Saturday, July 31, 2010

Stone Soup

By now, probably everybody has heard the Fable of Stone Soup, including my two youngest Grandchildren. I told them the story as we made the soup. We all enjoyed it and, to my amazement, the soup was delicious and there were no leftovers.



One Sliced Onion (cut in quarters)
3 Sliced Carrots
2 Sliced Yellow Squashes
1 Pound of Stew Beef
1 Small Can of Corn
1/2 Head of Cabbage
1 bag of small potatoes
1 can of green beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 pound of fresh button mushrooms
1 Box of Beef Broth
and, of course, 2 small stones

(Which I had the kids place in the rim of the crock pot so that I could remove them after everyone left the kitchen and before they had time to get hot). I didn't feel confident that they wouldn't break up during cooking.



I forgot to take a picture of the final product. We were too busy eating it!


The Fable of Stone Stoup (as published by the Stone Soup Society)

Once upon a time, there was a great famine upon the land. Three soldiers, hungry and weary of battle, came upon a small and impoverished village. The villagers, suffering a meager harvest and fatigued from the many years of war, saw the three soldiers come upon them. Quickly they hid from sight what little they had to eat.

They met up with the three at the village square. "There's not a bite to eat in the whole province," they told the soldiers. "You'd better just keep moving on to the next village."

"Oh, but we have everything we need," one soldier said. "In fact, we were thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you. You, sir, look hungry. Would you like some?"

"Stone soup! What a ridiculous thing!" the villagers exclaimed. "You can't make soup from a stone!"

But the three soldiers gingerly reached into their pockets, and each of them in turn slowly pulled out a smooth, round stone. They inspected their stones closely and nodded to one another in assent. "We have brought with us some wonderful stones that should make for a great and hearty soup. Do you have a large cauldron we might borrow to make our stone soup?"

Overcome with hunger and unable to feed the guests staying at his inn, the local innkeeper was intrigued with the idea of making soup from stones. With help from the soldiers, he pulled a large iron cauldron from the kitchen of his inn and placed it in the center of the village square. The three soldiers filled it with water, and built a roaring fire under it.

Then, with great ceremony, the three soldiers took the three stones they had collected on their travels and placed them into the water one at a time. They waited for their stone soup to come to a boil, stirring occasionally with a large wooden spoon.

"Do you know what would really help this soup?" asked one of the soldiers. "A hefty dash of salt and pepper! You can't have a good stone soup without salt and pepper, after all."

Timidly, one of the villagers said, "Well, I think might be able to find some salt and pepper that have you might have, if I can share in your stone soup!"

The soldiers quickly nodded and assured the villager that there would be plenty of stone soup to go around, with such a large cauldron of soup on the boil.

By now, hearing the rumor of food, most of the villagers had come to the square or were watching the events of the village square attentively from their windows. As the soldiers fastidiously stirred and sniffed at the "broth," they licked their lips in anticipation. The hunger of the villagers began to abate their initial skepticism.

"Ah," one of the soldiers said rather loudly, "I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage is hard to beat."

"Oh, yes," added another soldier, "Cabbage really adds flavor to stone soup."

After a few moments, a villager approached hesitantly, holding a cabbage he'd retrieved from its hiding place, and added it to the pot.

Another villager came up and inspected the pot and said, "You know, I have some carrots. That would really add flavor and color to this soup, too!" He ran off to his home to fetch the colorful vegetable.

"Yes, yes, this will be a fine soup," said the third soldier; "but a pinch of some parsley would really make it a soup fit for a king!"

Up jumped a villager, crying, "What luck! I've just remembered where some has been left!" And off she ran, returning with an apron full of parsley and with a turnip, too.

As the kettle boiled on, the memory of the village improved. In short time, barley, salted beef and rich cream had found their way into the great pot. A grand keg of beer was rolled into the square as the entire village sat down to a great feast. They all ate and danced and sang well into the night, refreshed by the feast and delighting in their newfound friends.

In the morning, the three soldiers awoke to find the entire village standing before them. At their feet lay a satchel filled with the village's best breads and cheeses.

"You have given us the greatest of gifts: The secret of how to make soup from stones," said an elder. "Rest assured that this is something that we shall never forget and that we shall forever cherish."

The third soldier turned to the crowd, and said: "Whereas there may be no real secret to stone soup, one thing is certain: It takes many and all to make great feast." And with this, the soldiers kindly accepted their satchel of breads and cheeses and went on their way, never to return.

It is said that soon after meeting these soldiers, the village quickly returned to its former prosperity, and has thrived ever since. The soldiers are said to still walk from town to town collecting stones along the way, and sharing their secret recipe for their famous stone soup.



There are many of versions of the fable. My favorite was told by Caroline on the "Stone Soup" episode of Little House on the Prairie, which can be found on YouTube.

Here is another one for the kids.
 

 

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Chinese-Style Chicken Salad


1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Oriental sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 whole medium-sized skinless, boneless chicken breasts, each cut in half
2 cups finely shredded romaine lettuce
2 ozs. Chinese pea pods
1/4 sliced canned water chestnuts
1/4 cup mandarin oranges

In a bowl, mix together rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil pepper and garlic. Set aside. Grill or microwave chicken breasts; let cool before cutting into strips. Set aside. Toss together in a bowl: lettuce, pea pods, water chestnuts. mandarin oranges and cooked chicken strips. Pour dressing over salad mixture and serve cold.


LOOKING FOR A GREAT SUMMER DRINK? CHECK OUT THIS ONE

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Monday, July 19, 2010

Brunswick Stew - The Easy Way

 2 cans chicken
2 cans BBQ pork
2 cans BBQ beef
1 can tomatoes (16 oz.)
1 regular can cream corn
1 regular can whole kernel corn
1 grated onion
1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Mix together very well, squashing and squishing with your hands, breaking up every lump and chunk of meat. Cook in crock pot on low for 6 to 8 hours. You will be very pleased.
*You can find the canned chicken, barbecue pork and beef in the grocery isle with the canned beef stew, tuna, canned salmon, and chili, etc.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Beef Tacos and Cheese Rollups - Kid Created


Occasionally, we have taco night. Doesn't everybody? My grandchildren do not like tacos, but they like cheese rollups. My daughter doesn't like hard shell tacos. So tonight we made everything everybody likes...in the microwave!

1 lb ground beef
1/2 pack taco seasoning
Shredded cheese of your choosing
Cheddar cheese dip or spread
Shredded or cut lettuce
Chopped tomatoes
Sour cream
Hard shell tacos
Flour tortillas



You are basically doing the same thing you would if you were cooking the meat on the stove, but you are doing it in the microwave.

Put the ground beef into a microwave safe dish. Add the half packet of taco seasoning and 1 tablespoon of water. With a spatula, chop beef until completely broken up. Cook on high for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave and chop with spatula again, also making sure taco seasoning is thoroughly mixed with beef. Cook for another 1 1/2 minutes. My microwave is 1100 watts and the two cycles were sufficient. If you have a lesser wattage, cook another minute at a time until beef is done. Drain drippings from meat.

Grab a taco shell and add the condiments of your choosing and enjoy!

For the rollups:



Take a flour tortilla and spread with cheddar cheese dip. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Roll up and heat in the microwave on high for 15 seconds. My grandson likes meat, so we also added meat to his. My granddaughter does not eat meat, so hers was just a cheese rollup. His was served with a side of fresh tomatoes. Hers was served with fresh strawberries. They had yogurt for dessert.


My daughter used the tortillas instead of hard taco shells.



It is not halloween! It is July. My grandchildren found their last year's halloween costume and just had to "squeeze" into them and play dressup. They also went trick-or-treating in the kitchen.

Food, family and fun!!! Life is good. Our family is very blessed.



Saturday, July 10, 2010

Cabbage Beef Stew

Ingredients


o  1 head of cabbage
o  2 cans of diced tomatoes
o  1 pound browned ground beef
o  1 chopped onion
o  2 cans beef broth
o  1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
o  salt and pepper to taste


Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.






Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Tilapia Filets

During this incredible heat wave we are having, the last thing I want to do is to turn on my electric stove or oven. This is a good time to use a crockpot, a microwave or even that George Foreman grill you got for Christmas.

Ingredients:

    * Cooking spray
    * 1/4 cup lime juice
       plus a little extra for brushing onto fish
    * 4 (6-ounce) Tilapia fillets
    * Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    * 1?2 teaspoon garlic powder
    * 1?3 cup light mayonnaise
    * 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish, or more to taste
    * 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
    * 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
    * 1 teaspoon crushed cilantro

Process:

Mix all ingredients together and let stand while cooking fish.

Spray the cooking dish and brush lime juice on both sides of the tilapia. Microwave on high for 1 minute per fillet or cook in George Foreman grill for 2 minutes and turn and cook one more minute. Overcooking causes the fish to be dry.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Stew Pot - Kid Created

1 small can of kernel corn
1 pound stew beef
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans Veg-All or other mixed Vegetables
1 teaspoon sea salt
whatever leftovers you have in the refrigerator
(we had about a half cup each of green beans and butter beans)

Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. Eat with sweet corn muffins ... and butter. Our kids say that's the best part. A side of fruit is also pretty agreeable.

The kids are 5 and 2. It was so easy for them to make this stew. The only thing they could not do was open the cans.