Borrowed snips are better than none

Say, howdya like my nifty new digs? About time, you say?

I've been playing around at cleaning out old computer files lately, in lieu of getting any real work done. Years ago, when I edited the newsletter for our local herb society (in the hands on days of cutting and pasting with real scissors and actual glue) I got into the habit of saving every interesting scrap of information. It gets to be a pack-ratty sort of habit, though, the result being that in these quieter days I have mountains of useless information to keep me busy.
Lacking all other inspiration, I'll be posting some snippets from my piles along with more of the endless supply of garden-y quotations from smarter than me folks that you may have noticed lately.
Shall we begin?

Torn from the pages of the biggest tool in America, Parade Magazine, advertising copy (note the charming use of the mitigating word MAY to obfuscate any health claims for the herbs they are selling you):
McCormick Spices For Health
Seven Super Spices (Have you noticed this campaign?)
"great sources of flavor as well as concentrated sources of natural antioxidants."
McC has developed 1/2 teaspoon recipes. "is there anything better than adding a favorite ingredient that may also support your health?"
& in another ad:
Oregano
1/4 t. add to a grilled cheese sandwich.
Ground Cinnamon (1 t. as many antioxidants as 1/2 cup of blueberries)
1/4 t. sprinkle on oatmeal.
Ground Ginger
a dash - add to cooked carrots, winter squash, or sweet potatoes
Crushed Red Peppers, Ground Paprika

1/4 t. add to hummus or guacamole
Rosemary
mix with olive oil and sea salt to dress ready to bake rolls
Thyme
1/4 t. stir into soup
Turmeric
sprinkle on steamed rice (add peas and carrots)

After looking at their list, I see I grow 4 (and sometimes 5, when I'm growing ginger in a pot) out of the seven.

I cut this from the back of an Alessi instant soup mix bag. First, let me clarify that Herb bought the soup, I'd never buy a package of instant soup; and second, how does a five word sentence translate into all of that verbiage? Ah, advertisers, how you do judge your public:
"People today eat soup for different reasons than they did yester year. Once considered an inexpensive meal for the poor, soup has become popular among the health conscious consumers of today. There is a saying about soups in Southern Italy that states, "Sette cose fa la zupa" which (loosely) translates to "Soup does seven things, it relieves your hunger, quenches your thirst, fills your stomach, cleans your teeth, makes you sleep, helps you digest and colors your cheeks."

I think I'll try to memorize these seven virtues of soup.

Recipe: Easy Provincial Bean Soup

You say Provencal - I say provincial: the difference is in the mind of the speaker. But is a crock pot of bean soup anything but rustic?
We usually (for 36 years?!?) have either ham or a turkey but I was hoping on this Christmas Day 2007 to have an easy to serve, non-traditional main dish.
After a month of parties, we're all ready for some relief from the groaning table. And there have been some pressing medical issues in the family, so the company was the point, not the production number.
But it all worked out anyway that there was too much food for the feast, and not nearly so much cleanup as post Thanksgiving. And grandma had time to hold her granddaughters, the best gift.

Here's the menu we had this year:
Provincial Bean Soup (made with turkey stock from the Thanksgiving bird and home grown herbs)
Dearborn Holiday sausage, provided and grilled by son, Skip
Cheesy potatoes, provided by son, Tony
Pumpkin Bread (made with puree from the little pie pumpkins, cooked and frozen after Halloween)
Herbed Potato Rolls (link) (made with home grown herbs)

Cheese spread and crackers, chips and dip
Veggie tray and dip
Panettone

and for dessert:
Brownies, provided by Tony
and, Tada! Blueberry pie (made by Herb with berries we picked at a local farm)

We completely forgot to break into the tin of gingerbread boys, that I've been safe keeping since I made them around Thanksgiving. Oh well, there's another weekend get-together coming, when Patrick finally gets here.

Everyone liked the soup, especially with the grilled sausage and no one complained about the break from tradition, so I'm thinking next year maybe gumbo or chili? I have an authentic gumbo recipe that's lotsa fun.

This bean soup recipe is really easy, because I use the beans that come in a bottle, already cooked, and jazz it up. Everyone thinks you made it from scratch. I used to soak and cook the beans, and believe me, this way is just as good. Herb Sr. said it was excellent, so I must have done something right. Here's the recipe, my riff on the recipe on the bottle of Randall Great Northern Beans:

Provincial Bean Soup


Heat a quart of your best(frozen) turkey broth until warm and pour in crock pot. Turn crock pot on and set to high.
Tie some twigs of fresh rosemary together with a length of dental floss and put the bundle into the broth to take out before serving. (I also added a few small fresh bay leaves but forgot to fish them out.)
Meanwhile, pour a bit of e.v. olive oil in a hot skillet. In the hot oil, saute about a generous cup each of minced onions, celery and carrots and about 4-5 crushed garlic cloves until they are softened and starting to color.
Add a large jar of beans and warm. Stir it all into the crock pot with the broth.
Add a handful of chopped dried tomatoes (the recipe calls for diced canned tomatoes), sprinkle with ground bay leaf (I grind my dried bay leaves in a dedicated coffee grinder), fresh ground black pepper, and lots of fresh thyme. (The recipe also calls for chopped fresh parlsey, but I forgot to add it. Oh Well!)
Cook on high until it boils and begins to thicken, a few hours, then turn down to keep at serving warmth.
Serve with shaved Parmesan cheese, rolls and sausages. Bon apetit.

As soon as the ground thaws

I found this recipe for Sunflower Soup in the archives of KGI, Kitchen Gardeners International (link).
Link back to the original for a good article about Sunchokes, a.k.a. Jersalem Artichokes, a native sunflower with an edible root.
The photo is from Monticello's website. Thomas Jefferson noted the native plant.

My personal favorite use for Sunchokes is to braise/roast them along with other root veggies in the pan with a pot roast of beef. Sunchokes have a flavor all their own, and with pot roast gravy they are outstanding.

Sunflower Soup

Two types of Jerusalem Artichoke are available in France, one white and thin, the other round and pale pink. Either one will do but both discolour if exposed to air so cover with cold water or cook quickly after peeling.

Start off by peeling and chopping a large onion and sweating it gently in a covered cast iron pan with a knob of butter and a pinch of salt.
Meanwhile peel and chop a good handful of Jersusalem Artichokes and add them to the pan.
If you want a thicker soup, also add a diced medium-large potato.
Continue to gently cook the vegetables, without browning, for about 10 minutes.

Now add 1 liter of chicken stock (or vegetable stock, if you prefer).
A shake of white pepper, a small pinch of dried sage, bring the pan to the boil and then let the soup simmer for about half an hour.

Turn off the heat, allow the mixture to cool a little and then put it through the blender. Add a little water if you think the mixture is too thick. You should have a soup that is creamy in both colour and appearance.

Test the seasoning, add salt and white pepper if necessary, and reheat. Now you can stir in different finishing touches, for example: a soup spoon of double cream (highly recommended) or a tiny pinch of saffron.
This recipe makes 4 generous bowls of soup.
"Bon appetit!"
About the author, Gill Thompson, is a roving reporter for Kitchen Gardeners International. She lives in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France where she and her husband live in a charming sun-baked house with a lovely garden.