Cold Enough for Soup, but Not Snow.

For San Juan and Grand Counties, snowpack on the Abajo and La Sal Mountains is extremely important during the winter months.  There is much concern that the 2017-2018 season is seeing abnormally dry conditions; drought is a high probability at this point in time.  At the same time, the temperatures are not being helpful, being just above or below the optimum point of producing snowfall.

At the same time, illnesses such as pneumonia and influenza are rearing their angry heads. Roy almost lost his own mother recently when she was hit by a double whammy, both illnesses at the same time!  Thankfully she was taken to the hospital in time and is making a full recovery, but it was touch and go for over a week. 

Ending and beginning the years with news items that are detrimental to our communities is not pleasant, but this is where strength of spirit comes in.  It’s a pulling together of all residents to take care of, not just immediate family, but friends, neighbors and, yes, even strangers just moving into the area.  It’s a testament to the pioneer character; stand strong together in the face of adversity.  So, to create a self-fulfilling prophecy, focus on the positive and watch the miracles appear!

…and on that note, let’s talk soup and the comfort it can bring.  Oh come now, I don’t know of anyone who, no matter how down he/she may feel, doesn’t get a soothing smile on the face after diving (not literally please) into a bowl of soup.  Every family has their own special recipe, a soup they swear by as the perfect fix for “whatever ails you”.  That soup for the Cokenour clan is Potato Leek, a creamy concoction of leeks and potatoes pureed into luscious goodness.  While we enjoy the version that has butter and cream added for a rich, silky texture; it can be made without these two decadent ingredients.  Great news for those who do not do well with dairy products, but still want that creamy comfort.

While leeks are primarily used in soups, this relative to the onion, and asparagus, is more versatile than one might think. Due to its mild onion flavor, a leek can be substituted for a regular onion; cutting it will not irritate the eyes either.  Leeks have a small bulb end; and the tastiest part is the white part which grows deep in the ground, and away from the sun's rays. The green upper part is very fibrous, and used for making stock; or thrown into the compost pile. Growing in the ground has the disadvantage of having dirt caked in between the many layers of the leek, so it needs to be thoroughly washed before use. The best way to do this is to cut the white part either into circular sections, or cutting it up into pieces, placing it all in a colander and washing under cool water.  The pieces can then be used in soups, quiches, casseroles, side dishes; anything an onion can be used for, but without the tears!  Sautéed in butter or olive oil, they turn translucent and release a pleasant onion scent that is easy on the nose, and most especially, the eyes.

Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:

 

2 Tbsp. butter

4 leeks, white part only,

1 lb. potatoes (Yukon Gold or Russet), peeled and cubed

1 qt. chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup cold water

½ tsp. ground black pepper

2 cups heavy cream

Optional: favorite herb for garnish

Preparation:

Cut leeks into ½ inch pieces, put into a colander, wash thoroughly with cold water to remove grit.  In a large stock/soup pot, melt butter over medium heat.  Sauté leeks until tender, approx. 10-15 minutes.  Add potatoes, stock, water, black pepper; bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low.

Cover pot and let soup simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  If using a hand-held blender, puree the soup in the pot until smooth.  Otherwise, transfer the mixture, in batches, to a standard blender; puree until smooth.  Return soup to the pot.

On low heat, stir the cream into the soup mixture.  Let the soup come up to a hot temperature, but do NOT bring to a boil.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with favorite herb (thyme, parsley, chives, etc.) if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

As promised, here is a recipe for Potato Leek Soup, but dairy free.  I got this Weight Watchers recipe from my niece, Donna, who is a RN and resides on Long Island in New York State.  After printing out a copy of the Weight Watchers recipe, I compared it to my Potato Leek Soup recipe; pretty similar in nature. I cooked up a pot of this recipe, but added crushed, dried thyme instead of using the chives as they suggested. Wow, was pretty amazed at how good it came out; not as creamy, but it was still thick and rich tasting; the thyme added a pleasant savory flavor. Serving it to my hubby, he too was amazed at how good this non-dairy version was; he equated the texture to cream of wheat, but still enjoyed it...two bowls worth in one sitting.  Donna suggested that I mix in a little low fat or fat free sour cream if we missed the dairy; tried it and didn't care for it at all.

Weight Watchers Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:

64 oz. canned chicken broth, reduced-sodium

8 medium uncooked potatoes, peeled 

3 medium uncooked leeks, cleaned 

1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

2 Tbsp. chives, minced (optional)

Preparation:

To clean the leeks, slice them lengthwise and then cut into one inch pieces. Put the pieces into a large colander, rinse with cold water until you can no longer see any dirt; separate the pieces as you rinse them.  Let them stand a few minutes to allow excess water to drain out.

Peel the potatoes and cut them one inch in size; they will cook together more uniformly with the leeks.  Yukon Gold potatoes are yellow in coloring and have a buttery taste; perfect for a soup that usually has butter in it, but is now being cooked without it.

Combine the broth, potatoes, leeks, pepper and herb, if using any, in a large stock pot or Dutch oven; bring to a boil on high heat.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the vegetables are very soft, about 30 to 40 minutes. Uncover and let cool slightly.

Puree at least 2 cups or up to all of the potatoes and leeks (depending on the texture you want), with 1–2 cups of the broth in a food processor, blender or with an immersion blender; pour the mixture back into the remaining soup, stir, and reheat. Serve hot, or cover and refrigerate to serve cold; hot or cold, garnish with the minced chives, if using.

Yields 1 and 1/2 cups per serving.

This soup can be completely or partially pureed and served hot or cold. It can be refrigerated for up to three days, but not frozen.

Try out both recipes and see which you enjoy the best, but most of all, have a positive and happy new year!

Mary Cokenour

Looking for Comfort? Eat Soup!

No matter what the weather, I have always found soup to be a wonderful comfort food.  It lightens a dark mood; soothes an ache of the mind, body or soul; can be quite healthy, so no guilt; or decadent when wanting to feel pampered.

One of the best soups I know for relieving the cold and alone feeling of nasty winter weather is Potato Leek Soup, and the addition of cream makes it a little decadent too.  Definitely a win-win.

Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:

4 large leeks, or 5-6 small to medium; white part only, or 1-2 inches into soft, green section

2 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. potatoes (Yukon Gold or Russet), peeled and cubed
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup cold water
½ tsp. ground black pepper
2 cups half n’ half
Optional: favorite fresh herb for garnish

 

 

Preparation:

Cut leeks into ½ inch pieces; place in colander to wash thoroughly with cold water to remove any dirt and girt.  In a large stock pot, melt butter over medium heat; sauté leeks until tender (approx. 10-15 minutes). 

  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Increase heat to medium-high; add potatoes, stock, water, black pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low; cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

  

 

If using an immersion blender, puree vegetables in stock pot until smooth.  Otherwise, transfer in batches into a standard blender; puree until smooth and return to stock pot once all is done.

Turn heat on again to low, stir half n’ half into the puree; let soup come up to a hot temperature, but do not increase heat to avoid boiling the soup.

Ladle into bowls, garnish with snips of favorite fresh herb if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Good Heavens, but That's Good Gravy.

Gravy making, why does it seem to be so complicated? Growing up, the only gravy I remember having at a meal was at Thanksgiving time; it wasn't homemade, but came out of a can. During my first marriage I would watch my ex-mother-in-law make a slurry of flour, garlic powder and water, pour it into the meat drippings and it would be a lumpy, oily mess. Not very good examples for making my own gravy, and I avoided the issue whenever I could. Thank you, thank you, thank you for whomever invented the crock pot; not just for the easy cooking it afforded the home cook, but for the luscious stock that could be made into a stupendous gravy.

"Impossible!", you say; "Can't make gravy without drippings from roasted meat or poultry!", you say...yep, you can.  First I'll tell you how using the crock pot, and then how from drippings; and without butter, cream or extra flour added.  Now sit back, relax and have a good read...

Scenario: Making pot roast in the a crock pot; put your meat in first, but before you put it in, coat it liberally with flour (this is all you'll need for that gravy later on); put in your veggies, seasonings and then pour two cups of beef stock over it all; cover, set it and forget it till done.  If making chicken, use chicken stock instead, but use the same coating with flour and veggies over the top process.



The meat is done, put it on a platter to rest with 3/4 of the vegetables.  Now looking into the crock pot, you'll see an oily sheen on top; that is the oil that came out of your meat during the cooking process.  Don't worry, we're going to get rid of that easily, but not lose any flavor. 



The liquid inside the pot is also very thin; the flour you coated the meat in wasn't enough to thicken, but just enough to help with the process.  The 1/4 portion of vegetables that you left inside is going to be your true thickener.  What is neat about this is that anyone that refuses to eat their veggies, but loves gravy is going to eat veggies and not even know.  Well they will if you tell them, but we're keeping this a secret, right? Of course, you can leave larger bits of veggies if you like, and no one you're serving to is a problem eater.




Now you all know how I love my immersion blender, but if you still haven't purchased your own (why!!?!!), then a regular blender will do.  Begin pulverizing the vegetables inside the pot, being careful not to raise it too high and splash the liquid around the kitchen.  Not only will the soon to be gravy be thickening up, but you'll see it turn to a rich color; you'll be tempted to serve it as is, but patience grasshopper. 

To get the oil out of your gravy, pour the amount of pureed liquid you need into a plastic container and place into the freezer for one hour.  Take the container out of the freezer and you'll see that the fats have solidified on top; carefully spoon them out and don't forget to scrape it off the sides of the bowl. You will probably have a lot more gravy left over which can be defatted,  frozen and reheated when needed; because you did not use any dairy in its making, the chance of separating is none.  

 

Now just warm up the gravy and serve with your meal; you shouldn't have to add any seasonings, especially salt which would have come from the stock you initially used when cooking your meat.  Now if you really need to have a smooth gravy, go ahead and strain out all the little bits that the blender could not pulverize.  We like it rustic; it proves that it is homemade, not out of some can or jar.

Ok, now for the roasted part of this post; you're going to need a deep roasting pan for this process.  Either use a rack to lay your meat or poultry on, or a very thick layer of cut up vegetables will work too.  In the pan, lay out all your cut up vegetables and sprinkle a little flour over all of them; pour your stock over all; then place the rack with meat, or the meat itself on top and roast until done.  Now just follow the same gravy making process as I explained for the crock pot; you just might want to transfer your liquid and 1/4 portion to a deep bowl first though.  Oh, don't forget to season your meat or poultry; as the fat melts, it'll take some of the seasoning with it and add it to the veggies down below.

How come I didn't use any water in the crock pot or roasting pan?  The vegetables gave me all I needed; during the cooking process, they sweated out their excess moisture, so adding water at the beginning would have thinned out the gravy way too much at the end.

Making gravy is not so hard after all; just remember to not add any seasonings until after the process is done and you've tasted.  You will be very surprised.  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour