Two Suppers
Mashed potatoes and carrots
French Vegetable Soup and Bread
Last night we had a simple meal of hamburger steak and
mashed potatoes. Sounds pretty plain,
but I found an idea in a book to dress up the potatoes. I mixed mashed potatoes with mashed
carrots. Instead of milk I used sour
cream, and in the carrots the recipe called for dill. Then I put both mixtures in a bowl side by
side, and gently mixed the two. The goal
was a swirl pattern. This was supposed
to be pretty, to me it looked weird, but it tasted great.
The next day I pulled out my bread machine. I don’t love to cook, but I enjoy taking
leftovers and turning them into something else.
I have a favorite recipe for potato bread and this time I used those
leftover potato/carrots. The bread was
really good. We ate it with soup from a
cookbook called “French Women Don’t Get Fat.”
Before I explain the soup let me talk a little about the book. It isn’t really a cookbook but more of a
commentary on the difference in attitude to food we have from what the French
have. According to the author Americans
have a love/hate relationship with food.
We eat too much then feel guilty.
We munch on snacks and then don’t enjoy our dinners. We eat on the run, simply to feel
stuffed. The French never eat standing
up. They take the time to enjoy, to
savor and taste their meals. They love
to eat, and yet never feel guilty for enjoying a well-created dinner. They eat food, not chemicals. After reading her book I decided to cook some
of her recipes. The first one was a
vegetable soup.
Soupe Aux Legumes de Maman
Like all vegetable soups the ingredients depend on what is
in season and what you have in your home.
This is the recipe from the book, and pretty much what I fixed tonight.
Cook 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped, with quartered onion
and two garlic cloves.
Simmer until tender.
Wash the following veggies and slice or dice them.
4 leeks, white and tender green parts
½ small cabbage
2 turnips
4 carrots
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large stock pot and add
the veggies. Stir often, for about 5
minutes. Add 2 cups canned tomatoes, and
the potato mixture and water to cover. I
used yellow cherry tomatoes because my husband is also allergic to red
tomatoes. Also add 2 sprigs parsley, 2
sprigs thyme and 2 bay leaves. Cook
until all the vegetables are tender. Toss the bay leaves and drain the vegetables,
reserving the liquid.
Puree the vegetables then add liquid back to the consistency
you want, not too watery or too thick.
Mix 4 tablespoons of crème fraiche, or sour cream, and a
pinch of nutmeg, and salt to taste. We
liked the soup but I could have pureed it more.
The author says that her mother would cook this soup, and then a day or
so later serve it as leftovers with a sausage that she would sauté in oil then
stir into the soup. I might try that
later in the week.
What are some of your favorite soup recipes?
