Homemade Tomato Soup Tutorial - Video

Here is a tutorial for homemade tomato soup from Mary's Nest. (Although she lives in the Texas Hill Country also, I do not know this Mary.) :-)

My sister and I have made cream of tomato soup from scratch and it is really good, but this is not what this Mary is specifically making although she tells how to make this soup into cream of tomato soup at the end. Let me say this, it can be hard to get the cream to mix in nicely without curdling. There is a trick to it. So, if you want to make that I suggest looking up some instructions on how to mix in the cream with the least risk of curdling. Or, you could use sour cream or softened cream cheese to make your cream of tomato soup. Because these two products are already soured, they are less likely to give you grief. (Also, if you cream does curdle the soup is still edible, it just doesn't look as nice.)

She also talks about adding basil at the end and making this into a tomato basil soup with parmesan on it. Another yummy option you can try if you like Mexican is to add some cumin and then sprinkle it with grated cheddar and chopped black olives. This would be delicious served along side quesadillas. 

Tomato soup is a good lunch or supper staple for cold weather, but it can be good any time. If you don't want to make it and serve it the same day you can make it ahead and store it in the fridge for a few days. I am not sure if it would freeze well, but it would be easy to reheat from the fridge. If you are making cream of tomato soup I recommend waiting till you reheat it to add the cream.

Enjoy!

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Mummy Dash's Gumbo

I'm not sure where this traditional Southern recipe came from. It was contributed to The Home Maker's Corner years back. It may have been something my dad found somewhere, or it could have come from a reader. You will note that some of the ingredients don't have amounts. You will have to use your own judgement on that. :-)  It's adventure cooking. ;-)

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Mummy Dash's Gumbo

Mummy Dash celebrated her
100th birthday on August 23rd,1995.

I was raised on gumbo; in my house we also called it Okra Soup. Gumbo has been described as the "poor man's meal," or a "Saturday dish," prepared when you emptied your refrigerator at the end of the week. As far as I'm concerned, Gumbo is a luxury. It takes all day to prepare (to do it right) and the fresh Okra required to make it can be difficult to locate and expensive. As with many gourmets, Mummy Dash doesn't use precise measurements. For best results, rely on your own sense of taste.

2 lbs. of fresh short-stemmed Okra
3 medium Ham Hocks (or use smoked turkey)
Chicken
Beef
Shrimp
Tomato Sauce
Whole stewed tomatoes
2 medium onions
Fresh cut corn (or baby ears)
1/2 cup (cooked) lima beans
1 sliced green pepper
Sweet red peppers
Dash of sugar
2-3 cloves of garlic(diced)
Celery (instead of salt)
Parsley
Crushed Tomatoes

Cook ham hocks or smoked turkey with water in a very deep pot. Cook on low flame, keep adding water. Cook until the meat is falling off the bone (the bone sweetens the soup).

While the meat is still cooking, cut the tips and heads off the okra. Finely slice the okra: don't dice it! Chop your onions, pepper, garlic, celery and parsley.
Add the chicken and the beef to the pot when the meat is almost off the bone. Add tomatoes, onions, green and red peppers, celery and garlic. Continue to cook slowly.

When it's almost ready, add cut corn and crushed tomatoes. Add okra and shrimp in the last ten minutes of cooking. If the shrimp cook too long they will be tough.


 This soup should be eaten with white rice.

Editor: I recommend putting a scoop of cooked white rice in the bottom of each bowl before adding the gumbo on top.

Lil Hunsaker's White Beans

Lil Hunsaker's White Beans

From my dad, Steve Van Nattan who spent years tuning pianos. He got some great food from his customers sometimes: "I found this exceptional bean soup at a customer's home in Tubac, Arizona."

• White Northern beans or lima beans (In the words of Country Bevins, "Them greezy Michigan beans")
• Red Onion
• Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper  
• Cilantro
• Parsley

Cook the beans as you usually would. For a clear soup broth, cook beans and drain before adding water, onion, garlic, oil, lemon, and salt. If you drain off the first water, save it for later use since it is full of food value. For a clear broth, clear beef broth could be used to add flavor. After the top six ingredients are cooked and ready to eat, shred the cilantro and parsley into the soup and serve.

For the chili lovers, red pepper could be shaken on, or a few drops of Tabasco added. Habanero in moderation would also add a real special touch to this dish.

A garnish of the cilantro, parsley, as well as green onion tops could be served in a side dish to be added at the table.
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Editor's Note: Cilantro is already growing in the southern parts of the US at this time of year. In areas with more winter it won't be long before you can plant it. Fresh cilantro is one of my favorite herbs. :-)

In Loving Memory of Aunt Helen

 

Psalms 116:15  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

In April of 2014 I posted a memorial to my great-uncle, Dana Mathna.  This past summer his dear wife, Helen Hoover Mathna, went to be with the Lord also.

I told a good deal about Aunt Helen and their family in the previous post, so I will not repeat it all here, but please to take the time to go back and read it if you can.  Uncle Dana was a great blessing also, and I mentioned a good bit about Aunt Helen there as well and various things that affected her life.

Added to the previous information, Aunt Helen was born on January 29, 1925.  She was the sister of my grandfather.  She is the last one on either side of the family from my grandparents’ generation.  Somehow that seems sad to me because we’ve lost a connection with the past that can’t be replaced.  But, this is one of the aspects of time that is unavoidable.

Uncle Dana and Aunt Helen were married in June of 1946 and Aunt Helen wore my grandma’s wedding dress.  I believe they planned their wedding for when my grandparents would be home (see picture at the other post).

Aunt Helen was primarily a homemaker and loved her family very much (you can see more pictures of them all at the post about Uncle Dana). 

She was a sweet Christian and a real prayer warrior.  She was also a member of the Shippensburg First Church of God for 78 years!  She worked in the nursery, taught Sunday School and served as a Deaconess for many years.  After Uncle Dana retired, she helped him with custodial work at the church building.

This is the old building of the Shippensburg First Church of God (Pennsylvania).  It was within walking distance from their house, which was convenient for church meetings as well as the custodial work.  I remember attending services there.

My mother always speaks lovingly of Aunt Helen.  She thought very highly of her.  Mom’s family visited them and Grandpa’s home church in Shippensburg whenever they came home on furlough, and those were happy times to her.

This is how I remember Aunt Helen.  She is the only great-aunt that I knew very well, and I’m very thankful I had that privilege. I remember her as a kind and gentle lady.  She didn’t always talk as much as some of the others when we were all together, but you could tell she enjoyed being with her family and she considered us as part of that.  We stayed with them a couple times that I can remember and it was a pleasure to visit there.  I plowed my way through a collection of her books one summer when we spent a couple of weeks there. :-)  She had one of the sweetest smiles, and my mom has inherited it from her dad and his youngest sister.

This is Aunt Helen with her mother, my Great-grandma Hoover.  Aunt Helen really makes me think of my own mother in this picture!

I love this picture of Aunt Helen having a meal (dinner?) with these ladies.  I know two of them were related to her, and the little girl is her daughter, Janet (wasn’t she a cutie?).  That was her sister beside her and her mother is the first on the left.  Please notice that all the ladies in this picture are wearing aprons!  :-)  I am SO happy we have this picture! (Thanks to my Uncle Jim’s notable efforts at scanning.)

One thing I remember about Aunt Helen’s house was that the food was good.  She was famous in our family for her Chicken Corn Chowder and Pineapple Bake, as they called it.

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I found this recipe from Aunt Helen in my mom’s write-in cook book.

Chicken Corn Chowder

Boil 2 C. water

Add:
1 envelope chicken noodle soup dry mix
1 Tbl. onion
1/4 C. rice

Cook until done.

Add:
2 C. milk
1 8 oz. can cream style corn
15 oz. boned, fully cooked chicken

Heat through and serve.

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I couldn’t find the following recipe in the book, so I looked online and was able to figure out what it should be.

Pineapple Bake

Heat oven to 350F.

Cream:
1 stick butter
1 C. sugar

Beat in:
4 eggs, one at a time

Drain and stir:
1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple

Fold in:
6 slices day old white bread, cubed

Pour into a greased casserole dish (I think it was 2 qt.) and bake for 50 minutes or till top is golden brown.

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I can’t post many pictures of her from later in her life because they aren’t scanned into the computer, and the ones my parents have would be time consuming to locate.  Perhaps another day (or year) I may add some.  Here is one last shot of her, which I love.  This was taken in their back yard.

Dumplings for Soup

 

I was inspired awhile back to make chicken soup with dumplings. I looked up some recipes for dumplings and ended up combining two – one from the internet and one from my Mennonite cookbook. :-)  You may use these on your favorite chicken soup recipe or on some other type of soup.  Please see the note at the end, though, as there are some soups and stews that probably would not work well with dumplings.

Dumplings

1 1/2 C. flour (I used white whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbl. parsley flakes (optional)
1/4 C. milk (enough to make a sticky dough)
3 Tbl. butter
1 egg

Measure dry ingredients and mix in a medium size bowl.  In a measuring cup stir egg and milk together.  Add milk mixture and butter to flour mixture and stir till blended.  (Add milk if more moisture is needed.)

Drop onto top of boiling soup with a spoon, or roll with hands if dough is stiff enough. Cover and cook for 12 minutes at a medium boil without removing the lid.

Note: It’s important to have enough liquid in your soup when you add the dumplings. If there is too little it might cook away and burn on the bottom before the dumplings are done.  Also, I wouldn’t recommend them for thickened stews or heavy soups that require regular stirring to keep them from scorching or burning. Twelve minutes would probably be too long to not stir such dishes.

Italian Fried Egg Soup

Here is a simple soup you can make with leftovers from a pot roast – as long as you didn’t use the broth all up making gravy. ;-)  My dad first made this for us without the meat and he called it Italian Fried Egg Soup.  I think that he had it when they lived in Ethiopia.  (In case that puzzles some of you, know that the Italians invaded and held Ethiopia for awhile during WW II.  Some of the Italians liked it there so well that they stayed or returned.  Some married into the culture.  Some started restaurants. :-)  Hence the location of origin.)
This recipe doesn’t have specific amounts here because I usually make it with leftovers.  Even if you don’t have meat, you can make a meal that still has protein because of the fried egg. broth and cheese.
You will need:
1 fried egg per bowl
1 to 1/2 a piece of toast per bowl
1 thickish slice of cheese per bowl (about 1/8 – 1/4 inch)
Leftover beef and broth
Cut the meat into bite-size chunks.  Heat the broth and the meat in a pan.  You may add some oregano, basil and green onions if you like.  This will add a more Italian flavor and add a bit of color.  Adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Meanwhile, fry the eggs and toast the bread.  You may butter the bread if you wish, but it will be soaked with the broth so it isn’t actually necessary.  It would add a bit of flavor.  Place a piece of toast in each bowl and top with a fried egg and a slice of cheese.  (You may break the cheese in half if you wish and separate it slightly.)
Just before serving (or at the table), ladle the broth and meat over the toast-egg-cheese stack.  Eat immediately.  (You don’t want to do this ahead because it soaks in to the toast quickly and will become soggy.  So, it’s nicer to eat it right away.)
With some salad or fruit you would have a complete meal. :-)  It’s quite easy and fast when using leftover pot roast and broth.  Hope you enjoy it!

Random Links for A Cloudy, Rainy Day

My ham and lentil soup.

I haven’t done a link post for awhile, and since I’m a little behind on posts I thought I’d try to put one together today.  It’s a cloudy, dull November day here (though not cold yet), but we had a little rain which is always welcome here these days of drought!  Praise the Lord for every bit we get!

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Mommy’s Kitchen – Here is a neat cooking blog my mom discovered and declared useful.  I haven’t explored it much yet, but it looks like there are a lot of good “home cookin’” recipes here. :-)

Homemade Soup Recipes – Mmmm soooooup, that warm comfort food that makes a cold day seem a little less chilly.

Did someone say chili? A chili for every taste – more or less.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches at TasteofHome.com – Did I mention that I’m getting hungry?  I think we need to have some grilled cheese sandwiches soon!  Until then they are  grilled cheese sandwishes. ;-)

More Grilled Cheese, Please!

Old Time Cooked Banana Pudding – I never met “banana puddin’” till my family moved to the South (Tennessee, to be exact).  I’ve only ever had the instant mix, pre-fabricated food type banana pudding and I was not impressed (my apologies to my Southern readers).  But, I have to say that this sounds like it would be quite good, plus it sounds like you could or should serve it warm, which seems more appealing to me.  I thought there was probably an old fashioned method for this. (Now if I could only find some good vanilla wafers that didn’t have stuff in them that we don’t like to eat.)

An assortment of Winter Dinners.

Apple pie dish – for a yummy winter treat, serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Red Lentil Ham Soup

 
This is a very easy soup to make.  Dried, split red lentils (really they are orange) cook very fast compared to most dried beans or lentils.  I think this is because they don’t have the skins on them.  I don’t know what the price for them is in a regular store.  We usually buy ours at an Indian store where they are called Masoor Dal.
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To make the soup:
Cook in a 2 qt. pot:
Chicken or vegetable broth
Lentils (I used at least 1 cup, probably more)
One ham bone
Onion
Garlic
Diced Carrots
Bring to a boil and simmer stirring at regular intervals till the lentils are almost done.  Remove meat from ham bone and discard bone.  Return the meat to the pot.  Finish cooking.  (The lentils are done when they are soft.)
Add salt and black or red pepper to taste.
Lentils are very absorbent, so use plenty of broth or water.  If you are unsure of how much to use start with a little less.  You can add more as you go along.  Lentils will stick to the bottom of the pan (especially when reheating), so do be sure to stir it regularly.
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Depending on the ham and broth you use this meal could be made gluten and lactose free.  If you can’t find safe ham, try some pre-cooked meat of your choice.  The taste will be different, but it will still be tasty.  You could add Cajun seasoning if you use another type of meat to make a very tasty soup!

Taco Soup

Well, the weather is actually getting a little cooler here in Texas.  It’s not exactly cool during the day, mind you, and I expect more hot days still, but it has moderated.  And, since a friend of mine was requesting my Taco Soup recipe recently, I started thinking about posting some soup recipes on here. :-)
Mary's Taco Soup
Canned refried beans
Chicken/beef broth or water
Fully cooked ground beef, or beef or chicken chunks (optional)
Garlic powder - to taste
Onion powder - to taste
Red chili pepper - to taste (mild, medium or hot)
Cumin (not as much as the onion or garlic)
Oregano (just a little)
Mix refried beans with broth over medium heat in a large pan.  Add seasonings and meat.
Cook, stirring often, till it is heated through or just coming to a boil.
Serve with chopped black olives, guacamole, sour cream, grated cheese and chopped tomatoes.  Chopped onions - optional.  Also, serve with warm tortillas, quesadillas, or tortilla chips.
Note: If you want a creamier soup, mix some sour cream into it while it is cooking.

As you can see, I don’t have exact measurements for this.  It is one of the recipes that I know “what” but not “how much”, so I make it “by the seat of my pants”. :-)  Make it agree to your family’s taste.
Also, I think this recipe could be made gluten-free.