i put a smiley after the paranoid. i was mimicking what you did to Jack! note how you wrote, "Ok, Kelley." and I did same, "OK, Thomas."
I was merely teasing you cause you're always such good fun the rest of the time. No one's ever a neutral reporter anyway! can i give you a hummer to make things up? LOL
here's a present for you and the list: recipes for four summer (cold) soups and a guide on how to handle cucumbers. :)
Happy Friday, as she looks forward to a weekend of work work work and a teensy weensy bit of play!
-k
oh and PS, while i have your attention thankyouthankyouthankyou for the help with the translation thing. Thomas especially, but everyone else who replied. When I make millions of this software, I'll start some kind of research outfit or sumpin!
GAZPACHO
6 lg ripe tomatoes 2 sweet red pepper 2 med onions (vidalia or yellow) 2 lg shallots 3 lg cucumbers (two for the soup; you figure out what to do with the other linda!
I give hints, below, [1]) 1/2 c. red wine vinegar (or try balsamic or other flavored vinegars) 1/2 c. olive oil 1 1/2 c. tomato juice (V8 for a different twist) 3 eggs, lightly beaten pinch of cayenne salt and pepper to taste 1/2 c. chopped fresh dill, reserve some perky dill tops for garnish (very important for the best soups: fresh herbs);
Sliced lemons or zested lemon curls for garnish (requires bartenders zester) However, I can possibly teach you to make lemon rosettes by e-mail. let me think on that one!
1. Wash and prep veggies:
Core and coarsely chop tomatoes
Core, seed, and coarsely chop peppers
Peel, seed, and coarsely chop cukes
2. Whisk together vinegar, olive oil, tomato juice, and eggs.
3. Puree small batches of veggies in a blender or food processor, add tomato juice mixture as necessary in order to keep blades from sticking. DO NOT PUREE COMPLETELY. Your Gazpacho should be somewhat crunchy.
4. Stir in cayenne, s & p, and dill. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.
5. Before serving, you might want to correct for seasoning.
Serves 8-10 ppl.
[1] CUCUMBER TRICKS
1. Firmly grasp cucumber in your hand. 2. No really, take control of that cucumber! 3. Hold it by the base. Uh Huh. That's it baby. Oh yeahohyeahohyeah, that's it! 4. Now for a tool: the fork. Yeah, the one (one!! try five!!) that fell into the
garbage disposal is an excellent choice 5. Hold fork the way the English do, forefinger pressed against back of
fork just above the tines. 6. Run fork firmly and lovingly along the cucumber, from top to your hand.
That's it. Firmly and lovingly press into cucumber, breaking the skin ever
so slightly so that you have "ribs". (not ridge, silly. ribs! like
courdoroy ribs. get yer mind outta the gutter.) 7. Repeat this procedure around the entire cuke. 8. Slice thinly with your mandolin. 9. Layer cuke slices on soup. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Grasp cucumber firmly in your hand, holding it by the base 2. Select your favoritist, sharpest paring knife. 3. peel a 1/4 inch of the skin from the cuke. 4. Rotate cuke and peel another 1/4 inch of skin, leaving a stripe of green
skin in between peeled sections. 5. Repeat until entire cuke is alternating green and white stripes. 6. Slice thinly with your mandolin 7. Layer cucumber garnishes on soup.
GREEK LEMON SOUP
6 c canned chicken broth 1/2 c long grain rice (not converted or instant) 3 egg yolks 1/4 freshly squeezed lemon juice salt and pepper, freshly ground. chopped fresh parsley as a garnish
(What's the difference between parsley and pussy?)
sliced fresh lemon as a garnish.
(It is very worth it to buy those cheap mandolins from amazon. They're rip offs of the chef's mandolin like this <http://www.villagekitchen.com/mfg/matfer/ktool/mandoline/2000_mandolin.html> they're at amazon for $9 <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/kitchen/B00004RDD4/qid=1020458424/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/103-6853954-7029433>
1. Pour the broth into a pot and slowly bring it to a full boil. Add the
rice, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 25 minutes or until rice is
_just_ tender.
2. While waiting for rice, whisk egg yolks and lemon juice together.
3. When rice is done, temper: remove soup from heat and ladle 2 cups of hot
broth into the egg and lemon mixture. Whisk together, working quickly so as
not to cook the egg yolks.
4. Whisk the tempered broth and egg mixture back into the hot broth.
5. Return soup to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until soup is
just steaming. Do not let it reach a full boil.
6. Season to taste and serve hot. Or, let it cool to room temp, cover, and
refrigerate overnight.
7. Season to taste before serving cold.
Answer: You can't eat parsley :)
TOMATO AND MELON SOUP
3 c peeled and seeded tomatoes 2 med sized ripe cantaloupes, seeds and rind removed 3 lg cuke, 1 1/2 for the soup, 1/2 for garnish, one for the chef! grated zest of small orange 1/4 c finely chopped fresh mint. mmmmMMMMMMMmmmmm! reserve the most aesthetically pleasing sprigs for garnish. mmmmmMMMMMMMmmmmm! I LOVE to make food look beauteous! 1 C sour cream or Creme Fraiche (recipe follows)
1. combine tomatoes, melons, and cukes in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Stir in orange zest and 1/4 c. mint. Whisk in sour cream or Creme Fraiche and chill.
3. To serve, ladle into chilled bowls and garnish with a cucumber and sprig of mint.
CREME FRAICHE
1 c heavy cream (NOT ultra pasteurized) 1 c dairy sour cream
1. Whisk cream and sour cream together. 2. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at ~70 degrees F
or until thickened. May take as long as 24 hours. No, you cannot speed up
the process by putting it in the NukUler Zapper. 3. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. The Creme Fraiche will get even
thicker and tarter.
You can also use this to dollop on top of the lemon or cucumber slices for your garnish.
BLUEBERRY SOUP
5 c. fesh blueberries, reserve finest specimens for garnish. 4 c. water 4 whole cloves 1 in cinamon stick 2/ c. honey juice of one lemon 3 Tbl Creme de Cassis (black currant liquer) 1. Tbl blueberry vinegar plain yogurt or Creme Fraiche for garnish Orange to garnish: grated, orange rosettes, or orange zest strips
1. rinse berries and remove stems, leaves, green berries
2. Put berries in kettle and add water, cloves, cinnamon (DO NOT USE
powdered cinnamon).
3. Heat over med. heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in honey, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until berries
are tender. ~15 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and cool to room temp.
6. Put soup though a stainer or through food mill, medium blade. Stir in
lemon juice, Creme de Cassis, and vinegar.
7. Cover and chill for at least 6 hrs.
8. Serve in chilled bowls, garnished with berries, dollops of yogurt or
Creme Fraiche, and a sprinkle of grated orange rind/small orange rosettes,
or orange zest strips.
Enjoy!