Slack Time

We're distracted this month by our side interest, the "Dorm Food Survival" blog.  Sorry, and we'll get back to you!

Beef Stock for Little Soups

Making beef stock is an all-day-long proposition.  You don't have to do much, but you do have to be home!  It's worth doing occasionally, because with a supply of homemade stock in the freezer and a few fresh vegetables on hand, a fast bowl of good soup can be enjoyed any time.

Beef ribs and oxtails roasted and ready to go in the soup

We made this stock out of beef ribs and oxtails, 4+ pounds. Ordinary soup bones would have been nice but there were none at Walmart that day.  A good-enough broth can be made from boneless chuck, if need be, but meat with bones is better for the purpose. 

Beef stock tastes richer if the bones (and meat) are roasted first. No seasonings are needed - just roast at 325 F. until well browned, then transfer them to a stock pot.

Simmer the beef and bones on "low" until the meat is tender;  remove it all from the pot,  detach the meat and return the rest to the pot for further simmering.  It takes many hours for cartilage, which adds richness, to break down.

When the bones are fully cooked with cartilage no longer clinging to them, strain it all and return clear broth to the pot. To this add sauteed seasoning vegetables such as onions and carrots.  Simmer until  vegetables are soft.

Remove some (or most) of the stock and set it aside to cool before freezing.  It takes about a pint to fill one ice tray.

Frozen beef stock, about 1 ounce each

The remaining stock and seasoning vegetables, together with reserved soupmeat, will be the basis for a good beef soup, with additions.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Vegetarian stock

I don't know whether it helps or hurts that I don't much like vegetarian broth - no brand or form of it canned is even edible, so far as I am concerned.  Ugh, what do they put in it?  So  I am trying to make it from scratch.  We've had several batches, all different, all okay, none perfect, but we're getting closer. 

Ingredients.  We decided against the turnip. Not shown: peas

One rule: don't overcook, because most overcooked vegetables, even seasoning vegetables, taste sour and awful. (There are exceptions; some green vegetables develop a different and much better taste after being cooked for an hour or more.)

Another rule, as I am learning, is that what meat contributes to good stock is an abundance of the flavor called "umami", a Japanese word meaning "deliciousness", which in its pure form is found in monosodium glutamate.  If a veggie stock is going to satisfy, umami must be included from vegetable sources.  Ingredients high in glutamates include ripe tomatoes and mushrooms, especially dried shiitake mushrooms.  Also high in glutamates are potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas. Thus, veggie stock will be more satisfying if it contains, at least, tomato paste, mushrooms, carrots and peas.  The more of those other ingredients included in the soup,  the more satisfying the broth will be.  With glutamate- rich foods as a base and liberal inclusion of the standard seasoning vegetables, we can produce a stock both satisfying and tasty.

Start with this:

Onion
Celery
Garlic
Carrot
Green pepper
Mushrooms

Saute seasoning vegetables

Dice and saute vegetables in batches to bring out the flavor, and when softened, place them in a cooking vessel (stockpot, crockpot, microwave- safe container, hotpot) about twice the volume of the vegetables you've sauteed.  Then add:

Tomato paste
Green peas
Parsley with stems

Fill pot 3/4 with water

Cook on High until hot, then reduce to Low and cook until vegetables are just done.

Strain out as much of the broth as you want to reserve, leaving enough broth with the cooked vegetables so that with the addition of some fresh items you can serve it as Vegetable or Minestrone soup.

One pint of stock will fill a 16-cube ice tray,  giving you frozen stock measured roughly in ounces for use in quick "little soups" or in other dishes.

Note:  Other ingredients to consider for veggie stock are "kombu", a seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, soy sauce, and Chinese cabbage.  All these will undoubtedly increase the "deliciousness" of your stock, but whether the flavors are appropriate will depend on what you intend to do with the stock.

Vegetarian Stock

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

** This recipe also appears in our companion Blog "The Baker's Dozen"

Lima Bean and Mushroom Soup

We cooked this "Little Soup" in a small camper's pan which had been set into a hot pot.

Lima Bean and Mushroom soup cooked in a hotpot

4 frozen cubes (4 ounces) of vegetarian stock.

Heat until the cubes are mostly melted, about 5 minutes in the hot pot.

1/2 cup Baby limas with liquid, previously cooked without seasonings

Steamed kale
Minced red onion

Large fresh mushroom

Cut up the mushroom.  Add everything to the pan in the hot pot. Cook until the mushroom is soft.

Turn off heat and allow the soup to stand and steep for a few minutes before serving.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Meatball Mushroom cooked in a Hot Pot

A "Little Soup" cooked in a bowl which has been lowered into a hot pot, resting on spoons at the bottom to keep it off the element. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

Meatball Mushroom soup in a Hot Pot

Of course it can be cooked in an ordinary saucepan or in a microwave oven.


5 vegetarian stock ice cubes
2 frozen meatballs
2 large mushrooms, sliced
1 green onion, chopped

Heat all together until mushrooms are cooked through and meatballs are hot. In a hot pot, it took 20 minutes.  In a microwave oven it would be 2 or 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add:

1/4 cup cooked pasta.  We used leftover gluten-free penne here.

Serve

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Mushroom, Potato, and Veggie Little Soup

Mushroom, potato, and Veggie Little Soup

2 pre-cooked russet potatoes, peeled

1/2 cup pre-cooked "baby bella" mushrooms

1 roma tomato

1 green onion

1 mini sweet pepper
parsley
4 vegetarian frozen stock cubes

1/2 cup water

Melt the cubes in a large bowl for 1 minute in the microwave while you slice and dice everything else.

Hold out a few bits for garnish and put all the rest into your bowl along with 1/2 cup water.

Microwave 4 minutes, stopping midway to stir it all down into the liquid.

Garnish and enjoy!

Time: 5 minutes

Serves 2, or 1 generously

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Gluten-free Meatballs for Soup

Frozen meatballs to be used one by one in Little Soups

We want meatballs to use in "little soups" so not too many spices.  They will work fine in sauce or sandwich too.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup pulverized instant brown rice (dry)

The last ingredient is useful in gluten-free cooking where one might otherwise use bread or cracker crumbs.  Just pour dry instant brown rice from the box into a blender and chop it fine.

add:

1 small onion, diced

1/2 can tomato paste
chopped crushed garlic to taste
chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. salt

other seasonings if wanted

Mix it up with your hands.

Roll the mixture into balls

Place in a pot with 1 cup tomato juice
Cover with water.  Simmer until the meatballs are done
.

Lift out the meatballs.  Arrange some of the meatballs in a storage dish so that they are not touching - ready to be taken out and used individually in single-serving size soup.
Freeze.

(Cooking water can be used as the base for a soup as it is now full of flavor and meat juices.)

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Coconut Rice Soup

Thai-style coconut rice little soup

Assemble ingredients:

2 cubes frozen chicken stock (unseasoned)
2 cubes frozen coconut rice
1 green onion

1 small sweet red pepper
1 large mushroom
cilantro leaves
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/4 cup water

Slice or dice everything into a microwave-safe measuring cup or bowl. Microwave 3 minutes, stopping to stir halfway through. Add lime juice, 1 tsp. or to taste. Serve in a medium bowl.

Perfect, as usual!
Total time: 5 minutes


To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flicker.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Coconut Rice for Little Soups

Inexpensive rice cooker and ingredients for coconut rice

There are many and different recipes for coconut rice, but for our purposes, we've chosen the simplest: we want a means to add both coconut milk and rice in small quantities to a single serving of soup, and we can accomplish both at once by making a batch of rich coconut rice and then freezing it into cubes.

1 cup raw white rice (jasmine or basmati are recommended)
2 cups liquid, consisting of 1 can coconut milk, and make up the small difference with water

Cook covered on stovetop over low heat until all liquid is absorbed or cook in a rice cooker.

When it cools, spoon it into ice trays, pressing in firmly.

Coconut rice in an ice tray

Trickle water into the cubes to help them hold together, and freeze. When frozen, unmold and store in the freezer in a sealed container or ziplock bag.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Add-Ins for Little Soups

 

Add-ins for Little Soups

Keep a few raw and cooked items in the fridge for making your Little Soups. What those are can and should vary, of course!

Some ideas:

Small tomatoes
Green onions
Meatballs
Leftover steak
Brussels sprouts
Steamed kale
Tiny steamed whole potatoes
Rice
Mushrooms
Peppers
Zucchini

and many more!

Making "little soups" is an easy way to join the Eat Local movement; pick up a few items that are in season now and plan your soups around them.

To see a few photographs of possible ingredients, go to this set on flickr.  (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Tiny Tasting Soups

Tiny soups inspired by "tasting bowls" found at Pier 1 Imports. One person might enjoy 3 or more servings of this size. Each bowl holds at most about half a cup.

Three tiny tasting soups, vegetarian

I started with a single one-ounce cube of frozen vegetarian broth for each Tiny Soup. (Next time I may use two.)

First Soup:

Small steamed potato, halved
Brussels Sprout, halved
Sprinkle of chopped green onion

Second Soup:

Spoonful of red beans
1/2 roma tomato, chopped
Sprinkle of chopped green onion

Third Soup:

2 large mushrooms
Sprinkle of chopped green onion

Microwave all 3 for 3 minutes. Garnish 1 and 3 with reserved tomato, and 2 with fresh cilantro. Serve.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Steak, Veggie, and Mushroom

Another "Little Soup" using frozen beef stock and leftover ribeye steak.

Steak, Mushroom, and Veggie "Little Soup"

3 cubes frozen beef stock
4 tiny potatoes
4 brussells sprouts
2 Tb frozen bell pepper
1/4 cup frozen green peas
1 Roma tomato
1 chopped green onion
2 mushrooms

Melt the cubes in a pot while preparing the vegetables.  Add veggies to the broth and heat  for about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, slice up the steak.  Turn off the heat, add the steak slices, cover the pot and allow it to rest for a few minutes.  Serve.  Makes one large or two small bowls of excellent soup.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Steak, Potato, and Mushroom Soup

A "little soup" meal for one or appetizers for two. The same soup again, without the steak. "Little Soups" are made to order!

Steak, potato, and mushroom soup served in 8-ounce bowls

Assemble ingredients:

leftover ribeye steak
2 mushrooms
1 roma tomato
1 green onion
4 tiny steamed potatoes
6 frozen beef stock cubes

Start the stock cubes melting over medium-low heat.

Set aside potatoes, mushroom caps, 2 slices tomato, and a section of green onion, split lengthwise.

Slice the steak and dice everything else.

Add everything but steak,  tomato slices, and green onion strips to the soup pot.

Let it all simmer for 5 minutes or so, with the lid on. Then add the sliced steak and turn off the heat. Let the soup rest for a few minutes.

Share the potatoes and mushrooms between two 8-ounce bowls, and then spoon in all the soup. Garnish each with a slice of tomato and a 
section of green onion.

Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2, as appetizers

1, as main dish for lunch.

Variation: Vegetable Beef "Little Soup"

A friend dropped by, wanting soup. She chose these ingredients:

2 frozen beef stock cubes
1 roma tomato
1 mushroom
1 small potato
1 green onion
4 brussels sprouts
a sprig of parsley.

The tomato (except for 1 slice), potato and onion were cut up while the cubes melted in an oversize bowl in the microwave oven.  Then it all went into the bowl except for the tomato slice and a fragment of the parsley, to microwave for 3 minutes.


Poured out into a small appetizer bowl and served.

Time: 5 minutes

Snack-size beef soup with vegetables

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Chicken Soup with Vegetables and Egg

 

Ingredients:

1 cup (8 oz) chicken stock, homemade preferably.

1/2 cup various vegetables. For example:

1 small or 2 tiny steamed potatoes
2 brussels sprouts
1/2 Roma tomato
1 slice bell pepper
1 hard boiled egg

Note:  I used these because I had these!  Any small bits of vegetables would go well in this soup.

Heat chicken stock to near-boiling.

Meanwhile, reserve 1 slice of tomato and dice the remainder. take a slice of bell pepper and put the rest away.  Dice the potatoes.

When the stock is hot, put in the diced tomato, potato, and sprouts.  Heat back up to a simmer and remove from heat.

After 2 or 3 minutes, pour the soup into a bowl.  Float the pepper slice and the tomato slice on the surface.  Slice the hard boiled egg onto the surface.  Garnish, serve, enjoy!

In short: Heat a cup of broth, add 1/2 cup vegetables and heat again, garnish with sliced egg and something else, serve.


To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.  The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Chicken Soup and Stock

This recipe for chicken soup is both simple and delicious.  I learned it years ago from my children's grandmother, who brought it with her from the Balkans.  She stressed that all ingredients must be fresh, not preserved, and that every one of the ingredients is there for a reason.  The stock it produces is versatile; it can be used in any cuisine.

Just add water and heat!

Place into a slow cooker, dutch oven, or soup pot one of the following:

Whole young chicken - if buying a fryer for soup, choose the largest available.
Chicken parts, any combination, 3 pounds or more.
Roasted whole chicken or roasted chicken parts.
Bones, skin, cartilege, fat, etc. of chicken, raw or roasted, from which the meat has been removed.

Chicken scraps make excellent soup; just skim the fat at the end, and strain out all the little bits.  A few pounds of necks and backs will produce fine chicken stock! Dark meat makes better soup than white meat.  The one thing you don't want to use for soup is boneless skinless chicken, especially not boneless skinless white meat.

Add to the pot the following fresh (not frozen, canned, or dried) ingredients:

1 large or 2 smaller onions
2-3 carrots
1-2 tomatoes
1-2 stalks celery
fresh parsley including stems
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
sprinkle of pepper

Water to cover

No need to chop the vegetables.  When served they are more appealing whole.

Our recipe assumes 3-5 pounds of chicken; if less, decrease the seasoning vegetables and perhaps the size of the pot.  Too much water makes thin soup!  If more, increase pot size, seasonings, and water proportionately. A roasting or stewing chicken will require longer cooking.

Large serving container with chicken soup and soup vegetables

Heat at medium high until the soup comes to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook until chicken is well done but still holding together. (How long this takes will depend on the age and size and therefore, the tenderness of the chicken, and on the temperature at which it is cooked; anywhere from one to several hours.) Lift out the chicken and strain the soup.  Adjust seasonings.

Set aside a portion of the soup for stock and return the remaining broth to your (rinsed) pot.  Sort through the residue in your strainer, and return to the soup all pieces that are good for eating (carrots, onions, and whatever else you like) and throw the rest away.  Now your soup is ready for whatever additions you want to make - see recipes for chicken soup here or here or elsewhere.

To see a full set of photographs showing how chicken stock is made, go to this slide show on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.)  No need to read captions as the pictures are borrowed from several sets showing various ways to make stock and soup.

Chicken Soup with Rice

In December I will be
A baubled, bangled Christmas tree
With soup bowls draped all over me
Merry once, merry twice
Merry chicken soup with rice

I told you once, I told you twice
All seasons of the year are nice
For eating chicken soup with rice

-- Maurice Sendak

Vegetarian Stock

Ice trays produce cubes that are, conveniently, about 1 ounce each. A few of these with addition of "beans and greens" and heated for a few minutes becomes a single serving of homemade veggie soup.

Vegetarian Stock
Originally uploaded by The Baker's Dozen

Big Soup

It is coming to my attention that when all the ingredients are perfected and collected for a series of little soups, there is an elephant remaining in the kitchen: the Big Soup!  That's what minestrone means - big soup.  There in the bottom of the soup pot is a dense, tasty, and nutritious thick broth filled with seasoning vegetables.  Add some beans and some greens and there you have it:  the Big Soup!  So now what's on the menu?  Choose 1-4 little soups... or just order a big bowl of big soup, giant economy size.  Served with pasta, potatoes, or rice.

Next thing you know we'll be having cheese toast on the side.

I need to look at bowls at the Restaurant Supply Store.

Vertical and Horizontal

There are two ways to do this exercise:  "vertical" and "horizontal" and I am thinking of a timeline here.  The vertical way is to invite 50 people to a tasting, put all the foods on the buffet at once along with some tiny soup bowls, and sample a bit of each.  The horizontal way is to prepare a batch of each ingredient, freeze them all in one-ounce quantities, and then take out 8 - 12 assorted cubes every day and heat them all in a microwave oven.  We're going to do both.  Horizontal first, as we perfect preparation of each individual ingredient.  When we're ready, then we have the party!

The Little Soups Project

Now I've slept on it, and I woke up knowing what I'm going to do.  Announcing "The Little Soups Project"!  There will be 4 broths, 8+ meats or meat substitutes, and 16+ other ingredients all at once, from which to build one's own bowl of customized soup!  You've seen "salad and soup bar" with 50 ways to make salad and 2 little vats of probably canned soup at the end of it? Well, this is not that.  This soup will be 100 percent made-from-scratch ingredients.  A great array of choices.  (And at the end of it, a couple of bowls of ordinary side salad.)  Let the simmering begin!

Meatballs

I've decided to assemble ingredients over the next few days, and then turn out several varieties of "little soup" all at once using what I've accumulated.  Today I started with meatballs.

What's the origin of this idea?  I think it came from a vision I had of the perfect little bookshop- and- cafe which would specialize in customized soups in the same way that sandwich shops now make it your way.  If sandwiches, why not soup?   Four kinds of broth and 15 ingredients, mix and match.  And crusty bread too!  And why not quiche?  Though quiche is a long time cooking... but certainly it can be made in small sizes with just what's wanted for ingredients.  Hmmm... Order lunch by 10, we deliver at noon?

Miniature Quiche

Miniature Quiche
Originally uploaded by The Baker's Dozen

A pair of 8-ounce crustless quiches, perfect for lunch with company, or for packing in a lunchbox. Good hot, reheated, even good cold!

Plan Ahead!

Soup made from scratch can be a simple affair of 3 or 4 fresh ingredients and can be wonderful; but sometimes it's nice to have something a bit more involved.  The way around it is to make extra, in batches, and to freeze it in amounts just right to assemble a single serving later.  Today I set aside 2 cups of broth from a steak and vegetable soup and froze it in an ice tray.  One frozen cube is just about one ounce, so 8 cubes of a variety of ingredients will make a cup of soup!  My ice trays, simple cheap plastic ones, make 16 cubes.

Little Soups

This blog will be dedicated to "Little Soups": quick easy recipes for one-serving size fresh homemade soups and other dishes.