As someone who studies literature, I think about words a lot, and in autumn, that overlaps with the fact that I’m almost constantly thinking about soup. We have so many words for so many shades of meaning … and yet “soup” applies to a pretty stunning collection of foods. If you walked into a restaurant … More On language and soup
When I was building this blog, I toyed with a few names that made clear my love for the ugly foods of the world. Whether it’s a puréed vegetable soup (most likely without a garnish, unless I’ve been really on top of things), an array of Indian curries that pack a punch of flavor but … More In Praise (Again) of Ugly Food
I’ve got a whole list of recipes to post, but frankly, I haven’t been much in the mood. We lost somebody—somebody that I haven’t written about much, if at all, but who had wormed his way into every part of my life. This is Magnus. We adopted him, along with his sister Greta, just over … More A farewell and a soup recipe
Sometimes I think I should have named this the Blog of Ugly Food. Chilaquiles; Split Pea Soup; Baingan Bharta; and now Lentil-Sausage Stew. I last made this soup a few weeks ago, but I’ve spent the past three days huddled on my couch with the mother of all chest colds. While I’ve been eating little … More Better than medicine
Lately, I’ve felt like my life has exploded around me like a meteorite. Things haven’t been bad (in fact, most of the chaos has been the good variety), but I’ve felt like I haven’t had a chance to breathe. My days have been longer (at least the sun is playing along); I go to bed … More Climbing out of the crater
Split Pea Soup For some extra flavor, feel free to add diced ham, lardons of bacon, or a hambone where noted below; otherwise, a sprinkle of smoked salt adds some depth to the flavor of a vegetarian soup. 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium bunch carrots, peeled and diced (about 1 ½ cups) 1 large … More Split Pea Soup
Butternut Squash-Apple Soup I find that 4 pounds of squash will yield about 3 pounds of purée—I usually leave the leftovers for another use or for a small batch of soup later in the week, but this will scale up just fine. 2 pounds butternut squash flesh(see below) 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 medium yellow … More Butternut Squash-Apple Soup
Herbed Chicken Soup I don’t even know if it’s worth posting a recipe for this – chicken soup is pretty self explanatory. The keys to this particular soup are fresh herbs, parmesan cheese rind, and manfrigul: barley-like chunks of dried homemade pasta that cook up chewy and delicious. Make your favorite egg pasta, roll it … More Herbed Chicken Soup
the procrastikitchen 