Jenmenke

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Meatless Monday Eight!

Lowly Potato Soup.

I could almost call this Stone Soup. It’s practically the same thing.

Wait, no. That sounds bad. This really is good soup. It’s seems to make a lot of something out of practically nothing. So, in that way it is like stone soup.

It is a very old family recipe.

Actually, like most things I say, I don’t even know if that is true. It seems like a very old family recipe to me, probably because we don’t have one of those families with a rich tradition of cooking — passing recipes from generation to generation — like some. I remember eating this as a kid. And it wasn’t my mom’s recipe. It was my aunt’s. And my aunt couldn’t cook. So how this recipe came to be a success is a complete mystery, unless it was never hers to begin with. Hence the lore that is is an “old family recipe.”

How’s that sound?

Anyway, this was yet another Meatless Monday where we were not together for dinner. I had my monthly bookclub meeting. It was being held at the best cook in the club and I wasn’t going to miss it for anything. Not even if swedish meatballs were on her menu. Oh my gosh. Those swedish meatballs…

…are fodder for another post….as soon as I wrangle the recipe away from her.

I will be eating meatless today (Tuesday) to make up for my Meatball Monday transgressions and will be looking forward to the potato soup. I should mention that Dave was leaving town again Tuesday, so I couldn’t just push Meatless off until today, because — by God, he was not missing another Meatless Monday, I was going to see to that. So I made them the soup before I left for bookclub. Simple as that.

So the soup. What can I say about it? It is very plain. It is very smooth. It is very plain and smooth.

And also, it is very cheap.

And for some reason, every body seems to love it.

Oh, and it is very, very easy. It must be, because, like I said, my aunt was able to make it without burning it.

But there is nothing spectacular about it. It is just creamy potato goodness.

Oh I forgot another thing: it is very healthy, too. Barely a fat-gram to its name. (Assuming you are not one of the non-carbohydrate freaks of nature.)

So here it is:

Aunt Rita’s Potato Soup (for lack of a better name)
  • Russet potatoes, any size
  • cold water to cover
  • 3T flour
  • 3T butter
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • cheese for garnish
  • bacon bits if you are not partaking in Meatless Monday!
  • fried homemade durkee onions if you ARE partaking in Meatless Monday*

* which I will post if anyone is interested. They were so good!

Put unpeeled, whole cleaned potatoes in a large dutch oven or saucepan with a lid. (for 4 people with left overs, I used 4 baker-sized potatoes) Cover potatoes with cold water by about 1/2″ – 1″. Bring to a simmer and partially cover. Cook until potatoes are tender. DO NOT THROW OUT THE BOILING WATER. Drain the potatoes, reserving the water.

Let potatoes slightly cool and peel. Put the potatoes back into the pot and mash. You can put them thru a ricer or food mill first, for perfectly smooth potatoes, or you can use a hand masher. The idea for this soup is to get it mostly smooth.

For the roux, put 3 tablespoons of flour and 3 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet, stirring together as the butter melts. Cook, bubbling, over low to medium low heat about 5 minutes — just until the mixture barely turns a shade darker. (If you are making soup for less than 4 or 5, cut the flour and butter to 2T each.)

Over low to medium heat, add the cooking water back to the mashed potatoes, stirring until smooth, then add the roux stirring well. Simmer 10 minutes or so, adding more water if soup is too thick. Salt and pepper to taste. (it will need salt!)

My cousins insisted that you had to put the shredded cheese into the bottom of the bowl, so of course we do, using cojack or cheddar or whatever else green-sided hunk of cheese we find in the fridge. Then, add the soup and top with garnish of your choice. The garnish being a Menke addition.

Here is the picture Morgan took of her bowl, with the fried onion crisps, which were my attempt to combat the yearning for bacon. They scarfed them up so fast there were hardly enough for the garnish. Lord knows there weren’t any left for me today, so I can’t say one way or the other if the idea worked.

And here was my bowl that I had for lunch today. I added some chopped frozen chives for a little kick:

OK, I lied. I couldn’t take it:

So shoot me. It wasn’t Monday.

Beef and Peapods

My Favorite Potluck Meal

Yes. You heard me right: Potluck.

Growing up, I was a picky eater. Thankfully, my kids are not picky, aside from their deep (and recently conquered) fear of Sloppy Joes.

However, if you have a picky eater, you will know what a traumatic event the evil potluck dinner can be. You know who you are. You eat before you go, you bring secret stashes of food, make lame excuses, etc.

This recipe isn’t just for potluck dinners though. It just happens to be what my mom would bring to potluck dinners back in the late 70’s that we would eat. Back then, it was pretty darn obscure. Stir fry? Beef and Pea Pods?

It became a big hit. It became well known. It became popular. It became one of the first items to go. And that was a bummer because I had to jockey for position in line to be able to get some.

It’s a recipe I still make today. And it’s only gotten better with today’s availability of fresh pea pods. Back then, my mom had to buy frozen ones. They were actually pretty gross. I use sugar snap peas when they look good, or I have them in the garden. I like them better than flat pea pods.

My parents were in town last week when I made it last time. I don’t think they had had my mom’s old recipe for over 20 years. It’s an oldie AND a goodie. It’s quick to make, leftovers are awesome. And guess what meat I use?

Round Steak.

So it’s really cheap.

Yeah, you can up the ante with a better cut of meat, but if you cut across the grain of the round steak, I actually prefer it. I don’t mind a little chew.

Beef and Peapods

  • 1 lb Round Steak
  • 3T veg oil
  • 1 clove garlic pressed or chopped
  • 1 T grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds toasted in a pan or the oven til just golden
  • 3/4 cup green onions chopped (or substitute white onion if you don’t have and add them after the steak in the beginning of the stirfry)
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 3 cups (approximately) snow peas or sugar snap peas. If using sugar snaps, cut a few of the on the diagonal to expose the peas inside)
  • 1 pkg white mushrooms sliced in halves(optional. My kids hate shrooms, so I skip)
  • 3T soy sauce
  • 1 t sesame oil
  • 1 can chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 T cornstarch.

Heat wok on high. When hot, add oil and wait about a minute. Add meat and stir fry until it changes color, about 2-3 minutes. Add celery (and white onion if using), garlic and ginger. Cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add mushrooms if using along with soy sauce and chicken broth. Cook 5 minutes on medium heat. Mix cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and add to wok, stirring constantly. Add peapods and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle with almonds and serve over white rice.

If bringing to a potluck, put the rice in a separate covered casserole dish.

* I just have to ask: does my wok look gross, or is that scum on the sides normal?