culinary adventures

Not only is soup good food, it's so ridiculously easy to make I'm not sure how Campbells stays in business. Oh wait, I live in a country where blankets with sleeves, squeezable mayonnaise and pots with holes in the lid are big hits.
Nevermind.

I've boiled up a couple of batches recently, inspired by the inclement weather and a recent acquisition.

First up was a quick take on Tortilla Soup. My gold standard recipe is from Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless, but it's not a casual undertaking (prepping dried chilis always pays off, but it's a PITA).
This version wasn't much more involved than chopping some stuff up and dumping it in the pot, and it turned out pretty good. You do need to approach Mexican recipes from Cook's Illustrated with care- they have a decidedly East Coast sensibility which makes for occasionally boneheaded suggestions. Bayless says to fry up some thinly sliced corn torillas and put a handful in the bowl before ladling the soup in, which works fantastically well both aesthetically and flavor wise.

The Cooks crew decided, for reasons obscure, to go with sliced raw flour tortillas, which just sounds gross, texturally and flavor wise. I don't think it's an idea that would even occur to anyone who 'lived' with Mexican food as we do here in Cali.
Their other terrible suggestion was to sprinkle the top with Monterey Jack. I went with the traditional Queso Fresco, which along with the fried corn tortilla strips makes the dish IMHO.

It didn't have tremendous depth of flavor, but was easy and tasty and I'll be making it again.

But they salvaged their reputations with my second choice, Minestrone.

For such a visually appealing & delicious soup it is comically easy to make.
Step one: chop up a bunch of stuff.
Step two: bring it to a boil then simmer it for an hour or so.

Of course, that might sound tedious to someone who doesn't enjoy chopping, but for me that was its sexiest feature. It is also a tremendously cheap soup, aside from the requested Parmesan rind. A potato, a zucchini, a couple carrots & celery stalks, spinach, an onion & some garlic.
I made things more complicated by frying up the onion first, then sweating down the veggies a bit, another nod to the tiny Gordon Ramsey who rides my shoulder ranting about building flavor.

But even with that bonus step, the excited response of my diners was wildly out of proportion to the amount of work I'd invested. You'd think I pulled off some complex kitchen legerdemain....which is what earns this one a spot in the heavy rotation.

I expect it to be even better tonight, after some time to rest....