Of broths and soups....

Worries go down better with soup ~ Jewish Proverb

During the Summer/Fall season I save the bits and pieces when cleaning veggies, store them in the freezer in plastic freezer bags. Now why in the world you might ask would I save scraps ? For vegetable broth of course. Five cups of water and assorted veggies produces a flavorful broth to be used later in soups or stews. I guarantee you will never used a salty-broth from a can again!

Chopped up celery (with leaves), chopped carrots, the leaves from brussel sprouts, tops of red peppers, roughly chopped and parsley. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer till vegetables are tender. At this point most people strain out the vegetalbes from the broth, me I puree it all up to create broth packed with flavor. Let cool and pack in freezer containers for winter soups.

It is 25 degrees here in the City by the Blue Lake, and my pantry is full of root vegetables.

Potato Soup

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, chopped
4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
Parsley
1 stalk celery with leaves, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 tsp. Paprika
2 cups vegetable broth

In a large heavy pot over medium low heat, sautee onion in butter. Add celery, carrots and potatoes and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover and cook till tender. At this point you can puree the vegetables or not, whichever you prefer.

Combine 4 cups milk, 2 Tbsp. butter and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook in saucepan for a few minutes till thickened. Add to potatoe mixture, stir well.

Serve with crusty bread, a good book, comfy chair and a warm lap quilt.

A Feast...

"La Vigilia" or "the vigil" is kept with the custom of dining on 7 fish dishes as we await the birth of the savior at midnight.

Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita and Joe of Italyville are hosting The Feast of the Seven Fishes, I am sending over a simple dish. The Salmon was seasoned with the Spicehound's Fire-Brick Pepper and grilled on the stove with garlic-infused oil, served over basmati rice seasoned with butter, oregano, salt and pepper and roasted brussel sprouts. The sprouts were roasted with the same garlic-infused oil, salt and pepper and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.