Soup's On... Your Soup Stories.

 Hey diabetes peeps and beyond pancreatically challenged peeps - Happy Friday!

 So I've been working on a long term passion project about soups.  YEP, SOUPS - and stews too. Soups are my jam and the first food (after eggs) I learned to make from scratch.

 Over the years I've learned to make over 20 different soups - many of which hold special places and stories in my heart. 

For example: I think of my mom whenever I make my Curried Butternut Squash soup and think of my dad and his parents whenever I make paprika veggie beef soup & Hungarian Goulash that my father's mother passed down to my mom.

I'm gather a compilation of stories/recipes behind soups from anyone who's interested in submitting stories and recipes behind their favorite soups!

What’s your soup story, aka - the story behind your soup/stew? 

Is your favorite soup/stew a family heirloom passed down through the generations? 

Does this recipe hold a special place (memory/memories) in your heart/your family and or friends hearts and if so, why?

What's the comfort factors, feelings, and emotions that immediately comes to mind when you make/eat this soup/or stew?

If you're interested in sharing your soup stories and recipe(s), (and potentially being interviewed by me re: your soup story - some goes for me taking portrait taken along with your soup,) drop me a line: kellykunik@gmail.com or kelsbels11@myyahoo.com

I can't wait to hear all about your delicious soup stories! 

The Carbs Are In The Details: Slider Specifics

Not a picture of my sliders - but very similar!
The image is from the interwebz~ 

Recently, I went out for much needed Happy Hour with a friend. Cheeseburger sliders were on the menu, I was craving red meat, and I had a few questions for the Server before "officially" placing my order.

1. Were the cheeseburger sliders meaty as opposed to being more bun than meat, or did the meat/bread ratio meet somewhere in the middle? 

2. What was the deal re: the buns? Were they more of a brioche, did they boarder on a potato roll, or are we talking your basic hamburger bun, but shrunk down to slider proportions? 

The waitress was patient and answered my questions with a smile - which the former Server in me greatly appreciated - because I knew my questions were on the finicky side.

She told my that the the sliders meat to bread ratio met almost met in the middle  - with slightly more meat than bun -  and that said slider buns had a brioche feel and texture to them. 

I thanked her, placed my order - 3 cheeseburger sliders, medium, and a glass of the 

House Red. My friend immediately ordered the same and our waitress went off to place our order and retrieve our drinks from the bar.

When the waitress was out of earshot my friend looked at me and said: You asked some detailed questions for a few cheeseburger sliders! 

I grabbed my Omnipod PDM out of my handbag to pre-bolus for my sliders (because buns,) and said with a smile: I’m not picky - at least I don't mean to be. I just needed to know some slider specifics so I can take my insulin accordingly. 

Short Answer: I needed more info so I asked.  

Friend: Ohmygod, that’s right - you did need more info - I’m so sorry, Kel - I completely forgot! 

I told her it was OK - that my diabetes didn’t need a special spotlight, and that much like the devil, the carbs are in the details.  

Then we laughed out loud and started talking about 50 other things - none of them having to do with diabetes. 

FTR: The sliders were delicious; the House Red was damn tasty, my bolus wasn't quote on point, but I figured it out. And most importantly, a wonderful time was had by all! 

Bastard Homemade Chicken Soup~

Cooking - makes me happy - cleaning up - not so much. 

I always keep my pantry stocked with meal basics - spices; pureed tomatoes, garlic, onions, beans, organic, Low Sodium Vegetable and Chicken Broth - enough to make a simple meal. 

 FTR, stores like Target and ACME have tasty and reasonably prices organic store brand broths. 

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Comfort food - we all need it, we all crave it. 

Food evokes memories of people we love and times and places we wish we could go back to. 

For me, soup is  one of my comfort foods - I like the the act of creating/making soup. 

 It makes me feel better when I’m feeling under the weather and it makes me feel good when I’m feeling down. 

The act of making soup has a beginning, middle, and an end. 

I find zen in slicing and dicing veggies, the smell of spices - fresh or dried, and adding them to a concoction that will eventually turn into a delicious bowl of something fantastical - I LOVE IT. 

I make soup for friends and family and my Soup Registry expands yearly - I think I'm up to 15 different soups.

   

This past Sunday I was feeling under the weather and wishing I had my mom’s homemade chicken or turkey soup - but I would have been just as happy with her hearty beef veggie soup - which was my absolute favorite mom soup, happier still if my mom was here to make it with me. 

Sunday was gray and damp and I dragged my but off the couch checked in my pantry ,and saw that I had organic chicken broth, awesome spices, pastina stars, onions and garlic. Carrots, celery,  and lemons were in my fridge and tricolored flash frozen green beans and white corn in my freezer . 

The only thing missing was chicken. 

I didn’t feel like roasted a chicken from scratch - lucky for me/us, there are other options and Bastard Homemade Chicken Soup is damn tasty!
Sidebar and new edit: Read this great recipe for turkey stock over at Wilted and Wild! 

I jumped in my car, drove to the grocery store and picked up an oven roasted, lemon pepper chicken on sale for $7. 

I grabbed it from it’s perch, still hot from the oven. 

I did a quick drive-by through the produce department and I stumbled upon an herb bomb,(Italian parsley, thyme, leek, and a spicy, tied together with twine and ready to be stewed. 

I was immediately taken back to my childhood and watching my mom cook. 

My mom referred to herb bombs a "potherb," and it was a key ingredient to her soups and stews. She'd send me to the store to buy one and I always new that something delicious was going to happen in a few hours.

I LOVED the flavor herb bombs add and I took it as sign from mom to proceed with gusto! 

I grabbed an herb bomb,, rang up my purchases,and rushed home to make my Bastard Homemade Chicken Soup . 

My Bastard Chicken Soup ws both delicious as comforting - as was the act of making it. 

Here’s the recipe - I hope it brings you comfort and love. 

Bastard Homemade Chicken Soup

Ingredients

1 Oven Roaster Chicken 

4 or 5 cups of Low Sodium Chicken or Veggie Broth

Fresh lemon - one or two slices

Olive Oil

1 small or medium Onion

1 or two stalks of Celery

1 or 2 Carrots 

2 cloves of garlic

two handfuls of frozen green beans 

1/4 a cup of frozen White Sweet Corn

Sea salt

black pepper

dried basal and oregano 

1 herb bomb

Take roasted chicken, pull all the meat and if you'd like some skin and bones  (I hate chicken skin, unless it’‘s a  kick ass hot wings - and then I only eat the little kick ass  hot little drumsticks,) and set a side in a Pyrex container.
Dice the carrots, celery, and onion, sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and dried spices (as much or as little as you want,)  and saute in extra virgin olive oil for  two minutes.
Add chicken broth, chicken and consider adding more pepper, salt, and dried spices to taste. 

Add diced/smashed garlic and squeeze two lemon wedges into the broth mixture.

Drop in the Herb Bomb. 

Herb Bomb of Italian Parsley, Thyme, Leeks and hot pepper doing its thing~

Simmer on low to low medium for 20 to 30 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, grab a small pot, fill it with cold water and some salt or a dash of EVOO, and bring to a boil. Add two tablespoons of pastina and cook until it’s alldente . Drain pasta and keep in a separate container. DON’T ADD TO SOUP, YET. 

5 minutes before you’re ready to eat, add the frozen green beans to the bubbling soup. 

Grab a bowl, add a few teaspoons of pastina and then add soup. 

Top with Parmesan or Locatelli cheese, group an spoon and enjoy! 

So delicious~

Let leftovers cool, store in Pyrex containers, and put in the fridge.

Soups tend to taste better the second day - I add fresh frozen green beans with each bowl.