Soup...and More Soup

Searching through my freezer last night for strawberries, I came across a loaf of zucchini bread I had made over the summer and frozen, thinking it would be for sometime "when guests come".  Well, apparently, I decided to arrive last night, because I took that sucker out and put it on the table to thaw.  I've already had four pieces today (got up early to take Husband to work...definitely needed energy for that.  And then, breakfast came...), and in my gluttony, have been trying to pinpoint why exactly I was so ecstatic about my discovery.  Possibly the sugar/fat/carb combo...possibly the amount of chocolate chips I so wisely decided to dump in...possibly just the potential of having baked goods with summer vegetables in the winter.  (I like to think it's primarily the last one, but the jury is still out.)  Regardless, the investment of a freezer last summer has given us the ability to store a lot more of our summer reaping (from the CSA box) and in our moody winter nights, we are given a taste of warmer days and happier times.  And I need those memories, as we're barely cresting the month of January...and winter continues for another dreary couple months...

46.  German Potato Soup, pg. 200

At first I wasn't sure why the recipe had to include the identifier "German", but once I ate it, I knew why:  they wanted to provide us someone to blame.

The recipe alone looks bland, the soup ends up boring, and I inevitably deemed this meal a waste of good potatoes that could have been used for mashing.  Perhaps part of the problem was that I actually stuck with the recipe this time -- I made it exactly as it was written.  (I did end up adding cheese, but that really didn't help much.)  It wasn't "bad", per se, but it's definitely not the kind of soup you want to eat as a main dish.  I can imagine it's tastelessness might be hidden if you had some sausage or veg. seiten on the side to distract you.

Sure, the Husband and a guest who happened by gave it 3s, but Husbands have to say these things, and guests often lie when asked about their food.

Overall: 2 out of 5  Leave it be, unless you're trying to embrace "tradition".

47.  Chicken Potpie, pg. 182

Sorry to all you vegets. out there, I went AWOL for this one.

Also found in my freezer was a half of a chicken breast (and no stewing hen), so I tried substituting that for the first part of this recipe.  I found the broth to be quite lacking in flavor, though, once the breast was done, so added some bouillon to "beef" it up (ahem...)  I did halve the water but kept the same amount of vegetables, substituting a carrot and parsnip for the celery and adding a clove of garlic.  Use what you have on hand, and just adjust the vegetable's chopped size according to how quickly it cooks.  Make sure the veggies are covered with water, adding a little extra if needed.

For the noodle dough, though I again halved it, I found I needed all the water it called for in the original recipe.  (I used egg replacer, so was able to use "half" an egg.)  It took a long time to get enough moisture to get it to form into a ball, so if you do decide to halve the recipe, I would recommend keeping the whole egg, and then adding extra water if necessary.  Be sure to roll the dough as thinly as you can, as it states, unless you like a gummy piece of cooked dough (which I do like...just a forewarning if you don't.)

Being more used to ham potpie from my growing up years, I found this soup to be less salty than what I had anticipated.  I'm sure if you make this recipe often enough, you can learn how much and which seasonings to use, but be prepared in the early days to experiment.

Overall:  3 out of 5  Tastes okay, glad I made it, but if you have a recipe from Grandma that you like, stick with that one.