Community Cookbook: ‘Soup’s on!’ Recipes to evolve your winter cooking

I have a theory. I call it the soup theory of everything. You won’t find it published in any scientific journal, at least not yet.

Suppose that human ancestors had established the basics of cooking and soup-making long before cooking with fire. Think about it. Bowls are known to have existed millennia before plates. The same is true for spoons compared to forks. Here’s one hypothetical scenario out of many possibilities to illustrate how this might have occurred.

Picture a lone hominid, eons ago. Clad in fur, he’s trekking along toward the end of a long day, gnawing on a fresh pterodactyl drumstick. Let’s call him Nestor. Nestor is a distant ancestor, not entirely human and not entirely nonhuman; he’s more of a ‘tweener. His feet are tired and sore. (Footwear hasn’t arrived yet.) Footwear hasn’t arrived yet, so tired and sore feet are common.He searches for a warm spring to soak his feet before finishing his journey. He finds a steaming hot pool of spring water shimmering and swirling from the intense heat bellowing from the earth deep below. It looks inviting.

Nestor dips a heel into the water to test its temperature. Startled by a burning sensation, he drops his drumstick into the pool. Pterodactyl drumsticks don’t grow on trees, and you can’t just run down to the corner market and pick one up. So he uses a broken tree branch to retrieve it. When he finally fishes the drumstick out, it has transformed into something different. He sniffs it; it smells good. He reluctantly takes a small bite. It tastes like never before; it’s moist, tender and flavorful.

Then it happens, that moment when an accident changes the course of human evolution. You might say that a light bulb turned on in Nestor’s head, except that light bulbs hadn’t been invented yet. He throws the drumstick back into the pool and quickly gathers some root vegetables: an onion, a potato, a carrot. He picks a few leaves from a bay tree, some pine needles and a lemon. He throws them into the simmering water; it’s already salty from the dissolved minerals. He learns that a long, slow simmer works best. While waiting, he fashions a container to hold the hot liquid by hollowing out a piece of wood. Nestor is on a roll. A large wooden serving ladle and a very tiny bowl with a handle, later called a spoon, soon follow.

Nestor is proud of his soup and shares the discovery with others. The grunts spread quickly (words haven’t evolved yet). Soon, hominids from all around converge on Nestor’s pool of soup, some carrying pieces of meat and vegetables to add to the mix and to trade for extra servings.

It has become a communal soup. Watching the soup simmer while cheering various foods as they’re tossed in may be the first form of group entertainment. Perhaps a raffle is used to select honorary taste-testers. The hospitality industry and soup lines are born the instant Nestor grunts, “Soup’s on!”

Hominids, previously migratory, begin to settle near hot springs everywhere, establishing communities revolving around soup-making. Bartering for goods and services becomes the norm. Agriculture is invented to supply ingredients for soup on a large scale. The eventual mastery of fire allows hominids and soup to flourish almost everywhere. From that time on, civilization and the rapidly evolving art of cooking spread like wildfire. Or so my theory proposes; conclusive evidence remains elusive.

Corn Chowder

Corn chowder is a hearty American soup. Pair the chowder with a salad and warm, crusty bread for a bone-warming meal on a cold winter day.

24 ounces frozen corn, thawed (about 4½ cups frozen)

4 cups milk

3 slices thick-cut bacon (5 slices regular-cut)

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 cup chopped onion

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup chopped red bell pepper

½ cup chopped green bell pepper

3½ cups, sliced into ½-inch cubes, potatoes

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon powder

1 dried bay leaf

½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

¼ plus ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

⅛ plus dash of black pepper

2 teaspoons butter or margarine

¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or minced green onion tops

Purée 2 cups of corn and the milk in a blender. Slice the bacon into ½-inch pieces and cook in a small stockpot over medium heat. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease in the pot. Add the oil and increase the heat to medium-high. Add the onion and salt; cook for 1 minute. Add the bell pepper and cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the purée, potatoes, bouillon powder and bay leaf. Bring just to a simmer (don’t let it boil). Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the thyme, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper at 5 minutes of cooking. When the potatoes are tender, stir in all remaining ingredients and remove from the heat. Taste and add bouillon powder for saltiness, if needed. Top with bacon pieces.

Yield: About 3½ quarts

Crocked Carne Adovada (Pork and Red Chili Stew)

I tasted carne adovada only once before developing this recipe. A very skilled and industrious Mexican cook prepared the stew. He, together with his pleasant wife, operated the Juan Diego café in a popular convenience store in Yakima for several years. His pork stew was very simple – and very spicy, even for me. It was also addictively delicious, as it burned its way down. While my version isn’t quite as hot as Juan Diego’s, it still registers a few thousand units on the Scoville Scale.

2 cups, stems and seeds removed, of (2 large) chopped pasilla peppers

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup flour

¼ cup ground red New Mexico chilies

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder

4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon crushed pequin chilies

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

4 cups water

3 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce

4½-5 pounds boneless pork shoulder-butt roast, fat trimmed off and meat cut into 1½-inch chunks

To prepare the marinade, combine the first 12 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl. Add half of the bowl’s contents, 2 cups of water, and half of the tomato sauce to a blender. Purée, then transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, except for the pork. Prepare the pork and place it in the bowl. Stir well, so that the marinade coats all of the pork chunks. Cover and refrigerate for 12-20 hours, stirring several times during the marinating. Transfer the bowl’s contents to a 5-quart or larger slow-cooker. Cover the pot and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours. Stir thoroughly before serving.

Notes: Trim as much solid fat off the pork as possible before cooking. Skim most or all of the fat off the top after the stew is cooked and sits for several minutes. Alternatively, refrigerate until chilled, then skim the fat off with a spoon. I like to ladle the stew over or alongside steamed white rice.

Yield: About four quarts

Golden Butternut Bisque

This bisque is as rich-tasting as it is simple to make. Its flavor boasts an Asian influence. The use of frozen butternut squash chunks reduces preparation to a quick purée and simmer, and makes it a practical alternative year-round. The result is an elegant-looking and tasting side-dish soup that can fit nicely into most casual or formal dinners.

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped butternut squash, thawed

7 fluid ounces coconut milk

1 cup water

2 tablespoons chopped shallot or sweet onion

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

⅛ teaspoon curry powder

Dash of white pepper

1 teaspoon butter or margarine

½ teaspoon rice vinegar

Minced green onion tops

Purée the first four ingredients (through shallot or onion) in a blender. Combine all ingredients, except the last three, in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. Taste and add bouillon powder to increase saltiness, if needed. Serve hot.

Notes: Lite coconut milk can be used. For a more complex flavor, substitute ¼-⅓ cup of dry white wine for an equal amount of water.

Yield: About 4 cups

Savory Bread Soup

Bread and water never tasted so good. Dried herbs and seasonings help produce this version of the traditional Italian bread soup called pancotto.

3½ teaspoons any flavor bouillon powder

¾ teaspoon granulated sugar

½ teaspoon dried parsley

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon MSG (optional)

⅛ teaspoon dried oregano or leaf thyme

⅛ teaspoon garlic powder

⅛ teaspoon onion powder

⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Dash of black pepper

4 cups water

1 tablespoon water

½ teaspoon arrowroot

1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese from the green canister

1 teaspoon red or white wine vinegar

3-4 slices sandwich-sized bread, toasted or untoasted

Combine the first 11 ingredients (through water) in a medium saucepan. Heat to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and lightly simmer, covered, for 2-3 minutes. While simmering, make a slurry in a small bowl with arrowroot and the remaining water. Remove from the heat and stir in the slurry. Stir in the cheese and vinegar. Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces and stir into the soup (for a more refined soup, strain it after heating, then add the parsley, cheese and bread). Serve hot.

Notes: For added flavor, substitute ½ cup of dry wine for an equal amount of water. Bring just to a boil to evaporate most of the alcohol. I prefer sourdough or deli rye bread for this soup. They add great flavor. Add-in ideas (you may wish to omit the bread with some of these) include cooked meats, seafood, vegetables and pasta.

Yield: About 5 cups

Contact Dick Sellers at dickskitchencorner@outlook.com.