Saturday, February 03, 2007

BLIZZARD COOKING


Blizzard warning here in Western Michigan till 10pm tonite.
The pond in winter...our 13 ducks, plus any number of insurgents.
We go thru 50# of cracked corn every 2 days when the weather is this cold.
Fly-by ducks just seem to sense there is food and fellowship here, so they swing by on their way to who knows where, to shoot the breeze with friends!

The view off the back deck today.
Dark and dreary, with more of the same forecast for the next few days.
This kind of weather calls for...TA! DA!

SOUP AND BREAD!


On the left we have homemade cream of tomato with smokey chipotle peppers in adobe sauce.
The chipotle was my twist on an old favorite...gives it a bite without being too overpoweringly hot. Not too much, perhaps 1 pepper in just a bit of the adobe sauce. Pureed to perfection.
On the right is one I tried this summer...Spinach Soup.
I cannot begin to tell you how delicious this is.
And good for you, to boot!
I wasn't going to post the recipe, but as I was typing this, I thought, "No, they must own this !"

Blizzard Spinach Soup

1/4 cup, or less, olive oil
2 large yellow onions, chopped
1 TBL chopped garlic
6 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup white rice
1# fresh, baby spinach
salt and pepper, to taste
Cook onions in olive oil till clear, and browning ever so slightly, perhaps 7 min.
add garlic and cook 1 minute more
Add stock, bring to boil, add rice, and simmer 15 minutes, stir once or twice
Stir in spinach and s&p, and simmer another 5-7 minutes.
Puree using immersion blender or standard blender(if using standard blender, make sure you only puree a bit at a time...BIG mess, otherwise!!)

I would serve this with any wine you might have on hand. The tomato would be good with a nice Pinot Noir, with an oakey Chardonnay pairing well with the spinach. I had Chardonnay in the house, so...Chardonnay it was!

The bread is called "Rustic Italian Bread", which I found yesterday over at Dine and Dish .
Awesome recipe using the manual setting on a bread machine, with your standard kitchen oven doing the final baking. Crunchy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. Perfect accompaniment for the soup duo!
STAY WARM!





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19 comments:

kansasrose said...

Puttin on my snow shoes girl and comin' right over for some of that divine soup, chipolte sauce ( what a cool idea) and bread! You stay safe and warm and snug today sweetie! Looks like that here today but not as much snow...I saw on the weather channel that Michigan was going to be hit hard with the lake effect snows. Do you get those huge snows like Buffalo, NY? That is a beautiful pic of your pond and the ducks...you have such a lovely farm and home! Loveya! kr

Jean said...

What a treat for a cold day! Looks delishes!

ShabbyInTheCity said...

Scared me to death. At first glance I thought it said 'Buzzard Cooking'. I thought-that Cyn is liable to cook anything...

Cin said...

Soups sound delicious! And that bread looks great; I have got to try that recipe.

It's cold here, VERY cold, but no snow. We are keeping warm though, you do that same!

Anonymous said...

I am drooling just looking at this pic! Thanks for sharing the recipe - I am going to try the spinach soup tomorrow! :) And the bread is GORGEOUS! I think I will try that too, now that yeast is my best friend - hee hee...

Lovella ♥ said...

Brr. . . it looks cold out there. Hot soup just does the trick on a cold winter day eh? I'm liking the idea of adding a chipotle pepper in some adobe sauce to the tomato soup I posted the other day. It would add a bit of zip.
I'm wondering about #1 spinach. Is that a prepackaged bag? It sounds scrumptious, with a crusty bread and a lovely glass of wine. Keep those home fires burning.

Farmgirl Cyn said...

KR..typically we get 2-3 big storms per winter...this one is a doozy!

Shabby...I nearly fell off my chair when I read your comment! How funny are you!

Joy...the bread is embarassingly easy, especially since you are now yeast savvy!

Lovella...the spinach is pre-washed, pre-packaged baby spinach. I actually had a 2# pkg that we had been eatin' off of for the past few days, tossing handfuls into salads, and I knew it would only last another couple days, which is what inspired the soup. The chipotle really does make a huge difference. I think I will use it from now on.

Anonymous said...

How are you doin in this cyn? BRRRRRR! I did not even go to work (played hooky;) and have not even got dressed I've been wrapped up in my blanket all day, with my woolies on oh I did manage to make a pot of chili for everyone tho ummmmmmmmmmm:) the hens are doing ok...I picked up some corn for them yesterday and they are seeminly managing out there today* your soup and bread looks delish!

Clare and Mike said...

You have made my mouth water! That all looks so delicious! Even though it's 11.30 at night here in England, I could happily eat a bowl of that soup and crusty bread!

Tea said...

These recipes look so delicious! And that butter dish is about the prettiest I`ve ever seen. Love the colours!

tea
xo

Rachel said...

Looks like you are prepared with all that yummy food! I don't envy the blizzard warning though. It's cold here and going to get colder this week. Burrr....

rachel said...

...soup and bread...a perfect combination for very wintry day...YUM! Thanks for dropping by.

HomemakerAng said...

oh yes, this bread looks delish! i will try it for sure this week! just baked 8 dozen rolls/cinn rolls yesterday so we have to eat those first... THE HIPS DONT LIE!

Amy said...

oooh I quite agree, my favourite winter soup is pumpkin or butternut and sweetcorn - delicious!

savvycityfarmer said...

snnnfnnnnnnnsssssnnowwwwed in and sooooonnnooooowcold I can't talk right now!!

Anonymous said...

Looks like you've prepared the perfect combination to keep warm! I'm so glad you posted the recipe for the soup. One that I know I will make and serve for my family. I've enjoyed reading your 'blog' and have it marked for future reading. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Isn't that bread awesome! Yours looks really great. That's the perfect meal for blizzard warning conditions!
Thanks for the nod to my blog.

Betty Jo said...

Yummy! I so love soup. The spinach soup sounds wonderful, must try that one. The bread is beautiful. :0)

Katie said...

I love soup and bread. The blizzard looks kind of fun, too! As long as you don't loose power - we always did in Minnesota!