Everything But the "kitchen sink" Soup

Last week, when I mentioned I just didn't feel up to photographing my food...well, actually, in reality...just didn't feel like photographing my step-by-step directions, while making this amazing hearty, and so good for you, all fresh vegetable, and organic beef meatball soup! See, there it is... on the bottom, a little meatball, and on the right, next to the parsley, but it's sort of camouflaged by all the yummy grated Parmesan cheese! Even the Great Northern beans were from a bag of dry beans, and not canned!

The only thing that was canned, was the 28 ounce can of organic diced tomatoes, from Whole Foods. As a matter of fact, every piece of fresh vegetable was from whole Foods. 

I started out sauteing my chopped onions, chopped garlic, sliced celery, sliced carrots, in Canola oil, about 3 Tbsp. added some chopped fresh parsley, salt, and pepper, a couple bay leaves, ... added the canned diced tomatoes, and a 32 ounce container of organic beef broth, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and bring it to a boil. Depending on how much vegetables you are using, if you use a lot, then you have to add more broth!

Now, where were we?...let's continue!

After the soup comes to a boil, turned the heat down to medium, and added, 1 large diced golden sweet potato, 2 peeled and diced golden beets, 1/2 lb. fresh, cut green beans. I made about 1 dozen small meatballs the day before, which was precooked, added that, and I cooked up a pot of dry Great Northern beans as well. Added that, as well. Pasta which was the tiny shell pasta was cooked up separately to add to the soup.

You don't need any thickening agents, such as flour, or cornstarch, the soup thickens on its own, just from the well cooked dry beans, and especially when you add the pasta to it, will thicken.

At the end, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese right into the soup, and ladle a nice portion out, drizzling extra virgin olive oil on it, for color, texture and flavor, and some more extra cheese.

I promise you, it will chase away any holiday "blues"...makes you feel full and satisfied, all you need is some crunchy bread to go with it, a glass or two of full bodied red wine....and have a nice dessert ...always room for dessert, just with a bowl of soup. If you would like to make this vegetarian, or vegan, just omit the cheese, and the meatballs, and use vegetable broth, instead of beef broth. You can add your choice of vegetables fresh or frozen, and you can actually use any kind of canned beans; they are just as good, and add that at the end of cooking time!

So this is my offering to you, for a chilly weekend, so stay warm, or come down to sunny Florida and enjoy our mild weather here!

Baked Barbecue Country Pork Ribs... and a giveaway!

This may not be a "baking blog" but I assure you, for sure it's a "food blog", which actually, in the beginning, less than a year ago, started out to be a blog about mostly thrifting, and some food. We all have to eat, but where, and how we eat, and mostly what we eat...who we eat with, seemed more of a challenge than finding a bargain at our favorite thrift shops. I like to make my rounds every week, to cook at my friends' once a week, or at my daughter's or my son's, so basically, I only cook for myself about twice a week, realistically. It still is a late winter for some of you, but for us right now, is our spring. A barbecue "indoors" is so much easier, when it's for 2 people, than barbecuing outside and dealing with all the cleanup mess. I found these lovely country ribs at my local market, and I knew what I would want to make as a side dish with it to share with my friend. A side of "doctored up" baked beans, mashed potato, and sauteed sauer kraut. Yumm! As a matter of fact, everything was doctored up...even homemade barbecue sauce for the ribs...and let me tell you. You can have "finger licking good" barbecue sauce that you made, instead of the ones in a bottle, which is ready made. Slather it on for the last 25 minutes, and you have the best barbecue ribs, "this side of south Florida"...not Texas!

Before I get to the recipe, I want to share an amazing thriller book with you, with a giveaway, hosted by my friend Patty, @Books, thoughts, and a few adventures...
She mentioned to me about this amazing book, and the author, and it immediately caught my attention, because he is another cat lover, as I, and Patty...besides writing this amazing thriller. I do read other books, besides cookbooks. Incidentally, I will introduce to you another thriller book next time, that my son Joe wrote, self published through Amazon, recently, but first, I would like to introduce to you, James Le Pore, and his first and most thrilling novel called, A World I Never Made

About James LePore

James LePore is an attorney who has practiced law for more than two decades. He is also an accomplished photographer (his work can be seen at www.nakedeyeimages.com). He lives in South Salem, New York with his wife, artist, Karen Chandler.
A World I Never Made, his first novel, was written after extensive research into the history of Islam on the Iberian Peninsula, and travel in Europe and North Africa. Mr. LePore writes novels of suspense, driven as much by gripping stories as by strong, complex characters. His second novel Blood Of My Brother, will be released on December 25, 2010; his third, Sons and Princes, in May, 2011.
Mr. LePore is a writer of short fiction as well. His stories stand alone as dramatic works, but are also meant to illuminate the central characters in his novels. Anyone Can Die, a collection of short stories written to accompany A World I Never Made, will be released in February, 2011.
Mr. LePore is currently at work on his fourth novel, the story of a Manhattan district attorney whose son is wrongly accused of murder, which The Story Plant will publish in fall, 2011.
To find out more about James visit James LePore Fiction

About A World I Never Made

Pat Nolan, an American man, is summoned to Paris to claim the body of his estranged daughter Megan, who has committed suicide. The body, however, is not Megan’s and it becomes instantly clear to Pat that Megan staged this, that she is in serious trouble, and that she is calling to him for help. This sends Pat on an odyssey with Catherine Laurence, a beautiful but tormented Paris detective, that stretches across France and into the Czech Republic and that makes him the target of both the French police and a band of international terrorists.
Juxtaposed against this story is Megan’s story. A freelance journalist, Megan is in Morocco to do research when she meets Abdel Lahani, a Saudi businessman. They begin a torrid affair, a game Megan has played often and well in her adult life. But what she discovers about Lahani puts her in the center of a different kind of game, one with rules she can barely comprehend, and one that puts the lives of many—maybe even millions—at risk
 
A World I Never Made is an atmospheric novel of suspense with brilliantly drawn characters and back-stories as compelling as the plot itself—a novel that resonates deeply and leaves its traces long after you turn the final page. 
Before I tell you anything more about the giveaway, you will have to stop by Patty's blog
@Books, throughts, and a few adventures... leave a comment for the exciting giveaway gift... and I know you will want to follow her fabulous blog!

Now on to my recipe for the Oven baked Barbecue Country Pork Ribs.

Baked Barbecue Country Pork Ribs
my own recipe

8 pieces of Country Pork Ribs, with or without bones
(I have some with, and some without bones)
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder
1/2 cup plain white vinegar
4 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 sliced onion
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce

In a large casserole lay out the ribs, they could be overlapping, and pour 1/4 cup of the vinegar, and fill with water. Soak for about 30 minutes and pour off all the liquid. In a large rimmed baking pan, line with aluminum foil, and place the ribs, drizzling with the oil, the additional 1/4 cup vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and add about 1/4 cup water. Slice the onions, and scatter them throughout. Cover loosely with foil, and bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes on 375 degrees. Remove foil, and turn ribs over to bake for an additional 30 minutes, uncovered. Spoon, or brush your favorite barbecue sauce on top, and bake for another 25  minutes, or till tender. It should not take more than 1 1/2 hrs, total. You can pour out excess liquid to save, or discard, before spooning on the barbecue sauce. I made my own homemade sauce, that is quite easy, and yummy, as well. 4-6 servings. I served mashed potatoes, sauteed Hungarian style Sauer Kraut, and "doctored up" baked beans. Totally comforting dish.

Homemade Quick Barbecue Sauce

1 cup ketchup (I used Heinz)
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
Dash of hot sauce

In a small saucepan, mix all the ingredients together and heat to a boil. Spread sauce on the ribs the last 25 minutes. Do not turn ribs over. You can make additional sauce if you like...double the recipe, but this should be enough for eight pieces of ribs.

 I just had a request from a lovely lady, Mari @Mari's Cakes to post my sauer kraut recipe. Mari is a professional cake baker and decorator, (if I' wrong about this, sorry) She makes the most gorgeous cakes that you can imagine, with decorations that blow you away. She resides in the Dominican Republic, and her blog is in Spanish, and English. Do visit her blog...you will be glad you did, and follow!

Sauteed Sauer Kraut

32 oz. bag, canned, or jar sauer kraut
1 small onion chopped
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Hungarian hot, or sweet Paprika
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon whit vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Empty sauer kraut in a colander, and rinse off the brine, under running water in the sink. Squeeze the liquid, and set aside until ready to saute. First, in a medium saucepan saute onion in the oil, over medium heat until transparent. Pull
aside from the heat and add the paprika, and the 1/2 cup of water, and the teaspoon of vinegar.Add the sauer kraut, the salt and pepper, and set the heat to low. Cover, and steam for about 20-30 minutes until soft and thickened. You can add a little more water, if it starts to evaporate. Serve as a side dish with the barbecue ribs, or other meats. Goes well with pork, or ribs. Serves 4.

So, this was a fabulous decadent chocolate fudge cake that I did "not" make, which I purchased at the bakery section of my supermarket, and I have to be real honest, this cake was the most sinfully ooey, gooey thick chocolate fudge cake that I could not have made better, myself. I shared this with my BFF friend Barbara, actually, I only had a small piece, and left the rest to her, because I cannot trust myself when it comes to "chocolate"...especially chocolate cake, or ice cream!

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