gildedacorn

6 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 bunch of fennel, including the feathery ends
3 tso stick butter
ca. 2 cups chicken broth (Swanson's, reduced fat, 50% salt)
ca. 1 cup half & half
lemon juice
soy sauce

Slice the garlic cloves thinly. Slice the fennel into thin slices, then chop it up. Melt the butter in a cast iron pan, and in it cook the garlic and fennel over low heat (do not brown) until they are cooked through and soft. With the heat still on, add chicken broth until they are well covered, and continue to cook another 10-15 minutes, adding broth if necesssary.

Take it off the heat and let it cool slightly. Drain and reserve the broth. Put the cooked vegetables in a blender with a little broth and blend on low setting, adding the broth as needed, until it is smooth. (It won't get perfectly smooth, and you'll still see flecks of fennel feathers.) (Can you say that fast? Neither can I.)

Return it to the heat and carefully add half & half until it has a cream-soup color -- a little at a time, stirring constantly, because you don't want it to actually boil. Turn off heat and add lemon juice to taste -- a tablespoon or two -- also carefully and a little at a time, so it doesn't curdle, then add soy sauce. Serve in bowls or cups. Makes about 2 cups.

Notes:
Although it's more trouble, I like this better than the earlier version. I still intend to try this using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and also a vegan version with no chicken broth or dairy products. Stay tuned.

It is, as someone pointed out, a good soup for a cold rainy day (like yesterday).

Since I was making it up as I went along, the measurements, if any, are approximations.

GARLIC FENNEL SOUP

6 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 bunch of fennel, including the feathery ends
1/3 stick butter
chicken broth (Swanson's, reduced fat, 50% salt)
half & half
lemon juice

Slice the garlic cloves thinly. Slice the fennel into thin slices, then chop it up. Melt the butter in a cast iron pan, and in it cook the garlic and fennel over low heat (do not brown) until they are cooked through and soft. With the heat still on, add chicken broth until they are well covered, and continue to cook another 10-15 minutes, adding broth if necesssary. Carefully add half & half until it has a cream-soup color -- a little at a time, stirring constantly, because you don't want it to actually boil. Turn off heat and add lemon juice to taste -- a tablespoon or two -- also carefully and a little at a time, so it doesn't curdle. Serve in bowls or cups.

Other ideas I haven't tried yet:
1. Pureeing the vegetables and broth before adding the half & half.

2. Using olive oil instead of butter, vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and leaving out the half & half.

Yes, they do have fifteen lines; so does Sonnet 99 ("The forward violet thus did I chide") by William Shakespeare.

Above the clouds and closest to the sun
Now flies the falcon through the morning light,
Down the bright wind, with wings surpassed by none.
Rejoice, O Eastern people, at the sight!
Exalt the Falcon-King whose throne was won
And crown confirmed by might of sword and shield, 
Strong-armed and fierce defender of our lands,
Ever the first to fight, the last to yield
In any battle where the Eastrealm stands.
Say to the north, the dragon-shadowed west;
Far to the south, and eastward, be it heard:
Andreas reigns, whose sword was proven best;
Let all the Eastrealm hear and heed his word!
Know well his worth and wisdom; likewise know,
Each day he reigns, the Kingdom's blessings grow.
 
 
Glad tidings to the East and all its kin:
A Queen of beauty now adorns the throne,
Beauteous without and likewise fair within,
Revealed in grace, and by her virtues known,
Inspiring well her King a crown to win.
Embodied courtesy and bright noblesse,
Love's emblem, flowering Rose, we sing your praise;
Lily of honor and of gentilesse,
Admired by all, let bards and heralds raise
Voices of joy in poetry and song,
Offerings fair of skill and artistry.
No other stirs such inspiration strong;
Unrivalled courage, pride, and chivalry,
Like banners o'er the Tyger's hosts unfurled, 
Make known her name throughout the whole Known World.

Current Mood:

pensive

6 oz Welch's 100% Purple Grape Juice
cinnamon
cloves
ginger
nutmeg
lemon juice

Heat juice slowly.  Sprinkle spices and juice over it to taste until dissolved.  Serve in a mug or earthenware container (not glass; it's too hot to hold).

Note:  It may make you just as sleepy as real wine.

Current Mood:

content

FOUR EVENTS
1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.
1803 - The United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.
1944 - General Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines when he commands an Allied assault on the islands, reclaiming them from the Japanese during the Second World War.
1955 - Publication of The Return of the King, being the last part of The Lord of the Rings.

THREE BIRTHS
1632 - Sir Christopher Wren, English architect (d. 1723)
1940 - Robert Pinsky, American poet and Poet Laureate of the United States
1958 - Viggo Mortensen, American actor

TWO DEATHS
1890 - Sir Richard Burton, British explorer and writer (b. 1821)
1936 - Anne Sullivan, American teacher (b. 1866)

ONE HOLIDAY
St. Andrew of Crete, martyr

Current Mood:

okay

And still you walk in daydreams through my mind
unasked, unlooked-for, like the subtle shoots
of green that slowly wake from sleeping roots,
or sudden leafbuds and the rain and wind.
So what to think or dream? My heart has sworn
that dreams are no more truth than is the sun
the summer, when its light has feebly won
through clouds of March: summer is not yet born. 

Current Mood:

contemplative

I Neither of us has ever done such a thing before.  The artist isn't charging us anything -- *she* asked *us.*  She said she thought we'd be interesting. : >

Of course, once it is finished we have to figure out which set of parents gets the portrait.

If you were having a Super Bowl party (which, incidentally, I am not), what would you serve?

I would do the following:

From the beginning of the afternoon, there would be grazing opportunites consisting of the following (asterisks indicate things I would buy rather than make):

Hummus
Babaghanoush*
Devilled eggs
Hot wings*
Assorted crackers and bread*
Assorted chips (corn, potato, sweet potato)*
Assorted dips (salsa, queso, cream cheese/salmon)*
Grapes, bananas, oranges*

Toward evening, there would be 
Chili with meat (in crockpot since early morning), rice, grated cheese
Green salad (lettuce, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, lemon and olive oil dressing)
Potato salad 
Pound cake
Gingerbread
Whipped cream

Throughout the day, there would be

Cider*
Beer*
Assorted sodas*

Please discuss.

If anyone has an explanation for this, I would like to know.

(I am aware that in both religion and politics, there are people whose assigned jobs involve exposing other people to their beliefs, and unlike many of my acquaintances, I cut such people some slack.  They are not what I am talking about.  Also note that I differentiate between saying "all people who believe [politics] are evil, dirty, ignorant, and scratch themselves in inappropriate places" and saying "all people who believe [politics] are WRONG.")