Zucchini Soup (EASY-PEEZY)

Fabulous! Tastes Creamy and Guess What? There's no Cream!

1.5 pounds zucchini (ask the McGary's for some...they have a huge garden)
1.5 Tbs butter
1 cup or so finely minced onions
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 tsp dried thyme

2 cups milk, heated but not scalded (I scalded it the first time and it was fine, by the way)


1. Steam the zucchini until just tender.
2. Saute the onions over medium heat in the butter and salt, until soft, about 5 minutes. About half way through the saute, add the spices to the saute.
3. Puree all ingredients together in a blender until smooth. You will probably have to do this in batches, so mix it all up in a pot or bowl first or do whatever it is you do when this situation presents itself.

Eat it as is, warmed up (gently) or cold.

Spelt Chowder

At left, is a photo of dried New Mexico Chiles. These are an important ingredient in Spelt Chowder, the recipe for which is below. What is spelt? It is a grain that is related to wheat but has a higher protein content. You can buy spelt at BloomingFoods in the bulk section if you live here in town. I haven't looked for it at the supermarket so I don't know if you will find it there. It is worth the search, though. It is nutty tasting and chewy in the most delightful way.

Uncooked, spelt looks like sunflower seeds. Indeed, my husband, who snacks on sunflower seeds, saw the unmarked bag of spelt sitting on the counter, opened it, grabbed a handful of the kernels and threw them into his mouth. A brief moment later, he realized his mistake. Funny but not pretty.

Anyway, this chowder is REALLY delicious and healthy, too. It has a little heat to it from the chile peppers, which give it a southwestern flair. It is easy to make as well. You should MAKE THIS SOUP TODAY. The recipe is from the wonderful Hay Day Market Country Cookbook by Kim Rizk.

Recipe:

1/4 cup olive oil (you can use less if you like)
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 pound ripe plum tomatoes (or two cups of good quality canned tomatoes)
1 large russet or Idaho potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 dried medium hot red chile peppers broken in half, seeds shaken out and discarded(I used medium hot New Mexico chiles. You could use Pasilla if you want. These are available in most grocery stores now-a-days)
6 cups vegetable stock (I use low sodium)
2 tsp. kosher salt (optional)
1 cup spelt kernels, rinsed and drained
2 cups corn kernels (frozen are OK...just thaw first)
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute until nicely colored and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and saute until softened and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the potato, chiles, stock and salt (if using) and allow to come to a boil.

2. Stir in the spelt and reduce the heat to a simmer. Partially cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spelt is tender, about 30 - 45 minutes. Remove and discard the chile pieces, and stir in the corn. Continue to simmer just until the corn is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes more.

Serve hot and swoon!

New England Clam Chowder

This is a recipe for the best clam chowder I have had to date. It is from the Captain's Pub on Cape Cod, who, by the way, won the Boston Chowder Fest in 2000, 2001 and 2006. They were retired to the Chowder Fest Hall of Fame and decided to publish their recipe. I made a few very slight changes. I substituted Bacon instead of salt pork and used a little less flour to the roux than they did. This is a meal!!



3 slices of bacon (Hickory smoked is my favorite)
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 pound sweet butter, plus 1/4 pound
4 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 pinch dry thyme
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 bay leaf
1 quart water
3 chef potatoes, peeled and diced
6 ounces clam base (recommended: Minors)
1 quart fresh chopped clams and their juice
1 quart light cream
1 teaspoon salt (taste before adding salt)
1 teaspoon ground pepper

Saute bacon but do not brown. Meanwhile, make roux by adding 2 cups of flour to 3/4 pound of the butter and stir. Make the roux pourable but not too loose or too thick.(You may not need all of the roux as it may make the chowder a bit too thick). Begin to cook on low flame or in an oven until the roux is nice and hot. In a heavy bottomed pot, put the remaining 1/4 pound butter and the bacon. Do not drain grease. Add the onion, celery and herbs, let saute for about 5 minutes. Add water and potatoes and bring it to a boil. Then add the clam base, keep stirring so the base and potatoes don't stick or burn to the bottom of the pan. Add the clams and their juice. When the potatoes become slightly tender bring everything back to a boil and start adding the hot roux. Turn the flame down a little and let simmer for approximately 5 minutes. Slowly add the light cream to the base until you get the right creamy chowder, not too thick or thin. Season with salt and pepper

Summer Squash Soup

From the Hay Day Country Market Cookbook by Kim Rizk.

This is excellent warm, cold or at room temperature. Very easy to make.


1/2 cup olive oil (I have used 1/4 with very good results)
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 large ripe tomoatoes, chopped (or substitute an undrained 16 oz can of good quality chopped tomatoes)
2 zucchini (total of 1 pound or less), coarsely chopped
2 yellow squash (total of 1 pound or less), coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped
Coarse (kosher) salt
1 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large kettle or stock pot over medium high heat. Add onion and saute until softened and transparent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and remaining vegetables (including tomatoes) and 2 teasponns salt, and saute until the veteables are lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes.

2. Add sock, vinegar, fennel seeds and black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered until the vegetables are extremely tender, about 20 minutes. Removed from the heat and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.

3. Transfer the mixture in batches to a blender and pulse to form a coarse puree. Serve warm, hot or chilled.

NOTE: I used a hand held stick blender and just move it around in the cooking pot. The results are great and it is less cleanup than with a blender.