Here in Boston, we're deep into soup season, and there's no soup more comforting than fish chowder. Big chunks of flaky white fish, golden potatoes, onions and herbs: there's nothing better on a chilly afternoon. It's easy to make chowder. Start with any mild white fish that looks good in the market -- cod, halibut, haddock -- or with flash-frozen fish fillets from Trader Joe's, if that's what you have. Jazz it up a bit by broiling it with a sprinkling of Old Bay Seasoning. I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes, but any potatoes cut into smaller pieces will be fine. Fresh herbs are great, but dried herbs will be great, too. Substitute milk for cream, to save a couple of calories. You can... Read more →
Two lessons I learned in childhood: chicken soup cures all ills, and Chinese food cures all ills. So, what do you call a Chinese chicken soup that also happens to be packed with anti-oxidant rich dark leafy greens? A miracle cure, I think. If you get hit with a seasonal cold, or pneumonia, or if, like me, you feel like you've got a touch of the flu from getting your annual flu shot, you're going to want to try this recipe for Chinese chicken soup, made with inexpensive and readily-available ramen noodles and packed with dark leafy greens like bok choy (you can substitute spinach or other Chinese greens). Remember to discard the salt-filled flavor packets that come with ramen noodles. If you don't have... Read more →
Do you soup swap? Whether it's an informal trade with a neighbor, or a more organized Soup Swap party with a group of friends, making and sharing soup is as comforting as a pot of soup itself. The basic idea of soup swap is that you exchange quart-size containers of soup with general appeal (everyone does not love borscht, as it turns out), that can be frozen for enjoyment throughout the cool weather months. It's great fun to make something you know will nestle into a friend's freezer, to be pulled out and savored on a chilly evening. For my next swap, I wanted to create a make-ahead-and-freeze bean soup with neither tomato nor hot pepper in any form. This turkey, red bean and cabbage... Read more →
The calendar tells me that soup season has arrived, but even without the calendar, I feel it in my bones. Cooler temperatures, dry air, a few leaves changing color here and there: it all spells soup. After the humid heat of summer, I'm finally willing to turn the stove on again. To get my soup-making juices flowing, I raided my pantry a couple of weeks ago to create a pot of tomato soup with a spicy kick. The tomato base combines canned chopped tomatoes, red sofrito, and mild red enchilada sauce. Rice gives the soup body, and you can omit the added jalapeño pepper if you want a milder soup. As is, this soup is vegan and gluten-free, but I'd never discourage you from topping... Read more →
Does this ever happen to you? You assemble all of the ingredients for a particular recipe on your countertop, but somehow, you end up cooking something completely different? I won't tell you what I was planning to do with this salmon and corn, except to say it was, well, the opposite of soup, but the day demanded a chowder, and it couldn't have turned out better. Spontaneous changes in the menu require creative use of whatever is in the pantry, or, as in this case, what's not in the pantry. I had no chicken or fish stock in the freezer or on the cupboard shelves, so I used the universal substitute -- water -- and added a bit of half-and-half. To keep the chowder gluten-free,... Read more →
Is mac and cheese, or a grilled rib-eye steak, or a big bowl of chocolate ice cream, your ultimate comfort food? Mine is asparagus soup. Call me crazy, but I could eat asparagus soup -- the greener, the better -- every day during the brief six weeks we get farm-fresh asparagus at the open markets and farmsteads here in New England. A few years ago, I learned that you can freeze asparagus. I never knew that, but it has changed my asparagus buying routine. Now, I try to buy several pounds direct from the farm on the day the asparagus is picked, and freeze it immediately in a zip lock bag with most of the air removed. The texture of frozen fresh asparagus spears is... Read more →
For a few years, I shared lots of soup recipes on my second blog, called Soup Chick. (Although I stopped publishing recipes there in 2014, you can still access those recipes online.) Many of those soups never found their way here, to The Perfect Pantry, and I pretty much forgot about most of them. One day, Susan, a devoted reader of both blogs, reminded me of all the good slurpiness on the Soup Chick site, and she suggested I bring some of it here to share with you. This chowder, thick and oh-so-spicy, is one of my favorites. The smoky heat comes from chipotle peppers tempered a bit by the cream. If hot and spicy isn't the way you roll, you can cut the amount... Read more →