USVI-On-Line

Here's the chicken tortilla soup I made this weekend -- the photo is from the first time I made it back in October, but the soup is so good that it's become a standard in my dinner rotation. Fragrant, satisfying, mildly spicy, with crunch from the tortillas and richness from the cheese and avocado. Heavenly!

I used Mark Bittman's recipe from the Times; I always doctor it up a little with a few splashes of lime juice and a dash of sugar; sometimes I add some corn for additional sweetness and some chopped raw sweet onion to garnish. If you're feeling lazy, you don't need to fry the tortillas yourself, you can use store bought chips.

*edited to add* Also, I almost always make it the day before I want to serve it -- the flavor is so much better the next day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/magaz ... -soup.html

Lark, that looks super yummy! I prefer home fried tortillas, myself, there's no comparison! Do you use the beef bones when you make it?

I've only ever made it with homemade chips, but my very busy sister in law has made it with store chips and says it's fine

The first few times, I used beef bones, but lately for convenience I've just been using water and a bit of beef broth. Seems to taste just as good!

That CSA is incredible. What is it Becky?

The CSA is here:

http://www.localharvest.org/store/M49015

It's the "Gastronome" package on this site. I have to mention that John purchased it for me off of a sale on Gilt Taste for significantly less than it is going for on their website. It's still pricy but I do think it's worth the cost, epsecially considering who the purveyors are (Wasiks cheese, Stillmans meat etc).

Here is last night's dinner of the CSA chicken and shallots, cooked according to a recipe for "French Country Chicken" in the cookbook that came with the first delivery:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6984394723/" title="chicken and shallpts by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7036/6984 ... 563c8b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="chicken and shallpts"></a>

lark22 wrote:Here's the chicken tortilla soup I made this weekend -- the photo is from the first time I made it back in October, but the soup is so good that it's become a standard in my dinner rotation. Fragrant, satisfying, mildly spicy, with crunch from the tortillas and richness from the cheese and avocado. Heavenly!

I used Mark Bittman's recipe from the Times;
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/magaz ... -soup.html

That looks AWESOME. I love Bittman, especially the way he tends to offer so many variations in his recipes. I'll definitely give this one a shot. Thanks.

Oh, nice photo too!

pmk

Thanks, pmk -- if you make it, I'd love to hear how it came out (and also what time I can arrive for dinner... )

That soup looks wonderful. I wish I had the ingredients; I would make it right now.

I made a really easy quinoa dish the other day that I thought could be of interest:

1 cup quinoa, cooked in two cups liquid (I used chicken broth)
1 tsp. oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tsp. chili powder
1.5 tsp. cumin
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch scallions, sliced
juice of one lime
salt and hot sauce to taste

Saute the onion and bell pepper in the oil until tender. Mix everything together in a big bowl and serve warm or at room temperature. This keeps in the fridge for a couple of days--good for packing for lunch.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/7002626563/" title="quinoa pilaf by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/7002 ... 5ddd64.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="quinoa pilaf"></a>

Cool! That's definitely going on my to-make list!

I love quinoa, especially now that I've figured out how to cook it (or, rather, how to let the rice cooker cook it! )

Thanks Liamsaunt. I love Quinoa salads.

More CSA goodies were waiting for me on the porch when I got home from work last night:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6874457186/" title="farm and the fork week three by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7192/6874 ... 63a5bc.jpg" width="500" height="402" alt="farm and the fork week three"></a>

I cracked up when I opened the cooler because the food was packed with forum favorite techni ice. Opening the oysters was a bit of a challenge--it's a good thing I thought to put on a mesh glove or I think I might have ended up in the ER! I have new respect for oyster shuckers. New England style oyster pan roast:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6874457232/" title="oyster pan roast by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7276/6874 ... 00e1f8.jpg" width="500" height="313" alt="oyster pan roast"></a>

The CSA looks so good, but are you managing to eat all that food?

I made the quinoa dish last night. Very good!

Nothing has been thrown away, but I am freezing some things--especially the meats. Some of the breads, also. Yesterday's delivery had a rack of pork ribs in it, for example, so that and the bacon went in the freezer. I have a seperate standing freezer in my basement for storage. I keep a dated list on the door and a clone list in my kitchen upstairs for meal planning.

It's just John and I during the week, but I feed a minimum of eight people every Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch, so everything gets eaten eventually. I will confess that I am flummoxed by the very large cabbage that was in this week's delivery.

It makes me happy to open the off topic forum and see that liamsaunt has recently posted in this thread!

All of you do a great job with your meals and pics. Thanks!