Soups

Simply Perfect Beef Stew

1 tbsp. Fat or ghee
2 pounds beef stew cubes
2 tsp. Salt

¼ onion, diced
1 stick celery, diced
1 carrot, diced (optional)
1-2 leaves cabbage, chopped
2 bay leaves

½ cup marsala wine (dry)
water to cover
2 white potatoes, peeled and diced (or use leftover cooked rice)

Shittake Mushroom and Red Lentil Soup with Red Wine

Right around when my second son was born, the Sierra Club magazine ran a recipe that sounded delicious: red lentils cooked with "fire-roasted" tomatoes, wild rice, a bunch of shittake mushrooms, and red wine, cooked until creamy and full of flavor: http://www.food.com/recipe/shiitake-lentil-pressure-cooker-soup-276160 .

The problems with the original recipe were small but numerous, including how it made way more than indicated, and overflowed my cooker!

Italian Wedding Soup

I recently adapted this recipe and we liked it a lot; serves four sparsely.

MEATBALLS:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. shredded carrots
2 cloves minced garlic
few sprigs parsley, minced
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, shredded (optional)

A Big Pot of Simple Chicken Stew

Lately I've been trying to make a large pot of stew once per week that can be stored in four half-gallon jars; we heat one jar's worth and divide among four people each morning for breakfast. This stew was better than most I've been making, and is dead easy (at least considering how much you get). I adapted the recipe from "Cooking Provence," by Antoine Bouterin

Tony's Fantastic Beef Stew

This recipe is actually adapted from the cookbook "Cooking Provence," by Antoine Bouterin, but Tony is the one who told us about it. And it's SO good! Worth the little extra work and the slightly longer ingredients list. For the final cooking, you can simmer on the stove, dump everything into the crockpot and forget about it, or transfer to an ovenproof pot and bake in the oven at 325f for about two hours, covered. All the vegetables can be cut into bite-size pieces, for a very appealing and easy-to-eat dinner (or breakfast!).

Herb Broth

I recently adapted this recipe to make an unusual and very nutritious and gelatinous broth for our family. The original recipe pointed out that broth is really very similar to tea--so why not add some herbs to up the ante??

several gallons of filtered water
1 or 2 chicken carcasses
1/4 cup cider vinegar

Bring this to a boil, and them simmer gently for about twelve hours. Then add:

Really Tasty Spring Vegetable Soup

In Cook's Illustrated November/December 2011 issue, they printed a recipe for "Farmhouse Vegetable Soup." I'm sure their version, thickened with barley and potatoes, would be spectacular. This version, GAPS-legal, is still spectacular, though it requires the lemon-thyme butter to add unctious texture just before serving (you can substitute plain butter; just don't leave the fat out entirely!).

Serves 6-8

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