O is still talking about it.
please forgive me if i seem to bragg but i am a visionary cook, always surfing the outward peremeters of culinary reason and delight. i cook also as a deversion from whistles, pipes and sailboats.

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 2:13 pm

tansy wrote:i cook also as a deversion from whistles, pipes and sailboats.

Funny. I whistle as a diversion from cooking. Dispepsic and balding from an early age, I suffered horribly when my step father (he made me call him "Uncle") forced me to cook. The dreary hours I spent in the kitchen, pealing roots and shaving truffles, sauteeing, deglazing, blanching... it defies telling. Now I won't even go anywhere near food between meals, unless I am hungry.

carrie · Post by **carrie** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 2:23 pm

LOL Bloomfield!

But it does seem like we somehow got from soup to nuts.

tansy · Post by **tansy** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 2:26 pm

the thought of good soup is very powerful

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 3:03 pm

We're big homemade soup eaters, and I make soup about once a week. Some of our favorites are:

Tomato corn chowder
Smoked lentil with wild rice
Sicilian chick pea and kale
Navy bean
Sopa de tortilla

I like my soup a little on the brothy side, but with nice big chunks of whatever veggies, etc., happen to be in there. Just about any bread will do, but we're particularly fond of San Francisco sourdough (especially Boudin's!) and potato rosemary.

Redwolf

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 3:10 pm

pthouron wrote:
Cranberry wrote:Soup in summer?
Absolutely!!! Especially of the cold kind (like a "vichyssoise" or one of those fruit soups)

Or the French consommé glacé
Or the Spanish gazpacho
Or the Russian okroshka
Or the Marxian duck soup

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:05 pm

My favorite is lentil soup. We make a double batch because I like it the next day cold. With this my choice is homemade whole wheat bread. When I say homemade I mean first grind some wheat, etc. My second favorite soup is a vegetable soup which we make with whatever is on hand. I would probably have scones with this soup.

I have been only marginally able to check in for this last 2 weeks. My motherboard died. I replaced it and then found out that my new motherboard would not function correctly under windows 98. Now up and running on Windows XP.
Ron

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