Toasty Egg Drop Soup

True. This is an egg drop soup. Fact. This is not an Asian Egg Drop Soup recipe.

Very basic. Very self explanatory. Boil chicken stock. Add spinach. Whisk an egg, swirl in. Toast some toast (I used La Brea Sourdough Baguette) - Dunk or douse. Insert spoon into mouth. Wake up.

 

 

 

 

rubbing a cut raw garlic clove would be a good idea. I'm still on my garlic strike. Pan con Tomate not a bad idea either.

 

drained cannellini beans and/or parmesan rind could be added here.

 

 

EVOO wouldn't be a lost cause

 

 

 

Top O the Morning to ya! And Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Chilaquiles morphed into Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chilaquiles - "chee-lah-KEE-lays" - Translated: Very good hangover food.

What happens when you're fresh outt've queso fresco? You adapt. That's what.

This particular morning back in June (29th to be exact), I was definitely feeling the effects of a fun Saturday night come Sunday morning. (I use the term "fun" very loosely. I keep it loose as a goose, usually. This particular said Saturday night was no exception) Anyways, allow me to set the scene.

I woke up. I was hungover. I had chilaquiles on the brain and by the end of the morning, I had a chicken tortilla soup of sorts in my belly. Maybe I'll blog someday about a "proper" chilaquiles cooked in my kitchen. Maybe not. Mysteries - Keeping life exciting & new.

Yellow Corn Bagged Tortilla Chips. Costs $1

 

1/4Cup Herdez (favorite) Tomatillo Salsa mixed with 1 1/2Cups Homemade Chicken Stock

 

Pulled white chicken breast meat and shredded extra sharp White Vermont cheddar (Cracker Barrel) atop the chips

 

doused in ladled broth. garnished with chopped avocado and plenty of raw onion

 

went back for seconds. no more avo but added chopped jalapeno. gettin' sweatin' or something or other

 

Alex Van Buren - NY CHOW Report - YouTube - Click It, watch, get a hankering or get hungry

Have Fun!

 

"For Your Health" - Dr. Steve Brule

Matzoh Ball Soup

up since the butt-crack of dawn

 

 

shot glass of 2Tbl of water I left to chill overnight. gotta put up warning signs. I'm a clutz sometimes.

 

note taking is paramount

 

set to boil

 

beat til frothy. I don't have a fancy hand-held-crank beater like Aunt Rosalie.

 

water time

 

fat, seasoning, salt time

 

Matzoh Meal. I used a different brand than Aunt Roslie. Mine was in a canister like hers, though.

 

get the whisk outta there. stir with a spatula

 

it was gloopy, runny. this is a before pic. I meant to stand my spatula in the mix after 20min. in the fridge to show thickness. I forgot. whoops!

 

so here's what happened. My pot came to a boil @ 8:19. The mix was not chilled enough. I didn't sweat it, and I didn't panic. I killed the heat and waited til my 20min was up. I killed time by watching the movie Alice in Wonderfuland. Futterwacken vigorously.

the remaining 20min flew by. By the time I'd set up my ball rolling station (cold water for my hands to prevent sticking), the water was already at a simmer and back to a rolling boil in no time.

 

 

 

all in. I counted 15 fore I stuck the lid on top

reduced the covered pot to a medium heat

 

reserved/leftover stock

1 ladle. 2 ladles. Microwave on high for 2min.

 

handle with care

 

floaties. they're donzo. took maybe 4-5min? no more than 5.

 

fish out with a slotted spoon

 

set on lid coated in schmaltz. (the lid that covered my reserved homemade stock)

 

drain water place the left over balls back in the pot.

 

cover to keep warm. This was a mistake. made them a little more dense than necessary - Whatevs. I'll know next time what not to do.

 

glumpshkees. That's the word I think of when I look at this photo. Don't ask.

 

Aunt Rosalie's Recipe for Matzoh Ball Soup 

 

"Happy Passover. or Happy Everything" - Aunt Rosalie

Today's Recipe for Matzoh Ball Soup (I cut the quantity in half)

Ingredients:
2 Eggs
2 Tbl cool Water
2 Tbl Schmaltz (I only had 1 Tablespoon of schmaltz. I added 1Tbl of Veg oil. The balls did not suffer)1/2 teas Salt
1/4 teas ground Black Pepper

Homemade Chicken Stock

Orange Roughy Lunch

I have fond memories of Orange Roughy dinners, particularly when I lived in Tyler, Tx. The address of my first home I really made memories at was: 306 Ridgecrest. I remember the white cabinets in the kitchen with the red handles and knobs. I remember playing Skip-It in the backyard. I remember two huge and massive Oaks that dotted our front yard. Now they're gone. The Oaks, not my memories.

Anyways, still jogging down memory lane - Our Orange Roughy suppers usually consisted of carrots, potatoes, and onions in individual parcels seasoned with Kraft Italian Dressing that were baked in the oven. We would buy most of our groceries at Albertson's. I'd ride in the under-carriage of the cart and get in trouble for "dragging my feet."

Anywho - fast forward to today: August 27, 2014 @ around 10:30ish this morning. I was shopping at Smith's Food & Grocery here in North Las Vegas. I've been craving seafood for the last week and today, my craving got the best of me. I found myself at the fish counter when I was only supposed to be at the store for only water and some medicine. I'd been thinking of doing a "Fish Piccata" blog entry for the longest (like 2 months) and my intentions were just that as I perused the morning's fish display case. Cod loins were on sale for $1.99 but a clearance item caught my eye. I picked out my pickens, bee-lined it to produce for lemons. Left that section with green beans ($.79 for one lemon? No thanks).

Headed home. Watched some of the US Open, watched 2 hours worth of YouTubes - then it was time for lunch!

Which brings us here. An Orange Roughy Lunch. No baking. No Kraft. 10min. to prepare.

 

not pictured: EVOO, Salt, Pepper, Wine, and Paprika

 

snip snip. I left the tails

 

chop

 

I rinsed the fish. It did have a smell, but the smell was gone with the tap water I rinsed it with. It was on clearance, so I'm not complaining. Lemon juice would have been nice to rinse with as well. 

 

blanch in salted boiling water. a lemon slice would have been nice.

 

preheat skillet over med-highish heat for a couple of minutes

 

season the fish however you please. I chose salt and paprika.

 

I added that much EVOO

 

my green beans did the ALS Ice Bucket challenge. Question: Where and How was all that donated money spent and distributed? I need to know. Also, this may be wrong but I still don't know what ALS is. I mean I know it stand for: Airman Leadership School ... but other than that. I don't know, maybe I should care more.

 

obviously there was a thin end to this piece of fish. I draped it up the sides of the pan, allowing most of the heat to cook the thicker part of the fish. In hopes of even cooking and so the entire piece would be done at the same time without over or undercooking. phew.

 

I added the already chopped tomatoes within 60 seconds

 

looky there! The thin side shrunk into the pan itself. Must've been ready for some heat.

 

scoot

 

scoot. Make way for the beans!

wait. first flip. (my favorite spatula)

 

ok. Now for the green beans.

 

 

post-pepper

 

added a teas or so of capers along with a teas or so of caper juice

 

shimmy shimmy shake

 

unblurry

 

wine time. just a splash of this stuff.

 

THE END