Five Ways
Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free story!
Share this:

Recipe: Autumn Soup with Dumplings

Picture of a cabbageAs some readers know, I do like to cook. I’d mentioned this soup on Facebook and people wanted the recipe. It was an improvised soup, so I’m recreating it a bit. I christen it….Autumn Soup with dumplings.

Ingredients:
3-4 shallots, minced
2 T olive oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into inch size
3 c chicken broth
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, cut into 1/2″ thick slices
1 can black-eyed peas or 2 cups frozen
2 T mirin (sweet rice wine)
2 T apple cider vinegar
fresh ground pepper

Dumplings:
1 c flour
2 T baking powder
1 T dried dill weed
1 T sugar
1 T butter
1/2 milk

Saute shallots in olive oil until brown around the edges. Throw in chicken chunks and sear for a few minutes. Add three cups chicken broth and rest of ingredients. Add enough water (2-3 cups) to make sure everything is submerged if needed. Cook at a low boil 45 minutes.

Meanwhile make dumplings:
Mix dry ingredients, cut in butter until mix is crumbly. Add milk. Dough will be sticky. Form into six equal sized balls, drop in soup. Cook covered for an additional fifteen minutes.

One Response

  1. I made this recipe, with vegetarian and what-I-had-on-hand modifications:
    seitan instead of chicken
    vegetable broth instead of chicken broth
    an onion instead of shallots
    rice vinegar and white wine instead of cider vinegar and mirin
    For the dumplings, I used two teaspoons (not tablespoons) of baking powder, and one teaspoon each of dried dill weed and sugar.

    It was delicious! (And now your recipe has fanfiction;-)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Fiction in Your Mailbox Each Month

Want access to a lively community of writers and readers, free writing classes, co-working sessions, special speakers, weekly writing games, random pictures and MORE for as little as $2? Check out Cat’s Patreon campaign.

Want to get some new fiction? Support my Patreon campaign.
Want to get some new fiction? Support my Patreon campaign.

 

"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."

~K. Richardson

You may also like...

Alas Poor Ginger, Wherefore Art Thou: Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Ginger

I’m very fond of crystallized ginger, and accordingly I am substantially less fond of the Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Covered Ginger, whose ginger to “rich dark chocolate” ratio is weighted in chocolate’s favor to the point that the ginger is nigh imperceptible.

The ingredients promise Australian crystalized ginger, and I do appreciate that Trader Joe’s, the J. Peterman of foodstuffs, has resisted the urge to embroider the tale with “harvested by koalas” or a story about backpacking across the outback while noshing on these or anything of that nature. But what’s given us instead of tasty, delicious ginger is waxy and overly sweet dark chocolate that is unappealing and which hosts a poverty of taste that is far from the promised richness.

The label makes no mention of fair trade or ethically sourced chocolate, which is honest, at least, and not the sort of “3% of our cacao beans are ethically sourced” shenanigans that some companies engage in. The smallish bag holds eight servings of what they claim is a 1/4 cup each, but these are apparently servings where the bits of chocolate repel each other, thereby taking up twice as much space in a measuring cup than normal.

All in all, a disappointing snack best suited to eating 3 am in an international airport, killing a few hours at a deserted gate while waiting for a lengthy flight, already sunk in ennui and listening to the echoes of the janitor’s footsteps as they mop a nearby lobby.

You can read this story at http://thegreenmanreview.com/food-and-drink/alas-poor-ginger-wherefore-art-thou-trader-joes-dark-chocolate-covered-ginger/

...

Recipe: Spinach and Fake Bacon Salad

Picture of croutons being prepared.One of the things I’ve been doing this month is cooking more in an attempt to wean Chez Rambo away from a too heavy reliance on eating out. The other day I made us eggnog French toast for breakfast (take your basic French toast recipe and swap in eggnog for the milk, add a little cinnamon and fresh nutmeg) and with it, a hearty helping of fake bacon.

The bacon was…less than good. I took the leftover bits and figured I’d amp them up a bit to add to a bag of baby spinach and see what I could do, salad wise. I crumbled the bacon and cubed some stale bread, then sauteed all of it in a mixture of half butter, half hot chili oil (maybe a tablespoon of each) until they were brown, and ground some fresh pepper over them while I was doing that.

The baby spinach got dumped into a bowl and combined with some chopped up apples and some thinly sliced jicama. I tossed the mix with a dressing made of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a little yogurt, and a pinch of brown sugar, then added some quartered hardboiled eggs. Threw the crouton/bacon bit mix over the top and voila. Huge salad, devoured quickly. This actually might be the best salad I’ve ever made, so I’m sorry not to have been more precise about how I measured the ingredients. This is my new salad theory: some greenery (preferably spinach, because I love it), some reasonably crunchy vegetable, chopped fruit (try for tart rather than too sweet), and balsamic vinagrette. Spicy croutons optional.

Last night: fettucini with a vodka and smoked salmon sauce, another big spinach salad, and roasted acorn squash. Tonight? I’ve got a turkey breast thawing, with yet another salad, and sweet potatoes on the side.

...

Skip to content