Breaking news:

I'm an auntie!! Last night my "little" sister became a first time Mom, there's a brand new lovely baby boy in this world by the name of Thomas Timothy!

I've been to the hospital today and they both look fine. (Sorry, no pics, I think I need permission from Mom and Dad and I didn't ask so you have to believe me, he is sooo cute!)

Just wanted to let you know why it's silent today (and probably tomorrow) there's some stuff I need to do now (presents, diaper wreath, ladidadee)

Hosting Daring Baker's Challenge: Tuiles!

This is my test batch of the first recipe, used them as a decoration for our Christmas dessert. It's a chocolate-vanilla cake filled with white chocolate pear mousse.

Do you ever have voices in your head? Care to listen to mine?  I was to host January's Daring Bakers Challenge assisted by sweet Zorra (aka Kochtopf) as co-host. This is an abbreviated version of what was going on in my head mid December.

You're doing what? No way, this is too easy!

- but it's something I always wanted to do but never got around to

It's just one thing!

- but I can make it sweet and savoury and allergy-suitable

People will have all the ingredients in their cupboard!

- but that's a good thing isn't it? Oh you don't think so. Credit crunch?

Listen to me now: it's a Daring Baker's Challenge. This is going to take them what? 1 hour?

- yes. yes. I know. It's January, they'll be glad after cooking month December.

Harumph! and what exactly are they supposed to do with it?

- well, you can make all kinds of shapes... get creative...crafty ...

Oh crafty huh? Ánd creative. With what exactly?

- the technique isn't as simple as you might think and I'll ask for creativity in the pairing.

Miss Smarty pants..You've covered it all. So one last question: you're a bread person. Zorra is a bread person. Where's the bread?

Eeeh.. not here. not this time. And yes we cried, a little. We wanted to..decided not to. Please, voice in my head, would you please shut up and let me finish my challenge post? Thank you.

Traditionally, tuiles are thin, crisp almond cookies that are gently molded over a rolling pin or arched form while they are still warm. Once set, their shape resembles the curved French roofing tiles for which they're named. The Dutch angle: traditionally this batter was used to bake flat round cookies on 31st December, representing the year unfold. On New Years day however, 

the same batter was used but this day they were presented to well-wishers shaped as cigars and filled with whipped cream, symbolizing the New Year that's about to roll on. And of course the batter is sometimes called tulip-paste....

The challenge in a nutshell:

- use one of the batters given, 

- shape it either prior (using a stencil) or right after baking and

- pair it with something light; fruit, sorbet, a mousse, or maybe even a fruit soup, think glazes or dips…..

Bend it, shape it, anyway you want it!

Printable Recipe

Recipe:

Angélique Schmeinck: Het Chocolade boek
Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)

Preparation time batter 10 minutes,

waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar

1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)

65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.1/4 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice

Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

Alternative Baking:
Either un-glutenize the batter given substituting the flour for any nut meal or oat flour, or as an alternative use one of the following batters:

These are my Sesame Vanilla oysters: using toasted white sesame seeds instead of almonds paired with home-made vanilla ice cream. I came back in the kitchen after making these pics (happily munching) to find my carefully scooped melon and kiwiballs.... forgot to plate them!

Nougatine:

From Michel Roux: Finest Desserts
5.1/4 cups / 500 grams sliced almonds
(or 4.1/3 cups/500 grams slivered almonds)
3.1/3 cups / 660 grams sugar
4 tbs / 60 grams butter (optional)
2 tbs oil (vegetable, sunflower, peanut)

Makes 2.3/4 lbs/1.2 kgs! (This is the yield of the recipe given in the book, feel free to downsize!)
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Preheat oven: 180C/350F

Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned. Cook the sugar in a heavy based saucepan over low heat, stirring gently and continuously with a spatula, until it melts to a light golden caramel. Add the almonds and stir over low heat for 1 minute, then stir in the butter until completely absorbed. (This is not essential, but will give the nougat an added sheen) Pour the nougatine onto an oiled baking sheet.

Shaping: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable. Work with one piece at a time, of a size appropriate to the shape you want. Roll out each piece on a warm, lightly oiled baking sheet or lightly oiled marbled surface. It is essential to work quickly, since the nougatine rapidly becomes brittle. Heat the nougatine in a microwave oven for a few seconds only to soften it if needed.

Roll the nougatine into the appropriate thickness for your desired shape, but never thicker than 1/8 inch or 3 mm. Quickly cut out your chosen shapes using cookie cutters, or the blade or heel of a chef’s knife. To mold the nougatine, drape it very rapidly over the mold so that it follows the shape and contours. Leave until completely cold before removing from the mold.
Or, cut out and using your fingers or a knife, push in to folds or pleats… use as a basket, twirl round a knitting needle..

Nougatine based shapes can be made two or three days in advance, Keep them in a very dry place and do not fill with something like a mousse more than 2 hours prior to serving.

Chocolate Tuiles

Michel Roux’s Finest Desserts

Makes 30

Preparation time: 15 minutes!

9 oz/250 grams dark or white couverture or best-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup/75 gr slivered almonds, toasted and cooled

Temper the couverture, and stir in the toasted almonds. Place the template on a sheet of rodoïde (or use a clean sheet of sturdy plastic such as a folder) and fill with about 1 tbs of the mixture. Repeat the process a little distance away from the first one. As soon as you have 5 tuiles fit, slide them onto a mold or rolling pin (side of a glass) to curve. Let cool completely, lift tuiles off the plastic only after the chocolate has set and just before serving, so that they keep their shine.

These are my savoury babies: sprinkled with nigella seeds and paired with duck breast, cucumber which is technically a fruit ;-) dressed with home made orange/rosemary marmelade

Savory tuile/cornet recipe

From Thomas Keller "the French Laundry Cookbook"

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (65 grams/2.1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt (= 2/3 teaspoon table salt)**
8 tablespoons (114 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth and mayonnaise-like in texture. Using a stiff spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps. Transfer the batter to a smaller container, as it will be easier to work with.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil. Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets.

There should not be any holes in the batter. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds. Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point.

Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door.*** This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round. If you are right-handed, you will want the pointed end on your left and the open end on your right. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge (at about 7 o'clock on a clock face) of the cornet.

Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remainon the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.

When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so.

Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels. Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.
My notes:
** I’ve used 1 teaspoon fine table salt in my test-batch, and depending on what you plan to fill them with I would use less; start with ½ teaspoon. In the Netherlands I’ve never seen kosher salt but I understand it’s a coarser grind hence the substitute difference.

*** My oven door opens...as a door! So I placed the baking sheet on a counter that sits above the radiator (central heating thing) and that worked fine. You really need that extra heat because these babies need it to get a good shape. You could maybe slide out yr ovenrack and work on that too.

Wrap up: I'm hooked! These are so much fun to make and so versatile! My kids inhaled them. If you ask them they would probably say the butterflies were kiddy... You should have seen them hovering above the plate picking the prettiest...

All my testbatches disappeared with a blink of an eye. The sesame crisps were wonderfully light and full of flavour. I think I baked 40 of those and they were all gone within an hour! (Not captured in pics :-(

The savoury ones are a keeper as well, they're the perfect appetizer or amuse-bouche.

I still have to make the chocolate ones, and I have another savoury one up my sleeve, posting tomorrow!

I'd like to thank my co-host Zorra (aka Kochtopf) for her participation this month and her willingness to do tuiles over bread. Thanks Zorra! You can find her post over at 1x umrühren bitte.

I've seen wonderful creations over at our Daring Baker Forum, truly a creative, imaginative bunch of bakers. Thanks for baking with us!

Juweel van een koekje / Slice & Bake: Bejeweled cookies

(English? Please scroll)

Kennen wij dat eigenlijk ook in Nederland? Zo'n rol deeg waar je plakjes van af snijdt, in de oven legt en vervolgens koekjes van bakt? Geen idee eigenlijk. Het is natuurlijk wel verrekte handig, zeker omdat het deeg in de koelkast dagen goed blijft, en in de vriezer wel een paar weken. Je kunt net zoveel afsnijden als je nodig hebt en de rest leg je gewoon weer terug. (Haha... tuurlijk! Nou ja, het zou kunnen). Het zou praktischer zijn geweest om dit recept te posten vóór de Kerst, maar dat kwam er even niet van. Je hebt nu natuurlijk wel de kans om alle varianten uit te proberen, en wie weet er zelf nog een paar te verzinnen zodat je er hélemaal klaar voor bent. Voor Kerst. Volgend jaar. Het mág eerder hoor, ze zijn namelijk heerlijk. Bros, boterig, smaakje, erg lekker.

Basisdeeg:

200 gram boter, zacht op kamertemperatuur

125 gram basterdsuiker

2 eidooiers

1 a 2 tl vanille extract

300 gr patent bloem

klein snufje zout

voorbeelden van toevoegingen:

- rasp van 1 a 2 citroenen plus 2 el maanzaad

- rasp van 1 sinasappel plus 2 el gehakte hazelnoten en 75 gr gehakte gedroogde cranberries

- geraspte chocola plus amandelen

- 50 gr bloem vervangen door 50 gr cacao

In een kom met een houten lepel de boter en suiker goed mengen, dooiers en vanille-extract erdoor roeren. Kies je smaakje en voeg dit toe aan het mengsel. De bloem zeven met het zout en erdoor scheppen. (Niet overdadig roeren anders wordt het deeg taai, gewoon goed mengen). Je hebt nu een heel zachte deegpasta, zet dit een paar uur afgedekt in de koelkast om op te stijven.

Vorm van het inmiddels stijve maar plakkerige deeg twee (of drie) rollen, ongeveer 3-4 cm in doorsnede. Om het makkelijker te maken kun je het rollen alvast in plasticfolie doen dan plakt het niet zo.

Nu kun je de rollen ofwel invriezen, (goed verpakt in plastic blijven ze zeker een aantal weken goed in de vriezer), ofwel goed verpakt een paar dagen in de koelkast bewaren tot gebruik, óf in plakjes van ongeveer een halve centimeter snijden en afbakken in een matig warme oven. Ze blijven ietwat bleek met een goudbruin randje.

180 C (hetelucht 160C), ong. 10-13 minuten. 

Deze variant is toevallig met in stukjes gesneden gedroogde cranberries, stukjes hazelnoot en sinasappel, maar met citroen rasp en maanzaad zijn ze ook fantastisch. (De Lidl heeft deze week gedroogde cranberries!)

Brain wave! An RV, a Safeway, Grand Tetons area , 13 years ago, I bought a roll of frozen cookie dough. Together with son nr. 1 I baked cookies. Used a spoon to scoop the dough and I think we shaped it with our hands. Cookies. Maybe I should have read the instructions. Because all of sudden now I think that these must have been slice and bake cookies.  I don't think we know such a concept in the Netherlands, having baked these I'm a convert!

I found recipes for these addictive and oh so easy cookies in multiple  places (margarita flavour!) on the Net, all based on Dorie Greenspan's Lemon sablé recipe. The one I used is found here. 

Bread Baking Babes bake Croissants

Do they? This Babe had her panties twisted, not her croissants! Our Kitchen of the Month is situated in France this time, Katie invited us to her place, the warmth coming not from a stove/oven but she managed to light up the room with her wit and charm while providing us with a very daunting task; create croissants!

I will tell you right away: I failed. Miserably. So you can stop reading now if you like. Instead I'll show you a before and after post. Let me lead you through the steps, one by one:

Before on the left, and after on the right (yes, after baking):

Now, there's a significant change as you can

 see. I  can't either. Not puffed, not flaked, just baked. I don't think I can blame the recipe alone, my mind wasn't entirely on the task. The dough was very very dry, I

quickly consulted some other recipes, added some melted butter and milk but it still had a weird feel. Then I had it in the fridge for longer than it said in the recipe so I threw it out to start over again.

And that my dear readers, that just didn't happen.

You see, I was and still am trying to conquer this before and after show: 

the change in the pictures is not as glorious as in real life but let me tell you, this hallway changed

 from cappucino beige (yeah I don't know what I

was thinking then) to bright white. I'll show you what happened in that room in the back...





From this on the left to that on the right

: again from -a lighter shade- caffe latte to bright white.

And... the new room on the

 other side of the hall: removing another chimney, building to create this wonderful room on the right:

Now you will understand that these croissants need a make-over. I can think of another much needed make-over as well:

It might not have read this way but I did enjoy the break from painting and baking with my two other Babes, Tanna and Ilva! I had fun, they had croissants! Please go and see what beauties my other Babes all created! 

Edit: I forgot to add our Baking Babes label and the pics and text are all crooked... don't feel up to try and correct this now, sorry!

Fluffy Blueberry Cardamom Monkey bread

A welcome treat for breakfast. I baked those loaves (there were two of them) the night before we ate them, next time I think I will retard them in the fridge after shaping so they're all fresh, warm and fluffy for a late Sunday breakfast/brunch time. Mainly because we thought that they were great right out of the oven, still warm and all fluffy. The next morning still very good, flavour less prominent and less pillowy insides.

Recipe, makes two loaves:

(adapted from Home Baking, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid)

460-480 gr (2 cups) milk, luke warm

2 tsp instant yeast

2 tbs sugar

30 gr butter

1 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1 egg (medium, US large)

1/4 tsp salt

770-800 gram (5 cups) bread flour

75 grams (1/2 cup) dried blueberries (oh treasure!!)

* (or use frozen cranberries/or fresh right from the fridge (so they will stay whole) maybe adding some chocolate chips to those...

pearl sugar and cinnamon pearl sugar for decoration

egg for eggwash or a bit of milk/melted butter

Note: I tweaked the flour/liquid ratio to suit my flour. 

Combine milk, sugar, butter, egg, zest, cardamom, salt and 1 cup of the flour in the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir to mix to smooth. Add 2 more cups of the flour and stir again to a smooth paste. Using a dough hook on low speed add another cup of flour and mix to incorporate, adding more of the flour as you think necessary. This is going to be a very soft dough, slightly tacky but not sticky and will clean the bowl. (It will be sticky after first bulkrise, a bit harder to shape into rolls but this makes for fluffy crumb).

Turn the dough out on a floured worksurface and knead by hand, just a couple of times, keep it gentle! For bulkrise, place in an oiled container, cover and let rise until doubled.

To shape; divide in small portions each weighing about 45 grams (I like my rolls to be small in monkey bread) and roll them into balls by cupping your hand over the dough and using the friction of your worksurface to make tight little rolls. It helps to oil your worksurface a tiny bit to get this slightly sticky dough get shape. Place in two loaf pans and cover to rise until puffed. When prodded with a gentle finger the dent will stay).

Brush with milk/eggwash/melted butter and sprinkle with pearl sugar right before baking.

Bake in a preheated oven 200C/400F, for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Another check if they're done: slide out of your pan and pinch the edges, when they are firm your loaf is done.

Adding this one to Yeastspotting over at Susan's Wild Yeast!

Oink! We don't eat that!

Mom! Look what you made! We're not going to eat this one, you'll need to keep it.

So that's what I did. For three days. I figured if I took a picture it's a form of "keeping it".

In case you were wondering; it's a variation on pita bread, this one all puffed up to become a piggy bank.

White

Snow Jan 2009 1, originally uploaded by BakingSoda.

When Holland looks like this, there's only one thing you can do.

Paint the attic.

Skate.

Make some soup.

Take a walk.

Enjoy the views.

Timing! & Seasons Eatings

There's timing... and then there's timing!

This morning we woke up to see a white world. Snow! Fresh, crackling perfect-snowman-snow! It's first schoolday after the holidays. Bad timing. No time for play today, shuttled the kids to school by car. "They" say temperatures are going to drop immensely tonight. If all this is going to freeze up I expect a shiny dangerous mess by tomorrow morning. We'll see.

Someone with very good timing is Chris (Melecotte), she send me a wonderful package for the Seasons Eatings exchange, an annual December exchange organised and hosted by fellow Babe Katie at Thyme for cooking. You can find the recap here This is how Katie explained Season's Eatings: it is a 'secret' spicy/foodie gift exchange to celebrate the Holiday Season. You send, and receive, a small gift of a local herb, spice, or other food that is unique or characteristic of the sender.

Chris send such great gifts and managed to bribe our post guy to deliver it Christmas Eve! Isn't that cunning? So many goodies!! Not only the wonderful herb mix and the recipe for it, but also a great mixed salt by Paula Deen, a vidalia onion pesto, reindoor noses, magic towels cleverly disguised as peppermints (the kids loved those!), a dough scraper with all kinds of equivalents metric/imperial (jumping with joy when I saw that! LOVE it!!). The bruise soother, equally handy to be used as headache soother was my buddy in the holiday aftermath. Oh and not in the pic... Joe-Joe's, peppermint filled cookies. Wonder why they are not in the picture.... Gosh I have no idea! *licks crumbs from lips and tries to look guilty*. Thank you Chris!

I send my choice of spices and a little extra to the USA, as I told the girl at our little post office. I payed postage and while I walked out I overheard both girls discuss where Lyons was situated... one of them said: No, it doesn't need the green sticker it's within ".." That's when the doors closed and I went my merry way home. Only to realise the next day that they were probably thinking the same as I did. Lyons is France is Europe. Only this Lyons is New York is United States. As I stated on the envelope. In big bold letters. I hope everything went as it should. I'm afraid not. No news yet. If someone in Lyons France is playing with my package, please let me know then I'll try and send one again.

What did I do with Chris' present? I made wonderful roast potatoes using the mixed salt, and on Christmas day we had a great savory wreath for lunch, filled with pork roast, the herbs from the mix, cheese and onions. Above is a picture from the dough in the making. Never got to be photographed, I kept delivering slices from the kitchen and the wreath disappeared in no time at all. Very good!

Katie, thanks for organising last year's Season's Eatings!

Can't wait longer, it's fish soup

It has been around for a while though, not in "person" but as a post that still had to be done. I would have liked to do this sooner but I was waiting for the grades my soup his presentation got, alas, we don't know yet. The story begins here; I suggested to serve Greek Fish soup for a group during a presentation. As my son adopted the idea, I had to find a source for the recipe.

Who could I better turn to than Laurie Constantino over at Mediterreanean Cooking in Alaska who graciously answered with a great authentic recipe for Kakavia! This paired beautifully to the recipe Aranka sent me (which can be found in the comment section from this post). Bloggers are just a great bunch of people! Thank you! Following is Laurie's recipe:

Kakavia (Greek Fish Soup)

Greeks would tell you that Kakavia was the foundation on which Bouillabaise was built. Like bouillabaisse, Kakavia is better when a mix of fish and shellfish are used. You can also make it just with fish and leave out the shellfish.

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups diced leeks, 1/2” dice

1 1/2 cups diced onions, 1/2” dice

1 cup diced celery, 1/2” dice

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 15-ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup minced fresh fennel leaves or 2 tsp. crushed fennel seeds

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1 Tbsp. minced fresh thyme

10 cups water

4 pounds mixed white-fleshed fish fillets (cod, halibut, rockfish, snapper, etc.)

2 pounds mixed shellfish (shrimps, scallops, clams, mussels)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Minced parsley for garnish

Sauté the leeks, onions, and celery in olive oil, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, until the onions soften. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, fennel, parsley, thyme, and water. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have blended. Taste and add salt, freshly ground black pepper, or fennel, as needed.

Cut the fish into large chunks, and clean the shellfish. When the broth is done, add the fish and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes or until the fish is almost, but not quite, cooked through. Add the shellfish and simmer for 3 - 5 minutes, or until the shellfish are done. Stir in the lemon juice and serve immediately with minced parsley sprinkled over thesoup.

I basically followed the recipe (used half home made fish stock, half water) but allowed some freedom with regard to the filling. I wasn't too sure if a bunch of 16 yr olds would really appreciate all that delicious shellfish so I left it at safe white fish. Laurie would look at the pics and think: what did she do to the color of that soup? Well, again, trying to please the class by adding some tomate puree and cream at the last moment. My son left with a bucket (!) full of soup and returned with it almost empty. Good sign!

Oh.. those guys made me laugh: when told the recipe for this soup came all the way from Alaska there were at least three of them that blurted out: oh great, and eh can she see Russia from her house? Well guys, I don't know that but she makes a darn good soup!