Thursday - Japanese Dessert

Japanese Dessert, originally uploaded by Vincent Ma.

Photo note:

"Margaret just came back from a week-long whirlwind tour of Japan. She brought us back some Japanese dessert!"

A Loaf of Bread for Wednesday

A Loaf of Bread, originally uploaded by Harald Schmid.

Gorgeous image~ I can just taste this loaf.

Baker's note:

"Bread, born out of the fire. Made in my neighbourhood and already eaten. [sorry]."

Tuesday Soup - French Onion

French onion soup, originally uploaded by ilmungo.

This cook says:

"French onion soup

French onion soup is so easy to make, and exceedingly delicious. Here's what you do:

Put a big pot (cast iron enameled french cookware works best) on medium high, and melt some butter and oil in it. Start slicing 6 medium onions, adding them to the pot as you slice them. Then let them get soft and brown, stirring them often. This will take about 20 minutes.

At this point, add salt, pepper and a little bit of thyme, then add about 1/2 a cup of dry Sherry. Deglaze the pot with it, let it evaporate. Pour in 6 cups of beef broth. Bring to a boil, and turn off, let steep for however long you want. It's soup, so it'll taste better the longer it stays in the pot.

When you're ready to eat, ladle soup into a bowl, add a few croutons on top, sprinkle with gruyere cheese and some more thyme, and broil until cheese is melted and bubbling.

Enjoy deliciousness.

I was fresh out of thyme, so in a pinch I substituted rosemary for it. You know what?, it actually works..."

Soup by Carl Sandburg

Soup by Carl Sandburg

Soup	User Rating: 5.5 /10 (2 votes) - vote - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Print friendly version E-mail this poem to e friend Send this poem as eCard Add this poem to MyPoemList
I saw a famous man eating soup. I say he was lifting a fat broth Into his mouth with a spoon. His name was in the newspapers that day Spelled out in tall black headlines And thousands of people were talking about him. When I saw him, He sat bending his head over a plate Putting soup in his mouth with a spoon. Carl Sandburg

The Morning Baking by Carolyn Forché

The Morning Baking by Carolyn Forché

The Morning Baking

Grandma, come back, I forgot
How much lard for these rolls

Think you can put yourself in the ground
Like plain potatoes and grow in Ohio?
I am damn sick of getting fat like you

Think you can lie through your Slovak?
Tell filthy stories about the blood sausage?
Pish-pish nights at the virgin in Detroit?

I blame your raising me up for my Slav tongue
You beat me up out back, taught me to dance

I'll tell you I don't remember any kind of bread
Your wavy loaves of flesh
Stink through my sleep
The stars on your silk robes

But I'm glad I'll look when I'm old
Like a gypsy dusha hauling milk

Carolyn Forché

Monday Cup

IMG_7434, originally uploaded by 胖胖&肥肥&腫腫.

Thinking about Hazelnut liqueur, or Frangelico, I came across this image, and decided to feature a Monday Cup.

Here's the first one. Enjoy!

Frangelico

Frangelico, originally uploaded by Kaptain Kobold.

This is the next cordial/liqueur I want to try making. I love the flavor of Hazelnut. When I get to it, I'll let you know.

4 Cordial, again

really, better for winter, probably, originally uploaded by helios jinn ☼.

Here's another note, and link, from another cordial maker:

"After forty-four days, our 44 Cordial is finally finished. Hm...well, the site doesn't explain it like the magazine did, but, basically it's a drink made in Madagascar; if I'd put cloves in instead of coffee beans, I gather that would be the 'quarante-quatre,' a French drink.

It's really...warming. Basically tastes like a rich essence of coffee with a hint of chocolate orange."

44 cordial

44 cordial, originally uploaded by tangobiker.

Photo note:

"special liqueur made at Lincoln Restaurant in North Portland with white rum and an orange sliced 44 times (originated in Madagascar)"

44 Cordial

44, originally uploaded by Willrad.

I just made this, too, but I did add the 44 tsp. sugar (44 sugar cubes). If you read on, you'll find that this person used rum in the recipe, and I think that could be a good addition, more flavorful. That's not to say this isn't flavorful, but I'm intrigued with using rum instead of the vodka I used.

Other that that difference, the rest of the recipe is the same.

I wonder how it would be if cloves were used, instead of the coffee. . . anyone ever tried?

Here are the notes that go with the photo:

"44

750mL white rum, one orange with 44 holes, one coffee bean in each hole, aged 44 days.

Discard the orange (although it seems a shame to waste that much juice and whatever rum has soaked into it - I might try squeezing it into the jar first next time).

Filter the liquid and add sugar - the traditional recipe says to use 44tsp in the beginning, but the jar didn't have room. I just added simple syrup to taste. It turned out tasting best with about 200mL syrup, and 44tsp is about 200g of sugar, so I think it turned out right.

There was a little liquid lost in the process (spillage / absorption) so it ended up being about 550-600mL liquid after filtering. This fit nicely back into a 750mL bottle after doing some taste testing and adding syrup.

And the tasting: Smells mostly like oranges. The flavor starts off like sweet, mild coffee and then turns strongly orangy, which fades and leaves a nice combination of the two aftertastes. In short it's friggin' delicious. I'll definitely be making this again."

* * *

(Actually, I did squeeze as much liquid as I could from the orange into the remaining liquor.)

And I still think the rum might be better than vodka.

pumpkin soup

pumpkin soup, originally uploaded by denkschema.

Mmm. . .

Photo note:

"color explosion - pumpkin soup (hokkaido pumpkin, potatos, onions, red lentils, ginger) with chives and freshly fried bacon bits"

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Roast Pumpkin Soup, originally uploaded by HelenPalsson.

Soup for the soul~

Photo note and links:

"When we are at the fruit shop the other day they had a large bin of Butternuts for $1 each, so I grabbed one though in retrospect I should have grabbed a couple more.
I had planned to use the Pumpkin Soup recipe I have used before but to play with it a bit more. However, then I got thinking about the fantastic Roasted(?) Pumpkin Soup that Mary had had when we went to the Chocolate Buffet so I googled Roast Pumpkin Soup and lo and behold the first result up is from the ABC :) The various ABC radio stations all feature various recipes and then the recipes from all across the country are placed in the one index - Backyard Recipe Index.
So seeing that the first result up was an ABC recipe I thought why the hell not, I'll use this one, sure I made a few changes but it was so good, even Mum was chowing into it!

Roast Pumpkin Soup
adapted from a recipe by Elaine Wilson

Ingredients
1 butternut pumpkin, peeled and diced into medium sized cubes (3.5cmish)
4, 5, 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled (I would say use a clove per serving, it just enhances the flavour a bit)
a couple of tablespoons of soft brown sugar
1 large onion chopped
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 carrot chopped
1 stick of celery chopped
4 cups chicken stock

natural yoghurt, butter milk or sour cream, to serve
chopped fresh herbs, to serve
rye bread, to serve

Method:
Preheat oven 180C. Place the pumpkin and garlic on a well oiled tray and sprinkle with the brown sugar (to caramelise the pumpkin and just enhance the flavour more. Roast for 30 minutes or so until the pumpkin is cooked through

Whilst the pumpkin is roasting, add a little oil to a large pot and fry the vegetables until the onion is soft. Add the cumin. Add the chicken stock to the pot, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes or so. Add the pumpkin to the pot, peel the garlic and then add to the pot. Remove the pot from the heat.

In batches puree the mixture until smooth. If you are making this in advance and have time to allow the mixture to cool before pureeing do, or if like me and the clock is fast approaching dinner time before pureeing, pour the mixture into a separate container and then after each batch pour the pureed soup back into the original pot over a low heat to warm it up.

Serve with sour cream or natural yoghurt or butter milk, fresh chives or parsley if you have them and some hearty rye bread to dip with."

Pumpkin, sweet potato, leek and coconut milk soup 4/5

Pumpkin, sweet potato, leek and coconut milk soup 4/5, originally uploaded by SweetLadySweets.

Photo note and link:

"Recipe at Imagelicious"

Pumpkin soup with cinnamon creme fraiche

Pumpkin soup with cinnamon creme fraiche, originally uploaded by Sara's Kitchen.

Intriguiing! Follow the link for more:

"Spiced pumpkin soup, topped with cinnamon creme fraiche and toasted pumpkin seeds. More information at saraskitchen.blogspot.com"

copenhagen, thursday lunch, pumpkin soup

copenhagen, thursday lunch, pumpkin soup, originally uploaded by svanes.

Photographer's note:

"i have been craving pumpkin soup ever since i enjoyed peter’s version of it last week at charlotte and peter’s.

so, today, i made my own.

this one is made with slow-roasted hokkaido pumpkins, which are afterwards boiled in a ginger-garlic-red curry broth... all of the ingredients are then puréed, pumpkin skin and all, together with coconut milk... the seeds are then roasted and later used for garnish. to the purée, i have added sautéed chanterelles, steamed then flash-roasted cauliflower that have been marinated in tamari, as well as pan-seared tofu... final touches include cilantro leaves (coriander), a touch of creme fraiche, the aforementioned pumpkin seeds, a bit of austrian pumpkin oil and vietnamese chili sauce... f*ckin-a, it was good."