Category Archives: On the Back of the Stove

Soup is a staple at our house, and whatever is on the back of the stove is served for lunch and sometimes as a first course at dinner. Soup is nutritious, delicious and really easy to make.

Taking Stock

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One of the basics of every kitchen has to be stock. I use a lot of it every week for all kinds of dishes from soup to rice or quinoa pilaf. For years I was totally intimidated by the idea of making my own stock, but I recently had a request for how to make homemade stock and I’m happy to share that vegetable stock can be a pretty effortless process. One suggestion is when you prepare vegetables, instead of discarding the peels, ends and other throwaway pieces, stick them in a plastic bag and put in the freezer. When you want to make stock, add any leftover vegetables such as peas or green beans and you have the beginning of a great stock.
Vegetable Stock
I generally eat a vegetarian diet, so mostly I use vegetable stock. It’s quick, easy, and a great base for almost any dish. I don’t add salt because it’s easier to control the taste in my other dishes. Here is my recipe for a quick veggie stock.
Ingredients:
2 medium onions, cut in half
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, smashed with skins left on
Tablespoon of tomato paste

You can also use any tomato sauce you’ve got. I’ve even used leftover spaghetti sauce (without the spaghetti). Just don’t get carried away. Keep the amount to less than ¼ cup.

1 bay leaf
Tbsp. chopped parsley, if you have it.
1 tsp dried thyme
Ground black pepper to taste
Red bell pepper discards (optional)
Cup of Mushroom stock (optional)

Place ½ cup dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Let them steep for about half an hour, while the vegetables roast, until the liquid is a nice rich brown. Add the liquid from the mushrooms to your stock base.

Directions:Put the vegetables in a shallow pan, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

Roasted Vegetables for Stock

Remove from the oven and place in a large pot, add the liquid from the mushrooms, and water until the vegetables are covered. Add the herbs and seasonings.   Bring to a simmer, cover and slowly simmer for about 20 minutes.

Stock Pot

Squish the vegetables just a little for a richer stock. Let cool and strain through a fine sieve or colander. Discard the vegetables or put them in the compost bin.

Vegetable Stock

Pour stock into glass jars or other containers and keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also freeze for future use. I friend of mine pours the stock into ice cube trays and once frozen places them in freezer bags.

Meat Stock

Meat stock takes longer but is well worth the effort and I recommend you make a larger batch for convenience.  Here are the additional steps.

For beef stock, use meaty soup bones or leg bones from the supermarket.  They’re inexpensive and easy to work with (the dog, of course, will be very disappointed).  For chicken stock use that leftover chicken carcass or a package of wings and backs.  Place the bones and the same kind of vegetables you would use to make veggie stock in a shallow pan and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes. If you already have vegetable stock on hand, just roast the bones, being careful not to char them.

Place the roasted bones, along with all the yummy bits from the roasting pan and the vegetables or vegetable stock in the slow cooker or stock pot.  I like to use my slow cooker for this because it doesn’t require as much supervision. Make sure the bones and vegetables are covered by about 2 inches of vegetable stock or water.  Simmer over a low heat, just below boiling, for 4-8 hours.  Check periodically to make sure the liquid is still covering the bones and veggies.  The trick is low and slow and it’s better if you don’t stir the stock.   The fats that are released from the bones will come to the top.  Gently skim away the fat and discard (not in the sink).  When the stock has simmered for at least 4 hours, you can stop the cooking process (but longer is better).  Remove the large bones and vegetable chunks and strain the stock through a fine sieve or colander covered with cheese cloth.  You want the stock to be rich but not cloudy.  In a bowl, chill the stock in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.  The remaining fat will solidify on the top and you can skim it off.

Beef Stock

Pour the stock into glass jars or other containers and store in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze for future use.  You can use this process for venison stock also.

 

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Fruit Soup and Other Dried Treasures

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Preserving fruit is a regular activity in the fall kitchen.  I’ve been drying blueberries in the dehydrator and oven drying loads of sweet Roma tomatoes.  So I was thinking about baking recently and took a quick inventory of my supply of dried fruit. They’re a favorite ingredient for holiday baking so I try to make sure I have a wide variety.  The variety was there but most of it was from last year, so it was time to make some room.  I decided to make a versatile favorite, fruit soup.  Years ago I found a great recipe in a church cookbook called Norwegian Fruit Soup.  I was instantly capitvated and have made it many times over the years.  You can eat it hot, you can eat it cold.  It’s great as a topping for ice cream, on hot cereal, mixed with yogurt and granola, or just by the spoonful.  The mix of dried fruit can be different, depending on what you like and what you have on hand.  Here’s my most recent iteration based on what was available in my kitchen.

Fruit Soup

Elaine’s Crockpot Fruit Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup dried cherries
  • 3/4 cup golden and regular raisins
  • 3/4 cup dried apricots, cut into quarters
  • 1/2 cup dried plums (aka prunes), cut in half
  • 1/3 cup dried mango
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 2 tablespoons candied ginger, cut into small pieces
  • 2 lemon slices (more about this one later)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1/8 teaspoon cardamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • 4-5 whole allspice
  • 4-5 whole cloves
  • 6 to 8 cups water
  • 3 apples, cored, peeled and cut into cubes

Directions:

The night before (or several hours) put all of the fruit except the apples into a crockpot along with the sugar, honey and spices and pour in the water.  If you’re cooking overnight, set the crockpot on warm and cover.  That’s essentially it.  The next day, or whenever the fruit is soft, add the chopped apples and simmer on high for about an hour.  The apples should be cooked but not mushy.  The smell alone will have everyone’s mouth watering. If you’re not going to eat it immediately just spoon into jars and store in the refrigerator.  Depending on the size of your family, this recipe could last up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

I mentioned the lemon slices in the above recipe.  I got this great recipe from my sister-in-law, Skye Morgan O’Malley and it’s sensational.

Lemons in Honey

Lemons in Honey

Slice enough lemons to fill a glass jar.  Pour in enough honey to cover the lemons.  Put the lid on and place in the refrigerator for about 4 days (okay, 2 if you just can’t wait).    I used a couple of slices in the Fruit Soup, and it’s a great way to add some pizzazz to a cup of tea or a wine cooler.

 

 

 

Summer’s End

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I’ve started to see the long V’s of Canada geese flocking up to head south.  That usually means that fall is just around the corner and we’ve had a few cool days now, so I’m starting to think about some of my favorite  soup recipes.  We eat soup year round, but when fall comes it often becomes the main meal.  This week I made potato soup, and I make a lot of it because it makes a great addition to the lunch box too.  The recipe below is vegetarian, but you could certainly make it with chicken broth or add bits of ham or bacon.

Comforts of Home Potato Soup

This is a simple, easy to make soup that’s great hot, or even cold.
Ingredients
4 or 5 small to medium potatoes, peeled and cut in  1 inch cubes
4 cups vegetable broth or water
1 medium onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 large carrot, grated
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup half and half (optional)
2 bay leaves
2 sage leaves (or use dried sage)
Salt and pepper to taste

 

 Directions

In a large pot, cover the potatoes with broth or water and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer until tender.   In the meantime, add a ladle full of the broth into a saute pan and add the onion, garlic and carrots.  Saute just until the onions are slightly softened.  Add to the onion, garlic and carrots to the potatoes along with the herbs and salt and pepper. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.  Lower the heat, and add the milk and half and half.  This is a good time to add a tablespoon or two of sour cream or non fat yogurt for creaminess. Let simmer for about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and mash with a potato masher.  I like some chunks in my potato soup and a potato masher works perfectly.  Sprinkle with some chopped fresh dill and serve with a hearty bread.

Timesaver Tip
When you’re prepping your vegetables on shopping day, chop enough carrots, celery onions and peppers for the week and store them in containers in the refrigerator.  It will save time in preparing meals.  You can also prepare lunchbox items like carrot and celery sticks ahead of time for speedier lunchbox prep.