Soup Rotation

My mother and father both worked outside of the home when I was growing up. So I was what is typically called a "latch key" kid, in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Get myself up, dressed, and out to the school bus on time without breakfast because I always procrastinated on the getting up part. Attend school. Let myself back in the house and fix myself a snack after school. Typically a sandwich or a condensed can of Campbell's soup, or both. Then off to play until it was time to cook dinner, with instructions left by Mom, and have it all ready and the table set by the time my parents walked in the door after work.

During day's off from school like parent teacher conference's, snow days, holiday breaks, etc. I was okay to stay by myself all day. But once summer vacation started, there was no way my mother wanted me hanging out at the house for 3 months by myself, with no brothers or sisters to watch me.

So my 'Summer Shuffle' with relatives began. First stop, my grandfather's house, where I would stay for a few weeks of running around his big yard, helping to water his enormous garden, picking worms from the farm for 50 cents any time the fisherman knocked on the front door for a pint, and refusing to wash my dirt crusted feet before I crawled into the nice fresh bed linens at night after saying my prayers.

During our summers together, we created so many wonderful memories. In a cape cod house that my grandfather had built himself, on a hill top overlooking the beautiful Pennsylvania Allegheny Mountains. His neighbor acrossed the alley way was the local milkman Irvin, who still made daily early morning deliveries to the milk boxes outside everyone's back porches. Running over to knock on Irvin and Virginia's kitchen door and ask for an ice cream popsicle with the 50 cents I just earned, was one highlight of my summer days.

Another highlight was preparing lunch, or dinner as it's known in those parts, for my grandfather. He made breakfast and supper, but dinner was all my responsibility. A quick trip out to the garden, which produced fresh lettuces, spring onions, bell peppers, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli, rhubarb, potatoes, cabbage, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, and even bing cherries and concord grapes. Then a jaunt down into the cool basement to look thru the pantry for canned beets, homemade minestrone that had been put up the winter before, or a good old reliable can of Campbell's soup. Simple fresh green leaf lettuce sandwiches with mayonaisse, salt, and pepper, on Roman Meal and canned soup was a normal dinner for us, because I was little, it was easy for me to make, and used up what we had. Important in a frugal home. More importantly, my grandfather never complained. I still love simple lettuce sandwiches to this day, although I tend to more often order a BLT in public, no toast, extra lettuce please.

Now, in my restaurants, I am naturally drawn towards wanting to make the soups each day. It's crazy to spend my time on these items which cost $4.95 a cup, but I have a certain instinct for soup. I get upset if someone doesn't make them well or uses scraps or doesn't dignify the soup. Am I crazy? Probably. Do I know how to make a kick ass soup? Definitely! Do I recognize when someone else's soup is excellent? Of course.

Here are a couple of recipes from my current soup rotation. Recipes are in paragraph form to save space.

Chester County Mushroom Soup
(recipe courtesy of The Terrace Restaurant, Kennett Square, PA)

1 carrot, 1/2 onion, 2 stalks celery, 1 tablespoon butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted butter, 2 lbs. washed button mushrooms, 1/2 lb. washed shiitake mushrooms, 1/2 lb. washed oyster mushrooms, 1 tbsp fresh chopped tarragon, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp white pepper, 3 pints chicken stock, 1 pint heavy cream, 2 tbsp flour.

Mince carrots, onions, and celery in a food processor and saute in heavy pot with oil. Mince mushrooms in a food processor, add to pot along with tarragon, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes. Do not burn. Add stock and cream and bring to a boil. Mix melted butter and flour until smooth and whip into soup. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until all of the flour and butter mixture is incorporated and the soup is thickened. Simmer for 30 minutes and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to taste.

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Senegal Peanut Soup
(a tradional recipe)

3/4 lb. sweet potatoes, baked, skinned, and chopped; 3 tbsp peanut oil; 8 Roma tomatoes chopped and deseeded; 1 tbsp curry powder; 1 cup onions julienned; 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic; 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper; 1 qt. chicken stock; 1/2 cup peanut butter; 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk; 1 3/4 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp fresh ground white pepper; 1 1/2 lbs. cooked pulled chicken breast; 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro; 2 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts.

On medium, heat a 1 gallon stockpot and add 2 tablespoons of peanut oil. Add the curry powder to the pot and toast for about 30 to 45 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the onions and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic to the pot and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the cayenne pepper and chicken stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the roasted sweet potatoes and tomatoes to the soup. Add the peanut butter and coconut milk to the pot and stir to blend. Let simmer for 10 minutes, and then blend with an immersion blender or in batches in a bar blender until smooth. Season with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and, if necessary, more pepper to taste. Add the chicken to soup. Garnish with a cilantro leaf and chopped peanuts.

More soup recipes down the road.....