Chicken Rice & Vegetable Lemon Soup

Serves 4

(Image courtesy Carla - Askville)


It must be a good 20 years ago, when I first tasted the flavor of lemon in a soup. It was such a delicious experience, I of course immediately went overboard and squeezed not only "my" lemon slice into the broth, but those of my two friends who were having lunch with me.

I was in California, on a business trip. The waitress who witnessed this, had a wide grin on her face and asked me if I wanted to improve on the flavor even more. As naive as I was, I acknowledged an "of course." She excused herself and said she would be right back with secret ingredients.

I'll finish the story about how I discovered this soup...a little later.
For a truer Avgolemono (Greek egg-lemon) soup, omit the carrots, celery, onions and roux.

Guten Appetit…!

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Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken stock (1)
• 1/3 cup long-grain white rice – uncooked
• 2 large carrots – sliced
• 2 large celery stalks – sliced
• ½ cup onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup chicken – browned and sliced into ¼ inch thick by 1 inch long strips
• 2 tablespoons butter (2)
• 2 tablespoons flour (2)
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• lemon or lime slices as desired
• parsley as garnish (optional) – fresh chopped

Footnotes:
(1) If a fresh, homemade chicken stock is not available, using a quality stock like Swanson's will work just fine or make one with 6 cups of water and 3 large Knorr chicken bouillon.
(2) I prefer the thicker and cremier quality that a roux can contribute to this soup. Omit it for a more traditional style.

Preparation

1. In a large saucepan, combine chicken broth, rice, carrots, celery and onion.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until rice and vegetables are tender.
4. Stir in chicken.
5. Remove pot from heat
6. Then, in a small saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour until smooth – like a roux
7. Gradually add 2 cups of soup broth to the roux and slow simmer until slightly thickened, stirring constantly until velvety smooth – 5 minutes
8. In a small bowl, beat the eggs until frothy
9. Gradually add lemon juice into the eggs
10. Whisk approximately 1 cup of the hot soup broth into the eggs – stirring constantly
11. Slowly add 2 cups of thickened broth-butter-flour sauce into the large pot of soup.
12. Very slowly add egg-lemon-broth mixture into the large pot of soup – stirring constantly. Do not do this if your soup is boiling or very hot or your eggs will split. (The large pot of soup should have been removed from the burner per above instructions and cooled for approximately 5 minutes – you do not want an egg-drop soup)
13. After all is added to the large pot of soup, heat gently until soup thickens enough to coat a spoon -- do not boil.
14. Add salt and pepper to taste, garnish with lemon.

Serve

1. Ladle about 1-½ to 2 cups of soup per serving
2. Garnish with parsley, squeeze ¼ (or less) lemon or lime, salt and pepper to taste

Laß es Dir schmecken...!

Barley Potato & Kielbasa Soup

Yield: Serves 4

I also enjoy this soup with different sausages, depending upon the mood I’m in – try sweet, mild or hot Italian, high quality German brats, Knackwurst (oh, my, is that good…!) or, in a desperate pinch, juicy jumbo Vienna hot dogs (not bad).

If I’m in a “European” mood and there is some hot Bach playing, I’ll go for the “Knacks” every time. God forbid some gypsy music is on the radio – I’ll kick up the volume, throw in a variety of meats (whatever the hell I can find that strikes me) and let the hips move and the Cabernet flow…

OK...The truth be told, I'm in a Sarah McLachlan mood. Live with it...!
I love the delicate, fragile and velvet voice, the emotions and soul you can see and feel in her expressions...Damn, what a raw exposure and beautifully revealed, without fear...! Kielbasa will never be the same.

Dear Sarah, I apologize – this belongs with something more romantic…Filet Mignon for Two…

This is the type of song that shuts me down and makes me take stock of my life - what I have accomplished, what it all means, and what there is that has meaning in the universe. Thank you Sarah.



Oh, Palease…! Stop complaining about how delicious this is…you will feel magnificent and nourished, after your 1 hour walk. Uhlala…!

Guten Appetit...!

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Ingredients

• ¼ cup pearled barley
• 6 cups of water
• 3 chicken bouillon – Knorr
• 4 small red boiling potatoes
• 1 large celery stick sliced
• 1 large carrot peeled and sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion – chopped
• 1 tblsp split peas
• ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 smoked Kielbasa sausage

Preparation

Cook the Barley

• In a 3 qt. pot, bring 6 cups of water to boil, add bouillon
• Add barley and split peas
• Partially cover pot and medium simmer for 45 minutes – until barley is tender

Prepare the Vegetables

• After 45 minutes of broth simmer…
• Add quartered potatoes, sliced celery, carrots, chopped onions and pepper
• Add kielbasa – slices should be ½ inch wide

Boil & Serve the Soup

• Bring to boil, cover pot, reduce heat to medium simmer – 15 minutes
• Potatoes should be firm and done, vegetables should be crisp and flavorful
• Serve a cup (well, maybe a little more). Salt and pepper to taste.

Notes
Adding vegetables late will preserve their flavors and not leach into the broth.

Laß es Dir schmecken...!

Beef Stroganoff Soup

Serves 4

Having made Beef Stroganoff for dinner, I had plenty of the sauce left over for a second time around. The day after, I made a corned beef, boiled potato and corn dinner, with plenty of beef for sandwiches.

Not wanting to waste the more fatty end parts of the corned beef, I made a stock, added beef stroganoff sauce and, “oh, boy”, did I like what I tasted. I think you will too. So, the recipe below is for making a stroganoff soup, less the corned beef stock.

Guten Appetit…!

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Ingredients

• 1/3 lb. of egg noodles
• 1 lb. of fillet mignon or stir fry strips
• ¼ cup olive oil for the broth
• 1 cup of chopped yellow onions
• 8 oz. ounces sliced mushrooms – thick ¼”
• 3 medium cloves thinly sliced garlic
• 1 tsp sea salt – for the broth
• ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
• ½ tsp dry mustard
• ¼ tsp dry (1 tsp chopped) tarragon
• 2/3 cup of red wine – cabernet sauvignon
• 1 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup boiling water for chicken broth
• 1 large Knorr chicken bouillon
• 1 10-1/2 oz. can consommé or beef stock
• 1/8 cup butter for roux
• 2tablespoons flour for roux
• 8 oz. of sour cream

Preparation

Cook the Pasta:

o While making the sauce, cook pasta according to the package directions to al dente in four quarts of water in a stock pot and drain well
o Place back into the same pot it was cooked in and put on a cool burner that has been turned off, toss in 1 tblsp butter, cover and keep pasta warm

Make the Sauce:

o Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat
o Add salt, pepper, dry mustard, tarragon and onions – sauté onions until translucent and light golden yellow
o Add and sauté garlic until pale yellow
o Add mushrooms, wine and Worcestershire and cook 3 more minutes to incorporate flavor
o Add chicken broth, consommé or beef stock and bring to a boil – boil 2 minutes
o Reduce heat to low simmer

Make the Roux:

o Heat a small skillet or sauce pan over medium-low heat and melt the butter
o Add flour, (1 tblsp at a time) to the butter and stir with a spoon until the roux is smooth
o Continue cooking 2 minutes and then slowly add the roux to the broth while stirring until the roux is totally blended

Sear the Meat:

o Heat a skillet with 2 tblsp of olive oil over medium-high heat until hot
o Place strips of meat into the pan and sear the meat on both sides to medium-rare, put on the side
o Deglaze pan with ¼ cup of red wine, scraping bits and add to meat

Prepare & Serve:

• Remove stroganoff soup from the heat and slowly add sour cream, stirring well
• Put back on medium heat and cook 2 minutes – do not boil, avoid curdling sour cream
• Add the pasta, add seared meat strips and simmer until hot
• Serve hot, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Guten Appetit…!