On the Importance of Soup

     Winter is technically upon us, and even though we haven't seen but a quarter inch of snow, and I was able to have a cigar on my patio because it was 54 out, I think we need to talk about soup.  Soup is a big thing in my house. We wait all year for it to get cold enough to start cranking out soups. I don't really dabble in cold soups because soup should be hot. At least that's my opinion. Before we go any further, I never watched Seinfeld, so you won't see any of his soup-related jokes.

I can't say the same for the Three Stooges

     Why is soup such a big deal? It's comforting.  For me it brings back childhood memories. Chicken soup with matzoh balls and kreplach was a big deal in my family. My grandmother used to make it, my mom made it, and now I make it. There's something reassuring about a large pot of soup simmering away on the stove. Soup is also generally easy to make. Yeah, there's some complicated soups out there, but that's not what my kitchen is about. Sometimes on a cold Sunday I'll drag out the triple slow cooker and set up three different soups for the week. They'll end up as lunches and dinners for the week. Whatever's still left gets frozen for later use. 

     There are a few big favorites in this house when it comes to soup. Chicken is always a classic. New England Clam chowder is a great winter soup. The wife is a HUGE fan of avgolemono, Greek egg, lemon and rice soup. I'll probably put up the recipe for that Monday. It seems like it would be vomitous, but it's actually really nice. We first had it at a restaurant up in Waukegan that we fondly referred to as "The Roach Motel." My favorite soup of all time? Hot and Sour. I generally only get it at restaurants because it calls for a lot of hard to find ingredients and is a colossal pain in the ass to make. 

     Provided the Mayan Apocalypse doesn't turn the Earth into a blistered wasteland, fix yourself a nice, hot bowl of soup and try to convince yourself that, despite all of the horror of late, the world's still not a bad place.

Good times!

     

Middle Class Bartending: Days 4 & 5

     We are now heading into the second half of Hanukkah. It is also 12/12/12, and the Mayan Apocalypse is just around the corner. What does that mean? No clue. However, we will ponder it all with two new beverages.  The first is based on a Jewish holiday tradition. That tradition is based on where we traditionally eat on Christmas.

Jewish Christmas

Ingredients

• 1ounce Maotai Liquor
• 12 ounces Tsingtao

Directions

1. Pour Maotai into shot glass
2. Drop into mug of Tsingtao
3. Drink as a Boilermaker

     This one just struck me as a fun drink to put together. You can never go wrong this time of the year with a Fiddler on the Roof reference.

Tequila Sunrise, Sunset

 Ingredients

• 2 ounces tequila
• 2 ounces orange juice
• 2 ounces blue curacao
• 1 ounce grenadine

Directions

1. Pour tequila, orange juice, and blue curacao in that order over ice. Do not stir.
2. Pour grenadine around edge of cocktail (inside edge, don't be a dummy).
3. Garnish with orange slice

It happens every time.
Two drinks and BAM! I'm up on the  damned roof!

Good times!

Recipe Monday: Mayan Hot Chocolate with Butternut Squash (via Relish.com)

     With the apocalypse coming up, I figure it's only right to salute the Mayans with a classic End-Of-Time recipe. The Mayans worked hard and played hard. After a grueling day of playing Death Ball™ how did the Mayans like to kick back and celebrate a victory?

Well, yes, but that's not what I was going for.

     They had a delicious Mayan Hot Chocolate (I have no actual proof that this is true, just work with me). So as the world self-destructs on the 21st, raise a glass (quickly) and toast to not having to pay off the mortgage!

Mayan Hot Chocolate (via Relish.com)

Ingredients

•       1 small butternut squash

•       2 1/2 cups 1 percent milk, divided

•       6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

•       1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

•       1 pinch nutmeg

•       1 pinch cardamom

•       Grated semisweet chocolate for garnish

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 375F.

2.  Cut squash in half; place halves, cut sides down, in a roasting pan. Add  water to a depth of 1-inch. Bake 30 minutes, or until squash is tender. Discard seeds, and scoop out pulp to measure 2/3 cup. Puree squash with 1/2 cup milk in a food processor until smooth.

3.  In a large saucepan, mix remaining 2 cups milk, chocolate and spices. Heat over a double boiler or in a heavy-bottomed pan, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and creamy. Remove from heat and whisk in pureed squash mixture. Reheat.

Nutritional Info (per serving)

•       Calories 280, Fat 14g, Saturated Fat 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0g, Monounsaturated Fat 4.5g, Cholesterol 10mg, Sodium 75mg, Potassium 450mg, Carbohydrates 37g, Fiber 3g, Sugars 31g, Protein 7g

So You Want To Try Canning?

     From what I've seen, canning has seen a big resurgence of popularity lately. Why is this? What's the draw  of canning your own food? It's a ton of work and there is a very real possibility of injuring or poisoning yourself if you don't do it right. Honestly, I have no idea. I don't even know if there's a resurgence. I just enjoy using that word. Resurgence. Feels good. Give it a try. Resurgence.  Sorry. So, the draw of canning? Well, it's certainly popular among the Doomsday (November Election) Preppers. It's also popular among us practical rustic folk.

     At its core, canning is just a great way to sock away surplus produce without just letting it go off, or Heaven forbid, leaving it in a plastic bag on the table in the break room. I hate doing that. It feels like I'm just throwing it away. When people do that where I work I just take all of it. I don't even check if anyone wanted any. It's gone. I take it home and can it.  And how does one can, you may ask? You have two options for canning:

Option 1: Pressure Canning
     This basically is loading your product in a jar and putting it in a boiling water bath, sealing the lid, and subjecting it to around 10 pound of pressure or so for some time. The jars will reach a temperature that should kill everything bad in them. Except when they don't. Or the jars explode. Or the canner explodes.

Sauce is done!

   In the end, I'm basically too big a wuss to try to pressure can, even though I own a pressure canner. I just use it for Option 2.

Option 2: Boiling Water Bath Canning
     This is very much like pressure canning, but without the pressure. You are boiling sealed jars of product to kill off bad stuff. Unfortunately, you don't hit the temperatures you need to kill everything.  If the food is naturally acidic (like apples) the acid will take care of the rest. Not everything (like cucumbers) is acidic so you have to pack the foods in something acidic, like vinegar. You make pickles by boil canning. Tomatoes on their own are not acidic enough, so I add lemon juice. I'm not going to bury you with specifics, there are plenty of resources on the internet to help you out. If you only go to one, go to The National Center for Home Food Preparation.

     Are there downsides to canning? Yes. For one, it's a total pain in the ass. It's messy and time consuming. Sometimes jars break. Lids pop off during the canning. Jars don't seal. Jellies don't set. You burn the hell out of yourself with steam and boiling water. Visitors look at each other uncomfortably when they see you have a commercial sized wire rack shelf full of cans for a household of two people.

      Regardless of all that, the wife and I love canning. It's just nice to open a can of summer-time food in the middle of winter. Peppers, jellies, tomatoes, chutneys, relishes, we have all sorts of good stuff waiting for us. And in the case of a zombie apocalypse, we are totally prepared to hunker down and live on the supplies for months!

The fruits (and vegetables) of our labor.