Alayna and Mary Lorraine met in art school in the south of France. They have eaten together in Corsica, Morocco, Croatia and now (and often) Manhattan's lower east side.
Consider yourself lucky if this is the first time you are hearing that I've been sick. I can't stand when I'm sick and I have tendency not to be able to talk about anything else. I also am highly suspicious of medicine. So I often avoid it, which you could argue, might be why I'm still sick. But I swear gurgling warm salt water and eating a strange amount of brussels sprouts is working and really, tomorrow I think I'll be totally fine.
And the reason I'm sick? Soup. I know, I know.
Gavin came home sick early last week so I decided to make him soup after work because I'm 27 going on 60. I wasn't worried I'd get sick because I believe I have a superior immune system. I was so not worried that when he didn't finish his bowl of soup I finished it for him. I even had a passing thought that this probably wasn't brilliant but was so egotistical about my soup strength that I didn't care.
Sniffle sniffle cough cough. And that is why I had to miss this soup night at Alayna's. And I'm souper sad (can't help it) that I did because how good does this soup look? Roasted tomatoes. Amazing. When I'm stronger I will recreate this masterpiece in a bowl and I'll never be sick again.
The Soup!
Cut 6-7 very ripe tomatoes in half and put face down on a baking sheet with half a head of unpeeled garlic (or whole, I only had half) with the top cut off and a little olive oil sprinkled on. Put in the oven at 375 for about 30-40 minutes, until the skin easily comes off the tomatoes and the garlic is soft
Put 3 dried chiles pasillas and 2 dried chiles anchos on a different baking pan and put in the oven for about 5-10 minutes until they are puffed up. Take out and let cool.
Once cool, cut the stems out of the peppers and take out the seeds. Put all the other parts into the blender
When your tomatoes and garlic are ready, put them into the blender as well. The garlic should easily squeeze out of it's casing. You will want to wait a little bit for your tomatoes to cool so that the lid doesn't fly off the blender, so in the mean time....
.... chop one yellow onion and saute in olive oil
Once translucent, add one large can of diced roasted tomatoes with juice and slowly heat
Blend your chile/fresh tomato/garlic mixture thoroughly and add to the pot
Top off with chicken broth and like, simmer about 30 minutes
In those thirty minutes, cut up an avocado, grate some sharp cheddar cheese and heat up a pan of oil to cook up some tortilla strips.
When all the elements are in place, serve yourself with avocado, cheese and tortilla strips on top
As promised, our top five BEST soups of all soupie time.... (Uhm, Alayna is insisting instead of "Best" I say "some of our favorites" as if our other precious soups like Roasted Root Soup and Fennel is Fantastic will have their feelings hurt. Alayna is very attached to these little bowls of miracles.)
This is based on nothing but Alayna and my personal opinions and casual soup banter. Honestly, none of the soups we make are that tricky to pull off. Well, slaughtering that pumpkin was sort of intense... but that soup didn't even make the cut (even though it was delicious). So new soupies, don't be intimated that these are SOME OF OUR FAVORITE soups, just be inspired to make them. And enjoy them. And share them.
P.S. Our top five happens to also be really cheap soups to make. Only the West African has meat. We're talking less than $10 soups here (well, for non-Manhattan residents at least, put us in the $15 range-- but still-- remember, these are BIG portions)
Tonight's soup? Not on the top five list of best time soups, but probably on the top five list of healthiest soups. This was sort of one of those, lets just toss in what we have in the fridge in a pot with broth and then put it in the blender soups. Those soups never fail. Well, depending on your fridge.
Either way, it's a nice during the week meal, especially as the weekends seem to be increasingly filled with holiday sugar madness. So it's nice to level out the playing field. Okay, soup out buddies.
The Green Machine!
roughly chop 6 cloves of garlic and saute with red pepper flakes and herbs de provence
add one large roughly chopped yellow onion, 3 small-medium red potatoes,a large carrot, a head of broccoli (with the top part of the stalks), 2-3 large zucchini and two tomatoes and cook covered
when potatos and carrot are starting to get soft, add your veggie broth, 1/2 a bag of spinach (or more, whatevs), bring to a simmer
As the lentils simmered Alayna used plumber's clay to fix her vase and I highlighted special lines in Jack London's biography I had earmarked not having a pen at the time. The soup smelled wonderful. Zizi couldn't stop waiting for shadows to move on the wall.
It smells like autumn now. This is good. I'm wearing two sweaters right now. Which is excessive but the room is chilly.
While the soup simmered Alayna and I went through her craft box. Thick oils and sandpaper, somewhere. I paged through her sketchbook from France. A drawing I did from a rooftop in Fez drinking mint tea. A picture of the corner of my apartment over the art gallery. And a lot of hollowy trees. A letter never sent to a boy. Van Gogh's bedroom. I miss textures.
We started eating the baba ganoush before the soup was ready and it was wonderful. We drank ginger tea from the elephant mugs before that. I walked home 30 blocks and the sky was purple and blotted with clouds and it felt spooky like Halloween. I howled when I tripped over a rat running across the street.
This soup tastes like France and a little bit of fall. It's good.
Lentil Soup (adapted from Mojdeh's mother, who took it from Martha, as in Stewart, that originally had elusive french lentils and escarole, neither of which we could find)
finely chop about four cloves of garlic and saute in olive oil
add a medium sized white onion, also chopped, and cook until almost translucent
add 3-4 medium sized carrots in bite sized pieces and cook covered for about five minutes
add 1.5 cups of lentils (green or french) and 3/4 cup of yellow split peas (or stub lentils for all... we were just going for color and then they all looked the same, but tasted delicious)
Add one large can of diced tomatoes and fill the pot with vegetable or chicken broth, adding 2-3 bay leaves and several sprigs of fresh thyme
bring to a simmer and cook covered for 40 min (to test, make sure the lentils aren't crunch in the middle)
turn the heat off the pot and stir in one bag of arugula, letting it wilt in
Serve!!!
Baba Ganooooush!
cut an eggplant in half lengthwise, stab it with a fork a few times, and bake is at 400 for about 45 minutes (when you cut it open and it's all mushy and brown instead of white, it's done)
let cool, then scrape insides of eggplant into a food processor, discarding skin.
add the juice from half a lemon, about a spoonful of tahini (make sure you stir it well before adding so it's not all clumpy), 2 cloves of garlic and some salt and blend until smooth
As I got little veiny shrimp legs caught in my fingernails Alayna and I discussed how there are so many closet soupie fans out there. Like Gavin, who announced in a tizzy a few nights ago that he loves soup and it is unfair that he never gets any of our leftovers.
"Do you know how many people say, Oh Gavin, you must eat a lot of soup? And I say, Actually I never get soup. Do you know how that makes me feel?"
Sad?
I did bring Gavin a very small jar of leftovers Monday night. But it was hard to part with THIS REALLY REALLY GOOD SOUP (Good thing Alayna and I cook like we have to feed eight to ten people at all times.) Alayna accidentally dumped half a jar of cayenne pepper in it, she tried to pick it out- but there for sure an added kick. Which, I liked. It's a good soup with a TON of shrimp. Don't cheap out, buy an entire pound of it. Alright. Start peeling the skins off those little suckers and get to work.
P.S. We bought the corn at the Queen's County Fair over the weekend-- which was awesome. I saw a pig race!
to start, cut the kernels of 4-5 stalks of corn and put the cobs into hot water with some bay leafs to boil... this will be your broth later
saute one pound of rinsed un-shelled shrimp in a little olive oil on low, stirring often, until nice and pink
remove from the pot with a slotted spoon, letting juices and oil stay in, and set aside to cool
put four cloves of roughly chopped garlic and half a chopped red onion in the pot and saute with two red peppers and a generous amount of chili powder (we actually spilled a LOT into our pot, took some out and it was delicious and spicy) until translucent
add the following with a little bit of your corn water (add the rest once the broth tastes corny), all chopped into smallish pieces so that they can cook faster: a small, peeled butternut squash, a large zucchini, about 4 red potatoes
once the above veggies are getting softer, add the rest of the broth and bring the pot to a simmer. add in the corn kernels and one chopped red pepper, and 1-2 cubes of vegetable bullion
now that the shrimp are cold, peel them thoroughly and add into the soup pot with about a cup of half an half and let cook another 3-5 minutes
As you may have noticed, Mary and I have been on opposite vacation schedules for most of August. It’s been hard, but mostly we’ve survived by doing this thing called ‘hanging out with our other friends’.Last week, those friends were Jenny and Larisa , two lovely ladies I know from my pottery studio.
Making friends in New York is a strange thing, especially if, like me, you take a little while to warm up to people. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not because New Yorkers are unfriendly. They’re extremely friendly… as long as your not blocking a major thoroughfare on the sidewalk or in any way making a line take longer than it should (no, it is not an appropriate time to grill the barista on their knowledge of indie bands at 9am when there’s a line at the coffee bar, annoying hipster dude who obviously does not understand the importance of that iced coffee to my life right now).
The biggest roadblock to friendships here seems to be one of scheduling.With old friends, it’s okay to call them up at 9pm to make plans for the evening. With new friends, there’s pressure to come up with something cool or interesting. What if you have nothing to talk about or they hate seeing movies (note to potential new friends: I kind of hate seeing movies because the theater is always cold and you can’t talk without getting shushed) or you bring them to a party that’s really lame? Will that doom your relationship? At least with dating you can save yourself with the virtue of a good night kiss!
But that’s part of the reason I love my pottery friends. For the past year and a half, every week we’re at the studio at least once, talking about pots or glazes or how something should be put together so it won’t crack or our jobs or our families or that TV show. It’s friendship, middle school style, where you’re not really doing anything but hanging out. Plus, they think my jokes are funny. And so, in honor of pottery, some (vegan!) peach gazpacho with a side of asparagus!
Peach Gazpacho
Roughly chop 5-6 ripe peaches, 5 ripe tomatoes, 2 red peppers, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 small red onion and a large handful of mint.
Blend and chill until cold (use the tomato water to start off the blender), adding salt and pepper to taste.
Maybe it’s because Monday’s Soups is rounding to it’s 6 month anniversary, that is a lot of soup, folks, but I find myself bursting with soup thoughts on a daily basis… So with that in mind, here I go.
Jamie came over to my apartment last night because Alayna is vacationing in Texas. This means that Yes, this was the first soup that was ever made outside of Alayna’s apartment for the blog. And it went well. It was a little less smooth than when Alayna cooks. She has mastered the art of chopping, sauteing and knowing what goes in the pot next while talking. I can’t do that so well. Thus, I would realize I forgot to add the cannellini beans five steps later. Or I added the green beans too early. But because soup forgives, none of this mattered. This soup also brought me back to my never ending question, Why do we blanch vegetables? I was afraid of kale for so long because blanching seemed like such a pain. But I soon realized that kale really doesn’t need to be blanched at all. I don’t taste a difference. Can a foodie help a soupie out?
The New York Times reported yesterday that obesity rates are going up based on a nationwide survey from 2005 to 2009. Nothing is new here. Seven of the 10 states with the highest poverty levels are also among the 10 states with the highest obesity rate. In Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia more than 30% of adults are obese. And—this is crazy—in 30 states, 30% or more of children are overweight or obese. That’s insane. It’s insane and it’s stupid. And it probably gets on my nerves more than it should but I can’t help it.
Jamie asked me what I was learning through this blog. I’m learning that cooking brings together people and conversations in a very authentic way. And that heady, karma part of me—that was born in college—believes that these are the real things you put into your food when you cook.
I know I’m getting annoying, and I’m trying not to fall over the line of being too preachy. This means a lot to me, and I feel like I learn more each week.
This is what I know.
A friend who I was very close to when I was a child, who I slipped away from as we grew older and we fell into life and trying to figure out who we were and who we certainly were not and all that, and then, only recently we began to inch back together. And the dialogue that brought us back was food. Was, stuff like, Yes, oh my gosh kale is wonderful and how do you bake a spaghetti squash and all of that. And while we were in the process of coming back to one another a tragedy happened in her family and it was awful and it broke my heart. I did the dance of all those awkward words that don’t feel like your own. I’m So Sorry and Is There Anything I Can Do and All My Sympathy. We put together those words and it felt strange and not right. And then it began to come back. It came back with, ML, I’m going to the market to make your soup.
Really?? Which soup?
Thai! I already have most of the ingredients.
And that is how we started to feed each other back to ourselves.
*
Now, lets eat... Summer Minestrone with Penne (or whatever pasta is in your cabinet
My first kitchen picture!
This is one of those soups where veggies can be swapped in and out. It doesn’t matter. Throw in whatever you have around or is in season.
-Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 medium yellow onion chopped into a soup pot over medium heat
-Add 4 chopped carrots and 4 chopped stalks of celery, add a pinch of salt, mix around for 10 minutes or until veggies soften.
-Throw in 6 cloves of garlic chopped and a few shakes of thyme (or fresh, obvi!)
-Dump in a big can of chopped tomatoes with juices, fill up half the tomato can with water, dump that in too.
-Chop up some fresh parsleyand add it. Turn the heat to simmer. Throw in a basil leaf or two if you have them.
-Rinse 1 can of cannellini beans and add them to the soup.
-Meanwhile in a separate small pot boil a few cups of water, once boiling add about one pound of fresh greenbeans (with the ends snapped off, cut into bite size pieces.) Leave them boiling for 5 minutes, then rinse with cold water. Put to the side.
-Rinse out the pot and boil more water. Once boiling add a cup of penne pasta. Cook for ten minutes.
-Add the green beans while the pasta is cooking, taste the soup add salt or pepper or whatever you think.
-When pasta is done throw that in and you’re done!
-Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and more parsley just because that looks pretty.
Note: If you are going to make a bunch of this soup and not eat right away might want to add the pasta separate because it will get mushy in the soup after a day or so.
I know. I’m bringing up Michael Pollan again. Sorry. But he did just write a long piece in the New York Times Magazine about why America likes cooking shows but doesn’t actually cook. This is all brought on by the Julie & Julia marketing onslaught that at first reminded me that I’m intrigued by Julia Child, (I acted on this- frustratingly asking the bookstore clerk if they had any copies of “My Life In France,” without the movie cover. No. Forget that then.) And now as the Julie & Julia attack drums on in every media outlet known to man I find myself, sadly, sick of Julia Child before I could even decide for myself whether she uses too much butter.
What am I talking about? Right. Pollan. Pollan poses the question, After having gross corporations cook for us, and by cooking, I mean pumping processed stuff up with butter and salt and sugar can we go back?
“Can we ever put the genie back into the bottle? Once it has been destroyed, can a culture of everyday cooking be rebuilt? One in which men share equally in the work? One in which the cooking shows on television once again teach people how to cook from scratch and, as Julia Child once did, actually empower them to do it?”
Sure can, Michael…
I had to run a few errands in different directions around the Lower East Side for this soup. I forgot a red onion at the grocery store and stopped at a corner bodega. I asked the Arab man if I could open a bag of six red onions because the single onion looked bad- he raised an eyebrow then went, Sure, sure. I had to get white wine off Ludlow and then realized I forgot to get bread on Clinton street where they make sandwiches but Amal discovered the bread itself is good. “Just three loaves.” The Italian guy looks at me, “Just bread?” Yes, please.
I cleaned dirt off basil in the sink and Alayna chopped onions and we drank white wine and talked about going to Colombia for a bit.
These are the things we eat here at Monday’s Soups. Interactions and conversations and good salt and chili pepper tea. And it’s all very tasty.
We can put the genie back in the bottle by... and I don't mean to tap into our tag-line... not being afraid of cooking. Alayna has been cooking long before me. She'd make me big dinners in France and I would happily eat it all and that's where our friendship started. But for me, making soup was the real start of my tender and caring relationship with Cooking. Soup is a good starting point. You put real foods together and play around and 99% of the time it'll taste good. Even when you don't have some ingreidents. Even when you throw in something random from the fridge.
So I would answer Micheal Pollan with a Yes, we can go back. And a good start is by not being afriad of soup.
Now go make your Gazpacho my empowered Soupies!
P.S. We had a friend guest soupie, Keith, yogi and potter. We talked about art and books instead of watching terrible television. For that Keith we thank you, come back soon. And can I get a free yoga class?
fill a medium sized sauce pot halfway with water and bring to a boil
turn the pot off and add two dried chiles anchos, chopped and seeds/stems removed and two chiles arboles (same)... let this steep until the water has cooled (you're making chile tea!)
before it cools, add vegetarian broth powder (or just use veg broth instead of water) until salty
chop about 8-10 very fresh vine ripened tomatoes, one large cucumber (deseeded), a large cucumber, a small red onion, 8 cloves of garlic and a large handful of fresh basil into smallish pieces and set aside
pour about 1-2 cups of your cooled down 'chile tea' into the blender and add as many chopped veggies as you can fit, disposing into your large soup bowl
Repeat until done, watching to make sure it doesn't get too liquidy or too solid
salt and pepper to taste
let sit for AT LEAST an hour (it's better the longer it sits)
serve with sliced avocado and fresh goat cheese on top!
