The Last Hurrah
Sadly, the garden is over for another year... It's been a good year, with a record amount of tomatoes, cucumbers, galore, and some pretty hot peppers.
The eggplant didn't do as well as it has in the past, and, neither did the hot peppers, although there are still a few out back. The peppers that did arrive came late. I'll go out and get the last of them as soon as it stops raining. (Wishing I could send the rain west...)
The green and purple beans started out great and then withered away. No idea why. The beets were good, but also not really plentiful. We also harvested the last of the leeks and the fresh ginger.
It really was the year of the tomato - and, when we weren't canning them, they seemed to go into almost everything we made.
A few nights ago, I made a throw-together andouille sausage and chicken stew, and then the following night, made a pot pie with the leftovers.
I laid thick slices of tomato on top of the filling before adding the top crust. It was a pretty good use of leftovers...
And then, after seeing a recipe from La Cucina Italiana - I made a bean soup with shrimp.
I didn't even remotely follow their recipe. but I did take their idea.
I made a quick bean soup using canned cannellini beans, homemade tomato paste, garlic, leeks, and celery, along with white wine, chicken broth, and aleppo pepper. I used an immersion blender to smooth it all out and then added a final can of beans for texture.
I sauteed shrimp in butter and olive oil, lots of garlic, a squirt of lemon, and lots of parsley. Put the soup in a bowl, added the shrimp on top, and drizzled the pan juices around. It was pretty darned good. I made garlic bread from the Italian Bread I had made earlier in the week
It was pretty good, too.
We probably have another weeks worth of tomatoes ripening and then it's over until next year - and next year's garden will be in California!
Canning Soup
As we were eating the Roasted Tomato Soup, yesterday, I started thinking about fall and winter - and having lots of soups. I grew up on homemade soups and, to this day, they're one of my most favorite foods.
I figured if I canned a quart of soup from every batch we make, we could have a full basement of different soups to get us through the winter. Our current system is to make a batch of soup for lunches and eat it for three or four days - and then make another batch of something - and eat it for three or four days. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. With a few dozen soups downstairs, we could keep switching things up and never get tired of any one kind.
So... we started. a quart of the Roasted Tomato Soup, and a quart of a throw-together soup I made with leftover shredded pork. It's a peppery southwestern-spiced soup with lots of leftovers tossed into the pot with fresh tomatoes and a bit of broth.
This is going to be fun!
Roasted Tomato Soup
When the garden gives you tomatoes, it's time to make tomato soup!
The vines just keep on giving, so Victor took about six pounds of them and made a big batch of roasted tomato soup - and it is outrageously good!
This is one of those soups that you really want to just keep on eating. And eating. And eating...
Sweet from the tomatoes, spicy from the peppers, and a roasted rich flavor from the onions, peppers, and garlic.
Sheer perfection.
Roasted Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 6 lbs fresh ripe tomatoes
- I whole head garlic, roasted
- 1 onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 hot peppers, chopped
- olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup fresh herbs - basil/parsley/oregano
- marinated chopped tomatoes and basil for serving
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese optional garnish
- 1/4 cup uncooked rice, optional for thickening
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Wash and cut tomatoes (cut in half for smaller sized tomatoes, cut larger tomatoes into quarters or eighths).
Place tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, hot peppers, olive oil, salt, pepper and dried herbs on a large pan.
Roast 25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. Turn oven to broil and broil 3-4 minutes or until some of the tomatoes get a little bit of char color on them. Roast garlic separately.
Bring chicken broth to a boil, add tomatoes, roasted garlic, and fresh herbs. Using an immersion blender, blend mixture until smooth and creamy.
Top with marinated diced tomatoes.
We thought the soup was thick enough as it was, but if you're looking for a heartier soup, add up to a quarter cup of uncooked rice and cook in the broth.
He used up the last of the paprika oil he made a few days ago and mixed it with the chopped tomatoes and basil for a great topping. You could add just about anything - from croutons to sour cream, pepitas... Or keep it simple and don't add anything at all.
Roasting everything is the key - so have at it!
Gazpacho
Summertime, an' the livin' is easy...
And cold soup on a hot day is perfection - especially since most of the ingredients came out of our garden!
There are as many recipes for gazpacho as there are people making it - some chunky, some smooth, some cooked before chilling, some completely raw. This one was raw and moderately smooth - but it still had texture. And lots of stuff chopped on top right before serving.
These were the basic ingredients - there are no amounts listed because you put in as much - or as little - as you wish. It can also be as chunky as a pico de gallo or as smooth as tomato juice. There is no right or wrong way or amount.
Gazpacho
- tomato
- cucumber
- bell pepper
- onion
- garlic
- red wine vinegar
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil
- basil
- oregano
- tomato basil pesto for serving
Chop all of the ingredients together, reserving some tomato, cucumber, and onion for serving.
Mix well and blend with a immersion or standard blender, if desired, for a soupier consistency.
It's a great way to use up bits and pieces and odds and ends...
And it tastes spectacular!
Chicken Soup for the Soul
I still have a cold.
It still sucks - and I am not a good patient.
But I will be a good boy and eat all of my soup when it's freshly-made by Victor. I may not be the best patient in the world, but I am certainly not stupid.
This was some awesome soup!
It was a bit of a clean-out-the-'fridge affair - our most common type of soup. Vaguely familiar, always slightly different, and always really good.
Tonight's soup included:
- chicken broth
- chicken
- carrots
- onion
- celery
- garlic
- beans
- alphabet pasta
- corn
All simmered together to perfection - and then topped with homemade pesto to serve.
Perfection in a bowl.
I really am hoping this cold leaves me, soon - but in the meantime... I'm eating well!
Chilled Cucumber Soup
The cucumbers are coming in fast and furious. I'm pretty psyched, simply because they're something I've never had an abundance of, before. The dusty, cobweb-laden area that is my mind actually has to think, a bit.
Or, better yet, let Victor think about them. He's already made tzatziki, a cucumber salad, and now, a chilled cucumber soup!
It's so nice being married to a man who can cook!
I picked three more cucumbers and Victor immediately set to work.
Chilled Cucumber Soup
- 3 cucumbers, peeled
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup ricotta
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp parsley, minced
- 1/2 tsp dill
- 1/2 tsp tarragon
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
Coarsely chop two cucumbers and place in food processor. Hold one cucumber aside. Place remaining ingredients in food processor and process until smooth, adding a bit of milk or vegetable broth to thin, if necessary.
Pour into bowl. Chop remaining cucumber and stir in.
Portion into bowls and drizzle with olive oil, if desired.
Perfection in a bowl. Lots of cucumber flavor and just a hint of heat. With a couple of slices of crusty bread, it was the perfect lunch.
There are easily a dozen more cukes out there in varying stages of growth, so we haven't even begun to scratch the culinary surface.
I wonder if I can pickle some?!?
Stay tuned...
Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
We've been eating soups for lunch for quite a while, now. It's the perfect meal for heating us up and filling us up during these cold winter months. Besides just being good, they're packed with nutrients. It's win-win for weather and weight-loss.
We take turns making them - both of us are pretty handy in the kitchen - and each batch will last three to five days, depending upon ingredients and just how big of a pot we make.
I made a corn and seafood chowder the other day and Victor made a Butternut Squash and Apple soup, this morning - perfect for our impending snow.
Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
- 1 Medium butternut squash
- 1 Medium potato
- 1 Medium onion
- 2 Carrots
- 2 Apples
- 3 cloves of garlic – minced or micro planed
- 2 Tsp ground Ginger
- 1 Tsp Coriander
- 1 Tsp Cinnamon
- ½ Tsp Cayenne - Optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Cup good, dry white wine
- Olive Oil
- 2 qts Chicken stock
- 2 qts water
Peel and dice the onion.
Peel and seed butternut squash and cut into chunks.
Peel potato and cut into chunks.
Chop two carrots to bite size.
Core and peel the apples then cut into chunks.
Heat about 2 TBS olive oil in the pot and sauté the onions and garlic with a bit of salt until soft (about 5 mins). Add another 2 TBS of olive oil to the pot and the squash, potato, carrots and apples along with the spices (Ginger, Coriander, Cinnamon, Cayenne – salt and pepper) and stir letting the spices bloom in the pot for about 5 mins.
Add the white wine and bring it to a simmer for another 5 mins before adding the stock and water. Bring to a boil then allow to simmer for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Once the everything was soft I took a potato masher and hand mashed everything to a chunky, grainy consistency. You may also use a blender, food processor or immersion blender to puree the soup smooth.
Taste – adjust seasonings if needed and you’re off to the races.
It's sweet, spicy, rich, and full of flavor. The perfect antidote to winter.
Butternut Squash Soup - with a twist
Yesterday, Victor made the best soup ever. Really. Pretty much in the history of soups, this one is right on top. No hyperbole. The.Best.Soup.Ever.
It started off simply enough... A butternut squash and some broth out of the freezer... But it grew into a pot of magnificence that will have people weeping for joy for generations to come.
It was really good.
We've taken to having a bowl of homemade soup for lunch a few times a week. It's helped with the weight control - filling, lots of nourishment, and not a lot of calories.
This one was built around things we had in the house, but everything is readily available - and probably already staples in the home.
Butternut Squash, Lentil, and Andouille Soup
- 3 qts chicken broth
- 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 lb andouille sausage, sliced into rounds
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 1 can pinto beans
- 1 1/4 cups lentils - we used brown pardina lentils, but use what you have
- cayenne
- salt & pepper
In a bit of oil, cook sausage, onion, and garlic in soup pot until nicely browned. Remove sausage and set aside.
Add wine and deglaze the pot. Cook down to just a few tablespoons.
Add broth, squash, beans, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until squash is fall-apart tender.
Use an immersion blender to completely blend the soup. You can also use a conventional blender. Just be careful.
Add the sausage back in and add the lentils. Simmer until the lentils are tender.
Check for seasoning and add a pinch of cayenne to up the heat a bit, if desired. Or, use your favorite hot sauce.
Ladle into bowls and pay homage to the soup gods.
It really is one of those dishes that just has everything going for it - slightly spicy, perfect consistency, different textures, and oh, so satisfying.
We have enough for lunches on Tuesday and Wednesday. A tanker car wouldn't be enough.
It was really good.
Leftover Soup
I love meals that started out as other meals.
My mom was queen of the reworked dish - serving a roast on Sunday and soup on Saturday with steak pie and hash served up somewhere in-between. It was an art form to be admired.
I worked in a few small places back in the day that had the same frugal budget - the The Donut Center I worked in in the early '60s saved up old donuts and let them go completely stale. They were then ground up with sugar and butter and cinnamon and other spices to become the filling for bear claws and other danish pastries and coffee rings. At the Riviera Dinner House, we saved up bits and pieces of things that became savory fillings for Sunday Brunch Gougères. Here, at home, nothing goes to waste. Soups and stews are the go-to fall and winter classics, and salads are the spring and summer dishes.
Waste not, want not.
We had quite a bit of the sauce left from the Christmas Eve Cioppino - and since it really was a rockin' sauce - Victor reworked part into last night's pasta dinner. Today, it was my turn to take the rest and make soup.
As much as I love to bake, I think my true calling in life has been as a soup maker. I cannot think of anything easier to do or as rewarding. Taking bits of this and that and turning it into a steaming pot is nothing but fun - and it is so nice to empty out the 'fridge now and again!
Today's soup started with an onion and a fairly sad-looking leek. Both chopped, they went into the pot. Next went two boneless, skinless chicken thighs - also chopped. Then some garlic, because everything is better with garlic.
2 cups of red wine, because it was open and by the stove. Then went the cioppino sauce - about 2 quarts. It was a bit thick so in went most of a container of chicken stock that was in the 'fridge. Then a can of diced tomatoes, a can of white beans, leftover steamed carrots, 2 more carrots, and some chopped celery.
I brought it to the boil and then added lentils and fregola. I tasted and added some salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Then, just for the hell of it, I added a jar of roasted red and yellow peppers - nicely chopped - to add a bit of sweetness.
I let it simmer and lunch was served!
The End of Week Twenty-Two
I am down 41 pounds since July 15th. Forty-One Pounds! Victor didn't make the gym today because he caught a cold and didn't want to share it with the world - but he is most likely there, as well, since we've been pretty much identical since we started this.
Forty-One Pounds! To say I am psyched would be an understatement.
We've started purging the clothes... The local Goodwill Store is doing a brisk business. T-shirts, pants, casual and dress shirts all have been donated - with more to go. One sad note, though, was a suit I've carried around since I lived in Boston. I tried it on, it was snug but wearable - and moth-eaten! Holes in the pant legs, along the collar and lapels, arms... I am bummed. It was a classic Oleg Cassini - not really expensive, but cut well and always stylish - even at 30 years old. Into the trash since it wasn't worth donating. Oh, well.
We're not rushing out to buy more clothes, though. We're retired. We don't need much, anymore. It's great to gain back some closet space. We've been in a bit od a purge mode for a while, now - not just clothes, but stuff we've had forever and just don't use - and never will, again.
Since Victor has a cold - and it's raining outside - I made soup and baked bread. I took my basic Multi-Grain Bread and made one loaf of bread and 9 dinner rolls. The bread for sandwiches and the rolls to go with soup.
Tonight’s soup consisted of:
- homemade chicken broth
- 12 oz andouille sausage
- 1/4 cup beluga lentils
- 1/4 cup heirloom rice blend
- 1/4 cup wheat berries
- 1/4 cup green split peas
- 1/4 cup brown lentils
- 1/4 cup fregola
- celery
- carrots
- onion
- leeks
- hot sauce
- bay leaves
- oregano
- salt & pepper
Put it in a pot and make it hot.
As I say over and over - soup doesn't have a recipe. You just make it with what you have on hand.
We started baking the Christmas Biscotti yesterday. We'll see how well the next couple of weeks go!
The End of Week Nineteen
It's the end of week nineteen, our Twenty-Fourth Anniversary, and our Annual Turkey Soup and Christmas Decorating Day!
We'll start with the end of Week Nineteen: We made it through Thanksgiving and still managed to lose a pound and a half! That is saying something because we had a lot of really good food, yesterday. Or, rather, we had a really good variety of some really good foods, yesterday. We both ate our fill - but didn't gorge! I had cheesecake and apple pie but passed on the cookies and candies. Victor did the same. Those little things are making a difference!
We made it to the gym this morning for our normal Friday torture session and then we started our Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Soup and Decorate-a-Thon! This is definitely one of my more fun traditions - but my back is sore as hell as I write this! It's a combination of getting beat up at the gym and then bringing twenty-something bins of decorations up from the basement, standing, bending, stretching... Bringing empty bins back down to the basement... Of course, old age has nothing to do with it...
We ended up with two turkey carcasses, so I made a really big batch of stock - and then a smaller pot of soup. The stock was the carcasses, onions, garlic, bay leaves, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, carrots, celery, and leeks - roughly chopped, nothing peeled - leftover gravy... all into a big pot filled with cold water and then slow-boiled for about six hours.
The soup was the stock, celery, potatoes, carrots, turkey, and frozen mixed vegetables. Simplicity. There is so much stock and so little freezer space that I'm going to make another small batch of soup tomorrow that we can have for lunches.
And then there's the Anniversary! Twenty-four fun-filled years. The things we have done in 24 years boggles the mind - and there are still a ton of things on the horizon. We're going to celebrate at Niagara Falls in 10 days. We were there in the summer, but now I have to get Victor there in the snow. By train! It's really beautiful in the winter, and there's a huge Festival of Lights that will be fun to see. We're also thinking our twenty-fifth will be warmer climes... Maybe Kaua'i. Next year our anniversary will be the weekend before Thanksgiving, so we could do the islands and then do Thanksgiving with my family on the west coast! It would be win-win!
In the meantime, it's time to take a couple of aspirin and relax. There's still more decorating to do, tomorrow!
Thirteen Years of Food Blogging
It has been thirteen years since I started this food blog - thirteen years! In that time, I've written 2244 posts and added an additional 2258 recipes from Friends, Family, and things just found along the way.
That's a lot of food. And a lot of fun.
The TJRecipe site started out in early 2003 as a place to post the recipes Ruth and I were creating at Trader Joe's. Back in those days, we had a free rein to do as we pleased - our Captain had one caveat - make me money. And we did.
We were going strong for a couple of years when the corporate office came down on me for running a rogue website. Being the pigheaded and obstinate person I can be, I renamed it "Totally Joyous" and started the food blog - while keeping all of the recipes, first under the "Weekly Recipe" and finally under "Quick Meals In Minutes."
I expanded the site to include a lot more stuff - and started the blog. The goal was to make it so un-Trader Joe that they couldn't say anything to me, again. And they didn't - until 2008 when a customer called them to complain that I had put an Obama/Biden graphic on the site. I very nicely explained that it was *my* site and had nothing to do with any company. I scrubbed it of any reference to Trader Joe's and never again mentioned the company name. Until I retired. Now, it doesn't matter.
I always understood where they were coming from - it's their name. 80% of the products they sell have their name on it. They have to be protective of it. No hard feelings and I've still had almost 16 years of TJRecipes.com.
I added other cook book/recipe collections - most notably our two Family Reunion Cookbooks and Recipes From The Heart - written by a friend and coworker from UCSF.
And then I added my Mom's Cookbooks. They ended up going to their own website when the TJ site started getting a bit unwieldy.
From there, it was Family and Friends and Christmas Cookies that morphed into Holiday Cooking. Lots of goodies created by our really fun and talented extended family. And then Little Gram's Cookbook - our sister-in-law's Sicilian grandmother's recipe collection. After visiting Sicily a few years ago, I added a slew of recipes from Villa Modica where we stayed - and then I added a collection of recipes I've had on my computer for years - who knows where most of them came from!
Flour Power came about because I wanted to highlight baking - my first culinary passion. If I had to choose between cooking and baking for the rest of my life, I'd choose baking. I'm a serious bread-and-dessert sorta guy.
Here's a look at many of the different looks the site has had over the years...
Yes... a lot of different looks.
This was pretty much the first look... The screenshots come from the Wayback Machine - internet archives. It was all done in html - I think I was using Microsoft FrontPage. Some of the graphics are missing, but it gives you an idea of how the site has grown into what it is, today.
This was the first incarnation of "Tim and Victor's Totally Joyous Recipes." This was a bit of a take on a cookbook and old roommate, Steve Johnson, and I had started to write back in the '70s - The Scraped Off The Wall Cookbook. Who knows... It may happen, yet...
2006 saw another look... A bit more sophisticated... By this time, I was using Macromedia Dreamweaver - a much more powerful web authoring tool.
And then I went back to color.
And back again...
The information was staying constant while the look changed... I still had the demo recipes on here, but I had removed the products and uses pages, making it a bit more generic. And, we added a pet Food section. It was fairly short-lived.
And then I sorta blew it with a recipe contest... It was shortly after this that the complaint was made about my political leanings...
This is where the "Demo" section and all reference to TJ's disappeared and "Quick and Easy" began...
And then it changed, some more... I had started the food blog using a program called Nucleus and running it separate from the recipe site that was still all in basic html. And then I discovered WordPress. It was a total game-changer.
Much more flexibility... and a lot easier to update.
And, with all that flexibility, it changed again and again...
And yet again...
... before finally settling down to where it is, today. Other than a few tweaks here and there, the look is pretty much set. The site has gotten too big to keep changing.
I think I'm relieved...
My main goal in all of this has been to share food ideas. I really do believe than anyone can cook - and all it takes is the desire to do it. The Food Industrial Complex has made it their goal to intimidate cooks and feed on fears and inadequacies to sell precooked, processed, and otherwise unhealthy garbage. We are continually bombarded with ads about how inadequate we are in the kitchen, and how to deal with ruined mashed potatoes. Really. Mashed potatoes. We don't have time to cook. We don't know how to cook. We can't make food as good as the newest hot restaurant or celebrity chef.
Balderdash, says I. Anyone can cook. Just don't try to mimic someone else. Be yourself in the kitchen and relax and have some fun with it. The absolute worst thing that can happen is you throw it all out and call for pizza. Really. Keep it in perspective.
This site has no ads - I'm not trying to make money from anyone looking for a recipe or cooking idea. It's about sharing ideas and bringing people together around the table.
Around our table tonight was soup. It's snowing outside. Not that we need an excuse, but it is perfect soup weather.
Chicken and Sausage Soup
- 12 oz Italian sausage - casings removed
- 1 chicken breast, cubed
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 leek, diced
- 1/2 fennel bulb, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups white wine
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 2 cans diced tomatoes
- 2 cans beans - your choice
- 1 cup orecchiette pasta - uncooked
- salt
- pepper
- oregano
- crushed red pepper
Sauté vegetables in soup pot until wilted. Add sausage and chicken and cook until partially cooked.
Add wine and bring to a boil. Add broth and bring to a boil.
Add tomatoes and beans and bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Stir in spices.
Cook, uncovered, about 45 minutes at a simmer.
Stir in dried pasta and gently cook until pasta is done.
As with any soup, it's really just a matter of putting things in a pot. This is a guideline - not a chiseled-in-stone-must-make-exactly-like-this recipe. Add and subtract to your hearts content. The ingredients, themselves, make up the majority of the flavor. Since I like a bit of kick, I add some crushed red pepper flakes. A bit of dried oregano just pulls it all together. Just a bit.
So here's to another 13 years of Food Fun - and a few thousand more blog posts!
Happy Cooking!