On this last day of the year 2012, I’m reminded of all the people who like to say “I can’t believe how fast this year has gone!”
Well, I don’t think it went very fast, in fact sometimes it went downright slow.
For me personally, this was a “put and take” year. Something in was a new shouler; something out became the rest of my hard working teeth. However, I admit to being forgivably vain about the new teeth.
In the spirit of “use it or lose it”, we continued our entertainment schedule, as long as the invited guests did not object to a liquid meal. I found the turkey for the 2011 Thanksgiving dinner rather difficult to stuff into a blender.
We are very fond of soup, and since our diet this past year contained a lot of it, there were many new recipes tried and created.
One imaginative production, containing a great number of vegetables and chicken as I remember, cried out for heat, so that became jalapeno pepper which I liberally tossed in at the last minute. The assembled guests eagerly dipped their spoons and let out a collective scream for water. “I thought we’d never come back friom that one” said one friend the next day. She’s lucky they did, because shortly after that, I made this beer/cheese soup, which is a warm soul-satifying luncheon dish, or a light supper.
BEER CHEESE SOUP
3/4 cup butter
1/2 c. 1/8″ diced celery
1/2 c. 1/8″ diced onion
1/2 c. 1/8″ diced carrot
3-4 cloves garlic chopped fine
Saute vegetables until done
Add 1/2 c. flour, 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
2 1/2 pts. chicken stock
cook 5 minutes
Blend in 6 oz. grated Cheddar cheese, 2 Tbs. Parmegiano cheese
12 oz bottle of beer
Simmer 10 min.
Salt and pepper to taste
Essentially, that’s it, but the addition of a few meatballs is a nice idea too.
MEATBALLS FOR SOUP
1/2 # grnd beef
1 egg lightly beaten
2 Tbs. finely chopped onion
Tsp. olive oil
Enough fine bread crumbs to make a stiff ball
Poach meatballs in hot water for 5 min. to take off all the extra fat
which clouds the broth if using them in a brothy soup
If you sometimes have leftover greens such as chard, spinach, etc. it can be a nice addition too.
Remember what your mamas told you and don’t slurp your soup! And do have a Happy New Year!
Worry, like rust, never sleeps.
Pachofa-Unfinished 