{"id":4311,"date":"2021-02-09T08:56:44","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T14:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/?p=4311"},"modified":"2021-02-09T08:56:46","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T14:56:46","slug":"memory-soup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/memory-soup\/","title":{"rendered":"Memory Soup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to today\u2019s memory soup! Sunday\u2019s Super Bowl made me think of Florida. This morning\u2019s chill made me think of soup. It seems that red conch chowder marries the two. Apparently, this Caribbean dish is popular in Florida as well as the Bahamas. I\u2019ve never eaten it, but I have eaten conch fresh out of the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years ago, some friends and I took one of those overweight puddle jumper flights from Belize City to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. We took off over the water and slowly climbed with the stall siren blaring for what seemed like a solid five minutes. At the time, I didn\u2019t realize it was a stall horn. I just knew it was an annoying, loud noise that wouldn\u2019t stop. A few years later, during pilot training, I was overcome with a delayed feeling of terror when I recognized the danger we had been in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once we settled into our accommodations on the island, we found a guide to take us bonefishing. Bonefish<\/a>, like redfish, flip their tails into the air and feed off the bottom in the shallows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They aren\u2019t easy to catch. When you can see the tails, all movement must be slow and quiet until you\u2019re close enough to cast. A single errant throw of the line will scatter them away quickly. But when you hook one, it\u2019s a fun fight until you land it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After a morning of fishing, our guide pulled the wooden boat\nup to a pier and we got out. Several hours in the sun had left me thirsty and\nhungry. About four steps down the pier, we encountered a man using cupped\nfingers to happily dip ceviche out of a red Solo\u00ae<\/sup> cup. \u201cWant some?\u201d he\nimplored. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the thought of eating uncooked seafood from a cup into\nwhich a man is dipping his fingers is something I can\u2019t even stand to think\nabout now, at the time I just wanted to share what was making him so happy! The\nceviche was made with conch the man had harvested that day. Soaked in fresh\nlime juice and seasoned with cilantro, salt, and hot pepper then mixed with\ntomatoes and cucumber, it was full of flavor and as delicious as this suntanned\nstranger had described. I\u2019ve loved ceviche ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living in a landlocked state means saltwater fish and\nseafood must be flown in for them to be moderately fresh. That means we don\u2019t\neat a lot of clam chowder or oyster stuffing. We have to make up the difference\nwith crawfish, trout, bass, and crappe. But that doesn\u2019t mean we don\u2019t\nappreciate the occasional ocean catch. My neighbors have a big pot of fish stew\non the stove right now.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you\u2019ve sampled the memory portion, I guess it\u2019s\ntime for soup. What\u2019s better than classic tomato soup? I like to use Pomi\nItalian Strained Tomatoes as a base, but there are other options. Dei Fratelli\nCondensed Tomato Soup is gluten-free comes in a restaurant or large family 50\noz size. Both of these can be used in lasagna, chili, pizza sauce, and marinara\nwhen you get tired of tomato soup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s nothing better than homemade chicken stock, but it takes awhile so you have to plan ahead. Sometimes I decide I want chicken soup right now. For those occasions, I keep Imagine\u00ae Organic Free Range Chicken Broth<\/a> in the pantry. I like drinking it from a mug as is, but it\u2019s also a great base for chicken & rice or chicken noodle soup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potato soup is warm, filling, and doesn\u2019t require any exotic\ningredients. I can usually throw it together with what\u2019s on hand: potatoes,\ngarlic, onion, salt, pepper, butter, and milk or milk substitute\u2026and water.\nIt\u2019s even better if I can scare up some bacon. Sometimes, I like to add\ncauliflower or corn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a pandemic stocked pantry, I have plenty of beans on\nhand. Black bean is a great option. I typically use dried beans, but you can\nuse can beans as well. Carrot, celery, onion, bell pepper, garlic, broth, bay\nleaves, cumin, cilantro, salt, pepper, and lime juice are the other items\nneeded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there\u2019s always vegetable soup. I\u2019m pretty sure the\nversions are unlimited. Sometimes I start with chicken stock and leftover\nveggies. Other times, I opt for fresh veggies in pot likker from greens. On a\ngiven day, my preferred version is any combination of vegetables that please me\nor empty the fridge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where are the actual recipes? That\u2019s the great thing about\nsoup. It\u2019s a perfect culinary playground. You don\u2019t need a recipe to make it\ndelicious. You can use your memory and your senses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re not currently comfortable cooking by feel but want\nto give it a try, pull out any chicken soup recipe. Fill a soup pot with the\nrecommended amounts of stock and water. Then measure the amount of salt\nrecommended. Sprinkle the salt across the top of the liquid. Get a visual feel\nfor that particular measure. Do the same with the pepper, garlic, and cumin or\ncurry in the recipe (these are only examples). Next time you make soup, you\u2019ll\nhave a visual reference for what you need. Just shake it right out of the\ncontainer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use your sense of smell at the same time. Smell after each\naddition. As you get comfortable, you\u2019ll recognize that you can smell a\ndifference when you add a bit more salt or garlic. As long as there are no raw\ningredients of concern, taste after each stage as well. The more senses you\nuse, the more information you\u2019ll have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While you\u2019re playing, keep in mind that an addition of\ncooked chicken that\u2019s already seasoned means you don\u2019t need to add additional\nsalt and pepper to season the chicken. The same goes for left-over vegetables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve thrown out my share of cooking mistakes, but it\u2019s hard\nto destroy soup. If you over spice, dilute with additional liquid. And if you\nhave difficulty deciding what to include, memories of soups you\u2019ve previously enjoyed\ncan help guide you. No matter whether you choose flavors from the Caribbean, Asia,\nthe Pacific Northeast or the American South, you\u2019re sure to end up with comforting\nwarmth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a year without travel, it would be great to swim in\nclear Caribbean water and eat fresh conch ceviche. That won\u2019t happen for awhile,\nso I\u2019ll just have to savor the memories along with a warm cup of soup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why Did Your Grandma Make Chicken Soup?<\/a><\/blockquote>