You may recall that on July 1st, The Pony had to walk to work, due to the streets around the post office being closed for a festival. He was hoping to walk by the store on his way home, for ingredients to make some soup mix he had previously picked up at his favorite wine store.
As luck would have it that day (a small gesture from The Universe), a co-worker from a rural route offered to drop The Pony off at home, so no shopping was done.
That soup has been on The Pony's mind for a while. Sunday, his day off, he had the time and ingredients to get that soup simmering. It was not an event without drama, though.
"Ahhhh I wanna cry. I ran a nice warm bath, and was just waiting for a grocery delivery before getting in. [Remember, the street crew had their vehicles blocking The Pony's exit from his driveway.] The drain apparently had only partly closed, so the water just trickled out after it had already filled up, and was gone by the time I went for it. So instead I'm making soup now."
First was the browning of the sausage. I think that must be garlic in there with it.
Then the addition of the liquid parts. And butter. I'm pretty sure that's butter. The Pony is a butter-lover.
There it is, all simmered for a couple hours. Looks like it just needs a good stir. But wait! The Pony does not live by soup alone. He had also picked up some bread mix.
Looks like it would go well with Cheese Tortellini Soup! But Pony, it's time to re-do the nail polish!
Let the record show that Hick and I owe The Pony a breadmaker. It was on the Christmas list way back when The Pony was at college in Oklahoma. He had a standing permission to get on my Amazon account and order one. Or get one in a store, with reimbursement to follow. Yet The Pony never got around to acquiring this appliance. This breadmaking venture used the mini loaf pan that went home with The Pony containing my banana bread.
Oh, yes. I was horrified by this picture!!!
"Yeah. Maybe slightly too much batter/melted butter on top. It's fine! It's fine!"
[Well. Except for referring to dough as batter!]
The finished product looked better than I expected.
"Gotta cool for 10 minutes."
"You know you're trying those crumbs ahead of time!"
"I did! I also forked a bit out to test the center. Soup is too hot to taste. Owie!"
"Oh, no! Don't char your taste buds!"
"Just one. Soothed by a Mexican Coke!"
"Patience. Anticipaaaaaaation."
The bread looks perfectly edible, turned out of its mini foil loaf pan.
"Soup is sooo hottttt! I've burned my tongue so many times! Ahhhhh! But very good."
So that's the soup saga. At least The Pony has that pot of soup for feeding while off work with his sprained ankle. I sent him some hillbilly Tupperware to use for freezing some of it. I don't think even The Pony could eat a whole pot of soup in four days.
Before summer is over, I crave soup. Unfortunately, my husband does not have the same love for soup that I have, and I cannot eat a pot of soup by myself. Even I get tired of eating the same thing after 3 days in a row. I will be making soup in September, whether it's actually cooler temps or not. To me, it's mind over matter and "talk about anticipation." The Ponys' soup looked delish. Ranee (MN)
ReplyDeleteWe usually finish off a pot of soup in four days. If Hick is gone for a meal or two, I freeze the rest. It's just fine when thawed for future meals.
DeleteI make my soup by adding meat and veggies to a packet of vegetable beef soup mix, plus assorted sauces for flavoring. Hick likes everything about it except the JUICE, heh, heh. I'm not sure he understands the concept of SOUP.
I also thought The Pony's soup looked good, with a little stirring to redistribute the tasty fat that has risen to the top. Though some deranged health nuts might want to refrigerate it first, and skim off that FLAVOR to throw it away!
I'm not a health nut, but I don't add fats to my soups, they're mostly vegetables and stock, sometimes I'll add pasta.
DeleteI've never added butter to my soup, but I don't completely drain the ground beef or pot roast that I add to my vegetable beef version. A little fat gives it flavor. I never add pasta. A little bit of pasta is in the mix I use. We mainly want the meat and carrots/potatoes/green beans/peas/tomatoes.
DeleteHi Val, That bread looks really good. I'm surprised it baked so well after looking at the batter/dough before the baking. Ha!
ReplyDeleteI never could have imagined that final product, after seeing the batter/dough all lumpy and buttery! The Pony loves bread almost as much as he loves butter. I really wish he would get a bread machine SOON!
DeleteThe soup and the bread both look great. Kudos to the Pony!
ReplyDeleteI can almost taste it from the pictures! Not the prettiest display, but it's edible. The Pony loves to strap on the ol' feedbag!
DeleteHow big is the pot of soup? the bread looks good. I'm having home made soup myself tonight, pumpkin/sweet potato and I'll have some toast with it maybe. Usually the soup is enough.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to guess that pot is about 1.5 or 2 gallons. That's what mine is. Not sure of The Pony's kitchenware.
DeleteNeither pumpkin nor sweet potato is a flavor of soup I would eat, but I'm sure yours is delicious for people who like that kind. I think toast would be good with it.
I am also a lover of soup! I thawed a turkey breast and brined it overnight for HeWho to put on the smoker. He sometimes forgets that the whole idea of the smoker is to SLOW cook the meat. I applied a dry rub after draining the only slightly salty brine. It cooked for four hours on the correct temperature and was spritzed and basted every 20 minutes (this made HeWho have to stay outside with it, double good for me). It was so tender and juicy! I took the few bones and added some celery, carrots and onion and simmered for a few hours for broth. Today will be soup with whatever pasta I have in the pantry with vegetables and a few chunks of turkey. My mouth is watering!! But the store can provide the bread. Too hot to bake!
ReplyDeleteYour turkey sounds delicious, and soup is a great way to utilize the rest of it. Seeing The Pony's finished bread makes me want to find my old "Breadman" and see if it still works.
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