Mushroom and Artichoke Soup

• 4 (14 ounce) cans canned quartered artichoke hearts
• 1 cup olive oil
• 3 pounds thinly sliced shallots
• 3 small red onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1 gallon water
• 6 tablespoons vegetable base
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme
• 6 dried portabella mushrooms, softened in water
• 3 pounds fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 3 pounds carrots, sliced
• 3/4 cup capers
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Place artichokes in a food processor, slice thinly and set aside. It works
well when using a 3 millimeter slicing disk.
Using a extra-large stock pot sauté onions, garlic and shallots in olive
oil and set on low. Cook for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle flour over onions and cook for 1 minute. Stir in vinegar and
cook for approximately 3 minutes, in order for vinegar to evaporate.
Stir in water, vegetable base, salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, thyme
and sliced artichokes and cook for 25 minutes.
Add dried mushrooms along with the water they soaked in, fresh
mushrooms and carrots. Let cook for 15 minutes.
Stir in capers and parsley, season with salt and serve.

Vegetable Chowder

tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1/4 pound zucchini, chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) can garbanzo beans, with liquid
• 1 (8 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and saute onion
until tender and lightly browned.
In a medium baking dish, mix onion, zucchini, garbanzo beans with
liquid, tomatoes with liquid, wine, butter, garlic, basil, and bay leaf.
Cover, and bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes. Uncover, stir, and
continue baking 30 minutes.
Stir heavy cream, Monterey Jack cheese, and Romano cheese into the
vegetable mixture, and continue baking 10 minutes, until cheeses are
melted and bubbly.

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP

1 quart tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon soda
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 quart milk
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Stew tomatoes slowly one-half hour; rub through strainer; heat and add soda. In the meantime, melt butter and stir in flour; add milk slowly, cooking over low fire until thick; add seasoning. Take from fire and stir in hot tomatoes and serve immediately.

CLEAR SOUP.

1 large Spanish onion, 1 teaspoonful of mixed herbs, 1/2 head of celery, 1-1/2 oz. butter, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, and pepper and salt to taste. Chop the onion up fine, and fry it brown in the butter, in the saucepan in which the soup is to be made, and add 5 pints of water. Prepare and cut into small pieces the carrot, turnip, and celery; add these, the nutmeg, herbs, and pepper and salt to the water, with the fried onions. When the vegetables are tender drain the liquid; return it to the saucepan, and boil the soup up.

CORN SOUP.

1 breakfastcupful of fresh wheat, 1 quart of water, 1/2 pint of milk, 1/2 oz. of butter, 1/2 oz. of finely chopped parsley, 1 oz. of eschalots, seasoning to taste. Steep the wheat over night in the water and boil it in the same water for 3 hours, add the butter, the eschalots, chopped up very fine, and pepper and salt. Let the whole simmer very gently for another 1/2 hour, add the milk and parsley boil the soup up once more, and serve.

BARBECUED LAMB ON SKEWERS

2 lb Stewing Lamb, cut in 1 1/4" cubes
1/2 tsp Cayenne and
4 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp Salt
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 pinch Sugar
1 tbsp Hot Chili oil (or 1 tbsp Salad oil)
Combine all ingredients and marinate Lamb cubes for 2 hours in
covered bowl. Drain Lamb, reserving marinade for basting during
barbecuing. Skewer Lamb; you should have enough for two skewers
per serving. Barbecue until browned, but still juicy. Overcooking
will dull flavors. Serve with nang (Moslem Bread) or shao bing (baked
sesame rolls).

ASPARAGUS AND SESAME CHICKEN SOUP

2 lbs Chicken
2 c Warm water
3 tbsp Sesame oil
1 tsp Sugar
6 Slices ginger root
1/2 c Button mushrooms, canned
1/2 c Medium sherry
8 Fresh asparagus spears
1/2 tsp Salt

Wash chicken, remove fat pockets, pat dry, and chop into bite-size
pieces. NOTE: if tempted to use breast Meat without bones, please
don’t; bones add to body and flavor of Soup.

Peel and slice ginger root. Wash and cut asparagus into 2" sections.
Braising: Heat wok to medium Hot. Add sesame oil. Start braising
chicken a few pieces at a time when oil begins to smell. Sesame oil will
burn at lower temperature than other cooking oils, so avoid Hot wok.
After browning lightly, return chicken pieces to wok; add ginger slices,
sherry and salt.

When sherry boils, add water and Sugar. Turn up heat, bring to boil,
then reduce heat to simmer, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add
mushrooms and asparagus, simmer for another 15 minutes. Transfer
to covered Soup tureen (or put plate on top of Soup bowl), place in
steamer on low, and hold until ready to serve. You can make this Soup
in large Sauce pan, if wok is needed for something else.