Awesome Soup #21 - Green pea and Mint soup

Green Pea and Mint soup

We wanted something tasty as this was to be our last soup for a while and after last week's bland soup, here is the one we found,
What could be more tasty than lots of peas and a bunch of mint leaves? Well, it did turn out really tasty , the peas were sweet and the mint very flavorful. Just as Mike was about to spoon it out he said , "It says you can eat it cold. Shall we do that- it might be better?"

The bread was not quite ready so we debated back and forth but in the end decided to eat it as it was. Now while we were deciding, the time had passed so in fact we had the soup kind of not hot and not cold. This was probably not the thing to do and I suspect this would actually be a great cold soup for a hot summer day. The texture was just right and Mike gave it an 8 and I gave it a 7.

The bread was, shall we say, somewhat a disappointment. I had found a recipe for beer, cheese  and herb wheat bread which sounded wonderful. It sure smelled wonderful as it was cooking . Unfortunately like a lot of wheat breads it failed to rise completely and although it tasted okay it was a heavy bread and strangely enough was very salty. No salt was in the recipe either so where it came from we just  don't know.

The wine, a 'Simply Naked' Californian Chardonnay was excellent and very refreshing .Mike had bought fresh carrots as the organic stall at the weekend and they were lovely and crunchy and you could actually taste the  carrot!!
We are a bit souped out but Mike says due to the quantity of vegetable,beef and chicken stock he has left in the refrigerator, we probably will continue making soups until we run out. 
I think with the hot weather fast approaching  most likely we will be having  Awesome COLD soup days !!

Awesome Soup# 20 Beans & Greens

Beans & Greens soup

Both the soup recipe and the bread recipe sounded lovely. The photos in the cook books looked good as well so what could go wrong we thought. We wanted this lunch to be really nice as friends Les and Catriona were coming to share  with us. They understand we never know just how these things will turn out but we always like the lunch to be a success when friends come by.

Well the soup was as you would expect . It included bean, onions, carrot , celery and various herbs as well as the leafy greens of spinach and Swiss chard. The only thing that worried Mike was only water was added not stock and it also  didn't seem a long enough cooking time to develop the taste. And he was correct. Apart from the taste of the beans and the veggies it was a very bland and plain tasting soup. Mike gave it a 7 and I gave it a 6. Our friends were super  diplomatic but agreed really not very tasty. Mike says IF he makes it again he will use beef or vegetable stock and cook longer and see if that improves the taste.

I had made sun dried tomato and rosemary bread. Doesn't it just make you have visions of a perfect Tuscany scene? The bread rose well but during the baking  sunk just a little but the outside was crispy  and the aroma just wonderful. It tasted really nice . it was just about the right texture. I served it with with  two dipping sauces ; one was a gift from Sally, a very spicy garlic oil sauce, the other,  olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The garlic dip was one, I find really hot. It just burns the inside of your mouth. I keep well away from that  but Les thought it  was actually mild ( but then he is a true Texan and I am not). The bread and the dip as they were quite flavorful certainly helped the soup .
I'd also made a fresh apple pie which served with ice cream finished off the meal well. As usual we chatted about so many things as you do with old friends; cars and driving schools , retirement and travelling and of course cooking and soup.

Our soup days are drawing to a close. Soon it will be too hot to enjoy a hot soup and so we 
now need to figure out what our next project will be.
Keep in touch.

Awesome soup #19 Bloody Mary Soup

Bloody Mary Soup

Now this one did not come from the Soup Bible. it came from another super recipe book called the Soup Bowl also given to us by our friend Sally.This soup sounded so different and interesting that this is one Mike just had to try.
After all we all like Bloody Mary drinks don't we?  So why should we feel any different about a soup of the same name.

Unfortunately , although it had some very interesting ingredients, it was not a soup I  would want again. The soup , as expected ,called for tomatoes. I bet you knew that. Also the usual ingredients for soups : garlic, salt, pepper, and basil. As you might also expect from the name, a very small amount of vodka was included. This actually did not add to the taste as all The alcohol gets cooked away and as you also probably know, vodka doesn't have much of a taste by itself, if indeed any at all. But what did alter the taste was the Worcestershire sauce and the Tabasco sauce. The recipe did not give any amount of these to add and I think Mike was a  bit 'heavy handed" with the bottles. So the overall effect was a smooth tomato soup which was as hot as chili. Quite a surprise!

 Mike who likes hot, peppery tastes gave this soup an 8.5 and I gave it a 6 . I thought that was generous as I can't abide a burnt mouth when I am eating.
Fortunately I had made some brown wheat rolls which actually this time  came out the size and shape they should be so we calmed our fiery mouths with warm soft rolls with lots of butter and long gulps of a nice white wine. All was not lost.

Our conversation included a discussion on when Soup Days should end as our weather is getting warmer. Maybe our hot mouths just made it feel that way. Maybe after May 1 we will convert to Fabulous Salad and Desert days . How about that?
I'll let you all know.

Awesome soup # 18 Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta e Fagioli

Well from the title you would think this is a real exotic  soup but in our Soup Bible this was just the sub heading. Get clever and see if you can guess from where the soup came . The other sub heading was Minestrone di fagioli but the actual title was Bean and Pasta Soup. And that is just what it was. It was a lovely hearty mix of beans with an assortment of veggies and pasta mixed in. The soup was very tasty, the textures fine and all in all a very good soup. None was left and the dogs were sad!! Mike gave the soup a 9 .8 and I gave it an 8. This is mainly because I am not really a bean person. I just hate refried beans so that tells you a lot especially if you live in Texas.

Our friends , Priscilla and Kyle who came to share the meal with us and had experienced the previous bean soup, thought it was great as well. Kyle said that this soup was even better than the last bean soup and he gave it a 10.

To accompany with the soup I had made bubble bread , which is designed to be pulled apart ( like monkey bread) and turned out okay although I personally did not like the spongy kind of texture that it had. However,It went well with the soup and really did not need any butter or spread.

Our guests had brought a very nice light Californian white wine to drink with the meal, a Barefoot Pinot Grigio . This wine , combined with the good company made conversation very interesting. We touched on Kyle's experiences working at airplane crash sites, and Priscilla's highlights of selling realty in a changing market as well as Mike's latest project ,building his wood shed . Conversation enhances any meal and this was both entertaining and interesting.

A very good soup day or as Priscilla called it “Slurp Soup day.”

Spring in Texas

Spring has come somewhat early to Texas but due to the earlier heavy ains and mild weather we even have bluebonnets appearing all over our yard. Somewhat makes up for the last blistering summer we had!

Terlingua, Texas

Painting made after a visit during the Spring , a couple of years back just when the bluebonnets and prickly pear were coming into bloom in the desert. Just wonderful