The Soup Thread

geeme · Sep 3, 2012

Agree! But mebee it's the perfect time for a cold soup? Cucumber? Watermelon?

(Heh - or just pour some alcohol in it and tell yourself you're drinking a margarita...)

Burning Colon · Sep 3, 2012

i know this sounds stinky but i am thinking of making a seaweed soup! koreans make a birthday soup(my birthday is in a week or so, so those that like to watch THP forum birthdays will see mine shortly); seaweed, beef, garlic, soya sauce. i hate the smell of seaweed! i make seaweed tea for my plants, i put the dried seaweed into the spice grinder, then grind it up, rehydrate it and use it for my plants. but i am being temped to use the stinky shit further. yes, i eat lots of fish but seaweed is kind of a line drawer for me. the ocean is a full plane ride away and i never grew up with the smell of seaweed, nor something that got stuck in my bathing suit or something that was put on the kitchen table.

but i have to try this..... there are lots of recipes on youtube, wish me luck!

JayT · Sep 3, 2012

Wow. Now that sounds interesting. I have had seaweed salad and sushi wrapped in seaweed. Not bad at all. Don't be scared of it. I will be watching for this.

Scovie · Sep 3, 2012

Jay, that soup looks deliscious, just 2 months to early for us, but you had a rainy day so I'm with you.
The shot with the bread is money honey!

Here's a quick easy recipe for Cold Soup that I've made for years.
Figger maybe while it's still hot in places y'all might want to try it.

Stop reading now TB.

32 oz. Tomato Juice
32 oz. Clamato Juice
2 Avocados diced
2 packages Cream Cheese cubed
1-2 lbs baby shrimps (your preference)
Chives or green onion
combine and serve ICE COLD.

geeme · Sep 4, 2012

Mark, do keep us posted on the seaweed soup - even if you don't like it. I eat sushi a lot (and "a lot" may be an understatement....), but I still prefer the kind with the rice on the outside just so I don't get that initial seaweed hit. I'm okay with it mixed into stuff, but don't care for it as the main flavor. So I'm curious to see how that turns out.

Scovie, sounds interesting. Pop the flavors up by adding some garlic, basil, pepper powder of some kind..... yum. I've never made cold soup before, myself, so decided to start perusing some cold soup recipes to get some ideas. I've got some pods close to ripe, so am probably going to give this a try likely this week.

Scovie · Sep 4, 2012

Over the years I have tried to add all kinds of stuff to that soup. Garlic, Basil, Cumin, Tobasco, Cucumber, Wine, White Onion, Cilantro, Rooster Sauce, Horseradish, etc. etc. etc.

For us, it's one of those things that less is more. I don't even add Garlic Powder. Weird I know. It seems like the recipe above would be a good jumping off point but it truely is best left in it's simplicity. Better the next day too.

The recipe is one that my Mom made from one of her issues of Bon Appetite Mags in the 70's. After years of trying to improve it, we just don't anymore.

geeme · Sep 4, 2012

Yeah, as they say, some of the best things in life are the simple things.

Who can deny that, at least once in a while, "plain" chicken soup is just the thing?

stickman · Sep 4, 2012

Burning Colon said:
i know this sounds stinky but i am thinking of making a seaweed soup! koreans make a birthday soup(my birthday is in a week or so, so those that like to watch THP forum birthdays will see mine shortly); seaweed, beef, garlic, soya sauce. i hate the smell of seaweed! i make seaweed tea for my plants, i put the dried seaweed into the spice grinder, then grind it up, rehydrate it and use it for my plants. but i am being temped to use the stinky shit further. yes, i eat lots of fish but seaweed is kind of a line drawer for me. the ocean is a full plane ride away and i never grew up with the smell of seaweed, nor something that got stuck in my bathing suit or something that was put on the kitchen table.

but i have to try this..... there are lots of recipes on youtube, wish me luck!

Koreans use a lot of the seaweed we call Laver, and they call Kim... it's the same seaweed used to make Maki sushi rolls. Rubbed with a few drops of toasted sesame oil, sprinkled with a little salt and briefly toasted over and open flame it's exceptional! They use it as a garnish in Rice cake soup and it really makes the dish. Definitely don't fear it!

Chewi · Sep 6, 2012

geeme said:
Yeah, as they say, some of the best things in life are the simple things.

Who can deny that, at least once in a while, "plain" chicken soup is just the thing?

Plain chicken soup???? Noooooooo!! You have to have cilantro and avocado squash and japs and some of Eephus Man's powder!!

Wait, you did say 'once in a while' ok you are off the hook!!

geeme · Sep 6, 2012

LOL! THAT looks awesome!

And yeah.... I pretty much reserve "plain" chicken soup for when I'm sick, otherwise it's too boring. But there's nothing boring about the soup you made!

grantmichaels · Sep 7, 2012

Scoville DeVille said:
Over the years I have tried to add all kinds of stuff to that soup. Garlic, Basil, Cumin, Tobasco, Cucumber, Wine, White Onion, Cilantro, Rooster Sauce, Horseradish, etc. etc. etc.

For us, it's one of those things that less is more. I don't even add Garlic Powder. Weird I know. It seems like the recipe above would be a good jumping off point but it truely is best left in it's simplicity. Better the next day too.

The recipe is one that my Mom made from one of her issues of Bon Appetite Mags in the 70's. After years of trying to improve it, we just don't anymore.

There's a number of things this is true about ...

I second this notion strongly.

geeme · Sep 12, 2012

Ok.... took my own words and put them into action. Made some cold cucumber-avocado soup tonight, for lunches for a few days.

One cucumber, deseeded (about twice the size of the avocado)
One avocado
One green onion (white and pale green parts only)
One jalapeno, deseeded
One tablespoon lime or lemon juice
Some lemon zest, fresh cilantro leaves, and sea salt
Coconut milk - start with one cup, then add more to thin if desired. This is not the thick coconut milk, but a milk substitute as my son is lactose intolerant (Silk brand is what we had.) You could use other, such as almond milk, regular milk, or a mix of yogurt and your preferred milk.
Garnish of your choice

Put everything in a blender and puree. If desired, strain. Chill at least half an hour. Divide into serving bowls, garnish, and serve.

I used some of the green onion and a sliced aji habanero for garnish. I don't have a fine enough strainer, so didn't strain it. Also, you could

I'll admit for some reason I'm not terribly into the color of this, but I'm telling myself it's like "wet" guacamole. I may try cucumber soup with something not green and see what I think - maybe even cucumber-melon or something. It's tasty as-is, so it's just the color that's throwing me off a tad.

texas blues · Sep 12, 2012

Why deseed everything G?

geeme · Sep 12, 2012

Because I don't have a small-hole strainer or cheesecloth - no need to strain out seeds this way. There wasn't much that wouldn't get through most strainers after deseeding, just tiny bits of jalapeno skins. Everything else was pretty well liquified.

JayT · Sep 13, 2012

Not usually a cold soup guy, but I'd give that a try. Sounds good. Can I put bacon in it?

geeme · Sep 13, 2012

LOL - OF COURSE! hahahaha!

texas blues · Sep 13, 2012

JayT said:
Not usually a cold soup guy, but I'd give that a try. Sounds good. Can I put bacon in it?

I'm going to send you a fat tube of SOYRIZO along with a nice fruit basket.

I might even send you a bottle of patchouli oil to tuck in with the basket.

Aroma therapy n' all for those quitting smoking.

JayT · Sep 13, 2012

I don't smoke. Never have. And you keep your soyrizo you hippy.

A fruit basket does make a lovely gift though.

Scovie · Sep 13, 2012

Nice sig line there Jaywow. :rofl:

"Soup of the day.... Whiskey"

JayT · Jul 28, 2013

I had to dig to find this topic! This time of year is great around here for local sweet corn. So... every year I make a big batch of chicken corn noodle soup. I hope you try it, it is fantastic.

Ingredients:

one six lb whole chicken
seasoned with Montreal Chicken Seasoning or Mrs. Dash Original, and stuffed with lemon slices, parsley, green onion, celery, carrots, and peppers.
about ten or twelve ears of corn blanched and kernals removed.

for the stock: carrots, celery, bell pepper, onion, garlic, browned chicken carcass and giblets plus the browned bits from the deglazed pan, all the de-kernalized corn cobs, fill with water.

for the soup:
another large can of chicken stock
all the diced roasted chicken
the shucked corn, carrots, bell pepper, onion, green onion, celery, jalapeno, garlic all diced and softened in olive oil with sea salt and black pepper.
all the strained stock
a pint of cream
one bag of medium egg noodles
seasonings: fresh thyme, salt and pepper to taste, chile powder to taste, white pepper, a little basil, chopped cilantro. I like a little Lawry's seasoning salt in mine too, but usually add it to the bowl not the pot.

First thing I did was stuff and roast the chicken. Saving the drippings, then shredded the meat saved that. Browned the bones in the oven 450F for an hour adding water as to not burn everything. I blanched the corn, shucked it and saved that. Then I begin the stock, add all the stock ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for three hours. I let cool and put it in the fridge for the night. This morning, I strained the stock, and began the soup. Chopped up all the veggies and softened them, warmed the stock and brought everything to a boil. Added the chicken,corn, seasonings and herbs, and simmered for another hour. I added the cream, and adjusted the seasonings. I also thought it needed a little brightening so I added a half of a lemon. Brought it all to a boil again and added the egg noodles. Boiled them for six minutes, and turned it off. I then added the cilantro and voila!

It takes a lot more time to make the stock like this than to just buy stock, but believe me the deep rich flavor is worth it.