Vegetable Soup

Last night I had the pleasure of dinner by myself with a glass of wine and a book. This is *very* unusual and was most welcome. I've always enjoyed dining by myself. I like to go to restaurants by myself as well. Sometimes I really miss the days when I was working and I'd go hide at Houston's for lunch because it was highly unlikely anyone from my office would come looking for me there. No, I didn't have any business eating lunch at an expensive restaurant like that. It probably took me the whole day's pay to make up for my lunch. But it was divine. These days, I make no money and generally travel with an entourage of toddlers. Plus sometimes my husband works from home, and he'd totally bust me for extravagant lunches like that.

Last night while the kids watched Aladdin for the 10 billionth time, I hid in the dining room with my dinner, glass of wine, and book. Which also has totally made me make the jump from vampires to faeries. I finished Wicked Lovely in one day mainly because I am obsessed. Granted it is also a young adult novel, but I love the escapism.

As for the blackeyed peas, you can use fresh or dried that you've soaked overnight after cooking them in water for about an hour. Just don't put them in your ham stock raw. Or you can use canned, but I'd rinse them first.

Vegetable Soup

Leftover shank bone from ham, with some meat still attached

Water

large white onion, sliced

1 lb of carrots, peeled and sliced

6 stalks of celery, sliced

2 c. cooked blackeyed peas

8 small red potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin discs

40 or so ounces canned diced tomatoes

22 ounces canned whole kernel sweet corn

salt

pepper

cayenne

Place ham bone in stock pot, cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook 3 hours or so, the longer the better. Remove ham bones with a slotted spoon. Add blackeyed peas, carrots, celery, onion, cook 30 minutes. Add potatoes cook, 10 minutes, add tomatoes and corn, cook another 20 minutes. Season to taste, serve with grilled turkey and cheddar sandwiches.

Ready to Cook Ham

Around Christmas and Easter, and a few other times, you can find ready to cook hams in the grocery. They come in a shank portion and a butt portion. I go with the shank portion because it has less gristle and is easier to carve. A ready to cook ham has been wet cured and needs to be cooked to reach an internal temperature of 160.

Ham also definitely falls under my budget meals category. This 8 pound ham cost just over 10$. Sometimes it's more than that, I've paid double or triple, but this is still a good price. An 8lb ham serves about 15 dinner size servings, and the bone provides a wonderful base for blackeyed pea soup or vegetable soup. The price per serving of this meal was literally about $1.25. Of course we'll need to be committed to eating ham sandwiches for the next while, but who doesn't love a jambon-beurre sandwich?

8 lb ready to cook ham
water

In a glass pan, place rinsed ham, then add about an inch of water to the pan. Cook in an oven preheated to 325. Needs to cook for about 18 minutes per pound to an internal temperature of 160.

To carve, slice thin slices down to bone, then cut along bone to free slices. Turn ham to other side and repeat. Save shank bone in freezer for later use.

Tortilla Soup

Everyone seems to have their own version for tortilla soup. Some are thick, some are thin, some are creamy, some are brothy, some are red, some are green. This one's mine. Without the fried tortilla strips, this soup wouldn't be much. It would still taste good, but the tortilla strips make the meal.

I don't think I'd ever had tortilla soup before I moved to Texas, but it is prolific here. You can adjust the spiciness to your liking, and optional toppings include avocado strips, cilantro, fresh lime, and shredded cheese.

For the fried tortilla strips, take caution in heating your oil to the proper temperature. Frying at a lower temperature results in extra oil absorption, 375 really is the perfect temp. I generally use canola oil for frying, for reasons I've discussed here. But you could also fry in another oil with a high smoke point like peanut oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower or safflower oils to your liking.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 whole chicken
4 split breasts with skin
5 stalks celery chopped
1 large or 2 small yellow onions, diced (not sweet, or maui, but yellow - white will work if you can't find them)
3/4 of a 1lb bag of baby carrots
4 cloves whole garlic
1-2 tsps crushed red pepper
1 diced yellow onion ( this is not a repeat it's for a separate step)
2 tsp oregano leaves
2 cloves garlic
4 bay leaves whole
1/2 a jalapeno, seeds removed and finely chopped
1 1/2 large cans diced organic tomatoes - get the most expensive kind at the grocery - it doesn't cost that much more - but adds alot - if you can find the ones in glass instead of canned - even better
10 tortillas
a whole bunch of canola oil

I use an 8qt stock pot - but really I wish I had a bigger one

I use a leftover roasted whole chicken. I roast a lot of chickens, and we only eat the breasts so this is essentially a whole chicken sans breasts. Before I roast it I add 4 garlic cloves, 1 lemon quartered, 2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper to the inside. After I make it and serve it, I throw the whole thing in a bag in the freezer and it will keep for several months if needed.

Pull the chicken from the freezer, put in pot, add split breasts, cover with water and add 1 1/2 tbsps salt. Cover, bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium and cook for at least an hour - the longer the better. Add celery, onions, carrots, garlic, and red pepper. Cook for another hour at least. Really you can't over cook this, use as much time as you can gather.

Saute onion in a separate pan in olive oil - about 2 swirls. Keep it on medium high, but watch it to make sure you don't burn your onions. Cook til soft and translucent, probably 10 minutes. Halfway through, season with salt, pepper and oregano. Add garlic, jalapeno, and bay leaves, saute for 3 more minutes. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook for 4-5 more minutes. Turn off heat.

Remove chicken from soup to a large bowl. The longer you've cooked it the more it will be falling apart, so you will need to carefully go through the soup with a slotted spoon to get all the pieces. Discard everything but your split breasts. Pull the bones and skin from the split breasts and shred chicken. It will be very easy and just fall apart.

Add tomato and onion mixture to stock, then add shredded chicken. Stir and let simmer for 20-30 min then taste and adjust seasonings.

In a large, heavy bottom skillet add about an inch to an inch and a half of canola oil. Heat until 375 - this is vital, if you don't have a thermometer, heat for 8 min on high then start testing with teensy pieces of tortilla. You want it to instantly bubble heavily when added. Cut tortillas into strips. Add a about 10-15 at a time to oil and turn occasionally, frying until golden. Remove to plate covered with paper towels and salt immediately with sea salt. Repeat. Watch your heat, at some point, you will have to reduce the heat from high to med-high. You can tell when the tortillas start browning nearly immediately or if your thermometer reads over 400.

Serve soup with tortilla strips on top. You can also garnish with avocado slices and cilantro if you so choose, but I never go to the trouble, of course I don't really like those.

Black Eyed Pea Soup and Home Sweet Home

Tonight's Recipe : Black Eyed Pea Soup

1 leftover shank bone with some meat attached from a ham

1 lb of dried black eyed peas, pre-soaked

1 whole yellow onion, chopped

1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced

9 stalks extra large celery with leaves, sliced

2 tsp cayenne

2 tsp chili powder

2 cans Italian seasoned tomatoes

1.4 lbs sausage

salt and pepper to taste

In a 6qt stock pot, cover the ham shank with water, boil for 2hrs. Add onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes, cayenne, and chili powder. Boil for another 2hrs. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, cover the black eyed peas in two inches of water. Simmer for 45 min or until soft. Drain and add to soup. Let simmer another 30 min. Grill sausage in a grill pan, slice and add to soup. Let simmer 10-20 min and serve with some crusty bread if desired.

We've been on a short vacation, and we're just returning home. Nothing like the comforts of homemade food. My husband travels all the time, I seem to travel in spurts. Sometimes when I'm here, I'm wishing desperately that I were in a hotel, free to shower with millions of fresh towels and promptly leave them strewn about for someone else to pick up. But when I do travel, I really start to miss the comforts of my own home. I miss my kitchen, and cooking my own food the way I like it. It does wonders for my meal planning, as I can actually think through what I want to make in the upcoming days instead of the typical 4pm what's in the refrigerator panic.

Soup is love, and this hearty soup will warm your heart. You can alter it up by using fresh or canned black eyed peas or increasing the spice level. I'm feeding toddlers, and even though mine like spicy food, I can't really serve five-alarm dishes. This soup is even better the day after, but for the most part, I tend to add my sausage near serving time, not leaving it to soak for days.