Soup!

There's cream of turkey soup in the pot.....All is well with Michael's world.
















He's been cold in the mornings this week as he drives his FedEx truck. No heat or AC in those trucks, and he even wore gloves this morning! (I would note that I'm still wearing my teeshirts and my one adjustment to the temps has been to wear a pair of socks......but then we'd get into a discussion of all the fun that menopause is not....suffice it to say that this weather is heaven for me!)

So I decided to make my cream of turkey soup to warm Michael and Karen (who also has been shivering......)

The usual cast of characters was used.
















I took the carcass of the latest BigBird (#4) and simmered it for several hours. I cooled the carcass and removed the meat for various uses, turkey salad for me, and some turkey trimmings to be added to the dogz food.....they do love it when I cook a BigBird!

But the broth that resulted from the simmering - that's the "motherlode" for soup, to me! I cooled it to be able to remove the fat. I took a Tbsp of the chilled fat I removed, and heated it, and cooked a finely chopped onion in it, until the onion was translucent. I then added about 1/4 cup of flour, and after it became a smooth roux, I added the cooled fat free broth. So, the entire huge pot of soup only had that tiny bit of fat in it, used to make the roux. To that, I added finely chopped (i.e. mindful of the Schatzki's ring!) chunks of turkey breast. I seasoned the whole thing with the spices pictured above.

Then at the end, I added a bit of the magic ingredient: sobenbinder!!




















There is a story to that. Many years ago, my dear friend Judy, whom I have known as long as I have lived in California, shared a box of Sobenbinder with me. Her son Jay, who lives in Germany, brought several boxes to her.

The magic of this product is that you can pour it directly into a boiling soup and instead of clumping......it miraculously thickens the soup (or gravy, or whatever liquid you might add it to!)

I have used it every year for every BigBird since then. I ran out once and wrote to her and she sent me more! (She had since moved to Colorado and then to Texas.....but Jay still brings it to her when he visits the states.)

I have since found out that Wondra cake flour works on the same principal.....but Karen and I think its way more fun to peer into the pot and stir, and frown, and state....."This needs 'sobenbinder fur dunkle soben'!"

(Yes, we are easily amused!) And as I have said before, I do love me some easy cooking.....and anything that helps me do the job. It wasn't until I started using that product that I started getting the "oh I love your gravy" and "your gravy is wonderful" comments from Michael! I've since learned how to make his gravy without it, but I'm glad when I don't have to!

Last night he pronounced the soup "fantastic"...... Grin!