Last week, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I made this delicious soup. Yes, I realize it isn't Irish (obviously)...but it's full of cabbage and for me, that was enough to qualify. In case you think that makes me lame, I also made Irish Soda Bread (which must be Irish because it's right there in the title). But even if I am lame, I frequently have homemade baked goods around, so I would argue that it's worth putting up with me.

RUSSIAN CABBAGE BORSCHT

Makes 4-5 servings

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced potato

1 cup thinly sliced beets

1 large carrot, sliced

1 stalk celery, chopped

3 cups chopped cabbage

1 scant teaspoon caraway seeds

4 cups stock or water

2 teaspoons salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dill weed, plus more for serving

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon honey

1 cup tomato puree

sour cream for serving

chopped tomato for serving (optional)

1.      Place potatoes, beets and water in a saucepan and cook until everything is tender. (Save the water.)

2.      Begin cooking the onions in the butter in a large kettle. Add caraway seeds, salt and a sprinkling of black pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, then add celery, carrots and cabbage. Add water from beets and potatoes and cook, covered until all the vegetables are tender. Add potatoes/beets, dill, vinegar, honey, and tomato puree.

3.      Cover and simmer slowly for at least 30 minutes. Taste to correct seasonings.

4.      Serve warm topped with sour cream, dill weed, and chopped fresh tomatoes (if desired).

from Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

peeling beet

sliced beets and potatoes in pot

I used a mandoline to slice them very thinly and then I very
roughly chopped them because I was imagining trying to eat these
huge flat slices in my soup. But as you can see in the photo
below, they kind of fall apart enough after they're cooked, so
I didn't need to worry about that after all.

cooked beets and potatoes

onion, salt and caraway seeds

cabbage, celery and carrot added

(I used a bag of already shredded purple cabbage.)

pouring in the cooking water from the beets/potatoes

adding the beets/potatoes and remaining ingredients

all mixed together

after simmering for 30 minutes

russian cabbage borscht

russian cabbage borscht (in a bowl, topped with
a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of dill)

.

Celery Root Bisque

If you saw this hideous monster (a.k.a. celery root) at the grocery store, would you buy it or just keep walking? The answer for most sane people is probably just keep walking. But if you knew you could chop off the nasty parts and make a delicious, velvety smooth soup from the rest, would you buy it then? I'm guessing the answer from about 90% of you is still no (cowards).

Now, how many of you aren't afraid, you're just not willing to chop it up? That's what I figured - there goes another 8%. So this post is really for the 2% of you who are still reading. Hi. This is a lovely, creamy soup that's rich and has a subtle hint of celery. If you like potato soup, you'll love it. Remember, don't judge a root by it's gnarly cover.

CELERY ROOT BISQUE

Makes 8 servings

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup coarsely chopped shallots (about 3 large)

2 lb. celery root, peeled, woody parts discarded, cut into ½-inch cubes (about 5 ½ cups)

1 10-ounce russet potato, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

5 cups low-salt chicken broth

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme, plus more for garnish

1/4 cup cream

1.      Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add celery; cover and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add shallots; sauté uncovered 3 minutes. Stir in celery root cubes and potato, then broth and 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme. Increase heat to high; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly.

2.      Puree soup until smooth using an immersion blender (or in a blender in batches). Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate.

3.      Stir cream into soup and bring to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4.      Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with additional chopped thyme and serve.

Bon Appétit, November 2005

celery root, a.k.a. celeriac (not in any way related to celiac)

You can see the celery growing up top. You can also see
that it's very dirty. After I chopped off all the dirty parts,
I rinsed the white part before chopping into cubes.

Tell me this doesn't look like a beanstalk right out of a fairytale.

chopping off the woody outside

celery and shallots

adding celery root and potato

broth and thyme added

coming to a boil

about to blend with the thunderstick (immersion blender)

celery root bisque

.

Chicken and Dumplings

I'm a sucker for dumplings. I guess it's just part of my ongoing twisted, yet delicious, love affair with carbs. And I like that this recipe can be made with large pieces of chicken, covered in a thick sauce or as a soup with small chunks of chicken that will fit on your spoon. Either way, you're sure to feel comforted and very satisfied. I wouldn't mind having a cold so much if someone would cook me up a hot bowl of this. You know what they say: feed a cold, feed a fever.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

1 large broiler-fryer chicken, cut up

2 celery ribs, sliced

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 medium onion, diced

14 to 16 oz. chicken broth or stock

2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon (I like organic Better Than Bouillon brand)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2-1 teaspoon black pepper

water

dumplings:

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

4 tablespoons canola oil

1.      Soup: Combine chicken, celery, carrots, onion, chicken broth, parsley, bouillon, salt and pepper in a large, wide pan or dutch oven; add enough water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked.

2.      Remove chicken and let stand until cool enough to handle. Remove skin from chicken and tear meat away from bones. Return meat to soup; discard skin and bones.

3.      Taste soup and add more salt and pepper, if desired. Return soup to a simmer.

4.      Dumplings: In a mixing bowl, combine dumpling ingredients and mix well to form a stiff dough. Drop by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

FOR SOUTHERN STYLE DUMPLINGS (heavier and chewier): 2 cups flour, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 beaten eggs. Follow step 4 above.

barely adapted from food.com (submitted by Dawn Vezina)

everything but the chicken and water

chicken added

I used just over 3 lb. of chicken
thighs, instead of a whole chicken.

water added

If you like your chicken and dumplings with more
of a sauce than a soup, just add less water (making
sure to just barely cover the chicken). Mine was sort
of in between - a thick soup or maybe a stew.

1 hour later

cooked chicken cooling off

chicken

It's up to you how large or small
you want your chicken pieces.

stirring in the chicken

mixing the dumpling dough

I followed the recipe for the original dumplings
(not the Southern style on the bottom of the recipe).

dumpling dough

dropping in dumpling dough

dumplings puffing up and cooking

chicken and dumplings

.