Soup Night (12 page)

Recipe from Heather Vogel Frederick,
Soup and Solidarity
, Portland, Oregon

Serves 6

Heather says: As a young woman, my mother, Marie MacDougall, left her home in Nova Scotia for Boston, to take a position as a private-duty nurse. Her mother, my grandmother Nana Mac, packed a thermos for the train trip, filled with this beef stew. Marie made it to Boston safely, with no idea how much it would change her life. One day while working for this patient, she answered a knock on the door. Standing there was a handsome young man in uniform, an Army orderly who had cared for this same patient in an Army hospital and used his leave to come visit. Within a month, they were engaged.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 2-inch cubes
  
• 2–3 cups water
  
• 1 teaspoon summer savory
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 tablespoon butter
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  pound fresh button mushrooms, stems removed, cleaned, and cut in half
  
• 5 medium onions, chopped into large dice
  
• 10–12 good-size carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
  
• 4–6 potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
  
• 4 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch slices
  
• 1 medium turnip, peeled and chopped into large chunks
  

1. 1.
   Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat; add the meat and sear on all sides. Depending on the size of your pot, you may have to work in batches. Don’t crowd the meat; if you do, it will steam rather than sear. Each batch will take about 5 minutes to develop a good sear.
   
2. 2.
   Add water to cover and the summer savory; season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
   
3. 3.
   Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms until tender, about 8 minutes.
   
4. 4.
   Add the mushrooms, onions, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and turnip to the soup pot. Cover with water again and simmer for several hours (or all day in the slow cooker), until the meat is fork-tender.
   

Make ahead?
You bet. As Heather says, “It’s ALWAYS best the second day!”

For large crowds:
Easily multiplied.

For vegetarians?
Well, it’s
beef
stew.

Portland, Oregon

My friend Heather Frederick is loaded with talent. She’s a very successful author of children’s books, a terrific cook, and she has a very real gift for bringing people together. I’ve seen her do it: whenever someone interesting crosses her path, she just swoops in and pulls them into her circle of light. So I wasn’t at all surprised to learn that she had created a soup gathering, and also not surprised that it’s unusual and very creative.

It’s like a hobbit house, all cozy and warm and productive. And knowing we’ll have soup in a few hours keeps us going.

Any writer will tell you that writing is lonely work; they will also admit, if they are honest, that it’s easy to find reasons
not
to work. Heather’s clever idea tackles both those demons.

Once a month six writers gather at her house to work alone, together. Each person brings a laptop and stakes out a spot in the house to work for the morning. All are writers of books for children or young adults, and all just happen to be women.

The house is silent, except for the clicking of computer keys, as the unspoken power of peer pressure keeps everyone focused. They all agree that the very presence of other writers, hard at work, makes it impossible not to do likewise.

They also agree that simply being together adds a quality of collaboration to what is an otherwise solo occupation. “It’s like a hobbit house,” one member says, “all cozy and warm and productive. And knowing we’ll have soup in a few hours keeps us going.”

At lunchtime they gather around the table for a delicious lunch and shop talk. Sometimes their conversation turns to families or local current events, but more often it’s about their work. Together they share ideas, challenges, and tips. Should I have a Twitter account? I think I need a new website designer. I’m having a contract dilemma. Can I get some suggestions for building a platform? What do you all think about this new book idea? All the “writerly” problems that you can only talk about with other writers.

Heather always makes the soup and the others alternate bringing other parts of the meal. “I always set the table with pretty linens,” she says, “and flowers and candles and my mother’s china.” Another member compares the lunch to a fancy tea party and points out that it’s always at a round table, which she considers a crucial bit of symbolism. “That makes us all the same. It’s a wonderful metaphor for our group. I love the camaraderie. It feeds the soul.

“It’s rather ironic, really,” she continues. “The latest modern technology [laptops] enables us to get together for this lovely, elegant lunch that feels like going back to earlier times. We sit down to savor the food, and savor the companionship.

“Afterward,” Heather concludes, “we all feel refreshed and ready to go forward.”

• Canadian Beef Stew
  
• Nana Mac’s Nova Scotia Oatmeal Bread
  
• Vegetarian Eggplant Chili
  
• Solidarity Salad
  

Recipe from Heather Vogel Frederick,
Soup and Solidarity
, Portland, Oregon

Makes 2 loaves

Heather says: This came to me from my grandmother, Eva MacDougall. I’ve been making it since I was 12 — make it every week for my family! And the sandwiches that my grandmother packed for my mother to take on the train with her beef stew (
page 83
) were made with this bread.

• Butter (about 1 teaspoon)
  
• 1 package quick-rising yeast
  
• 1 scant teaspoon sugar
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup warm water (110°F)
  
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup molasses (Crosby’s from Canada is my favorite)
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 cups boiling water
  
• 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, approximately
  

1. 1.
   Grease a large bowl with butter; set aside.
   
2. 2.
   In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let stand until the mixture is foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
   
3. 3.
   Combine the oats, molasses, shortening, and salt in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over all, and stir to melt the shortening. Stir in 1 cup of the flour. Add the yeast mixture, and then continue stirring in the remaining 5 cups flour to make a stiff dough.
   
4. 4.
   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it becomes smooth and stretchy. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the greased bowl, turning to cover all surfaces of the dough with butter. Cover the bowl with a clean dishtowel and let rise in a draft-free place until doubled in size; this could take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, depending on the conditions in your kitchen.
   
5. 5.
   Punch the dough down so it deflates, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead again. It will probably feel as if the dough is pushing back against you; that’s normal.
   
6. 6.
   Generously butter two 5- by 9-inch loaf pans. Cut the dough in half and shape each half into a loaf. Place in the prepared pans, cover with clean dishtowels, and let rise again, until the dough crests the top of the pans. This might take 1 to 2 hours, again depending on the temperature and humidity in your kitchen.
   
7. 7.
   Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pans, butter the tops of the loaves, and let cool on racks.
   

Make ahead?
You almost have to, but if you want to wow your guests, time it so the bread is coming out of the oven as they arrive. You can also interrupt yourself in the middle of step 4, and set the bowl of dough in the refrigerator overnight, where it will rise patiently.

For large crowds:
Make as many loaves as you can; they freeze wonderfully.

About 3 dozen rolls

Yeast rolls enjoy an extra flavor boost from bacon and caramelized onions. They are an excellent accompaniment to soups and chowders based on sweet vegetables, such as carrot, butternut squash, beet, or corn — although truth be known, anything with bacon goes beautifully with anything else.

• 1 package active dry yeast
  
• 1 cup milk, heated to lukewarm (110–115°F)
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 3 egg yolks
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  
• 6 bacon strips, chopped into small bits
  
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  
• Egg wash: 1 egg yolk whisked with 1 tablespoon cream
  

1. 1.
   Make the dough: Sprinkle the yeast over
   ¹
   ⁄
   ₂
   cup of the warm milk in a large measuring cup or medium bowl. Add the sugar and salt, and stir until dissolved. Set the yeast mixture aside in a warm spot until it bubbles. (This is called proofing the yeast, and if it doesn’t happen, your yeast is dead; start over, with fresh yeast.)
   
2. 2.
   Measure the flour carefully and place in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the yeast mixture, egg yolks, the remaining
   ¹
   ⁄
   ₂
   cup milk, and the softened butter. Slowly mix the flour with the wet ingredients. Beat vigorously, to form a firm dough.
   
3. 3.
   Cover the bowl loosely with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot, such as a gas oven (the pilot light provides heat) or on top of the refrigerator, until the dough has doubled, 1 hour or more, depending on conditions in your kitchen.
   
4. 4.
   Punch the dough down (this is the fun part — make a fist, smack the dough hard in the middle) and set it to rise a second time, covered, until doubled once again, another hour or more.
   
5. 5.
   Make the filling: Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
   
6. 6.
   Remove and discard about half of the bacon grease from the skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the bacon into the onion.
   
7. 7.
   Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly coat two baking sheets with 1 tablespoon melted butter each.
   
8. 8.
   Assemble the rolls: Sprinkle a work surface with flour and roll out the dough to a thickness of about
   ¹
   ⁄
   ₄
   inch. (You may have to work in batches; if so, cover the unused dough lightly with plastic wrap while it’s waiting its turn.) With a cookie cutter or a glass, cut the dough into circles about 4 inches in diameter.
   
9. 9.
   Place 1 teaspoon of the bacon-onion mixture into the center of each circle and fold the edges inward, making a packet.
   
10. 10.
    When all the rolls are baconed, put them, seam-side down, on the baking sheets and cover lightly with a clean towel. Set in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, about 20 minutes.
    
11. 11.
    Bake for 10 minutes. Remove baking sheets, paint with egg-cream wash, and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until golden brown.
    

Make ahead?
Yes, but your guests will miss that intoxicating perfume of bacon frying. Rewarm for 5 to 10 minutes in 350°F oven.

For large crowds:
Limited only by the size of your oven, or your patience, for multiple batches.

For vegetarians:
Leave out the bacon and sauté the onion in oil.