Soup's On!

It finally, mercifully cooled off here in Nashville. Now it actually feels like the beginning of Fall, instead of Summer Part II: The Sequel. And I really love Fall, because it includes some of my favorite things like football and hoodies and crunchy leaves and soup!

I tried a new soup recipe just a few days ago and it was so good I just had to share! I got it from a Paula Deen magazine, so I wouldn't call it a particularly healthy soup, but it is warm and hearty and really really yummy! Plus you could probably make it a little healthier with a few modifications and it is even vegetarian friendly, if you substitute (even accidentally, as I did) vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

Here is the recipe, and then I'll mention the handful of modifications I made.

Potato Corn Chowder

• 1/2 cup butter


• 1 cup diced onion


• 1 cup diced carrot


• 1 cup diced celery


• 1 cup diced red bell pepper


• 3 cloves garlic, minced


• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour


• 1 32-oz carton chicken broth


• 4 cups whole milk


• 6 cups quartered red potatoes


• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme


• 2 pounds frozen corn kernels


• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese


• 1 cup sour cream


• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt


• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper


• 1 teaspoon hot sauce

In a large Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, red bell pepper, and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.

Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and milk. Add potatoes and thyme; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add corn; increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, and hot sauce, stirring until cheese is melted. Remove from heat, and serve immediately.

***

You can make it just like that, but if you're like me I needed to make some modifications. Here's what I did, whether by accident or necessity, but it still turned out deliciously.

Ingredients:

• I used dried minced onion instead of fresh diced, because I seriously loathe dicing onion. Just make sure to use the correct equivalent. Mine said 1 tablespoon was equal to about a 1/3 cup fresh.


• I used a pre-diced mix of red/yellow/green bell pepper, which I found in the fresh produce section of the grocery store. I also found pre-diced fresh celery. So handy!
  


• I love garlic, but didn't have any fresh or jarred, so I just gave a good shake of garlic salt. Not the same thing, but I had to make do.


• I accidentally bought and used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. It still tasted great!


• I accidentally bought (see the theme here) not enough whole milk so I ended up using 2 cups whole, 2 cups skim. Health bonus!


• When I quartered the red potatoes they still looked way too big. So I say, just cut the potatoes into chunky bite-size pieces.


• I had no thyme, fresh or otherwise. Oops.


• I used reduced fat (but not fat-free) sour cream


• I did not put in hot sauce. I figured Ben could add his own if he wanted.

Directions:

• I do not have a Dutch oven, so I just used a big stock pot and tried to control the temperature as needed.


• Also, in the step where I added the flour, the veggies sucked it up very quickly so I don't think I cooked them for the full 2 minutes suggested because I was afraid they would start to burn.


• The recipe didn't say, but it makes a LOT of soup. Ben had two full bowls, I had one, and I probably filled four good size tupperwares up with the leftovers.

I hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as I did! Yummy and perfect for a crisp, cool fall evening!

Observations from a Long Drive

Yesterday I drove myself home from St. Louis to Nashville. It was a beautiful fall afternoon and I had a good six hours to myself. Well, Scruffy was in the car with me but he's not much for conversation. So I listened to all the music I wanted to and came up with some very random observations which I will share with you now.

***

1. Heartland
There is something really spectacular about rolling fields of wheat and corn and how it all glows and moves under fall sun and wind. Green and gold and brown, just folding out in squares across the landscape, dotted with a farm here, a little pond there...

When my sister was younger, she had this fascination with running in a field. Every time we passed an open pasture area she would sigh and say how she wished Dad would stop the car so she could just go run in that field. Yesterday, driving under an open sky of brilliant blue and through the beauty of the American Heartland, I totally know what she meant.

2. Airheads
I really love Airheads candy. This is odd because I am not a fan of fruity candies usually, and I don't really like taffy or anything like that. But I love Airheads. I could eat about a hundred red ones and still want more.


3. "Stand By Me," sung by Ben E. King
I decided after listening to it for the millionth time that "Stand By Me" is one of the greatest love songs ever. It is utterly simple - the words, the instrumentation, the structure. But good grief is it romantic - and even a little sexy, with the "bum, bum, ba-da bum bum" rhythm. Stand by me, no matter what else happens, and we'll be okay. Man, that's good stuff.

4. National Dead Deer Weekend?
I don't know what the deal was, but yesterday I saw probably - no exaggeration - more than 15 deer and/or partial deer carcasses lining the highway across my 300 mile drive. In my nearly eight years of driving back and forth between Nashville and STL I have never experienced this. One dead deer laying by the side of the road, unpleasant but it happens. But halves of deers and decapitated deers and bloody smears formerly known as deers... ugh. It got to be really gross and had me wondering what was going on with the deer population's sudden and tragic love affair with my particular stretch of highway?!

5. Vampire Weekend
I had Ben load their much-ballyhooed debut album up on my iPod and around Paducah decided to have a listen...

I give them an "A" for interesting instrumentation and a creative different sound. I give them a C- for how much I actually liked the album. I listened to at least 30-seconds of every track... unfortunately it was often because I could only stand 30 seconds at a time. After the hundredth repetition of a kooky staccato riff I just couldn't take it any more. I did like some of the string sections.

6. Cello
The cello is my all-time favorite instrument. It is so powerfully emotive - subtle, almost an undercurrent in many songs, but totally shouldering the weight of moving and feeling. Fun fact: my husband Ben played the cello for seven years growing up. Even now when he plays guitar he moves his fingers like he is playing the cello. But, despite the fact that it is my favorite thing, despite years of begging, he has never once played the cello for me. He claims he doesn't remember. I think he is a big fat mean liar.

7. How Did I Get to Be So Old
At the wedding I was in this weekend, we reminisced about how the couple had gone to the Homecoming dance together our freshman year of high school. I was stunned when someone mentioned, "Who would've thought eleven years ago we'd be here now celebrating their wedding." Woah woah woah. Do you mean to tell me it has been ELEVEN YEARS since I was a high school freshman?!!?! (Silent mental calculations...) But that means... I. Am. Old.

I thought about that for a good while in the car. Being a grown up. Shudder.

8. Names
I think it is cute when girls named Charlotte are called Charlie. I'm thinking of using it in a story I'm writing.

***

And that, my dear readers, is a glimpse into what I think about and do while on a solo six hour car ride. Fascinating, I know.

It's Like Regular Kayaking, But Less Fun

This Saturday, my friends and I invented a new sport. We call it "hikaking." Hikaking is like regular kayaking except instead of paddling happily down the river you spend half your time hiking through knee deep cold water dragging your boat across slippery rocks. It's about as awesome as it sounds.

We intended to spend the brisk and sunny fall morning doing a short run of river near Murfreesboro - a little over 6 miles, which, according to the book, should have taken us about three and a half hours.

It took us over six.

It was supposed to be cool - we dressed accordingly - but sunny. And for part of the trip it was. How refreshing, to be outside in the beautiful fall weather! The water was clear and we spotted fish, turtles, a snake, and maybe possibly an otter-type creature.

But a few hours in and suddenly the sun was gone, obscured by a sky full of fat clouds, a few of which threatened rain. Practically everyone was wet to the waist with cold clingy clothes. The injuries were mounting - a bruised tailbone, blistering hands, a bloodied knee (that one was me). The effort it took to dislodge your boat from its perch on yet another rock seemed overwhelming. Around literally every bend we were crushed to discover not the bridge that signaled the end of our journey but just... more... river...

The camraderie of paddling as a pack gave way to the efficiency of desperation as we split up, sending a pair ahead each time to scout out what awaited us and then direct the other boats through the trecherous waters.

But we survived, somehow, as evidenced by the fact that I am here to recount the story for you. On the back end of the trip, I can say I'm glad we did it. As an utterly non-adventurous and non-outdoorsy type of person, it feels kinda cool to have this story to tell. And I feel a little sense of pride at my gnarly knee wound which must be explained with something a little more exciting than, "I fell down."

Nope, this time it is more like, "I fell down... while dragging my kayak across jagged slick river rocks after hours of hikaking. My knee was totally dripping blood. I had to dig some rock fragments out of it. It was awesome. Wanna see?"

PS. My friend Lila who was there wrote a post about our trip as well... she posted some of our pictures too. Click here to read her version!

You're Killin' Me, Smalls

We went to our friends' Lila & Grant's house last night for s'mores around their firepit. It was the perfect way to spend our first officially chilly night, even if we did smell like (to quote Lila) jerky when we came inside. The logs were cracklin', the marshmallows were toasting, and the chocolate was melting. I really dislike marshmallows but for some reason on a s'more it works for me! I like the marshmallow to actually catch on fire and get a little burnt so the inside is really gloopy... mmm...

The other great thing is that s'mores always make me think of the scene in The Sandlot where Scotty gets invited to the sleepover in the treehouse. It includes one of my favorite lines. Observe:

I hope this fall brings you many opportunities for good friends and delicious treats.