Annah's Pantry

A few years back my town decided that it needed a newspaper of its own to cover events in the community that the larger "city" paper did not cover. The Gorham Times was born. The town was excited and lots of us participated. I wrote a cooking column called Annah's Pantry. It was not to be about me but rather community participation. So twice a month I would start scurrying for community participation. I started with the ladies from church who brought the sweets for coffee hour and then moved on to the ladies who brought the casseroles for the church suppers. I went to the Garden Club, the Women's Club, local businesses, the town office, the schools and my poor friends. And every two weeks there was a new Annah's Pantry. Whew!

My middle name is Annah. The spelling I believe is Quaker and I have always loved it. I had just remodeled our house and I had added a pantry/office/wet bar so it seemed a perfect name. The logo came from clip art and I quite fancied it.

My friend Patti was always ready with a recipe for the column and we both liked gifts from the kitchen. So French Market Bean Soup Mix was a natural (and it took up almost the whole column!) This recipe makes a lot of gifts! Are you ready?

All beans are dried.

French Market Bean Soup

1 1/2 pounds of large Lima beans, Great Northern beans, baby Lima beans, yellow split peas, navy beans, cranberry beans, whole green peas, split green peas, kidney beans, small red chili beans, and black turtle beans.

1 pound aduki beans, black eyed peas, and pink beans.
3 pounds barley.

Combine all of the above except the barley. Add 1/3 cup barley to each packet or jar of the bean mix.

Bouquet Garni

1/2 teaspoon of dried basil, summer savory, thyme leaves, and sage leaves. 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley, 3 bay leaves, and 5 peppercorns. Tie the mixture in little bags of cheesecloth or muslin. Make many of these.

This mixture attractively packaged and labeled is then presented with a recipe card for the soup.
We did not have all the computer capacity that we have now so each card was hand written. The soup can be served with a scoop of rice in which case you would need to have that ready when the soup was done.

French Market Bean Soup

Wash and drain beans and peas. In a large pot with 3 quarts water add 1 meaty ham hock, 28 ounce can tomatoes, 2 cups chopped onion, 2 cups chopped celery, 3 cloves chopped garlic, 5 teaspoons salt (or less) and the bouquet garni. Simmer covered 2 1/2 - 3 hours covered. Then remove the meat from the ham hock and return the meat to the pan. Simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Watch the level of water. Then add 1 pound of smoked sausage, sliced and 2 raw chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces. Simmer for about 40 minutes. Serve with fresh chopped parsley on a scoop of white rice. I make the rice after adding the sausage and chicken.

Now you could cut down on all the beans by going to a "whole" foods type of store and getting 1/2 cup of each bean but it is fun to package this up and give it away during the holidays or just because. This is best made a day ahead as the flavor improves. Serves 10-12.

There are many variations of this soup and the mixture of the beans so that you can experiment which one of may favorite ways to cook!

a perfect August day

Yesterday was just perfect! A day of shopping, taking pictures, and a wonderful lunch with good friends is always a good thing. Then a steak on the grill with a very well done potato and a salad completed the day.

I have mentioned Flowerbed Farm before and will probably mention it again but I always find a treat or two there. Yesterday I found a swan planter. It is Italian pottery and will be going to Florida in November. I will photograph her and put the picture in the sidebar. Deb's flowers are beautiful so I took some pictures of those as well.

Deb's shop is an inspiration for tablescaping.

Each time I go to her shop I see more wonderful things I must have. Many bloggers create wonderful tablescapes for Tablescape Thursdays. I'm not sure that I could do that every week but maybe just once. So I pick up little dessert dishes one week and vaseline water goblets another week and I need to make or find a tablecloth for my Sasha Brastoff dishes. So maybe soon I can participate.

And then I saw this Haviland soup tureen. Can you picture this with soup bowls with handles to match. Since I published yesterday I have been thinking about wild mushroom soup!

Beautiful dishes but no room in my closet.

We went to Bray's for lunch and I had their lobster stew. The picture does not do it justice. Each spoonful has chunks of lobster meat and is made to order for the customer. I probably would not make lobster stew but I will make Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup.

Ina Garten is a favorite of mine. I have never made anything from her cookbooks that has not been good or come out looking just like the picture. I will make this next week. I will also probably have lobster stew again next week.

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

5 ounces fresh shitake mushrooms
5 ounces fresh portabello mushrooms
5 ounces fresh cremini (or porcini) mushrooms
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon butter, divided
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 carrot, chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves, divided
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups chopped leeks, white and green parts (2 leeks)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Wipe mushrooms with a dry paper towel. Separate the stems. Trim to remove any bad spots. Chop the stems and slice the tops 1/4- inch. If the slices are too thick, cut them into bite-sized pieces. I like a few larger slices. Set aside.

For the stock: heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped stems, the carrot, the onions, the sprig of thyme 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Cook over medium-low heat until vegetables are soft (10-15 minutes). Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 ½ cups stock.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, heat the remaining butter and the leeks. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 - 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for another 10 minutes until brown and tender. Add the white wine and stir another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cream, parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat through but do not boil. Serve hot. This serves 5 - 6.