Kimchi Soup

By Natalie 

This is a very satisfying, hot, spicy soup experience. Its a quick version, inspired by more complex soups and stews like kimchi-jjigae.  I really adore kimchi, which is a traditional Korean side dish often made by fermenting napa cabbage or other vegetables.

I find this soup is especially good if one is feeling under  the weather.

Ingredients:

Couple of slices of a fatty ham,cubed (optional, remove if you wish to make the soup vegetarian)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 TB grated ginger (optional, can be strong. leave out if you like)
2 TBs soy sauce
1 TSP toasted sesame oil
1 TSP fish sauce/Worcestershire
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups kimchi, (a bit older is fine) squeeze out juice and chop
1 TB red pepper flakes
1 TB gochujang
1 cup kimchi juice or how ever much you can squeeze out of the kimchi, even if  its not a full cup.
8 cups water/ broth
1 c chopped scallions

Chop the ham and marinate for a few mins with the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and fish sauce.

Saute ham mixture in a medium/large pot cook for a few mins. Add onion and cook for a few.

Turn heat to medium high and add the kimchi and gochujang. Saute for a couple of minutes.

Add the kimchi juice and the water or brothand bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer and cook for 20 minutes. 

Serve in big bowls with scallions on top. I also like some thin sliced daikon floated  on top, and to add a squeeze of lime.

Spicy Seaweed Soup

By Natalie 

A novel way to use seaweed, this is a hearty and delicious spicy soup.

To begin soften a big handful of dried wakame in water for about 10 mins. Drain. Chop into manageable pieces. Set aside.

In a large pot heat 1 TB of olive oil over medium high heat. Add 1 chopped onion, 2 stalks diced celery, 1 diced carrot, 2 cloves minced garlic and 1 thumb-sized knob of minced ginger. Saute for approximately 5 minutes.

Add 2 quarts water and 2 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until everything is mixed and the cubes dissolved. 

Add 1 TB sesame oil, 4 TB soy sauce, 4 TB apple cider vinegar and 4 shakes of cayenne pepper (or to taste). Bring to a boil for a bit. Add the seaweed and 2 cups of cooked rice- great way to use up leftovers like rice and vegetables. Taste and adjust seasonings and water content. If the soup is a bit too thick add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water at a time to dilute.

Simmer gently for 10 or 15 minutes until all the flavours are blended.

If you have a left point-of-view or opinion, a recipe or a story you want to share or if you want to share a petition/appeal or upcoming event you can send them to The Left Chapter via theleftchapter@outlook.com!

Trini Gardens, Kothur, Zippy Pickle Soup & more -- The Top 5 Food Posts of 2018

A few days ago we posted the Top Ten Blog Posts of 2018 on The Left Chapter. As any regular reader of this blog knows, The Left Chapter also has many food related posts.

There have been posts about Beef Barley Soup w. Kale, Parsley & Carrots,  Quick and Easy Pan-Fried Salmon Burgers, Pasta Puttanesca -- A classic, rustic sauce easy to make at home, Curry Flavoured Clay Baked Red Chicken, Italian-Style Hero Sandwiches and many, many more!

We also looked at some favourite restaurants and vintage cookbooks such as with Parkdale's Little Tibet w. Sha-Bhaley & Momos or Cooking Cards of the Soviet Ukraine (Part I) w. Dushenina, Kiev Style Chicken Cutlets, Fried Duck with Apples and more.

I want to thank everyone who contributed recipes to the blog and to our readership for such a great year and I look forward to what 2019 brings.

Here, without further ado, are the top five food related posts for 2018:

1) Trini Gardens Brings Excellent West Indian - Chinese Fusion to South Etobicoke

2) Kothur Indian Cuisine's fantastic lunch special in Mimico

3) Zippy Pickle Soup

4) Clay Baked Peameal Bacon Roast

5) Clay Baked Caribbean Style Curried Chicken w. Green Seasoning and Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce

Thanks again for a great fourth year.

Do you have a left point-of-view or opinion, a recipe or a story you want to share?

Send them to The Left Chapter via theleftchapter@outlook.com!

See also: Minassian's Misogynist Attack, Courage to Leap, James Laxer & more -- 2018 on The Left Chapter in review

See also: Beef Roast with an Onion Jus, Rude Boy Burgers, Indian Style Ground Lamb Flatbread Wraps & more -- The Top 5 Food Posts of 2017

Beef Barley Soup w. Kale, Parsley & Carrots

Submitted by Natalie 

A hearty soup is perfect on a cold or rainy fall day and Beef Barley Soup is a classic. This is my take on it with kale, parsley and carrots.

Ingredients: 

Approximately 1 lb of beef cubes
2 carrots cubed
big handful of kale chopped/shredded.
Reserve some extra kale to add at the end, just before serving.
2 onions chopped
3 cloves of  garlic chopped
1 cup pot barley (rinse well several times with cold water)
1 TB fish sauce
2 cubes beef bouillon
1 TB vegeta seasoning
Cayenne pepper, pepper and salt to taste
1/2 cup chopped Parsley
1 tsp cumin
Splash of red wine


To begin, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot to medium-high. Season your beef cubes with salt and pepper to taste and then brown them in pot.

Once browned remove the beef from the pot and set aside.

In the same pot add a bit more oil if needed and saute the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes.

Add the carrots and kale and saute for another 2-3 minutes.

Return beef to the pot. Add more salt and pepper to taste, then add the fish sauce, beef bouillon, vegeta seasoning and a splash of red wine to bring it together. Simmer, stirring constantly, for about a minute.

Add about 4 liters of cold water.

Finally, add the washed barley.

Simmer, covered, for 45 mins or until barley is tender. If you'd like more kale, add 1 C shredded at this point, cook for a few minutes to meld with the soup.

Season with cayenne and a bit more salt and pepper to taste, as needed. Add the parsley to the soup stirring it in.

Serve bowls of the soup garnished with extra parsley if desired. Also nice with some baguette pieces on the side.

Enjoy.

Zippy Pickle Soup

Zippy Pickle Soup- Adapted from a Ukrainian Pickle soup that my Dad, Greg used to make

Submitted by Natalie

Ingredients: 

-1 medium onion chopped
-2 carrots grated
-2 cloves of garlic, grated
-few sprigs of fresh or dried thyme
-4 bay leaves
-2 dried sage leaves
-3/4 cup washed pot barley
-1 TB olive oil- may need more
-1 leftover chicken (remove meat, chop and set aside for later) add carcass to simmer in the broth.
- 1 cup pickle juice
-3 full sour dill pickles (fresh from the deli if possible or we like Strubs) chopped.
-1 handful kale (any kind) ribs removed, shredded.
-1 bunch shredded dill (to add at the end of cooking) and for garnish
-1 tsp vegeta seasoning
-1 1/2 cubes chicken stock
-salt, pepper & cayenne pepper to season
-Lemon wedges

Saute the onion and shredded carrot in the olive oil until golden. Add the garlic, add the rinsed pot barley, saute for a few minutes. 

Make this in a fairly large pot, enough to hold approx 5L of water.
Add 5L of water to the simmering barley/veg mixture, add the stock cubes, vegeta, a few dashes of cayenne pepper, and a bit of black pepper. Add the stripped chicken carcass. Simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove chicken carcass. Remove sprigs of thyme and bay & sage leaves.

Add the pickles and juice, the chopped chicken & shredded kale and a bit more water: 1/4-1/2 cups if the consistency is rather heavy. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Simmer 5-10 mins and add fresh dill, reserving some for garnish. Squeeze a spritz of lemon into individual bowls of soup if a more tart flavour is desired. Serve with buttered, toasted, whole grain bread.

See also: Bread and Garlic Soup

See also: Pepper Goat Soup

Bread and Garlic Soup

Today we are going to make a soup that is absolutely perfect for the season and that is inspired by similar soups made in Spain, Portugal and elsewhere.


It uses very basic ingredients that most people have lying around at any given time and is also an excellent way to not let stale bread go to waste.


While many recipes for this style of soup use chicken stock, I like to use beef stock as I like the flavour and find that it makes the soup more hearty.

Ingredients:

Loaf or part of a loaf of stale rye / French / country style bread
10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
3 eggs lightly beaten
6 cups beef stock (or chicken or vegetable stock)
3 tbsp. paprika
1-3 teaspoons of cayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you want it. Traditionally this is a fairly spicy dish.
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste, though the dish benefits from the liberal use of both
chopped fresh parsley

To make this it is best to use a slightly stale loaf of rye, french or country style bread. First you want to lightly toast slices of the bread and then rip them apart into pieces.

Next heat up 1/2 a cup of olive oil in a large saucepan or pot. Be sure to use this much oil even though it is more than you will need to saute the garlic.

When the oil is hot add the 10 cloves of sliced and garlic and saute for around 3-5 minutes.

Then add the bread, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper. Saute the seasoned bread in the oil (adding more olive oil if needed as it is absorbed) for around 5-8 minutes until the pieces are nicely browned. Then add the white wine and continue to saute until the wine is absorbed by the bread, around 2 minutes more.

After the wine is absorbed add the 6 cups of beef broth. Bring the broth to a boil and let boil for two minutes and then slowly add the beaten eggs stirring as you go. Let the broth with the eggs boil for two minutes more.

Serve topped with freshly chopped parsley as a garnish.

Great on a cold fall night.

See also: Taco Soup

See also: Pepper Goat Soup

From Wisconsin with Love with a Beer-Cheese Soup and Fondue, the Hodag & the Packer "Crunch"! -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook: From Wisconsin with Love by Laurie Gluesing and Debra Gluesing

Publication Details: New Boundary Designs, 1984

There are an entire category of cookbooks that are centred around specific geographic areas -- usually states or provinces, cities or towns, etc. The one we are looking at today is almost a love poem to the food and tales, some of them tall, of the State of Wisconsin.


I love this cookbook for many reasons. Its folksy illustrations, the fact that many of the recipes are prefaced with interesting anecdotes, and, of course, the fact that much of the cooking is centred around two of my favourite things, beer and cheese!

The food here is hearty fare, using usually readily available ingredients, and is, overall, really delicious. You find recipes like "Corned Beef with Horseradish Sauce" and "Wurst-Beer Salad". When the ingredients are a little more off-the-beaten track they cover things like "Venison Stew".

The book is divided into six sections and today we are sharing one recipe from each as well as the tale of the Hodag.

Also, as many of my regular readers may know, I am a big fan of the community owned NFL Green Bay Packers of Wisconsin. So, of course, I share a Packer related recipe as well -- the Packer Crunch!

(Click on images to enlarge)

The Hodag in all its fiery glory!

In honour of the glorious Green Bay Packers -- 

The only major league community owned team in the United States!