OT cooking question - too much heat

Yep. I usually end up with sour cream on a lot of things because DH likes food a lot spicier than I do. Even though I am a born and raised in AZ gal I don't like food to be too spicy, and the older I get the more sensitive to the "heat" I seem to get. The sour cream cools it down, and pineapple juice helps cut the oils in your mouth too. (and tastes good with the chilies. ) Adding rice or potatoes will help by adding bulk which will "spread the heat out" sort of. And freezing usually increases the heat factor. You may want to essentially make your soup batch considerably larger to cool it off. Good luck.

Pati, in Phx

Maureen Wozniak wrote:

I make a good onion soup, but not necessarily low fat . If you use powdered milk to make your "cream" soups they are much lower in fat. I love potato soup. Cook cubed potatoes and chopped onions (you can also add other vegetables if you wish like carrots/celery/??) in a minimum of water until tender. Drain and save the liquid. In large pot make a roux with oil/butter/margarine, flour and seasonings. Stir milk powder into the cooking liquid and add water to make enough for your soup. Add liquid to roux, stirring or whisking as you go. Liquid should thicken very quickly. Add Vegetable mix and any other additives you wish. (Chicken, smoked sausage, frozen green peas or corn, well drained sourkraut, or what ever you wish.) Heat through and serve with a dab of butter in each bowl.

You can also make a "clear" potato soup. Use a good stock as a base, lots of potatoes and other vegetables. Works very well as a "meatless" dish if you want one.

There is a company based in northern Arizona that makes soup "mixes". These have good, quality ingredients, freeze dried so that all you have to do is add water, sometimes a bit of milk too, and perhaps some additional meat to make a meal. They are good. I added some rice to one, and over estimated the amount to add. It ended up almost like a goulash but it was very good.

Pati, > A dollop of sour cream on each serving might help.

My latest everyone-asks-for-the-recipe soup is a lentil / chicken sausage soup.

Take a couple of pieces of chicken sausage (spicy is good), chop it up fine, and brown it at the bottom of your soup pot in a teaspoon of oil. (Chicken sausage usually doesn't have enough fat to brown without the oil.) While that's browning, finely dice an onion, two carrots, and four stalks of celery. (exact proportions don't matter). Pop them into the pot and cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent.

Once the onion is cooked, dump in 8 cups of vegetable broth, a 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes, a cup of red wine, and three cups of brown lentils. I usually add some herbs like a bay leaf and basil, too. Fennel is also nice. Cook 30-40 minutes. Salt before serving. (I can never tell how much salt until the lentils are cooked.)

This soup freezes very well, and is an excellent vegan soup if you omit the chicken sausage. If you like a "creamy" soup, use the boat motor (ie stick mixer) on it for a couple of minutes. I'm usually too lazy to bother, and besides, I like the whole lentils.

I've been considering adding a boat motor / stick mixer to my kitchen gadget collection. Do you use it often? for what? or is it just something else to clutter up the kitchen? The price range for them is interesting ranging from about $35 to about $200. Do you have a fancy one or the discount model and is there an advantage? Inquiring minds need to know. Polly

"Kathy Applebaum" wrote, in part > If you like a "creamy" soup, use the boat motor (ie stick

Yum! Do you deliver? KJ

Yeah, but only as far as my dining room table. ;-P

I don't use it often, but I know people who do. IM(NS)HO, it all depends on the kind of cooking you do. :)

Mine was a gift, and probably in the $35 range -- if there's an advantage to the fancy ones, I haven't heard about it, and I watch all the really geeky cooking shows. Mine has worked great for years (ten plus?), but then I only use it a couple of times a year. I do like that it's easy to use and easy to clean, which are two musts in my kitchen.

Hmmm. I know just where that is :-)

marcella

We had one which my youngest son used to mix his milk shakes and smoothies. He took it with him to his new home. It did a great job on his drinks but I could never figure out how to dismantle it to wash it properly. Just ran it in some sudsy water and rinsed it. He never died from any bugs on the blades so I guess it is OK. My major method of cooking is to remove something from the freezer and put it in the microwave. This technique does not require a mixer of any type. The son who still lives at home has a large stand mixer which he uses often and enjoys. My second method for cooking is to take leftovers he has prepared and warm them in the microwave. Some ask why we allow our

30 year old son to live at home. He doesn't pay rent. Instead he buys all the groceries and does 75% of the cooking. Who would want a personal chef to move? No, he didn't learn to cook from me. He tells people he had to learn because I never cooked. This is a stretch but I certainly never cooked from scratch like he does. He learned most of it by watching the cooking shows on TV.

Susan

"Kathy Applebaum" wrote in news:cv9yh.74204$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr13.news.prodigy.net:

I'll be there ASAP! I love soup! Yesterday I made cauliflower soup. Just put on the veggies, some chicken broth & zing it will the stick blender. Yum. I do the same with broccoli & pumpkin. My lentil soup is almost the same as yours but I don't up in sausage nor tomatos.

That's exactly my method of cleaning it. If you do it right away, it's a snap to clean like that.

(FWIW, I use my blender for smoothies.)

Should I set a place for you tonight? :)

I love mine -Braun, cost 20 euros which at the time (3 years ago) was about $25. I like to puree soups, and transferring hot liquid to a blender or processor was always mad, bad and dangerous. And waiting for the soup to cool seemed just too slow. The blade part comes off and can go in the dishwasher. Roberta in D

"Polly Esther" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...

I have a stick mixer and I don't use it as much as I thought I would. My DH likes his soup chunkless, so I always blend his up and leave mine chunky. I don't like how it does mashed potatoes - too whipped for my taste. I wouldn't spend any more then the minimum amount for one. I got mine at BB and Beyond with a 20% off coupon.

Cauliflower soup? Broccoli and squash soup? YUMMMY

Feel free to send me the recipes. We are vegetarian here and I am always looking for good soup recipes. You can send them to my email address.

poo_de_dooatyahoodotcom Change as necessary

And forward them on to me as well.

I wish. Husband comes home from a work trip. We're having chicken and rice soup - made from leftover roast chicken (dinner Monday). Supposed to rain and that always makes for good soup weather.

marcella

Here's the cauliflower soup we like...

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

4 C chicken broth 1 head cauliflower - washed and sliced thinly; about 4 cups 1 medium potato peeled and diced 1 medium onion diced salt and white pepper to taste grated cheddar cheese

Combine vegetables and broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Cook until the vegetables are soft (20-30 minutes). Puree in blender or food processor. Season to taste and stir in cheese.

marcella