Today is Tasty Tuesday, so here's what's going on in my life foodwise:
I'm hosting a dinner for twelve people next week in honor of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. In the past, my husband and I enjoyed the holidays in Masachusetts or New York where the weather is delightfully autumn. Now we live in Houston where autumn is defined by one brown leaf in December. And it's hot. Hot as in 90 degrees every day.
A few years ago, when I was a newcomer to Texas, I hosted a Rosh Hashana dinner and because of the weather, omitted serving chicken soup. Oy vey! What a mistake. A definite no-no. It was like having an empty seat at the table. So, I've already made the soup for next week - and froze it. I'll make the matzo balls on the morning of the dinner and refrigerate.
My mother taught me that the secret to good chicken soup is to make it with a lot of root vegetables - onions, carrots, parsnips and leeks. She said the vegetables give it "strength." When the soup is finished, I remove the vegetables except for the carrots before serving. I must be doing something right - everyone wants seconds.
Despite this soup discussion, I'm not offering you a recipe. Not because I don't want to share, but because everyone in the world has their own favorite ways of making chicken soup, and they're all good! In fact, my new favorite is Chicken Tortilla soup with lovely avocado slices right next to the chicken. After all, I'm in Texas now...
...and wishing all of you a very sweet year no matter when you celebrate.
Best always,
Linda
P.S. In THE SOLDIER AND THE ROSE, Rose makes a Hanukkah dinner of brisket and potato latkes.
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6 comments:
Linda,
I discovered Chicken Tortilla soup a few years ago and my family loves. We had to clip the recipe to an inside cupboard door instead of keeping it in a cookbook. We make it at least weekly during our cold months. I'll have to slide in some avocado slices. My husband is originally from LA and we're big avocado eaters around.
Have a great day!
Tessa
Yum, Linda - the root veggies to 'strenghten' the chicken soup sounds fabulous. I've always used carrots and onions, but will now include parsnips and leeks.
I'm a soup person - so I love chicken soup in many varied forms, from Texas Tortilla, to Jewish Matzo Ball, to Arizonia Green Chili, to basic Mom's Southern Best-Thing-In-The-World-When-You're-Sick chicken soup.
Thanks - Jo Anne
Linda,
You've gone and done it now. You've made me hungry. Weight Watchers will not be happy!
Christie Craig
www.christie-craig.com
www.killerfiction.net
Just tell Weight Watchers that chicken soup is good for the soul. Just ask anybody!
Jo Anne - your immediate recall of a variety of styles is the reason I didn't give a recipe. See, I was right :)
Tessa - I think CA is THE place that grows avocados in this country. Someone told me she used to pick them from a tree in her backyard. Sounds yummy to me.
Thanks for stopping by, everyone.
Linda,
Lots of foods my family started eating because of first my CA dad and then my CA husband (turns out, I was the third generation IA gal to marry a CA guy. Gotta be a book in there somewhere!) We were eating tamales and tacos before the rest of our neighbors. We lived in the south and the Midwest and friends would come over to eat our 'exotic' food. Now, that's standard fare for most people sometime during the week.
Always intrigues me how we end up eating certain foods. Maybe that's the writer 'what if?' and 'why?' in me. Now I'm off to make some chicken soup for supper -- we have a very rainy, perfect-for-that-kind of soup day.
Tessa
In college they served matzo bread for the Jewish students during certain times. It became so popular with the non-Jewish students too that everyone revolted when it was taken away after the holidays. It became a staple, available at every meal. Sometimes the cafeteria food was so bad that we all lived on the matzo bread at certain meals. Even when the food was good (much of the time actually), it was a staple.
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