in my continuing quest to read books that will give me info about eating for health and happiness, i got a book called simple food for the good life, by helen nearing. i had heard about this book many times, and i had seen it referenced in a number of other books that i read, always with high praise. so, i asked my local library to get me a copy (a service for which i am eternally grateful), and when it came in i patiently read it from cover to cover.
and it was not great. it was not awesome. it was not inspiring. it kind of made me want to go buy some twinkies.
okay. it wasn’t that bad, but after so many people talking it up as this book that would make you want to go au natural with your food, i was sad that i didn’t even find one single recipe that i wanted to try. ho hum.
on the bright side, though, i made an awesome pot of soup, and here’s what i did:
i sautéed three large leeks. (leeks are quite cheap right now, and they are pretty in season- at least in this part of the universe)
i added three huge yukon gold potatoes, which i scrubbed and cut into chunks so they would cook faster (these were also surprisingly cheap, and potatoes are in season-ish. i have never seen large yukons before, though, so if you can’t find them near you, just add more potatoes to the pot. you can tell the recipe is very exact, right?).
i poured in a bunch of water and a generous amount of sea salt. i may have added some pepper, but not too much. i cooked it until the potatoes were soft enough to smash up in the soup and then i cooked it some more. it was velvety and creamy and thick and sooooooooooooooooo yummy and so simple i couldn’t believe it.
pretty much 4 ingredients: leeks, potatoes, salt, water (and a bit of oil to sautee the leeks). easy, cheap, filling, and done.
here’s another cheapy recipe i figured i would share, since i’m on a roll:
when we get to the end of a jar of mayonnaise, i add some warm water, some sea salt, and more garlic powder than i should. i shake it all up, and it makes the best creamy garlic salad dressing ever. not only does this use up the last of the mayo that would never come out of the jar otherwise, but it is a delicious thing to put on salads or cooked veggies. (try it on mashed potatoes -yum!) this is especially good and thrifty if you make your own mayo, because with the amount of time you have invested to make the mayo, you really want to use every single drop.
and that, my friends, is the simple post of the day…
😉
Jan 09, 2013 @ 16:24:01
Ha Ha! We had that exact soup (with pepper) for dinner on monday, along with grilled cheese sandwiches on homemade bread (only because I didn’t have any store-bought) and a spinach salad.
Jan 09, 2013 @ 17:12:02
I am thoroughly intrigued by the salad dressing idea, though I think I would be drawn and quartered if I ever tried to pass my homemade mayo off as the ‘real stuff’ again. It took no time to whip together (stick blender is my new favorite toy), however it tasted awful! Got a secret for that?
Jan 09, 2013 @ 17:33:47
http://books.google.com/books?id=DVnmcNVI5qAC&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=biodynamics+miso+soup&source=bl&ots=IUBhCEOvEj&sig=eDaHe6vD70T4h5do9FCzCGrUcx8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Uu_tUJCxBejV0gGd6YDoBQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=biodynamics%20miso%20soup&f=false
Costs a couple bucks to buy Miso but combined with brown rice it is supposed to be a miracle cure.
Since you live in Seattle, when I was a kid in Edmonds (a suburb of Seattle) we used to go clam digging. Is that still a healthy thing to do now? Free food and a heck of a good time in the tidal pools.
Try it, you’ll like it.
Jan 09, 2013 @ 17:46:29
add a bit of fresh lemon juice to it maybe?
Jan 09, 2013 @ 17:46:29
add a bit of fresh lemon juice to it maybe?
Jan 09, 2013 @ 17:50:45
one thing i am LOVING about produce shopping in seattle is the easy and pretty cheap availability of leeks- yum yum! we had them also sauteed and mixed in with green beans,/ mixed with matza meal, spices, and eggs and baked, /and then i sauteed some and froze them in batches to pull out and dump into random soups when i need a quick pick-me-up. we also did the homemade bread with the soup, but i won’t tell my kids that yours got grilled cheese or you might start getting uninvited guests around suppertime 😉
Jan 09, 2013 @ 17:51:23
innnnnnnnnnnnnteresting, but it always sounded very cold and muddy to me… any thoughts?
Jan 09, 2013 @ 23:03:55
That soup recipe sounds fantastic!
Jan 10, 2013 @ 19:03:19
Soup sound *awesome* and I am going to do it! As for the Mayonaise trick… can’t believe I never thought of it! “Duh”….Thanks, Julie!
Jan 11, 2013 @ 18:43:18
enjoy! 🙂
Jan 12, 2013 @ 23:44:15
Leeks – yum. We also really enjoy the access to fresh, inexpensive leeks, here in the Pacific Northwest. And I keep wondering why we never had them in the midwest when I was growing up. Do they have very specific growth requirements – someplace that is kind of like England? Not too hot and not too cold with lots of rain, or what?
Jan 13, 2013 @ 14:39:01
honestly, i’m not sure. i think they are also more available in england, so it really could be that they like rainy moderate climates… interesting thought!
Jan 14, 2013 @ 15:34:10
I got “The Good Life” by Helen and Scott Nearing out of the library at the same time as “Radical Homemakers” by Shannon Hayes and “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Reuben. My son asked me why I had gotten out all these home improvement books. 🙂
I really admire what Helen and Scott did. It’s amazing to me to picture the work they did with their own two hands. But their writing style is terribly dry. I haven’t seen this book, but I want to, for the recipes.