How you doin’? Fall into winter is soup season. Actually, any time is a good time for soups—even chilled soups are hearty and fulfilling during warmer months. A cozy, warm bowl of soup is exactly what many of us need during these cold days of winter.
 
Joan’s favorite soup is minestrone… Italians have been enjoying it for centuries. But how did this hearty soup make its way from Italy to our tables here in America? It’s all due to the popularity of the soup and its versatile recipe.
 
Minestrone is one of the cornerstones of Italian cuisine and may even be more widely dispersed and enjoyed throughout Italy than pasta. The soup was initially made from small things leftover from previous meals, combined so as not to waste perfectly good food. Sounds perfect for today’s waste reduction focused population.
 
Gradually, the standard minestrone recipe changed, and by the 18th century, the word “minestrone” no longer implied a soup made from leftovers, and instead indicated the soup recipe we are now familiar with, which is made for its own sake. Additionally in America, the soup is now often a starter dish instead of the main course. 
 
Minestrone is a thick pasta- and vegetable-based soup. You can add any number of veggies and carbs you choose to make this soup even heartier. The core ingredients, however, are most often celery, onions, garlic, carrots, tomatoes, olive oil and pasta. It is  often topped with shredded parmesan.
 
I created my minestrone soup for T.R.’s Restaurants in Wichita as a way to utilize unused veggies. If you love Minestrone and don’t want to ingest the excess sodium and lack of veggies in the canned varieties, then take an hour out of the day and make T.R.’s Minestrone Soup. Serve with hearty, crusty bread, romaine salad and a nice merlot.
 
Prep time:  35 minutes
Cook time:  45 minutes
Yield:  4 to 6 servings
 
Ingredients 
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
5 carrots, sliced
4 cups tomato sauce
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup red wine
2 large pieces of Parmesan cheese rinds (see ChefSecret below)
3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
2 cups baby spinach, rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can green beans, drained (or fresh if you have them)
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup small sea shell or elbow  pasta
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping
1 tablespoon olive oil
 
Directions

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-low heat. Sauté garlic in hot oil until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion; cook and stir until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Add celery and carrots; sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Pour in tomato sauce and broth; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add red wine; reduce heat to low. Stir in zucchinis, spinach, green beans, kidney beans, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper.
4. Simmer until soup is heated through, 30 to 40 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil.
6. Cook pasta in boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
7. Place 2 tablespoons cooked pasta into individual serving bowls. Ladle soup over pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
8. Spray with olive oil to serve.

ChefSecret:  I like to throw in a couple of leftover Parmesan cheese rinds when I start to simmer the soup. The soup also gets topped with shredded Parmesan when serving, but adding the rind to the pot while the soup is simmering gives it additional depth and a nutty flavor that takes the already-excellent soup up a notch. Plus, it’s a way to get a little more use out of expensive Parmesan cheese that you might have otherwise discarded.

As Parmesan cheese ages, the outside of the wheel naturally hardens more than the inside and becomes what we call the rind. It’s still cheese. It’s still edible, but it’s not too enjoyable to eat in its hardened cured form. Instead of tossing them, keep them in a freezer zip-top storage bag in your freezer until you’re making a soup, stew, risotto, pasta sauce or another dish that could benefit from some extra depth of flavor.

Remove the Parmesan rind before serving the soup. It will be soft and mushy. You could brush olive oil and garlic on slices of baguette or Italian bread, toast it up, and spread the softened rinds on the slices of bread to eat.

Quip of the Day:  What do the ducks have for dinner?  They have Quackers and soup, of course!
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to [email protected].  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross.

#Entrees #Soup #Minestrone #TRsMinestrone #ItalianSoup #VegetableSoup #QuarantineKitchen  #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 
                                                                           ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023

How you doin’? Here’s my spine-tingling Halloween Punch, made with vodka and cranberry juice (or whatever gruesome name you’d like to give that bloody red liquid)! Let your kids try their hands at using a melon scoop to create those honeydew “eyeballs. ”
 
Even the youngest ghost or goblin can press blueberries into the center of each melon eyeball. When serving, use plenty of eyeballs in tall, clear glasses to create an extra ghoulish effect. This creepy concoction can be made kid-friendly by leaving out the vicious vodka!
 
Prep time:  20 minutes
Yield:  8 cocktails
 
Ingredients 
1 honeydew melon
1 quart cranberry juice
1 pint of blueberries
1 quart sprite soda
8 ounces vodka
 
Directions

1. Using a melon baller or small scoop, cut 2” balls from a seeded honeydew melon.⁠
2. ⁠Using a 1/4 teaspoon, scoop out a small circle in each of the honeydew balls and place/press a blueberry inside.⁠ If needed, hold the blueberry in place by running an olive or toothpick through from side to side.
3. ⁠Fill a pitcher with the cranberry juice, Sprite soda and vodka.⁠ Stir well.
4. ⁠Fill 8 serving glasses halfway with ice and place 3 honeydew “eyeballs” on top.⁠
5. ⁠Pour the vodka laced sparkling cranberry juice over the “eyeballs” to fill the glass.⁠
6. Boo! Here’s lookin’ at you!

​ChefSecret:  Make it a bit spookier by adding a couple of pieces of dry ice to get that steamy effect.

Quip of the Day:  Fangs for the memories. Have a howling good time! Happy Hallo-weenie!
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross.

#Cocktail #HappyHour #Halloween #Vodka #HalloweenPunch #CranberryJuice #Sprite #Blueberries #EyeBalls #Cheers #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 
                                                                       
                                                                         ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023

How you doin’? One hundred years ago Lawrence Frank and Walter Van de Kamp co-founded a fairytale-like restaurant called Tam O'Shanter, in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. At that time no one could have anticipated that patrons would still be lining up a full century later.
 
These two gentlemen were major players in the restaurant and food scene in Southern California—Lawry’s The Prime Rib, Lawry’s Foods, Lawry’s California Center, The Five Crowns, The Ben Johnson, Van de Kamps and several more too numerous to name. The leadership still remains in the family with the great grandson. The key to the restaurants’ success is largely a sense of family connecting owners, co-workers and guests.
 
“There is an extreme sense of ownership among all my co-workers, that they have this piece of history that they’re stewarding for whatever time that they’ve been here,” John Lindquist, Managing Partner said. “It’s that type of camaraderie and family that shows through to the guests coming in day in and day out.”
 
While the ownership remains in the same family, the Hollywood art director designed restaurant has had several changes in names over the years—Montgomery’s Country Inn, Tam O’Shanter, The Great Scot and then back to Tam O’Shanter.
 
I was the design and marketing director at Lawry’s for 5 years advancing the quality and reach of their products and restaurants. But as much as I contributed to them, I took away even more.
 
One of the legacy menu offerings of The Tam is Welsh Rarebit. The origin of the name is uncertain, but it’s generally believed that the word rarebit is a corruption of the word rabbit. 'Welsh rabbit' first appeared as a dish in 1725 and later in many eighteenth-century cookbooks. It is thought that the dish was attributed to the Welsh because of their historic fondness for cheese, which was used as a substitute for meat as a source of protein by poor peasants. Welsh Rarebit is described by some as 'posh cheese on toast'. Possibly it was to indicate how much the Welsh were said to enjoy hot cheese as do I.
 
Tam O’Shanter Welsh Rarebit is still going strong 100 years on and still as delicious as it always has been. Following is the best I remember it.
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Cook time:  25 minutes
Yield:  6 servings
 
Ingredients 
1-1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups mild Cheddar cheese
1/2 stick salted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon dry mustard (I prefer Coleman’s)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne  pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup beer
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (I prefer Lea & Perrins)
2 teaspoon steak sauce (I prefer A-1 sauce)
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
6 toasted English muffins
12 crispy bacon strips (optional)
3 teaspoons paprika (optional)
 
Directions

1. Heat the milk in the top of double boiler over boiling water.
2. Add the cheese and stir until melted.
3. Separately, melt the butter in small skillet.
4. Stir the flour into the butter and add mustard, cayenne and salt. 
5. Stir until the mixture is smooth as paste roux. 
6. Gradually add the roux into the cheese mixture.
7. Cook the cheese sauce for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
8. Stir in the beer, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce and Tabasco sauce.
9. Stir until mixture is smooth; set aside and keep warm until served.
10. Split, butter and grill the English muffins.
11. Place the English muffins in individual shallow dishes (rarebit dishes)
12. Sprinkle the top with bacon pieces (optional).
13.  Ladle the rarebit sauce over the muffins.
14. Sprinkle with paprika (optional) and place under a broiler to brown.

ChefSecrets:  I prefer to use mild or medium Cheddar cheese as it is creamier than using sharp, aged cheddar. On occasions, I like to use hollowed out baked potato skins instead of a rarebit dish to make it a real meal.

Quip of the Day:
     It's called Welsh rarebit, not cheese on toast
     You are so daft said the dinner party host
     Do you like fine wine? There was no response
     Why on earth did I invite you? Leave at once
                                                                                …Kelvin Rush
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected].  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross.

#Appetizer #RarebitSauce #CheddarCheese #TamOShanter #Lawrys #TheGretScot #2023Recipes #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup                                                   
                                                                                                 ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023

How you doin’? My cousin Monroe was the mayor of Ojai, a small town near Ventura, California. While Monroe was a well-known optometrist, he had a knack for growing some simple plants in an open field near the house. There was nothing better than going out to field to collect some corn and immediately boil the ears in milk.
 
Winifred, Monroe’s wife, was a “holiday” lady and she would celebrate the arrival of fall with wonderful seasonal foods. One year Monroe decided to grow pumpkins. I think he was trying for a world record size and weight. Winnie’s hope was for a great looking and tasting pumpkin for her Halloween pumpkin soup.
 
I was just a kid, and my memory may be a little faint, but this is how I remember Winnie would cook up the soup. By the way the fun part was, she served it in a hollowed-out pumpkin, too. All of us looked forward to it every year. You can dress it up with homemade croutons and lacy Parmesan cheese webs.
 
I love soup in general but this soup, in particular, is my favorite. I don’t know any short cuts for making this recipe where you can get the same results.
 
Soup Prep time: 1 hour
Soup Cook time: 1-1/2 hours
Soup Yield:  6 to 8 servings (about 2-1/2 quarts)
 
Ingredients 
1 pumpkin, about 8 to 10 inches in diameter
1 stick unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
2/3 cup dry white wine
2 small white turnips, peeled and sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
1 large potato, peeled and sliced
6 cups chicken stock or more as needed
1 large traditional French-style baguette, thinly sliced (I prefer La Brea Bakery)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I prefer Penzy’s)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 cup shelled, toasted and salted pumpkin seeds for garnish (see recipe below)
 
Directions

1. Thoroughly wash the pumpkin. Cut off the top of the pumpkin at least 5 inches across, so that it can serve as a lid for your Jack O’ Lantern.
2. Scoop out and set aside all seeds and stringy material.
3. Using a large sturdy spoon, scrape out 6 cups of pumpkin meat, taking care not to break through the outer skin. Set the pumpkin and its lid in a warm place aside until ready to serve.
4. In a large soup pot over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter.
5. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
6. Add the wine and simmer for 1 minute.
7. Add the turnips, carrot, potato, pumpkin meat and enough chicken stock or water to barely cover the ingredients.
8. Cover the soup pot and bring to a boil.
9. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 6 tablespoons butter, and add bread slices, turning until lightly browned on both sides.
10. Set the toasted bread slices aside; half for the garnish and, when soup has come to a boil, add the remaining half to the soup.
11. Gently simmer the soup for 1 hour, stirring once or twice. The soup will be very thick; if it seems in danger of burning, reduce heat and stir in a small amount broth or wine.
12. Add the cream and season to taste with the pumpkin pie spice, salt and pepper.
13. Using an immersion blender (stick blender), carefully purée the hot soup in the pot until very smooth.
14. Pour the hot soup into the pumpkin shell. Serve from the pumpkin, garnishing each serving with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds and one or two reserved toast croutons.

ChefSecret:  If you don’t have a stick blender, remove the soup from the kettle and allow to cool until it is no longer steaming, then purée in a food processor or blender. Return soup to a clean pot and reheat gently before serving. Decorate your pumpkin with a “Sharpie” design.
 
                                           To Roast the Pumpkin Seeds
Prep time:  30 minutes
Bake time: 1 hour

Ingredients
2 cups fresh pumpkin seeds, or whatever you scoop from 1 pumpkin
3 tablespoons butter, melted, or an equal amount of your favorite cooking oil
1 teaspoon salt or other seasonings
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, optional
 
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250˚F.
2. Line a large baking pan with foil and lightly grease it with butter or oil.
3. Separate the fibrous strands from the seeds. It’s okay if you don’t get every string off.
4. Rinse and clean the seeds in a colander. Drain well and pat dry. Get as much water off the seeds as possible so they don’t steam during the roasting process. You want them to be roasted and crunchy, not steamy and chewy.
5. Toss the dried pumpkin seeds in the remaining ingredients and stir to coat.
6. Spread them in an even layer on the baking pan, and roast them for 45 minutes, tossing them occasionally to expose both sides of the seeds to the heat.
7. Increase the oven temperature to 325˚F for the last 5 minutes of roasting to optimize the crunch.
8. They can be enjoyed right away or, if saving for later, make sure they cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.

 
​Quip of the Day:  Q. Where do pumpkins like to live? A. In the seedy part of town!
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected].  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide .
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross.
#Soups #JackOLanternSoup #PumpkinSoup #Halloween #Pumpkins #RoastPumpkinSeeds #2023Recipes #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 
                                                                             ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023

How you doin’? It’s Friday and Happy Hour time. By week’s end, especially this week’s end, it is definitely time for cocktails. We have offered Spritzes and Fizzes before, but this one is a little dressier and will really bring out the fancy in you.
 
A Cucumber-Rose Gin Spritz is a classic combination of gin, lemon, and club soda. It gets a refreshing twist with cucumber, basil and black cardamom infused syrup. Dried rose petals add a subtle floral flavor, but more importantly it functions as a beautiful garnish.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail
 
Ingredients 
1-1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) aromatic gin (I prefer Hendricks)
1-1/2 tablespoons Cucumber, Basil and Cardamom Syrup (see ChefSecret below)
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons club soda
Persian cucumber strips and dried rose petals (such as Rose Dose)
 
Directions

1. Combine the gin, syrup and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker.
2. Fill shaker with ice cubes, cover and shake vigorously until well chilled.
3. Strain into a chilled cognac snifter glass filled with ice cubes.
4. Top with club soda, and garnish with cucumber strips and dried rose petals.

ChefSecret:  If your garden produces more cukes than you can eat, try this refreshing syrup. It is great with seltzer, in a gin & tonic or just with vodka on the rocks.

                                      Cucumber-Cardamom-Basil Syrup
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  20 minutes
 
Ingredients 
2 large cucumbers
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
12 large basil leaves
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cardamom pods
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon, juiced
 
Directions

1. Remove the ends of the cucumbers and discard.
2. Using a vegetable peeler slice cucumbers very fine lengthwise.
3. Toss the strips in a bowl with the salt and set aside for a few minutes until the salt has drawn out a good amount of liquid and most of the bitterness.
4. Rinse and drain the cucumbers.
5. In a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, squeeze them a little but not too much.
6. Measure out 1 cup of the cucumbers and reserve the rest for another use.
7. Muddle the basil and add it to the cucumber liquid. Let it steep in the fridge for about 2 hours.
8. Strain the liquid into a saucepan, squeezing the basil well to extract any flavor-packed liquid.
9. Stir in the sugar and cardamom and bring it to a boil, then add lemon juice and reduce heat.
10. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the temperature on a candy thermometer reaches 212⁰ F; stir occasionally.
11. Let the syrup cool slightly, then strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a glass bottle and let cool.
12. Seal tightly and refrigerate.

Quip of the Day:  Please drink gin responsibly. Don’t spill it!
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.

To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross.

#Cocktail #HappyHour #Gin #Rose #Cucumber #CucumberRoseGinSpritz #Hendricks #Cheers #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup  
                                                                                  ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023