This soup started as a vague idea and came together much better then I anticipated. All I knew was that I wanted a kale soup. Oliver and I agreed a cream and vegetable soup was counter-intuitive so we used a box of low sodium chicken stock. Then Oliver wanted to add cabbage (which I resisted at first but ultimately really liked). It needed more then liquid and leaves so we added Italian sausage, carrots and a can of tomatoes. When some left over okra appeared in the fridge we decided to add that too.
I seriously thought this soup had the potential to be gross - but it is so good! I had no idea the kale and cabbage would retain their crisp consistency. They're delicious! Even two days (three dinners) later they're still very good! We've both agreed the soup didn't even need the sausage. In fact, by comparison the sausage is a bit bland. I topped my soup with a bit of homemade hot pepper vinegar and ate it with chunk of baguette.
If you've been a reader of And Topher Too since the beginning then you know the majority of our groceries come from YDFM (Your DeKalb Farmers Market). We go there instead of the big box grocery stores because it's both cheaper and has a wider selection of local and organic fruits and vegetables. When I have to choose between organic and local I always choose local. This time of year its easy to find vegetables grown in the southeast (YDFM posts the orgin of the item in large letters directly above the bin). In the spring and summer YDFM tends to have more items from California so we then tend to eat things we've grown at home or purchased from our neighborhood farmers market (Grant Park).
My reasons for choosing local food are simple: 1. I want to actively support smaller farmers that are directly related to my city's economy. 2. I'm aware of how much gasoline and pollution are involved with transporting food from the west coast to Atlanta and I don't want to personally contribute to it. 3. GMO's and BigAg creep me out and I associate them with giant factory farms and big box grocery stores.
Those who go, know, the first rule of YDFM: No photography! Even so, I've really wanted to share a glimpse into our great market with our new non-Atlanta friends. Tonight I took advantage of a rare night with no crowds. Apologies for the angles of many of the photos; they were taken from my pocket!
When we registered for a pressure cooker as a wedding gift we primarily intended to use it for canning. As it turns out, we use it much more for stock making than canning. In fact, we've made so much stock in it that the gasket and pressure plug have taken on the smell of glutamate (the amino acid that makes things taste savory - think of the smell of raman). It smelled so good that it was eaten by a squirrel that found it's way into our attic; we had to reorder the part online.
Stocks made in a pressure cooker take a fraction of the time; 45 minutes under pressure compared to hours of slow simmer. They also end up with a richer color and flavor that, while not appropriate for all applications, compliment many of the things I use it for. They do end up a bit more cloudy than simmered stocks but who cares when it is going in a gumbo? If I need a light flavored, low bodied stock I grab a box out of the cupboard.
Some people poach a whole bird but that always seemed to be a bit of a waste. These two guys (to the left) were destined for a tailgate gumbo. Legs, thighs, breast meat, wing drums and flats went back into the fridge; everything else (minus the liver) went in a 450 degree oven until nice and brown. I supplemented it with a few pounds of scrap backs, rib cages and necks from the market. There's enough meat on the scraps to give the final stock a nice "chickeny" flavor and the browning gives it a color and depth.
Saturday Oliver and I invited our friends and family to join us for a tailgate party before the SEC Championship football game. Oliver spent Friday making a giant pot of gumbo to share with everyone. Two chickens, four pounds of sausage, two pounds of okra and at least a gallon of homemade chicken stock went into the dish. I think it might have been his best gumbo yet - DELICIOUS!
In the wake of Congress' "pizza is a vegetable" debacle I was happy to see San Francisco's politicians make a move in the right direction. Unfortunately their final rule has such a large loop hole that it leaves me to question the sincerity of their intentions. If you haven't heard the law it goes like this: As part of a Healthy Food Incentives Ordinance, San Francisco legislators passed a law that restaurants are longer allowed to give away toys with kids’ meals that do not meet defined nutritional standards. The meals must have fewer than 600 calories, less than 640 milligrams of sodium, and contain a minimum of a half-cup of fruit and three-quarters of a cup of vegetables in non-breakfast meals. Drinks must obtain less than 10 percent of their calories from added sugars.
Did you catch the loop hole there? They can't "give away" the toys. Never fear! Ever clever Ronald McDonald was ready and waiting with a work-around. San Fran McD's will now sell the toys for an additional (read: measley) 10 cents when you buy a Happy Meal. Burger King is following suit. However Jack-in-the-Box has kindly agreed to comply. (Three cheers for Jack-in-the-Box)!
I appreciate the sentiment of the San Fransisco politicians but they may have been preaching to the choir. People who don't feed their children fast food have already resisted the lure* of the Happy Meal toy. People who do feed their children fast food (for whatever reason) are not going to be diswayed by a tenth of a dollar.
Thanks San Fransisco but better luck next time. Read more about the American Psychological Association's opinion on the issue here.
*I cannot deny the power of those toys. I'm 33 years old and I still have four of my FAVORITE Happy Meal toys (Muppet Babies on bikes and skateboards) on my bookshelf in my living room. In my opinion kids are better off never developing at taste for, and ultimately an addiction too, such high sodium foods - even at the expense of fabulous pop culture knick knacks.
Oliver, Topher and I are so ridiculously excited to be named one of two "blogs of the month" by Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution! Thank you so much to Jamie and his team for recognizing our little family's devotion to heart healthy living. We've been big fans of the Food Revolution since the very beginning (even handing out the book as Christmas gifts last year) so the shout out from Jamie is truly flattering and motivating.
A warm welcome our new readers! To get to know us better I recommend the following posts:
A heart healthy lifestyle: How it happened to us After Oliver lost his father to a heart attack we knew we had to take our heart health seriously
Fall Planting: Round Two a peek into our vegetable garden
Urban Chickens & CAFOS We love one and avoid the other
Everything in Moderation Including moderation (it's beer fest season!)
Excercise Ya just gotta do it
Brew Day Oliver is a PhD student and homebrewer
Works in Progress Cullen is an illustrator
And Topher too! Topher is our Maine Coon cat. He loves vegetables. Seriously.
Thank you so much for visiting our blog. We hope you'll bookmark it and come back soon. Cheers!
Cullen, Oliver & Topher too
As the days grow shorter and colder it becomes harder for me to think of in-season vegetables. Fortunately the two I always think of - kale and butternut squash - I also find delicious!
Today Oliver made a big pot of butternut squash soup. He started with a giant squash from YDFM which he then diced and browned (in batches because our baking pan just isn't that big). From there it went into our ceramic lined cast iron dutch oven along with leeks and shallots. Once it was all fairly mushy he added garlic and homemade chicken stock. It was cooked til soft, pureed with the immersion blender and seasoned with cayenne, nutmeg, and cinnamon. For dinner Oliver served the soup drizzled with maple syrup, goat's milk and sliced apples. Plenty for lunch tomorrow too!
Just one cup of cubed butternut squash provides HALF of your daily recommended amount of Vitamin C. It is also high in vitamin A, has a fair amount of fiber, is low in calories (45 cal per 100 g.) and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol.
Nutritional information from: http://www.livestrong.com/article/111690-butternut-squash-nutrition/#ixzz1fLHzeJJj
