Onion Soup

This had all the makings of  a disaster. Really. I looked at dozens of recipes and couldn't settle on one. I forgot to get beef broth. I had last minute ideas. Well, all things considered it turned out almost right. I'll tell you what I did, and what I should have done:

Mmmmm... soup!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 Large onions, cut into large pieces
1 Clove of garlic, minced
1 Bay leaf
8 Cups (2 liters) chicken broth (I use low-fat and low-sodium)
1/2 cup white wine
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. Soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
Worcestershire sauce to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onions and garlic. I cooked the onions until they were soft and somewhat translucent. this turned out well, but I think I should have cooked them until they were softer an almost transparent. In any case, you want to stir them constantly so they won't burn.

When they're close to done, add the wine, soy sauce and vinegar. For the sake of convenience, it would be best to combine them in a cup or bowl beforehand. Reduce the heat to medium and keep cooking and stirring for a few minutes, until the liquid is reduced to about half.

Add the chicken broth and the bay leaf. Reduce the heat to minimum and bring to a slow boil, stirring on occasion. When it boils, add the Worcestershire if you like. Let it simmer for a few minutes and remove from the heat.

I have it plain out of the pot, but there's no reason you can't add a slice of garlic bread and grated cheese on top. If the soup's not hot enough to melt the cheese, you can pop it in an oven for a minute or two, I suppose (I haven't tried it). Or just add some croutons.

Ongoing Projects part two: Sweet and Sour

After trying to make Sweet and Sour cabbage (First Draft, Second Draft), I've been looking for good recipes for sweet and sour sauce. So far I've had little success. Earlier today I attempted one, which is probably my worst failure to date. I did learn that Splenda does not work as well as sugar in this situation. The sauce came out too sweet and with an annoying after-taste.

It's getting so I'm considering just buying sweet and sour sauce from a nearby Chinese restaurant <sigh>...

I had another idea for a coffee yogurt gelatin. We'll see how it works this time.

So far that's it. I hope to have more next week.

Bean Soup

Sorry for the delay. My day job this week was far harsher then usual for this season.

I love beans in almost every kind of way, but I love bean soup best of all. So here's my recipe:

300 grs. of beans (I used a local purple variety called "Flor de Mayo," 250 gr. worth, and 50 gr. of white beans)
1/2 liter of chicken broth
440 gr. tomato puree
1/3 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon fine herbs
3 turkey sausages sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

First you cook the beans. You can use a pressure cooker. I considered it, but quite frankly I'm afraid of all tools that require high pressure (yes, this includes the espresso machine, but there's no other way to brew espresso) So first I soaked the beans for about 18 hours (at room temperature, covering the container with a paper towel), I poured about 1.5 liters of water in a pot, added a half teaspoon of olive oil, let the water boil, then added the beans and cooked them for about 2 hours on low fire. The beans aren't quite done, but they'll cook further when making the soup.

Next, cook the onions and garlic in a skillet along with 1 teaspoon olive oil. When they're done, add the sliced sausages and let them brown a bit. 

In the bean pot, add the chicken broth, tomato pure and spices, stir well and add the onions, garlic and sausage. Add a hefty dash of Worcestershire and Tabasco to taste. Bring to a slow boil, then let it simmer for about 40 minutes covered (be sure to use a pot lid with a hole or a valve on it).

You can skip the sausages if you want, or substitute some other kind of mean, such as bacon (any kind) or chicken. When serving, you can add more Worcestershire or Tabasco, or a little lime if you like.

New recipe tomorrow

I got sidetracked with some freelance work and I couldn't even come up with something to cook this week. But I'll post something tomorrow.

Ongoing Projects part one: Tortilla Pizza

I liked my citrus cabbage salad so much that I've been trying a few other ideas.

I thought about how to make pizza, or something like pizza, lower in fat. My first idea was to take a what-flour tortilla (commonly called just "flour tortillas") as a base, then add pizza sauce, a modest amount of reduced-fat cheese and whatever toppings I wanted.

It worked remarkably well. Look:

But on this first try I used too little cheese. Oh, the toppings are onions, diced turkey sausage and turkey bacon. The one on the left also has poblano chile strips.

I tried again the following week, using more cheese:

Doesn't it look good? Toppings are thinly sliced turkey sausage and turkey bacon.

The tortilla works well as a base. After placing it in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 F, it's nicely toasted and a bit stiff. You do have to hold it with both hands, though, or fold it over like a quesadilla. The tasate mix is just right.

Plus flour tortillas are commonly found in three sizes. The ones in the pictures are regular. There are smaller ones called "taqueras," which are for making tacos, and bigger ones for making flautas. This gives you a lot of flexibility for meals.

The reason this is still a work in progress, however, is that I'm determined to make my own pizza sauce. I've learned garlic powder works better than fresh, minced garlic, and that a little cheese melted in the sauce goes a long way. But I haven't gotten it quite right yet. Perhaps I will next weekend.

Sopa de Fideos Seca

This week's home cooking recipe is very similar to last week's Sopa de Pasta except this is a "dry" soup, meaning there's no appreciable broth in it. It also uses a specific type of pasta called "fideo," similar to angel-hair pasta.

 Ingredients:

200 gr. Fideos
2 Cups chicken broth
350 gr. Can of diced red tomato (or two red tomatoes peeled and seeded)
1/2 cup tomato puree or tomato paste
1/3 Onion, quartered
1.5 Cloves of garlic, quartered
Cilantro to taste
1 Dried morita chile, or the chile of your choice (optional)

Put the tomato, onion, garlic, cilantro, tomato puree and chile in the blender and liquefy well. In a pot set two cups of chicken broth and the salsa from the blender on high heat. When the mix begins to boil, add the fideos and reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir well. Keep cooking while stirring occasionally until the liquid is consumed.

The result should be a very red, soft, gloppy pasta.traditionally it is served with some crumbled or grated cheese, chopped onion and sour cream.


Although I used a non-stick coated pot, the fideos tended to stick to the hot bottom. It's important to keep stirring so none of the pasta will burn. Also place a lid half on the pot, as the thick tomato, broth and pasta mix tends to splatter a bit while it boils.


Enjoy!