sprinklefingers

We cut a lot of ham at the bakery.
And, of course, I use that “we” in a completely royal sense because I actually do no cutting of ham myself. We have a meat slicer (a device, not a person) and we get these giant hams in from one of our purveyors - and really, it takes a special person to do all that cutting - and I’ll freely admit that I’m not that special person. 
So, while the meat is being sliced (by a person using a device,) I’ll busy myself with other things that make me look extremely busy. Like, say, reviewing invoices. Or eating lunch. 

After the ham is cut there are always scraps and odd bits left over that we affectionately (of course) refer to as ham bits. The ham bits are stuffed into bags and then stuck in the freezer (did you know you can freeze ham AND its bits? You can!) After that, the fate of the ham bits lies in the hands of our employees. Ham bits for all! I have personally taken a dozen or so bags of ham bits home from the bakery in order to turn them into something more than just scraps and odd bits - but how often does one need to incorporate ham bits into their everyday cooking? Not very often.

Until, of course, I remembered soup. SOUP! Ham loves soup and soup loves ham! So, I created a very special soup based on the abundance of ham bits I have in my life. (And, seriously, if you’re ever in the neighborhood of SW 12th & Morrison in Portland, stop in to see me - I’ll give you your very own bag of ham bits. And you can also have a cookie.)

Ham & Bean Soup
featuring ham bits!
serves 12 (yes, this makes a giant pot of soup!) 

This soup requires that you soak dried beans overnight. No problem! Just rinse your beans well, put them in a giant bowl and cover them by a few inches with cold water. Then leave them on the counter overnight. 

You need:

• 4 cups mixed dried beans, soaked overnight.
  - Choose from: black beans, black eyed peas, white beans, cranberry beans, kidney beans, pinto beans or gigante beans…there are a lot of dried beans in the world, so pick the ones you like - 4 cups of them, mixed - and soak them in plenty of water overnight.
• 3-4 cups chopped ham bits - any fatty or unsightly parts of a ham you’ve trimmed away would be perfect. (No ham bits? Use a hock!)
• 3 bay leaves
• 5 quarts water 
• 3-4” piece of parmesan rind

Start the soup: 

1. Put everything in the above list in your largest soup pot. 
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add to the soup:

• Dice a yellow onion. Put it in a sauté pan set over medium-low heat and let it gently caramelize with a tiny glug of olive oil. Once the onion has caramelized and there are bits of brown stuck to the pan, deglaze the pan with a bit of balsamic vinegar. Remove the onions from the heat and add to the soup.
• 8 oz good quality tomato sauce
• 14 oz diced, fire roasted tomatoes
• a few good grinds of black pepper
• a glug of balsamic vinegar
• two good pinches of kosher salt
• 3/4 t cumin
• 1/4 t Hungarian paprika
• 1/4 t allspice
• 1/8 t cloves

Once you’ve added all of the above to the soup and have stirred well, continue to simmer for 30-45 minutes until the flavors have melded and the beans are perfectly biteable. Fish out the parm rind and any strange bits of ham. Adjust the seasonings and you’re ready to enjoy.

Now you’ve got a lot of soup on your hands! I suggest refrigerating one half and freezing the other. The refrigerated half will result in at least two good dinners. And having soup in the freezer means dinner in flash when you’re short on time.

Oh, and, I’ve made this soup quite a few times, making tweaks along the way. Here are some variations that have worked splendidly:

• For part of your dried bean mix, use lentils. They will basically break down completely and make the soup a great deal thicker. Yum! And comforting when it’s cold out.
• When it comes time to serve the soup, place a nest of ribbon-cut raw kale in the bottom of each bowl. This pumps up the nutritional value of the soup AND adds a crunchy, zesty element to the soup.
• For an even meatier dish, add cooked sausage to each bowl at serving time.

My kid wants to cook. All the time. ALL THE TIME.

Here’s an example: the kid and the husband are in the playroom staging a major ‘battle’ inspired by Star Wars. I walk into the kitchen and rattle a pot or a pan and the kid comes running - I WANT TO HELP YOU MAKE DINNER! Folks, when they start ignoring Star Wars battles in favor of learning to supreme an orange, I think that means you have a mini-cook on your hands.

I have Sundays off each week, and this past Sunday the kid told me he wanted to learn to make chicken stock. Earlier in the week we had roast chicken for dinner and he was so curious as to why I would save the carcass. At the time I told him it was to use in making chicken stock - a fact he quickly remembered on Sunday morning. Of course cooking isn’t exactly the thing I want to spend my day off doing (I literally begged him to watch a movie with me - but he flat our refused), but who am I to deny his budding culinary talents? I mean, the kid can already out-cook his 38 year old father…might as well keep him at it!

So, we made chicken stock. The kid told me he wanted it to taste like Thai food, so we added a healthy amount of ginger and garlic and lemongrass and shallots and lime. The result? A super delicious chicken stock full of flavor - perfect for soup. Or curry. Or for sipping on a cold day (which we’ve had plenty of lately.) We thought you’d like to make it yourself…

Gingery-lemongrassy-garlicky Chicken Stock

You need:

• olive oil
• 2 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves removed, bottom 6” cut into 3 pieces
• hand-sized knob of fresh ginger, sliced into 1/2” pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed (no need to peel)
• 3 shallots, halved (no need to peel)
• 4 carrots, cut into quarters
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 limes, halved
• 2 dried red chiles
• 6 cloves
• 1 T black peppercorns
• 2 t salt
• 1 leftover chicken carcass, picked over

To make the stock:

1. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add a few glugs of olive oil and let it get hot.
2. Once the olive oil is hot, add the lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallots, carrots and green onions. Let cook until everything is fragrant and could be beginning to brown, about 6-8 minutes.
3. Add the limes, chiles, cloves, peppercorns, salt and chicken carcass to the pot, then pour water over all to cover by at least 4”.
4. Increase the heat, cover the pot and then let it come to a good simmer.
5. Once simmering, reduce the heat to maintain a light simmer, then cook for 1.5 - 2 hours, depending upon your schedule.
6. Let your stock cool, skim off the fat and then ladle into storage containers for refrigeration or freezing. The stock will keep in the fridge for a week and in the freezer for 6+ months.

We have enjoyed this stock so many times in the last week (it’s seriously delicious with coconut milk). Of course, I’ll tell you all about it - soon!

well, here we are again. another soup post from me.

of course i’d love to be working on summery dishes - of course I would! but we’re in the middle of a rainy slump in portland and i just can’t imagine summertime delights when it’s dumping rain and completely soggy outside.

not too long ago i told you about a cookbook that i’ve been enjoying. it’s called chicken and egg. it’s a class-act cookbook. the soup we’re going to talk about today is from chicken and egg with a few of my own tweaks: instead of simply adding the onions to the soup with the majority of the other ingredients, i start the soup by cooking the onions until golden. i really like the way the onions form a golden & sweet base for the rest of the soup, and i don’t often like an onion in soup that’s simply been boiled. additionally i added a bunch of kale and a carrot to the soup…not for any reason other than we’re on that salad for dinner diet d-word i told you about and a bunch of kale and carrot in a soup should qualify as a salad. at least in my book.

red lentil chicken soup with kale
from chicken and egg by janice cole
makes one big pot

you need:

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 T plus 2 t ground cumin
• 1 t cinnamon
• 3/4 t allspice
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced small
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 quarts homemade chicken stock (store bought is fine in a pinch)
• 28 oz can plum tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups red lentils
• 1 1/4 t kosher salt
• 3/4 t black pepper
• a few pinches of red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch lacinato kale, thick parts of stems removed, leaves cut into thin ribbons

make the soup:

1. carve the chicken thighs into bite size chunks - about 1” pieces will be perfect. add the chicken pieces to a bowl and sprinkle with the cumin, cinnamon and allspice. mix the chicken to evenly coat with the spices. set aside.
2. open the can of plum tomatoes and, using your hands, pull the tomatoes out of the can and set them on a cutting board. give them a rough chop (you want them to be chunky) and then add them back to the can with their juice. set aside.
3. in a big soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. add the diced onion and cook until golden.
4. add the celery and carrot to the onion and let cook until tender.
5. next, add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
6. add the chicken pieces and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring to brown the chicken on all sides.
7. once the chicken is a bit browned, add the chicken stock, the choppy tomatoes with their juice, the lentils, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. stir the soup well and raise the heat to medium-high so that it comes to a steady simmer.
8. let the soup simmer for 20 minutes then add the ribbons of kale. 
9. let the soup simmer for 30 more minutes or until thick & hearty, stirring occasionally. 

because the soup contains chicken, lentils and vegetables, i serve it alone. a whole meal in one bowl!

this soup will keep well in the fridge for up to three days. it also will freeze like a dream. although it’s so good i don’t think any will make it to the freezer… 

did you see mark bittman’s soup stuff in the ny times this week? that guy! he’s too much!

he set up four categories for soup - creamy, brothy, earthy and hearty - and then gives us the building blocks to create our very own soups in those categories. it’s like an art project and dinner prep all in one!

bravo, bittman! (and thanks for the four additional bonus soups!)

ps: shout out to the ny times team of Yunhee Kim, Maggie Ruggiero and Deborah Williams for such beautiful soup shots!

pps: bittman’s cooking show the minimalist premieres on cooking channel today!

hopefully you’re not tired of soup - because i have to say, i’m so soupy right now it’s not even funny.

in fact, i’m so soupy that this week, on ladies night, i served soup and cornbread instead of my usual nachos and champagne. what the what? exactly.

one of my favorite soup varieties is split pea. thick and hearty. especially delicious with lots of meat. and a giant slice of cornbread on the side. yum.

and because i’ve been busy lately i’ve been turning more and more to my slow cooker for help in getting dinner on the table before bedtime. split peas + slow cooker = soup perfection.

slow cooker split pea soup
serves 8

you need:

• 6-8 qt slow cooker
• 2 lb bulk italian pork sausage - mild or sweet or a mixture of both
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1 t thyme
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 10 cups chicken stock
• 2 1/2 cups split peas, rinsed & picked over

to make the soup:

1. in a pan large enough to hold the sausage and vegetables, cook the sausage over medium heat until nearly cooked through.
2. add the carrot, celery and onion and cook until the onion is soft.
3. add the thyme, salt and pepper and cook for a few more minutes until thyme is fragrant.
4. remove the sausage mixture from the heat and pour it into your slow cooker. add the stock and split peas and stir to combine.
5. set the slow cooker to low and cook for 8 hours (or overnight.)
6. remove the lid of the slow cooker and stir the soup. the peas should be completely cooked, stir to evenly distribute them.
7. if the soup is thinner than you’d like, switch the slow cooker to high and cook a bit longer WITHOUT THE LID until it reaches your desired thickness.

this soup freezes like a dream and is just the thing to tuck away for a rain, cold day. simply scoop it into freezer containers, lable and freeze. defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat to serve.

yesterday i posted a recipe for a little something i call unpacking soup. i made enough for us two adults to eat for two nights…a very exciting concept when i knew i had to work today and would be rushing to get dinner on the table tonight.

i rushed in the door from work and started dinner prep - and that’s when i noticed it. half of the soup i had refrigerated from the night before was missing. and my husband had eaten it for lunch. now, i’m not going to lie to you - i’m really stressed out right now. 5 days away from home and away from work causes things to really pile up and i don’t do very well with piles. so, close to tears, i screamed at him. uh oh. it’s moments like these when i wish i was nicer. why can’t i be nicer? why can’t this kind of thing roll right off and find me rebounding in the blink of an eye?

to my credit, as soon as i yelled i knew it was wrong (that’s something, right?) and my brain did quickly kick in to figure out what else we could eat…and then i thought of it: food in the freezer! there’s food in the freezer! food. in. the. freezer!

the husband ate fresh-from-the-freezer white bean soup while i dined on leftover-from-last-night lentil soup. the same but different, just like us. perfect.

as an accompaniment to the two soups, i made cornbread. but not just any cornbread. i made what is, in my opinion, the best cornbread. it’s not my recipe, and while i do have a few tricks when making it, alton brown’s recipe is pretty much perfect. thank you, alton! [also of note: this cornbread, when served with homemade jam, makes any husband forget you yelled at him an hour previous. it’s that good.]

alton brown’s cast iron skillet browned butter cornbread
makes 6-8 servings, depending upon how you slice

you need:

• 10” well-seasoned cast iron skillet
• 7.25 oz cornmeal - i’ve had the most success with bob’s red mill medium grind
• 10 oz (1.25 cups) milk (whole or 2%, NOT skim)
• 4.75 oz AP flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1.5 t kosher salt
• 3.75 oz (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1.5 T salted butter, plus more for serving
• homemade jam for serving (if you’re trying to apologize to your husband through food)

to make the cornbread:

1. plunk your cast iron skillet into the oven and preheat it to 450.
2. in a large mixing bowl, soak the cornmeal in the milk for 15 minutes.
3. in a separate mixing bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. whisk the eggs into the oil then mix this into the cornmeal/milk mixture.
5. add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined. but don’t over mix!
6. remove the skillet from the oven (remember, it’s hot!) and plop the tablespoon and a half of butter into it. tilt the skillet round & round so that the butter melts all over the bottom and goes up the sides. it will bubble and brown because the pan is so hot - don’t worry!
7. immediately after spreading the butter around, pour in the cornbread batter.
8. slide the entire skillet into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. the cornbread should be golden and beautiful. if not, bake for a few more minutes.
9. when finished baking, remove the skillet from the oven and set on a cooling rack.
10. grab a stick of unsalted butter and unwrap one end of it. using the unwrapped end, rub the stick of butter all over the hot top and sides of the cornbread. once the butter soaks in, repeat.
11. place a dinner plate over the skillet and flip the entire skillet upside down onto the plate. your cornbread will slide right out!

pouring the butter into the hot skillet browns it very quickly - then the cornbread bakes in that bed of browned butter and turns out crazy delicious. i have to stop myself from eating just the edges!

in alton’s recipe he suggests that you grind your own cornmeal from polenta or grits. i have tried the recipe both ways numerous times, and i have to say that simply using a quality medium grind cornmeal to start yields results on par with grinding cornmeal from grits. plus, it’s easier and there are fewer dishes to wash!

i finally remembered to snap a photo:

it’s not even winter yet and it feels like it’s been raining for 8 months straight. i hear that in other parts of the country it’s been a rather glorious autumn. not so in rainy oregon. not since i first moved here back in 1997 the olden days has it rained this much before winter even set in. sigh.

to combat rainy day blues we’ve been eating lots of soup. there have been a few misses and a few hits…but all of them warm us up nice and toasty when it’s pouring buckets outside.

bean & chard soup with parmesan broth
serves 8 with leftovers

you need:

• 1 bunch swiss chard, rinsed well
• 1 28 oz can best quality whole peeled tomatoes
• 4 cups cooked cannellini beans
• 3 T best quality olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced fine
• 2 medium carrots, diced medium
• 2 zucchini, chopped
• 1 t kosher salt
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
• 6” piece of parmesan rind, 1/2” of cheese still intact
• 8 cups chicken broth (homemade preferred)
• 2 cups cooked kidney beans
• shredded or shaved parmesan for serving

to make the soup:

1. cut the leaves off the chard stems. roll the leaves tightly and slice into thin ribbons. put aside. next, chop the chard stems. put aside.
2. using an immersion blender, whirl half of the cannellini beans with 1/2 cup of water until smooth. put aside.
3. drain the juice out of the tomatoes and roughly chop them.
4. in a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and add garlic. cook until garlic is fragrant - 2 to 3 minutes.
5. add the carrot, zucchini, chopped chard stems and salt. cook for 8 minutes.
6. add the wine and cabbage. cook until cabbage wilts.
7. add the chard leaves, cannellini bean puree, the remaining cannellini beans, chopped tomatoes, garbanzo beans, parmesan rind and broth. stir well to combine and raise heat to medium high.
8. bring soup to a boil then reduce heat so it holds at a steady simmer. simmer for one hour.
9. after one hour, stir in kidney beans.
10. fish out cheese rind and serve with a hefty sprinkling of parmesan.

tips:

this soup goes perfectly with a good, whole grain artisan bread.

if you have an enameled cast iron soup pot or dutch oven, USE IT when making this soup. the fact that you can store the soup in the pot in the fridge makes reheating the next day a breeze.

i find that this soup is best the day after you make it (and the day after that and the day after that, too.) of course it’s delicious as soon as you take it off the stove, but there’s something about reheating it (stovetop only! no microwave!) that makes it extra delicious:

the day after you’ve made the soup, pull the pot out of the fridge and (with the lid on) set it over low heat. after 20 or so minutes, increase the heat to medium. keep the lid on but watch for the soup to come to a simmer. once it comes to a light boil, let it go for 3-5 minutes then serve. i swear to you, there’s something about this re-boiling that makes this soup.

of course this recipe yields quite a bit of soup - which is great if you have the freezer space. simply divide the soup into freezer containers and freeze. want soup for dinner? simply remove a container or two of soup from the freezer in the morning and stick it in the fridge. when you’re ready for dinner, thaw and follow the above directions for re-boiling.