(no subject)

[pameladean]

Yesterday I moped, except when reading C.J. Cherryh, and made a tremendous quantity of soup wherein the vegetables are overcooked and the broth tastes like dishwater. Raphael says that's not the case, it just needs a little soy sauce. Nobody else has eaten any. David and Lydy went out for dinner, their custom always of a Saturday, and Eric is well over his head in academic stress. I still say, dishwater. But my taste buds may have been deranged. I think I was having a Hormonal Day. I hate those. Though I suppose PMS without the M is better than the other way.

Today is better. I wrote 220 words, and the sun has not even gone down yet. I also put out seed and seedcakes for the birds and got some laundry going. I am not very sanguine about cooking, especially because I managed to toss the large Revereware Dutch oven into the sink in exactly the right way to wedge it irretrievably into the smaller one. We have tried many remedies and have some more lined up. David says he never liked those pans anyway. They are about 25 years old, I think; I'm pretty sure I had them before we got married, well before. I made soup in them in my various Minneapolis apartments and froze it to take to work. It never tasted like dishwater, though sometimes it was a little peculiar.

I could make something in the wok or the paella pan. I do suspect part of the problem with the soup was that I made it in the stockpot, and everything looked so lonely in there that I kept adding water unreasonably.

Or the cast-iron skillet. Mmm, fried things. That might work.

Pamela

Comments

[papersky.livejournal.com]

When I was married to Zorinth's dad, who is a vegetarian, I occasionally made vegetable stews that tasted like dishwater, and my response if he complained was always "What this soup needs is a LAMB BONE!"

Marmite helps. Pearl barley and a teaspoon of olive oil can help. I suppose it depends what vegetables it was, too.

I wish I could give you some leftovers. I have some oat and maple and ground hazelnut cookies which are damn near vegan -- that is they could be vegan if I'd made them with vegan marge. And the same goes for the mince pies, come to that, as I did the pastry without the egg yolk. Yeah, I'm not lazy, I did them that way so that you could eat them!

[pameladean]

I've made this same soup successfully. My suspicion is really that I put in too much water. I cook largely by instinct (except for baking, which requires recipes) and when my instinct takes a holiday we get dishwater. I think what it needed was another can of coconut milk, another two cups of vegetable broth, and non-soggy vegetables. Also, probably about another quarter to half cup of garlic-ginger-hot-green-chili paste.

Oh. I forgot the cilantro. Sheesh. That'd help too.

I'll remember the pearl barley for when I make a conventional vegetable soup, though. Because the broth for those is often just too unhearty.

P.

[pameladean]

The leftovers sound delectable. *pine*

You remind me of Minnehaha (K), who used to select her party supplies by getting something that each of a number of people liked, even if said people didn't show up or weren't likely to show up. She used to get those cheesy corn puffs for me. I adored them. I still do, I just can't eat them. No doubt my cholesterol thanks me.

P.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Simmer it down, puree the lot, and add new vegetables?

I'm imagining David taking a sledge hammer to the Revereware pot to bend it enough to get it out of the sink.

K. ["and *stay* out!"]

[pameladean]

Adding new crisper vegetables and more flavoring could not but help. At least this time I cooked the noodles separately and kept them separate. Soggy noodles wouldn't have helped at all.

We don't have a sledgehammer, but perhaps David could borrow one from Greg. (And *giggle* at the mental image.)

P.