Cold comfort food?

In different parts of the world cold weather can mean different things. Perhaps in Florida a 60 degree day may be really cold where as a 60 degree day where I live is tolerable. To Donna it is "cold" when her friends the raccoons no longer come to the back deck for their nightly treats! This happens when the temperature drops under 32 degrees. No judgement here, she knows she shouldn't feed them but can't resist. When the temperature doesn't go above freezing for a couple days I also look to hunker down. Most likely in front of the fireplace eating some comfort foods. Comfort food to me means thick soups and stews!
I was lucky growing up with my mother and had two grandmothers that lived close and knew how to make wonderful soups. My favorite from grandma Francis was her Beef Vegetable Soup. My favorite from grandma Mary Ida was her Chicken and Homemade Noodle soup. I do not have either recipe and I suspect that they really didn't use one. Both grandmothers made wonderful homemade noodles that found their way into the soups! Yes I would give any thing to set at their table and share a bowl of their soups once again. Now mother made a lot of potato soups. Probably because we grew our own and filled our potato bin in the cellar for later use. Potatoes were something she always had on hand. They could fill the bellies of four hungry boys and not break the budget. Again she probably didn't use a recipe.
Now my go to soup for cold weather is from Allrecipes.com. "Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup". I first made this for Ty and Sam while on a visit and it has made our books of favorite recipes. We always try to make the recipes as written on our first try but this one can easily be changed up to meet your preferences. This time I used Orecchiette pasta instead of the noodles called for because it is what I had on hand from another recipe. Sometimes I will mash potatoes before serving just to make the broth a little thicker. Rotisserie chicken from my local grocery is an easy fit for the roasted chicken. Serve with garlic bread and a salad and it is a filling meal. Visit Allrecipes.com for this and many other great recipes.

For John :

Comments

Remembering Birch Creek Orchards

Recently, I have been reading a book by Barbara Kingsolver titled "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." This book is truly inspiring and focuses on harvesting local foods to reduce the amount of fuel used to transport foods all over the U.S. She also emphasizes eating foods only when they are in season. Over Labor Day weekend, we took a trip back home to Jeddo, MI for my cousin's wedding (shout out to the beautiful bride Sarah Lawson!!). While there, my uncle Mike invited us to his house to pick fresh peaches, apples and pears. I was thrilled! This was my chance to eat locally and harvest fruit while it was in season! No more California fruit for me! I took my husband and kids and we picked away. We filled boxes full of fruit and ate the fruit right off the tree! It was a special treat for me. Then it hit me, sadness...see friends, growing up my family helped operate Birch Creek Orchards in Jeddo, Mi. Everyone in my family helped! Even the smalle...

The Secret Ingredient

I like to measure the ingredients and lay them all out before starting a new recipe. The other day when Lily was going to be in the kitchen making dinner for us, I began to wonder, as I looked at my spice shelf. What is the most important ingredient or spice that I have? What is used the most? What ingredient is the most important overall? Seems like salt is used in most recipes. But what type? Sea salt, Iodized, Kosher, or Seasoned Salt. What ingredient or spice will make Lily's version of Sweet Pepper Pasta with Sausage special? All was laid out ready for Lily to add in the order the recipe called for. She executed with perfection. As I watched her grate the Parmesan cheese that finishes the dish, it came to me. The secret ingredient. The one that for me makes every meal special. SHARING ! When finished, I realized that this really good meal, first introduced to me by my Son and Daughter-in-law, was indeed just as good as the time they served ...

It was just a platter !

There was a platter in some of my grandmothers things that my father had brought home years ago. There is a picture of a turkey on the face of the platter. It is still in fair condition considering that I am sure grandma used it a lot. We celebrated every holiday and lots of Sundays eating at her house. And since she didn't have a lot of "stuff" stored around in her small house, I'm sure I have seen it setting on the table with hams, turkeys or meat loafs to be served. It wasn't until I turned it over that the true value of this platter was revealed to me! No it wasn't a makers mark from a fine china company in Japan or Germany. Nothing to convince me that this was valuable fine china. It was a piece of adhesive tape right in the middle of the back. Written in grandma's hand writing was a note. It read, From Mary Kathryn and Robert Lee, 1953. It was a gift to her from my parents in the year that I was born. Priceless! The first thing I d...

Rex and Ty's Food Blog

Search This Blog