Potato, Bacon & Cabbage Soup = Rainy Day Deliciousness

As rain came down in torrents here in Sebastopol, I made a simple  potato, bacon & cabbage soup. Because I had all of the ingredients on hand and also had homemade chicken stock in the freezer, it was so easy, with barely 10 minutes of hands-on work. So far, it has fed us, a family of three, for two meals, with enough for lunch or an after school snack. When I mentioned the soup on my Facebook page, several friends asked for the recipe and so here it is, such as it is.

When I made it, I did not consult a recipe but instead constructed one afterwards. I’ve made potato soup for decades. It is one of my basic recipes, so easy and so flexible that it can be adjusted to what is on hand and even to the season. In the summer, I add fresh tomatoes instead of cabbage and drizzle aioli or pesto over it before serving it. Sometimes I use sautéed kale, chard, radish greens or mixed greens instead of cabbage and sometimes I had 3 or four cooked and sliced sausages and about 8 ounces of cheddar cheese, along with a teaspoon or so of chipotle powder. At times when I’ve been out of stock but desperate for soup, I’ve made it using just water. You can add carrots, sorrel, and even lettuce, too. If using greens, it is a good idea to add a very generous handful–maybe half a bunch–of fresh Italian parsley, which will keep the soup green instead of grey.

The one thing I don’t recommend adding is milk or cream. In this sort of soup, it is unnecessary and actually eclipses the earthy savor of the potatoes.

When you have stock in the freezer, making soup from scratch is easy.

I think part of the inspiration for this soup on this particular day came from Steve Garner and John Ash. I arrived a bit early for an interview and Steve and John were talking about winter soups, including Colcannon Soup, based on the classic Irish dish of potatoes and cabbage. You’ll find that recipe here.  The recipe emphasizes that for best results you must use Kerrygold Butter, which is from Ireland. It’s a great butter but if you happen to have one of Sonoma County’s great butters around, you don’t need to head to the market for this one, as our butters are just as rich and delicious.

Potato, Bacon & Cabbage Soup • Makes 6 to 8 servings

• Olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• Kosher salt
• 6 ounces, approximately, bacon, in one piece, cubed
• 2 to 2 ½ pounds potatoes, washed and sliced
• 2 to 4 cups homemade chicken stock
• ½ small green cabbage, cored and cut into thin slices
• Black pepper in a mill
• Hawaiian Chile Water, Tapatio, Tabasco or other hot sauce or whole milk yogurt

1. Pour enough olive oil into a large soup pot to cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer. Set over medium heat, add the onion and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 12 minutes; do not let the onion brown. Season lightly with salt.
2. Add the bacon and potatoes, along with the chicken stock and enough water to cover the potatoes by 1 to 2 inches.  Simmer gently until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes or a bit longer depending on the size of the slices.
3. Add the sliced cabbage, stir and cook until it is just tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Taste, correct for salt and season with several turns of black pepper.
5. At this point, either leave the soup chunky or purée a portion of it using an immersion blender.
6. Ladle into soup bowls and serve with one of the condiments alongside.

Slow Cooker Grits for Christmas

Polenta (or grits) cooked long and slow is rich, creamy, delicious and very easy to prepare.

Polenta in a Slow Cooker This recipe has received more comments than almost any other recipe published in Seasonal Pantry, ever. Only Preserved Lemons have garnered more comments.

Slow-cooked Mushroom Soup with Madeira & White Pepper I love the way the earthy qualities of the mushrooms blossom during long slow cooking. The flavors of the pepper also blossom and so if you don’t like that bit of heat they contribute, reduce the quantity by half or even three quarters.

Slow-cooked Potato Soup with Winter Greens With potato soup as a foundation–think of it as a cook’s canvas–you can add just about any green or combination of greens and have a scrumptious soup.

Slow-cooked French Onion Soup Is there anyone who doesn’t love French Onion Soup? Probably. But if you are not among them, try this version. It is among my favorites.

Hutterite beans, available from Rancho Gordo, are a warm golden brown. The soup they make is so delicious that they are typically known as “Hutterite Soup Bean.”

You’ll find more slow-cooker recipes, including one for a simple and delicious Hutterite bean soup, here

Polenta Stuffing with Pancetta and Sage  (This is my favorite of the nontraditional stuffings; I love how it becomes so light and ethereal, almost like a souffle)

Skirlie (Scottish Oatmeal Stuffing)

Wild Rice Stuffing with Garlic & Pine Nuts

Evelyn Cheatham’s Rustic Cornbread Dressing

Even though I enjoy all these dishes–the polenta is my current favorite–I confess that my personal favorite is quite traditional. It begins with good sturdy sourdough hearth bread from a local bakery. For an 18 to 20 pound turkey, I use two 1-pound loaves. While the bread is still fresh and moist, I tear it into chunks about the size of a ping-pong ball. I spread the bread on something–sheet pans if they are not being using for something else, sheets of wax paper in a pinch–and let it dry over night. Shortly before it is time to put the turkey in the oven, I melt two sticks of good butter in a large deep pan and cook 2 diced onions and about 3 cups or so of diced celery until soft and very fragrant, about 30 minutes on low heat. Then I season the vegetables generously with salt, black pepper and a lot of minced fresh sage. Sometimes I saute 3 or 4 sausages (out of their casings) separately and sometimes I don’t.

When the onions and celery are ready, I put the bread into a large bowl, add the onion mixture and the sausage, if it’s a year for it, taste and correct for salt and spoon it into both cavities of the turkey. (Dressing that doesn’t fit goes into a souffle dish and gets drizzled with a little turkey stock. I put it into the oven about 45 minutes before dinner.) I immediately put the turkey into the oven to roast.

I love the way hearth bread absorbs the juices of the turkey and love, too, the way the sourdough flavors remain pleasingly strong. Because I leave the crusts on the bread and because the bread itself is sturdy, the dressing never gets soggy.

I’ll be at West End Farmers Market this week.

My seven most recent titles will be available for purchase:

The Good Cook’s Book of Mustard

The Good Cook’s Book of Tomatoes

The Good Cook’s Book of Oil & Vinegar

The Good Cook’s Book of Salt & Pepper

The Good Cook’s Journal

More Than Meatballs

Vinaigrettes & Other Dressings

Support this wonderful show with a delicious–and cheap!–lunch on Sunday

On Sunday, St. John’s Catholic Church and the Healdsburg Museum are hosting a special $5 Lunch + Music event from 1:30 to 3 p.m. or maybe a bit later at St. John Catholic Church’s Gym (208 Matheson St., Healdsburg).

The fete, Immigrant Fiseta, celebrates the museums current exhibit, “Healdsburg Immigrants.” Beer and wine will be available for $1.

Tomorrow, November 8!

The box lunch features tamales prepared by El Farolito, along with Asian salad from Persimmon, the not-yet-open restaurant that will soon replace the Charcuterie on Healdsburg Ave. Baci is contributing a Persian salad with chicken and vegetables and the Italian Catholic Federation has been whipping up biscotti. There will also be chocolate chip cookies from Costeaux.

For music, it’s one of the world’s most celebratory genres, Mariachi! The band is Mariachi Barragon, which includes 11 members, many from the same family. Joining in is a fabulous 14-year-old vocalist, Valeria Gomez, said to sing in the style of Linda Ronstadt and Selena.

You can snag tickets Saturday and Sunday at the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society and by calling Jeanne at 431-3325 or 473-9656. Adult tickets are just $5; kids 12 and under pay $2.

Healthy soil is key to successful farming and gardening.

The United Nations declared 2015 International Year of Soils and Shed(25 North St., Healdsburg) celebrates it this week with three events about farming, food and film.

Tonight, there is a free talk about no-till agriculture by Paul Kaiser of Singing Frog Farms. No-till farming is increasingly popular, including in Sonoma County, as farmers reach back to one of the oldest practices of agriculture, a method that is thought to be the way to keep soils as healthy as we possibly can. That talk takes place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and admission is free. If you’d like to go, let them know at by sending an RSVP.

On Saturday, Jim Barausky of Quivira Vineyards, explores his poetic approach to farming with a talk about Biodynamics. Barausky is a former president of the Biodynamic Association and has forty years experience working the land using its principles.The talk takes place from 10:30 a.m. to noon; admission is $15. Buy your tickets here.

On Sunday, Shed continues its ongoing conversation about food with the “Food and Farm Film Fest,” a screening of more than a dozen film shorts, including Real Food Media Contest Finalist Verrückt: The Snail Farmers of Vienna; Fungiphilia Rising and The Goat. Things get started at 7 p.m., cost is $10 and you can get your tickets here.

Pumpkin Pie, with organic pumpkin and a buttery crust

Pecan Pie is one of the richest desserts of the season.

Patisserie Angelica’s Buche de Noel includes whimsical touches and delicious fillings

The season’s sweetest open house takes place this Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days, when Patisserie Angelica hosts its annual tasting. The celebration includes nibbles of the bakery’s holiday specials. This year’s treats include linzer torte with local pears and honey, organic pumpkin pie with a flaky organic butter crust, delightfully rich Southern pecan pie, Buche de Noel with organic buttercream and much more.

On Saturday, Rosie from Sebastopol’s Green Valley Chestnut Ranch will be a special guest.

All holiday orders placed during the open house come with a 10 percent discount.

Patisserie Angelica is located at 6721 Laguna Park Way in Sebastopol.

The bakery is one of Sonoma County’s treasures. Not only is its little retail shop, located near the northern edge off The Barlow; it is also acknowledged around the country for its extraordinary wedding cakes, chocolate bonbons and truffles and other sweet treasure in the French style. A visit is like a quick trip to Paris. Your sweet tooth will thank you.

Ladle cooled stocks into freezer bags that you have already labeled with type and quantity.

Many home cooks are afraid of homemade stock, believing that it is difficult to make. It isn’t. The best stocks are cooked for quite some time but actual hands-on work is minimal. If you have a free weekend day a few times a year–once each season is ideal–you can easily make enough stock to store in your freezer, where it will be available for seasonal soups, stews, risottos and sauces. When done in a slow-cooker overnight, stock practically makes itself. In a pinch, when you really need stock and absolutely don’t have time to make it, you can find it, freshly made, at several of our farmers markets. In a pinch, you can used commercial broth but a bit of knowledge will get you the best results. First, select broth that is sold in boxes, not cans, which impart a slightly metallic taste. Second, do you use 100 percent stock in a recipe. For example, if you are making risotto that calls for 5 or 6 cups of stock, add water to just one container of broth. If you use all commercial broth, the resulting dish may have a slightly off, cloying flavor.

Stock is nutritious and restorative and is best when made with grass-fed meats and bones, which are naturally higher in nutrients than corn-fed equivalents. If you feel a cold or flu coming on, sipping hot stock is one of the best ways to get yourself through it. If you’re up to it, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a splash of hot sauce and a crushed garlic clove to each cup.

For the most efficient storage, stack stock in sealed freezer bags.

Real Homemade Stock Now at Farmers Markets

Strong Stock

Slow-Cooker Bone Broth & Slow-Cooked Chicken Bone Broth

Fragrant Beef Stock Last recipe in the column so be sure to scroll down

Vegetable Stock, Chicken Stock, Beef Stock

Turkey Stock The recipe is in the narrative portion of the column, not in a separate recipe.

If you don’t want to use plastic, store your stocks in Mason jars. To do so, leave an inch of headroom and cool the jars thoroughly in the refrigerator before transferring them to the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator, too. If they freeze or thaw too quickly, the glass will crack.

Thursday evening from 6 to 9 p.m., the Sebastopol Grange (6000 Highway 12, Sebastopol) and the Farmers Guild host a special evening to benefit those impacted by the on-going Valley Fire.

Admission is a cash donation of whatever amount you can afford.

People are also encouraged to bring potluck dishes to share.  First Light Farm, Preston Farm & Winery, Beet Generation Farm, Green Star Farm, Pugs Leap Cheese, Laguna Farm, Backyard of Forestville, Taylor Maid Farms, Ramen Gaijim are among the many local businesses donating ingredients and other items to the evening. I’ve offered to make creamy polenta with fresh corn, zucchini and tomatoes and I’ll bring enough for several dozen people.

If you have something you can donate for the auction or if you wish to volunteer to help during the event, email evan@farmersguild.org.

Kudos to Evan Wiig for organizing this so quickly.

Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards (23555 Highway 121, Sonoma) has declared tomorrow, September 17, “Wine & Donate” Day. The winery will be open from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., with complimentary live music on the Vista Terrace. Twenty percent of all sales will be donated to the American Red Cross of Northern California.

Blue Lake Green Beans at the Sebastopol Farmers Market

Green Beans with Smoked Salmon • Serves 3 to 4

 This summery salad takes its inspiration from two sources, the classic salade Nicoise of France, and the yummy smoked salmon that Paul Thornton sells at the farmers market. Paired with good eggs cooked so that they are are tender rather than rubbery and fresh green beans, the salmon is even more delicious than usual.

1. 1 small red onion, minced
2. 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3. 3 backyard or farmers’ market eggs
4. Kosher salt
5. 1 pound fresh flat green beans, such as Spanish Musica or Romano
6. 8 to 10 olives, such as Kalamata, pitted and diced
7. 6 to 8 ounces dry smoked salmon, such as Paul’s, broken into small pieces
8. Juice of 1 lemon
9. 3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
10. 2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
11. Black pepper in a mill
12. 6 to 8 diagonal slices of sourdough baguette, toasted until golden brown

• Put the onion in a small bowl, add the vinegar and set aside for 20 minutes.
• Put the eggs into a small pot, add water to come 1-inch above the eggs and set over medium heat. When the water almost boils, reduce the heat to very very low, cover the pan and let sit for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the eggs continue to sit, covered, in the hot water for 5 minutes more for small eggs and 10 to 12 minutes more for large eggs. Drain the water, cover the eggs with a handful of ice cubes and fill the pot with water. Set aside for 5 minutes. Remove the eggs from the cool water, carefully crack the shells on the side of the sink and peel the eggs. Rinse in cool water to remove any bits of shell. Set the eggs aside.
• Fill a large pot about half full with water, add a generous tablespoon of kosher salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. When the water comes to a rolling boil, add the beans and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the beans are tender. Drain thoroughly, shake off excess water, and put into a large wide serving bowl.
• Drain and discard the vinegar and toss the onion with the beans. Add the olives and toss again. Add the salmon, drizzle with the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss very gently. Taste and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil if the mixture is a little too tart. Add the parsley, season with salt, and toss again. Carefully cut the eggs in half lengthwise and arrange them over the salad. Season generously with black pepper and a little kosher salt. Serve immediately, with the toasted baguette slices alongside.

Basic Green Beans, with Variations

Haricots Verts with Zucchini Noodles, Sungold Tomatoes and Garlic

Romano Beans with Warm Vinaigrette

Pappardelle with Green Beans, Zucchini Ribbons & Tomatoes

Green Beans with a Poached Egg & Warm Tomato Vinaigrette

Green Beans with Burrata & Cherry Tomatoes

Romano Beans with Basil Butter

Fall Pasta with Rosamarina, Corn, Haricots Verts & Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette

Warm Potato Salad with Summer Variations (see variation 2)

Green Beans in Thai Green Curry

Warm Summer Salad of Green Beans, Potatoes, Tomatoes & Bacon