Nana's Signature Veggie Soup

Try Nana’s Veggie Soup for supper after shoveling yourself out . . or paying someone else to do it like I did.

We had a snow day, and all I can think of is veggie soup, But there is only one that will do. No offense mom, but I hated it when you cooked vegetable soup. It made me hate vegetable soup. In fact until I met my husband and subsequently his grandmother, aka Nana, I never new that vegetable soup was actually edible. Nana’s vegetable soup is not the unappetizing red tomato soup menace with green beans that one would normally call to mind.

Nana’s soup is a delicious medley of vegetables, that are not overcooked, all swimming in a broth along with shredded meat, e.g. chicken, beef, or turkey. It is very yummy. Nana has been reading the blog, and she has graciously offered to add to it with her recipes for my favorite vegetable soup along with her famous chili and a few suggestions for dessert. Enjoy!

NANA’S VEGGIE SOUP

Start with some Beef ribs with some fat on, cooked.

Add: Chopped potatoes,Chopped cabbage, Chopped turnips, Chopped carrots, Chopped onion, Chopped celery, Corn, Peas, Green Beans, Carrots, and Tomato Juice/water to cook.

Corn, beans, peas and carrots can be frozen, fresh or canned. If canned, ad when soup has cooked a few minutes.

I add garlic, a little soy sauce, salt, pepper, and little sugar.

I also add anything else that I have in the refrigerator that I think would be good. I never have the same recipe twice on this.

Cook all together until Veggies are desired tenderness.

NANA’S CHILI

Fry I pound of hamburger and 2 large chopped onions

Add to:

I can kidney beans

I can stewed tomatoes

Some minced garlic.

¼ cup soy sauce

2 T. catsup

1T mustard

Bring all to a boil and simmer for ½ hour.

For dessert:

HUMMEL’S FUTTER

1 cup sugar 1 c. chopped walnuts 3 sliced bananas

1 egg 1 c. chopped dates 1 large Cool Whip

3 T. flour 1 lg. can chunk pineapple Marochino cherries

1 tsp. baking powder green or red grapes (or both)

Beat sugar and egg together. Add flour and baking Powder. Mix in nuts and dates.

Spread in a 9 x 13 pan. Bake 30 minutes at 325 degrees. Cool. Removed from pan and break into bit size pieces into a serving dish. Cover with sliced bananas, drained pineapple and chopped, drained marochino cherries. Cover with Cool Whip.

Chill at least 2 hours.

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NANA’S APPLE DUMPLINGS

2 cups flour

2 T. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. Salt

2/3 cup milk

2/3 cup shortening Crisco or oleo

Mix and roll in a rectangle ¼ inch thick. Chop enough apples fine, to cover the dough. Rollup s a jelly roll. Cut about 1 inch thick. Pour sauce over .

Bake 350 degrees for I hour.

SAUCE

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 T. flour

I cup (or more) water

Lump of butter

Bring to a boil.

Dolsot Bi Bim Bap, please!

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, we made our way to lunch visiting Fujiyama, what was formerly known as the Korean Village, located in Toledo, Ohio on North Reynolds. (1208 N Reynolds Rd
Toledo, OH 43615, (419) 537-0700) Fujiyama is a sushi restaurant serving very clean-tasting, yummy sushi along with a good array of traditional fare from the kitchen.

Basking in the sun in our table by the window, (you should know I am wearing my sunglasses inside just so we can take it in—I look ridiculous, but I don’t care), we wait as our personable waitress makes her way to our table to ask us one more time if we’re okay. We are more than okay. We have just devoured an appetizer of asparagus beef roll in teriyaki sauce and lots of sushi in our mouths.

Wait for it . . . here she comes again, and this time she is not empty handed. She brings with her a sizzling hot pot that turns heads. The arrival of my pot creates a clamor of murmuring at the table next to us. “What is that?” Another waitress answers, “That is the Bi Bim Bap Hot Pot.”

Dolsot bi bim bap is comfort food straight from mom’s kitchen; well, that is . . . straight from the kitchen if your mom happens to be Korean. But, you get my point . . . this is the Korean equivalent of mashed potatoes or even chicken soup in lots of ways. This dish is also considered a fast food staple in Korea, i.e. Seoul Food. Get it! Geography? Never mind.

Anyway, it is generally prepared with beef (though chicken and seafood can and often added into the mix) and a medley of vegetables, e.g. cucumber, zucchini, daikon, bean sprouts, spinach—sometimes lettuce. Traditionally bi bim bap also includes all these things, plus tofu and tasty roots called doraji and gosari. It all arrives at your table with a fried, sunny side up egg on top of the veggies and beef in a hot pot, cast iron or stone, that has been heated. The pot does not begin to cool until you have put the last bit in your mouth as your nose runs from the heat.

How to eat it? Bi Bim Bap means to stir with rice which is provided along with a traditional hot, sweet pepper sauce (that I am ashamed to say reminds me of ketchup), gochujang. The first time I tried the hot pot I had my own coach who instructed me to, “Stir, Stir, Stir . . . add rice and sauce. . . STIR, STIR, STIR . . . You aren’t stirring fast enough. . . . Stir . . . Aren’t you going to put all your rice in?” It was a little traumatic; I joke. Anyway, the stirring is essential. As I mentioned, there is a bright yellow, sunny side-up egg on top of the bi bim bap; the stirring breaks the yoke and cooks it as you stir, stir, and stir. The flavors are incredible. Vinegar, sweet, tomato, and sesame oil from the sauce. The texture is so good . . .fluffy rice, crumbly ground beef, and crispy vegetables that have sizzled to crispy perfection while you have stirred, stirred, and stirred, which by the way is essential . . . as the name of the dish implies, i.e. to mix. Really good stuff.

For the home cook please visit, http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Jan/15/il/il12ataste.html to make the recipe found on that page. You won’t need any special equipment, but if you want to do it up right and get a stone pot, the can be found own line at http://www.kgrocer.com/

Otherwise, you can adventure to Seoul Garden, in Ann Arbor, MI., http://www.aaseoulgarden.com/ , or the Fujiyama in Columbus, Ohio (Fujiyama 5755 Cleveland Columbus, 614-891-2224 )

I also plan to update this blog in a few weeks after hopefully visiting Ko’s Korean Restaurant ( 1020 Sylvania Ave., Toledo, Ohio (419) 474-7616), and after giving the hot pot a try at the farm house.

This entry is dedicated to Sharon. Sorry, I doubted you during those summer months as your eyes watered, and I looked beseechingly at you and then out the window at the summer heat. You wisdom is infinite. See you at the next Feminist Fujiyama Friday!

Polish American Treats in Toledo: A visit to Ski's

It seems some time has passed since I have discussed a local Toledo restaurant, so I want to correct that by sharing with you a recent outing to Ski’s, a very popular Polish American Restaurant. Ski’s is located at 5843 Monroe Street. You have to look for it because it is tucked away in an odd little plaza, but if you are looking for comfort food, this is the place.

Once in the door, the red and white Polish pride décor was a little off putting, especially the strange red ultraviolet light that is only located over the dance floor in the corner of the restaurant. As we were seated, we were greeted with live music. Truthfully, after having dined at Sokolowski’s University Inn (see previous post), I was a little skeptical having never been to Ski’s. I planned on ordering the pierogi’s on the recommendation of my friend, and I didn’t know if the experience was going to live up to the hype. For those of you unfamiliar with Polish fare, a pierogi is a delicious pasta filled dumpling with various fillings; cheese, potatoes, meat, etc. They are prepared by boiling, deep frying, or sautéed with onions; served with sour cream and crispy bacon.

Even thought I knew what I was going to order, we did spend some time examining the menu. I was amazed as I read Sauerkraut balls! Okay, I thought, this is beginning to look promising. Where in the hell do you go these days that they have Sauerkraut balls on the menu? I’ll tell you where Grandma’s house and Ski’s.

I love Sauerkraut balls. Every year on New Years Eve or New Years Day, my Grandma Sharp would make these lovely, bit-size deep-fried balls that once you put in your mouth and crunched would literally melt leaving a layered medley of sweet, sour, savory tastes mingled with the crunch of kraut and minced corned beef. They are delicious; I have a recipe--maybe I’ll share.

The waitress came; we ordered. And then, the complementary salad came. I wanted to cry. If you know me you know that I hate what I refer to as the “Ohio salad.” It won’t be hard to imagine b/c if you are from Ohio or have stepped foot in our borders you know what the “Ohio salad” is. It’s an awful middle of winter iceberg lettuce that (served all year long) with a wedge of tomato and that is about it. Ski’s threw on some dehydrated onions and raisins to make it interesting (I hope you note my sarcasm here). Setting aside the salad, I intently starred at the door of the kitchen waiting for relief from the salad from hell. Where are my sauerkraut balls?

The balls arrived: they were delicious, but not my grandma’s. They were served on a bed of fresh cabbage which I liked; it added freshness. The house poppy dressing stood in as a good dipping sauce, Greg’s idea.

The potato and veal pierogie’s, made in Hamtramck, MI, were really great, so tasty. They were served with a warm sweet and sour kraut. Greg got the Kluski z kapusta I klopsiki, or Polish Noodles and Cabbage with Meatballs. His dish was so good. It was topped with brown gravy that was reminiscent of Salisbury steak, like Grandma made. The sweet and sour kraut over the homemade/handmade noodles was fantastic, tender not overcooked.

We didn’t do dessert (they looked good).

Speaking of dessert, another Toledo tradition is being celebrated this weekend. If you are interested in an experiencing a Polish American tradition—the timing of this blog is very apropos, because beginning on February 3rd thru the 5^th the 18^th Annual Lagrange Village Council Paczki Sale will be held.

Paczki, pronounced "poonch-key" or "punch-key" is feasted upon before lent. A Paczki is like a jelly donut, but better it is like a supper jelly donut often filled with more traditional fillings, e.g. a raisin filing.

According to a ToledoBlade Article that was published on January 21, 2008 sale hours will be 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 3, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Feb. 4, and 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 5. at the Shoppes on Lagrinka, 2848 Lagrange St.

Happy Paczki Day!